My Blog

DMBD Newsletter - October

adancingangel — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 05:22:35 GMT

Check out the latest DMBD Newsletter http://www.angelsanimeoutpost.com/DMBD%20October%20newsletter.htm

In Memory of Alvesta Heath; August 17, 2007

adancingangel — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 05:28:29 GMT

Loss of a loved one is a challenging and difficult process to work through, particularly when the person transitioning to the other side is young and the loss is unexpected. I am reminded of this through the personal loss of my niece who died suddenly yesterday at the age of 30 years old. I was a young girl when my oldest sister brought her first born into the world 30 years ago. This gave me the opportunity to grow up having both niece and little sister, a mental concept which grew more important to me in these last few years. You see, my niece was an artist and was always looking for inspiration, color and vitality in life, with which she tried to capture through various art forms. As I embarked on my exploration of belly dance, she first became fascinated then obsessed with the dance herself. She took lessons, bought a few costumes and was even able to make her way to Hawaii to join Delilah in her retreat a couple of years ago. She truly enjoyed this wonderful dance form. The last time we saw one another was in Long Beach at The Bellydancer of the Universe competition, this past February. She came from her home in the Antelope Valley Ca., met me in Los Angeles where we made the drive to Long Beach. From there, we spent the weekend dancing, shopping and giggling together. The funny thing is, my mother was supposed to spend the weekend with me, we’d planned it for weeks and I was hoping for some nurturing energy from mommy. As the fates would have it, she was unable to make it and I ended up spending the weekend with my niece. I was quite disappointed at the time. However, after the initial disappointment was over, I truly enjoyed my time with her. We were able to share a great dance experience together and I felt she was able to let go and experience belly dance in a way she hadn’t been able to before. It was great! In hindsight, I’m so very happy that this experience and collection of memories were the last I was able to share with her before she left us. We sweated in workshops together, were inspired by dancers and met some of our idols in the art form. I will never forget the little girl sounding voice whispering to me “Oh my God, is that Fahtiem?” I affirmed, gently took her hand and walked her over to the legend and introduced her. As always, Fahtiem was gracious and made her day. For weeks she talked about how she met one of her idols, telling dance friends of the meeting and how it was due to the friendship between Fahtiem and her aunt Angela – gosh I wish! I was always humbled (and a little embarrassed) as she often introduced me to her friends and in articles as “her aunt, the belly dancer.” Often bragging to people about how impressive my dancing was. I still chuckle a little at this, since I am clearly still a student of the art. I suppose I never realized how much she admired me and my accomplishments. Perhaps I took for granted, feeling it was a natural respect, niece to aunt. Either way, she was genuinely proud of my involvement in belly dance and enjoyed discussing my production plans and how she could bring her art and dance friends in as each project developed. These past 24 hours have been difficult for me as I struggled to come to terms with the fact that I won’t be seeing her the next time I visit my family. The holidays will not include her quirky sense of humor. I won’t be able to look down at my cell phone see her number and wonder what road her questions would take me down today. And, most important, I won’t be able to just sit in her presence and listen. The simple aspects of life that we tend to only consider when our loved ones are no longer with us. As I consider the time I have left on this planet I am saddened with the thought that I will not see her with my eyes anymore. Alvesta Mildred-Lorraine Heath was a young and beautiful woman who spent most of her life on a journey of discovery – from issues of her path, her faith, her voice and even just who she was. I don’t know if she ever came to the end of any of her quests, but her journey on this life path has come to an end. My God I miss her and wish that I could have one more moment to give her a hug and just tell her how much I loved her – all her life. I am proud and thrilled to have been able introduce her to and share this art form with my niece in the short time she had on this Earth. As I dance now I realize that the dancing is for more than just my love for dancing, but to give her something more to look upon me with pride and pleasure as she continues her journey in her new existence. She dances with the angels now and we have our joyous memories that she’s left us with. Keep dancing my little dance sister. Keep dancing.

Dance Masters of Belly Dance Newsletters

adancingangel — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 17:14:12 GMT

Hello to all my friends, those familiar, new and those I'm just meeting! Below are the most recent DMBD newsletters for your enjoyment. Our newsletter is not just for information regarding the DMBD but to give the community another source of information regarding approaching events, activities, etc. If you have any thoughts, events or reviews you'd like to be included in future newsletters, please send them to: angela.thacker@comcast.net; subject: DMBD Newsletter input. Thank you and keep dancing with joy! Check out the latest newsletters: July - http://www.angelsnewandused.com/July%20newsletter.htm August - http://www.angelsnewandused.com/August%20newsletter.htm Join the mailing list if you would like to receive newsletters, updates and event announcements at: www.dancemastersofbellydance.com

Dance Masters of BellyDance – Supporting the dance through updates and information!

adancingangel — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 06:17:31 GMT

Thank you all for your support of the Dance Masters of Bellydance and the art form in the greater Bay Area. As a tool to support all of us who are bonded in the dance, we have this offering of news, updates and information for your enjoyment. This offering may grow to be a part of a greater newsletter in time. For now, we would like to use this to be part of keeping us all connecting to events, information and happenings in our area. If you have anything you would like to add to our next delivery, please send your information to angela.thacker@comcast.net. Feel free to pass this along to your friends and let me know if you would like to be added to the DMBD mailing list. Events this week! Friday, March 30th 8pm – 10pm Serengeti Nights: http://sn.thackerenterprises.com/ eonCafe; 24970 Hesperian Blvd; Hayward, CA 94545; (510) 264-0507; www.eoncafe.com Open Dance Night – Dance Slots Available! – Contact Angel (angela.thacker@comcast.net) if you want to dance, we still have slots available for Saturday, March 31st Dunia Student Night , 7pm – 9pm eonCafe; 24970 Hesperian Blvd; Hayward, CA 94545; (510) 264-0507; www.eoncafe.com Support the dance! Approaching events from our friends around the Bay! April 7th, Spring Hafla/Bellydance Party! Live Music with Yosifah Rose's Ensemble, Al'Azifoon, World Dance Fitness. http://www.worlddancefitness.com/events.html April 8th , Ansuya Show & Student Showcase, San Francisco The Canvas Gallery, http://www.ansuya.com/merchandise.html April 13 – 15: Cairo Nights w/ AZIZA, Santa Cruz – Bellydance Odyssey, http://www.bellydanceodyssey.com April 21 – 22; Raqia Hassan workshops - Hala Dance Studio, http://www.haladance.com/ Recommendations and picks! If you have any recommendations, picks or videos to share, send them along. I’m happy to feature them on my tribe and future updates or newsletters! Video Links: I was sent these links of some of our friends dancing joyously at Rakkasah. These are great videos and I couldn’t help but share them with you! Raks al Khalil: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QI5U01whWZI Delphina: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cIjbQqXIEk Michelle Joyce : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnxKeFY-WF4 DVD’s The Magic of Bellydance!: Ansuya. Her latest release. I purchased and viewed this in one sitting. It’s a GREAT video that brings you close and intimate with Ansuya’s love and dedication of the art. This is a must have! http://www.ansuya.com/merchandise.html Dancer’s Body DVD with Aruna: I picked this DVD the moment I received the email alert and am enjoying emensely. It’s a great way to focus on fitness while enjoying the dance and Aruna is great! Pick it up while they’re hot! http://www.worlddancefitness.com/aruna-dvds.html By Dancers For Dancers: Belly Dance Performances. A DVD featuring and produced by some of our own local talent, this is a good quality piece, they did a great job! Well done ladies in your first effort and good luck in your sales! http://www.customflix.com/225939

My bellydance and weight loss journey

adancingangel — Sun, 25 Mar 2007 04:40:25 GMT

Hello Friends! Well, I have reached a point of absolute realization that I have gained far too much weight as a result of the health and stress issues I've wrestled through the past three years. I've arrived a point where I've been given a clean bill of health and am through all the little distractions and glitches that plagued me. Yay! As I reminisced through the images of my past with friends and family recently, I realized just how much weight I'm carrying now. Although I have lost quite a bit lately, I am not feeling happy about where I am. So things have to change! I thought it would be a fun idea to combine my new found joy of the dance with shedding the weight and building my strength. For I intend to use bellydance as a primary form of exercise through my journey. Putting some fun into the process, I hope, may help me focus on the end result. Weight loss and a healthier me. As part of the process I am posting my blog here and am committing to chronicling my adventure with updates and news as I progress through the journey. I am hoping that adding this to my process will help me focus and will also give me some inspiration and support from my pool of friends. I spent most of this month on a cleanse/detox program to help and focus me. Today was the last day of the cleanse, it was a challenging month! And now I’m off and running towards the next phase. Through my journey, I commit to: 1. Post updates on my progress; 2. Report on and review any programs or advise I receive from dancers and instructors 3. Chronicle my results in picture form regularly 4. When I reach my goal I will throw a huge for all my friends to dance and celebrate! Did I miss anything? Well, my goal would be nice! How about: lose 30 pounds and increase flexibility. Below is a picture of me at Rakkasah that I feel shows my full on wieght - ouch! Let me know your thoughts and join me in my journey if you have the some similar goals or would like support in anything else! Thank you in advance for your love and support!

Next Serengeti Nights! March 30th & 31st

adancingangel — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 02:27:01 GMT

Hello all! I hope you all had a great time at Rakkasah, I had a blast! I wanted to peek in with you real quick to let you know that we'll be hosting another Serengeti Night dance event the last weekend of this month. More information will come soon! If you'd like a dance spot Friday night, please email me so I can get you on the schedule. The event this month will feature - Open dance night, Friday March 30th, 8pm - 10pm (dance slots available) Dunia, student night, Saturday March 31st, 7pm - 9pm (see www.duniadancer.com ) Drop me an email if you have questions our for a dance spot! We had a great time last month and I'm told we may be featured in the local paper this month. Check out the website and visit often - http://sn.thackerenterprises.com/