Suhaila Salimpour 1-Day Workshop in Seattle Sunday, November 9

It's confirmed! Suhaila will be coming up to Seattle to teach a 1-day
workshop on Sunday, November 9 and registration is open! Don't
delay--I have already had quite a few people express interest in this
workshop and it may very well sell out!

Content: Suhaila Salimpour bellydance technique format and
choreography.

5 total hours of instruction. CECs available for students certified in
the Suhaila Salimpour or Jamila Salimpour formats.

Date: Sunday November 9, 2008

Time: 11am-5pm with 1 hour break for lunch.

Location: Skin Deep Studios
skindeepstudios.net/
2524 16th Ave S #311
Seattle, Washington 98144

Price: $125, 10% discount for Suhaila Salimpour School of Dance
Members. 50% nonrefundable deposit is required to confirm your
registration, with balance due by November 5, 2008. No refunds, credits,
or transfers.

Space is limited, so get your registration in ASAP!

To register contact Renee Drellishak, (206) 568-1514 or
renee.drellishak@gmail.com


***** SAVE THE DATES****
February 21, 2009 Suhaila Salimpour 1-Day Workshop
November 6-8, 2009 Suhaila Salimpour Level I 3-day workshop with
certification testing (optional)

Jamila Salimpour Weeklong Workshop Review!

I just finished attending the very first Jamila Salimpour Format Level I weeklong workshop (well, the first in the last 25 years, anyway.) It was an incredible week. Not only was it a chance to really dig into the roots of tribal bellydance, but it was a once in a lifetime opportunity to be able to spend the week with Jamila herself. Going in I wasn’t sure how much of the workshop would actually be taught by Jamila, (after all, she just recently turned 82 years old,) but aside from the morning warm-ups which were taught by Rebecca, and the morning review sessions which we handled by Sabriye, the entire [sold out] workshop was conducted by Jamila. What a treat!

We wore finger cymbals every day, and practiced all of the patterns on her finger cymbal CD, sometimes just standing, but mostly while dancing. It was intense and LOUD (earplugs were acquired and helped tremendously). We learned all of the movements from the first 3 Jamila Salimpour Format Archive videos and almost everything in her manual, The Danse Orientale. (The remaining steps are to be taught in the Level II workshop.)

Every day we had a lecture (storytime!) from Jamila, who shared with us her history, spanning from her childhood and her time with the Ringling Brothers circus, through her three marriages, learning to bellydance, owning two nightclubs, teaching dance, the creation of Bal Anat, and her first retirement from teaching (she returned to teaching weekly classes at Suhaila’s studio a few years ago.) She is a terrific storyteller, funny and frank.

We also got to see rare archival footage of Bal Anat in the early 1970s, Jamila’s classes, and some of Suhaila’s first stage performances, which were especially instructive in terms of understanding the evolution from Jamila’s format to Suhaila’s.

Suhaila was present at much of the workshop but yielded the floor to Jamila (with the exception of occasionally reminding her mother that certain steps were to be introduced *later* in the workshop when Jamila, in her enthusiasm, introduced them earlier than planned.) I could tell that for Suhaila hosting this workshop was a gift, not just to us, the students, but to her mother as well.

Jamila absolutely glowed during the whole workshop. It was clear that she was thrilled to be able to share her knowledge with such an attentive group of women, who were equally thrilled to bask in the presence of this icon of American bellydance and to learn as much as they could. The participants included women from all over the US, Canada, Taiwan, Korea, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Sweden. It was staggering to witness their commitment and hunger for knowledge.

At the end of the week, all but a handful of the attendees took the certification test, a requirement for admission into the Jamila Level II workshops which will be held in March 2009 and 2010. As I whispered during storytime to a friend who was waffling on whether to take the test, “How could you not want another week of this?” We came away with improved finger cymbals skills, a better understanding of the history and foundation of American bellydance, and many, many ideas and plans for how to incorporate more of these movements and cymbal patterns into our repertoires. And the tote bag with the Bob Mackie (yes, *that* Bob Mackie) illustration of Jamila on it was the icing on the cake. 

My Favorite Compliment Ever

"Infusion Tribal Belly Dance was a handful of precious jewels. I am always amazed
at how much work is involved in their preparations, with the costuming and
makeup being as elaborate as the exiting, entrances, staging, and improvisation
in their dancing. My own brief stints in tribal and tribal fusion student
troupes reminds me of the hours spent working with hair falls, wraps, and
adornment that draws deep admiration and appreciation from one who knows. But
when Sharon Moore and Renee Drellishak are in the house, everyone should know
we're getting a skillful performance with seamless transitions, edgy and artful
music selections and interpretations, slinky moves, and joyful expression.
Infusion Tribal draws people to let our their loudest zaghareets and shouts of
approval."

Awwwwwww! :)

inFusion performing at the Tito Seif show, Sept 13!

Egyptian superstar dancer and choreographer Tito Seif is coming to
Seattle, September 13-14. Gigi Gulhan is sponsoring three workshops at
the Century Ballroom and a gala show at the Edmonds Center for the
Arts. Put these on your calendar!

The Show:
Saturday, Sept 13, 8 pm
Edmonds Center for the Arts, 410 Fourth Avenue North, Edmonds, WA 98020
Tickets: www.ec4arts.org or 425-275-9595, $40 advance
Featured Performers
DELILAH: with House Of Tarab
GIGI GULHAN: Turkish Belly Dancing
ALIMAH: 2005 U.S.A Belly Dancer
NADIRA: 2007 U.S.A Belly Dancer
INFUSION TRIBAL BELLYDANCE

The Workshops:
Saturday-Sunday, Sept 13-14
Century Ballroom, 915 E Pine St, Seattle
Drum Solo: Sept 13 11 am-2:30 pm (30 min break)
Egyptian Oriental: Sept 14 8:30-11:45 am (15 min break)
Shabi and Cane: Sept 14 12:15-3:30 pm (15 min break)
One workshop $95, two workshops $180, all three $250.
***Register by writing to info@gigdance.com or calling Gigi at (206) 272-0583***

Fair Trade Clothes for Kids

Satch & Sol is my friend Susan's company (named for her two boys, Satchel and Solomon.) Check it out! Satchsol.com

I am coveting the boots www.satchsol.com/catalog/index.php

Too Many Phonebooks?

Go here www.yellowpagesgoesgreen.org/sto...ges/

Just a month or so ago I think I chucked half a dozen of them (all
from different companies, of course...) in the recycling bin, and they
must have regenerated because I still have 5 on the stack, from Dex,
Verizon, and "the Yellowbook" (whoever they are.) The only ones I ever
use are the half-size versions they give you to carry in your car and
as soon as I have a Blackberry or iPhone I'll stop needing those.

David Swenson suggests using phone books as disappearing yoga blocks.
Tear out a page every time you practice and soon you will be touching
the floor. Aside from that or as booster seats for kids and midgets, I
can't see a good use for them anymore.

I did it.

This week I took Suhaila's Level III weeklong including the certification test. The way it happens in Level III, because there is so much material to be covered, is you get tested throughout the week. This choreography this day, these drills on that day, etc. I was most afraid of not passing the Finger Cymbal Drum solo but got that out of the way on Tuesday which gave me a big boost, which is good because before that I had several moments of serious doubt. On Friday we tested for the straddle squat, the vibration, left handed zills and remaining choreographies (I still had to do Maddah). We were all physically and emotionally exhausted by that point but I am proud to say that Nadia, Brittney, Jasmine, Angie and I all passed.

The most important thing about this for me is not being able to tell people I'm Level III certified, because few people care or even truly understand what that means, but knowing that I was able to get past my own fears, fears of failure and fears of success, and commit myself to it and make it happen. Now I feel like I can do anything, that the only thing stopping me is me, and I don't have to stop myself any more. It's a pretty powerful feeling.

inFusion at MedFest!

For those of you who may have missed us at FolkLife, or just missed
FolkLife altogether, inFusion will be reprising our collaboration with
our friends Gypsy Fire at the Mediterranean Fantasy Festival! It was
so much fun we just had to do it again. And if you saw it already,
come on out anyway--it's improv so it's never the same twice!

Mediterranean Fantasy Festival
outdoors at beautiful Hiawatha Park and Community Center
2700 California Ave SW
West Seattle
Saturday and Sunday July 19 & 20, 11am - 9pm
Admission is FREE!

inFusion/Gypsy Fire perform Saturday evening at 7:16 pm! And stick
around for our student troupe, Nomaditude, at 7:56pm!

The Choreography Collective Rocked!

Last week was awesome! Twelve (is that right?) of us attended the first ever Choreography Collective at Suhaila's new studio (love the new/old space!) We got Suhaila drills in the morning and choreographies from the guest instructors in the afternoon. Rachel George started us off with a killer drum solo to "Sahra Saidi" on Monday. Tuesday brought us Vashti's saucy Spanish Gypsy Fusion to "Leila". Wednesday we go to get down to the bottom of the bottle with Amy Sigil and "The Queen n I". Thursday Rachid got old school with "Ya Ourda," a sublime Tunisian song from 1927. On Friday we got a doubleheader with Michelle Joyce teaching us how to "Move" in the morning and Paulette Rees-Denis teaching a tribal style choreography to Gypsy Caravan's "Algerian Drum Song" in the afternoon, which was a really great way to end the workshop, with everyone linking arms and smiling and dancing together.

Of course by the third choreography we were already full, but we just had to keep shoehorning it in! It was really cool to learn such different choreographies and be able to apply Suhaila's format to them (which some of the instructors did explicitly.) What I really enjoyed was seeing everyone's different approach to interpreting the music, and it really drove home for me the importance of studying different styles, regardless of what style you choose to perform.

Anyway, it was a great workshop and I can't wait until next year's!

Costa Rica anyone?

We're thinking of going there for our anniversary at the end of November. We're looking for good beaches with scuba/snorkeling and surfing, as well as rainforest accessibility for a canopy/zipline tour. We like good restaurants, but aren't interested in casinos or nightclubs, and we'd prefer a hotel to a condo rental. If you've been, chime in with where you went and what you did and what we should consider (and avoid)!