Upcoming Double Trouble Workshop

For anyone in the Quakertown or Upper Bucks County area, Suffiya of Dancers' Oasis is hosting a 4 hour workshop called Double Trouble this Sunday the 24th. Below is some basic information:

Date: August 24th 2008
Time: 10:00am - 4:00pm
Location: Slim & Tone/Simply Fit 641 S. West End Blvd. (Route 309) Quakertown PA 18951
Price: $50.00 pre-registration before August 20th
Description: 4 hrs of class + Free Yoga class + Free Light refreshments. Double Veils 10-12pm | Double Fans 1-3pm, start and end the day with Yoga. Limited to 15 participants. Fans & Veils available for purchase along with other boutique items.
Contact: Suffiyah at dancersoasis@hotmail.com

I was advised by Suffiya that the Double Veil workshop would focus on dancing with two semi-circular veils, but that the same techniques could be used with a single veil and that a rectangular veil could substitute for a semi-circular one if need be. The Double Fan workshop will be utilizing fan/veils but normal fans would suffice.

I'm not sure how many spaces remain, but apparently she ran an ad for it in this week's newspaper so I imagine there must still be some space available. I'm attending of course :) Luckily this workshop is actually on one of my days off.

Sword Dancer - ACEO

This ACEO is inspired by some Tribal bellydance sword performances I have seen recently, namely a double sword piece that Belladonna performed at the BellyJam last month. I've seen dancers use swords before, of course, but none of the previous ones I've seen were that dynamic; the other performances I've encountered typically followed a formula of "pick up sword, balance on head for a few minutes while doing some slow moves, remove sword and continue." I was so impressed that I bought Belladonna's DVD "Sword Stylizations" to try to incorporate a sword into my own practice. It would help to actually *have* a sword though - and I'm working on that part! I purchased a lovely copper-colored saber from Audrena's International Bazaar and have been patiently (okay, maybe not so patiently) awaiting its arrival for a few weeks. If the blasted doorbell for my apartment was actually functional, I believe I would have received it today but alas I have to wait until tomorrow when DHL redelivers it, but I digress...

In this image, a dancer decked out in her finery of cowries and coins displays her saber. This piece's subtitle is "brought to you by the number seven." My boyfriend noted while this piece was in progress that the negative space around the dancer is in the shape of a seven.

I really love the color scheme of this piece. I've been obsessed with orange as of late, and this piece provided me with an excuse to indulge in that color family. A delicate line of nearly florescent orange traces its way around the figure and sword. Elsewhere in the image there are rich vermilion, burgundy, and gold tones.

This ACEO is currently up for adoption at my Etsy shop: www.etsy.com/view_listing.php

Media: pen and ink; markers (highlighter and Sharpie); watercolor; acrylic
Size: 2.5 x 3.5 inches

I also wanted to announce that I recently started a blog specifically for my bellydance musings, art, reviews, etc: cerviddance.blogger.com/

Unmata Workshop & BellyJam

Amy Sigil of Unmata kicked my @$$ this past weekend. I knew this was going to be the case, and I knew that as a "baby dancer" (I hope at this point I'm more like a toddler dancer and less like an infant one!) I was probably in way over my head taking two Unmata workshops, but the opportunity doesn't present itself every day so I figured I would take the workshops despite my shortcomings. If I could learn something from the workshops, then it is worth it to me. Seeing Unmata perform live at the Hipnosis BellyJam the day prior really heightened my own apprehensions though. They have some amazing endurance to keep up such fast-paced, intense dancing for so many songs on end.

I got to the first workshop on Sunday about 10 minutes late due to traffic. I felt really bad about it, not only because I was missing the class, but because I did not want to seem disrespectful to the instructor or other dancers. I tried to slip in as quietly as possbile so not to disturb anyone. Unfortunately, the music was so loud that I could barely hear Amy over it; most of the time it was just watching and imitating her movements as best as I could. When the music was not playing, I could hear her just fine, so it wasn't an issue with her volume or my position in the room. I was exhausted after the first session, practically decimated after the second, and it was not helpful that the studio where the workshops were taking place had large windows which overlooked a tranquil indoor pool below. Even with the profuse sweating and post-workshop aches though, it was very enjoyable and it provided a unique perspective on fusion bellydance. I don't plan on trying to utilize the exact combinations we were taught (not that I can remember them in their entirety) but I will definitely be trying to apply some of the principles from Unmata's combination construction to my own experiments.

The evening before was a BellyJam hosted by Hipnosis at the same location as the workshops, the B&R Fitness Club in Feasterville. I was not expecting it to be such a large, highly-organized gathering - it was like a mini-Rakkasah! I was really impressed and enjoyed all of the performances. Hipnosis and their student troupes Daughters of the Hip and Tribal Spirit performed, of course, but there were also solos by out-of-state dancers like Tempest and Belladonna. The final act was Unmata, and as I mentioned previously, it was an extremely high-energy, charismatic performance. I am really looking foreword to the next one!

Modern Orientalism - Original ACEO

This is an ACEO (Art Cards, Editions and Originals) I began late Sunday night and completed Monday. It's a homage to contemporary Tribal Fusion belly dancers and to the Orientalist trends in art over the past few centuries, particularly in Art Nouveau style pieces and in the art of people like Erte.

I really enjoy the theme and hope to explore it a bit further in future ACEOs. I don't think this is my best work, but I wanted to show that I am in fact still alive and making artwork ;)

The original drawing is available for sale at my Etsy shop! www.etsy.com/view_listing.php

Size: 2.5" x 3.5"
Media: pen & ink, watercolor, colored pencil

Humility, New Beginnings, and Dance

I feel that cultivating a sense of humility is important. By humility, I am referring to its definition (dictionary.reference.com/browse/humble) in being unpretending, unpretentious, not arrogant rather than to self-abasement, humiliation, and being deemed low in importance or status. The sense in which I am utilizing the word is perhaps closer to its etymological origins in the Latin humilis which literally means "on the ground." Humilis was in turn evidently derived from humus or "earth." There was a time when I felt this so strongly that I was blind to my own virtues and found that nothing I was capable of doing was of any worth (i.e. the negative aspects of humility as listed above). Needless to say, it was a period in my life where I was wading through a deep depression. Thankfully, those times have past and I can acknowledge some of my strengths and feel fulfilled in my work, however, I still believe that it is dangerous to become complacent. To be smug and overly self-assured is to invoke a type of blindness, a sort of sensual suicide, which I feel is antithetical to the soul of Art. If you don't realize that you are capable of improvement and are closed to the ever-unfolding world, you are likely not to improve and just stagnate in your current position.

Humility, in my own view, is highly associated with sensitivity. Being humble indicates an openness and a willingness to accept new information and reevaluate what you think you know. In a previous incarnation of this blog, I included the statement "sensitivity is a double-edged blade" in a prominent position because I believe that phrase encapsulates something significant about myself and my own understanding. It's not a coincidence that the parts of our bodies through which we receive the most sensation are also the most delicate: our eyes, ears, tongues, the soft tissues of our fingertips and erogenous zones. What allows us to experience a world of sound is a fragile membrane. It will vibrate with the low purr of a bow being drawn across a cello's string, but it is easily ruptured.

"Man is not to be an intellectual porcupine, meeting his environment with a surface of spikes. Man meets the world outside with soft skin, with a delicate eyeball and eardrum, and finds communion with it through warm, melting, vaguely defined, and caressing touch whereby the world is not set at a distance like an enemy to be shot, but embraced to become one flesh, like a beloved wife. After all, the whole possibility of clear knowledge depends upon sensitive organs which, as it were, bring the outside world into our bodies, and give us knowledge in the form of our own bodily states." 1

To be sensitive to beauty and pleasure is to be sensitive to ugliness and pain. "Is not the lute that soothes your spirit, the very wood that was hollowed with knifes? 2" Humility and sensitivity thus inherently involve vulnerability, to understand and be aware that there is a risk involved in honestly encountering the world, including oneself and one's own skills.

In my estimation, one of the best ways to keep humility intact is to try something new, to accept the profound task of being a beginner again. Dance is such an endeavor for me. Although I've now been studying bellydance in various forms for about two years and apparently have at least some of the basics down, the nature of my personal journey in learning to dance is a constant revelation. My only previous experience in dance was about a month's worth of ballet classes in kindergarten or thereabouts, and though I attended but handful of social "dances" in middle school, I was far too self-conscious to do more than tap my feet along with the music. Bellydance has given me a sumptuous vocabulary of movement for expression, and in that way has increased my self-confidence, but at the same time it offers a humbling perspective on my whole Art practice. I have always found that you cannot truly comprehend the distance exceptional artists have traveled without setting foot on the path yourself, and I think this is why non-artists sometimes easily dismiss good (and often deceptively simple) work by claiming "even I could do that!"

I attended a Girls' Night Out Halfa with my current bellydance teacher back on May 2nd which took place at the Casablanca Moroccan restaurant in Warrington, PA. There were two bellydancers, one female and one male, providing the entertainment that night, Matika and Omar {photos of these dancers and the event can be found in my Tribe photo album}. At one point after standing up to tuck a tip in Matika's bejeweled belt, I actually danced for perhaps a minute or so in front of an entire room full of people, including my mom who I had brought along with me. For that brief flash of time, it was just the music and the dance and I was so totally enveloped that self-consciousness was not an issue. Of course, when I realized that I was not self-conscious I immediately became self-conscious and went to sit back down. I now have a better appreciation of what it must take to allow yourself to be one with the music and movement, engage the audience, and continue in spite of a welling of self-doubt. I am reminded of how far I have come as an artist and human being, and acutely aware of how far there is yet to go.

* Footnotes and Bibliography *
1) Watts, Alan. Nature, Man, and Woman. New York: Vintage Books, 1958. 81.
2) Gibran, Kahlil. The Prophet. Sydney, Australia: Phone Media. 29. ISBN 0-646-26642-X.

Bellydance Resources and Links

My bookmarks are becoming a bit overloaded with wonderful bellydance-related links, so I wanted to compile a compendium here not only for my own reference, but for others too. The list is geared more towards Tribal, Tribal fusion, and Gothic styles of bellydance - it is in no way intended to be comprehensive: deerwoman.livejournal.com/15407.html

It includes links to general resources as well as a selection of links to local (Bucks County & South-Eastern PA) bellydance websites. There are sections dedicated to specific dancers, music, vendors, etc.

Tribal Bellydance Drawing

I discovered the following lovely drawing on the blog of Portuguese illustrator Joao Lemos:
bp2.blogger.com/_PAdk9kbrI.../DNC5.2.jpg

It features a sequential art/comic book format line drawing of some tribal bellydancers (judging by the costuming and coordinated movements at least, but you never know) balancing swords in the lower panel and a dancer in the upper panel who, I think, is working with a veil. You can see more of Joao's work by visiting: sete-estrelo.blogspot.com/. On close inspection, one of the dancers in the lower panel is also playing zils! Yay for beautiful representations of bellydance in the graphic arts!

Diving into ATS Waters

Today began my official foray into the world of American Tribal Style (ATS) Belly Dance. My first introduction to belly dance was actually through a book/DVD set authored by Carolena Nericcio, so I suppose maybe that predisposed me to seek it out. I'm still continuing with my Cabaret style classes with Shoaleh which I really enjoy, but today I started some private lessons with the lovely Vikki of Hipnosis (www.tribalbellies.com/) to hopefully get me up to speed with their Level II group classes beginning in June. There wasn't a Level I group class which was going to fit into my current schedule, so the theory is to catch up with a higher level group class which will fit my schedule.

Today we basically went over virtually all of the faster moves in the Level I repertoire. It was quite a workout, to say the least. Essentially everything we covered involved basic movements with which I was already familiar, but he format, timing, associated arm positions, etc. were new to me. Tribal places so much emphasis on the arms being in very controlled, yet graceful, positions which usually means that they are held in arcs at ribcage level or above. If you're not used to holding your arms in that position, and I'm certainly not, it doesn't take too long for them to want to fall off at the shoulder joint and crash to the ground. It's comparable to continuously holding up a veil (they seem so light and diaphanous - don't be fooled, that's what they want you to think!). The different movements are also generally set to a particular count, generally 8 beats, which is a bit of an adjustment for me, especially concerning the rotations and turns. I've already started to draft my personal cheat sheet (I discovered one person's cheat sheet online a little while ago and it seemed like a great idea: home.earthlink.net/~pergamenta/ats.html. I want to have my own version based on my understandings of the moves) with descriptions of the movements and arm positions, etc. and I hope to flesh it out a bit more as lessons go on.

Wish me luck!

April 20, 2008 Halfa at Casablanca Restaurant in Warrington, PA

CATCHING UP
It's been some time since I've been remotely active on Tribe, but I believe that will begin to change now that my life is settling into new pattern. There have been lots of upheavals and a handful of pleasant things to occur in my life over the past year or so, notably a tattoo apprenticeship that sadly had to be left by the wayside (not of my own choosing), moving into my first apartment, taking lessons on the Celtic harp, seeing my artwork appear on a book cover, and a very hectic few months at my full-time day job. I've already modified my profile to reflect some of these changes. I also look a bit different too! I now have a large tattoo of a traditional Japanese woodblock print depicting a geisha reading a scroll on my left lower leg, a cherry blossom on my right ankle which I tattooed on myself, and I have had my septum, navel, and upper cartilage pierced.

In that time I was unable to continue with my belly dance classes as my schedule was already brimming with other obligations, and my body and soul missed them sorely. I continued to study on my own, of course, but as one of the few things in my life that fills me with such delight, it deserves a more significant part of my life. Thankfully, I now have the time to devote to taking classes again and I jumped back in as soon as I was able. I had been taking classes with Simone at Cloud Hands {www.cloudhands.net/} in Ottsville for at least six months straight. A few months prior to that I was learning on my own with the aid of DVDs, books, and the internet. I used to live within a ten minute drive of Cloud Hands, but two months ago I moved from the Quakertown area to Sellersville, so I was looking for something a bit closer. Fitness Plus {www.fitnessplusperkasie.com} in Perkasie seemed to be the answer. Their website indicates that Simone would be teaching classes there, but when I called to register, apparently this is no longer the case (their website still hasn't been appropriately updated). So I signed up for classes with Shoaleh, and started two weeks ago.

It's interesting to compare the way two different teachers approach similar movements. Actually, I think it is beneficial to see their different modes of teaching snake arms among other things. The class I am taking currently is for beginners, so there is going to be a great deal of review for me, but it's always good to brush up on the basics again. I was a bit embarrassed during the first class when Shoaleh had me demonstrate some of the techniques in front of the class though, but since I'm pretty serious about belly dancing, I guess I'll have to get over dancing in front of others!

I *really* want to take some classes in American Tribal Style, but the closest place I can find {www.tribalbellies.com/} to learn is a good 45 minute drive away, and I would have to wait for their new sessions to start which I think will be early May. If they offer classes in their next session which would coincide with my days off, I think I'm going to take the plunge and sign up for them, despite obscene gas prices and my dislike of commuting. FatChanceBellyDance offers some DVDs, but I find that it's preferable to learn from a teacher directly if at all possible.

ON TO THE HAFLA!
Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending a halfa hosted by Suffiya of Dancers' Oasis {www.dancersoasis.com/} at Casablanca Restaurant {casablancaone.com/} in Warrington. I had a great time, and it's been so long since I've eaten there. The food, as usual, was delicious (my favorite courses are the first three: hummus, baba ganouj, the salads, and the B'stilla. I think those constitute whole meal!), and we were entertained by five different dancers instead of the usual single dancer. Suffiya herself performed both before and after the meal. She danced with various props including zils, Isis wings, and a saber. I've included a photo of Suffiya dancing with these awesome fan/veil thingies which I covet. They moved like liquid fire and were really expressive. Must get a pair for myself! I generally am not a huge fan (no pun intended!) of props, but those fan/veils were fantastic (again, no pun intended). In between, four of the dancers of the Dancers' Oasis troupe did solos and a group performance (I didn't keep the program, so unfortunately I do not have their names offhand). I was only able to get photos of Suffiya since I was too occupied stuffing my face to grab a camera for the other performances! Three of the other four dancers danced to some interesting contemporary American music including selections from Fleetwood Mac, Justin Timberlake, and the Violent Femmes. The Fleetwood Mac piece was a veil number which was okay as far as veil dances go. The dancer really looked the Steve Nick's part though. The Justin Timberlake piece was actually really well done, and I enjoyed it enough for it to offset my internal cringe at the subject of Justin Timberlake ;-) The fourth dancer used a more traditional, Middle Eastern music selection, and despite encountering some technical difficulties at first with the sound system, she did a beautiful, slower piece. All in all, it was a fun time. I look foreword to returning to Casablanca for a girls' night out with Shoaleh!

Lunar Zils

I've been taking bellydance classes for the past few months (prior to that I had been teaching myself via books and DVDs), and I absolutely love it both as an artform and as exercise. The other day I discovered that my bellydance teacher has a website for herself under construction called "Moon Goddess Bellydance" and I found the title really inspiring. I have numerous sketches for graphics, like this one, as well as logos relating to it. I may actually show them to my teacher one of these days, but in the meantime they've provided me with an interesting personal assignment to get my creative juices flowing.

In this case, the circular form of a zil, or finger cymbal, cradles a lunar crescent.

The original is pen and ink which has been refined in Photoshop, and it is actually slightly smaller than the size at which it is being presented here.