Catch up

Not being able to access Tribe at work seriously cramps my Tribe style! I had friend invites I didn't even know about!

Since I haven't posted since June...I'll play catch up.

Third in Alternative music pro, BD USA. Not bad for not competing for 15+ years and gaining about 100 pounds. Dream couldn't compete as a troupe since we won in 2006 so Kamaria and Natasha did Duet and won it - Very cool.

Dream danced in Lincoln City in July....music issues cut our dance short. Disappointing to go so far and not be able to dance! I suspect their player was getting hot after being on all day - others music was skipping too. Not something you can fake when it's troupe and choreographed!

Mez's retreat was awesome as always! My top fav event of the year, bar none. Got some nice feedback from my workshops and troupe's performance. This is also where I realized I can't pretend my knee is okay anymore.

Mid sept I had an MRI of the knee and it showed a torn medial meniscus, chondromalacia and degenerative joint disease. I see a specialist in a couple of weeks and we will go from there. The idea of being down for potentialy 3 months without dancing is horrifying to me, but at 44 I have to take care of my joints or I won't be the crazy old bellydancer I plan to be in my 80's!

Taught a chefti wkshp in Tacoma last weekend for Halima and Mez, a lot of fun! Nice ladies up there, fer sure.

Troupe is working on a funky, fun piece that's a surprise...getting ready for the Guild showcase in October featuring Razia. Then we are in hard training mode for the UNMATA show in Tacoma in January.

See why I don't have time for a bum knee??? yikes! But, it will be what it will be. WCS, I won't dance with troupe in January. That about kills me to say.....but I will do what I have to do if I have to have surgery. Crap crap crap!

Phoenix and I are plotting....we're looking at taking a huge leap and trying for Level I certification in Suhaila's method in 2009. When I look at the dancers that I admire the most, Rachel George, Sadie, Kiteira, to name only a very few....they have done it. They all dance differently, but their technique is amazing. They all have training with Suhaila in common. It would be a huge investment financially and physically??/ OMG. It would be a huge leap for me physically. But I've already joined the gym and do what I can around the knee right now and once that is resolved, plan to *safely* work my butt off to be able to make it through the workshops.

Classes start this Sunday. New basics choreo and some exciting stuff for int/advanced. I'm looking forward to it a lot! I'll be doing more observing than constantly doing it with them to keep my knee from killing me....but I've missed classes!

Gearing up for the High Desert Bellydance Festival

What: Workshops, Evening show and Vending!

When: June 7, 2008

Where: Bend's Community Center, Bend Oregon Doors open at 10 a.m.

How: To pregregister contact Sahara at sahara@saharasdream.com Prereg by May 10 and SAVE on the workshops!

Recap of Medge Fall Fest

Wow....what a great evening show!! The festival dancing was very nice...and Sahara's Dream managed their way through our audition for the Guild with only a few minor hiccups...but the evening show.... ka-pow!!

The Bijou Project opened the show, and may I say, I've never seen them look finer! Saw some great new numbers I hadn't seen of theirs - totally fun! They can always be counted upon for innovative, FUN performances.

Kendra blew my socks off, plain and simple. In a turquoise and gold bedlah with gold Isis wings, her first performance was ...... wowza! Top notch performance...the kind that makes you wanna go home and work your butt off!

Salome I'd seen only on YouTube and I was totally impressed with her amazingly crisp isolations and layering...top notch! There were other fun performances, but those three...they hit the spot all right.

Fun event! Sooooo glad we made it over the pass, and let me tell ya, it was ugly....but all worth it! :) Had a great time hanging with my chicas in troupe too....a very good thing. :)

Fall and Winter....

My events are over for the year...no more sponsoring till June 2008 when I host the lovely Hasani of Gig Harbor, WA in workshop and teach a workshop myself!

Sahara's Dream is working on being ready to perform at Medge Fall Fest...

Sahara's Mirage is set to start learning a new veil choreo this coming week...

I'm joining Kamini of the Bijou as the dancers at Taj Palace in November....and have started to think about what I want to do for that....

Farther down the road, I'd like to see The Dream dance at Rakkasah this year! I'd also like to try to hit MedFest in Seattle....and a dozen things in between, lol...

what about YOU??

"There's a bathroom in here??"

Jodie snapped this pic during Unmata's workshop Sunday at retreat....Amy had just realized (on the fourth day, lol) that the remodel included bathrooms in the dining hall...

Her reaction was pretty hysterical....more so when Shelley said oh-so-casually..."oh yeah, I knew that".

My love of retreat is tightly wound with my love of Unmata. It's the first place I saw them perform ever - living in the sticks as I do, I'd never heard of them before that fateful retreat. My jaw literally hung to the floor watching them that night...and it still does every time I see them live. Unmata must be experienced LIVE, video is but a taste of their essence. As a group they are intensely ONE...yet their individuality shines so cleanly...Shelley has a lot of power on stage - her delight and energy in dancing is tangible...and OMG, that girl can move her butt. Luna has what can only be described as a cool elegance...her moves are no less crisp and funky as any other of their troupe, but her bearing is pure class. Casey....she makes everything look so casually simple...like "oh this?...yeah this is really easy..." as she does 19 things at once. And Amy...when Amy dances she is....electric. Every molecule of her body flips the switch ON.

So ends my tribute to the lovely grrls of Unmata. There are others of course I've left out, who are no less amazing. These four simply....ARE Unmata. Divine inebriation. To watch them truly is just that.

Feeling the Tribe love.....

Tribe tends to be a hassle for me to participate in much....the firewalls at work don't like it and bump me off and I don't have a lot of time to go through the steps it seems to take to do every little thing....

But in the week following retreat I've made so many lovely friends on Tribe...I had to shake the dust off my profile and jump back in!

Retreat was AMAZING....Jodie and I had the best time ever and to have so many lovely Central Oregon ladies join us was very cool indeed!

Highlights for me include Sam of Bijou making me laugh till I hurt at Friday's show....the amazing women in the workshops I taught Saturday ( you ladies really swelled my head, thanks for the nice compliments!), really building more relationship with The Dream's new member, Phoenix....and lots of time to visit with old friends Mez, Susan, Saqra, and Halima. My top fav workshop was Ayesha's zill workshop - Oh. My. God. My mentor and first teacher Karlana was wonderful in many things...but she did not start us on zills until late in the game and I've always felt my zilling stank. WOW...Ayesha has inspired me! So much so...we're in discussion about bringing her to Bend October 2008!! And her troupe???? I told her, in all sincerity after they performed - "when my troupe grows up...we want to be Ayesha's Oasis!!" They were HOT!! Phoenix and I came away from that performance saying to each other... "we need to kick troupe up about 10 notches!!" Very last...Amy's face when she realized Sunday that there were now bathrooms in the dining hall. Jodie caught an awesome pic of that one...have to get it downloaded and up - it's guarunteed to make you smile.

Lastly, my "student troupe" (and they hate it when I call it that, lol) Mirage performed and it was awesome to have them there - Next year I hope all of Sahara's Dream can make it as well.