I'm performing at Tribal Fest Sunday!

1:42 PM. Come out and see!

Delirium Tribal, Awalim, Asharah and The Mezmer Society at Art Bar, Saturday, January 17th

Never say that nothing cool ever happens in Columbia. Ever.

Four of the finest Tribal Bellydance acts on the east coast, ranging from old school to new school, gothic to vaudeville, appear together at Art Bar (1211 Park Street in the Vista) on Saturday, January 17th. This is shaping up to be an absolutely killer show, and I'm so excited to be bringing these acts to Columbia, SC. DO NOT MISS THIS ONE!

Performances start at 9 PM. For the mere cost of $5, you will get to see:


Delirium Tribal from Columbia, SC
www.youtube.com/watch
With its solid foundation in American Tribal Style Bellydance (the original tribal bellydance, for those following along at home), Delirium Tribal does it all: ATS improvisation, Tribal and Tribal Fusion, and even fire and circus arts with Columbia Alternacirque. Delirium will open the show with a classic ATS improv set, and later in the evening we'll show you the new stuff we've been working on: new solos, choreographies and an acrobatic, death-defying, six-person sword choreography that we really hope doesn't kill anybody.

Awalim from Atlanta, GA
www.youtube.com/watch
East Coast Tribal represent. Awalim was formed in 1999 under the Direction of Ziah Ali McKinney-Taylor as a group to bring World Fusion Tribal Bellydance to the stages of Atlanta and the Southeast US. Awalim's particular flavor of Tribal is decidedly upbeat and earthy while being sophisticated and urban, bringing what they feel are Atlanta's strongest characteristics to the Tribal genre.

Asharah from Alexandria, VA
www.youtube.com/watch
Asharah is one of the rising star soloists in Tribal Bellydance. Known for her dark fusion and goth sensibilities, as well as immaculate technique fusing ticking and locking with classic tribal, Asharah's dramatic performances will blow you out of your chair and give you a taste of where Modern Tribal fusion is going.

The Mezmer Society from Asheville, NC
www.youtube.com/watch
Onca and August had so much fun playing at Art Bar with Alternacirque last July, they are coming back and (I've been told) bringing more musicians. Founded in 2007, the Society fuses diverse elements such belly dance, cabaret performance, Romany music, foppish occultism, unapologetically pretentious Belle Epoque café living, goodwill, bad behavior, misappropriated pop songs, and the horribly misguided notion that one can try and squeeze an entire Balkan brass band into one accordion. And if all of my previous experience with the Mezmer Society holds, they will play and create mayhem all night long. Crazy kids.

Natalie Brown now booking workshops.

I found out today I will be laid off from my day job in two weeks. I'm sitting on the fence on whether I should fight tooth and nail for a full time job, or whether I should give a middle finger to the economy and dance/teach full time. If you'd like to book me for Derivative ATS technique, tribal fusion technique, or music theory for dancers, now would be a most excellent time. I am easily reached at natalie_c_brown@yahoo.com. Thanks!

Footage of Delirium with Raquy and the Cavemen

We got the chance last minute to host Raquy and the Cavemen for a show. Despite the late notice and the fact that we were up against Vista Lights, we had an amazing crowd and the restored 701 Whaley space was absolutely stunning. I have not seen a bad picture out of that show (go check out the Delirium Tribe, where I'll put some up momentarily), and we definitely want to use it again. Raquy and Liron were awesome and gracious, and my girls were amazing considering we figured out what we were doing and finally had a rehearsal with the entire troupe the day before the show.

Ubermanda has footage here: www.youtube.com/watch and here: www.youtube.com/watch

Uh oh.

I'm going to Tribal Fest next year.

Look out.

Video footage from Alternacirque's "Dreams"

We were fighting rain and high winds from tropical storm Fay during our outdoor Art Bar show last Friday, so our backdrops were diminished and we didn't have a lot of our lights up. So the video of the new Dreams set isn't where I wanted it to be, and I won't be posting the full footage this month. I did manage to rig up a teaser trailer though, since we're running both that set and "We're All Mad" to the close of the season. It will give those of you who missed the show a taste.

www.youtube.com/watch

We're going to rework a few things this month, and hopefully the weather will be fair and we can get all the backdrops and doohickies and atmosphere in place for the full effect.

Alternacirque at Art Bar tomorrow!

Tomorrow (Friday, 22nd) at Art Bar, Columbia Alternacirque debuts the show we've been planning and hoping to do all year. No promo video this month, because we've spent every spare minute creating, rehearsing, sewing, crafting and building for the last five weeks. Remember the tripped out Pink Elephants sequence from Dumbo and how it scared the crap out of you when you were a kid? That was the inspiration for this show. In fact, it's our opener.

I can promise you:

*nightmares
*dreamscapes
*5 freaky looking birds
*2 stiltwalkers
*Susan and her fire hoop
*Explosives, incendiary bubbles and other special effects
*A magical musicbox
*Natty in the infamous new feather costume
*An amazing fire duet between Steve and Natalie that involves shedding costumes and blowing through 7 sets of fire tools.


9:30 PM: we repeat last month's insane vaudeville shenanigans "We're All Mad.
"
10:30 PM: "Dreams"

This is a FREE show, though we very much appreciate tips for the cast, which has ballooned to an insane 15 performers. Last month's show broke attendance records, so you need to get there early if you would like a seat or decent view. Bring lawn chairs. Buy drinks. Tip your bartenders. There might be a rainshower or two in the evening, but we're going to try our damndest to get the show on, so come on out.

DC Tribal Cafe, Teaching at Triboriginal, workshops in Charleston and Greenville

Hey, guys. Just got in from Southern Fusion Fest in Athens, GA and have a lot of events finalized that I can now announce.
Here goes:

Friday, August 22nd: If the rain/hurricanes hold off, come check out Columbia Alternacirque at the Art Bar this coming Friday. We're All Mad at 9:30. New Dreams show at 10:30. Get there early for any hope of a seat or decent view.


Saturday, August 23rd: I will be a featured performer at the Charleston, SC Shimmy-A-Thon for Breast Cancer, sponsored by Palmetto Oasis. 6-9 at Manny's Restaurant.
http://www. mannysgrills. com/

Sunday, August 24th: Arabic and variations workshop in Charleston, SC. This workshop takes place in Charleston, SC from 3-5 PM on Sunday, July 20th. St. Andrew's Family Fitness center (Sam Rittenberg Blvd). $35 in advance to me using paypal at natalie_c_brown@yahoo.com or $40 at the door. Questions can be emailed to contact@palmetto-oasis.com.


Sunday, August 31st: So excited to be going back to Washington, DC to hang out with the amazing scene there. I'm very honored to be joining Mavi from Romka and Shivati performing for the 3 year anniversary of DC Tribal Cafe.


September 18-21: Newly announced, I will be teaching Sunday's makeup and hair class at Triboriginal Tribal Dance, Music and Culture camp. This is definitely one of my top favorite workshop weekends of all time, and I am thrilled to be a part of it.
For more information, go to www. triboriginal. org.


Saturday, October 25th:I will be instructor and featured performer along with Delirium Tribal at Blood Moon Rising Fall Hafla in Greenville, SC. More details forthcoming, but the workshop is going to focus on details: technique nitty gritty for the first two hours, and the anatomy of graceful movement, physics of arms and travelling, and using momentum to your advantage in dance.
For more information, keep an eye on www. showleh. com.

Yesssssssssss.

We have a show.

After all the chaos, the false starts, the panic attacks, the confusion, and the seemingly insurmountable vision and goals, it all suddenly popped into place tonight. The cloaks are almost done. The stiltwalkers are walking (and dancing) on one foot legs and about to bump up another six inches. The entire show is blocked, and running fairly smoothly. This Wednesday we clean. Next Monday we catch Steve and Maria up. Next Wednesday we pull a full fire dress rehearsal in the front driveway. Friday we perform.

We may actually pull this out yet.

It's official. We are breaking records.

Columbia is a university town. This place is deader than a doornail over the summer, plus the economy is obviously not very hot at the moment. Nevertheless, I heard on Thursday that Columbia Alternacirque's last show with the Mezmer Society broke attendance and take records for the Art Bar. Bigger than any live bands. Bigger than any Halloween. And we did it in July. Somehow a tribal bellydance and fire show has become a hit in the middle of a Bible Belt town that still flies the Confederate Flag on the statehouse grounds. I had no idea when I got blown into town three years ago that this was even possible, and it's all thanks to the amazing and talented people I get to work with every week.

So on the heels of that news, we are digging deep and building the new "Nightmares and Dreamscapes" show. This show has blown up into a monstrosity of new costumes, special effects, actors, dancers, fire performers, hula hoopers, and (tentatively) stilt walkers. We are attempting to push the envelope in every possible way. 14 people in one show that we're putting together in four weeks. I've taken over the basement rec-room, which currently looks like Jim Henson's Muppet Creature Shop. Cirque is coming over tomorrow to help sew all the cloaks and masks we have to make, as well as my cloak, Fire Steve's new demon costume, and new backdrops. Complicating issues are that fact that Steve is out of the country until next Sunday, Maria is out this week, and Dana and I are at Southern Fusion Fest next weekend. We have two weeks to go. Ready or not, this show goes live Friday, August 22nd at 10:30. "We're All Mad" gets a repeat performance at 9:30. Mark your calendars and come see the insanity.