My Blog

Parvane's solo performance in Hawaii

parvane — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 04:48:07 GMT

So after leaving England and Neohips behind to come to California, I was asked by my friend to perform at her wedding in Hawaii. Since I had already planned on going, I figure I could do this for her. There were some hiccups, mostly transparent to the audience, but enough to make me become very nervous. This was entirely improvisational, as there was not enough time for me to choreograph a 15 minute performance. Still, I chose to just have fun with it, keeping in mind that this wedding was in Oahu so I tried adding some Hula flavors into the last number, All in all, the audience had fun, I was able to get back into my love for dancing, and now I can say I bellydanced in Hawaii (which by the way was hot as all hell!) Here is the link to the videos, enjoy and please let me know if you have constructive criticisms and feedbacks. First Dance http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrUDhHG_hlU Second Dance http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbr2A7eVWrQ Last Dance http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkYNP57XSmw

Neohips is featured on Taqasim Magazine!

parvane — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 15:37:30 GMT

It was great working with Taqasim Magazine on this. Taqasim is a magazine for people interested in Middle Eastern Dance, Music and Culture. Now in its 16th year, Taqasim is the UK's oldest magazine serving the Middle Eastern dance community. Thank you Andy of Oh Gray Photography for the awesome cover photo! To get your copy or to subcribe to Taqasim Magazine go to www. taqasim. org. uk

Neohips' last year in England...see us soon!

parvane — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 20:54:51 GMT

So It's almost time...... We have less then a year. But in belly dance time thats not very long. We hope to get around and do as much as we can with all our dance friends with our time left. Here's our bookings with more to be listed as they are confirmed. ******************************** We will be teaching workshop come this fall at: "Shangri -La Lounge" Sunday Sept 14th Hosted by - Beatrice Flowers- www.myspace.com/shangrilalounge ********************************* "To The Beat of the Drum" Saturday Sept. 20th Hosted by- Horizon Hips- www.horizonhips.co.uk In aid of National Childbirth Trust! ********************************* We will be at Tribalondon taking many workshops... And of course on the open stage.....Can't miss our last chance for that! Didn't see us at Raqs? Check us on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmRw8X9f06o

In case you missed us at Raqs Britannia 2008

parvane — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 21:55:46 GMT

Here is the video taken during our performance at the open stage. Hope you enjoy Neohips' Theatrical Fusion Bellydance! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmRw8X9f06o Photos soon to come, so stay tuned...

Neohips' Open Stage performance at Raqs Britannia (Sunday 1330)

parvane — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 19:51:06 GMT

Come one, come all! Neohips will be doing their Theatrical Fusion Bellydance performance at Raqs Britannia on Sunday starting at 1330. Please come out to cheer for us and watch us get a little dramatic on stage. Looking forward to seeing a lot of you!

Workshop event in Hertfordshire 20 Sep 08

parvane — Mon, 26 May 2008 14:15:09 GMT

Neohips promotional photoshoot with Andy of Oh Gray Photography

parvane — Tue, 20 May 2008 17:50:06 GMT

Enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gBeNnHPopc

Where to find NeoHips next...

parvane — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 16:17:52 GMT

Spring Hafla in Mildenhall Village, UK

parvane — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 19:09:39 GMT

This all the last info for Sundays events. Ki has made a list of the performaners for Sunday night for you all. The full address is Beeches Road, IP28 8NP Hope to see as many of you there as we can fit!

Realization and some sadness

parvane — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 08:01:29 GMT

*sniff* I was updating my profile here on tribe, all happy to have new things to add, when I sudden jolt went down my spine and tears welled up (ok, not really that tragic, but you get my point)...I have no testimonials from anyone! I guess is some sort of Karma, as I myself have only posted so few on my time here in the bellydance net. Perhaps there will be a soul out there who will take pity on my despair and write something, hmmm? Anyone?...Bueller? *hears crickets* Oh, well, I can only try. (This guilty trip is brought to you thanks to my amazing mother's example over the years) *takes a bow*

My video is up

parvane — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 07:11:42 GMT

Ok, so after much tinkering and editing, I was able to upload a short clip of my opening act during Tribal Unity. Thank you Jim for playing drums for me during the opening act. You can find the video on my profile, or you may go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNwqg-JunQY

Tribal Unity 2007

parvane — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 06:32:02 GMT

Tribal Unity 2007 Current mood: awake Category: Life Shot at 2007-08-12 How amazing is it to have something you wish to share with the world, and find others that not only would appreciate it, but are also as obsessed about it as you are. I, of course, am talking about bellydancing. Saturday night was the first time I got to fully show whatever meager skills I might have with this art form to a crowd of wonderful people that, whether they themselves were dancers or not, cheered for me and made me feel like I had not wasted my time and energy into this. Over a dozen of my friends from work showed up just to, initially I imagine, watch me dance. What they got instead was an evening filled with all styles of Tribal bellydance, costumes that were colorful and intricate to the point you couldn't look away for fear of missing any details, and fire dancers (aka NeoHips drummers) playing with all sort of crazy fire toys, lighting up the night with their fun display. Polstar, a talented and amazing photographer who had been invited (and she had so graciously accepted) to photograph the dancers throughout the night, was introduced to me, and I immediatly loved her. She is a fun, energetic woman, who seemed as happy to have the chance to capture us dancers, as we were to have her there. She took me and Ki to the empty field next to the beer garden in order to get a couple of solo portraits, and it was so much fun to pose for her that I almost forgot my anxiety over what was to come in a couple of hours. Before this evening, I was so nervous about peforming my improv drum solo that by the time it actually happened I had drained most of my energy, but when Holly, fellow troupe member of NeoHips asked me to go first and be the ice breaker so that the other dancers felt more at ease, I was happy to comply. (OK, still a nervous wreck, but a happy one) So, Ki (troupe leader of NeoHips) gave the cue for the DJ to introduce me, after some trials on how to pronounce my name, and Jim, our awesome drummer. The audience kept silent, making me even more frightened, but the DJ introduced me again, alongside Jim's drumroll, and I persuaded some clapping from them. And then I was off, forgetting my nervousness and fear, listening to the beats of the drums, relaxing my muscles into doing what they know, what I love to do, to simply dance. I like to think I wasnt a complete disaster, and by the praise from friends and fellow dancers, I want to believe that my talent for dancing this wonderful style has improved from the time I first started well over a year ago. Throughout the night, different troupes and soloists, performed their numbers, aweing the crowd with fun music and show of skill. During the intermission the DJ did a wonderful job of including the children into the festivities by gathering them up and playing some games for them. My friend Walt, of course, was all about this and quickly joined them. The man was in heaven dancing with the little kids. By the time night fell I had danced alongside all the other performers during a long "Shimmy until you drop" challenge issued by our drummers. The atmosphere was increasingly more playfull and the other dancers were more at ease with the whole event. When the fire dancers came out, my camera memory was full, I had a continuous grin on my face so happy I was, and my friends were laughing and "ooh"ing over the display. I had hoped they would have a good time that night, and I like to think that they did. Adding to this was a fun bar manager who spent more time flirting and teasing than actually serving drinks, and the late arrival of even more friends that came out to see what it was all about, and I can actually say that this was one succesful night. For anyone who wants to see them all, pictures can be found here: http://www.bebo.com/Parvane videos can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/Parvane

My photo shoot

parvane — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 16:27:11 GMT

As a celebration of my one year anniversary of my involving myself fully into the Tribal Style Bellydance world as well as other reasons, I decided to have a proffesional photo shoot done with my costumes, jewelry, etc.. Call me vain, or wasteful, but I was excited to get these photographs taken by a professional who new how to capture the light and angles, and all such things. Part of the fun was getting the make-over included on the shoot. Unfortunately, this company had nevr done a bellydancer shoot before, so they were as excited about it as I was plust the make-up artist had to take pointers from me as well as my having to show her pictures of Rachel Brice, Carolena Nericcio and other tribal dancers so she could get a visual idea of what I wanted to do. True, I could have done it myself and safe her the trouble, but when I booked the shoot she was so excited about getting the chance to try something new and different that I didn't have the heart to turn her down. She did wonders with my hair, so much so that I didn't want to hide it with all the flowers and accesories I usually would have worn in full costume, so I kept it to a bare minimun. I must have changed costumes about half a dozen times, making new combinations out of all the pieces I have collected throughout the year. I can't believe I have so much stuff! Total we took about 38 pictures, different posses, angles, and lighting. Due to the exorbitant prices I had to content myself with selecting only 8 for an album. Even with such a few I will be paying in three payments in order to pay for it all. *sigh* Now to wait until September 15th to collect them. At least I got the CD so I can upload them and show you all how they turned up.

Raqs Britannia and me

parvane — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 17:48:29 GMT

Everyone has a hobby. At least, everyone should really have something they can be passionate about and spend time on in a healthy way. No surprising to anyone, mine is dance. Bellydance being the current branch of dance I'm absorbed in. Tribal Style Bellydance if you really want to be precise. I have been in love with it since I first layed eyes on a short video of Rachel Brice I found on google. The obsession just kept growing as I found more about this new, exotic and refreshing dance composed of modern pops and locks borrowed from break dancers, slow sinewy moves reminding of a snake, and the look of a nomadic tribe gone rogue. There is just not one way to describe what Rachel Brice did for me. It opened my eyes to a whole new me in life where my body, my style and my moves could fully represent all the things I love, all the cultures I worship and not be bound to just one thing. It was a long road until I finally found a class where I could start getting professional guidance on the tribal style. It was, of all places, in Lincoln, Ne where I found the Benu Dance Company and where I learned the basics of American Tribal Style and had my first performance. I was hooked as if it was a drug. I needed more! Unfortunately, with a move across an ocean and a foot surgery that left me incapable of dancing for three months, I was forced to wait. But this weekend I finally had my reward for my patience. (Ok, I know I wasn't quite that patient, much to my surgeon's chagrin) Miles Copeland and his dream of putting together a show where the very best chosen to represent every style of bellydance could be together on a stage and then travel the world to teach workshops as well as dazzle the audience with their majestic show of choreography, music pieces and one of a kind costumes, finally reached a location where it would be easy for me to reach. Blackpool was to be the lucky city to host the 2007 Raqs Britannia festival. Two dinner shows and two and a half days filled with workshops was too much for me to pass up. I promptly signed up, purchased six two-hour workshops with all the Tribal dancers that follow the Bellydance Superstars show (BDSS for short) and managed to find a person to room with for the weekend to keep the hotel from draining all my money. I was extatic when Friday morning rolled around, and I was up early to pack up my car and pick up Devon so we could start our 4 hour long drive to Blackpool. We had plenty of time to make it before my first workshop started, so we had time to browse the large souk (or bazar) that they had throughout the Winter Garden venue. Stand after stand of bellydancing goodness was displayed for our eager eyes and ready to take our hard earned money (ok, so I know I don't quite work that hard). As we stood admiring one of the stands I got my first glimpse of Sharon Kihara as she walked by me, her cup of coffee on hand and looking as if she wasn't one of the most envied and beloved bellydancers in the world. I realized then that though these people are like celebrities in the world of tribal bellydance, they maintain a very down to earth personality that at first puzzled me, but soon made it quite easy to chat with them about things like how painful the tattoos on Sharon's tummy were and how Rachel's boyfriend composed a song for a dream she had about a pig that look like a cat. But I digress. These women are my idols and I finally had the chance to learn from them, ask them questions and observe first hand when they made a mistake and how they corrected it. It was exhilarating! I wanted to murder Rachel after two workshops, my shoulders and hips where on fire, but I still was in awe of her and she is just too adorable to hate for too long, even if she does torture you in her classes. Sharon thankfully focused a lot on belly ondulations and had a made a very conscious effort to keep us from bad postures and moves that could harm our back, so though her classes were just as intense, and I was just as much in pain, I could give my arms a break. In all the workshops, the instructors made sure we were properly warmed up and our bodies were ready to take on the punishment, so a lot of yoga and stretching was done before and after. I think this minimized the amount of pain I could be suffering right now, I was that out of shape. The dinner shows were phenomenal. I was a bit dissappointed that Tribal style had no representation on the first night, since all of the performers were Oriental style. But the Middle Eastern band that played before and after the performances was very good and it got us all on the dance floor to show off our costumes, our skills and to just have a good time. I was happy to see Holly and Ki from NeoHips make their appearance. It was good to see some familiar faces, though Sian (the girl I met on tribe.net and who I was sharing a hotel room with) was quickly becoming a fun friend to have. I also made acquaintances with other women from Spain that had flown in specifically for the weekend, so I got to chat in the Spanish accent I had come to miss. The second evening was to be the Bellydance Superstars show, the most anticipated event of the weekend. Arriving in full regalia, we found our assigned seats and got served a forgettable dinner composed of overcooked lamb and flavorless potatoes with an ok bottle of complimentary wine that I managed to polish half way before the other members of my table realized that it was a free bottle and finally dared to drink it. I was surprised by the unexpected appearance of none other than my foot surgean, sitting not two tables from mine. I think he hadn't expected to see me either, nor could he have recognized me with my ATS get up, but after hearing my accent he quickly recalled who I was and by the time I left I had learned that his girlfriend was also a bellydancer and he had seen the BDSS show in the past. By the time desert was being served the show had started and I could not take my eyes off of the stage. It was a breathless night ruined only by the fact that I had to miss the last performance in order to move my car from the parking garage before it close. When I came back, they were already moving on to the smaller ballroom where the Oojami band was ready to play for the after party. A whirling dervish on stage started up the dancing groove and Sian, Devon and me were the first out onto the dance floor. I was very self-aware that my surgeon was sitting two feet from where I was dancing like a maniac, but soon my adrenaline had taken over and I was almost in a high and forgot all about the rest of the room. It was just me and the music as usual. By 1pm though I had to call it quits, I had a workshop first thing in the morning and I needed some sleep if I was to make it through the reest of two workshops and a four hour drive back to Bury. All in all, it was a very intoxicating, fun filled, painful weekend with lots of money spent on pretty bellydancing things and with lots of pictures to keep

Growing up watching this girl and wanting to be her

parvane — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 21:48:28 GMT

Though I was born in the 80' s and her films were mainly made in the 60's, I have always enjoyed watching Marisol movies on TV as a child growing up in Spain. Her singing was beyond words, and her dancing was pure perfection. As an impressionable child, I hopld her responsible in part for my love of dance. So I never could carry a tune, but I learned to dance, to have the passion in my blood for it, to feel it's beat pulsing in my veins, and to step on to a dance floor knowing exactly how my body would move. She inspired me as a little girl, and now decades later I still watch her films in awe of her. This blond, blue eye star of the spanish cinema became a legend and an idol for generations to come, and no decent Spaniard will forget to mention her, Marisol, when speaking of the greatest artist that came from our country. Please enjoy this clip from her movie "The new cinderella" made in the mid-60s when she was barely 16 years old. http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=2024290211

My ATS bellydance debut on youtube

parvane — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 11:54:20 GMT

I am very sorry that the quality of the video is so poor, and you will be hard pressed to find me amongst the 15 ladies on the stage. Please enjoy, reserve judgment and support the beautiful dancers of my old troupe that put themselves on the stage with womanly pride and brave the throng of people watching them from the audience. This was recorded at the Tribal Dreams Festival 2006 in Lincoln, Nebraska. We were the opening troupe to perform that night as the Benu Dance Company were the hosting troupe of the event. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyetM5PLiVQ If you can't see me, I'm wearing a burgundy colored underskirt and black overskirt. I come up to the center stage with the third group, in between the two other dancers sharing the spotlight. I was begged by my old troupe to upload the rest of the performance on youtube. So not wanting to disappoint, here are the last two parts of the Benu performance. During these two parts, I am fixed on the chorus line, towards the left corner of the stage. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waZ9sDUN3rM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nWHfsGMjZI

Bellydancing Goodness

parvane — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 15:32:36 GMT

I was so excited yesterday that I could barely sleep. After a pretty bad day at work the only thing I got to look forward to was the unexpected bellydance performance the the British pub outside of base was going to be hosting. The night before, during the now weekly Ladies' Nite I had announced this event and several of the girls were interested on going, so after work I hurriedly made it home (not before checking my mail and finding a much awaited for book, The Tribal Bible!), played some tribal bellydance music while I was getting ready, to get me in the mood and all, and at 7pm Michelle came to pick me and Paula up. By the time we arrived the place was getting pretty busy, but we found a table not to far from where the performance was going to take place and I went on to explain about the difference between tribal and standard bellydance. I had not been able to get the name of the group who was performing before we got there, but seeing how they were local, I pretty much had an idea of who they were. When finally I spoted the ladies and their drummers setting up I immediatly knew I had been right. They were the NeoHips Tribal Fusion troupe. I had been in contact with one of their members via the bellydance net about possibly joining their troupe once my foot was able to support me while dancing. Before the show started I had a lovely conversation with one of the troupe members, Kuni, who wasn't performing that night and was sitting next to me. After asking a few questions and sharing a bit of information, she promised to pass me their card so we can keep in touch and see about going to their Hafla in August. Then the show started. There were four girls dancing tribal fusion and one who was guesting that was a Polynesian dancer. I was very impressed with Holly (the one with really short hair) who seemed very fluid in her transitions and was obviously the most comfortable with the movements. Ki did a very good show with the sword dance, minus one small mistake that she very quickly corrected. The Polynesian dancer, Zamora I believe, was phenomenal. Her hips moved as if they were on swivels and could put Shakira to shame. It seems that NeoHips is trying to recruit her into their troupe in order to have her teach them some moves. Very wise, indeed. What was a very pleasant surprise as that this troupe performs with their own live drummers, who are not to be left unmentioned. The three gentlemen where quite talented and it built up the tempo perfectly to match the dancers. Through a later conversation I found out that they actually don't learn the choreography along with the drumming, but only practice it together a few days before the performances, which is a bit different than the Benu and Smash Baladi do it. But as the performance demonstrated, it works for them beautifully. We managed to grab a table right up front to view the show better. While the dance was going on I could see the audiance was riveted by them and that is always a good thing. After the performance, I got them to take a picture with me, and we proceeded to introduce ourselves. Throughout the night as the ladies moved around the tables to greet the audience and friends, I would stop and talk to one of them. Felicia and I found out we have similar backgrounds from Spain, and the conversation inevitably strayed to Flamenco dance and how it can easily be incorporated to bellydance. It was so much fun getting to know them and sharing some bits of bellydancing trivia. Their troupe may also be attending Raqs Britannia in Blackpool this summer so I was very happy to hear we could be on the same workshops. Once again I was invited to attend their Hafla in August and some other events that will be taking place near the area. I was thrilled to accept. Perhaps in the future I might join them, once I get back on my own two feet (sans the ugly frankenstein boot, which by the way I'll be taking it off for the last time next Tuesday!)

Halloween Hafla 2006

parvane — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 15:24:05 GMT

The anticipation to this day was nerve wrecking. Three weeks of preparation, of scavenging through dozens of online stores and just as many shops, of hours invested in sewing, threading, braiding, and heavens knows what else, but enough to even make Martha Stewart swoon. But Friday it all came together perfectly. After a late night, and a rather early morning, having to deal with doctors, paperwork, and some shopping so that I I could make the famous Berard Sangria for the Hafla, I managed to have enough time to make brunch for three hungry overnight guests and myself, all before noon. A quick trip to the mall with Kelly to get the last items necessary to make my costume absolutely perfect and then run some errands. Gave me about three hours to prepare the sangria and get dressed. Mind you, that putting my costume on would likely take me well over two hours, so I was running way behind. I was nearly through making the five gallons of sangria when my savior came to the rescue in the form of Vanessa. For the next two hours and with lots of help from her, I did my hair, make up and finally put on the outfit, all in time before a very 'chic' Kelly and Drew came knocking at my door...ok, maybe a bit after. (Gotta gimme a break, after all I just received the bra and head piece on the mail that very morning) Loaded up the sangria and ourselves onto my car, and Drew drove us the 45 minutes to Lincoln. Now, let me tell you a bit about the whole of the costume. The head piece, made by a wonderful woman by the name of Lauren Murrah from Georgia, was unfortunetely not quite finished, missing the two antique pieces of jewelry that would go on either side of the head. To fix this I bought a pair of dangly silver earrings from the shop in my class and sew them on the empty spots. Since the turban look isn't for me, I decided to go with the hair garden. Basically is composed of large colorful flowers arranged artfully around your hair, and I also had two hand made hairfalls made with cowrie shells, yarn, feathers, velvet cloth and more flowers. I don't think I'll be using the hairfalls for actual performances, though, as the are heavy and too long to dance with them comfortably and without injuring a fellow dancer. But hey, they looked gorgeous anyways. On to the make up. Thanks to this awesome website: LimeCrime.net and the make-up tutorials, my first try at putting on stage make up was easy as pie. Minus a small incident involving SheLac that had me redoing the whole side of my face again. The look is called "Peacock" and I found it to be fitting due to the color scheme and accesories of my costume. The bra was also made by Lauren and had Kuchi pendants, mirrors and colored embroidery on the top. It was perfect and the colors give me ample chance to swich the color of my skirts and tops I can wear in the future. The arm bracelets were also purchased at the shop in my class and my two bracelets are handmade items I bought at diferent stores. I fell in love with how my skirts looked. I wore the standard black pantaloons, a green tiered skirt and a black designer skirt from a shop downtown that is absolutely beutiful with a corset style tie at the front and lae panels trhoughout. The belt was bought from ShimmyShimmy online store, with a few modifications of my own (the fox tail for one, since it is Halloween, and I removed the string of coins that hung on the back). Again, with this piece I can vary the colors I am able to wear on the skirts and tops. Now that I have my outfit broken down, on with our arrival at the Hafla. We managed to make it into the party right at the time it started, so we had time to settle in and make ourselves comfortable. I introduced my classmates to my escorts and even had to introduce myself to some of the students I had yet to meet. My sangria was well received and within the hour everyone had a cup in their hands (score!). Drew was one of two men in the whole place, but he seemed to quite enjoy himself watching Vanessa and Kelly when my instructor pulled them up to dance with the rest of us. Since Kelly had background dancing a style very similar to bellydancing she threw herself into the frenzy with an ease worthy of praise. Vanessa was a bit more hesitant, but soon she found herself dancing along the chorus line more often than not. My favorite part was when the live drummers performed the song that we will be dancing to at the Tribal Dreams Festival in November. It was my first time hearing it, and at first I was nervous to join the ladies from the troupe, but yet again I was drawn in and soon I was even directed to the center circle with my instructor and a small girl I didn't know. FUN! Near to 10pm the party started to die down and we took our farewells from the hostesses and other people, heading back to Omaha. The plan had been that we would go out after getting back, but we were so exhausted by the time we left that it was out of the question. Kelly found it a shame I would not be showing off my costume after all the work I had put in it, so when I asked to stop at McDonalds to get some grub, they all coerced me to go inside instead of the drive thru. According to Vanessa, my entrance caused a collision between two employees which was vastly amusing to them. I was mortified! My face must have been the same shade as my hair flowers, specially when Kelly asked all the employees to pose with me for a photo. Shy at first, but with some encouragement from their manager they all came up to the front and sure enough, we got a couple of shots all together. We timed how long it would take to remove the whole of the costume when we returned to my room. Total was 40 minutes. And that's with help! The girls returned to their respective rooms, and Drew and I lay down to watch the rest of 'Hoodwinked' but I was out like a light within minutes of my head touching the pillow. It was one awesome sleep and I so needed it!

My passion for dancing

parvane — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 06:31:00 GMT

This passion comes from my mother. She loves any latin based dance and would always made us dance with her when we were little. From there, as every other little girl in Spain, I used rythmic gymnastics to learn to use my body at its full potential. I grew up in an environment surrounded by music and dance, watching flamenco performances at the fairs, and even taking a couple of provincial dance classes during the festivals. In my family, my sister Liza pretended she was the singer, and I was the back up dancer. Growing up like that, one could hardly be surprised that I turned out loving dance as much as I do. I always claim that my dancing is the only thing I would brag about. I have no reservations about stating the fact that I am a good dancer, but I can never claim perfection because one can always improve. I have taken dance lessons, so not all of it flows naturally out of me. Rythmic gymnastic taught me balance; the provincial dances taught me heavy stepping and high jumps; salsa and merengue taught me to loosen my hips and quickness of foot; tango and cha-cha-cha taught me controlled movements and how to lead as well as follow a partner; and bellydancing is teaching me how to multi-task with my body. With this new passion (which isn't all that new, since I have adored this art for ages, but I just get to learn it now) for bellydance, specifically tribal style, I am becoming deeply involved. It isn't just the art of the dance, but also of the beauty of the dancers. I have spent days upon days researching, shopping, and sewing just for one costume. I can't imagine how long proffesional performers like Rachel Brice and her troupe, The Indigo, or bigger troupes like Fat Chance Bellydance take to put their costumes together. Not only the clothes, but then the jewelry, and the hair and never forget the make-up. The combination of all this must come out looking absolutely perfect; with a myriad of colors, fabrics, textures and jingles that must combine in a chaotic order that can leave you breathless when you see them strutting out to the stage. All this, and I must accomplish it for my first Bellydancing Haffla at the end of the month, just in time for Halloween. I can only pray that the end result comes out half as good as any of the ladies I mention earlier.