World Arts West

Thanks to all the staff at World Arts West. Once again I had a wonderful time performing at the Palace of Fine Arts last weekend. Thanks again to WAW for giving Ethnic Dance a chance to show itself in a super high quality production with the best in lighting, sound and professionalism. I was honored to share the stage with so many wonderful dancers. I left this year feeling inspired and with many new friends in dance.

I feel sad that it's over, but will only take a week off, and do absolutely nothing tomorrow except read Vogue and watch TV. My 2 days of eating all I want is now over and will begin exercising and dancing again next week. The last time I took a break and stopped dancing cold turkey I ended up with the worst flare up in my back -my doctor advised I keep moving, so I will...

Whats next for Summer...I am dancing improv to Jazz music at Mary Ellen Donald's Birthday show in August, so that will be fun, and I will begin studying piano again. I am also looking for a new dance space where I can fulfill another goal of having weeklong and weekend long training courses. Wee!

SF Ethnic Dance Festival 2008

After several months of stretching, strengthening and practicing my bootie off, it's time to perform again at this years Ethnic Dance Festival. 'Demoiselle Crane' is a very challenging dance piece - (esp cardio) and I'm excited to show my work. One of the artistic directors said the 2nd weekend, June 14-15 has the strongest show -and I won't argue with that cause I'm dancing in it, hee hee ;^)

I really just can't wait to get on that great stage again at the Palace of Fine Arts and watch the other amazing troupes. All the performers chosen for this event are really top notch in their field. The best part of being in this show is bonding with the other dancers and seeing everyones work. Can't wait!
www.worldartswest.org

Mr Happy Birthday

My kitty's birthday is June 10th and he will be a decade old...not sure what that is in cat years. He has CRF but has defied logic and is doing well. Slippery elm, massages and energy work has been very beneficial for him and he likes to be decorated with beads and hats for special occasions.

Another Gr8 one from RJ

Wow. He is the man. This guy can take photos like no one else. From what I know, he is the most successful and in demand commercial photographer in the Bay Area. I've seen his work of Ballet dancers, most notably Lines and I've always been blown away by his work. The way he captures spirit and movement is just awe inspiring. He did my Fire Dance photo for the 2007 Ethnic Dance Festival and I was just tickled to be able to work with him again for the 2008 EDF for my Demoiselle Crane dance. What an honor.

To see more of his incredible work visit: www.rjmuna.com

Birthday

Yay, I made it! A year older and wiser. I had the best birthday ever this year, the pic is from Jewelz s and I'm holding up the pinata I massacred at my party. It was the prettiest Pinata ever...I collected some of the candy in my skirt too, yummm.

Inspirations & 2008 SF Ethnic Dance Festival

Good afternoon Blog. I finally had time to update, but to my dismay Tribe was down again this afternoon...arg! Yipee it's up again. I'm currently looking for a new monitor to clear away all the cobwebs on my Tribe, since I don't have time these days to play in cyberspace . I'm also going to try to organize and fix up my Facebook account and slowly try to migrate my blogging over there...um shooting for at least once a month :>I

January was a handful. I was scouted by Cirque to audition (I will write about that in my next blog) and auditioned for EDF again. I don't know what it is about January but last time I auditioned I was sooo sick with the flu and this year I had pulled my hamstring 2 weeks before . I taught classes sitting in a chair old school ballet style. Note to self :I need a stick to poke the students with.. haha.

I was accepted to perform again for this years Festival and honored to be the only Bellydancer and performer to represent the Middle East. I just started training again last week and my hamstring feels better. I based this years piece on the Demoiselle Crane and I had so much fun researching this amazing creature. I am tightening up on the choreography and by performance time It should be better than the audition. This piece is probably one of the most physically challenging dances I have ever done. There is so much stamina and upper body strength required for this piece, that I have to practice it almost everyday or I'll exhausted after 2 minutes.

I was one of the groups chosen to receive a grant for the 30 year anniversary of EDF. The grant is to bring musicians from Egypt to accompany my dance. I was really excited by this opportunity, but right now it's not looking so great. I have some contacts in Egypt, but the biggest obstacle right now is getting the visa and time logistics. Due to the 'war on terror' bringing people here from the Middle East is, eh...complicated..

Current inspirations are...Cranes, the sun, and spring blooms...hooray for the spring blooms.

and Mandanah too...

She'll rock your socks. I've had the pleasure of teaching and dancing with her since 2004. She's blossomed into a fantastic performer. The photo above is Mandanah doing her signature move. The photo does it no justice. I just think of her doing his move and it puts a smile on my face. If you see her, be sure to ask her to do it..you will not regret it. Watch her dance here: www.youtube.com/watch

i love my troupe

I love my troupe too...oh that's me in the front ;)

i love my students

I love my students. The photo above is from the Carnival of Stars Show last Fall.

December 07

Hello beautiful blog. It's been so long since I've blogged, even longer since I've been on Tribe that I almost forgot my password... Things have been really busy, and the only time I have on the computer nowadays is just responding to emails. I heard , there was something going on with Tribe so I've just created a Facebook account, and hopefully, I'll be able to update it more than once every 2 months:(

This is my last week teaching public classes until January 08, so I'm looking forward to a lil time off to catch up with things. I will be spending the rest of December working hard on new dance routines for some very high profile things next month. It's interesting, how when you put out the energy in the universe and focus on certain goals, they somehow come back to you.

I will be first to admit that training when it's cold sucks. It takes more time for my body to get and stay warm. On my X-Mas list I asked for a lot of dance warm ups, so that should make practicing a lil easier. My Osteopath recommended I sleep with a mini electric blanket to keep my back warm, so when I wake up, no soreness. The only thing is that I know my cat will somehow push me out of the way and hog it all night, like he does with my pillow.

The photo above is from the BMR show in Sacramento. My troupe and I were Ostriches, and my arms got so strong with that dance. I learned a lot about the animal when researching. I found this article on them and apparently they can kick a lion to death.. crazy, huh?