Shabnam's Adventures

Sacramento World Festival

shabnamorama — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 04:31:34 GMT

Hi Blog, Last night I danced at the Sacramento World Festival, and had a great time. This was my first time performing at this event so I did not know what to expect. I am not familiar with Sacramento or it’s happenings, but was very pleased with the support everyone had for this event. The other performers were positive, talented and so nice and the staff treated me well -felt like a supastar…extra points for that(hee hee) The theatre was HUGE, and about every seat was filled. The stage was large as well with pro sound and lighting and I got a spotlight like I wanted which was super duper. The audience was very lively and positive which is always a plus and just great energy all the way around. The show was a mix of ethnic dance and live music acts. Only downside was that I did not get to see many of the acts which is always a bummer - they put me next to last which is great for a performer, but I missed everyone..boo. There were great troupes representing dances from Russia to Polynesia I am very honored to be the only solo dancer chosen to perform at the big show and tickled when I was asked to dance on a Sacramento morning news show to promote the event. I was interviewed and got to dance in 3 teasers and a full performance on TV. 'Yay'! for representing Bellydance in a positive light! Thank You World Festival for helping raise the art form and awareness of Ethnic Dance. Whats next…I have several high profile events this and next month and dare I say….a wee break in November…maybe… Happy Shimmies

Dancing in Oakland Sunday

shabnamorama — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 18:52:52 GMT

At Mary Ellen Donald's Birthday Bash. I 'll be dancing to live music and there will be cake, yum! The show is about sold out with only a handful of tickets left so this should be fun...http://www.maryellendonald.com

New Dance Space/More Classes

shabnamorama — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 05:53:21 GMT

Yay! I got a new dance space and I'm thrilled with the possibility of having more classes, weekend and week long intensives. The studio is across the street from Grand Lake Theatre and there is good parking on Lakeshore in the evening. Ballet barres will be installed next month, but we have portable ones to use until then. My Basics students will be thrilled that there will be an extra one added and more in the future. 454 #B Santa Clara Ave Oakland My new schedule for August session is: BASICS: Wednesdays 6:30pm Saturdays 11am DANCE TECHNIQUE INTENSIVE: Wednesdays 7:50pm INTERMEDIATE: Mondays 6pm ADVANCED: Mondays 7:25pm TROUPE REHEARSAL: Thursdays 6:30pm

World Arts West

shabnamorama — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 00:12:15 GMT

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

shabnamorama — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 17:51:28 GMT

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! http://www.worldartswest.org

Mr Happy Birthday

shabnamorama — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 21:25:22 GMT

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

shabnamorama — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 18:06:50 GMT

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: http://www.rjmuna.com

Birthday

shabnamorama — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:24:41 GMT

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

shabnamorama — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 23:28:02 GMT

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...

shabnamorama — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 20:17:27 GMT

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: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hv_1vlAl5bk

i love my troupe

shabnamorama — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 20:09:18 GMT

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

i love my students

shabnamorama — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 20:07:50 GMT

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

December 07

shabnamorama — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 22:47:55 GMT

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?

Ooh La La - Dancing Benetton Ad

shabnamorama — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 04:22:33 GMT

Yay, I finally have photos of Ooh La La. I've had a troupe since 2003 and never any posed photos. Sarah jokes that we are a dancing Benetton ad. A troupe of bellydancers from all different races, colors, cultures, all in love with this dance. I wouldn't have it any other way...

fall

shabnamorama — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 23:00:46 GMT

Holy cow Fall's here already. Have to say 2007's been a kicker so far. Things have been great career wise,the Queen of the Bay event was Sold Out again, SFEDF has helped open a lot of doors for me as a performer and my school of Bellydance has grown to the point where I really need to get my own studio space. I've been splitting classes between OACC and my private 'petite' home studio for private lessons and troupe rehearsals, can't believe it was only 4 years ago that I started my classes in that teeny space, love that teeny space. I've been offered to teach workshops in Korea, Arizona, Mexico, Oregon and so forth. Been asked a lot why I don't do the workshop circuit , so here it is...I'm scared of flying ;( Yeah, silly huh? I had a dream last year that I died in a plane crash and after that, I've been petrified. I love to teach and share my knowledge with everyone, and wish I wasn't such a sissy, so I could fly again. A friend told me to just get loaded before I fly...so I may think about it and most likely will do the Mexico one. Fingers crossed. Mo says I'm being silly and my dreams don't mean anything. So I hope by posting this dream, it will jinx it... On the downside 2 back to back tragedies have been a lot to deal with. The death of student and troupe mate Rhonda and my kitty of 6 years getting CRF due to eating poisoned cat food. Both happening within days of each other. Happy's only functioning on 1/2 a kidney, (I call him 1/2 K sometimes) He's doing really great and doesn't know he's sick . My vet even was pretty surprised at how well he's doing. His Bun and Creatine numbers have improved greatly...amazing, really. She told me he only had a month to live, but I was too stubborn to accept that. He plays and eats like mad and even brought in a mouse for us the other day (guess he wanted to show us that he's still got it) For the remainder of the year, I will be finishing up some side projects - deadlines, deadlines, and shaking my butt for money :^) Shake it, Don't Break it.

takes a lickin' keeps on tickin'

shabnamorama — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 22:10:39 GMT

My poor knees, or should I say knee. My lefty is great, poor R one, it's been through the mill. 3 surgeries and i keep pluggin away. tweaked it last month, thought I ripped it again, got an MRI and yay it's ok. Just a few calcium deposits is all. To keep my knee strong I do wall squats, toe raises and quad squeezes. My knee is doing great now ...whew I've been working on pointe stuff, and it really has been great for my legs. I've never had great turn out, but imma keep workin' it. So thankful for all the ballet (and former ballerinas) in class. I'm going to have student Susan teach a Ballet for bellydancers workshop next month. She is great and has 30+ years ballet experience and even had her own studio at one time- -great teacher too! Funny how many ballet dancers i have in class. I love em'!

yay, rest & what's next

shabnamorama — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 22:04:35 GMT

Exhale...we did it . Queen was a success -whew! Not bad considering 2 weeks ago I almost canceled it. Mo and I’s schedules were out of control this month and we were stretched really thin. The only thing that kept me going was the tribute fundraiser for Rhonda - If we didn't do it at Queen we probably never would have been able to do one again...and knowing Rhonda (she wouldn't like that ;) Thank god for my student’s who helped spread the word and for volunteering their time to make this happen. Big hug to Mo, I couldn’t have done this without his support . He worked the workshop tables, set up, and MC’d all night- (poor guy didn’t know all the work that comes along with being a Belly Dancer’s beau). We haven’t tallied the amount yet but it looks like we exceeded our goal for the Lupus Foundation. Huge Exhale…yay! So what’s next? Geez… don’t want to spill the beans, but I have been presented with a huge dance related opportunity that I have been daydreaming about for years, which means I need to step it up a bit in regards to training. I need to heal my knee and get in tip top shape the next few months, so probably no blogging or Tribe for awhile, boo. Before I go I want to thank everyone again: Ariellah, Frederique, Terry, Mandy, Jennifer, Diana, Reem, Meliza, Jim, Peggy, Lisa, Alicia, Mimi, Lil’ Man, Mo, Jasmine, Lauren and everyone for their continued support and love. Hugz n’ Shimmies

Queen of the Bay & Why I Do It

shabnamorama — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 04:58:40 GMT

It's hot, it's summer, I'm pooped, and that means....it's Queen of the Bay time! Mo and I's schedules have gotten out of control the last few months, and I barely have time to keep track of my own performances. Why the heck do I overload myself with more stuff... but when it's all over, the competitors have shimmied their hearts out, and the Queen is crowned , I have to say I feel really great afterwards. To give new dancers exposure, the opportunity to perform and raise awareness of this art form to the general public is really a rewarding feeling. We are so excited with anticipation of seeing all the wonderful competitors and performers. So fortunate to have so many great dancers performing this year and I'm looking forward to all specialty subjects that I will learn from the workshops. I wanted to give my students the opportunity to learn different skills, styles and to round out their training. Well rounded = Great! My troupe will also be debuting a new work, so we are all psyched about that too... ;) We will have yummy food again, homemade tabouli & hummus from Mandy again and Mimi's amazing cookies and brownies. The one thing that we will greatly miss is Rhonda's Ooh La Lemon and chocolate cake. She made the best cakes and at or last Queen they were completely sold out. Man, she made the best cakes. Rhonda helped us out a great deal the last two shows, she was such a trooper, cooked, set up and danced that night, amazing. What most people don't know is that Queen of the Bay is also a fundraiser. Last year's event went to help my troupe girls with travel stipends to support other Belly Dance contests. For this year's event, I decided to donate to The Lupus Foundation of America in honor of Rhonda. I admit, I knew very little about the disease until Rhonda shimmied into my life, but feel it's something I should bring awareness to. Lupus Foundation: http://www.lupus.org/newsite/index.html Queen of the Bay info: http://www.queenofthebay.com

Ethnic Wonderland

shabnamorama — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 20:27:53 GMT

What a magical weekend at the 2007 Ethnic Dance Festival. It was such a pleasure performing with such amazing dancers. All the shows were sold out and the acts this weekend were top notch and mesmerizing to watch. Never have I felt so proud of my ethnic heritage and roots. I have always been grateful to Belly Dance for giving me pride and confidence. Being Persian/Middle Eastern was not very popular when I was a little girl in the 80's , and it wasn't until I got into Belly Dance that I started to embrace my background. Being a part of this event was truly an honor and an eye opener. In only 3 days I developed friendships and such a closeness with everyone. By the last show Sunday, I was sad that I wouldn't be able to perform with everyone again. Many thanks to my musicians for sharing their magic. Mark and Ling Shen Bell are true professionals, any last minute transition changes or problems that arose they were right on it and made adjustments in lightening speed. Not only that, but a hoot to hang around with. Mark is fierce and Ling Shen is a one woman party, give her some turkish spoons and she's gone! Pat the queen of frame drum was warm, comforting, and I'm so grateful to her for adding big "Doom" bass to my set. An unforgettable weekend...wish we could do the show about a 100 more times.

Proud Mama

shabnamorama — Mon, 28 May 2007 19:15:57 GMT

Imma proud mama. My students did an awesome job this weekend at BDY. Etana aka Lady D - 2007 Grand Dancer - Beautiful, humble, talented, funny (she cracks me up) She danced with Ooh La La in 2006 and I've had the pleasure of having her in class since 2005. Crystal - 2007 1st runner up duet. An awesome dancer and really one of the best students and troupe dancers I've ever had. She's leaving for school in the Fall, so we are going to miss her dammit! Mandanah - 2007 Finalist. So much personality, stage presence and zillin'. She really made me proud and is truly one of the most generous people out there. Her Pre -lim performance was the best I've seen her do, and her finals was off the chain...sword, double splits and zillin'. She really held her own this weekend. Maybe a lil too unique for the circuit... Joie De Vivre- My student dancers. In less than 9 months they learned everything from scratch - zills, choreography, stage presence, drum solo. Look forward to seeing them grow and bloom even more and is such a pleasure to work with them.

EDF & Queen

shabnamorama — Mon, 07 May 2007 22:22:07 GMT

Looks like Summer's gonna be a busy one. EDF and Queen of the Bay, can't wait. I've been practicing almost everyday now for EDF. Really tickled they chose my pic for one of the flyers. They have me closing the first half on Opening night, so wanna be sure I do good. My goal was to have my show performance be better than the audition, so added a few new tricks. I sometimes feel nauseated from all the spinning, but know it will get easier the more I practice. Queen of the Bay is shaping up nicely too, the applications have started pouring in, and if the early applications are any indication, this will be a great show. I've also got a great line up of teachers and subjects for the workshops. When choosing teachers for workshops, I pick the people I'd want to take from and subjects I'd like to learn: FREDERIQUE http://www.bellygroove.com Really , truly one of the best in arms TERRY http://www.raksterayz.com/ Arabic Style Drum Solo Saw her perform in San Rafael once and was blown away by her Arabic/Egyptian style dancing - her Drum Solo's rock. Tight pops and shimmies. A very popular dancer in the Arab wedding circuit. MANDANAH "zillmaster" GALLEGOS Fast n' Fierce Zills Very few dancers can rock the zills like her. Agressive and Super Duper. She's taught me a thing or two about zills. I myself will be teaching my first ever public FLOORWORK Workshop. Look forward to sharing my combo's and techniques with everyone. $58.00 for all 4 workshops. http://www.queenofthebay.com

Pet Food Recall & Mr Happy

shabnamorama — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 20:51:00 GMT

Mr Happy is a Super Cat. He's very affectionate, loves people and loves being the center of attention. When I used to teach classes in my tiny studio on 29th st, he would always get on the floor with us and we did stretches and make his rounds to everyone and say "hello". He attacks my feet when I dance and practice, and traps me into sitting and doing nothing, so he can sleep on my lap. The week of my Birthday, I go to my favorite lil pet food store in North Berkeley and figure I'd treat my kitty to his favorite Lamb wet food. Since I'm celebrating and eating lots of treats, thought I would have Happy do the same. It is expensive food, and don't want to spoil him too much, so only bought 3 cans. The middle of March was really hectic, with TT, Rak, Norooz, gigs and performances. I barely had time to feed myself, so didn't really notice what was going on with Happy. Mo kept telling me Happy was throwing up, it was almost everyday for about a week. He did it in really obvious places- (that was unusual for him). Did it right in front of me one time. I cleaned it up, and had some hair in it, figured it was hairball. Came home late one night and Happy kept meowing at me, and led me to his almost uneaten plate of food. This was unusual cause he always finishes ALL his Lamb wet food. Threw it away for 3 nights in a row and figured he was being finicky. A few days later, noticed he was really lethargic, more so than usual. He's a total lap cat so laying around is not unusual for him, but he was really out of it. Checked AGAIN online about the food recall, but the brand of food I gave him, was not listed. Changed his food to another brand, he stopped throwing up, although Mo got him lamb dog food by accident one time - Happy LOVED it though. Happy got more and more weak and thin. Decided to take him to the Vet. They said he looked very dehydreated and shot a liquid patch in his neck. Took a blood test too, and said they would let me know the next day of results. Got the call the next day and said he had signs of kidney failure,cancer or renal failure. I freaked out. They said to give him lots of fluids until next appt. Made him drink 6 times a day and couldn't sleep all weekend. He laid around like a rag doll, but strangley never lost his appetite. Decided not to feed him anymore cat food and gave him fresh boiled organic chicken and brown rice. Took him to Berkeley Dog and Cat monday & took more tests and they gave me an IV bag to inject into his neck for 10days. I cried nonstop all weekend, hoping Happy would make it. Had him for 6+ years, I love animals and couldn't bear to have to deal with death or lose another loved one again. After IV and diet change he's back to normal and healthy. I knew this when he tried to attack my feet for no reason. His tests came back negative for cancer or chronic renal failure. What angers me is that this food was not listed in recall, in fact the pet stores still carry it saying it's safe. Food Brand was: Variety Foods "Prairie" Lamb Meal & Oat medley If your Cat or Dog show signs of: Vomiting Lethargy Weakness Take him to Vet asap!!!

Rest in Peace Baseema

shabnamorama — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 10:09:15 GMT

Not typical of me to be up so late posting, but I just found out that long time student and Ooh La La member Rhonda passed away. I don't want to harp on the sadness I feel at her passing, in fact knowing Rhonda, she would probably roll her eyes at me for writing anything sappy right now...that was Rhonda. She walked into my studio July of 05. She was so quiet and shy and looked like Mary J. Blige. She always complained when we did travelling shimmies, in fact she complained ALOTin the beginning, but insisted to not hold back in pushing her. So I didn't. What I admired most about Rhonda was her determination and dedication in learning this dance. Girl had alot of gumption. She had severe asthma and lupus, at times could barely walk because of a flare up, but always came to rehearsal and did her thing. She refused to be babied, and would say "don't worry about me, I can do this!" She would do her 2 minute shimmy drill with inhaler in hand, and take big gulps of it while shimmying...this used to crack me up. Rhonda's shyness soon disappeared, and she became one of the silliest, fun lovingest Ooh La La's ever...knowing our past/former members, that is an amazing task! All she wanted to do was dance. She lived in Tracy and would take the 1 1/2 hour drive up to 4 times a week to take classes and do rehearsal. I asked her to join my troupe only months after she started. She was still a beginner, but had so much heart and desire to learn that I couldn't refuse her. Despite her limitations, she always did her best, and would soon blossom into a lovely dancer. She would go home and come back the next week playing syncopated zills and shimmy at the same time...damn that girl was dedicated. We did a few big shows and competitions together and she even won an award at North Valley this year. The roadtrips were the most memorable and will never forget the fun we had at BDUC in 06. The whole weekend was full of laughter, and Rhonda would have us laughing until our sides hurt. "Doncha!!!" ...(laughing to myself) inside joke ;) She would always bring in sweets and treats for the girls, and even when I banned sweets in rehearsals, she would always sneak some in and share snacks with her teach ;) When she was looking for a dance name, I gave her Baseema, it means smiling in Arabic, and feel that it suits her perfectly. When she first started performing, she had a hard time smiling, but once she learned, boy oh boy, she had the best facial expressions, and would light up the room when she danced. Beautiful Baseema. The troupe won't be the same without her. All I know is that she's dancing up a storm up there...and cracking jokes and making everyones sides hurt. We'll miss you Baseema.

Full Circle @ Ethnic Dance Festival

shabnamorama — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 21:48:28 GMT

Yes, can't believe it. Got my confirmation papers yesterday. I will be performing at the prestigious Ethnic Dance Festival in June. It is a very highly selective event to get into, in fact everyone I told, shook their head saying "You know it's really hard to get in, don't you". Yeah, I knew...but thought I'd just try. I auditioned with over 100 soloists and troupes from around the Bay Area, all vying for a spot at this years event. When I got the call, it finally struck me that I will be performing at the Palace of Fine Arts in front of a large audience of 1000+ people. I was the only dancer chosen to represent Belly Dance or the Middle East this year, so I am nervous yet excited, and feel so honored to be a part of this amazing event. In 1997, I was recovering from knee surgery. I was pretty down. I had put dancing aside, and my parents urged me to give it up and work toward something else. I couldn't dance anymore, and whenever my knee healed, I would train full force, hoping to go to LA or NYC and pursue a dancing career. But everytime a big performance came, I injured my knee and went in for surgery. I had all but given up on dance. To cheer me up, my mom, offered to take me to the Ethnic Dance Festival. She gave me the booklet and told me to choose which weekend. Browsing through the catalog, I saw there was a Belly Dancer on the first weekend, I didn't know much about Belly Dance but was intrigued. We went that night, with my crutches in tow, sitting anxiously waiting to see the Belly Dancer. When she came on I was spellbound. She had long dark hair and little moon eyes like me, I immediately connected with her. I was so happy to see someone like me up there. She shimmied and zilled and the audience loved her. The dancer was Nanna Candelaria. As soon as I got home I started working out my knee, I doubled up on my strengthening so I could walk again and take Belly Dance lessons. Now 10 years later, I'm dancing on opening night like Nanna did, hoping to inspire another dark haired, moon eyed girl. http://www.worldartswest.org

Da Flu...Achoo!

shabnamorama — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 21:55:14 GMT

Damn it, got the flu. Been years since I've been hit with one, so this knocked me on ma bootie. Started last week with sore throat, then, nose, head, and chest. Ack. Probably didn't help that I've had shows, gigs and lessons to teach. Had 2 performances on Sat, EDF in am than big party in Benecia in pm. Fortunately, noone noticed that I couldn't breathe and felt like passing out. Got some new photos taken on Sunday- been waiting for this for a month. Coughed and hacked in between shots, but she sent me some samples and they look perty good...thank god! Liza is such a pro, she can make anybody look great! Well in fighting this flu, I found a few things that help: Sore Throat: Gargle listerene or cayenne pepper w/warm water. For Cough: Drink apple cider vinegar, Yes! Heinz or organic is good. Drink a 1/4 cup 2-3 times a day. You can also make a tea, with ACV, lemon and honey. For Stuffy, nose/head: Pour boiling water into a bowl and add a few drops of peppermint extract. Cover your head and bowl with towel and breathe in all the vapors -this helped me sleep. Will be back Tribing soon! Cheers to good health ;)