My solo at Spring Caravan

www.youtube.com/watch

where my dance comes from

Here's a moment of introspection verging on self absorption. lol!

People have asked me where I get that look of peace and assurance when I dance, so I've been thinking about it, and here's what I came up with.

When I was a really little kid I had one of those spinning things you sit on. I would spin for rediculous amounts of time and stop thinking, and then collaps on the floor and giggle. I think that was the start of it all. Probably today they would have diagnosed me with autism.

There really wasn't any dancing in my house - my parents are protestants. (I find that hilarious.) But I think dancing is its own instinct, and I'd swirl and spin and skip around like every other child. And when at the age of four I saw a ballet dancer on the TV for the first time, I exclaimed that that's what I wanted to be when I grew up, and was promptly put in classes. The classes gave me a sense of form and structure, but I actually think the ocean taught me how to move.

Every summer of my life growing up was spent in Ocean City NJ, and every day we went to the beach. I'm not a particularly strong swimmer, but I float really easily. I can glide through the water and stir the water with my legs to make me spin. I'd used my arms to make smooth edies and ripples in the water, and would try to move and dance through the water without causing a splash - as if I were trying to become water. I can't describe it any better than that.

Even now when I dance, I'm moving through water. I'm causing smooth ripples in the air and leaving a wake behind me and I can feel some sort of tide pulling me forward. I'm safe, and I'm surrounded by a friend.

No one's watching you when you're in the ocean. They're looking at the waves, they're talking to their friends, and they're worried about how they look in their new bathing suit as they walk along the edge. So there's nothing to be self concious about. You can let go and float - the ocean will catch you. And for that moment there when you become the water and the underwater sounds of the ocean fill your ears and the mountain sized clouds float peacefully above you - all of us made of water, you become connected to everything in the world. Once you reach that feeling of zen, that's when you start to glow.

So now you know.

Shushanna.com

I did it. I decided to use Shushanna as my dance name and I've made my official website. I'm very excited. Check it out and let me know what you think. It's my first one so there might be bugs. www.shushanna.com

Carmine, you can always call me Suzanne if you'd prefer. ;-) I seriously doubt you'd be a creepy stalker guy who'd try to track me down by my real name, and you already know where I live anyway. hehehe.

Dance Name

I'm thinking about taking on a dance name. For quite a long time I've been against the idea for myself because... I don't know ... it just felt kind of silly.

But after talking with Mia Naja at Rakkasah, I've been rethinking it. In real life she's a high paid lawyer, and she doesn't want people searching for her online about law questions to be bumbarded with her bellydance life. I can appreciate that.

That being said, since I work for the Department of Defense I imaging that whatever dance name I take will be listed as an alias in my FBI file. lol! But that's okay. As long as Joe-schmo down in Contracts isn't able to easily google pictures of me in my costumes, I'll be happy.

So... I'm thinking about Shushanna. It's the ancient Persian version of Suzanne, and it's been my email name since 1997. A few people have already assumed that was my dance name - I actually got listed on the Pop Raqs play bill as Shushanna. So why fight it, I guess.

Jalsah Philly

My husband Sean and I are hosting the fabulous Carmine and Melissa for the first ever Jalsah Philly!

It's going to be awesome, and you should come.

check out the details here - www.thejalsah.com/pages/Philadelphia/

Our Spring Caravan performance

Sean and I performed on Friday night live to Djinn. This was Sean's first dance performance ever. I'm really proud of him.

www.youtube.com/watch

We're going to Folk Tours!

It starts this Friday at 3pm. There'll be classes every day, parties every night, costume shop and swaps, and performances by famous dancers and musicians. And the weather is supposed to be beautiful! Sean and I have really been looking forward to it. :-D

We got married! :-D

Sean and I got married on January 12th. It was a beautiful day with unseasonably warm weather, and everything went really well. It was a small wedding - we had about 50 guests, and it was held at a Victorian mansion in Philadelphia near Rittenhouse Square.

We spent our honeymoon in Philadelphia, pretending to be tourists, although we plan on going to Disney World sometime later this year. Maybe in the fall.

So now things are getting back to normal. We're both back to work. I've gone back to classes at the DDLC with Alexia, and Sean just did another performance with Images Of The Motherland. I bet I have a huge bunch of email to sort through. I've been kinda neglectful of my internet activities. (sorry)

So... what did I miss?

Dress rehearsal tonight, performance tomorrow

The DDLC, where I take lessons, is having their fall performance this Saturday. I'll be performing in the opening number wearing my amber bedlah for the first time since I altered it. Tonight is the dress rehearsal, and I hope it all holds together. :-)

If you're not busy you should come see us. It'll be an awesome show.

Info:

When: Saturday Sept 15th, 2007, 3pm Matinee, 7pm Evening Show
Where: The Academy Theatre (next to Mastoris Diner) 146 Rt 130, Bordentown, NJ
Cost: $15 at the door Cash Only, or $17 PayPal (see link), kids get discount

The DDLC Showcase features music and dance of the Middle East, West Africa, North Africa, Puerto Rico and multi-cultural fusion. Guest performers include West African dancer Audrey Davis and Folkloric Puerto Rican dancer, Patricia Irizarry - Baretto.

For PayPal tickets go to: www.drumdancecenter.com/events.html

Scapple... needle... beads

I did surgery on my amber and gold bedlah last night. The cups on the bra seemed to have been designed as pointy 1950's cone style B-cups, which looks nothing but awkward on my DD's. They were kinda giving me that double boob look (you ladies know what I mean). So last night I carefully removed the beads from the center top of the cups and set them aside. Then I cut a line from the top center down to the tip of the bra and inserted a triangle made of extra heavy interfacing and fabric to inlarge the cup size. After the the triangles are stitched it in place, I cover them with the same bead pattern as the rest of the bra. At least, that's the plan.

So far one side is finished, and the other is just started. Already it looks better, but I won't know if it's just right until it's all done. Fortunately my costume came with wrist bands that I could canibalize for raw materials to fill in the new sections so they would blend in.

I have a performance in September at which I need to wear this outfit, so I'm in all out costuming mode. Once I'm done with the bra I'm going to make a new satin circle skirt in dark brown. :-)