Smoke Signals

My solo at Spring Caravan

Shushanna — Mon, 04 May 2009 06:33:19 GMT

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmJk_Fm9brM

where my dance comes from

Shushanna — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 18:46:20 GMT

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

Shushanna — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 00:16:46 GMT

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. http://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

Shushanna — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 16:43:28 GMT

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

Shushanna — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 20:28:23 GMT

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 - http://www.thejalsah.com/pages/Philadelphia/

Our Spring Caravan performance

Shushanna — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 14:04:17 GMT

Sean and I performed on Friday night live to Djinn. This was Sean's first dance performance ever. I'm really proud of him. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3PnBBZkT_4

We're going to Folk Tours!

Shushanna — Wed, 21 May 2008 14:41:56 GMT

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

Shushanna — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 16:29:20 GMT

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

Shushanna — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 20:32:39 GMT

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: http://www.drumdancecenter.com/events.html

Scapple... needle... beads

Shushanna — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 14:11:36 GMT

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. :-)

Volunteering at Rakkasah East 2007!

Shushanna — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 13:02:20 GMT

Rakkasah East is looking for some volunteers to help us back stage and at dancer check in. We are asking for a 2 hour minimum to volunteer but would love if people could do more. No experience is necessary. For every volunteer, admission is free for the day you volunteer. There will also be free food vouchers for those who volunteer 4 or more hours in one day. The positions open are Back Stage Manager, Announcer, Runner, Timer, Back Stage Dancer Check-In, and Front Door Dancer Check In. Volunteers are needed Friday the 12th (6pm - 11pm), Saturday the 13th (10am - 11pm) and Sunday the 14th (10am - 8pm) of October. If you're a new volunteer with no experience, there's nothing to worry about. All of the jobs are pretty simple, and training will be provided. Volunteering is a great way to see what goes on back stage and a chance to meet some excellent people! If you do want to help out, I'll need to know what day and time (start and finish) you're available and contact info (full name, address, phone and an email). If you prefer one position or another please let me know, and I will try to honor those requests based on available. Let me know if you have any questions! My name is Suzanne and feel free to contact me through Tribe or at shushanna at yahoo.com.

What's goin' on

Shushanna — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 13:35:15 GMT

About two months ago I got a promotion at work, and now I'm insanely busy and I have to go out of town a lot. It's been a good opportunity and I hope it will lead to better things in the future, but the downside is that I don't have time to do much tribing. We're less than six months away from our wedding day. We have yet to book our honeymoon to Hawaii. We don't yet have a florist or finalized music plans. I'd like to lose a good ten pounds, maybe twenty before the big day, but food is such a beautiful thing. I'm about 80% done my beaded scalloped lace mantilla veil, but I haven't worked on it in a month and I can easily forsee me putting it off till the last minute. My brother recently did a photoshoot of me. He's starting out his photography business and he just bought a new camera, so I got to be his ginnea pig. He took about 500 pictures of me. Many of them are studies of different lighting, different lenses, and different exposure times. I'll probably post more my favorites in time, but I have to shrink the files down to fit on tribe.

Spring Caravan

Shushanna — Mon, 07 May 2007 03:35:35 GMT

It was an awesome time. I got there Thursday night in time for the Suhaila Jazz Fusion workshop and stayed till the bitter-sweet end on Sunday night. All in all, I did 9 hours of Suhaila workshops, a 3 hour Heather Stants workshop, 14 hours of Stage Managing, 2 after parties, and 1 troupe performance for Mahira Tribe. It's been a full weekend, and thank god for over the counter pain killers. I'm extra proud of being one of the 20 or so who made it completely through Suhaila's 3 hour long Drum Solo workshop. I can't say I did it all correctly, but I faked the funk as best I could. My fiance Sean arrived just in time for the Friday night after party and helped Djinn rock the house with his saz, riq, doumbek, carcabas (aka Man Zils), and lovely singing. I'm so proud of him. :-D He's so talented, and cute, and loveable, and hot. hehehe I'm totally his fan girl.

Come to the Mahira Tribe Spring Hafla!

Shushanna — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 14:54:09 GMT

Mahira Tribe 2nd Annual Spring Hafla Saturday April 21st FREE Drum Workshop at 3pm, Hafla at 6:30pm *** NEW LOCATION *** First Presbyterian Church 800 E Landis Ave, Vineland NJ < Map at http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=800+landis+ave,+vineland+nj&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=33.626896,59.238281&layer=&ie=UTF8&z=16&ll=39.486754,-75.01864&spn=0.007999,0.014462&om=1&iwloc=addr Mahira Tribe is proud to host Carmine Guida of Djinn from NYC. He'll be teaching a FREE Drum Workshop which will be filmed to make his instructional video. Space is limited, so contact Sean at rufusdire at yahoo.com to reserve a spot. Check out Carmine's site here: http://www.carmine.com/events/showevent.asp?EventID=91 Hafla admittance is $10, kids under 5 are free. Hafla special guests include Carmine Guida, Alexia of the Nile, Michelle De Vine, and Alia Saleem! For a full list of performers and more info, check out http://tribes.tribe.net/mahiratribe There'll be vendors, open floor dancing with live musicians, and lots of wonderful performances! BYOB and feel free to bring pot luck. This event is family friendly and open to all ages.

Meme

Shushanna — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 14:50:16 GMT

1. When is your birthday and how old are you? August 18th, 1980, and I'm currently 26. 2. How did you get your name? My mother wanted to name me Susan, but my Aunt Maryanne insisted it was too plain and that I should be named Suzanne. 3. What was your first word? Dada, I think. 4. What was the wierdest thing you did as a kid? There are so many to choose from. I was (and am) always in my own world. 5. Do you sleep naked? yes 6. Orange juice or apple juice? apple juice 7. Would you dress as the opposite sex? Not by choice. 8. Soup or Salad? Depends on the weather. 9. Have you ever bought a car? yes 10. Have you ever been expelled from school? nope 11. Favorite age you have been so far? 26 (now) - cause I've got a great paying job, a nice home, a wonderful fiance, and lots of hope for the future. 12. Have you ever been surfing? More like boogie boarding and body surfing. I love the ocean. 13. Have you ever gone skiing? Nope 14. Have you ever been in a car accident? yes 15. Ok! Fess up who was your first kiss? I was 13, he was 16, and his name was Jimmy. 16. Have you ever fallen in love with your best friend? Yes 17. What's the best concert you've seen? I haven't been to that many. I went to this one concert with a bunch of groups in it - including Moby and David Bowie. I forget what it was called. 18. Do you like dancing? yes 19. Have you ever written a song? yes, many 20. What's your favorite book? Lord of the Rings (I have the big edition with all three books in one, as Tolkien intented) 21. Have you ever prank called someone? no 22. Do you believe in soul mates? no, I believe in compatibilities and choice. 23. Do you like your name? yes 24. How much cash is in your wallet right now? $20 25. Have you ever failed a grade? yes, kindergarten 26. Have you ever been abducted by aliens? no 27. Have you ever kissed someone in the rain? yes 28. Name 4 things you always have with you. my shaddow, my memories, my sense of humor, and the force. 29. What's the first thing you do in the morning? reset my alarm clock to give me another half hour of sleep. 30. What's your guiltiest pleasure? Squeezing my pudgy cat Wendy. She's so squishy. :-D 31. Do you like yourself? yes 32. What is your favorite girl's name? Elizabeth 33. What is your favorite boy's name? Alexander 34. What is your dream job? If money wasn't something I had to keep in mind, I'd probably want to do something artistic that didn't take 40 hours a week. 35. Superman or Spiderman? Spiderman 36. Chocolate or Vanilla? Chocolate 37. If your life were a movie what would it be called? Suzanne 38. Are you a morning person? Does staying up till the sun rises count? 39. Right handed or left handed? Right handed 40. Innie or Outtie? Innie 41. Have you ever thrown up on anyone? I'm sure I did as a baby. 42. Have you ever seen a dead body? yes 43. Have you ever cheated on someone? unfortunately yes 44. Have you ever done something really stupid that you are still laughing about today? sure 45. Have you ever wanted to be a model? no, I just wanted to be beautiful so people wouldn't mistreat me. Ah the stigmas of an ugly duckling. 46. Have you ever cried in school? yes 47. Thing you say too often? Hmmm, the thing I say the most is "I love you" but I don't think that can ever be said too often.. 48. Do you like thunderstorms? Yes, especially when there is lighting. 49. What's the last thing you watched on tv? The Daily Show last night. 50. Who was the last person you talked to on the phone? My sister in law Alaina. Finish the following ... I believe: in you. I am: therefore I dance. I feel: a bit sleepy. I know: myself. Sometimes I: go to bed on time. It's not commonly known: that I'm a huge introvert. Never under any circumstances: will I bleach my hair platinum blond. Isn't it weird that: England drives on the left, France drives on the right, and the Chunnel connects them. I mean, it must be odd to come out of a tunnel and have the whole road system switched over. Right now: it's the last day of February. Another month done. Everyone has: to pay taxes, to eat, to sleep, and to die. Beyond that it's pretty much up to you.

We got in

Shushanna — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 16:47:51 GMT

Mahira Tribe will be performing at 5pm on Saturday at Spring Caravan! :) Prime time! We're very excited. Now I just need to sign up for all the Suhaila workshops before they fill up.

lots of bellydance to spread around

Shushanna — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 18:44:56 GMT

My days have just been so incredibly packed recently, they feel like weeks. Yesterday I went to Alexia's 3 hour Suhaila Technique Intensive workshop, followed by a 2 hour Issam Drum Workshop, followed by the Bellydance Superstars show that night. All of it was wonderful. I just updated the Bellydance Bulletin Board and wow, there's a lot going on. The weekend of the 2nd has like a dozen events. Everybody is hosting haflas and stuff. You should check it out.

The photos, as promised.

Shushanna — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 22:11:28 GMT

My brother Chris did a photo shoot for my troupe, Mahira Tribe, and the pictures turned out beautifully. Everything is in rich jewel tones with soft lighting and dynamic poses. He did an excellent job. I posted some of my solo shots on my profile, and I posted a few of the group shots and the other lovely ladies solo shots on the troupe's tribe, http://tribes.tribe.net/mahiratribe If you like what you see and are interested in setting up your own photo shoot, please contact Chris at conesti at gmail.com. He's just starting out his photography business and he is definitely looking for clients. He's located out of Marlton NJ.

Mahira Tribe Photo Shoot

Shushanna — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 03:16:56 GMT

It. Was. Awesome. Everything went perfectly - better than we had even planned. It was like the stars aligned and the gods all gave their blessings, and every single one of our pictures turned out fabulous. Each of us got a bunch of solo shots, a bunch of head shots, neat closeups of our eyes with veils in front of us, and there were a bunch of group shots and artistic shots... I think over three hours of constant shooting. I know, I'm being such a tease right now, cause I don't have any pictures yet to show you. I should be getting a CD of them some time this week and I promise I will post at least some of them on tribe. My brother Chris is the photographer. He's just starting out his photography business, so if you like them and you're looking for a great photographer for you or your troupe, you should check him out. I'm not just saying that because he's my brother. He genuinly rocks.

Arabesque

Shushanna — Thu, 28 Sep 2006 14:44:02 GMT

Two weekends ago I got to be part of an awesome show called Arabesque in Bordentown for the Drum and Dance Learning Center. It was the student showcase and we almost had a full house. Alexia put a lot of work into making sure the lighting was just right and the sound was perfect. It really had a pollished look to it. I can't wait to see the DVD. The picture is one that my Dad took of me during my solo. I think it looks pretty neat. He took more, but I have yet to go pick up the CD he burned for me. He emailed me this one, and Mom liked it so much she got it framed. :)

Melodias and my over active guilt complex

Shushanna — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 17:36:18 GMT

I just bought my first pair. I got the burgundy mehndi Phoenix Rising Melodias. I'm very excited. I love burgundy, and I love the pattern of the fabric, and since I don't think I'd be able to make something just like them myself, and people rave about the quality, I decided to buy a pair. I told my boyfriend last night (we live together and have a joint account, so it's really OUR money). I felt a little guilty for spending it without telling him first. But he just laughed at my sillyness, spending so much money on a pair of pants. We're double-income-no-kids people and we do pretty well, so it's not like it broke the bank or anything. And it never really feels like money when you use plastic anyway. lol But I felt a little bad though, when at our troupe practice last night I excitedly mentioned my new purchase, and although no one seemed displeased, everyone had this ghostly expression on their faces of "Oh my god, I know how much those cost." And so I feel like an inconsiderate jerk for mentioning them at all (totally my own complex, my troupe mates are awesome supportive ladies). Two of my troupe mates are mothers (Lord knows how expensive kids are) and all of them work in education (Lord knows our teachers aren't paid enough). So none of them are likely to follow my lead and drop a Benjamin on the booty gear any time soon. Which means I'm a jerk. A jerk in pretty pants. Well, at least they're pretty.

I heart Ebay

Shushanna — Mon, 07 Aug 2006 20:39:23 GMT

I just bought this amber and gold necklace on Ebay for $18. It's real amber and it's gold plated. Free shipping. The seller's website is http://www.amazingaccessories.net I couldn't believe it at first. I kept looking for the reserve price, but there wasn't one. I mean, even if it were just fake jewelry it would be worth that price. I just hope it looks good with my new brown bedleh. Oh, and it comes with earings too. :-D

I gots da glittah

Shushanna — Fri, 04 Aug 2006 14:13:22 GMT

This is the costume I got at Topkapi, although it already looks distinctly different from how I bought it, and it's not done yet. I removed the hanging Turkish fringe from the bra and am currently adding a lovely bugal bead swag. The swag you see in the picture is only the beginning. It's going to cover more of the cups and act as a belly drape, and then from the bottom middle of each cup I'm going to start another set of swags that go around to the back. I was inspired by another Topkapi Design that had beaded swags like that, but it didn't come in this color. Then, perhaps this Saturday, I'm going to go to Cote' Inc in Morrisville PA, a costume supply store, where they sell sew on jewels, appliques, and beads in every color. It's a bellydancer costumer's heaven, or hell depending on the state of your bank account. If you'd like to go sometime you can check out the details here: http://tribes.tribe.net/bellydancebulletinboard/thread/7c657d43-d614-42b5-86e5-cc6e5c9516dc Last night I very bravely did plastic surgury on the cups. They were pointy and required a bit of a nip-tuck. I (gasp) removed the sequins and beads where it was pointy, chugged some champaign to ease my nerves, and took each cup in on the points by folding the points in and hand stitching them down. They are now more rounded and the 1950's pointyness is hardly there at all anymore. I celebrated by finishing said bottle of champaign and blissfully adding my beaded swags, and then taking this picture. :-D

Baby's first Bedleh

Shushanna — Wed, 12 Jul 2006 18:05:42 GMT

Ok, it's now semi official. I and my friend Mary, and possibly a few others, are going to Topkapi Designs in Long Island New York on Monday July 31st. It's a three hour drive without traffic on a route that goes through the heart of NYC. We'll have to figure out when the best time of day is to avoid the business rush. Topkapi Designs is a family run, top of the line, Turkish cabaret costume outlet. They litterally have hundreds of costumes in stock, in every size, in every color. Gulsum, the woman who owns the business, advised me over the phone that we should schedule at least three hours to shop because it will take that long to see everything. In my mind I'm like Scrooge McDuck swiming through coins in his vault, only I'm swimming through a sea of multi colored beads and sequins. It will be glorious! And soon, I will have my own, my precious, my bedleh.

8 things

Shushanna — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 13:20:50 GMT

I was tagged by Laurie, the lovely bookkeeper from Vermont. 1. I usually bight my nails (more out of practicallity than habit), but right now I'm trying to grow them out. They're pretty, but the unusual sensation of longer nails is driving me nuts. 2. I'm an excellent seamstress, although they wouldn't let me take sewing in high school. I ended up teaching myself. 3. I'm a live action role player, or larper. This means that on a monthly basis I get dressed up in medieval clothing and beat up my friends with foam padded sword. It's fun. 4. I have two cats: Pippin who is a humongous Snowshoe and a mama's boy, and Wendy who's a pleasantly plump peach colored tabby. They are my babies. 5. I do the singer-songwriter thing, with guitar and piano. My style has sometimes been likened by others to Tori Amos, although the only real similarity is the girl and the piano. 6. I'm a mechanical engineer, although I'd much rather be an interior decorator or a personal style specialist. I have a great eye for aesthetics and nothing makes me happier than helping someone else feel beautiful. 7. When I was 12 (in 1992) my parents took my brother and I on a month long tour of Egypt and Israel. I climbed one of the pyramids (actually illegal, found out during), waded in the river Jordan, saw a wedding party on the streets of Gaza, and got the curse of the Pharoh (not pretty) from eating raw carrot sticks in a hotel in Cairo. Just because they serve it in a fancy hotel doesn't mean you should eat it. 8. I have a wonderful boyfriend named Sean who I am very much in love with. The first time I laid eyes on him I instantly thought he was the most hansome man I ever saw, and within a year of knowing him I was sure that he was the man I was going to marry. We've dated for 2 and a half years now and lived together for the past six months. And I couldn't be happier. Guess what, you're tagged.