I'm teaching a Belly Dance Class

Instructor: Stephanie Bolton
Fee: $35 for the month (4 classes)
Drop-in $10
**Drop in special: bring a new friend and you both can drop in for half price ($5 each)
February's theme: Bollywood/ Indian fusion belly dance
When: two great locations...

Thursdays beginning Feb. 4
upstairs at Island Naturals in Kona's Old Industrial Area
from 6-7pm

&

Fridays beginning Feb. 5
at Yoganics Studio in Kainaliu across from Oshima's
from 6[7pm

Contact: 808 854-1270
mauna.lea.studios@gmail.com

New Painting

This is a portrait of Zanbaka.
Check out www.zanbaka.com for more info on this dancer & be sure to order her Bellydance books- they are EXCELLENT!
They deal with a lot of the structural elements of designing your own dance practice, incorporating musicality and breaking down movements to their core muscle movements. You learn how to practice safely and how to create layers of intricate movement- develop control and muscle memory. Great for instructors who want a good base framework for teaching.
She goes through various approaches to teaching each concept so that every learner's style is appealed to (be it visual, thinkers, touch, etc.)
Useful diagrams & thorough descriptions, plus visualizations to help you make connections to difficult concepts in simple ways.
I really like her books a lot & feel like these are what the Bellydance community has been waiting for.
Seasoned veterans will learn useful information from these books.

Bellydance Party

So much fun! My instructor friend double booked herself this Saturday and asked me on Friday if I could fill in dancing/teaching at a private Bellydance party at one of her student's house.
The party was a blast, a hand full of lovely ladies all really fun & eager to shake it! I did a little demonstration & we formed a circle and had a little dancing session, played some games. I was a little nervous when the hostess wanted to use her own music and not the music I had practiced with before coming- but who says "no" to the birthday girl?
It all worked out fine and I think everyone really enjoyed it!
(I wish I had a picture!)

skewed perspectives?

So this Halloween I didn't bother coming up with any great costume, I just put on a bellydance outfit & went off to a block party downtown where just about every woman that walked by me was wearing (or hardly wearing I should say) skin tight impossibly short skirts (among other things), pasties on top, or cleavage baring or such sundry scandalous attire. I commented to my friends "Geez- Kona girls have sure gotten slutty haven't they?"
Everyone around me started doing the milk-snort sort of laugh implying not so subtly that I, myself, looked quite slutty.
I thought about it for a minute and supposed that even though sporting a 20 pound bra and several skirts & belts, my midriff revealed and skantily clad upper half could suggest a somewhat slutty exterior.
Funny how after belly dancing for years and having a deeply felt respect for the dance could prevent me from acknowledging the reality that most bellydance attire is, in fact, rather racy. It is just so dignified and elegant and tasteful in my mind that I hardly view it as such.

Sometimes ya just gotta put your foot in your mouth.

But you can judge for yourself- do you think my costume was slutty?

Dum-tek-Dum-Dum-har-har

These are from (where there are millions more)
drumcircles.net/drumjokes.html

Some of these are stupid but some of them are SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO funny!
(And well worth remembering next time you wanna raz your drummer- hehe)

Billy: Mommy! I want to be a drummer when I grow up! Mommy: Now, Billy. You know you can't do both. (HA!)

What do you call a doumbek player with a credit card? Married.


What is the difference between a drummer and a pizza? A pizza can feed a family of 4.

What's the difference between a drummer and a percussionist. "Oh, about three hundred dollars a week," (hmmmmmmm.)

Why are these drummer jokes so simple? So bass players will understand them! (ahem)

How can you tell if there's a drummer at the door? The knocking speeds up. (yawn.)

How many drummers does it take to screw in a light bulb? - 100 1 to screw in the light bulb and 99 to say how much better Neil Peart could have done it. (I should have cut this one)

What do you call a drummer without a girlfriend? Homeless and without a car. (actually, from personal experience...it's the lead singer-not the drummer)

What do you say to a drummer in a three-piece suit? "Will the defendant please rise..." (almost funny)

How is a drum solo like a sneeze? You can tell it's coming, but you can't do anything about it. (well...ok)

Which is larger...a doumbek or conga drum? They're both the same size; dumbeks just look smaller because a doumbek player's head is bigger.

What's the difference between a doumbek and a jack-hammer? A jack-hammer only repeats itself 10 times a second.

What's black and brown and looks good on a doumbek player? A Doberman

What do you call a beautiful woman on a doumbek player's arm? A tattoo.

What's the similarity between a doumbek player and a philosopher? They both perceive time as an abstract concept.

What do you get if you drop a doumbek off the Leaning Tower of Pisa? Applause.

What is the difference between an onion and a doumbek? Nobody cries if you chop up a doumbek.

What has eight legs and flies? Four doumbek players. (Lord of the flies)

What is the ultimate sincere compliment you can pay a doumbek player? "Nice tooth."

What do you call 500 doumbeks at the bottom of the Mediterranean Ocean? A good start.

What has 24 legs and three teeth? The front row at a doumbek workshop.

What do you call a hundred doumbeks up to their rims in sand? Not enough sand.

Why is the doumbek more popular than the bowed psaltery? There's more room for drugs.

What do you call a doumbek player with half a brain? Gifted.

Why is a dead armadillo in the road more tragic than a dead doumbek player? The armadillo was on its way to a gig.

You know you want one...

Click the link below to see more!
www.etsy.com/shop.php

Cigarette/Money case with artwork by Stephanie Bolton.

This case is spring-loaded and very durable.
Case is large enough to hold a full pack of cigarettes without crushing them but small enough to fit in back pocket of your jeans!
Great for keeping your cards & cash, making it easy to switch handbags in a flash.
I keep my library card, driver's license, credit cards, bank cards & business cards clipped into one side and my stamps, club cards, & cash clipped into the other side. The clips keep items secure so they don't fall out when you open your case.

Ask me about custom orders- I can put personal artwork just for you on your case. They make great gifts!

Cairo Time

Too Cool- movie set in Cairo coming out soon.
I heard there is even a bellydancer in the party scene... not sure if she will be dancing but a dancer none-the-less (be a pity if she isn't)

Anyway- if anyone wants to meet me at the movies: let me know!

Purses with "Purse-i-nality" & free shipping

www.sasakibags.com is the place! if you want a really fantastic handbag that no one else has got- each bag is handmade and one of a kind, made with unique reclaimed materials like, coffee burlap sacks, hand-painted artwork on canvas or silk, kimonos, Thai silks, etc.
Earth-friendly & Fashion savvy.

Right now you can get them shipped to you FREE

...if you are from any of the following states...

Alaska
Alabama
Iowa
Illinois
Kansas
Kentucky
Maine
North Dakota
Nebraska
New Hampshire
Oklahoma
Rhode Island
Utah
Vermont

I work with a lady who makes THE finest handbags ever. I have never in my life gotten so many compliments on the streets than I have carrying my Sasaki bag- I kid you not- I mean, when I am in hurry, I seriously have to think twice about carrying it because I know I will be getting stopped at least 3 times & have to explain where I got it. They are THAT cool. I keep telling her that she needs to get a bizillion biz cards printed up and stick a stack in each purse she sells just for the convenience of the purchaser- to save them some time: they can throw a card at people instead of going through how and where they got it every time someone stops them.

Now she is even making gorgeous yoga bags out of old silk kimonos- sooooo beautiful & chic! Her market bags are so cute- especially those haute potatoes bags! So I am passing along this special deal of hers, because shipping from Hawaii is kinda pricey. So this is a super great deal! If you wanna know why these states and not others, check out her blog www.sasakibags.blogspot.com for the back story. All of her purses have a story, btw, which makes each one even more special!

She can even make custom orders for you too so don't be too shy to ask- if you have a special idea and don't see what you were looking for.
Also I provide the original art on her gallery series so you can also have ANYTHING painted on your original art bag if that's the style you like. See my website for more artwork options www.stephaniebolton.com

Rachel Brice is following me on Twitter?

Random.
Honored for sure, but I am surprised and curious as to why RB or "Arbibi" would have any interest in following me on Twitter.

But I notice that there are bunch of random people following me on Twitter who I don't know. I only use Twitter to talk to a business partner I have usually because I know it is a fast way to communicate with her. But then these other people started following me & I can't imagine why.

Somthing similar happened on Netflix. I like to leave reviews of dvds I watch, mainly for myself so I can remember what I thought of this or that in case I ever consider renting again but I noticed a weird section I had never noticed before that said friends and favs- and there were 30 people who added me as a fav I guess or whatever. I suddenly felt like "people are actually reading my reviews?" Great- now I have to actually watch what I say? I can't just use that feature for personal reference to myself anymore? Most were obviously other belly dancers but some were men who obviously had no common interests in the movies I have been renting- why on earth would they care what I wrote?

Does this happen to other people too?

Love your Mommy?

I am having a mother's day contest!!!
For a chance to win a free original painting for your Mama- just go to www.maunaleastudios.blogspot.com and tell me why your mom is the best mom in the world in 10 words or less.
(I'll be announcing the winner on May 5th)

My stimulus package to kids who can't afford super cool gifts for mother's day this year ;)
Contest is open to anyone so please feel free to pass the link onto your friends!