It's all about the Tribal Belt

The winter months are s l o w, not many festivals. But Spring is here! You could not tell by the weather in STL. There will be 2 events for the troupe to look forward to National Dance Week, Earth Day and our monthly Raks Sharki meeting!

Dusting off my costumes, some adjustments to be made and maybe an refurbish to one of the tribal belts. I like the more textured yarn that I'm seeing used on the belts now. I'm pondering what color combo to use, all 3 in the veil or just 2? Decisions, decisions.

The picture posted is of Rania's belt! I adore the various textures & colors. It worked well with her costume. I could easily see this as a crossover belt. Puts me in the mind of a tribal gypsy, if there is such a thing.

National Dance Week, Saturday, April 25th @ Union Station
http://www.nationaldanceweekstl.com/

Earth Day is Sunday, April 26th in Forest Park
http://www.stlouisearthday.org/

Raks Sharki in STL....Sunday, April 26th (Should I do a costume change???)

Performing @ Saviour's Day In Chicago, IL

I had the pleasure of attending and performing at Saviour's Day 2009 this past weekend, in Chicago, Illinois.

We stayed at the Hotel Sofitel (Luxury to say the least) this is a wonderful choice if you are visiting Chicago. It's not close to the inner city, but a short distance form the O'Hare Airport. The hotel has excellent customer service and room service is tops! Hotel Sofitel gets a 5 star rating from me. I do regret that I did not take pictures in the lobby. I dined in the main restaurant and French Cuisine is tops. www.sofitel.com

We travelled around town during our stay and the Phoenix Restaurant serves Greek style cuisine. The service and portion sizes were very generous to say the least. Be sure to order the salmon plate, if in Chicago!

Basilico Resitorante was another one of our stops. Italian cuisine and very large portions, I was unable to devour it all. Too bad I could not take a bag home.
www.basilico.net

It was a rainy drive and not pleasant to pass the 18 wheelers, so be careful when doing highway driving in this situation. Caution is the key!

My lifesaver of the trip was Audrena, I discovered while driving I left my sword. Panic set in. How could I have done such a terrible thing. I remembered I had packed my bag on the bed with the sword under my bag. I will always keep a sword in my car, I will always keep a sword in the trunk of my car. I should know better. I drove out to her house and purchased a bronze sword.
www.audrena.com

As the announcer introduced me I had a different kind of butterflies, I was more than just nervous. I want to make a good impression, avoid offending anyone and it was to the utmost importance to present the art of Middle Eastern Dance in a respectful way. I choose to do a sword dance. For some reason I feel comfortable with the sword on my head. It was not my usual one but it was fine for a stand in.
Walking across the stage as the music I began to feel at ease and once the music soon passed the introduction I was beginning to settle into my dance. There was applause after the performance and I survived. It was an honor and every stitch that is took me to make my costume was sew very worth it!

I need to download the video of my performance:) My husband captured it all for me-how sweet.