Belly Dance Meetup in Dallas, TX

I have heard Dallas, has a very large bellydance community! I know Vashti is here as well a Maggie(formerly lived in STL!) There will an event tomorrow evening at the Carrollton Arts Center. I'm not sure if my schedule will permit, in town for other reasons. I'd love to attend. Vashti has a class on Saturday, 11am until 1pm :(
I don't think I can attend in the morning, we already have other plans.
Nothing is set in stone for tomorrow evening, I'll suggest a girls night out ;)
Yay, Shimmy time!

Amel Tafsout

My description might not be good enough but I will give it a try. Amel is excellent, and dancing with feeling. The only way to get it is to experience her in person. The rich colorful costumes are breath taking, the colors just flow. I have posted a few pictures of her from the show and workshop put on by Diana's Danse Orientale at the Ethical Society. She is as beautiful in person as she is on stage, it was a pleasure to meet and dance with her informally. This is something I will always remember.

Other performers who participate in this event were from various dance studios around the metropolitan St. Louis area.

Help from my FRIENDS

Support staff are valuable. They are an asset to the troupe. It takes lots of marketing, picture taking, updating & gatering information, phone calls, editing and more. I could go on and on but you get the idea. Having extra eyes, ears and hands help. I get by with a little help from my friends.

Interesting Read

From time to time I do find excellent articles on line, relating to belly dance and other useful topics. If you are interested in public performances on a professional basis or just work with a group, read this article. Belly dance is a beautiful art. Mastering the art takes time and practice, enjoy!

This article is in the online ezine Gilded Serpent. Support the Gilded Serpent, informative and educational articles from belly dancers around the world.

Read the Article: Know Venue!

The Recycle Bin!!!!

I thankful for not emptying my recycle bin! I could have lost some pictures that were important. So from now on I will take more care to be EVER SO SURE to check myself. Dance photos of course. This could have caused me to use my sword;) on myself.

Eastern Illinois University

This past Saturday, May 2nd, we had a road trip to Charleston, Illinois. We performed at Celebration: A Festival of the Arts. This year was the 1st Annual Event. It was a pleasure to attend. From the Funnel Cakes to the variety of booths with food and craft choices. I dined on a Gyro sandwich after dancing, yummy! And got a chance to hold the snake, too bad I had on so much tribal jewelry I could not place it around my neck in costume. I will make a mental note for next time.

Charleston, is just about 2 hours and 20 minutes travel time. One rest stop and we were there. Playing your favorite belly tunes does help to pass the time away.

We took the usual picture break and got the turbans on break neck speed. The rain was not our friend, so we avoided dancing in the mud. A slab of concrete will do us just fine.

Our most supportive supporters were with us. It's not too bad going on a road trip with the troupe, I actually enjoyed the company, and laughs.

Extending Opportunity: Raks Sharki

Once a month, I host the Raks Sharki in St. Louis. It is a free hafla, the event is extended to all belly dancers that are in the St. Louis and beyond. Basically, anyone who is interested in attend to gain more experience in public performances. Usually there is a minimal charge at haflas. This was a venue for my students as well as others to get a chance to wear costume and just dance in an relaxed atmosphere. Besides, I was looking for more opportunities to dance myself.

From time to time we have other local dancers who join us in some fun. Drummers, on occasion show up to drum out their beat. Basically, music and a merry time for all.

My goal is to link the belly dance community throughout the St. Louis area, giving others a chance to socialize with others who share like interest. Kind of like a "belly dancers night out" type of thing. So far things are going well, in the future, I'd love to see more dancers participate. This is my belly-stimulus package to the area. Hope to see you at the end of the month!

If interested join this Yahoo Group!

Our flyer and NEW log was developed by: SSR!

Earth Day 2009

Earth Day 2009....change in the parking lot for performers this year! Walking down hill on a windy day is fine, walking up a hill back to the parking lot not so much fun. I have allergies, so a little suffering was involved. I missed the usage of the pavilion! This year the crowd seemed larger to me or was it due to everyone sitting on the bales of hay?

We choose the color scheme of blue, or purple. Seems to be fitting for a gypsy dancer. Troupe Nayliyat performed on the grassy stage, challenging to a dancer's feet. Twigs, dips and so on. If you dance you will relate. This was another opportunity for us to demonstrate our love for the dance. This year we had a few novice students to join in on the festivities, with butterflies and all. They did a good job. A first public performance brings on a case of the jitters! After all is done; a sea of calm returns. I remember my first public performance. My goal is to make everyone a comfortable as possible. It's not always possible, but I do try help extreme cases of stage fright.

Our support staff recorded the event and the troupe photographer had a chance to capture our best smiles. I'm pleased with the video (will post) and photos!

Hopefully, everyone attending the Earth Day event got the message of Earth Day and saving the planet for generations to come. Let's go and think green, while wearing other colors.

National Dance Week

National Dance Week is the beginning of our performance season. This year it was beautiful windy weather. Our dresses were in my opinion a great selection. Performing at an outside event "folkloric" dresses are pleasing. The dresses were made by several members of the group. Having troupe members with sewing skills are invaluable to say the least. All things went well. Very unfortunate this year there was no video recording done. Personally, I was looking forward to receiving the usual "free" DVD. We can always dress up again to do a demo.

The event featured various belly and non belly dance groups in the St. Louis area and beyond. This always gives us a chance to see old friends.

Getting the group together for pictures, what a blast. Smile!