My Fully Fusion V Performance

I hope this YouTube embedding thing works! If so, you should be able to click and watch the video of my performance from Saturday. If not, click here to view it on YouTube. (Sorry about the weird sound issue, we're not sure what caused that)

Fully Fusion was so much fun! Rhythm Room was packed with an appreciative crowd, the performers brought a variety of dances to the floor, and Spirtchaser rocked the house with their music. I really enjoyed the chance to perform with live music and will be looking for more opportunities.

Big thanks to Mahin for hosting the event, TC for being such a competent stage manager, Spiritchaser for the chance to dance with them, Chris for filming, and everyone who came out to see the show.

My next performance is at the Sadie show here in Tucson, with Fire & Gold and Skirt Full of Fire. I'll post more about that next week, but in the meantime you can buy tickets from the handy link on the lefthand side of this blog.

I am performing at Fully Fusion V!

That's right, I am performing at Fully Fusion V later this month! That's what yesterday's very special practice was for. And why did I need to drive to Phoenix for a special practice? Why, it's because I will be performing to a LIVE song by Spiritchaser! They kindly opened their home studio up for dancers to come practice with them yesterday, and I am so glad I decided to take them up on it. They're such a great couple, and it was an amazing experience to be able to practice to the music as it will be played, as opposed to the mp3.

I am really excited for this show. Not only is it my first time performing a solo to live music, but I am looking forward to watching all of the other performers, too! Kamrah has given me an idea of what she's going, and I know Divine Chaos will do something awesome (last year they fused belly dance and sign language into the most beautiful thing I've ever seen). Fully Fusion tends to be an event where people really stretch themselves as artists. I think it's going to be an awesome night.

Big Dancing Weekend!

My goodness did I dance a lot this weekend! Hours and hours of dance, in fact!

Last night was a big birthday bash for Kimberly, owner of Plaza de Anaya and all around awesome lady. Not only was there live drumming to dance to, but Spiritchaser (the Dead Can Dance tribute band) played a live set, too! That was SO much fun to dance to. I enjoyed getting my Anaya on with Tiffany and No-El to beautiful live music.

Today I had not one but two troupe practices, each two hours long. First, my last troupe practice with Anaya Tribe, where we did our usual general practice and crazy layering warm-up, and then we worked on our piece for the Unmata show next weekend. Second I came back to Tucson for the Collective's practice, in which we talked about what we were going to do, practiced a bunch of dancing and made a lot of noise with zills.

Now I am ready to relax for a bit before I have to tackle another class-filled week!

Formations

Day 334 of practice.

Tonight I went to class and broke out of my lumpy funk, somewhat. We worked on formations, and my nemesis -- the 3/4 shimmy layered over an Arabic. I'm starting to get better at it at least, now that I'm not so tight in my glutes and hips. Still hate it, though.

Once again we had Carl providing live drum music, which is nice for two different reasons. One is that Carl is awesome and so is his drumming, and the other is that if Carl is drumming, Fonda doesn't make us dance to Glen Campbell or the Meat Puppets.

Also I got to wear the sparkly stripey pants that I bought at Club Bellydance, with skull socks under them. Dance pants and skull socks make everything better, right?

Drums and zills

Day 327 of practice.

Tonight's class was once again lucky enough to have awesome drummer Carl providing live music for us! We also had Carl's father (also named Carl) but he did not have a drum. It was a small class so it ended up being more like a practice and jam session after we got our zill torture out of the way. We also got to do some veil work which was nice. I haven't been practicing lately and clearly I need to. After all, I have a pretty new veil so I need a pretty new veil solo to use it for!

You want me to shimmy HOW fast?

Day 85 of practice.

Ah, the joys of live drummers! My day at the Renaissance Faire ended in some real practice -- nearly an hour of dancing at the Drum Jam. And not just bopping around, either. My friends and I practiced our tribal moves, and I also got some serious shimmy action going on when the drummers kept playing faster and faster and faster! It was great fun.

Although I'm still disappointed with how the belly dance contest was handled (and don't ask how it turned out, I didn't go), I'm glad that I decided to go out to Faire today. It was fun to see so many of my friends, watch some shows, enjoy a beautiful day, and spend time getting to know one of my local dance friends better. All this AND I got to wear a costume all day? I call that a win!

Squeeee + Owwww = me right now

Day 64 of practice.

I have come to accept that some days, dancing at a party or concert is the only way I'll get to practice. Today was one such day, and wow, did I practice! Mostly, I practiced dancing in a tiny space and trying not to get stepped on, because I was on the dance floor at the Eternal Source of Steam concert at Wild Wild West Con! A delicious hour and a half of Abney Park playing live, and I was just a few people away from the stage! It was nothing short of awesome.

Ok, well, maybe a little short of awesome. Whereas Thurs and Friday's concerts were held in the hotel's ballroom, where they have linoleum dance floor, tonight's show was held in the saloon at Old Tucson Studios, which has a concrete floor. I have pain running from my feet to my lower back. It kept me from spending long at the Tesla Masquerade Ball, even though that was back at the ball room and there was plenty of room on the dance floor.

Anyway, I literally danced for hours today. I need sleep. Wonderful healing sleep!

Weeee!

Ta da! A pic of me, in steampunk finery! I'm quite pleased with how I look, especially since I pulled it together out of separates from my costume closet.

Today's practice consisted of breakfast shimmies and dancing to The Mission Creeps at Wild Wild West Con. I also danced a tiny bit to The Strand, and I danced to Voltaire, but the floor was so crowded for his show that it barely counted as dancing.

So... tired...