New troupe performance video!

I'm happy to be able to share with you this video of my troupemates and I performing one of our favorite choreographies! This video was taken at the Plaza de Anaya Fall Intensive show, featuring Wild Card Belly Dance. We had such a great time being a part of this show, carpooling there and back and eating a late-night dinner at Denny's (still in stage makeup, naturally).

LVBDI Performance Video

I have to tell you all, I am really excited about this video! My first out of state performance, my first solo at a bellydance festival, and my first time investing in a professional video! It makes me feel really good about where I am in my dance journey.

I always hesitate to say that I feel good about my dance, because I worry that people will see it as bragging and use it as an excuse to try to tear me down. Believe me, I know I have room for improvement, there are a couple of things in this video that I wish I hadn't done. But I feel like I am where I should be right now. I am neither lagging behind, nor rushing ahead blindly. I am making clear progress, and that is a really good feeling.

Oh yeah, and I made my bra and belt! I'm pretty happy about that too :) I used pre-made beaded fringe because doing that much fringe manually would drive me crazy, but I added some extra fringe dangles made from genuine freshwater pearls, Swarovski crystals, and Czech glass beads. It's nice to be able to raid my bead stash to add some special touches to my costuming.

Fan veil performance!

Last Friday I had a big pile of firsts happen all at once... My first private party gig, my first time doing a full 10 minute set by myself, my first fan veil solo and my first time getting tips (and thus my first time making money dancing as a soloist. I've done paid/tipped gigs with troupes, but the money has always gone back into troupe expenses). WHEW! Oh, it was also my first time wearing those pants. I've owned them for something like two years and never had the right occasion.

Let me tell you, getting ready for this gig was really nerve-wracking. There's a big difference between being at an open stage, or doing a show with a troupe, and being solely responsible for entertaining people for ten whole minutes (ok, more like 9). Not only that, but I was going for a vintage-inspired look, which meant doing new things with my hair and makeup. Oh yes, and debuting a new-to-me prop. But everything worked out! The attendees of Kate's gem show party were entertained, they were entranced by the fan veils, and my hair stayed in place.

Also performing at this party was my friend and new Fire & Gold troupemate Sandy Tiss, who performs a more traditional Egyptian style bellydance. She wowed the guests with a veil entrance, zill playing, and a wonderfully sparkly turquoise and gold costume. She's a true professional and I was honored to share the "stage" with her. We even joined forces at the end for a little audience participatio.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the video of my very first fan veil performance, and look forward to more in the future!

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.

Video Party!

Day 338 of practice.

Another day of dance-related non-practice stuff. Got together with some of my Dance Loft classmates and Fonda brought a bunch of DVDs for us to watch -- various professional performances, all sorts of styles. Interesting to see how different peoples' opinions are about styles and specific dancers.

Practice was pretty lazy, spent the remainder of the day doing stuff with my husband instead of dancing, but I did get my shimmy on while cleaning up for dinner and doing the dishes, plus I did a little zilling.

Video from last weekend

Hey, I keep forgetting to post this! My wonderful friend, classmate, carpool buddy and cheerleader Dawn Sehar took this video of my Veil Performance at the hafla on Saturday. Watch me dance! Admire the beautiful colors of my veil. Marvel at the whiteness of my belly!

Well, now what?

Day 72 of practice.

The problem with spending a couple of months practicing for a performance is that once it's done, you have to figure out what to practice next. I want to keep working with my veil, because I love it, but I am a little tired of "Wandering Star", so it's time to work to a different song for a bit. Maybe back to "Pilgrimage of Lost Children"?

By the way, if you want to see my veil performance, click here because my awesome friend Dawn posted it on YouTube for me! Hooray!

So for tonight's practice, I took a little break from the veil and instead worked with my zills, and worked on my solo for Performance Prep Class. I should probably combine the two, because after all, I am doing a fast song so I should technically zill -- but I am a really weak solo zill player! I'm practicing, bur I don't think I'm good enough to play for my solo, even if it is just in class. We'll see.

I'm also sitting here working on my belly rolls. I'm trying really hard to be able to do sideways rolls, because I feel like I'm almost there.