No Contest

Day 82 of practice.

I will not be dancing in the contest at the Renaissance Faire. The powers that be (ie, whoever is in charge of the Facebook account) decided to not only not address our concerns, but to delete our posts. They also informed all of the people who wanted their kids to get a chance to compete that it was an 18+ contest only. Since the Faire has had other contests for kids, it seems pretty clear that they're trying to send a message that belly dance is Adult Entertainment, and that's not cool.

Normally I'm not really a kid person, but in this case I feel bad for the little girls who are being denied the chance to get up and shake their little coin scarves and feel like a jingly princess, or show off what they've been learning in their youth belly dance classes. Ren Faire is supposed to be a family-friendly event (you know, despite all the beer, and the wenches with the overflowing bodices, and the numerous shows with the "Loose Canon" designation warning of adult content), so you'd think they'd be all about giving belly dance the family-friendly image that most BD communities are striving for.

Anyway, enough about that. Practice! I skipped The Dance Loft tonight (so much for my extra zill training!) because my husband had a really bad day at work, so I felt like I should enjoy a nice relaxed dinner and evening with him, rather than scarfing down my meal and rushing off to class and coming home sweaty. So instead I had a nice chunk of practice at home, and I got some work done on my solo and played my zills. The zills are definitely better -- I didn't feel rushed at all, and I only screwed up during the transitional parts of a combo with lots of quick arm switching. And the breakthrough I had yesterday regarding my solo seems to be sticking. I won't be ready to perform it tomorrow, but things are looking good for next week!