Getting fit

Photo by Liora K Photography, belt and bra by Flip'n Tribal, Body by 30 Day Push-up Challenge

I'm not very fit right now. I don't want to say that I've been lazy, because I have been getting things done, I just haven't been as motivated as I could be. I don't do as much working out at home as I should, and I've been skipping dance cardio classes because they're not my favorite. So my body doesn't look as awesome as it does in this picture by Liora K.

Earlier today I was thinking about my shoulders, because they were sore, and it made me think about how good they looked for that photo shoot, and it made me think that I should do some push-ups, but maybe not today because like I said, soreness (still not 100% recovered from palm flames because I've been using my shoulders for fan veils and dancing and keeping my arms attached to my torso). And then, as I was thinking these warring thoughts about fitness and rest, Liora asked me if I wanted to come over to her place to work out. It was like a sign! So I said yes and oh wow, am I already sore.

We did this Total Body Barre Workout from Fitness Blender and it was great! It only takes 40 minutes and all you need is a yoga mat, a chair to help you balance and optional small handweights. You might also want a friend to encourage you when you feel like you're going to die! I think I might have given up if I'd been alone, but Liora and I had a definite "we're in this together" sort of thing going on, and besides, there was salad waiting for us when we were done (I know, I sound like such a health nut, but it was a really good salad and I'll eat cookies later).

I think I'll do this workout again at home, because I really would like to get back into the habit of not just dancing, but exercising as well. Now if you'll excuse me, my triceps are trying to fall off, I think I need to duct tape them in place.

 

Maintaining Ties

Photo by Artemis Photography Creations

 

It can be easy to maintain ties with your friends when your friends are also dancers, as in the case of me and my bestie Jen. While we do have to do a bit of schedule-juggling based on which events we're attending, it's pretty easy for us to be at the same place at the same time, despite living in different cities. But for our non-dance loved ones, it can be difficult to maintain relationships, when dance classes and events have you busy most nights and weekends. I've been brainstorming about this for the past week, and here are some ideas I've used in the past and some that I want to try in the future:

 

-If a friend or family member is coming to one of your shows, invite them to dinner or drinks afterwards. It's a good way to catch up with them and show that you appreciate them supporting your art. Obviously this isn't always possible as sometimes there's an after-party you need to attend for networking purposes, but for small local shows you should be able to do this.

 

-Have a stitch and bitch. Sure, we often have these as a troupe activity, but if you have crafty friends, invite them to get together and while you work on a new costume or boring repairs (replacing zill elastic is the worst, isn't it?) they can crochet a baby blanket or bead a necklace.

 

-Invite your friends to come to a class with you. Sure, your friends who don't bellydance aren't going to come to an advanced drills session with you, but maybe they'd like to come to a dance cardio class or a beginning poi-spinning workshop.

 

-Do lunch or brunch! I just got done doing brunch with a friend and it was great. Since my scheduled stuff is all evenings and weekends, it's pretty easy for me to arrange my daytime work of practice and blogging around a lunch date, and my flexible schedule makes it possible for me to go meet someone who has a specific lunch break at their day job.

 

-Go makeup shopping. Non-dance friends who still like cosmetics will probably appreciate your expertise, because anything that holds up to you getting sweaty on stage will hold up to their daily life.

 

-While we're on the subject of fun girly things, go get a manicure together! You'll have nice, professional-looking nails for your next gig and you'll get to chat with your friend while your nails are being painted.

 

-Make sure to make time for the things your loved ones are interested in, too. If your friend who is a painter comes to your bellydance show, you should go to her gallery opening. Honestly, this goes for your fellow dancers, too. It's important to go to events where you are not performing to support your community, both the bellydance community and the local art scene as a whole.

 

-Be willing to occasionally skip things to make time for your loved ones. Obviously you can't blow off a performance you're already committed to, a workshop you pre-registered for months ago or troupe practice for anything less than a family emergency, but you should be willing to occasionally miss a non-required dance class or local event you were thinking of attending. If every time your family tries to plan a birthday party or a friend invites you out to dinner you say "Well, I have classes Mon, Tues, Thurs and Fri and I'm performing Saturday and attending a workshop on Sunday", people are going to get frustrated with you fast. You need to learn when it's important to stick to your schedule and when it's OK to say "I'll skip Ballet this week to spend time with you."

 

-If you're in a relationship, make sure you communicate clearly with your SO what your dance schedule is like and what you need from them, then be willing to listen to what they need from you. Sometimes this means you have to give up on something you'd kind of like to do because there's something you really need to do for your SO. Once again, you'll have to learn where to stand your ground and where to bend a little.

 

-Don't take people for granted! It's so important to make time for the people in your life and to thank them for being supportive of your dance career. So even if you can't take a friend out to dinner after your show, make sure you find them and thank them for coming out. Thank your SO for putting up with you being at class every night. Thank your family when they plan the big birthday dinner for that one night when they don't have classes. If your parents give you some money to spend at a big dance festival, let them know what you spent it on and how happy you were to be able to buy it. And when you make use of any of the above suggestions to get together with someone, make sure to let them know how happy you are to see them! 

BFFs!

 BFFs stands for Beautiful, Fabulous Females, obviously! Look at us.

The problem with having your best friend live across the state is that you don't get to hang out often, especially when your weekends are jam-packed with dance. Usually when I get to see my friend Jen, it's because we're both at a dance event (often, I'm crashing at her place for a dance weekend), so we don't get a lot of time to just sit and talk. But this week she had some time off so we had what I am calling The 2nd Annual Jen and AJ Wear Boots and Drink Tea Regardless of How Warm it is Because it is October, For Pity's Sake (2nd annual because we did basically the same thing this time last year). A relaxed morning/afternoon of drinking tea, catching up on our dance lives and regular lives, brainstorming about upcoming events, and drinking more tea. Oh yes, and wearing boots, even if they were paired with skirts and tanktops. Last year involved scarves, but last year we went up onto the mountain where it was actually cool.

I'd like to think that this serves as an official kick-off for the Fall season :)

Tribal Fest Day 1

 I brought my laptop, so you get updates from the Fest! YEAH! So here's me all ready for the Unmata Pillow Fight choreography. I made that pillow! And since I had 6 hours of workshops with only 2 15 minute breaks, I got to rock the pajamas and pigtails look all day. Good thing I have super fashionable PJ pants with peacock feathers on them.

All of the workshops that I took were great. The pillow fight was fast-paced and fun. Western Technique for Eastern Dance with Cera Byer had me doing things I didn't know I could do and taught me so much. Bold and Sassy with Naimah was an intimate class with great combos and so much good attitude. Those latter two are teachers I'd never studied with before and I loved both of them.

I was going to be a good girl and not buy anything tonight, just pick up things I had pre-ordered. Well, that obviously didn't happen. First I found a cute beetle ring that fit me and was only $16, and since there was only one I figured I should grab it. No biggie. But then I hit the Mishu booth and there were green lacy things, and well, I blame the 6 hours of dance for my total lack of self-control. How could I say no?

But this wasn't even my big purchase. You'll have to wait on that one, the seller is putting on the finishing touches :)

Other highlights of the day: meeting and getting hugs from Blume Bauer and Dusty Paik! I love meeting people in "real life" for the first time!

Vendors I Love: The Gypsy Kiss!

Let me tell you about one of my favorite vendors ever, The Gypsy Kiss! I've been addicted to Amy's creations since before I even started taking bellydance classes. She found me on Twitter when I was still just shimmying around my living room, and now we interact so much that some people are convinced she's part of the AZ dance community (she's actually in Wisconsin).

There's a lot of reasons why I love The Gypsy Kiss. Of course I'm all about one-of-a-kind creations. There's also the fact that Amy draws from a lot of my favorite sources of inspiration... Faeries, Art Nouveau, vintage materials, and of course tribal fusion fashion trends! And even though she uses high-quality materials, her prices make her work accessible to amateur dancers who want some pro-level adornment. But I think what I love most is Amy's great personality! Her love of what she does shows through in every item, every product photo.

Want one of the above items? Here's direct links:
Natural Beauty Hair Clip (shown modeled by Amy herself)
Genuine Tiger Eye Bindi
Flapper Deco Headband
But really, you should browse the whole shop and pick out your own favorites!

Pictures old and new of me wearing hairclips from The Gypsy Kiss! Yes, proof that I've been buying from her for a long time, there I am with brown hair! Gasp! I think that beautiful spiral clip is the second thing I ever bought from Amy. And the clip I'm wearing in this newer shot is one of my most recent purchases. Let's not discuss how many things I've bought from her between then and now, ok?

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!

Go away, 2012!

I really hate the end of the year. It makes me impatient. Dance classes and troupe rehearsals are invariably canceled due to holidays, but it's hard to get any really good practice in at home in between parties and last-minute shopping and cleaning and being cold.

Then there's the fact that my in-box is full to bursting with an endless array of "year-end sale" e-mails. This might be awesome, except 1: I'm saving up for Tribal Fest, and 2: My family exchanges gifts on New Years Day, so I can't buy anything for myself that I previously offered up as a gift hint. Woe is me! And of course, I am impatient to get to the gift exchange, because I want to give everyone their presents, and yes, I would like to GET some gifts, too, I will admit it.

But there have been a couple of bright spots this week...

1. Datura Online finally works on my TV (sort of, in that we had to hook up a laptop and treat the TV like a monitor) so tomorrow I can start making use of that to improve my home practices.

2. I've been able to hang out with my friend Jen while she's down here visiting her in-laws.

3. Today we went shopping on 4th Ave and bought GLITTER because we are dancers and that is what we do.

4. When classes start back up it will be in the new studio and it will be warm and wonderful and I think we'll have new troupe members, too.

5. I have so. many. gigs. to look forward to in January and February, which is inspiring me to practice.

Hopefully next week I can stay a little more focused and maybe work on writing more blog posts. I have a few things I want to start doing with this blog -- more vendor features, some in-progress posts of costuming (I photographed almost every step of making my latest bra), and makeup reviews. Plus I need to do a year-end review and set some goals for 2013. I just have to wait for this year to end first.

So much dancing!

I have been so busy that I forgot to tell you to come out and see Skirt Full of Fire and Fire & Gold perform today! We were part of the BreakOut holiday show, which always coincides with the street fair. Although this will be the last one in this location, I suppose, because BreakOut is moving! I'm very excited because the new studio is not only bigger, it has central heating and cooling! But the Fourth Ave location was not without its charm, and I will miss it (and not only because it gave me a convenient place to park on Fourth).

The show itself was great, I feel like we danced really well. Sadly, this is Kamrah's last performance with us, as she is moving away to Chicago! I will miss her greatly because she is such an incredible dancer and a very nice person to work with, and her husband is one of the most supportive guys in the community (you can see his elbow in this pic as he is filming us). They're a great couple and Chicago is lucky to get them!

Thursday's Open Stage was also AWESOME! What a great crowd! People really got into it, even though a lot of them were originally just there to watch football on the big TVs at Sky Bar. It turns out that when given the choice between sports, and beautiful women dancing, a lot of people will choose the dancers. Sky Bar gave us a nice big space to dance in, which was great, and the drink prices were awesome! I look forward to performing again next month.

I have two more gigs next week and then I think I am done for December, unless any last-minute holiday parties crop up. Whew!

Hard to stay sad

My husband often jokes that our little corgis, Daisy and Maggie, are the best investment he ever made because I can never stay upset with them around. This is an old picture, but this is pretty much the exact faces they were making at me when I came home from class today.

It's also hard to stay sad with so many good friends in my life. I hesitated to post last night because I didn't want to seem like a drama ball, rolling around and soaking up the drama and needing attention from my friends -- but I kind of did need it. Maybe not the ego boosts (which ARE nice), but I really, really needed to hear other dancers and artistic types saying that they have gone through the same thing. I needed to know that this is something that I need to push through, instead of letting it keep me down. I needed to know that I am not just being a drama llama, but that this is part of the normal growth of a dancer.

Anyway, I am still feeling down, but getting better. I danced this morning. I mean. really. f*cking. danced. (forgive my asterisked language, but it was that intense) I danced so hard that I was honest-to-gosh crying, and that doesn't really happen to me. I danced so hard that I'm amazed I didn't hurt myself. Most importantly, I danced so hard that I remembered why the hell I do this -- I do it because I love it. I do it because the music moves me, physically and emotionally, and while I still need to work on technique, I can dance up a storm and I can let everything I'm feeling come out, and share that with the audience (in this case, an audience of corgis).

And then I did some spot turns and some chaine turns. And they still sucked. But I am going to do them until they don't.

A big thank you to everyone who put up with my drama, and took the time to reassure me, or give me a pep talk, or tell me to just get through it. I love you all.

Lullaby

Blurry hands, but I love the expression on my face in this photo that Annalisa took at Amy's baby shower today!

Normally I am not a baby shower person -- I don't like babies, I don't plan to have any children, and I'm not into cutesy shower games. However, this was a hafla to celebrate one of our local dancer's soon-to-be-born baby daughter, and it was all about dancing, eating Middle Eastern food, and having fun. Besides, when else was I going to have a chance to dance to one of the beautiful lullabies off of Azam Ali's album "From Night to the Edge of Day"?

I had a great time! Sinbad's is a little small, but really beautiful (look at those blue rafters!) and we had the place to ourselves for most of the party. There were about a dozen dancers there, half of whom performed a variety of numbers. The mother-to-be did a great Saidi cane dance, the same one that she performed before the birth of her son. What a sweet tradition!

And I got to wear my new belt! It's hard to tell in the picture, but it's two ropes of green seed beads with coins and kuchi dangles! I think I need to sit down and figure out exactly how many belts I have.

An Audience of One

Today I went over to the home of my first belly dance teacher. I only had a few lessons with her, but she was the one who really lit the fire under me. I thought I was too clumsy and gangly to dance beautifully. She showed me that I was wrong, and even though she doesn't belly dance anymore herself, she is constantly encouraging me in my journey as a dancer.

Because she hasn't been able to come to any of my shows lately, I told her I'd bring my music along for a private performance, so she could see what I was working on and how far I've come.

There is really nothing more nerve-wracking than dancing for One. Person. It's very intimate and intimidating. It feels weird to look at them the entire time, and weird to look away. And you know that if you mess up, they're going to notice because they're certainly not looking at something else! You can't even really do the "look at the top of their head" trick, because they're close enough to catch on.

On the other hand, when that audience of one is one of your dearest friends and a mentor, it's possible to get past the initial weirdness, relax into it, and enjoy showing off for a friend. I had a good time, and I got some glowing compliments that had me floating through the rest of the day.

Experiences like this help remind me as to why I'm doing what I'm doing. They reassure me that I'm on the right path. And they remind me that dancing doesn't have to always be getting all gussied up in a fancy costume with a ton of makeup for an official gig. Sometimes dancing can just be casual, fun, and friendly, still from the heart, still with all of the technical skill at my disposal, but without the trappings of the stage.

Work and Fun

Good times at class tonight. There were lots of fun conversations before class, about insects and chemical showers and other crazy things. I love dancing because it introduces me to so many interesting people from different walks of life -- massage therapists, astrophysicists, biologists, and more!

Once chatting time was over it was time for lots of drills and shimmies and discovering more things I'm bad at. Well I guess I already knew I was bad at a walking 3/4 shimmy on the down, but now everyone else knows it, too.

Tomorrow is a big day because I am getting my FIRST TATTOO!

Quiet Mood

I haven't really been in a networking/blogging sort of mood lately, honestly. I suppose I haven't really had any profound insights to share lately, and sometimes it feels like I'm just speaking into a void anyway. So here's a quick recap of the past few days:

Classes: Anaya classes on Thursday, went well, worked on some moves I already knew fairly well but could use the practice on. Really struggled with staying focused though, because my husband got home from a biz trip while I was at class and I wanted to be home with him instead of dancing. Anyway, on Saturday I tried out Jolie's community class, along with my friend Jen who was visiting from Tempe. We had a good time, got to do a mini-choreo that focused on various 8 shapes.

Shopping: Hey, it's gem show season! I went out shopping! I failed to find more tribal hair sticks, which made me sad. I did get a new belt and a long tassel made of smaller tassels, and another strand of coins, because I can never have too many coins. Also I bought a basket, because tribal girls carry their stuff in baskets and it was green! And two pairs of pants which can be worn for class or solos or fun, and they're also green. I even found a cool cover up and guess what? IT'S GREEN!

Solo: Working on a new solo to perform at the Open Dance on the 23rd. I may do Lovely Creature instead, but it's good to have something new to work on.

Family: My brother is now a performer, too! He's been doing fire spinning for a few years, and working as a fire safety for our local fire troupe, Elemental Artistry. He recently decided that it was time to try his hand at performing and on Friday he had his debut, doing rope dart. It was pretty badass and he didn't light his beard or the audience on fire. I'm such a proud big sister!

Gem show and classes

No rest for the wicked -- I went right from Unmata weekend into gem show week! Yesterday was a little shopping and vendor-visiting, and today was 5 hours of grueling labor setting up the Beyond Beadery booth -- which actually takes a lot more than 5 hours, I just got to leave early because I had a dentist appointment. Lucky me?

I was bad last night and skipped class in favor of hanging out with beading friends, an awesome local beader has a few out-of-towners staying at her place and I was invited over to eat chicken and bead, which seemed like a good way to rest my sore Unmata leg ;)

Tonight I went to class, but I only did 101 and skipped drills -- I have a ton of stuff to do tonight and I couldn't really justify staying out until 9:30 for class when I need to be in bed no later than midnight! Class was challenging, even though we were doing some basic-basics. There was a lot of balance work and my legs were tired from schlepping beads so it was hard to stand on one leg at a time! But we also did some practice on being graceful and focusing on intention, so that was nice -- more emotional and mental challenges, less physical ones.

Sadly, that was the only class I get to take this week! I have to work the show until 8 tomorrow, which means no Fonda, and driving to Tempe on Thursday is just plain out of the question.

Thanks Brandye!

Tonight Brandye substitute-taught Fonda's Dance Loft class, even though she had messed up her back and couldn't, y'know, dance. Instead she observed and coached and corrected and encouraged, and taught us a quick combo when her back eased up a bit. We also worked on belly flutters, which is something I really need to dedicate some time to developing.

Somehow I got nominated to lead the warm-up, though, which is pretty funny because I am the world's laziest warmer-upper at home. But hey, it was all good fun and we were all warm when I was done.

Dancin' by the swimming pool!

Tonight I was fortunate enough to be invited to the home of local bead artist and social nexus Kate McKinnon, to hang out at a party and watch her friend Sandy dance next to the swimming pool. It was a fun evening, and I was happy to finally meet Sandy and see her dance, as we have been FB friends for a few months now. And I even got to get my shimmy on by the pool when she pulled me out of the audience for the end of a song :)

Anyway, Sandy danced beautifully, coming in with a veil entrance and then later breaking out the zills, which had a beautiful sound that really carried through the back yard. I hope some of the photographs from the evening turn out because her green costume and mottled silk veil looked beautiful against the gently glowing swimming pool.

Then I came home and did finger waves while watching TV. I had a small handicap for a bit in that Daisy felt like my hands could be put to better use by petting her. Silly dog!

Now I'm worn out from all the excitement!

Here 'n' There

Days 344 and 345 of practice.

Another busy dance weekend! Yesterday I went to the 4th Ave Street Fair and popped into BreakOut Studios to see some of my teachers and friends dance. I got some practice in while I waited -- the show started 45 minutes late so I got bored and did hip drills. Then I went shopping and got some dance-related things at the Street Fair, including a hip scarf for $5 and a neat vintage ring. The rest of my practice time was filled up by doing finger waves while gaming with friends.

Today it was off to troupe practice really early in the morning, but at least I had Amanda to keep me company -- and guess what? Tucson girls were the first to arrive. That's right! We were EARLY! Anyway, we danced and danced and danced, lots of fun stuff, had a really good time. We also talked about New Year's Dance Resolutions. I don't DO resolutions, but Tiffy said we all needed one and I don't argue with women who wield sharp swords. So I resolved to do daily stretches to fix my problem areas.

I was going to work on my solo today after I got home, but I am simply way too tired. Not nearly enough sleep last night. I did, however, pin fabric down onto my next tribal bra, and gave myself a few good stabs with the straight pins while I was at it.  I'm excited about this bra, it's going to be ornate and pretty! I hope to have it done enough to wear for Sunday's solo.

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.

Makeup Workshop

Day 337 of practice.

Today I went to a 3-hour makeup workshop taught by Jolie (and hosted by my former carpool buddy Dawn who I do not get to see often enough but have seen 2 days in a row now, yay!). This was really good for me because I honestly do not know what I'm doing with makeup. I only started wearing it at age 27 and I have pretty much taught myself how to apply it which means I was doing a lot of things wrong. Not even from a stage makeup point of view, but just from a not looking awful point of view. I feel confident that with a little practice, the things I learned today will help me look better for performances big and small but also for date nights with my husband.

Not really dancing but good for my dance career so it is pretty much counting as my practice for the day. By the time I got home it was cold and rainy and gross and I did not feel like doing anything more than stuffing myself full of pasta and then relaxing on the couch in fleece pajamas. Look, I don't do cold, OK? And we're having lows in the 30s before it's even officially winter. I did do some glute isolations and my shoulder stretches and that is it!

Dancing with Sata!

Day 329 of practice.

I suppose maybe someday Jen/Sata and I might get tired of hanging out every weekend, but I don't see it happening any time soon! This time she came down from Phoenix and we went shopping for costuming fabric and then had some dance practice with my new mirror. Plus she gave me some stretching tips -- it is really awesome to have a PT as a friend sometimes!

I think my new fabric will be a Turkish vest and panel skirt. It's a nice dark olive green with purple and magenta floral embroidery. That sounds kind of nasty now that I type it, but I promise that it's pretty. I also got some peacock feathers to make into hair accessories and some vintage buttons for use in my jewelry business. Oh how I love SAS Fabrics!