Belly Dance Blog 2008
Here's an ongoing description of events in my belly dance journey, in reverse chronological order. Performances,
workshops, festivals...
Enjoy, and check back regularly!
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This weekend we have the Hafla Santa Cruz festival, which now features the Double Crown Belly Dance Competition. Nakisa and I
have received the honor of being official event photographers, and for two and a half days we work hard to earn it. There is a lot of good dancing and costuming to take pictures
of, and the light on the stage is pretty good thanks to Carl Sermon. Additionally, Michael Baxter is taking pictures, so the event is
very well covered!
On Saturday afternoon I do a solo performance, to my Spring Soloist Showcase piece on "Feenak".
The performance goes smoothly, I even put in some improvisational steps in the middle part that hasn't been choreographed completely yet that work out well. The audience is
rather sparse, but there are enough friendly faces to play out with and I get some nice encouragement. This is such a great group of people!
(Click on any picture for a larger version - photography by Nakisa and Sharif). For a collection of show highlights see
selected pictures (75 pictures).
Today Nakisa and I have a performance with a new troupe of our teacher Crystal. She
organized a workshop to do a drumsolo, and promised we could perform it at this event. Of course she did not leave it at the two hour workshop, so she volunteered six special
rehearsals in the next two months. Many of the dancers, including us, also took a private lesson to work on their skills in this dance. The music, "Saidi Street" by Michael
Beach of Brothers of the Baladi fame, is only two minutes long, but there's a lot going on in the choreography!
We get on stage a bit before the break in the middle of the show. Everything goes smoothly, and we look pretty tight on the video - an important fact for a group performance!
It looks pretty entertaining too, with all the fast percussive moves. We get complimented by our teacher and our fellow dancers, and we're pretty happy about it!
I take a lot of pictures of our fellow belly dancers - see the local album. I have no pictures of our troupe performance,
unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond my control.
This afternoon I have a workshop with Michelle Joyce to learn veil poi (it's like the
fire spinning, but without the fire. Instead, we use weights with veils attached). I have been practicing with her instructional DVD for a while already, and that proved very
helpful, so I was really pleased when the workshop was announced. The workshop has just a few attendants, so we get a lot of targeted attention! I learn some new things and
twists to old moves so this is really worth my while.
Late afternoon I head to Sese's residence for her yearly naming ceremony. In this ceremony her new students, after proving their mettle
in dance performances, can receive their stage names. A dancer can either come up with a name they like, or Sese can pick one for you - she has an eerie sense of what works
for a person, so that's a good bet. I picked my own stage name and received it officially in a ceremony two years ago. Nakisa and I promise to take pictures, and I will also take part in the ceremony. I get to "crown" our friend Joyce with a nice
headpiece that Nakisa put together in the afternoon. Her dance name is now Rahi. Congratulations, Rahi!
(Click on any picture for a larger version - photography by Nakisa and Sharif).
In the past several months Nakisa and I have attended Sese's performance class, and
worked to develop a new choreography and really make the most of it. My new dance is different than much of what I have done so far, because it is very upbeat and inviting, not
very theatrical and "high status". With my teacher I selected an Arabic pop song entitled "Feenak" for my choreography.
Tonight is our final performance night, called the Spring Soloist Showcase. Together with our fellow dancers we will present our solo dance pieces - there are twelve soloists
total.
The evening opens with two dances by Sese's dance troupe "Belly Dance Basics Dancers", featuring Nakisa and several of our dear friends from class. They set the tone for the
evening with a very energetic, tight and upbeat performance. I am in the audience with my cover-up taking pictures, but I am the third performer so after the first soloist I
head for the stage. When Sese introduces me I quietly enter the stage and take on my starting pose. The first 30 seconds of my dance are more theatrical to make a decent
impression as a guy, but then the dance goes into entertainment mode! It works out very well, the audience starts clapping with the music after a minute or so already, so I
don't have to work on that... There are a few hitches where I don't follow the choreography or things don't quite pan out, but all in all it goes very well. Afterwards I get
lots of compliments, and quite a few people say this is my best piece so far and that it's very entertaining. I am very pleased with that result!
Nakisa is on fifth, and she has hardly time to change into her solo performance costume. Her dance is very elegant and varied, she has grown quite a bit and is also very
satisfied with the result. I take loads of pictures - our friend Zurah Malikah, one of the performers, helped out during my
performance and did a very good job. The black background works best for dancers with light-colored costumes and hair - lucky me!
(Click on any picture for a larger version - photography by Sharif and Zurah Malikah). For highlights see selected pictures (24
pictures), or for hardcore fans and those who performed, browse the web album (all 200+
pictures).
This is the big weekend for belly dancers on the West Coast: the Rakkasah festival! We have a hotel room reserved for Saturday night
and drive off Saturday morning to arrive around noon. The new venue in Vallejo is rather "different" - one could say rustic, because it's a fairground in a rural area, and it
shows. The atmosphere is quite different from the theatre-like building in Richmond that was home to the festival until renovations started last year. I quickly find that the
stage I will be performing on tomorrow is in the middle of the hall, sticking into the shoebox from the side. There are actually two halls with rather different interiors at
about 200 yards from each other. Fortunately, it's dry weather and temperatures are mild.
We quickly find seats in the first hall, and see some nice performances. The light on the stage is really nice for picture taking, and after a couple of hours I find I have
to pace myself or I will run out of memory cards before the show is half over... Of course we visit all the vendors, and meet a lot of people that we haven't seen for a long
time, and our local belly dance friends who are there too. Around 9pm we return to the hotel for a party at our teacher Sese's
hotel room, and watch the video of her troupes' performance from the afternoon. Conversations in the room become a bit animated and we get a warning from the hotel security
staff. It's not a good party if the police hasn't called! After a while we move to the hotel ballroom where about 20 drummers and musicians and dozens of belly dancers are
having a great time dancing - and we do too!
Sunday morning we get up relatively early to do an impromptu performance with Siwa's troupe. She had a couple of cancellations and
needed some "human props" to spice up her show. Our task is to do a few small skits (gesturing to the dancers, and pantomiming to the audience during a part of the music) and
otherwise be in the back of the stage and smile. I believe our performance is passable, but next time I'd like to at least attend one rehearsal... But it is also fun to get on
a big stage and just wing it!
We move back and forth between the two halls for photographing and shopping, and see some really good dance performances. How about a dancer who balances a sword on
top
of another sword? Ava Fleming's troupe is outstanding, and Fahtiem is delightful as ever. Then
it's time to get dressed and ready for my own performance. In the past few weeks I have practiced my "Kashmir" routine in
the living room a bit to prepare for a larger stage, but I haven't changed much to make use of it. Now we'll see how that pans out!
It's a bit of a wait, and when I finally am ushered on stage and stand in the center it takes a while for the music to start. I wait patiently in my beginning pose, head down.
When the music starts I lose track of my choreography shortly after the beginning (where should those arms go again?), but then it goes smoothly. The stage is rather slippery
and my turns come out pretty good - this is fun! The audience is very quiet, I try to engage them but don't get much response. Well, it's the end of day two of a continuous
stream of dance performances, so you can't expect much. So I decide to just have some fun on my own and finish my dance in good spirits. The applause is very enthusiastic, so I
am very pleased. My first performance on such a big stage! I feel really good about it, especially when I see the video - it feels like I have reached a new level.
(Click on any picture for a larger version - photography by Sharif and Nakisa). For highlights see selected pictures (40 pictures),
or for hardcore fans and those who performed, browse the web album (all 350+ pictures).
Tonight we rush off to nearby Felton for a show organized by Helené with live music by Orient'al. It's a local all-star line up with Helené, Siwa, Sese and Janelle. We eat some Mexican food, talk with our friends and get some open floor dancing in. I get some nice pictures of all the dancers, but it's so dark I have to use the flash to get decent sharpness and color. Not everybody appreciates the flashing, but as a dancer I know it doesn't bother me when I'm on stage, and I do like to see good pictures of my performance! For the results see selected pictures (16 pictures), or browse the web album (all 89 pictures).
Tonight our teacher Crystal organizes one of the performance evenings for her students that she does a couple of times a year.
It's a good chance to practice my dance for Rakkasah for a larger audience. At first we plan to do the dances on stage, but because the
tables are moved way in the back Crystal decides to do them on the floor.
There's a big crowd attending, there's standing room only! Looks like all of Santa Cruz came out to watch... Nakisa is on second
with her Pink Panther routine, and she does very well. I'm on a bit after half the show, so I'm taking pictures first. There's a nice variety of dances, from straight belly
dance to all kinds of fusion - very enjoyable for everyone. I do my "Kashmir" routine, and my dance comes out pretty well
- a couple of hitches but I manage to sweep them under the carpet. During the performance the audience is quiet, but I get a very nice applause when I finish! We enjoy the rest
of the show a lot and get some really good shots in.
(Click on any picture for a larger version - photography by Sharif and Nakisa). See selected pictures (24
pictures), or browse the web album (all 144 pictures).
The legendary Cory Zamora visits Santa Cruz again for a show and workshops. We attend just the show (there are only so many workshops you can do...). We see some great dancing - we are particularly impressed with Adriana, and Cory of course. We take some nice pictures despite the uneven lighting - see the web album (16 pictures)!
We drive to Monterey for the special Valentine's day edition of the Bellysema Mystique Show. Nakisa and I both have our dances ready for Crystal's upcoming student night, and this is a great opportunity for a dress rehearsal. Our friend Lana is very glad to have us, and we have a good time performing our short pieces and afterwards get some nice open floor dancing in.
Our local Dance Odyssey Studio has offered a class in belly dance performance called "Project Belly Dancer" for the last few
months. Tonight the students of this class will show the results of their efforts in a public show. There are eight performers in the line-up, some of whom will perform twice.
We're of course present to enjoy the dancing, meet our friends and take some pictures.
Things work out really well: the dancers are very engaged and dance very well, and the stage is nicely lit (thanks to local photographer Carl Sermon). The backdrop is just gorgeous (courtesy of Geisha Moth), understated and
beautiful. We enjoy the show a lot and get some really good shots in!
(Click on any picture for a larger version - photography by Sharif). See selected pictures (24 pictures),
or browse the web album (all 215 pictures) or enjoy Nakisa's highlights (36 pictures).
Today's the call-in for Rakkasah, and "my people" got through at around 2pm, after several hours of redialing, to secure me one of the last available spots (thank you so much, Nakisa! I was busy playing music at the Santa Cruz Harbor).This time it's in a different location and there is no small Cabaret stage anymore - instead there are two big stages. I will be doing a solo performance to recorded music on Sunday at 5:48pm on the West stage. I'll probably do something familiar, and perhaps something new as well... Please all come on out to cheer me on, that was such a great experience last time!
Have yourselves a great 2008 - dance on!
Previous events are described in Belly Dance Blog 2007.
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