2011 Belly-resolutions

For those of us with type-A, overachiever personalities, New Years resolutions end up being a way to even yet better ourselves again. A refocusing.
    But what about the kind of bellydance resolutions that state "I will practice zils three times a week for at least 15 minutes, I will take exactly two more workshops this year than I normally do, I will add 10 minutes of floorwork practice into my practice time"....most of our resolutions are about wanting to be better, to practice more. Wanting tighter movements, crisper zills, mad skillz.
      Hey, there is nothing wrong with this. We need goals, we need focal points for our desires. But with something as in-the-present as dance, I will say that it is also important to leave room for spontaneity.
   I have stuck to my three times a week practice schedule. Three times a week you can find me strapping on the Power Belly weight belt, slipping on my zils, pulling out my dance vocabulary, playing a looped beledi and placing an empty tray on my head. I look like something out of a star wars movie, but I figure ( and it has proven to be true) going through my drills balancing, zilling and with the added weight, when I do dance without these encumberments, I am like lightning. I really feel good about my practice time, and it has definitely helped my skills. BUT there are days when I groan inwardly at the thought of all that stuff, days when I want to just let go and do what is natural. There are days when I just want to buck the system, and throw out the rules.
   The days I give into that whim ( which admittedly, feels like I am doing something BAD) I end up discovering a new move, or looking at things from a new angle, or mastering a move that I had wanted to get for some time, or sometimes I just dance-play. Those days truly feed my soul. Those are the days that remind me that dance is mine. That dance is my own pleasure. Those are the days I feel like a dancer.
    So, as you make out your super dooper focused,must- be -the -best new years belly-resolution list leave room for play. Leave room for the cosmic chance, the wild card. Drill your ass off, tighten those muscles, and perfect your skills, but be human, too.
        ( and speaking of the wild card, the post on how to open a beer bottle with your forearm is forthcoming.)
I hope 2011 is a wonderful, peaceful, and happy year for all of you! Thank you so much for reading!

Love,
     Tara

A Little BUTT for Christmas

While I was recently listening to the YIP Podcast ( and catching up on blog reading) they brought up a thread on Tribe.net about crotching the audience. You know, doing a back bend ( either standing or in floorwork), with your crotch to the audience. Everyone with a brain can figure out that a nice shot of your crotch is never ever a good idea unless your name is Bubbles and you work at Daddy Rabbits ( the real name of a strip joint from my hometown).
    But I will admit in a recent performance I was, in a word, screwed. I did so many dancer faux pas that if someone with a tally sheet would have been there I would have been given the boot. A swift kick in the pants. My bestest teacher, Donna would have disowned me.
   You often hear in those "How to Be a Professional Dancer" how-to's that you should find out beforehand what your dance space looks like, where the audience is, etc. When I was asked to dance for my daughter's school faculty Christmas party, with the sole purpose as being a surprise for the principal, I carefully selected Naser Musa's Jingle Bells ( thanks to Chris for keying me on to his Christmas album), wrapped my poinsettia choker around my neck, strapped on the hip scarf, and was roarin' to go. The woman organizing it told me to dance for the principal, but if he got uncomfortable to dance around the tables a bit....... No prob. I knew it would be in the cafeteria, been there a dozen times, no prob. I thought I had it figured out. No prob.
      I hid in the cafeteria kitchen for 20 minutes trying not to worry about what possible disease I would get for standing barefoot on the concrete floor, and after a bit of a snafu with the music, I danced out into the "space". Somehow the space in a large cafeteria ended up being so close it was almost like dancing in the principals lap. I quickly saw that the chairs were positioned so that I could not get out and dance around the tables even if I wanted to, so I settled into "dancing for the principal". I was so close to him, that it was like standing in line in front of someone, he had to almost look down to look at me. I turned to face the rest of the cafeteria, and felt like I had given him the cold shoulder, then turned to face him. I ended up dancing to almost every angle of the cafeteria.....him, and teachers at every angle ( including my daughters preschool teacher who was looking at me like I had grown another head). When I did a killer back bend that was part of my routine, someone was bound to get the crotch. Someone was gettin' the crotch. I tried to get the least populated part of the room, and to make it quick. But in a fraction of a second I had to make this decision....who to give the crotch to? ( these are my day to day decisions....What should I have for breakfast? Should I do another load of laundry or waste more time online? Who is gettin' the crotch?) The crotch ended up going to the unlucky folks that were seated near the cash register.
     BUT the real faux pas was when I did a full to- the -ground hip circle with a hair swoop. As an audible gasp went up from the audience of teachers and staff I thought it was because I was so awesome. Later, as I was thinking ( and nit-picking it as we all do after a performance) , it was less because I was so awesome, and more because I had given them the butt, literally. A big old butt is what they saw. I didn't have time to angle myself to the side to have the butt going towards the poor souls who got the crotch, so it ended up that most of the faculty got the butt. I have a big butt, so I am sure it was an experience.
      As it is, I learn something new every time I perform. This time it was " try to SEE the space you are dancing in, and if you can't see the space have them tell you the dimensions"........the second thing I learned was when you tell them that the music has to be LOUD, rephrase that and say " when I say loud I mean that to the DJ it has to be almost obnoxious and then it will be the right level for the dancer and the audience." THIRD thing I learned is that exposing yourself to your daughters teachers is neither fun nor uplifting. It is weird. We will see how the first day back to school is. Merry Butt-mas everyone.

The "Why Should I Care?" series- Tempest

Well, when Tempest emailed me to do this interview, it was very difficult for me not to kiss her ass. She seems like a very reasonable person. A very reasonable, famous, talented pioneer of ,oh, I don't know, just a few particular forms of bellydance, not to mention all the other stuff this artist extraordinaire does. But since she wants to be interviewed like us regular folk, and the Why Should I Care?  thing does not apply since we DO care because she is effing Tempest, I still sent the questions, minus the ass-kissing.
Tempest, we do care, honey, we do. You are friggin TEMPEST. Of course we care.

Based in Providence, Rhode Island, Tempest pulls from her visual arts background (BFA from RISD), literary tendencies, and global inspirations to create dance that crosses the boundaries of time and culture. She is the premiere instructor of Gothic Bellydance in North America, and her extensive work in the genre has helped to define and develop the movement across the world. Her compelling performances exemplify her distinctively theatrical and expressive style, and are rooted in oriental dance technique with a transcendent approach.


1. Say bellydance was suddenly declared an official religion. Who would you nominate as the Pope? ( of the Church of Bellydance)

Uh-oh! I'm not one much for organized religion - could we have a Council of Shimmy? Made up of knowledgeable representatives from all of the styles?


2. If I wasn't bellydancing I'd be ...........................


Making a mess in my studio. I'm sort of at odds between making artwork in 2D and making art on a 3D level through dance. There's only so much time, I wish I could split myself in two and do both at the same time ;)



3. Hitherto unknown dance prop that just needs to be introduced to the dance public.

I'm afraid to ask, what HASN'T been used as a prop recently? I think we could definitely do with less props and more good dancing.


4. You have the attention of all bellydancers all over the world for just one moment. What would you say to them?

Dance like you! No one else can be you, so dance in your own voice, with all of your heart and soul. Yes, it's more dangerous to be you than a copy or a clone, but it's so much more rewarding!

5. Describe how you feel right before performing.

A mixture of excitement, anticipation, calm, and "did I leave the oven on?"


6. Move that makes you feel like Madonna in the 80's. ( when she was hot,and right on the money).

(checks to make sure no one's got video of me dancing on the couch to "Material Girl" when I was like 7..) I have a move called "Beautiful Corpse" that is a dramatic, slinky walk, based off a very princessy/lifted Modern Egyptian walk - I could see it working very well with "Like a Virgin" ;)



7. Move that makes you feel like an epileptic sausage.

SNORT! I don't strobe/glitch/multi-lock. It doesn't say bellydance to me, and it just doesn't feel beautiful. Definitely epileptic sausage feeling, even if I did it technically perfect. Feels wrong on the inside!



Her blog is over on the blog roll, but if you are too lazy to scroll over then the link is right here: Tempest Teapot Bellydance Blog
Ditto with her website.
Tempest...... I will never wash my email again...? ( I know I am acting like a total weenie, but you have to admit it is pretty cool. )

Thanks!

The Happy Drunk Reviews- Dance Like a Goddess-Hypnosis for Bellydancers

I have been just itching to Happy Drunk Review this CD, Dance like a Goddess, Hypnosis for Bellydancers. Now, before we get started there are a few things you need to know.  
  1. I already do recorded meditations regularly, so I am familiar with this whole thing. This review is coming from someone who goes to Disneyland every year as opposed from someone who it is their first time. I have done meditations/regressions/hypnosis sessions with Jonathan Goldman, Dr. Brian Weiss, The Meditation Podcast, and numerous other piles of the good, the bad and the downright ugly.
  2. I am also a practicing witch ( see my other blog ) so even though hypnosis is not at all affiliated with any religion, it is often lumped in with the Pagan/New Age crowd. My take on this will have the added influence of my own two spiritual cents. Can't help it. Its what I do.
    Sooooooooo, all of that aside I LOVED this CD! My normal guided meditation protocol is that I record the CD onto my Ipod ( or download it), go into my bedroom, cut off the lights, put a pillow over my eyes ( the less sensory stimulation the better), and just listen. I have found that lying down is much easier than sitting when doing anything like this.
   First, he leads you through a series of visualizations, which basically you imagine being in a field with the sun overhead, stepping up stairs that light up with each color of the rainbow, etc. This lasts for roughly half of the hour long CD, and if you are not used to it you may be thinking " what does this have to do with dance?". The idea is to get you to fully relax and open up so that you are as receptive and relaxed as you can be. My advice is to just go with it, and think of it as a free mental massage.....it IS very relaxing.
After the first half of visualizations you get into the "dance" part of the CD. GOOD STUFF!  More visualizing ( stepping into a dance circle, visualizing a favorite dancer, etc.) and he really turns it on with the background music and his voice. That is one thing I really loved about this CD, his voice. Not only is it not annoying like most meditation CD's ( although this is hypnosis), but he MEANS it. His voice can be soothing, powerful, distant, and many other things. He utilizes tone and cadence, and other tools that most CD's lack. This guy obviously knows what he is doing with his voice, and there is ENERGY behind his voice. I have done meditation CD's in the past that sounded like someone was dryly reading from a script, and luckily there isn't even a hint of that in this.
      My favorite-est part is the last 15ish minutes when he repeats over and over ( think brainwashing), powerful dance statements. My favorite is " I love to practice the dance frequently". I don't want to give too much away but each statement is one that I believe as dancers we can all use. They are empowering and it certainly can't hurt to tell ourselves uplifting, confidence building statements over and over again.
   If you are thinking, this is all nice and good, but where will I get an hour to myself every day?, most people do this before bedtime. It is ridiculously relaxing and it helps you sleep better, too. So give it a try.
     Does it work? Here is when it gets complicated. I found that as I heard it the first time I was surprised to discover that " I didn't believe" the statements about myself. My mind wanted to fight it. It was very odd. But the more I used it I noticed that the mental resistance that I usually feel when I start to practice or dance started dissipating, and I think that after several weeks of use, I have totally assimilated the statements. Which for a semi-co dependant, slightly OCD, very neurotic, somewhat insecure, and perfectionist to the point of crazy bellydancer like myself, that ain't no small feat. Imagine all that you believe in your heart about yourself as a dancer ( if you are self actualized enough to even know it), is erased, and in its place are all the things that we WANT to believe about ourselves as dancers. That we are powerful, rhythmic, beautiful embodiments of the music. That is the kind of stuff I want to regularly pump in the old grey matter, I don't know about you.
        Lastly, I did not do this nightly, I would say I averaged about twice a week, and that seemed to be enough. I will continue to do this regularly to reinforce.
    Yay James! Yay Hypnosis for bellydancers!


      So I am thinking another CD....Hypnosis for Bellydancers part 2. How bout " I get better and better at zils every day"....and stuff like that.
      I am only half kidding.

Its All About the Toenails

Sometimes I think I am not girly enough to be a bellydancer. Wait, I take that back, sometimes I think I am not girly enough to be a cabaret dancer. Tonight, sitting on the sofa watching the History channel with my husband, I looked down at my toenails. Weeks ago they were a shiny hot pink,now they look more like a drunken street walker and/or refugee camp sort of chipped wondrousness. My immediate thought was....."I am not girly enough to be a cabaret bellydancer".
   Given the choice between
A. doing the dishes
B. goofing off with my kids/husband
C. eating cotton candy at the fair
or D. doing my nails,
 I would say Eff the nails and go for B. or C. That, plus my affinity for cursing and arm wrestling makes me a prime candidate for either shot put ( which ironically, I used to do), or Fusion, where I could probably get bonus points for letting my nails get chipped. I'd probably get a badge or something.
    Sometimes I think that minus all the blah blah hoopla that separates the Fusion/Tribal crowd from the Cabaret crowd, it all comes down to one chick who says to herself  "you know I really like the movements, but do I HAVE to act all coy and cutesy?....hell, maybe I'll start my own style." Who knows, maybe that is how it all started.
  But I ain't coy or cutesy. The closest thing I have seen to flirtatiousness was making eyes at the Egyptian guy that pumps gas at the station down the street. But even then, I caught myself and reminded myself of what I learned years ago......I am a woman. If they don't like it, they can stuff it. Luckily, every bellydance teacher I have ever had was as girly as they came, but more woman than Sophia Loren. So I didn't think that girly some sort of pre-requisite for being a cabaret dancer.

Sheva was a painted nails, bouffant-ed woman with teeny feet and an even teenier body ( compared to me). But she was serious about bellydance and more woman that I could have ever been at the time.
Skipping the others and going to Donna, when I saw her the first time I wondered whether I'd make it. I wandered in the first day of class, milk stains on my shirt ( I was nursing at the time), toenails and fingernails so neglected that they started to paint themselves, Armenian uni-brow starting to resurface, and feeling as out of style/uncoordinated/ungirly as they come. I was never the cool type, anyway. I was never the one who could be head cheerleader, I wore my feelings on my sleeve. When Donna proudly wore her gold toe ring, perfect manicure and long gorgeous nails ( mine are short and stubby) to every class.....I remember thinking, " maybe I am not cut out for this". But as I got to know her, and more accurately, saw her dance, it all came together in an act of pride, femininity, power and finesse. She might have done her toenails flawlessly, and even when it was 100 degrees outside, wore her hair down ( at which point it was so hot that even the girliest among us borrowed scrunchies to put our hair up) to dance, but this woman was a WOMAN. Girly was something she CHOSE. I figured out that I didn't have to be anything but what I was, chipped toenails and all. ( although now, I DO make sure they look good at least when I dance)...
    So yeah, I can open a beer bottle with my forearm ( trick I learned in my twenties), yeah, I said goodbye to flirting a long time ago, and exchanged that sort of thing for power and grown-up emotion in my dance ( and in life), and yeah, it took me a long time to be O.K. with not being bouncy, tiny, and even the slightest bit girly.......but I am a bellydancer, baby. A real one. I like to do my nails, and giggle about boys, and even look at clothes sometimes, but give me good food or drink or movie with a loud bawdy friend and I am at my happiest.
  If that makes me un-girly, then so be it....crappy toenails and all.