Old Timers and Top Hats

We all have a right to feel exactly the way we want to. All over the place even, I'll bet, in your immediate line of vision right now are several things- articles, books, magazines, billboards, TV,telling you the way you SHOULD feel about any particular subject. In bellydance this is especially so.
    The day after traveling always finds me taking the easiest road for at least a day until I recooperate/get my bearings. Today that meant rolling out of bed, getting the kids to school, and spending the better part of two hours catching up on The Guilded Serpent articles. Lord, what an example of what I am talking about! Just go on there and you will find the old school-out of the seventies dancers telling you why bellydance today is a mere shadow of what it once was, you will find fusion people telling you why their dance is valid and anti-fusion people why it isn't. If you find an article/author you agree with, you can comment and hurrah right along with them, or if you find an opinion to be offensive to you, then, well, there is place for that, too.

     But here is the thing. We all have what we THINK. I have my own very distinct opinions about bellydance and what it should and shouldn't be. But do I act on that? NO. Do I treat others differently based on how they choose to intrepret this thing we call bellydance? Why would anyone do that? The Old Timers are so afraid that the dance they know and love will be lost forever to some chick wearing a tiny top hat and garter belts. The Fusion people get indignant and work hard to say that no matter what, what they are doing is every bit as valid as what the Old Timers are doing. Different but valid. The truth is, it doesn't really matter because for every ten chicks in tiny top hats dancing steampunk style there will be ten who resonate with the 25 minute formal set of the "olden days". And guess what, folks, there are ten more who resonate with neither who are out there creating yet another variation of bellydance that will manage to TRY to divide us yet again.
    So yes I have my opinions. Yes I teach my classes a certain way, and yes I see a lot that I think doesn't belong. But I still have and practice respect for those "other folks" ( we are all the "other folks", depends which side you are facing). When it comes to my opinion about other dance styles I TRY ( the operative word here is TRY) to either keep my mouth shut or tone it down a bit. I tell my students when I am  expressing an opinion, " Hey, this is just my opinion about this particular form. You might try it and love it, so don't hold too much stock in what is just an opinion".

      When it comes right down to it, dance, like any other art, WILL EVOLVE. It will. Don't try and stop it. Art that doesn't evolve, dies.
     The other constant is that myself, you, and others will have an opinion about it. I am not ashamed of my opinion. I am not all floaty-rainbows I love-everything-non-opinion, but I do try to keep in perspective that in this giant world full of millions of experiences/mindsets/different people, that my tiny brain is just a small part.

and for now, that tiny brain will never ever have a tiny top hat on it. ( ha ha I couldn't resist). :)

Smellydance

I have said before that my thing is smells. I have an incredibly strong sniffer, and as I stepped outside today and smelled the sweet clover and the fresh cut grass I felt a moment of bliss. That moment of bliss was followed by my way-too-active-mind when I asked myself the question " What does bellydance smell like to me?"

Here is what I came up with:

Snuggles dryer sheets.

You are like...Wha? I use dryer sheets in my veils. I have not had much success with static guard or anything else, so I layer dryer sheets between the folds of my veils, to keep the static to a minimum. You smell clean laundry, I smell bellydance.

Auric Blends perfume oils-Black Opium

I have worn these perfume oils since I was fourteen. I pretty much have them all;they smell amazing and they last forever. The scent I wear when dancing is Black Opium. To me, it is what a bellydancer should smell like, spicy, exotic. All I have to do is take a whiff and I am in front of a crowd shimmying.

MAKEUP!

I am pretty much a minimalist when it comes to makeup on a day to day basis. But when it is time to don the costume I pull out all the stops and utilize products that I would otherwise never ever buy/wear. The cheap chemical Wet n Wild smell mixes with the high end Benefit stuff and the scent is heavenly. It is kind of powdery,sweet,bitter, and well, the smell excites me. Weird, I know.


O.k., I lied when I said that the only scent I wear when performing is Black Opium. A few years ago I discovered Conjure Oils-The Souk.


image found at conjureoils.com

 They have a whole line of perfume oils made for bellydancers! I chose and LOVE the "Radio Bastet" scent, inspired by.....Radio Bastet, the vintage bellydance site. ( worth checking out if you haven't already).
    The great thing about conjure oils is that you can sample most of the oils for pretty cheap. I can't wait to try the others in this line. For what it is worth the Radio Bastet scent is what you would imagine Samia Gamal smelling like. Feminine, sexy and with that old school Shalimar feel to it. 

Peanut butter.

I realized that if I don't eat something before performing I feel pukey-sick. But I am nervous and excited and not at all hungry. The only thing I can get down/keep down is half a peanut butter sandwich. It holds me over till after whatever show, then I can eat my ass off. Yep, that is usually what happens.

Exotic Fabrics

You guys know what I am talking about. Assuit, metalskin, lurex, etc. All of these fabrics smell completely different than the normal cotton blends we wear everyday. They smell like a costume. I love it.

So that is about it. Please feel free to post your own, as I am sure these are unique to each dancer.

Mish-Mash Part 2

Yes, I know I said I was taking a break from blogging.....and lately there has been a rash of blogging from yours truly, well, what can I say? I gots stuff to say. Nothing poignant or earth shattering, just randomized BD related stuff, if you care. Hence another mish-mash post.

like the generalized space-filler pic I chose?

First, geez, I have needed/wanted to do this for a long time. Pimp my new fave blog. It is called The Occidental Dancer, and I just Lurve it. The blog is very well written, smart and entertaining. Check it out, laydeez.

Also for some blessed reason Zaghareet! magazine decided to print TWO of my articles in one issue. They are called " Sour Grapes", and " Because of a Cookie". ( in the most recent issue). By some fabulous mystery woman named Tara Swaim....whomever she is.
AAAAAND, Shimmy magazine ( couldn't get the link to work...:( ) is printing my article in the Summer issue, not the Spring as I had previously said. I know, you were anxiously waiting for that information. Aren't you glad you can go on with your life now?

Oh dear. My hatred turned ambivalence of silk veils, has turned into OBSESSION.

Miami Flair veil from amirasbelly.com

On a whim I bought the above veil called "Miami Flair" from Amira's Belly.com. For those of you who know me well, pretty much my entire dance wardrobe is black or red. I love black, I love red. Power colors. Strong colors. Kali's colors.

So what on earth possessed me to buy a silk veil that is yellow, hot pink and orange? Who knows. Wild hair up my ass, I guess.    When said veil arrived I gingerly took it out of the package and noticed it was scented. I untied the ribbon that someone had taken the time to neatly tie around it. I read the handwritten note that came with it. Then I started playing with the veil, and promptly fell in love. Oh yes my friend, in love with a gorgeous luxurious piece of silk. I guess it escaped my consciousness that since veil work is essentially playing with a piece of cloth, if you love the look, feel,and color of the cloth, then you are going to enjoy it a hell of a lot more than if you say, for instance, buy some cheap utilitarian black piece of wannabe "chiffon".
    I can't stop touching my veil. I want to play with it all of the time. My husband is getting jealous.

In other news I am going to give directions for my long awaited,not at all bellydance related " How to open a beer bottle with your forearm", from this post.   For what it is worth, I very unsuccessfully tried to get some good pics while my husband and I were engaging in some illicit behavior. The pics sucked. I was too drunk, and it shows. See?   Bags under eyes? Check. Dazed "where am I?" expression? Check. Pet snake around neck? Check. Nice double chin shot? Check. Residual makeup from that morning migrated down my face? Check.

This is a skill that all bellydancers must have....really.

O.k., no video, because our computer is being temperamental right now, and besides that, if I did a video I would have to put some makeup on and do my hair and I am not that ambitious...but I did take that above pic and that will have to suffice. I will give a thorough tutorial on this very important skill. This is the skill that will ensure the growth and progress of further generations....I am so very thrilled to be committing it to print. No one can ever say that I wasted my life.

First thing you have to know about this trick is that it looks badass but is not at all. Get a twist top beer bottle,( most domestic beer is twist top, it looks like a bottle cap, but you don't need an opener)) flex your forearm muscle ( important to make a big show out of it), and make sure the skin of your forearm has a good grip on the bottle. ( this takes practice, and make sure the cap is dry, and skin is slightly damp, or cap is slightly damp and skin is really dry ).....You want to to POP. If you don't have the grip right it won't make that POP sound we so desire.

Then flex the muscle as you twist slightly so that it makes a POP sound. Obviously too much twisting and it doesn't look as cool.....you want Crocodile- Dundee-I drink-beer-in-my-sleep sort of thing. It is even cooler if you do it without looking at it, a skill that I used to exercise regularly with a cig dangling from my mouth, like it was all just no-big-deal. When I used to do this regularly I waited tables and had gorilla like monster forearms from lifting all the trays of food.Now zilling keeps the ole forearms in shape but they are not as buff as they used to be.

The best part is that this trick leaves a sort of purple mark on your arm not unlike a hickey. Do it too many times in one night and the purple mark lingers for a while. A round, cap shaped purple mark. It is a shame that I know these things.

Let me know if anyone tries this, and if you have any luck with it.

Cheers! Prost! Knock it Down!

Borrow an Arabic Speaker

Wanted: Arabic speaking friend for fun, exciting email exchange. Must be able to translate Nawal, Najwa and most pop music, in addition to fielding my questions about context. You can look forward to long tedious questioning emails. I can pay you in leftover Halloween candy.

Sigh. I have gotten to the point where I just can't dance to a song if I don't know what the lyrics mean. Since I mostly dance to and enjoy Arabic pop, this leaves me with scores of untranslated songs. There are some translations online, but they never seem to be my favorite songs. Sigh. I need to borrow an Arabic friend. I promise I won't be that annoying. I am happily married, so all I really need you for is translation. If that makes you feel used, in return I can answer any questions you may have about such things as "how to make buffalo chicken dip", " the best way to get two kids to bed as quickly as possible" and " three steps to shampooing carpets that have gum and other mystery items ground into them". I am a virtual hotbed of knowledge, I am. There will be no naked pictures or cybersex, unless you count the hot blushing excitement I feel when I finally learn what the hell my favorite songs mean. If you want to be used for your native tongue, then I am your girl. If you want to work hard for nothing in return, then I am waiting. If you say to yourself " no one ever asks me to translate anything", hey, here I am. My email is primed and ready.

O.k.this is somewhat tongue- in -cheek, but seriously, what's a girl got to do to get a song translated 'round here?

Paint By Numbers

This is an opinionated blog. ( no really? you are saying)....yeah. I am all opinion. Cut me open and you will find wine, chocolate, and opinion.
At a recent Tummy Tuesday I had this conversation with one of the dancers:

Her: " I really didn't prepare anything, I guess I will have to do improv". ( she said it in an apologetic tone).

Me: " No way! I love improv. You know what choreograpy is to me? Paint by numbers. It might make a pretty picture, but it will never be a Van Gogh".

Her: "I like paint by numbers."

In choreography's defense, I can understand why people do it. It does take away a lot of the nerves. Like going on a road trip that you have carefully mapped out. There are few to no surprises, and there is comfort in that. Recently I performed my second EVER choreographed solo. I was tired, worn out, recovering from sickness and had to come up with something at the last minute. So this drum solo came out of the back pocket,and even as I was performing it I was BORED. I looked at the pictures of myself performing it and I looked BORED. Afterwards I had a little "come to Jesus" with myself and basically said" If you are not going to dance then why do this? Why dress up, why hand the kids over to the hubby and watch them cry as I leave, why take 30 minutes just to put on makeup? If your heart isn't going to be in it then WHY DO IT?"

A + B = C. That is what choreography is to me. There is a move, there is a beat of the music that goes with it. Cut and paste. Glue. Paint by numbers. On the first beat I am doing a blah, followed by a blah. It engages your brain, it is something to REMEMBER.
Now I know that choreography works for some people. Even if their dance wasn't born in this moment, it was born in a moment, and that is how their brain works. Kewl. I am ( somewhat reluctanly) willing to admit that I don't know everything, everyone works differently. But other than group things, or choreo's for learning purposes, I will always hate it. The hard truth is, I would rather not dance, hang up the veil, than do something wrote.    
Don't think that I think it is easier to improvise. Do you have to learn how to improvise....HELLZ yeah! You can't just go out there willy-nilly....that is sloppy. People will know. My former/bestest teacher Donna puts very well. She says," I have a general idea of what I am going to do before I go out there". I would say that I take it a step further and say, "I have a general idea of what I am going to do but I am not so attached to that that if a better idea comes along in the moment that I can't change it". Which, since she is not as wordy as I am ( no one is ,really) that is what she probably meant. That is the whole idea of improvising...being prepared, but opening yourself up to possibility.
    Here is the thing. Every moment is different. Every day is different. Every time you dance a song, you are different. Subtle things, the weather, the emotions you may be carrying/feeling that day, what you ate, etc.all add up to the moment you perform. I like the surprise of seeing what comes out of me when I dance from my heart. Does it take an enormous amount of courage, yes. Does it take a certain healthy dose of " I don't give two shits about what people think",most definately. But on any given day at any given time, even at my worst leave -me- alone- with -the- Ben -and -Jerry's days I would rather open myself up to dance than feel like I am just trying to remember something I learned earlier and not screw it up in front of an audience.

     I'd rather try for a Van Gogh, any day.