The Chocolate Shakes

Dusting off the Cobwebs

2011-04-08T17:13:00.000-08:00

Wow, look! I found a blog! I remember when I used to write a blog... oh, wait... this IS my blog, isn't it?

Much has happened between then and now, and I've got some new stuff bouncing around in my head... stay tuned!

Level 3 in Puerto Vallarta

2009-02-28T03:07:00.001-09:00

Well, here we are.

We arrived yesterday, breezed through the entropy of customs, dodged the numerous questionable offers of a ride to our resort to find the right people, managed to navigate the check-in process, and ultimately found our rooms.

And let me just say that this is not the Downtown Calgary Hostel (where Majida and I stayed while taking Level 2)!

Majida, Mr. Majida, and I are sharing a spacious 2-bedroom suite. Each of us has a private bath, and we share a deck that has a lovely little soaking pool right on it. The resort here at the Grand Mayan is massive -- I wonder if it says something that the golf course is in the front yard? There are acres of pools in the back, and it's quite the labrynth. We ventured forth in search of sustenance after getting somewhat settled in our rooms, and ended up eating some wonderful ceviche followed by truly amazing fajitas and shrimp tacos at a little open-air spot on the edge of the beach. After dinner, of course, we had to walk down to the water and let the surf bathe our feet.

This fails to suck.

The air is so humid it feels like we've just stepped out of the shower all the time, but we're coping. Given the sheer volume of water out back, we're certain we'll manage this just fine.

Hadia and Despina came by a little after we got back and later this morning we're getting together in Hadia's room for breakfast and to begin our Level 3 training. Exciting stuff. It's going to be good to have this certification finished, but we have to wonder... what's next?

Doh -- Turkey, of course. :)

Fat Burlesque

2008-11-16T10:58:00.000-09:00

Majida turned me on to this awesome video:

And what a beautiful thing it is.

Belly dance and burlesque both are all about celebrating the body you have, so it's more than a little ironic how stigmatized they both are in our culture. With either art, the moment you disclose to someone who didn't know, their imaginations run wild. I know I am often met initially with that once-over full-body I'm-not-really-looking scan, and a "Really?!"

I can always tell when the disbelief comes because I'm fat. There's that look that crosses their face, and their body language screams at what their inner eye envisions. It makes me giggle, thinking about it.

But my experience performing is the same as those ladies in the video -- I have never had anyone come up to me afterwards and express anything but WOW. I've never had an audience go silent in horror as I stepped onto stage showing my big ol' naked white belly in all its glory. And that time when I popped out of my bra during a private show, the view was openly appreciated, not denigrated.

So hey, embrace it, love it, and shake it if ya got it, because I guarantee those who matter are going to love it... and so should you.

Election Day

2008-11-04T05:17:00.000-09:00

So what chocolate is best on Election Day?

Given the two top candidates, you have your pick of Hershey's or Nestle's. Neither one is particularly any good, but most people appear to be willing to settle for one or the other, happily glutting themselves on the stuff (because a little definitely does not go a long way, as demonstrated by the apparent need for months of media saturation), then going to the polls all giddy and ecstatic in the throes of sugar rush.

Later will come the crash, the "oh god what have we done?" More so once they step on the scale to find the government's hips have grown yet again, and now we have to tighten our belts so the government can maintain its muffin top.

Yet people buy it because it's there, it's what they know, it's what they've always eaten, and if they don't buy a bar of Hershey's, then Nestle's might gain the upper hand. Dove chocolates? Well, sure they taste better than the others, but voting for the Mars candidate is going to pull from the Hershey's market share, Naderizing them so Nestle wins. Ghirardelli? Sounds like the Mafia. Better stay away from that.

It's just too much work for most people to sort through the other options. You know -- the ones that might actually require them to spend some time considering what they really want from their chocolate, to actually (gasp!) think. To consider something new. To discover subtlety of taste and texture. To enjoy smaller doses of quality rather than crap in quantity.

Ah well.

For myself, I'm going to go flying and eat Dagoba bars and dream of a world where everyone knows what it is to have good chocolate, and isn't afraid to buy it.

The Omnivore 100

2008-10-24T19:49:00.000-08:00

Been meaning to get around to this, as it hit my email box a couple dozen times 2-3 months ago. This is supposedly the "life list" for the accomplished omnivore, or at least the open minded one. The rules are to bold all items on the list you’ve eaten, and cross out any you would never consider eating. Here are my results:

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac ~~with a fat cigar~~
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. ~~Kaolin~~
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill (unless you count moose shot from the road)
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate (duh!)
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

Hm. Not bad for an Alaskan who has barely been anywhere. I'm disappointed to find so many traditional Alaskan foods missing, though. Like geoduck, muktuk, Akutaq, and oogruk. Heck, even wild Alaska salmon, halibut, and ptarmigan are missing from the list! I may have to compile my own one of these days...

Showing the Underbelly

2008-10-11T22:43:00.000-08:00

Majida and I were so impressed by (in particular) the body image messages presented in Steve Balderson's Underbelly that we decided it needed to become part of our University (and other) M.E. dance classes. To that end, we ordered up an extracurricular potluck and movie party last night, popped in the DVD, and watched what happened.

And we saw good things happen. Really good things.

We saw horizons get broadened, and I like to think everyone was standing a little taller at the end of the evening, despite having just indulged in some fabulous stews, hummus and pita chips, some divine chocolate baklava, and those amazing fig-chocolate and pomegranite-honey ice creams.

Plez really was the perfect subject for this film because she's is all at once larger-than-life (no, not her hips!) and incredibly REAL. She's gorgeous (everyone agrees she's got the most amazing legs!), she calls herself "Princess," but there she is laughing about being a failed anorexic (you'll have to see the film to understand, and it's not what you might assume!) and trying not to puke on the plane after a night of food poisoning, and not a hint of false modesty to be seen. She just is who she is, in a way that tends to make the rest of us believe maybe we can be fabulous too... even without make-up! :D

And of course we can be fabulous. And we are!

There was lots of laughter, and were lots of of comments about the various dancers and how beautiful they were. It really seemed to me that people came away feeling a little lighter, more comfortable with their own bodies. One gal watched Plez doing her striptease and announced she wants to do burlesque... in part because her dad is a politician! Everyone is excited at the prospect of having Plez up for some workshops, too. Hopefully we can make that happen.

My only regret is that not everyone could be there. But I think this ritual is going to become one of my favorite parts of every class from now on.

The Work of the Fabulous Mr. Majida

2008-09-22T22:56:00.000-08:00

Mr. Majida (aka Pete) created this fabulous poster for our upcoming Hadia workshop.

He is so amazingly, mind-blowingly talented.

After seeing this, other dancers might just start paying us to come give workshops and shows so they can have a poster too!

Improbable Cows Made Impossible

2008-07-13T12:26:00.000-08:00

The Aleutian Islands, a chain of islands extending about 1,200 miles out from the southwest tip of mainland Alaska, are generally considered to be among the most barren, desolate, wretched places on the planet. They sport wind-worn hills, scrub brush (even the trees gave up), and what is generally considered to be the absolute worst weather in the world. People who grow up out there are, when traveling to other places for the first time, surprised to learn that rain actually can fall straight down, or indeed that there are places where the fact that it's not raining doesn't mean that it's merely snowing instead.

Oh yeah, and there are volcanoes. Lots of them. Fifty-seven, in fact, tracing the northern border of the Pacific Ring of Fire. Most are active, and the local schoolchildren are well-versed in the details of the Richter scale.

About 900 miles down the Chain from Anchorage (the closest city to Alaska), we find the third-largest of the 300-plus islands in the Aleutians -- Umnak. Population approximately 39. That's about one person for every 17 square miles. A good place to go if you like some breathing room.

Except for one rather large detail -- Okmok. Okmok is a volcano, and as of Saturday Okmok is spewing a (as last reported) 50,000-foot plume of ash.

So by now you are wondering what in hell this has to do with chocolate or belly dance or really much of anything, given it's obviously happening a long way from anything of interest.

Well, not quite.

You see, back in the 1700s, the Russians, in what might appear to be a fit of incredible optimism (until you realize that the same Russians considered Siberia to be rather a nice place to live), installed a herd of cattle on Umnak Island. Those cattle, supplemented by a few extra genes brought in by determined ranchers in the 1960s, survive to this day. There is, in fact, a sustainable herd of approximately 6,000 wild Hereford cattle running amok on Umnak Island. These cattle graze entirely on the lush and tender native vegetation that grows in the treeless volcano-enriched soil. To say this meat is "organic" is understatement. To say it's "delicious" is gross understatement.

And of course the Shakes know this, specifically because I brought some meatballs made of Aleutian beef to a fairly recent gathering. Divine stuff, we all agreed, and it has been adopted as the Official Beef of the Chocolate Shakes.

Aleutian Beef, Umnak Beef... yes, those of us in the know worship the stuff. And those of us watching the satellite of the ash plume and reading reports of how the ten inhabitants of the ranch have been evacuated know all too well that there very likely will be no freezers full of unbelievably tasty beef this fall.

Oh, the herd will survive, of course. Okmok is classed as an "extremely active" volcano that spews ash and molten rock on a fairly regular basis, and the cows have been there since the 1700s after all -- long enough to have figured out how it's done. But the chances of our beign able to actually get some of that beef off the island this fall grow slimmer with each belch of Okmok's belly.

Ah well. The remaining packages in the freezer will be hoarded and kept for worthy occasions, and maybe next year we'll have our beef again.

Noodle of Doum ROCKS!!!

2008-07-13T00:17:00.000-08:00

... or is that raqs? No matter. Either way, it was an awesome concert last night, and the bonfire and drumming on the beach afterwards was, if anything, even better. The Pirates plundered the wood from their garage for the fire, providing the means to make Flaming Marshmallows of Doum, which were then used in the assembly of (what else?) the S'mores of Doum.

Kudos to Majida for bringing the singing bowl that added SO much to the drumming, to Mr. Majida for his fine Ney Noodling, and (of course) to both of them the incredible vat o' homemade Chai. And, of course, for the idea of going to Auke Rec to begin with!

Our concert attracted a couple of new drummers, like moths to a flame. They joined us at Auke Rec for the bonfire, and taught us a couple of new South African rhythms, one of which -- a fire rhythm -- made the fire burn brighter and higher the faster we played. Truly amazing!

We did get some pics, at least in theory, and Mr. Shadiyah got video of that adorable little girl who got up and danced for us, so our MySpace pics and YouTube presence will at last be secured.

Next up -- The Channel Channel exclusive world premiere, featuring the Flying Spaghetti Monster Himself!

The Bling and the Blow-Hole...

2008-06-29T09:31:00.000-08:00

Before you start, go get yourself a pot of tea and some chocolate. This one is bound to take a while, and you should have provisions beforehand. Go on. I'll wait for you.

Got your tea and chocolate? Good.

So I recently emailed a picture of a whale that Mr. Shadiyah and I saw over at the Shrine of St. Therese to Princess Farhana, sparking a discussion of how cool it would be to be a cetacean, and in particular to have a blow-hole. When I pointed out that cetaceans don't wear sequins, HRH replied with the quote that I intend to ensure will haunt her forever -- "Who needs bling when ya got a blow-hole?"

Appropriately enough to the discussion, Dolphina was on the schedule to teach workshops on both belly dance and burlesque in Juneau this weekend. For those who don't know, Dolphina was rescued by dolphins after what would have been a fatal boating accident in the Caribbean, so the "bling vs. blowhole" question is obviously particularly relevant to her. I made it my task to pose the question... well, okay, I admit if the weather was good I would have gone hiking, but as it was the day dawned dark and damp, so Majida and I signed up for the whole day.

The first session was all about belly dance, and I do mean just that. A couple of years ago, Dolphina held what was billed as a "belly dance" workshop in Juneau that upset a few key people because (gasp!) she stripped down to nothing more than a sports bra and thong and taught some burlesque while she was at it. The recipe for scandal was completed when her subsequent "belly dance show" at Doc Waters reportedly showed a hell of a lot more than belly dance. I wasn't there, but I'm told even the troupe's pet pervert got squeamish and left before the show was over.

(Couldn't have had anything to do with the fact that he was there with his fiancée, could it? Nah. We'd rather believe she was just that nasty!)

Anyway, a fair number of local dancers gave Dolphina a miss this time, and one in particular was tres vocal about her reasons. The good news is there were a lot of new faces in the room, which I cheerfully exploited by loudly pointing out that I'll have a beginning class starting in September. I didn't do a nose count, but I'd guess there were easily more than 30 ladies in attendance, fewer than ten of whom were among the Usual Suspects.

The first thing we did was get into a big... er, amoeba-like shape so we could go around and, in keeping with the "Goddess" theme, take turns announcing that we are, in fact, goddesses, state our names and/or our dance names (everyone was encouraged to pick at least one), and say what we would like to get from the day. It's definitely a credit to the atmosphere Dolphina had already created in that short time that almost everyone came up with a dance name and said it aloud to a room full of strangers!

I admit to cringing when she started us out with what at first appeared to be the old squat & tuck position. However, she quickly earned almost total redemption by referencing a stretching feeling in the low back and "softening" (rather than "bending") the knees. Majida and I later agreed that few "Hail Hadias" might be in order for that discussion of engaging the lower abs to hold the tuck, since would keep those lovely muscles from being available for other things, like, say, dancing, but overall things worked out fine for the newbies who probably only first really discovered the existence of their lower abs when they tried to move this morning. So of course we totally forgive her.

Next we went on to learning a few steps, then putting them all together into a short choreography. She chose a good range of steps to teach a mostly beginning crowd, and when it came to the choreography she provided simpler alternatives for those who didn't quite have their feet under them yet, but did it in such a way that no one felt patronized.

I especially liked that she had everyone using a bent knee to support a hip pushed out to the side, since that helps protect against hyperextension and oh, say, massive herniations at L5-S1. Not that I'd know anything about that, of course. But yes, that's right, despite her reputation as a hazard to the belly dance community, her teaching was safe. She taught nothing in her class that would do any physical or emotional harm.... okay, nothing lasting, anyway. I'm sure there are a couple dozen ladies out there who are moving slowly today who might have an opinion on physical harm!

I actually ended up sitting out most of the choreography (no, the fact that I'm almost 40 has nothing to do with it!), which gave me the opportunity to see how well Dolphina's methods were working with the group. The fact is, they were getting it. I saw very very little frustration, and even that was met with determination to keep at it -- which told me everyone felt it was all within reach. On the other hand, no one was bored, either. While Dolphina doesn't do things the way we would, even I can't argue (too much) with success.

At the break, I approached the Cetacean Goddess, gave her some background, and posed the all-important question: Bling or blow-hole?

She was immediately struck by the gravity of this question, as it really is not an easy choice and clearly could have life-changing implications. She finally said she'd get back with me, and hoped it didn't keep her up all night.

Round two was, of course, all about burlesque.

While I have performed in burlesque shows, this was my first actual burlesque class, and I really had no idea what to expect -- particularly in light of Dolphina's legendary status as the most scandalous slut to have ever besmirched the art of belly dance in Juneau.

Short story? It was a blast. Seriously, if you weren't there, you need to go add "take a burlesque class" to your list of things you absolutely must do in life.

We gathered around on the floor and listened to Dolphina's nutshell history of burlesque and chose burlesque names for ourselves. This was a little harder, but by then the group was pretty comfortable. Out of sheer reverence for my big white Alaskan belly, I chose the name "Halli Butt." We started by learning to strut and worked our way... er, down from there. No stripping involved, we just learned some of those way-cool retro moves and in so doing contracted a serious case of attitude.

By the end of the day, a few ladies had stripped down to their bras (why the heat was on in the studio we'll never know) and we were performing in groups for each other, finishing up with a kick line and grabbing each others asses. Ah, how far we'd descended in just a few short hours!

Who knew the fine, upstanding folks of the capital city of Alaska were so corruptible? I mean, besides the oil companies.

(I wonder if I should put down on my dance resume that I grabbed Dolphina's ass in a kick line?)

Almost everyone stayed for the last half hour when she brought out the really raunchy stuff for the "lap dancing" part of the workshop. That's nowhere I particularly plan to go, but was fun to watch her get nasty for a red-faced volunteer and then hear what pointers she had to give. Who knows, these skills might come in handy someday if the capital moves north and we all find ourselves in need of better tips working on board Kalila's whale-watch boats...

Things we liked:

The relaxed and fun atmosphere that was obviously very conducive to letting go.
Despite the whole dolphin and goddess thing, she's very "real" and not too woo-woo.
Dolphina is just drop-dead gorgeous but somehow doesn't give even the most cetacean-like among us a complex. In short, it's easy to just be who you are with her.
Repetition of a single move to the point where everyone had lots of time to get it and no one felt left behind. This also allows those who start out working too hard time to wear out so they end up doing it the right (easy) way by the time she gives leave to stop. Not that we'd ever use that trick ourselves...
Breaking the group up and having them take turns dancing and actively cheering the others on;
Presentation of beginning and advanced variations of the choreographies in a way that even the most experienced among us felt fine using the simplified steps as needed.

Constructive criticism:

She's a bit weak on anatomy, but on the other hand we were very happy she didn't go on like she was an expert in the subject. We know not everyone can be an anatomy geek, but do think everyone should at least own an Anatomy Coloring Book for reference.
I disagreed with her version of the history of burlesque, particularly that it originated from belly dance. See prior posts for details.

Of course, I mustn't neglect to mention that, in the middle of the burlesque class, Dolphina did suddenly point to me and say "Blow-hole!" Of course she had to explain to the class what I'd asked, and she chose blow-hole because, well, who wouldn't?

Pie in the Sky

2008-06-17T21:30:00.000-08:00

For those in Juneau who don't know about Pie in the Sky, you're seriously missing out. For those who do know about Pie in the Sky, you obviously know just how badly everyone else is missing out!

Those of us who were jonesing for the best chocolate drinks in town are happy to report that Andrea has fully settled into her new spot on Seward Street, right inside the front door to The Canvas. Her new space seems just perfect -- a nice little closet kitchen (I'm sure it's bigger than it looked from outside) with a cart pulled across the door on which she displays the same brand of incredibly tempting wares we saw (although not so well) down at Costa's in the Wharf Mall. Gotta warn you -- it's right there under your nose now, and there's no missing it!

I was walking by yesterday and stopped in for a DDD European chocolate, which I guarantee will cure whatever ails your soul. Rich, decadent bittersweet hot chocolate with a big dollop of whipped cream on top, so thick she serves it with a spoon. I took mine straight (it was a straight chocolate kind of day), although she's happy to add whatever you like to the mix. A whiff of mint, perhaps? Or a touch of cardamom? As it pleases you, so it shall be.

As I waited for her to finish making my drink, I noticed blackberry shortcakes, Mexican spicy brownies (topped with dolce de leche and cacao nibs), and the ubiquitous Meringues of Temptation (my name for them - the ginger meringues are simply to die for). But I was there for chocolate, and that's all I came away with... this time.

If you're especially wise, you'll get on the Pie in the Sky email list. In a delightful narrative, Andrea previews where the muse might take her over the course of the week, including important information like the divine grapefruit creme brulee is back by popular demand, and on what days one would be likely to find warm peach cobbler in her window. Obviously, this intel is highly valuable, and if you happen to remember what she put down for the "email special" this week, you might even get a discount.

I propose that the Shakes formally adopt Pie in the Sky as our official chocolate drink source. And once we've done that, we can tell Andrea about it, and maybe she'll come up with a special Chocolate Shakes... er, shake? Maybe something with a touch of curry in it... hmmmm...

Post Grand Jury Chocolate

2008-05-31T10:57:00.000-08:00

So I'm back from Anchorage where three days of tedious testimony shoehorned in between other cases before a grand jury panel netted us indictments against both of the accused on all counts. Always a good feeling.

After my role in the show was (finally) over, I popped by our Anchorage office where my partner in anti-crime and I decided on the downtown New Sagaya for lunch. The downtown store caters more to the wealthy, healthy lunch crowd, and doesn't have a Chocolate Wall like the midtown store. But after procuring some excellent sushi fresh and spring rolls for lunch, I did sniff out the chocolate and dropped a few duckets on some intriguing Vosges bars as well as a couple of packs of irresistible Fran's smoked-salt caramels.

Later, I had the fun of introducing three people to the joy of those smoked-salt caramels. To the uninitiated, the first reaction is what kind of caramel? They always try it anyway, though. I mean, come on -- it's caramel. There's the first bite, the tentative chewing, the somewhat quizzical look on the face as the flavor of the salt first mingles with the caramel on their tongue and, finally, the widened eyes as they experience their first salty caramel ohhhgasm.

Hooked for life. I feel a twinge of almost guilt for doing it to them, given it's ten bucks for eight of them, but then again it's worth it and no one I've subjected to this stuff has cursed me yet.

My Vosges findings this round are the Macha Bar (macha green tea with deep milk chocolate), the Red Fire Bar (ancho & chipolte chiles with dark chocolate), the Oaxaca Bar (guajillo and pasilla chiles with dark chocolate), the Naga Bar (sweet curry powder and coconut with deep milk chocolate), and the Black Pearl Bar (ginger, wasabi, and black sesame seeds in dark chocolate). Some of these I believe we have previously experienced in the Majida household, but repeats of Voges are never a bad thing.

I intend to bring them to our drum practices, because everyone knows that the best drummers run on the best chocolate.

My Baby Laptop

2008-05-23T22:22:00.000-08:00

Wow, I've had this thing for over two months now and I haven't mentioned it here? What is WRONG with me?

Everyone (who hasn't already), meet my 3ePC:

I love this thing. It weighs about 2 pounds, fits in my purse, and does everything I need my laptop to do when I'm on the road. It's all about communication, really. It has Firefox for web browsing, Thunderbird for email (if you need it, which I don't because I just use gmail), and Skype. It also has built-in wi-fi, to make it easy to connect so you can use all that stuff.

Really, what's not to love?

I've just spent the last few days setting it up as a dual-boot system, with the Xandros flavor of Linux (which came preinstalled but is a snap to restore if you should be so silly as to uninstall it) and Windows XP on a bootable SDHC card. Really, I only want Windows for the ability to use Netflix-on-demand while traveling, and so I can use the cellular modem hubby also got me to go with it. I understand there are Linux drivers available for the modem, but I haven't found them yet.

Getting ready to head north on Monday afternoon (yeah, Memorial Day... sigh!) to testify at state Grand Jury next week, and words cannot express how happy I am not to be lugging my "big" laptop around this time. Two pounds beats seven any day!

My Fair Belly Dancer

2008-05-03T20:23:00.000-08:00

She's so deliciously low. So horribly dirty.” -- Professor Henry Higgins

Our reputation. Our image. Perception. It's the proverbial sequin in our side. Despite all our best efforts to educate them, speak the term “belly dance” and people still think of the Dance of the Seven Veils and women taking their clothes off or, at a minimum, coy and seductive ladies slinking around in exotic and erotic ways.

And why shouldn't they? That is in fact what “belly dance” is.

“Belly dance” is a literal translation of danse du ventre, which was originally a stylized adaptation of Middle Eastern dance that evolved to satisfy the needs of lonely soldiers beyond their daily rations. It was exotic. It was naughty. It exemplified costuming on a budget. It was sexy as hell.

It also wasn't authentic Middle Eastern dance. Any lady doing that kind of dancing in the Middle East came by her reputation as a whore honestly.

In time, danse du ventre migrated back to France, where it continued to enjoy popularity and notoriety, and the performers continued to enjoy the favors of their most ardent fans. Deliciously scandalous stuff, even in France.

Cross the Atlantic, enter Sol Bloom. How do you market authentic Algerian dancers to uptight and repressed Victorians on the Midway Plaisance? “Belly dance” it is, step right up, ladies and gentlemen! What Bloom delivered was genuine traditional Middle Eastern dancing, but in his marketing he misrepresented this as “belly dance” (aka, danse du ventre).

Now, you would think that there at the Chicago World Expo, having been presented with authentic cultural dances of the Middle East, people would come away from the experience with a revised idea of what “belly dance” actually was, right? Tell them it's “belly dance” and show them the real deal, they will go away talking about how it's not really all that scandalous after all and is really a beautiful and reputable art form. Perfect! Thanks, Sol!

Nope. That's not the way it works. People go in expecting sex, and sex is exactly what they're going to see regardless of the nature or authenticity of the dance. Hence we found every carnival worth its salt billing “Little Egypt the belly dancer” and her minimalist costume as a feature attraction in the wake of the Expo.

And changing that works just as well today as it did then, too.

Realistically, efforts to separate the meaning of the term “belly dance” from its deeply-seated cultural roots and elevate it to a position of respectability (and funding) on par with (for instance) ballet, are doomed to fail. Belly dance may have its origins in Middle Eastern dance, but it's simply not the same thing. Belly dance inherently, by the very definition and origin of the term, includes an overlay of sexuality and eroticism that is not found in the traditional dance forms on which it was based. Like it or not, the culturally-established definition of “belly dance” is going to evoke images that will put a glint in a gentleman's eye.

This isn't to say belly dance can't be respectable. It absolutely is, but it's not the classical kind of respectable you might find with other dance forms such as ballet or Flamenco or (we would hope) authentic Middle Eastern dance. If you truly have authentic aspirations yet still call yourself a “belly dancer,” perhaps you need to rethink your verbiage, because you're doing exactly what Sol Bloom was doing – trying to pass off the real deal as something sexy and scandalous. This does absolutely no favors for those who do work so very hard to protect and preserve the original dance forms. They're the ones who should be getting that major arts funding someday... assuming the rest of us quit screwing it up for them by confusing those deep fine arts foundation pockets by calling it “belly dance,” that is.

Within the community, “belly dance” is a broad (in both senses of the word, perhaps?) term that includes several variations such as tribal, as well as endless fusion styles which are typically distinguished from the original with addition of a modifier, e.g., “tribal belly dance” or “belly jazz” or “bellyriverdance fusion” And let's be honest -- we sure as heck don't use the term “belly dance” because it sounds sophisticated and gives an image of a serious art form! For all our protestations, we use the term because it sells... and because we sorta like that “bad girl” image that comes with it.

Perhaps if we did want to breathe the rarefied air of seriousness, yet not be bound by the wholehearted practice of authenticity, we might consider using the French: danse du ventre. French works for ballet, right? People respect ballet dancers, and how many clothes are THOSE folks wearing? Imagine what we could accomplish if we just started speaking French! Shimmy becomes the precise se trémousser; belly rolls the bold ronds de ventre; and hip drops the highly technical déhanchement.

Wow. Somebody write this down -- we may be onto something here! Place our tongues firmly in our cheeks and learn to speak a little French. At least in public. Once the studio door closes, we can go back to calling it like we feel it.

Elevated “belly dance”? That's just where you put on heels, honey. Like Eliza Doolittle, you can dress her up and go on about the rain in Spain all day long, but anyone who knows her name is always going to remember who she is.

Verdict #2 and I'm happy to be wrong

2008-04-24T16:42:00.000-08:00

After the loco surgeon's dismissal, I promptly arranged to go and see another surgeon whom I know and trust, and who I really wish I'd called after the excitement died down that first Thursday morning.

They gathered the results of various tests and slotted me in for Wednesday. I read every detail of the anatomy chart on the wall depicting the digestive system as I waited (I, unlike some, don't think it's bad to have to wait a little while -- in this case in particular I know it's because he takes time with his patients). Finally, he came in and greeted me with a smile.

It's funny to note that, since I know this guy socially, his personality undergoes a complete and radical transformation when he's on the job. Off the job, drinking saki and eating sushi, or just watching operas in his living room, he's a lot of fun. On the job, he is 100% focused as a doctor. He's pleasant and attentive, but even his voice changes. I was amused and pleased, because otherwise it could have felt a little awkward having the guy who generally competes with my husband for baritone roles here in town poking at me. :)

Anyway, after asking a few questions, he dropped the big news -- there was something found during the endoscopy -- gastritis. He concludes that the episode was most likely hemorrhagic gastritis.

He explained why he didn't think it was a tear, and it all sounded reasonable. It probably helps that he had just presented another perfectly plausible explanation supported by the evidence.

The likely beginning for this episode would have been back in December/January when I was taking large doses of Naproxen (ibuprofen) to help ease the inflammation in my back due to Disczilla's presence at L5-S1. Combine that with the stressball that is my life, and a few dietary indiscretions while traveling the week before, and everything conspires to wear a hole in me.

So about 10 days of sucralfate (which acts as something of a liquid band-aid to the affected raw bits in my tummy) before every meal and at bedtime, some better stress-management techniques, and behaving myself when yummy bread products come around, and I should be as good as new.

This is all good -- I wasn't really looking forward to living life as a time bomb. My energy levels are up, and I'm even allowed to go back to work next week (yay?) Like Aunt Rocky, I'm going to have a lot less tolerance for those things and people that cause me stress. License to be a bitch...

The Thunderbellies

2008-04-19T22:51:00.000-08:00

From the mouth of Bob comes what just may be the name of Majida's and my "despite ourselves" troupe that appears to be forming around us -- "The Thunderbellies."

We'll have to see if it sticks, but why am I having visions of chrome and fins and the whole "Flash Gordon retro" thing all of a sudden? ;)

The Verdict

2008-04-18T10:02:00.000-08:00

So in an amazing feat of diagnosis by elimination, the loco surgeon advised me during my 45-second appointment (why couldn't this have been a phone call?) this morning that there was nothing of interest on the CT scan. Conclusion: It must have been the same thing as before: "a tear that healed extremely quickly." Treatment? None, of course. No recommendations, and no things to look out for. "M-W tears very rarely recur."

(Yeah, that's what they told me when it happened the first time, seven years ago)

This is interesting news, from the guy who so quickly pointed out at my last appointment that they didn't actually see any tear last time, and may have misdiagnosed the problem.

(That time, for various reasons, they waited a whole four days before sending a camera to take pictures of my innards, but the surgeon inspired a heck of a lot more confidence when he explained his conclusion and how he came to it absent anything visibly wrong).

I am getting a second opinion. While I'm willing to accept that it was a M-W tear, and even accept that there's no real treatment for it, I have absolutely no confidence in the loco surgeon whatsoever. It would really really suck if he were wrong either about the diagnosis or there being no treatment to keep it from happening again.

And I know I don't want it happening again.

My chosen second-opinion surgeon (whom I wish I'd called from the E.R.) is someone I trust completely, and who I also know can and will think outside the box. Even if he reiterates the loco surgeon's conclusion, I'll at least come away with some "to do" and "to don't" items, as well as some things to watch out for in case of a "to don't." In any event, with the second opinion I'll feel confident that we've done everything that can be done to avoid a repeat performance.

Oh baby...

2008-04-16T20:21:00.000-08:00

Super Bear has Truffle Pig! Majida and I discovered Truffle Pig in the wilds of Alberta last year, and it's some mighty fine chocolate. Definitely good for building up the blood. I'm sure of it.

Doctoring a Dancer

2008-04-16T15:38:00.000-08:00

As I was regaling the kind and tolerant Princess Farhana with tales from the ICU and beyond, I mentioned the doctor told me I should "act normal." Given my blood count is still pretty low, I figure the doc has no clue just how active "normal" is for me! HRH replied that she seriously doesn't think doctors have any idea what is "normal" for belly dancers. Of course, this thought promptly collided with a whole lot of other thoughts, and here we are.

Doctors and dancers are hardly strangers, and few people have any illusions as to how hard ballet is on the body. In fact, I was recently chatting with a woman whose 16-year old daughter (she very proudly told me) has been "excelling in ballet for nearly 11 years now." A young man interjected himself into our conversation to relate the story of a friend who had been a ballet dancer, but who, after dancing on an injured knee, is unable to dance anymore. My proud parent friend nodded knowingly, and said the orthopedist probably bought his new boat on her daughter's various injuries, "but injuries are just part of being a dancer. You just have to learn to live with and take care of them."

I had to walk away before my social filters failed and I said what I really thought. I used to resent my mother's refusal to let me take ballet, but now, at age 39, with my good joints and intact tendons, I thank her for her good sense.

Anyway, through their long association, your average doctor will have a pretty well-established view of "dancers" and what sorts of injuries and conditions to expect of them and, depending on the type of dancer, possibly even how big a boat to order.

What, then, does a doctor think when faced for the first time with a belly dancer?

Truth is, they probably have no idea what to think. They may see a woman of any shape or size before them, since there is as much variety among belly dancer bodies as there is uniformity in ballet dancer bodies. So, armed with little or no prior knowledge of what "I'm a belly dancer" means, physically, they continue their assessment on the basis of what they can see on the surface.

And this can be misleading! I've certainly had medical professionals (and others) be surprised by the strength and agility and stamina harbored in my size 16 body. I've impressed doctors in the context of a stress test, startled a nurse by contracting an oblique to give her something to push against, and just today made a surgeon's eyes get big when I demonstrated the range of motion of my abdominal muscles.

The kind of core strength and muscle development found in a belly dancer is pretty unique. The surgeon today was skeptical that I would be able to make a voluntary movement with sufficient range and force to cause a Mallory-Weiss tear. I showed him otherwise. Back a few months ago when I was dealing with a severely herniated disc at L5-S1, the osteopath who diagnosed me was shaking his head over the fact that, despite having "the Disc that Ate New York" in my back, I had only some numbness down my leg -- no loss of strength, and no pain. Looking at the MRI that told the tale, he said that, without having me standing in front of him, he would have guessed from the image that I was lying in bed, moaning in agony, unable to walk, in dire need of immediate surgery. He prescribed a brief course of steroids and told me to keep dancing because obviously it was working.

(That disc has spontaneously healed without further treatment, and no, I never stopped dancing)

I'm an active person. I work full time as an investigator, teach dance twice a week, practice at least five days a week, hike when I get a chance, and still have enough energy to credibly threaten my children into compliance. But just now I'm still pretty anemic, and my doctor's suggestion that I "act normal" today was nothing short of comical.

Ah well. He doesn't know me, and with any luck he won't need to get to know me much better. But maybe if he's faced with another belly dancer another time, he'll consider that maybe there are things to consider that might not apply to other people -- dancers or no.

Gore, Torture, and Weight Loss

2008-04-15T13:04:00.000-08:00

If you're going to choose a time to start channeling Linda Blair (linky provided for those young enough to have no clue what I'm talking about), 3:00 on a Thursday morning is probably as good as any. For added emphasis, I recommend eschewing the pea soup in favor of blood, as in today's fast-paced modern world we just don't have time for all that build-up to the moment to make our point.

(Hey, if Aunt Rocky can blog about her bellyful....)

My point Thursday morning was, apparently, that something was dreadfully wrong. I woke up sweating like I was having a hot flash in the desert, and shortly after vomited up something disturbingly red. At this point, the brain is going "okay, did I have beets... No... Did I have anything with red food color... No... Could this be anything but blood... No...

"Shit."

Waking hubby to advise of the need for an ambulance a little sooner than immediately, I gracefully draped myself over a nearby pile of laundry until the room quit going all spinny at the edges, then pulled out a pair of yoga pants which I slipped on under my long nightshirt (my husband can't believe I even thought of it). I then slipped up onto the bed and waited for the pros to arrive.

I chatted with my paramedic team briefly before giving them a live replay of earlier events, right into their nice red hazmat bag they brought just for the purpose. So thoughtful! They transferred me to the "stair chair" and started to wheel me out. Apparently the world went dark on me somewhere in there, because the picture from the bedroom wall now looks disturbingly like part of a crime scene, and I don't actually remember doing any spray painting outside of the bathroom or the paramedics' bag. I do remember getting outside and feeling rain on my face and wishing the damn paramedic would quit asking me to "stay with [her]" because passing out sounded pretty darn appealing. I then had a series of very short, intense dreams that I later learned coincided with what everyone else saw as a seizure. I guess super rapid drops in BP will do that.

In the ambulance, feet up, consciousness returns. I have ten holes in my arms and hands attesting to the ease with which they were able to start an IV. Fortunately, my left hand obliged right before they started going for the feet. Whew!

In the ER, they miraculously managed to get a big honkin' needle into my arm, right where it bends, of course, in case I needed a transfusion. I apparently just skimmed the surface of that magic number, but avoided it in the end. Oh, and if you've never had a nasogastric tube inserted while you're fully conscious, you are SO missing out on one of life greatest joys... NOT. Through that medieval torture device, they emptied the last of the extant blood from my belly so I wouldn't have to do it myself the old-fashioned way.

Now, all this time, hubby and I both have been reciting repeatedly that something very like this happened once before in 2001, and it had been diagnosed as an esophageal (Mallory-Weiss) tear. So how reassuring when the ER doctor suddenly said "ah HA! From this history report the hospital printed out, this has happened before! Critical information!" Fortunately for him, he was out of range and I was pretty well tied down. The surgeon, a jolly old locum geezer, chimed in that it was most likely an ulcer. Bah.

At some point they dubbed me stable enough for the ICU and trundled me on up there, where I spent one day on a clear liquid diet, and another not allowed to have anything at all (I've lost just over 10 pounds since Thursday morning). With all the wires and leads stuck all over me, I sorta felt like I was being molested by an octopus.

Now, I must interject here that having a television in the ICU is all well and good, but when you're on a clear liquid diet or a nothing at all diet, the many many commercials plying food-like products are a fairly effective form of psychological torture. Fortunately, my chosen hero came to my rescue with my laptop and a new DVD that got me through, thank heavens, or I'm sure I would have been forced to eat a lab technician.

Oh yes, and due to my caffeine addiction, I had one wicked-ass headache this whole time. Apparently coffee is not considered a "clear liquid," and neither is Tylenol.

The loco surgeon came in to explain that he was going to perform an endoscopy sometime the next day or so. He said he expected to find the cause and take care of it (yes, you think it's an ulcer, we get it). 11:30 p.m., bless the dear, sweet nurse who brought me all of that jello and broth and water before the midnight consumables cut-off!

Friday afternoon at last, and off to the Endoscopy Suite. They squirted some happy juice into my IV and I remember nothing more until I woke up all refreshed in the ICU. The loco surgeon came in to say I could go home, and no, they hadn't actually found anything "conclusive." Mm. He gave me my discharge orders, which include no dietary restrictions whatsoever. Awwww... What happened to the "it's an ulcer" theory? A prescription for Protonix and away with me, don't darken the hospital's door again until Tuesday when I should come to the lab for a full CBC, and make an appointment for follow-up on Wednesday. That should be enough time for him to look through his medical books and come up with another explanation, right?

So I've been on the "cat" regimen -- sleep, stretch, sleep, stare into space (or at my laptop, as the case may be), sleep, sleep, eat, sleep, roll in catnip... er, I mean...

I'm laying money it's another Mallory-Weiss tear. I have a predisposition to them in the form of a hiatal hernia, and hey, I had one before. I believe the loco surgeon was quick to dismiss it because I did not report any obvious trauma, such as coughing or vomiting (the usual suspects, and it was vomiting that caused the prior tear). However, as I've had gobs of time to think about it, I think I know what the culprit was.

(Take note -- it's bellydance-related!)

Wednesday night, I was at rehearsal and doing my own thing to the sword solo in Amayaguena (yes, yes, I know I swore never again, but I wasn't doing the choreography as written so shut up already). At one point, with sword on head, I started indulging in a few mirror-inspired belly tricks. (Danger! Danger Will Robinson!) One of these moves is the one I call the "inside-out belly roll," which involves dropping the belly forward and down, then contracting the rictus abdominus from bottom to top.

I recall quite clearly the way my diaphragm was pulled as I willfully and recklessly hyperextended my belly downward for the sake of looking cool in the mirror. Rolling that way, the upper abs aren't automatically set to "catch" the belly before it goes too far (as they do rolling the other way), so everything gets pulled down and, when hyperextending as I was, it will gladly pull the diaphragm with.

Now go read the pathophysiology section of that article on Mallory-Weiss tears, a moment. Scroll down -- it's there. I'll wait for you.

Uh huh, I think so too. I'm pretty convinced I gave myself a Mallory-Weiss tear by hyperextending an outside belly-roll. We'll see what the loco surgeon has to say tomorrow (will he be convinced that there's enough force involved? My sis-in-law the doctor isn't), but I do know there's at least equal force to a cough or retch or hiccup, and absent a pretty picture of a bleeding ulcer, it's going to take a lot to convince me I'm wrong.

(The only other explanation I'll accept is that I was channeling a little too much demonic glee from doing my day job, but as I hadn't actually charged anyone with any crimes that day, it's not so likely as the M-W tear.)

So the moral of this story is clear: Beware how you roll your belly, and beware the bewitching effect of the fucking mirror!

So you're a belly dancer?

2008-04-04T07:04:00.000-08:00

I've been doing some more reading and research on the history of belly dance in America (since we college professors do get asked a lot of questions) and suddenly found myself taking a stroll through the subject of (gasp!) burlesque. Lions and tigers and bears, oh my! We're definitely not in Kansas anymore, Toto!

Or are we?

"Belly dance” is term that has been around since long before Sol Bloom used it to describe the Algerian (among others, but he called them all Algerians for the Algerian Village exhibit) dancers he had imported for the “Midway Plaisance” at the 1893 Chicago World Expo. It came from the French dance du ventre, which was an amalgam of oriental dance and cabaret. In a nutshell, the moves were similar, but the costumes were, shall we say, considerably lighter.

Bloom started using the term “belly dance” to market his show because, well, hey -- even in the Victorian age, sex sells, and in a culture where chickens had light meat and dark meat rather than breasts and thighs, the belly is the bit tucked in between the light meat and the dark, and of course the sexual implications of that are enough to make a corseted lady swoon! However, despite his marketing spin, what Bloom delivered was the “real deal” -- authentic dancers performing authentic cultural dances, with not a trace of sleaze... once Sol left the stage after announcing the act, that is.

(I wonder if the Victorian gentlemen who paid to see “belly dancing” felt cheated?)

It was after the expo, when every traveling “carnie” worth its salt had a “belly dancer,” that the meaning really began to burn itself into the collective consciousness through widespread exposure. The term itself suggested something scandalous and lewd (and therefore a must-see), so it's not at all surprising that the money-hungry carnival vendors obliged. Add to that the Orientalism movement that sparked such helpful productions as Oscar Wilde's 1890s play, “Salome,” and Richard Strauss's opera based on the play, which includes the notorious “Dance of the Seven Veils,” and then ice that cake with films featuring scantily-clad harem girls draped around the set.

Gosh, Toto, with all that in the background, who could blame people for thinking we take our clothes off when we tell them we belly dance?

The fact is, for the majority of people in our culture, the term “belly dance” evokes an image akin to the Dance of the Seven Veils – an image consistent with...

Gasp! No! It can't be...!

Burlesque!

So I'm sorry, folks, but when you call yourself a “belly dancer,” you're asking for it. By protesting that you're trying to “educate the masses” and “salvage its reputation,” you are trying to change a very deeply-ingrained cultural reference that has never actually been synonymous with authentic Middle Eastern dance.

Oh, and good luck with that, too.

So for all our protestations, why do we insist on using the term “belly dance” rather than pick one of the other fine terms out there, like “Raqs Sharki” or “Oriental Dance” that don't carry all that cultural baggage? Why not just accept what “belly dance” means to people in this culture and adopt another term rather than beat our collective heads against a solid wall of preconceived ideas?

It couldn't be because, even when we strive to be authentic, we actually sorta, you know, maybe... like the connotation? That we enjoy being associated with what people think of as a “sexy” dance form and all the implications thereof? Especially those of us who, say, don't quite fit on the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue and maybe aren't used to being thought of in that way?

Nah. Couldn't be. Forget I mentioned it.

How about burlesque, then? What is this we've been trying to distance ourselves from so adamantly?

"Burlesque” is originally a French term for theatrical farce specifically involving ridicule. In America, burlesque has evolved into risque', innuendo-laden parody (although it's certainly kept the original French “cheese”...). Originally, burlesque shows targeted the middle and lower classes by poking fun at the social habits and occupations of the rich and famous. Being married to a French opera singer who insisted I make it clear that the “original” burlesque had little or nothing to do with sex, I feel compelled to point out that opera was a favorite target. I mean, come on -- when the horned Wagnerian soprano flings wide her arms for the high note and her metal breastplate clanks to the ground leaving her standing there in her (substantial) undergarments, it's just funny.

And when the bumbling baritone stumbles and gets his nose stuck in her cleavage... well, his wife will have something to say to him later!

The primary attraction of burlesque “a la American” is, of course, sex.

Hey... isn't that the same attraction as “belly dance”? Oops, sorry. Wasn't going to talk about that anymore, was I?

Burlesque, including the striptease, is in itself a whole art form that is much more than taking one's clothes off. Burlesque as a whole is about farce and parody and tease and innuendo, and the striptease itself is about the act of taking off the clothes -- the tease -- rather than prancing around naked (or near enough so it hardly matters). In fact, when the clothes are off, the show is over!

And again, taking clothes off is not even necessary for it to be burlesque – I didn't remove so much as a single item of clothing (my own or anyone else's) in the one "official" burlesque performance I have on my resume, although Lysander (my rowdy six foot boa constrictor hand puppet) sure was being a handful, chasing two other ladies around the stage, trying to grab their naughty bits. And when I tried to stop him he nearly squeezed me to death before they could pry him off me!

Okay, perhaps that's not the best example, given the potentially tragic nature of how things went with that show -- I mean, I almost died right there on stage! But taking my clothes off (or anyone else's) likely wouldn't have saved me, nor was it on the program.

Well, then again, had Phaedra removed her top, Lysander might have dropped me like a hot rock. But that's not the point.

The point is, any time we ham it up in a show and/or poke fun at "belly dancing," we're actually performing -- or perilously close to performing -- “burlesque!”

Burlesque has been saddled with many of the same kinds of stereotypes as has belly dance, where the women are imputed with reputations they really don't deserve. Real burlesque is risque' parody and wit and fun, not sleaze. So if we continue condemning burlesque as sleaze, then we are actually guilty of the same attitudes that we have fought against as (cough) “belly dancers” for so long. Perhaps that's more than a little bit ironic, given so many of the attitudes and messages we hold dear about belly dance – including loving the body you have, regardless of shape, size, or political leaning – are the same attitudes and messages you find in burlesque.

Gosh, isn't that something, Toto? Things on the other side of the rainbow seem so different and strange at first, and yet when you get looking at things you find they're really not so different after all!

No, Middle Eastern dance is not burlesque, and yes there are differences between belly dance and pure burlesque as well. But the lines do blur as we perform, and at its roots and in our culture, “belly dance” is probably closer to burlesque than it is to authentic Middle Eastern dance. It's time we quit trying to change the meaning of the term to deny that. Belly dance is simply not authentic Middle Eastern dancing and, ironically, by continuing to call the authentic art "belly dance," you're following in the footsteps of Sol Bloom, himself.

But if you are, like me, a “belly dancer” whose milieu stretches beyond traditional oriental dance to encompass (sometimes bizarre) fusion styles, tease, innuendo, and even parody, then embrace it for what it is. And hey, let's embrace our sisters in burlesque as well, because the truth is we may be on opposite sides of the rainbow, but we are definitely working the same side of the tracks.

Crawling out from the "Underbelly"

2008-03-31T23:13:00.000-08:00

A few of us got together Sunday evening to hold cute little bunnies and watch my newly-acquired copy of "Underbelly," that scandalous film for which the teasers show Princess Farhana taking her clothes off, à la burlesque. For this, the film was immediately condemned by some as criminally destructive to the reputation of bellydance. Oh, the horror! How could anyone be so crass?!

But having exchanged a few emails in the past with Her Royal Highness, and in particular having read some of her writing on the subject of dance, I knew enough to disagree. I publicly took some people to task for equating burlesque with pole-dancing. I then pre-ordered the DVD because I wanted it, but yes, I admit I also wanted to show some people how wrong they were in judging the movie entirely by its trailers.

And let me tell you, Director Steve Balderson and Princess Farhana didn't disappoint me.

Overall, the film delivers an overwhelmingly positive message about self-image and being who you are. Can't argue with that. And the message is so well-delivered and with such respect for the dancers of all shapes, sizes, sexes, and ages, that Majida and I are planning to make it a regular part of our University classes.

In the aftermath, there are a lot of thoughts in my head about the responsibility of teaching this art form. Why does anyone teach? Some teach because they like being "the authority." Some teach because something worked for them and they want to share it with their friends. Some teach because they want people to admire (so they can feel better about?) their own skills. Some teach because they love seeing the "ah HA!" in their students and rejoice in their progress.

For my part (and I'd bet a lot Majida is with me on this), I started teaching because I wanted to do see if I could do things in a way that was more relaxed and fun than I'd ever had in a class, but that would still get good results. And we have succeeded way beyond all expectations. So now that we've proven the theory, I realize I keep on teaching because I just love watching women growing and learning and realizing themselves through bellydance.

Majida and I teach the person who is there in front of us, not a "method." Because of that, I think, our students start off with the message that they have value, and that it's okay if they need things explained a little differently or demonstrated another few times or whatever. This leads to a "safe" environment where it's okay to make mistakes, and then to let things go and open up and start moving in those ways our culture has always said you shouldn't. And letting go of repression feels so good! Lightning doesn't smite you or anything! Becoming physically more comfortable in your body ultimately leads to becoming mentally and emotionally comfortable in your body.

And next thing you know, you're twirling tassels on your boobs!

Ah, just kidding. That part doesn't actually come until much later. ;)

It doesn't happen overnight, and it's usually a long and ongoing process that is never quite finished. But the changes are worth the journey, and as you evolve, so does your dancing.

I stopped getting stage fright a few years ago after "popping" out the top of my bra during a back bend at a private office party, in front of a number of fairly important people I worked with in my other professional life (I was a paralegal at the time, and these were mostly my bosses' clients). I noticed the draft, sat up, tucked myself back in, and joined in the general laughter at the comment from one of the audience, "hey, she didn't do that for MY birthday!"

So they saw my bare boobs for a couple of seconds. Big deal. I lived, and I could even look them all in the eye the next day -- and I'd like to think that's because I handled it professionally and laughed it off rather than freaking out and running from the room in mortification. Heck, they were adults, and they'd seen boobs before, so what? In fact it was no big deal because I didn't make it into one. That was an important lesson. Who was the one in control of things? Obviously, it was me, because I was the one on stage (so to speak). And from that day to this I don't get nervous before going onstage, because ultimately I'm in charge of how things go.

Who knew having my boobs pop out would be so empowering?

A vaguely similar experience occurred when I was doing a solo and what is now known as Evil Veil came loose and maliciously put itself right I was stepping. And it was a wood floor. I went down hard and my right knee hurt like hell, but I got up and finished the remaining 8 or 9 minutes of the dance with a smile (gritted teeth do look amazingly like a smile from a distance). And a week later, no one who saw the show (except my fellow troupe members) remembered that I'd fallen, only that I had a great costume and my dance was fantastic and full of energy.

In "Underbelly", Princess Farhana tells a story from her rock & roll days when her band was going to record a single and they took a picture of her butt in some torn-up jeans for the cover. She didn't think she had such a great butt, but came to realize that people think if you are showing it, it must be great. I think that's really what I started to realize that day when I discovered the hard way that my bra was too big -- when you're on stage, people expect you to be fabulous and so that's what they see. They don't see the flaws, the missteps, the screwups. They see a beautiful dancer doing some fabulous dancing. Anything else (including naked boobs) is irrelevant. The only ones watching who are likely to be critical in any way are fellow dancers, but the one who is going to be the MOST critical is YOU.

Okay, fine. Make note of those things you don't think worked in the dance, like that funky arm thing that you probably should never do again. But be aware and remember that no one else in the world sees you the way you see yourself.

And trust me -- they're not applauding and cheering because they're glad it's over, honey.

Teaching and performing

2008-03-23T22:04:00.000-08:00

All right, so I guess it's been established that Majida and I are really enjoying this teaching gig. Had I any idea how much I'd love it, I would have started this long ago! Of course, a lot of things had to fall into place to make it work as well as it does, I think, not the least of which is having Majida for a teaching partner. I really couldn't have found a better person to teach with if I tried. Not only does she know how the body works and why, but she's just a damn fine teacher in her own right. Her her ability to explain things so everyone understands it (and it just makes sense that things work that way) imparts a particular confidence to our students and helps them keep their footing when faced with conflicting (and downright wrong) information.

Our Repeat Offenders are choreographing a truly magnificent veil dance to show at the end-of-class party, and Majida and I were discussing that we probably should go ahead and dance solos at this one, since our students don't get to see us actually dancing (as opposed to demonstrating) all that often and have expressed they'd like to see us dance for a change. Fair enough.

All the same, I haven't felt particularly motivated to pull anything together. I think part of it is the backlash from watching some teachers (including some of my own) dance for their students from a place of "look how much better I am than you are" in order to establish themselves as the authority. These are the same kinds of teachers who don't break down moves fully so their students are left never quite getting it down. I hate that.

Our students are fabulous in their own right, and they move and dance so well for having only been doing it a year (or less). I would far rather say "look what YOU can do" than "look what I can do."

Then again, performing is an opportunity for me to demonstrate what I mean when I talk about strong arms and good posture and all those "fiddly bits" that add up to make a good performance. Dancing and looking good doing it is what gives me credibility in the end, and our students probably will love it. After all, we love watching Hadia, and having had her as a teacher I know I sure don't watch her and say "I wish I could..." In fact, because of the way she teaches, I know I can.

Maybe it's like when I was 15 and met a guy a year older than I was who could play Rachmaninoff. Until then, I thought that sort of thing was beyond me because I was only 15. My piano teacher told me later she'd never seen anyone progress so quickly over the next year. It was simply seeing it done by a real living, breathing person that broke down the preconceived barrier and let me play Rachmaninoff myself a year later (more or less -- my hands are really too small for a lot of his chords).

I dance because I love to dance. I don't need to out-do anyone by learning extreme Delilah flutters or Saqra's sideways belly rolls or having my bones removed so I can slither around like Rachel Bryce. I don't need a gimmick. I just want to dance and enjoy myself doing it, and have my audience enjoy it right along with me.

I realize now that I've been putting my own dancing on hold on the theory that our students should be allowed to shine. This is all well and good, but the fact is they DO shine on their own and don't need me to dim my own flame. The continuation of my job is to show them what's possible if they keep at it.

To that end, I've just busted my obliques for two hours, working on a choreography to Talakik. It feels good to work like that again, but I suspect I'll be feeling it a little differently in the morning. :) Talk about getting in touch with how your students feel... ;)

Did anyone get the number of that winter?

2008-03-18T22:08:00.001-08:00

Okay, so it's not just me, is it? Time is simply going faster. I can't imagine how it got to be spring, but here it is March already. Not that I'm complaining about the end of winter, mind you.

Our fall classes were wonderful, and our spring classes equally so. We have one heck of a drumming group in the making, too. Yay drummers! Majida and I have started teaching dance at UAS as well, which has been really exciting. Apparently it's going well, since they have also put us on the schedule for next fall. :) We sorta got the idea we were doing something right when our students a) wanted to meet during spring break, and b) were not only willing but enthusiastic about meeting during finals week.

Speaking of classes, Hadia's Level 2 Teacher Training in Calgary was absolutely fantastic, and much less scary in real life than anyone expects. Yes, we had to get up and teach moves to the rest of the class, all of whom are also teachers and many of whom have been doing it for a lot longer than we have, but it was a good, supportive group and we really had a lot of fun. Majida and I are looking forwa...er, I mean, really dreading having to take Hadia's Level 3 in (cough) Acapulco in December (which apparently will be here before we know it, if recent passage of time is any indicator). Oh darn. :)

More musing later. I just got Princess Farhana's "Underbelly" DVD, which I will recommend and hopefully give a full review on before too much more time passes. No, really. ;)

What? September Already?!

2007-09-09T23:31:00.000-08:00

Lordy, where did that summer go?! Weren't we going to try and get a little hafla going each month of the summer so we could all stay connected?

Is it just me or does time go by faster the older you get? At my last birthday (which was before my last post!) my mom said it just keeps getting better. You know, she's right, and the "better" undoubtedly accounts for the "faster."

Ah well.

Majida and I are once again on the CS calendar, this time with THREE classes! Yes, we're nuts, but we realized after last spring we need to have a beginning class and a not-beginning class for repeat offenders. We also decided to split out the drumming into a separate class, because not everyone who wants to dance wants to drum and vice verse.

What's more, the "Yew" is apparently serious about putting us on the schedule for Spring 2008. Exciting stuff!

Of course, the DNM have the Saqra workshop coming up at the end of September, which I will be sad to miss due to the need for someone to run supertitles on Tosca in Sitka, but I'll console myself with the double dose of Hadia I'm slated to get in October when Majida and I head to Calgary for Level II Teacher Training and the HipFest workshops occurring concurrent to same. :)

Bah, it's late and I do need to go get some sleep. I am so not looking forward to going back to the office in the morning after being up north for a week (working, but stuff piles up on the desk here while I'm working there)...

Back where I started

2007-05-21T22:07:00.000-08:00

This evening location collided with time and availability to create an opportunity, and so it was I dropped in on Josetta's Monday night class. It was fun, and it's always interesting for me to go back to her classes because she's the one who first taught me to dance. It's been especially neat this last couple of times because I really get to gauge the changes in my dancing and the way I move. It's also a reality check -- she's good, and her classes are always a challenge. Tonight we went through a neat little step combo she'd choreographed [(A) R hip out, pelvic lock, 2 broken walk to R, (B) step front-ball-change, R-L-R-L w/ shimmy, hip circle front to R, snap, hip circle front to L, snap, repeat (B), (C) R hip F-F, B-B, turn 1/4 turn to L with hip 1-2-3, repeat (C)... then try it again, only this time starting on the L!]. Lots of fun. Then we played with zils for a bit, and finally some drumming. She's an excellent drummer, and I got reminded of some techniques I'd forgotten. Duly noted. :)

I know sometimes people have come away from Josetta's classes feeling she was too hard on them and that she's just not a nice person. It's not the case. She's just herself, and she is herself with a passion and determination that I think threatens some people. Too bad for them. She's simply one of the most incredible people I know.

I can think back to preparing for my very first performance with her troupe where she was trying to teach me a "simple" flicking motion for my hands and get it coordinated with a sort of sideways skipping step. I was having a hard time getting these things together and required a lot of correction. After the rehearsal, some of the other troupe members told me they felt she'd been pretty rough on me, and not to be discouraged because they'd taken weeks to learn that move. I was genuinely startled -- I hadn't seen her as being "hard on me" at all! I'd seen her as someone who was taking the time to give me concentrated instruction in something that wasn't coming easily. It was, after all, her professional troupe, and especially as we were being paid for that show she had a very valid reason to be demanding and exacting. I was grateful that she took the time with me rather than pulling me from the show.

And hey, I still remember how to do that step. :)

Something I really admire about Josetta is that she does her own thing without any particular consideration for what other people think or say. She stays out of the politics and trends and teaches the way she knows is right. Given the fact that she still moves quite fabulously, I'll gladly take what she has to give on that point, too. A lot of the things we're just discovering about dance she figured out long ago, and was actually teaching from that place back when I first learned. Perhaps other people had some of the same thoughts, but she had the guts to just go with it and to hell with the way people say it should be taught.

Another reminder came at the end of the evening. Josetta also doesn't have time for petty bitching about what other people do and think and say. Her work says everything she needs to say, and she doesn't need validation from anyone but herself (and I think watching her students). But yeah, it's so easy to get sucked into responding to what other people think, and it's good to be reminded that it's not really that important. We can (and will) go farther in the long term by simply doing what we do best in the way we know to be right and letting what we do and achieve speak for itself.

So it was good to go "home" and be grounded by the principles on which I learned to dance. And you can bet I'll share that drum stuff with Majida & Co. when I get home!

The Student in the Mirror

2007-05-13T11:56:00.000-08:00

In Ovid's Metamorphasis, Narcissus spurns the love of many nymphs and girls. One nymph, Echo, was so distraught by his rejection that she faded away until nothing was left but a whisper. The goddess Nemesis heard Echo's prayers for vengeance and arranged for Narcissus to fall in love with his own reflection, so that he stayed watching himself to the point where he let himself die.

What in heck does this have to do with dancing?

Majida and I have been teaching in two different venues this last term -- one is the beautiful dance studio at the UAS Activities Center, and the other is the commons at a nearby middle school. The dance studio, of course, has mirrors all along one wall. The commons at the middle school has no mirrors and not even a window for people to catch the odd reflection. At first, we sighed over the lack of mirrors... but lately we've been considering changing our tune. We found our Community Schools class at the middle school actually seemed to be learning better movement more quickly than our UAS class.

Why might this be? Well, when you stand in front of a mirror, where does your eye go? Where does your mind go? If you're in a dance class, are you paying more attention to what the teacher is saying, or to how you look?

It is simple fact that beginners will come to the class with preconceived ideas -- they've been moving one way and another all their lives, after all. So when you first show them a movement, they're going to try it right away, using what they already know about how to move. A lot of the time, in this culture, that movement will be based in the wrong body mechanics. No problem -- they just haven't learned how to do it yet. So after the demo and the echo of attempts to copy, we break it down and show them how it's done. Majida and I may even go so far as to have them lie on the floor so they don't have to worry about little things like keeping their balance and can focus on finding the muscles they need without distraction.

Distraction. Ahhhh... the heart of the matter!

A mirror is sort of the ultimate distraction. We are all, to some extent, fascinated with the image of ourselves, whether in a positive or negative way. When we begin learning to move in a new way -- one that we clearly found fascinating in itself because we're in the class now after all -- we have yet another reason to watch ourselves because it really is just way too cool to see our own bodies making these movements!

But the problem is that we get so caught up in watching ourselves that we forget to listen. We forget to feel. We forget everything except what that lady in the mirror looks like. And if what she's doing isn't matching that other image we're seeing (our teacher), we strive to do whatever it takes to make our bodies match hers. Or match what we think it should look like.

And because we're operating from a whole different movement base, because our muscles aren't yet developed in the way they need to be in order to make it happen like it does for our teacher, and especially because we like instant gratification, we work too hard to make it "look" right. To heck with what the teacher says -- if it "looks" better this way NOW, that's the way we're going to do it!

Absent the mirror, we are free to pay attention to how it feels, and we are more apt to listen to our teachers because that's where our feedback comes from -- not through our eyes. And because we can't see how our beginning movements differ from what our teachers' (after years of practice!) movements look like, we don't worry about it and focus on doing what they are asking us to do.

This isn't to say that mirrors don't have their place. Once a student figures out how it's done, it's wonderful to have them stand in front of a mirror and see for themselves that yes, that hip is moving and moving a LOT! Especially when they may feel they're not working hard enough for it to be "right." It's hard for us to internalize that yes, it really is that easy to move, so the mirror helps us in that.

I think next time we have beginners in the dance studio, we will seek to keep them away from the mirror at first, either by pulling the curtain if there is one, or by facing the other way. Let them focus on their bodies from the inside for a change, rather than the outward appearance. True beauty comes from within... so let's focus on within and let it come.

Kariat il Finjan

2007-05-13T11:16:00.000-08:00

Our class performing the dance they choreographed to Kariat il Finjan:

They chose the music, they came up with the steps and the staging, and Majida and I provided a bit of guidance and the occasional prompt where needed. They worked hard on this, and we're so proud of them both for coming up with such a fun dance and for performing it in front of this group! Bravo, ladies!

End of Another Class

2007-05-12T12:52:00.000-08:00

Tonight is the party that marks the end of our most recent round of classes. Yesterday, Majida and I spent a couple of hours with the brave ladies who will be performing the dance they choreographed in our Monday night class through Community Schools.

I have to say I'm really proud of those who are performing, as well as those who contributed to the choreography. It's really a good dance, and these ladies have worked hard on it. It likely won't be perfect this evening, but it's still something they can be proud of, and I'm looking forward to performing it with them tonight.

Language Skills

2007-05-10T20:11:00.000-08:00

I see a lot of parallels between learning Oriental dance and learning a new language, and just have to go on about that a bit so maybe I'll stop driving my friends nuts with it. :) They can hope, anyway.

We have a phenomenon here that Majida refers to as the "Juneau two-step" -- basically, it's a side-to-side stepping thing with a severe overlay of white-man's disease. Objectively, it's goofy-looking, and about 90% of the people out dancing are doing it. Of course, Juneau is not the only place to have developed this stilted dancing language, but it happens to be where we live, so that gives us license to point and giggle.

In an earlier post, I pointed out that we as Americans have the concept of a "right way" and a "wrong way" to dance. Simply put, we don't do well with freestyle... unless and until someone gives us a language to dance with. In fact, maybe that's our problem -- we don't actually have a dance language that is really ours. Everything we have must be borrowed from someone else, because our ancestors just didn't really dance. For them it was about repression and control. A definite handicap when you're working with movements of freedom and joy.

The "Juneau two-step" is a sort of "Pidgin" dancing -- you get the basic idea across, but only with great difficulty, a lot of exaggerated gestures, and an utter lack of nuance. It is the dance people come up with when they don't really know how but gotta do it anyway. Of course, these days it's become popular to take Latin and Oriental dance lessons, and people so inclined quickly lose the art of the Juneau two-step. They now have a whole new body vocabulary with which to express themselves, and having learned to move, they can't go back.

They've learned a new language.

Now, this begs another parallel -- accents. When we learn a foreign tongue, it's inevitable that there will be sounds we just don't know how to make. Since we didn't grow up hearing it and speaking it, our mouths and tongues just don't do that. So we fill in with the closest sound we can come up with from our own language.

So it is with Oriental (and Latin!) dance. We didn't grow up learning to move like that, so we try to fill in with the closest thing we have in our existing movement vocabulary. Hence the reason Western ladies will start a camel with the chest, shimmy with the glutes, and wear themselves out trying to keep up. In time, they build up strength and endurance, and may actually look pretty good. But they still have an accent. Their bodies still don't know how to make those moves, so they have developed their own version of what they're trying to imitate.

With language, of course, the worst that you're likely to experience from your accent is humiliation. Unfortunately, in dance your "accent" can lead to serious physical damage to your body. For instance, the all-too-common "squat & tuck" accent (a posture adopted to compensate for inability to figure out how to make these moves happen otherwise) will ultimately overdevelop your quads, shorten your IT band, kill your knees, cause severe lumbar problems, and strain your Achilles tendon. And you'll smile and dance through the pain because that, in our Western culture, is what we're taught to do.

Don't believe me? Ask any ballet dancer.

This is why it's essential to first teach students the very basics of how to move. The alphabet of the dance, if you will. Once you have mastered those movements, you can truly begin to learn the language of the dance.

So how do you teach a prospective dancer how to move? How you you yourself get rid of that accent so you don't end up on the roles of women who can't dance anymore?

Start with anatomy. Learn the muscles that move your body parts around. There is nothing in Raks Sharki that is unnatural or that goes against the body's natural flow, so if you learn what the muscles are supposed to be doing then you'll be a good way down the right path. What muscles lift the hip? Which ones drop it? What muscles make the pelvis move in what way?

Next step is to find those muscles on yourself. You can only do this by knowing where it's supposed to be, and then feeling and experimenting. Put your hands on yourself -- find where they attach, feel what happens when you flex. Some are easy, others not so. The lower abdominals are a beast for those of us in the Western world to isolate, because all our lives we've been told nice girls don't do that.

Makes me glad I'm not a nice girl. :)

And once you've found them, you have to get used to using them. Lo and behold, when you use only the muscles you really need to make a motion, dancing becomes so much easier! And you're toning those happy muscles so much faster because they're working properly through their entire range rather than fighting each other and getting a little here and there.

In time, and with practice, one day everything "clicks" and falls into place and suddenly you're fluent, speaking like a native and dancing long past the time everyone else has collapsed in a heap.

But you know, you don't have to start from scratch to learn this stuff. Someone has already putting it together for you, and you don't even need to learn all that anatomy. If you really want to learn this language, I strongly recommend popping on over to www.hadia.com/videos and picking up her 4-disk Ultimate Oriental Belly Dance System. It's pricey, but given how many more years of dancing you'll get out of your body, it's well worth the cost.

Maybe someday Majida and I will have our own videos, too... but not this week. :)

Chocolate Vodka

2007-05-07T23:40:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I admit that got MY attention. It was there, on the shelf at Oaken Keg, at the precise moment when Mr. Shadiyah and I were looking for something medicinal with which to dull our senses a bit and let us not think for a little while about things like the unending rumble of the oxygen machine in the other room, and the threat of teenagers unchained.

I've long been a fan of good vodka, and a good flavored vodka can be a treat. For instance, I'm quite passionate about good pepper vodka, although it's hard to find, and bad pepper vodka can be a horrific experience that, logically must be treated by finishing the stuff so you can forget about it. Funny how such ideas always seem so good when you start out and so lousy when you try to wake up the next morning... but it must work because I've had multiple experiences with bad pepper vodka.

So. The question presented -- did I want to devote $24 of my monthly mad money to the noble experiment of chocolate vodka? It could be awful and then where would I be? Three Olives brand... never heard of them. Top shelf, though, right up there next to the Stoli and the Absolut, which is a good sign. I suppose if it turns out to be evil I can put it to use in brownies or chocolate mousse for the hafla (mwahaha). Or maybe a special Chocolate Shakes molotov cocktail would be in order, if it was that bad. 35% alcohol, yeah, it'll burn.

So we left the store with chocolate vodka. For science, of course. I couldn't really just walk away from such a tantalizing premise, could I? Came home, popped it in the freezer where vodka belongs, and got on with the evening.

It wasn't until everyone else had gone to bed and, in fact, that I had gone to bed that I actually remembered the vodka chilling in the freezer. As it happened, I was having a tough time sleeping. Coincidence? I suspect my subconscious was more on the ball than I was.

Good vodka is slightly viscous when cold, leaving a thin film almost but not quite entirely the one gasoline might leave on the inside of a glass. This looks good, and has none of the oily sheen you'd expect from a petroleum-based product posing as vodka. The scent... yep, that's chocolate. And it ain't Hershey's. A taste... mmmm... smooth. Nice. Then the after-kick of the chocolate... it's really like a chocolate liqueur turned inside-out. Rather than biting into a chocolate and catching the fumes of alcohol through the chocolate, you sip iced fire and fumes of chocolate waft up in its wake. It's not sweet at all, but dry and pleasant. I could drink this all night.

But I won't. I have to get up in the morning. :)

Baptism by Chocolate

2007-01-14T11:07:00.000-09:00

My dear sisters in dance honored me with the troupe's first baptism for a new dance name at the end of rehearsal on Wednesday. I was a bit nervous when Katijya put down a shower curtain on the studio floor and garbed me in ceremonial robes of garbage bag green! Everyone got in a circle around me, and Majida burned sage and fanned it over me with a goose feather, and started off the circle where everyone took a turn giving me a blessing or saying something they appreciate about me. I think my favorite was Latifa's wish for me to have uneventful veil dances!

Finally, Katijya baptized me by pouring chocolate syrup over my head, and we passed around some bars of the good stuff. Truly a memorable occasion, and it means a lot to me that my sisters would put together such a serious and solemn ceremony for my benefit. I promise I'll post pictures as soon as Kalila gets back from her trip to Spokane and sends them to me. :)

Dance name in Danish

2007-01-08T13:39:00.000-09:00

A Viking advises me that my new dance name is Bevægelseshistoriefortæller in Danish.

I think I'll reserve that spelling for future Baranof shows... :D

Dance Name Angst

2007-01-07T19:03:00.000-09:00

Okay, you're seeing it -- my new dance name is hereby Shadiyah Hayed. Break a piece of chocolate over my head or whatever you need to do to baptize me anew. :) "Janan" (meaning "soul") just isn't my adjective anymore, and with the evolution of my dancing in particular I have really been wanting to change it. But it takes time to look for and decide on a new one, and then there's the little issue of getting everyone to remember it, especially after 10 years of being "Janan." But you may have noticed from my two earlier posts that I haven't exactly been motivated to do any of the bajillion chores waiting for me around the house today, and I was following dance site links, and one thing led to another...

Shadiyah means "storyteller," and Hayed means "movement" according to multiple sites (I figured it was safer to check several). I'll generally go by just Shadiyah for troupe purposes, but it amused me to have a "surname" in the wings if I want to claim it.

My second choice was "Shanana", which obviously means "She who can be-bop." ;)

Follow the Bouncing Butt

2007-01-07T13:28:00.000-09:00

An hour and a half later the driveway is shoveled and I have a cup of hot dark cocoa with a hint of Arbol chile warming my insides. It's a beautiful day in Juneau, as can be seen by this image from the Mendenhall Glacier webcam.

While sipping chocolate and meandering about the web, I stumbled upon a set of articles on differences in style between Egyptian teachers and Western teachers of Oriental dance. These articles put forth that it is the way Middle Eastern people learn Raks Sharki, so Western people should not be so quick to denigrate the style. Excellent point! There's something to be said for the "follow the bouncing butt" method and learning the moves in ways that fit your particular body, because really, no one can tell you how to make your body move. Further, dancers who are seeking to refine their technique can learn a lot by simply watching and trying to emulate another accomplished dancer. Timing, artistry, style... these are all things that you can't simply break down into words -- they are best learned by watching and listening and experimenting.

So why not just adopt that method of teaching? If we're trying to teach people to dance as opposed to execute a set of steps, should we really be trying to break down the steps? If it's good enough for the top Egyptian dancers and teachers, shouldn't it be good enough for us?

Well, maybe it should be, but the reality is that it probably isn't.

The "why" behind that is simply that we live in a Western culture and we have to deal with Western thinking and preconceptions. Most of us Westerners grew up in the belief that there is a clear "right way" to dance. Specific dance steps have always been the vogue in Western culture -- consider fads like the Charleston, the Lindy, the Twist, the Jerk, the Fly, Disco, break dancing, hip hop, etc. Of course, there's also Latin dance, ballroom, jazz, tap, and ballet. In our culture, we learn you can't move unless someone has taught you how. This is the Western approach to dance -- you learn the steps before you can dance.

So if we were to start a "Follow the Bouncing Butt" type of class, even with considerable attention to going around and correcting technique, we would end up with a room full of very frustrated students... and a much smaller class the next week. Western people, as a rule, have a hard time learning just by watching, because that's just not how we learned how to learn.

Breaking down the steps and teaching the basics of how it's done is what we have to do in order to teach our students. But there are lessons we, as Western teachers, can take from the Egyptians in teaching their dance. For instance, we should never become wedded to there being one way to do a step, or get hung up if a student's step doesn't look quite the same as yours. As I said at the beginning, no one can tell you how to make your body move, and if you need to do something a little different to make it happen for you, then who am I to say you're doing it wrong? So long as you are not working harder than you need to and/or harming your body (and that's what Majida and I are looking for), you make it happen however you need to make it happen.

Maybe not everyone's hip drops will look the same... but is that really a bad thing?

So let's strive for a balance between what we need to give our Western students and teaching them to listen to the music and let their bodies follow. We need to give them the basic moves to start with, but given those steps and some confidence they will be able to face a follow-the-bouncing-butt approach and learn from it.

Styles of Dance (or how to put off shoveling snow)

2007-01-07T10:22:00.000-09:00

There's four inches of snow in my driveway this morning, and the teenager isn't back from visiting his grandfather yet. So that means the task falls to me. Bah. But I'm warm and just finished breakfast (so I eat breakfast at 10:00 on Sunday... what about it?), and I haven't finished my coffee yet, and I've been giving quite a bit of thought on how I would answer the question, "what's the difference between tribal (or tribal fusion) and cabaret?" The usual flippant answer is "sequins." :)

When you strip everything down to its basics, most of the actual dance movements between tribal and cabaret are the same. A hip drop is a hip drop, regardless of the music, the costume, or the format of the dance. Granted, the feel of the hip drop may change depending on the music, but it's essentially the same movement. What's different is the context those movements are set in. It's the music and styling that give the different looks and moods to these types of dancing.

The "Tribal" style is really a combination of dance movements, music, and costuming from a wide variety of cultures and historical eras, including the present. This makes the dance a particularly American creation -- it's a real melting pot bringing together elements of many cultures. As such, there is a lot of freedom in this style to create your own look and feel. As I understand it, strictly American Tribal dancing is never really choreographed -- it's entirely improvised, but improvised on the basis of standard steps so that you have one individual leading and other dancers can follow because they know the cues that tell them what's happening. A well-connected Tribal group is really fascinating to watch.

The exact implementation of Tribal is really set by the leader or teacher of the group, and so varies widely from one group to another. Our resident tribal group in Juneau bills itself as "Tribal Fusion," which I understand to mean that they join choreographed and improvisational forms, while maintaining an emphasis on tribal stylings. Additionally, they include in their dances steps and postures that do not necessarily appear in the usual "Tribal" movement vocabulary, such as footwork from African dance and hands from Bollywood musicals. Effectively, you can take all of the coolest-looking stuff you have found and put it into your dancing without it looking out of place. The results of this fusion can be striking and entertaining, and I think audiences and dancers both identify well with it because they recognize and enjoy the various elements. I suspect many aspects of it may also match up with certain preconceived ideas held by the audience, which would add to their enjoyment.

I should also mention that costuming for a Tribal troupe tends to use more coins and tassels and fewer beads and sequins, and tends to more natural (or natural-looking) fabrics as opposed to the shiny, sparkly synthetics. Choli tops are a staple. The costumes are sinfully comfortable, I might add, which is a definite bonus (although I have proven the concept of comfy cabaret costumes, too!) Embroidery often is used to decorate the costumes, including the technique of attaching mirrors. It's really beautiful stuff. Tribal costumes are anything but boring!

After studying what defines the Tribal Fusion style in particular, I have to say it sounds like Tribal Fusion would match up with what many people would have come to mind when they hear the old standby "Something Egyptian" (think, "There's a place in France..."), only with a better beat. I know I do. :) In fact, were my milieu Tribal Fusion, I'm afraid I'd have to do that... but maybe I will do it anyway, because Lysander loves that tune. ;)

Cabaret, as we speak of it in Juneau, has its feet in and seeks to emulate the Egyptian Oriental style of dance, which is basically the stuff you'd expect to see in the nightclubs of Cairo. This is a showy style, designed for maximum visual impact, and beads, sequins, and paillettes are the costuming norm.

Speaking of, as we were, preconceived ideas...

This style has its roots in Egyptian folkloric dance. However, in the mid-20th century Egyptian music and dance underwent a significant evolution. The form of music known as Egyptian Classical came into being, with composers such as Mohammed Abdel Wahab and Abdel Halim Hafez, among others, taking the music into a level of orchestral complexity rivaling the symphonic music of Europe. Meanwhile, through the influence of Hollywood on the Egyptian film industry in the mid-20th century, stars such as Samia Gamal used this new style of music to evolve the dance from its folkloric roots into a more complex and varied form to match the new Egyptian Classical style of music.

Cabaret troupes choreograph their dances almost entirely, or at least their group dances (some of us gave up strict solo choreography for Lent a few years ago, but that's another topic for another day). This allows for a depth on stage that is not able to occur with Tribal style, because you can (on purpose) have different groups doing different but coordinating things on stage at the same time. Some Cabaret troupes include genuine folk traditions in their shows (especially Ghawazee or Saudi) as well, which helps to provide a greater variety for the audience, and also contributes to preserving and exposing people to these fascinating original dances.

Cabaret may seem more limiting to the dancer, since the goal is to emulate a particular style of dance (i.e., Cairo nightclub). Nothing could be further from the truth, though. Not all nightclub dancers in Cairo are alike, after all! Within the framework of the dance there is an infinite number of nuances that ultimately make the style "yours" and not just "Egyptian." Personally, I find it to be a highly expressive form of dance, and part of the challenge is playing by the rules, as it were, while still making it mine.

Of course, the Cabaret troupe here in Juneau does not limit itself to strictly Egyptian Oriental. It's more of a Cabaret Fusion troupe, if you absolutely had to put a more exact name on it. By this I mean that members have been known to dance to all kinds of music, and to vary considerably from the Egyptian style as they dance. Dancers have ventured into all styles, including ballet, hip-hop, Spanish, and South American. There's even a bit of Tribal-ish dancing that goes on now and again. The sky is the limit, so long as it's in the spirit of the performance.

Well, I've killed off a good bit of time doing this, but now it's noon and I should probably go out and shovel.

useful words

2007-01-06T23:11:00.000-09:00

I got a Tuvan phrasebook because everyone should know a few Tuvan words, and there is a section on useful words. You will be pleased to know that "chocolate" was one of them ( shokolad) of course so are fried food and yak meat.(byzhyrgan chem and sarlyk e"di). This proves chocolate is universally useful. alleiluyah!

Essential steps

2007-01-04T19:53:00.000-09:00

So Majida and I met yesterday to start planning for Round 2 of World Domination (aka Bellydance for Everyone and Everyone Else). While our first classes were a great success, we're still learning and there is plenty of room for refinement and a long way to go before we settle into any kind of groove. Of course, one of the key points in our mission is to be flexible and evolve and to never stagnate, so our "groove" is more of a general framework and philosophy to work from.

One thing we set out to do was identify the "essential" steps on which everything else can be built. Last term we sort of winged it, going where the whim took us. But in large part because our University group will need to be a series of individual classes that people will be able to drop in on without having to worry overmuch about not knowing what's going on, it seems reasonable to break down the steps in this way and build classes around them. It provides a little more logical progression, too, and encourages exploration of the various step families. I think it may help us get our students more comfortable with improv, too.

Another thing we decided was to focus more on arms at the beginning. It's so easy to let the arms go in favor of getting the steps down and blow it off on the theory that arms will come later. Well, that's not entirely true - arms won't come unless they're taught. I had a great teacher who really focused on arms, and you can change a step dramatically by changing the arms. So arms are important, and we need to treat them that way. We talked about creating some basic arm movements that we will teach along with each basic step. Hopefully this will help get everyone using their arms right off the bat, making it easier for them to incorporate them into their dance.

We're also going to create a basic full-body warm-up, about 10-minutes long, that will be our "standard" warm-up for every class. The theory behind this is giving our students a warm-up that can become effectively automatic, and which they'll actually do because they don't have to think about it, and it doesn't take too long. Warm-ups are an important part of dancing safe, and we need to make a commitment to ensuring that our students do them.

For our class format, we're going to try introducing a family of steps and then teaching a short step combination using those steps along with arms. This should work well for our University class format in particular.

Finally, in the spirit of Insurrection, we renewed our vow agaist the Badawia 8-count, and renamed a couple of steps. The step formerly known as the Arab 4 (which has nothing to do with the Arab family of steps) is hereby known as the Turkish step. Majida offered up another variation of the Arab step to take its place that is similar to variation 2 but crossing one foot over on the first step. It's a really great, dynamic move. Yes, it means that our step vocabulary will differ from what is commonly used in these parts, but the change is motivated by logic and should help make the step names easier to remember, which in turn helps people learn -- and write! -- choreographies. The simpler it is, the more fun it is, and fun really is what this dance is all about.

Onward and upward... I'm going to go spend some time putting together a step combo for our first class. :)

No, really...

2007-01-02T07:35:00.000-09:00

I did put up a new post yesterday! No! Seriously! I did!

I blame the switch to the upgraded blogger software for screwing things up and losing my post. Okay, okay, so for tricking me into deleting my post, more like. I thought I had a double-post, so I deleted one. Then I think I accidentally deleted the other through a combination of inattentiveness and.... um, being distracted. Yeah. That's it.

So on to a new year. Majida is soon off to lands south for a couple of weeks, and when she gets back she and I will start teaching our second round of classes through Community Schools and the "Yew." (For those who don't get that, try "U", which is the shortest possible recognized way to say "University") I can't wait to get started -- our last classes were so much fun and such a success overall that I'm addicted to teaching.

Meanwhile, I have to go to work so I can teach bellydance for a living... what's wrong with this picture?

P.S. -- For any of the rest of the Shakes to show up as members of this blog, you'll have to log in and be prompted to upgrade your account. Just say "yes" when it asks -- the rest is pretty automated!

Happy New Year!

2007-01-01T19:05:00.000-09:00

Okay, so we've been busy... Since the last post, Majida and I taught our first classes through Community Schools and the University of Alaska, Southeast, with great success. It was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life to see our Community Schools class perform at the class party, not only because they did so well but because they were having fun. That's what it's all about.

More classes starting at the end of the month, and I know I can't wait. :)

There and Back Again

2006-08-28T18:45:00.000-08:00

We have returned!

Majida, Mr. Majida, and I had a great trip to Victoria. The weather was gorgeous, the peaches, blackberries, and green beans were straight from heaven (let's NOT discuss the beets, though), and Hadia was... well, what can we say? Hadia was her amazing, wonderful, knowledgable self. We learned a huge amount, and I seriously would recommend her level 1 teacher training for anyone, even if they're not particularly interested in teaching. There's just so much good stuff to know about how the body works and moves, and how to dance until you're 85 (and then some). Majida and I are both looking forward to our class.

Speaking of, we came home to the Community School flyer that tells us that we're on for Monday nights, 7-9pm, starting Sept 18 and running for 12 weeks. So glad we were on their mailing list... ah well. So long as we get to teach it, we're not complaining. :)

Next on the agenda (in addition to starting our class) is the Sept 29 show and the Morocco workshop. It will be good to see and work with Aunt Rocky again, and even better to listen to her. Such a wealth of information... it's such a privilege to have the opportunity to spend any amount of time with the Grande Dame of Middle Eastern Dance (remember you do NOT call it "bellydance" in her earshot!)

The show is going to be interesting, and I admit to some apprehension as to how it will all work out. Our Samai Suite redeux is on the program, but so far only the old ending has been taught, which doesn't go at all with the beginning section. We have been reassured that we will change it after everyone knows it, but that is really the wrong approach to revising a dance! Sigh. There are other things, but I'm not in the mood to rant just now.

Anyway, I have to try and organize the Hadia shimmy rehearsals because that's also on the program, so maybe I'll try getting to that now...

The Saga Continues...

2006-07-21T10:23:00.000-08:00

Car Neige passed inspection (the shop didn't say a thing about the robot transformation... hmmm....) yesterday. It does need one fairly major part (the throttle body, for any mechanically-minded people who might pass this way) replaced before we make any road trips, but the seller and I were able to agree on a price reduction so I can pay for that, and the deal is on.

The Majidas and I have finalized our travel plans and made all necessary reservations. Majida had the brilliant idea for us to drive to Prince Rupert and take the ferry back home rather than drive all the way to Skagway or Haines. This is brilliant because it gives us three days to drive 800 miles rather than four days to drive 1,600 miles. The cost is comperable (considering fuel), and the idea of a more relaxed driving trip topped off by a little over a day on the ferry... well, what's not to love about that?

"Car Neige" Indeed"

2006-07-06T18:57:00.000-08:00

I stumbled upon this while looking for a set of silly VW commercials yesterday. :)

Our Chariot Awaits

2006-07-04T11:00:00.000-08:00

The zen of the Victoria trip for Majida and I continues.

Since my family's rusty old "Rougie car" Subaru is in danger of having major body panels drop off, I had decided to spend a couple of days after the teacher training looking for a new car. This would allow Majida, Mr. Majida, and I to drive home rather than fly, which will take more time but will also save us some money and give us a Grand Adventure. Grand Adventures are always a good thing, in my view. The down-side of this scheme was the anticipated stress of trying to find a suitable car in my price range within two days... and how were we going to get around to look at cars? I hate shopping... at least I hate shopping when I am looking for a specific item and have a deadline.

So on Saturday I was at the Mendenhall Mall to buy parrot food and get a bus pass for the #1 son when I was faced with a little ugly 1960s-ish European sardine-can car with the license plate EBAY 1. This got me thinking -- people buy cars off of eBay all the time. I didn't see myself actually buying a car off of eBay, but it would at least be an amusing diversion. So after I got home and settled in for the evening, I began browsing eBay Motors for cars under $10,000 within 100 miles of Zip code 98101. What fun! I heartily recommend window-shopping on eBay if you're bored. I was amusing myself by contemplating various Corvettes, a '78 Trans Am almost exactly like the one I used to own 15 years ago except with more body panel and less rust, a funky Willys Jeep, a really funky Volkswagon Thing, and untold other amusing and totally impractical cars.

Then I stumbed upon a little white VW New Beetle. Now, this is not a car I would in a bajillion years ever would have come up with on my own. I've always maintained they're ugly, and why would anyone want one? After all, they're really nothing more than a VW Golf with a bad case of hat-head (or hat-body, as the case may be). And yet this one spoke to me, somehow. It actually looked sorta cute... a picture of a little white snowball sitting on the side of an open stretch of road. The more I read about it (such a detailed description!) the more I liked it. It has a lot of miles on it, but has been well loved and cared-for. The guy selling it seemed to take the same approach that I would to selling a car on eBay, too. Lots of pictures of not just the pretty car, but of the important stuff. He even put it on a lift to show the underside.

I shook my head to clear it of such silly ideas and navigated away... but not before putting it on my "watch" list. And I kept coming back. Nothing quite captured my imagination as much as that little round buggy with the heated black leather seats. And there's even an overhead storage compartment that appears perfect for stashing chocolate! Another point in its favor is that Mr. Janan (who is not a small man) will also be able to drive it, since Beetles are known for the physics-defying amount of interior space.

The clincher was it's location -- directly on the route between SeaTac and Anacortes (where we may catch the ferry to Victoria).

I discussed it with Mr. Janan and we entered a $5,000 bid on it, which gave us the high bid. A few minutes later, on a whim, I upped that to $5,100. Just in case, you know. A few hours later, our max bid was matched. Drat. This is not a good sign with 24 hours left to go before the end of auction! But I took a deep breath and went off to Lena Cove where drumming and dancing and cameraderie had been spontaneously planned, and resolved to trust it to the Fates. (The drumming and dancing was low-key but lots of fun, btw!)

On Sunday, Mr. Janan and I had occasion to go out and on the way back home we swung by the Ford/VW dealership here to see if there were any Beetles around. The dealership was closed (who in their right mind closes a car dealership on a Sunday when people are NOT working and have time to look at cars?), but we found someone's silver Beetle parked out back. It wasn't for sale, and was probably there for service or repair, but it was a real, live Beetle we could put our eyes on. You know, it is a pretty cute car, when you get looking at it... all round and happy... not a serious car, but one with character.

We went home and set up a "snipe" bid for full blue-book value. Six hours later, we owned a Beetle. No one had even tried to top our $5100 bid. Son #2 has dubbed it "Car Neige" ("neige" means snow... and the name sounds amusingly like "carnage").

So pending a satisfactory inspection by a mechanic of my choice, the ride home from Hadia's teacher training for the Majidas and I will be Car Neige.

Concealed Chocolate

2006-06-24T20:47:00.000-08:00

So as some of you know, I received my new "concealed carry" purse the other day. I'm happy to say I'm thrilled with it. I can tuck my .45 into the holster and it's invisible but accessible. Rather nice to have the option of locking the zipper on it, too.

Of course, when I'm not compelled to carry firepower, the holster pouch makes an exceptional place to stash chocolate. Keeps it safe, secure, and ready-to-hand... I'll venture to say this is as close to the perfect purse as I've ever found.

In the name of science

2006-06-24T11:36:00.000-08:00

Late last night, Janan, Kalila, Kalila's lovely daughter J. and her friend A. (ages 9-10) and myself gathered around the oval table in the sacred space of Kalila's living room and conducted scientific research that could possibly shake the very foundations of human existence.:

Blind chocolate tasting.

Yep, we gathered 3 different brands of chocolate in 2 different flavors, and we closed out eyes, and tasted them all. (we fed oour fellow scientists) It was fun. The object was to see if we truly could taste the difference between the gourmet brands and not so gourmet brands. We certainly talk about it enough.

What we tried: We started out with orange chocolate. Each of the 3 brands were chocolate with orange bits or orange flavoring of some kind. The brands we tried for this were 3 brands all available locally at our famed Super Bear market which is for the most most part the drug lord supplier of good chocolate here in our humble peasant village. (with Rainbow running a close second and Fred Meyer 's being a distant third). The researchers for this were: J, A, Kalila, Janan, and myself.
We looked for such things as suckability factor (as opposed to chewing the chocolate) where you can dip a bit in tea and suck on it coz its all melted and lovely, flavor, texture, and overall lusciousness.

The brands were : Ghiradelli (60% cocoa); Lindt (no cocoa amount listed); and green and black's (55% cocoa).

Ghiradelli:
J: yummy not gummy (turned out to be her favorite)
A: good in a wierd way
Kalila: gummy, good, lots of chunks of things
Janan: Lower cocoa content (than 1st one she tried), not as interesting. There is not as much going on in the mouth.
Majida: Appropriately suckable, gummy but not quite. Definitely more sugar than cocoa.

Lindt:
J: yummy but I like the first one better.
A: I like this one best
Kalila: Likes it better than the first, smooth. (turned out to be her favorite)
Janan: Fruity, the worst one.
Majida: Melts appropriately, but not so suckable, but not as much of a sugar bomb as the first.

Green and Blacks:
A: I like the second one better.
Kalila: Cinammin in this. I like it 2nd best. not chewey but definite cinnamin flavor
Janan: Yummy, clove, orange with chocolate. Favorite.
Majida: Clovy, very warming, quite suckable, Complex, fruity, the kind of chocolate you want with tea. (favorite)

We unanimously agreed that the green and black's would make a lovely fondue.

Ghiradelli: 1
Lindt: 2
Green & Black's : 2

Our next scientific experiment was tasting the chocolate nibby bars that are currently in vogue among chocolate connissuers. If you like good chocolate, you probably have a nibby bar you like, as they are make with bits of cocoa nibs from which our product of worship comes. The brands we tried were: 3400 Phinney, a chocolate company out of Seattle (available thhrough your full circle farms box for an extra fee of course) which has 65% chocolate; Scharfenberger (62%) which is not available locally; and the Endangered Spieces bat bar (with bits of ground up bat in it --oh wait! that's another expriment!) with 75% cocoa and is available at Super bear and Rainbow. The 2 girls opted out of this one as they were not huge nib fans at the moment. So it was up to us old folks to take the reins of science and continue. Now remember we're blind tasting here.

3400 Phinney:
Janan: not as sweet as the 2nd one (end. spieces) nor as suckable. pretty rough, good overall, a good combo of suckability, texture, and flavor. (her favorite)

Majida: Not quite as chocolaty but not as sweet (as end Spieces) kind of odd, has adequate suckability but not like the other one. Quite good but liked the first one better.

Kalila: More nibs than chocolate, pretty good, not as flavorful

Scarfenberger:

Janan: low suckability factor but good flavor on chewing, kinda painful to suck on. very full of nibs, gives a sense of "we're in it for the chocolate dude"

Majida: good hit of chocolate, can't do it in iv form, serious cocoa nib power. painful to suck on but quite good. this is the chocolate for your hiking trip. fabulous, great texture

Kalila: Spices and flavors are good, likes the texture, better than the first one, her favorite. (we now know to stock up on this one on our sojourns down south)

Endangered Spieces bat bar:

Janan: much higher suckability a little spice to it, smoother, ok feeling with nibs, hint of some otherspice, would be good with tea, more decadant, you can really savor it, closer to sex than the others.

Majida: real good suckability, melts in your mouth, a good tea chocolate, would be good in cookies, it really sucked in a good way. her favorite

Kalila: least favorite, crunchy little bits like sand or shells. realized why she never liked the nibby bars coz' that was the only one she had had.

so each bar scored 1 favorite point as we each liked a different one best. equal opportunity chocolate.

there you have it. an "unbiased" chocolate review done very scientifically for our own purposes. What a great way to spend a friday night. I think we got done well after midnight. many thanks to my fellow researchers, you all did a lovely job.

Tarkan vs. the Vikings

2006-06-18T12:28:00.000-08:00

The Shakes got together Friday night for a screening of Tarkan vs. the Vikings on the "big screen" in Kalila's living room. Talk about a once-in-a-lifetime (we hope...) experience!

This film reeks of cheese, and that's what makes it so fun to watch. The adventures of everyone's favorite Hun(g) Turk kept us alternately rolling on the floor and rolling our eyes. From the blue fuzzy bathroom rug worn by the usurper Viking king Toro to the pink fuzzy bathroom go-go dress worn by Ursula, daughter of the deposed -- and presumably eaten by the giant inflatable octopus -- king Gero, the costumes were a study in what would happen if Vikings invaded the land of the Muppets. The swords appeared to be made of painted cardboard or possibly very thin wood, and were thrust brutally (and obviously!) between the arm and body of the enemy at every opportunity.

But wait, there's more!

Tarkan's faithful dog Kurt (Jr., the Sr. having been killed by Toro in the first minutes of the film, thus providing impetus for Tarkan's vengeful crusade) can bark without moving his mouth! And people shot in the back with multiple arrows exhibited an amazing ability to heal their wounds by treating their arms. Must be the Chinese influence of the film, using meridians they can reach to treat the wounds they can't?

Speaking of Chinese, let's not forget the nymphomaniac homicidal Chinese princess who (after bedding both Toro and Tarkan), as part of the dance involved in the ritualistic attempted killing of Tarkan, viciously rips open her bra... and in that moment the cameraman zooms in on her cruel and evil countenance. One really expects Tarkan to scream in horror as her Evil Breasts of Death are exposed!

We shouldn't ovelook the Viking Drakkar (longship)-- painted in vivid reds and yellows and sporting a giant octopus on the sail which somehow manages to billow the wrong way for the direction the ship is traveling, it appears to have about 30-40 slaves rowing underneath, but only room for about 20 Vikings to stand around on the flat deck between the scrawny snake-like prow ornament and equally simplistic stern. The drummers for the rowers can't keep a steady rhythm to save their lives (clearly, since it's a different drummer for every scene shot inside the ship), but this doesn't matter because they don't listen to him anyway.

We can only speculate that Tarkan started on his musical career in the hold of the Viking drakkar after being "rescued" to a life of pulling an oar to the sound of an uneven drum. And clearly it was the influence of the Chinese princess and her Dance of Death by Boob that makes his music fun to dance to.

I highly recommend this film to any group of friends who likes to laugh, and especially if their dance troupes are on a Tarkan kick.

chocolate review

2006-06-09T10:49:00.000-08:00

I purchased the lovely chcolate offered by full circle farms this week as curiousity got the better of me. I have thus far tried the dark chocolate nib brittle with bit of cocoa nibs in it. A heads up that this stuff is sweetened with both sugar and corn syrup. you break open the bar and you just know its going to melt in your hands. this sign is good. Then I bit in. It was yummy, had lots of good cocoa nibs which were finely chopped and created a really cool texture. So far so good. I look forward to trying the other flavors which I think will be experimented upon by my fellow shakes. I could only eat 2 sections of the bar so I will really truly need some help here.

Drumming and Dancing and General Merriment

2006-06-04T23:20:00.000-08:00

What a success! We have got to start doing that regularly... just the experience of playing together will make us all better drummers and let us tune in to what we all have to offer in that regard. and the two girls dancing was so priceless! I'm happy for all the people who showed up, and the fun we had making some noise and simply spending some time together. Great stuff.

Sigh... Mondays always come too soon, don't they?

chocolate really can save the world

2006-06-02T09:23:00.000-08:00

Check out this story:

http://www.physorg.com/news68364644.html

It appears the waste from chocolate could fuel us all. It makes me want to go back to school for science. what a fun experiment that must have been. this article gives new meaning to 'save the earth its the only planet with chocolate" Hahahaaha!

tomorrow is our fun with drumming and dancing night. I'm making a curry dish and a chocolate fondue with that huge bar I got in Whitehorse. I figure the "right" people (those who are supposed to be there) will show up and we will have a blast.

A little dancing, a little chocolate...

2006-05-31T23:22:00.000-08:00

I've missed our regular get-togethers as the summer season has struck with its chronic need to get things done, so it was especially good to be with my fellow Shakes this evening. We definitely are gonna have something worth seeing come September... not that we don't now, mind you, but I think maybe we'll just have us a show-stopper. :)

Majida and I spent too much time in the car scheming when I went to drop her off, so I'm late getting home (again). It's so cool how we are on the same page on so many levels when it comes to dancing and teaching, and I can really see things coming together to give us what we need to do what we want to do. It's a beautiful thing.

Party like rock stars

2006-05-28T08:45:00.000-08:00

I think that was the smallest class party I've ever been to last night, but I'm also sure that's because we just had a party and because it's Memorial Day weekend when lots of people tend to leave town. For what it's worth, they missed a real treat with the BD2 class's performance. Congrats to those three lovely ladies with the enviable stage presence! And wow, that improv dance of our illustrious leader was really great! She really should improv more often!

Also was very amused to note that, as the beautiful Kalira was doing the Aziza shimmy for the umpteenth time, her heels were coming up off the floor, and I believe her knees may have straightening at least part of the time under all those wraps. Her hips sure were moving like they were, which is to say she looked pretty fabulous. Gee, after her protestations that she couldn't do it that way, you don't suppose she's practicing a different technique on the sly, do you? ;) Go Kalira!

My dance was just what I needed. That piece of music is so cool... and wow could I feel how my style has evolved. I've got a whole new balance and it feels good. I like playing with this new body (that's what it feels like). It's awkward sometimes, because I don't know quite how it all works yet, but it's so right I just can't complain about the learning curve. :)

Anyway, I need breakfast, and I have a bunch of stuff in the smoker that also needs tending....

new chocolate combo

2006-05-24T09:04:00.000-08:00

Vosges has come out with a chocolate paprika truffle. Does that sound fab or what? I love paprika. I introduced the chocolate moderne havana heat truffle bars and the grapefruit ones to our house guests from Gustavus this weekend. The (ex)drunk carpenter said "I didn't chew. I sucked. all the way" his lovely ladyfriend agreed that this chocolate was indeed a life changing experience. they can't get good chocolate in Gustavus. I think that's a crime against humanity. I know good chocolate can be found in remote areas. The bookstore in Craig carries fine chocolate treats. I wonder if anyone I know is going to Anchorage soon and can raid New sagaya coz' they carry all kinds of killer chocolate. no one ever seems to make it to A touch of Russia cafe where the wondertruffles are. In bulk.

the class is over!!!!!!! YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!Need I say more? The students did really well and I'm very proud of them but of course it will be good to have my mondays back to do things like plan insurrections and go hiking.

It was worth it, but I'm still jealous. :)

2006-05-19T19:19:00.000-08:00

I had mixed feelings when I saw the weather clearing off this afternoon, because if it hadn't looked good enough by 3:00 I was going to be off the hook and be able to join the venture to Shelter Island. We were wheels up by 4:45 -- which means we were a bit early to catch the departure of the boat from Auke Bay. We were on the instrument departure anyway, so we couldn't have made a detour to say "hi" anyway.

We headed out towards Barlow on a glorious flight. Since this flight was primarily for my friend's instrument proficiency, I was just the safety pilot -- a tough job to have to look around all the time on a day like this! I wish I'd brought a camera. It was warm enough where I didn't even need a jacket in the cockpit, and the air was smooth as glass. Ah, but the clouds! Big towering masses over the mountains... it's always so much more interesting to fly when there are clouds in the sky.

Out by Sisters we saw a pod of humpbacks lazing in the evening sun. We were up at 3,000 feet, which is well above the optimal whale-viewing altitude (1,000 ft), but you could still see four or five of them down there. Neatest thing about whale watching from the air is the ability to see the whole whale at once on a day like today when the water is calm and clear. :)

We made a couple of instrument approaches into Gustavus and I took the yoke for the flight back towards Sisters to set up for a practice GPS approach into Juneau. I spotted what I think is the cabin as we passed over Shelter Island inbound. :)

I feel great. I'm thinking of all of you out there enjoying the last of the sun and having a good time, and wishing I was there... but I'm really glad I went up tonight. It was worth it.

You know, Majida, if I had a plane that would solve this silly problem of how we get to Victoria... ;)

Hadia Vol. 3

2006-05-17T13:29:00.000-08:00

So I watched Hadia vol. 3 - LOVED IT - even if it included zills ;)

The other videos I have only teach drum rhythms - and some moves for each one - this one teaches the the drum rhythms & cool moves & adds variations of zills - and she varies the pattern she plays on the zills with each drum rhythm - and she shows how she varies the zill pattern depending on the moves she does. It was very cool - but it's Hadia - what else should I expect! Janan - you may not be getting this one back ;)

Quiet...

2006-05-16T22:47:00.000-08:00

It's been a quiet week in Lake Woebegon... oh, wait. Sorry, wrong script...

It has been quiet though. Where is everyone? Are we getting together anytime soon? I mean, other than the usual Wednesday night insurrection activities, hehe... ;)

I'm bringing my drum tomorrow, too. And I'll try to drop by the gun shop and pick up a couple handfuls of earplugs too, just in case...

Shimmy 'til you Drop

2006-05-14T23:20:00.000-08:00

The tail end of my Mother's Day has been spent shuffling around Kalila's video of Hadia doing the 1002 Nachts Drum Solo from computer A (which could read it but couldn't convert it) to computer B (which could convert it but not put it on DVD) and back to computer A (which has the DVD burner). This process has taken nearly 3 hours because I didn't want to waste a CD to transfer the files. But at last the DVD will be finished and we can send copies to our friends in Whitehorse and of course one to Hadia herself.

We really do need to buckle down and learn this dance. It's so cool, and there are all kinds of things we can do with the raw material to make a real group dance out of it. I'd love to be able to compare what we do with it to what the troupe in Whitehorse comes up with too! So next time we get together, let's hold off on the chocolate until we've actually done some dancing. :) My body is starting to sulk because I haven't been moving much for a week.

I haven't had a chance to talk with She Who Will Be Obeyed Despite Our Best Intentions yet -- if nothing else, I'll try to get her off by herself on Wednesday. Meanwhile, I'm going to bring along my Delilah tape on Wednesday, and I think it would be worthwhile for Artemis to select from her array of fine DVDs as backup. But... if there is no formal warmup thing happening by 7:05, maybe the Shakes can either move to a corner and start doing a warm-up on our own or, if dancing starts without warmup (the Aziza shimmy is decidedly not a good warmup), we can take it to the living room. I just don't want to dance without warming up anymore. I ain't 25 anymore, and just because others don't choose to warm up properly doesn't mean I have to follow that lead.

Speaking of times, I went to JoAnn and found they didn't have any more clockworks. :( How cruel is that? I'm going to order one online, I think.

On the chocolate front, this arbol chile is really where it's at for me. It's got an immediate bite to it but then mellows to blend with the cocoa, unlike other chiles which let you taste the cocoa and then grow in heat. I have to wonder about the chemistry that allows it to work the other way.

Regrouping...

2006-05-11T23:13:00.000-08:00

I just spent some time typing an email to a good friend of mine who asked me to tell the whole story from start to finish, and it does put some perspective on the whole business. I'm not really ready or willing to give up on the troupe yet -- I was just tired and discouraged last night. Too much going on, and you're right Artemis that it's tough to spend precious time on something you don't enjoy doing anymore.

I'm going to talk to her and see if we can't come to a compromise. In reviewing the entire story, I have some suspicions about what might be driving at least some of this, either directly or from the subsurface. If I'm right about it, then there is definitely hope, although it may cause for some interesting politics along the way. We'll see. But the more I think about it, the more I think (am afraid?) I'm right.

Hopefully I can find an opportunity this weekend (I even have a good excuse to go over), but if not then maybe I can take her aside next Wednesday. And I'll bring my Delilah tape for warmup if nothing else!

The Chocolate Shakes

2006-05-11T19:36:00.000-08:00

I think the opening remarks need to be changed to '...about the joys and frustrations of... :)

EEEEEWWWWWWWWWWW! he got sooo fugly!

2006-05-11T14:09:00.000-08:00

Ok this man is NOT aging well. Someone's looking like a pimped out drag queen these days. Oh my! how's this for comic relief?
you know you want the cd.

abandoning a floating ship (with holes)

2006-05-11T13:06:00.000-08:00

It seems our fearful leader is hell bent on keeping things the way they are. even if it kills her. I knew she was going to hang on but you know I didn't think she'd hang on so damn tightly. I think we need to remind our sweet rahil to bring the jillina dvd in next week and we should express amazing interest in seeing it. I don't think we should totally give up until we have something else going on. Its also time some of those who were less than thrilled at the moment also take some responsibility for making this happen too. We can't let her win this easily. no, we'll have to sacrifice the zill part at times; but at least we can still salvage that first 1/2 hour. If we had another place to go, yes, I'd be more willing to quit but we don't yet so we can't. If our fearful leader thinks she can get her way this easily, then she will get worse and trounce even harder on new stuff. remember my sisters, rome wasn't built in a day. and I think someone should bring a back-up dvd/video in case Rahil forgets her dvd again. Artemis, I believe you have a bunch at your disposal. remember even the sacred cow wants that 1st half-hour devoted to technique of some sort. At least if folks are getting exposed to something other than the same old js technique, it will still help, even if it isn't our hero. It will take time, but it can be done. We just need everyone we can to be on board. And some of the other complainers (for lack of a better word) can start taking some steps as well. Some have, and I think they will speak up more if they know someone has their back. There are 6 of us remember? I am willing to try this until I can make something better happen. I am giving up on ever teaching an "official" Dotnm class on my own or just with Kalira, but I also know We can go off and make our own damn class that will complement all the other stuff being offered. So I'm ok with giving that other class up. but since i don't have a better troupe option, I'm ok at the moment with still trying to push the technique part. Its new remember? Its gonna take some pushing and doing. and all of us that want it are going to have to take part and work a little. Then when we create something else, which we'll be doing on the side, because I don't believe in putting my eggs all in 1 basket, and if its still not working, we can abandon ship, otherwise, if things get better somehow, then we can do both and maintain a connection with no problem.

Now for all the damn work that lies ahead! WWHD?

So much for that.

2006-05-11T00:18:00.000-08:00

Well, now at least we know the reality -- there will be no room to grow and change. There will only be what has been "good enough" and "gotten us by" for 30 years. It makes me sad, but sometimes you have to not let respect and love for your teachers stand in the way of following your body and your heart. To quote Hadia in a recent email:

"I am not really sure why someone would work so hard to resist anything that feels that right? I appreciate all my instructors for the part they played in my learning and development, but that does not mean that I might choose to continue doing what they do or how they do it."

Amen.

Tonight's cocoa is made with chipolte. Very nice indeed -- good and spicy, and the smokey flavor adds something very worthwhile to the experience.

Planned Spontaneity ;)

2006-05-10T08:36:00.000-08:00

So ladies, what's the plan for tonight, should I bring my drum or ear plugs?

Pasilla

2006-05-08T21:41:00.000-08:00

Tonight's chile is pasilla. A little hotter than the guajillo, it's also got a good flavor that blends exceptionally well with chocolate. I looked it up, and it doesn't surprise me to learn this is the chile with which most traditional mole's are made. Which reminds me, we do need to have a mole party at some point so we can all have some. :)

Anyway, I had a really good workout tonight. I really do like Pavitt's new facility, although maybe I'll feel differently once it's more crowded and less new. I'll probably become far less content if there ever comes a time when I don't have an opportunity to use the studio to practice my dancing.

I can see my style evolving, and I am feeling the difference in the way I move. It's nice -- I feel more like I'm on my way to being a real dancer now. It's good to have some direction, because I know I was moving more towards kind of a fusion style for a while, simply because it's an easy direction to go in when you don't have any direction. :) I like the new ease I'm feeling in my body, too. My balance has shifted, and it's definitely for the better.

Went to the doctor today and discussed my soaring blood pressure in the context of my desire to 1) keep my pilot's license, and 2) keep myself alive and well. I like this doctor. He is putting me on something to bring the pressure down now, but wants to work with me to figure out why it's high and get me off the meds as soon as possible. He's very observant, too, and asks the right questions. Also smart, and knows the FAA medical regs and system inside and out.

Now if the weather would just lift so I can do a bit of flying before the medical expires at the end of the month...

Guajillo

2006-05-08T14:03:00.000-08:00

I had guajillo chile in my cocoa last night. Nice... a very mild chile, but with good flavor. It made a definite difference to the taste of the cocoa.

For reference, I make my cocoa by mixing about 3-4 tablespoons of dutch-processed cocoa powder with a small pinch of salt, about a teaspoon of sugar, and hot water. No milk. This is a matter of preference, but the health benefits of chocolate are actually negated by the addition of milk. Studies have indicated that milk interferes with the absorption of antioxidants from dark chocolate. Better safe than sorry, I say, especially since I prefer dark chocolate anyway.

So to this basic mix I add a few sprinkles of powdered chile, more or less to taste. That's all there is to it. Sometimes I leave out the sugar, too, depending on my mood. Drinking cocoa without sugar is no different from people who take coffee black, when you think about it. :)

Chocolate Experiments

2006-05-07T22:15:00.000-08:00

I discovered at Safeway today they were selling a bunch of different kinds of ground chiles (ancho, chipolte, etc) normally priced at $5.89 a jar for a mere $1.99 a jar. I bought one of each kind except cayenne (which I have plenty of). Unfortunately, they didn't have the cheese I found that worked so well in chocolate -- according to The Book, it's a Columbian thing to have cheese in your chocolate, and they do so the way we put marshmallows in ours. I think it's great, but only with the right kind of cheese. Find something with the consistency of feta, but without the strong flavor. When you cut it into cubes and toss it in the hot cocoa, it should hold together in cubes, but sort of melt within itself. Doesn't work to have it moosh together or dissolve into the cocoa. What you're aiming for is an occasional bite of salty in the middle of your sweet cocoa. Add some hot pepper and it's really a treat. At least I think so. :)

But... no joy on the cheese for me today, so I'll have to go through and test each kind of chile in my evening mug of hot chocolate without the cheese. Such a hard life it is, too.

We close on our refi tomorrow morning (at least in theory), which will be a big load off. Hopefully hubby will get the word if he's been accepted to the vocal workshop in Haines, and then we can both have something great to do with our respective talents in August!

Time to put the child in bed and try some cocoa. I'll post reviews for you all. I think I have six or seven kinds of chile to try! :)

We're going!

2006-05-06T21:38:00.000-08:00

Well, I sent the fees to Hadia by PayPal this evening, so Majida and I are definitely going to Victoria for level 1 teacher training. Hooray! I can't wait. It's going to be a great trip, and getting more from Hadia is going to be like hitting an oasis after a trek through the desert. It's going to be easier hanging in there and being patient, knowing that we'll be coming back loaded for bear.

Gonna vegetate in front of the DVD player this evening... hope you're all having a similarly mellow and enjoyable weekend!

Hakim Video

2006-05-06T13:23:00.000-08:00

I promised a Hakim video link earlier. Here's the link to Efred

glad to have friends like you

2006-05-04T14:03:00.000-08:00

I appriciate you women soooo much! I was really bummed out after last night. It was more than me doing stuff, or being unable to do stuff. this seems slightly doomed. In classes on Monday, post Hadia, I am getting more and more shoved aside. I am going to figure on going along with the video because we need something. Perhaps if we can get on the "every other week we can do a video bandwagon" we can at least get something and we can say "well Jillina did THIS in her video" Sort of beating folks at their own game. But I resent so much that I even have to play these stupid games. I want to dance, and be my best at it. I don't want to be spoon-fed stuff. Its not even like we can run over to Patshiva coz' Samia is just as bad if not worse. I don't want to be fighting over being balanced. It should be so basic as to be beyond discussion. Oh well, I gotta go to work. I really appriciate your support. I couldn't ask for better goddess-sisters in my life.

Uh oh...

2006-05-04T13:21:00.000-08:00

I just got the most ominous fortune I've ever had:

"Your blessings will multiply this coming month. Good luck!"

You know, it's really that "good luck" part that makes me nervous...

Technique Salvage

2006-05-03T23:24:00.000-08:00

Majida, I know you are meant to teach -- just look at N and how incredibly she's doing under your instruction! The only thing I could see that was even close to an issue with your group teaching technique was pacing. Sometimes we were just doing the same thing a bit too long and the group lost momentum. But it takes time to develop that sense and figure out how to pace a class, so don't worry about it. You did a great job communicating the information.

I actually think the 10-point alignment went very well, even though people weren't entirely sure what to make of it. This is really where you excel, because you have that deeper than average understanding of the way the body works. The bodywork, the alignment... that's your realm and that you're comfortable there really does show.

The real problem tonight was more with a few key people who were just not that interested. Hey, we've gotta face it -- without being Hadia Herself with THIRTY-FIVE (yes, count 'em, ladies, that's T-H-I-R-T-Y F-I-V-E) YEARS of experience and is still moving like she's 20, we're gonna have a hard time selling her revolution. For that matter, I think Hadia herself would have a hard time selling her revolution to certain members of the audience you had tonight. Considering what you were up against, you held up admirably.

The thing about teaching is you can only teach those who are willing to learn. Taking it a step further, even, you can only teach those who are willing to learn from you.

You clear away all of the pretenses, some people just don't want to work that hard. Hadia changes you forever. I have to say I love it and I hate it... since Hadia, I feel like I don't know my body anymore. I try to improvise and I can't quite do it as fluently as I used to because I'm not proficient enough in the basics anymore. I'm back to the very beginning and learning all over again... only with the added hassle of un-learning everything I knew before. Argh. But I wouldn't go back for the world. It would be like swimming back to a sinking ship.

For people who are wedded to the idea that they must be right, accepting that everything they have been doing is wrong is not going to go over real well. "Letting go" is not in their vocabulary. And people who have been doing things the same way for 30 years "because it works" even though their bodies are in full-scale rebellion are not exactly prime candidates for embracing change either.

What I found most disturbing this week was, absent the tempering influence of a guest, we found ourselves being squashed again. And the worst part is... we let it happen. I'm ashamed that I didn't speak up and assert some control over the zil rehearsal, grab a drum, or something. Anything. I just went along with it too, and rolled my eyes as the "start" button was pressed on that accursed slow-mo player. Crap. And it was a dead group, unlike last week's fun end-of-class chaos. Let's make a plan for next week, ladies. I think that's the only way this is going to fly is if we manage to put together a game plan and stick to it.

Majida, someday you and I are gonna make a great team teaching people the right way to dance. Right now, we all just have to support each other as rebels do and hang in there. :) Remember -- What Would Hadia Do?

I can guarantee she wouldn't give up.

technique wreckage

2006-05-03T21:45:00.000-08:00

I got to do the technique portion of the class tonight. It went over like a lead balloon. I'm sure our director will push videos forever more now although good videos do have technique. I couldn't do it in a way that got everyone into it although I guess alignment stuff isn't that exciting but silly me figured we needed a base to expand upon and we never ever go over anything like that so I figured to start from the beginning including the warm-ups which focus on loosening up and range of motion as opposed to just stretching which is better for you after you shimmy for 5 minutes anyways. I kinda sensed a bit of resistance from most of the group but wasn't sure. Then Janan more-less said that. I think maybe I am not meant to teach because I can't word things ina way that inspirs folks to try stuff out. One dancer next to me said she just couldn't let her muscles go no matter how hard she tried and her hamstrings were really tight. I also felt like the director interrupted a lot so I couldn't move on and naturally it took forever to do. oh well. Let them complain to the video. Maybe Janan will offer to bring in a Hadia video.
I was really glad Rahil taught the new cane dance. I really hope she continues to be the one to teach it. I think its really good for her to do, plus we need more folks teaching choreographies. I like how Rahil didn't have the rigid adherence thing going on. She was willing to flow and change it around. and I also liked how she was figuring it out too. She didn't have to know it all already. and honestly she wasn't hard to follow at all . I had to try not to laugh though when she was holding the cane upside down and it looked like she was playing minature golf. I thought that would be a hilarious parody. golfing with canes. Golf in and of itself is goofy so golfing with canes would be even goofier. Or we could grab Lysander with a cane and swing him around to land on some unsuspecting audience member's lap. "not afraid of snakes are you?"

the drunk carpenter is on the phone with Mr. Majida. He must have been let loose from the citrus water feature. Mr. Rahil had called me last week to let me know the drunk carpenter was in the citrus water feature correctional facility. When Mr. Majida gets offthe phone, I'll have to ask. I don't care if he's ok, I just care that he gets sober and works on his stuff. because dry drunks suck and so does hershey's chocolate!

bruised vertebrea suck too. bah!!!!

Troupe Name Generator

2006-05-02T17:07:00.000-08:00

This is pretty funny for those of you who haven't tried it yet...
we may have to think of changing from the chocolate shakes to something suitably fun... ;)

www.carmine.com/randomness/BellydanceTroupeNameGenerator.asp

Costuming & such

2006-05-02T10:46:00.000-08:00

Artemis, if you'd decided to go ahead with nothing but circle skirts and turkish vests, I would have walked down the street and removed that glorious dressmaker's dummy from your possession on the theory that you wouldn't deserve to own it. :) Fortunately, you came to your senses!

But this does bring up the point that we have some costuming projects that we need to put together before Aunt Rocky comes. We have the skirts and Ghwazee coats, for one. Then Kalila has a dress idea that needs to happen for her, and I think Leila Zahara needs a dress like that dancer in Turkey was wearing (who doesn't? But she can test drive the design... gotta figure out the physics of it still). I think the skirt/Ghwazee coat thing needs to happen before anything else, though, because we have the materials, we have the patterns... just need to do it. Let's come up with a plan tonight for that, shall we?

I'm back at work today2, but it's a weird day and I don't feel that I'm quite all here, if that makes any sense. Maybe a little cranio-sacral from Majida-of-the-tie-dye-arm will help refocus me -- I have an appointment in about an hour. :)

The longest Monday ever...

2006-05-01T12:54:00.000-08:00

I have to agree with you Janan, this is the longest Monday ever. I'm tired of working through my lunches, so I decided to take the leap and actually create a post! Although I think today is long because since we had so much fun this weekend (despite working hard) my body at least, is going - what the heck - "we want more fun", "down with work"! And of course this is the first day of my weekly reporting for the summer season - and I'm having brain drain. Not good.

Anyway, after buying the fabulous hip scarf from the workshop, I went home with ideas of how to best utilize it with costuming ideas floating around in my head. Unfortunately, it didn't work with what I wanted, but I have some other ideas now. So I started the journey of pulling out all of my fabric stash that I couldn't live without and began feeling guilty about all that I had accumulated, without finishing - I started thinking of the number of UFO's (un-finished objects) I had. So I began thinking how best to start cutting and sewing so that I could cross them all off my list... The only problem was, the easiest thing for me to do was to make circle skirts and turkish vests - BOOOORRRRRIIIINNNNGGGGG - since that is basically what my wardrobe consists of. I have an entire sketch book of these fabulous designs that at some point I want to create, but the time has just continued to illude me. And being a list person (I love to cross off those projects) it has begun to wear on me a little. So I began speaking with my wonderful hubby, who like myself juggles many projects, but without the same stress level. He hates lists - never uses them, I'm lost without them... Anyway, finally it hit me in the head (with a little help from him) that these beautiful costumes are not a job to be finished, instead, they are a hobby to enjoy - and if I never finish them, life will go on. So I folded my beautiful fabric back up and stashed it back in it's appropriate rubbermaid, and will try to continue keeping track of the ideas I have for each piece of fabric. It wouldn't be as bad if I didn't have just as much quilting fabric... Although, my boss just had a baby, and two of my brothers are expecting babies and I'm about to be a Godmother again - so I have 4 baby quilts I'll be putting together, so I should be able to make some type of dent in that stash - okay, probably not - I'll be heading to JoAnn's to pick up new pretty flannel... ;) And I'll probably pick up some brocade while I'm there... oh well, I'll just have to start stacking the totes higher... :D

Wow, it's pretty easy to just ramble on here isn't it... I guess this means I'm no longer a virgin blog poster - I should get like a bar of chocolate or something for this don't you think!

Hakim vs. Tarkan

2006-05-01T09:17:00.000-08:00

On the way in this morning, I was listening to a new Hakim album I picked up at the workshop this weekend (Yaho). Good call on my part -- it's a great album. Buying new music can be such a crap-shoot, especially when (as at a workshop) there's no opportunity to listen to the stuff first, and I'm glad my music karma seemed to be good this weekend.

So listening this morning, I couldn't help but think about how Hakim's music compares to Tarkan's offerings. I really prefer Hakim as a general rule. Maybe it's because he's still working with traditional instruments and rhythms (and having a blast doing it), while Tarkan seems to be going more and more towards the American pop scene. There's no doubt that Hakim has his roots firmly in his homeland. Meanwhile, does Tarkan have any roots?

Attitudes of the two also come out in their music. Tarkan is, as we've often said, "The Dude." He likes being sexy, and puts a lot of effort into it. I've compared him to George Michael on more than one occasion, and I think it's a pretty accurate description. Can't you just see Tarkan singing a Turkish version of "I Want Your Sex"? Scary, isn't it? Except I tend to think he'd be singing "You Want My Sex," somehow. Something about those pictures of him eating watermelon...

Thinking about artists with whom to compare Hakim, I came up with Phil Collins. Both of them tend to go more their own way and not blindly follow top-40 trends. Both have fun with drums and interesting rhythms. Both of them use more traditional instruments (Phil uses horns a lot in his solo stuff, harking back to the jazz age). And both of them clearly are having a blast. Sort of a "This is way too much fun, can you believe I'm being paid to do this!" attitude. Because they're having fun, they tend to be fun to listen to and watch. I always liked Phil Collins and Genesis for that quality.

Watch the Efred video sometime (I'll post a link later -- I don't have it at work) and you'll note that it's all about the girl and his efforts to charm her socks off. I haven't seen any Tarkan videos (and you know they've gotta exist) but I'm betting that they don't involve any girls rejecting Tarkan and ultimately being won over by his tenacity and charm.

Anyway, had to get that out of my system before I could work, and now that I have, I'd better get to work...

Monday Morning Mourning

2006-05-01T07:49:00.000-08:00

Let's all have a moment of silence for our dearly departed weekend...

Is it just me or are post-workshop Mondays harder starting than regular Mondays? Maybe because we worked so hard on Saturday it doesn't really count as a day off, even if it was something we enjoy. In any event, I could use another day off.

You know, cocoa is really good with a bit of five-spice powder. :)

Aftermath

2006-04-30T11:07:00.000-08:00

The Yasmina Amal workshop was pretty good, although her style is a little heavy on the right side for my body's comfort. Nonetheless, it is a neat cane dance (which I'm betting we can balance at some point if we're so inclined), and we all ended up learning some good things. Her performances at the party were also fun to watch -- she sure hears that "Ice Queen" music differently than I do! She keyed on different layers of the music than I did when I danced to it back in February, and it was very interesting for me to watch her make the music work the way she did.

Lysander was up to his old tricks again, but I have to say that I was really enjoying playing him "straight" and almost hated to have him turn psycho snake. :) That new music I found is a lot of fun to work with and suits him perfectly, but I do need to figure out some new tricks for him.

Only major down side to the party last night was Majida's slipping and falling and wrenching her shoulder. :( Hope it's not too sore today... but I'm afraid I know better. :P

So today I'm being lazy, sitting around in the new t-shirt and sweatpants hubby bought me at the party last night ("Caution: Contents may shimmy without warning"). My feet hurt from dancing on the cold floor at the American Legion Hall, and I'm wondering if ballet slippers would help? I'm going to try it next time and see, because it just sucks having to hobble around for a day or two after a workshop.

I'm out of cocoa powder, but with the snow this morning, I'm hesitant to go out and get some. Worse, the only place to get the stuff I'm wanting is at Fred Meyer... and that is a total zoo over there with all of the construction and doubly-surly clerks. Maybe I'll brave it later on today, though, because I can't be without my cocoa for too long.

Practice

2006-04-27T09:30:00.000-08:00

I'd have to say things went pretty darned well last night, despite a couple of warm-up moves of dubious value (and safety, for that matter). Majida made the brilliant suggestion of doing about a 5-minute group shimmy which, due to her next brilliant idea of moving in pairs across the circle, really did a lot to get the group connected before we started working on choreographies. Yay Majida!

But weren't we all just full of it last night? With Yasmina Amal looking on, the whole group was full of cheek. Majida and I kept having our veils end up in each other's hands every time we got near each other, and witticisms were flying. I actually don't remember the last time I had such a good time with the full group at rehearsal -- we laughed a lot, and yet we still got a lot accomplished.

Don't know what Yasmina made of us, but I think one of the best parts is we didn't really seem to care. Oh, and kudos to Leila Zahara (I hope that's right -- I know it's close anyway!) to speaking up and suggesting we dance facing the other way during the veil choreography. I had the sense that the troupe felt more empowered yesterday evening than we have, perhaps because we were running rehearsal in a way that had been put forth by someone other than our illustrious leader. Give us an inch, we'll take a mile... or ten. :) I'll bring my metronome next week so we can eschew the warbly taped music on the multi-speed recorder.

I just learned from hubby that he'll be back around 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, so I'll be able to go to the party on Saturday evening after all. How many of you were planning on going to the SCA thing at Skater's Cabin too? Maybe we can make a group thing of going to both. The picture in my profile has inspired me to bring Lysander out for a dance at the party. I haven't had him out in a while, and maybe he'll behave himself for a change? I doubt it. He's been locked in the bottom of my drum case, and that usually makes him kinda testy. Maybe if I feed him a couple of beanie babies before the show, though... especially if I find a rare one...

Desk Stash Replenished and Rehearsal Redeux

2006-04-26T11:44:00.000-08:00

It's been rough here at work since I finished the last of the chocolate in my desk drawer early last week. That meant no more chocolate until payday unless I wanted to go down to data processing and raid their (shudder) Hershey's stash. Thankfully, I was able to hold out... barely. It's frightening what people will do and contemplate in the throes of chocolate withdrawal.

But today is payday, and so I have just returned from Rainbow Foods where I raided the Dagoba chocolate display. Two bars of xocolatl, one new moon, one lime, one mint, and one mon cherri. I'll take a couple home for hubby, but the rest should last me until at least mid-May.

(Remember, this is just my desk stash!)

So tonight is the first night of the revised rehearsal format for the troupe. Arrive at 7:00, half hour of warm-up and technique, work on choreographies for an hour, and half an hour of optional cool-down/stretching and drum/zil practice. Very virtuous. Will we manage to stay with it? For the good of the troupe, I hope so.

Henna pics

2006-04-23T11:51:00.000-08:00

Last night a bunch of us got together and had a fantastic time visiting, watching videos, and, of course, painting henna designs on each other. I think Kalila got pictures of everyone's designs (I just now took these with the camera in my Palm), and hopefully we'll get those and other pictures posted soon. Kalila did both of these designs on me, and also is responsible for the beautifully painted nails. :)

I'm really happy with this henna mix I made up yesterday -- it seems to have stained really well, considering it was only on my hand for a few hours and on my foot for about one hour. Recent henna batches have been sort of thrown together at random and at the last-minute, and while they seemed to work pretty well I went ahead and I took the time to do it "properly" yesterday afternoon. I do think it makes a difference in the color and general quality of the stain. This mix is a slight modification of my favorite one -- in honor of the Shakes, I added cocoa to the "tea" I brew to mix the henna. :)

How cool is this?

2006-04-23T11:11:00.000-08:00

I was perusing Aunt Rocky's website earlier, looking for a picture of Tarik to share with a friend who was shocked to learn that men also do oriental dance. Lo and behold, see what I found?

So not only are we beautiful, talented, and fabulous in every way, we also apparently have exceptional taste in blog templates, and have chosen our blogging neighborhood well. :)

This reminds me... I need to email Aunt Rocky about picking up a little something in Turkey for us... ;)

Bliss

2006-04-20T22:20:00.000-08:00

I've just finished busting my ass doing all sorts of "little" maintenance chores around the house in preparation for a visit from the appraiser tomorrow. If the appraisal comes out well, our refinance should be able to allow us to afford not just a new roof for the house but also the vocal workshop in Haines for hubby AND (of course!) Hadia's teacher training in Victoria for me... so you can say I have been pretty damn motivated!

But now the patching and painting and tidying and such is done (until I think of what I forgot, probably at some lovely time like 2:30 a.m., snapping me out of a well-deserved and long overdue sound sleep) , and it's time for chocolate. Dutch-processed cocoa powder, a spoonful of sugar, a couple of pinches of cayenne, and a sprinkle of cardamom mixed up with hot water.... mmmmmm.... what a wonderful world it is that has chocolate in it...

And hey, welcome to the blog, Kalila! BTW, hubby was going on about how great that costume is on you, and I ultimately ended up telling him I'd lent it to you and am now selling it to you, which even he couldn't argue was the highest and best use for it. :)

Did I mention that we're fabulous?

2006-04-19T20:46:00.000-08:00

Or is that just obvious?

Wish I had pictures to post...

Happy Birthday Selene!

2006-04-19T20:43:00.000-08:00

And I got it right this time! ;)

classroom zaniness rant towards homeostasis

2006-04-18T13:54:00.000-08:00

...or....proof you can't take back knowledge. the amazing hadia workshop has spoiled me rotten. I had been wondering how this new info was all going to translate to teaching with the troupe director and the other apprentice teacher. 1 thing Hadia talks about is that her technique works on many levels. It is obvious that in order to do this you can't be in 'disconnect' mode from your body. Part of dancing for me is the connection I have to my body and part of bellydancing is connecting with and celebrating being a woman.

hey its snowing out WTF??????

back to our regularly scheduled rant: not the patriarchal slinky feminine ideal, but the soft round spiritual part of me that is as nurturing and loving as it is strong and powerful. I think part of what draws many women to this dance is the need/desire to be in touch with that aspect of themselves that is undervalued and underused. the small part of us that loves ourselves unconditionally and cannot be taken away from us no matter how small we try to make ourselves; that knows deep down we are beautiful and perfectly imperfect just the way we are. To dance this dance (for me anyway) is to be in touch with that sacred part of us that thrives on that connection to both the physical and spiritual. There is that emotional/mental connection going on too lest you think I leave anything out. and most fun of all, the part of me that knows a sacred woman values the sisterhood of other women. I loooooove the sisterhood! and we need that feminine side tapped into and embraced or we don't get to be balanced. Part of tapping into your feminine side I think involves a certain connection to your body. If you're in there, you move better, if you move better you are less likely to have self-inflicted injury. If you're in there, you are more loving and more connected to the world around you.
I wanted to play apprentice teacher and eventually teach because I want to assist bringing people to this place.

Anyways, what does this have to do with anything? well, we statred teaching bd2 last night, and I , a fledgling apprentice teacher, who loves and respects her troupe director, also knows that some of the things she does are potential dance hazards. Dancing on only 1 side, for example. or squatting and tucking (as opposed to opening up the lower back and softening the knees which follows an open low back) , doing certain moves knock-kneed, gritting and bearing any pain, among other things. I know the only way to get around this is to be sneaking the good stuff in. the hadia workshop validated many ways I have thought, she just put it into better words than I will ever find. I like dancing in a way that puts me in full connection with my body, and prevents injury. This workshop just put it to me in a way I can articulate and now I feel like someone has my back and I'm not blindly flailing about saying "we must have balance" 'we must be in tune and flow with our bodies blahblahblah...." I will survive the 6 weeks, no problem. I'm used to sneaking stuff in and getting people to think its their idea. Its one of the side effects of people assuming you don't have much in there. You get to slide things in their heads and thay have no idea you did that. I suppose it keeps me humble in a strange sort of way.

I do know that I can't tow a party line. I had my own ideas before, but now that someone older and wiser has validated them, it is seeming more and more important that I get heard and that I can teach in a way that does no harm and brings us home to our bodies and spirits.

I know the hadia stuff works because I subjected a dear friend to it and she is catching on to dance very quickly. But it doesn't work if you are not willing to go there with yourself and connect within because you have to be in touch or at least aware of your center. I can see where this would be a big emotional deal for many. Its a tough place to go when you don't know or think you can. or you don't want to.

I'll stop here coz' I have a splitting headache. I haven't been playing zils either. I hope this wasn't too much babbling on.

The zils zils zils...

2006-04-16T19:43:00.000-08:00

Migraine, anyone? I have a great recipe -- take anywhere from 10 to 20 dancers, put them in a studio with a wood laminate floor and nothing more than a textured ceiling for acoustic buffering, then have each dancer strap on a set of zils. Add one piece of music (beladi is the most common) and tell everyone to play along.

I guarantee your head will start to hurt within 8 measures or your money back.

Now, did I really just suggest in that lengthy email to the troupe that we hold zil practice after each rehearsal? And did the Powers that Be not only embrace this plan but appear to get excited about it?

What have I done?

As a troupe, we have talked often about zil mutes and how easy they are to make -- like Aunt Rocky says, "just cut the toes out of some old socks and add a bit of elastic." Easy enough even for those who barely know which end of the pin to tie the thread to, and who doesn't have a nest of old socks kicking around? But how many of us have actually done it? Yeah, uh-huh, I know. What's the point if everyone else isn't muting their zils, right? Bah.

What's more, I know these people... who among us is not guilty of "forgetting" our zils so we don't have to play them? Uh huh. And who among us, if mutes were mandatory, would keep putting off making a set for zil practice? Oh darn, guess I can't play zils this week, I've got some neat old socks that will be perfect, just gotta get over to JoAnn and get some elastic, then find the time to sit down and whip them together. Maybe next week...

Well, sorry fellow Shakes, but out of a sense of desperate self-preservation, I'm hereby removing that excuse from as many troupe members as possible. I found this pattern online (I'm using the spider-web pattern) last night, and since I can crochet about as fast as I can type and do it while watching movies, I've thus far managed to whip out ten sets (2 each) of zil mutes -- eight sets for the standard Turquoise zils that almost everyone has, and two larger sets. In all cases, I had to modify the pattern because I didn't have the recommended size thread or crochet hook, but it's no big deal. Hopefully, I'll have enough for everyone by the 26th.

Zils -- properly played -- add so much to a performance (as much as improperly played ones detract from one, I think), and I've been secretly harboring the idea that the Shakes might someday play them well enough to use them to pull off some cool stuff I have in mind (not that we're known at all for such things...) to further dazzle our audiences. Zils are intimidating, but it's just like typing or playing any other instrument -- one day it all just clicks and you don't have to think about what your fingers are doing any more. You're just there.

Trust me. :)

Technique in Rehearsal

2006-04-15T11:02:00.000-08:00

Well, I just fired off a lengthy email to the main troupe in response to the question posed a few weeks ago about whether (and how) we should incorporate time to work just on technique into our rehearsals. I'll be interested in seeing the response we get back... assuming there is any. Oh, I know I can count on my fellow Shakes to chime in with helpful comments, but I'm curious what the rest of the troupe will think and how the Powers that Be (whom we really do totally love and adore and respect) will respond.

(Hey, it just occurred to me... since we're all Shakes and we're all friends, does that make us Shakes Peers? Ohhh... my husband says repeating that pun will get me barred from the house...)

I was just chatting with my friend Nordbo, and telling him about how my experience with Hadia's workshop had validated the secret, traitorous thoughts I'd developed over the last 19 years of dancing to the point where how I also feel the need to share what I've learned with everyone else. I commented it's like having found a new religion, and he responded, "he he, or renouncing religion."

Now that is what I call hitting the nail on the head. We've been doing things a certain way because "that's the way it's done." For example, "squat and tuck" has been the mantra of bellydancers for years -- you can't dance unless you squat and tuck, you know! But now we learn why it's wrong, and how you can dance so beautifully by opening the back instead of tucking, and how you can shimmy fabulously by letting your legs straighten instead of killing your quads. When you learn to accomplish the same thing (and better) by working with your body instead of forcing it into something unnatural, you get a taste of enlightenment. How easy it is! Can it possibly be that simple? Of course it can. There's no need for all of the smoke and mirrors and ritual contortion... just let your body do what it's designed to do and you can dance forever.

So Nordy is absolutely right -- it's like casting off superstition and blind adherence to "the way it's done" in favor of the science of the body. And so we become better dancers by learning how the body works. Much better and more solid than the idea that we would be embracing another insubstantial philosophy of dance based in something other than what our very real, tangible, physical bodies are built to do.

Hadia "Raks"

2006-04-13T23:56:00.000-08:00

Okay, so it's an obvious pun, but hey it's almost midnight and I'm getting pretty punchy here. While I've been putting together #1 son's lesson plan for tomorrow's homeschooling, I've also been burning to DVD the video Hadia so generously allowed us to take during the workshop in Whitehorse. Wow. My goal as a dancer is to be able to move like that. Oh, and teach like that, while I'm at it! Hadia is amazing, and so much fun to watch and learn from.

Victoria or Bust, Majida! :D

Unbelievable...

2006-04-12T13:02:00.000-08:00

Our office is hosting an Easter basket auction today, the proceeds to benefit a local theater that lost everything in a recent fire. I just came back from looking over the selection, and the bids on the bid sheets. The most shocking is a $100 bid on a basket containing (get this) half a dozen bars of Hershey's special dark!

$100 for six bars of Hershey's? What are they smoking? I mean, okay, it's a good cause and all, but... Hershey's?

I'm proud to say the eclairs in the basket I provided were filled with Ghirardelli extra bittersweet (70%) chocolate, and topped with some of the decent dark chocolate we brought back from Canada last month. But the price on that one hasn't hit $100 yet... and it's a big basket, too. There's still time, however...

The Goddess Speaks

2006-04-10T12:12:00.000-08:00

In the haze of departing the ferry at 12:30 in the morning on March 28 after returning from a sleep-deprived but wonderful weekend attending Hadia's fabulous workshop in Whitehorse, I admit that I forgot I had put four Hadia DVDs on the top bunk in hubby's and my stateroom, and so negligently left said DVDs on the ferry. Argh! Double-argh, since three of them were purchased for another dancer who couldn't make it to the workshop. :(

So last night, after two weeks of the DVDs not showing up at the lost & found, I ordered and paid for three replacement DVDs from Hadia. Ouch. Hadia emailed back this morning and told me they went in the mail today.

Then this morning, I got a call from the ferry system saying they found the DVDs, safe and sound (I was having visions of them being whisked off the bunk with the blankets and going through an industrial washing machine), and I will have them back in my hot little hands no later than Wednesday. Yay!

So I take this as a conclusive sign that I am absolutely and without compromise meant to have all of these DVDs in my own library.

I just love when the universe decides what's best for me and makes it happen despite myself!

good chocolate bad chocolate and settling

2006-04-09T09:45:00.000-08:00

When I was in Austin last October taking a class the teacher said that anyone whose cell phone went off in class had to bring dark chocolate for everyone. At lunch time Molly (the teacher) was eating a (gasp!) hersheys special dark bar. I promptly procured one of those endangered spiecies dark chocolate bars and introduced her to good dark chocolate. She was shocked that this was available in their local grocery store. I have had similar experiences when I travel down south and people are eating hershey's like its the good stuff and are completely shocked that there is other, better chocolate right in front of their noses. Does the pollution down there fuck up your taste buds or what? Its amazing when I think of people who aren't isolated not reaching for the best they can get and they still want to settle even with all the really fabulous, perfectly attainable chocolate is within their reach. Is this a statement about other areas of their lives? What else are they settling for?Maybe we just try harder coz' we're in a place where things aren't so readily available.

If you'll settle for mediocre chocolate, what else are you settling for?

Abbey is getting into something. Do I really want to know what she is doing? I better go and check.....

Why Chocolate is Better than Diamonds

2006-04-08T14:14:00.000-08:00

Rather than the traditional first post that states something along the lines of "testing, 1-2-3," I figured I'd post the list that Artemis and I began when we crossed paths in JoAnn Fabrics this morning:

Why Chocolate is Better than Diamonds

1. Chocolate is ultimately worn on the hips... and it really is forever.

2. In light of #1, if you somehow lose your chocolate, you really don't mind all that much.

3. You never have to wonder where you're going to wear chocolate.

4. You don't need a safe deposit box to store your chocolate (if you actually store chocolate at all, we have to wonder what's wrong with you)

5. If someone steals your chocolate, you can usually find them by checking their fingers and/or their breath.

6. Chocolate is an appropriate accessory anytime, anywhere, and never looks garish or out of place.

7. You can share chocolate with your friends.

That's all I can think of for now. I have a feeling this list is going to get a lot longer before it's done, though. :)