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Veil Magic from Yasmina
A few words of Veil Wisdom from Yasmina, Arizona’s own April Weekend of Workshops instructor… Things to Remember when Dancing with a Veil: Use the area around yourself – forward, back, side to side, up and down – don’t be a vertical dancer Let the veil flow and grab air time Have the veil be an extension of you Dance to music that moves you and gives you goose bumps Remember the veil will win at times so go with the flow. Sometimes the mistakes that happen are really cool Respect the veil’s own breath and life, and allow the veil to enhance the breath and life in your performance. Have fun!!! Remember to bring your favorite...
Read MoreNow a word from our instructors pt 3
The third and final blog post comes courtesy of Isis San Miguel the People’s Choice Winner for RakStar 2011 and the 2010 Entertainer of the Year Wiggles of the West along w/ many other belly dance awards in between! Hello Belly dance Sisters and Brothers! This video post was inspired by an excerpt from one of Zina’s blog entries: ”Being Johnny on the spot ready for any and all belly dance gigs”. I think my dance bag easily covers that!! However two points were missing from my vlog…ONE) I held my bag of safety pins twice and didn’t mention it once! Inside that bag was also a tube of super glue and small scissors and an emergency kit...
Read MoreNow a word from our instructors! Pt 2
Dear Readers and Fellow Dancers, I give you all our own Queen of the AZ…. Yasmina!!! She is the proprietor of Shimmy Bliss Costuming Co as well as www.joyofbellydancing.com and in 2010 won the Wiggles of the West Headliner of the Year crown, tiara and schwag bag of goodies. Check out Yasmina’s checklist… Relax and have a good time! Remember this is fun. Be stretched and warmed up before dancing. This will save you from injury and it’s amazing how much better you dance when your body is prepared. Be mentally ready…no negative thoughts. Give yourself a pep talk if need be. Take a minute or two alone before going on stage. We all get nervous...
Read MoreNow a word from our instructors! Pt 1
Hello! This post started out nicely succinct. As an old saying goes “Man plans, God laughs”. My post outline started out as a 3 short paragraph skeleton from our upcoming April Weekend of Workshop instructors for tips on performance. Their pre/post performance rituals, any costuming upkeep for being johnny on the spot ready for any and all belly dance gigs. As I got farther into reading my own notes from past belly dance contracts and client requests for shows I realized that my usual verbosity was going to rear her verbose head. In a flash of brilliance! Yes, I have those. Sometimes;). Each instructor will have their own blog space and shall be...
Read MoreHappy Chinese New Year and other Goodies
Happy Chinese New Year! It’s the Year of the Dragon! Chinese New Year‘s Eve is January 22,2012 and New Year’s Day is January 23,2012. It’s a day of family, friends and food! Lots and lots of food. Steaming dumplings, pork buns, fruit, sweets and of course THE RED ENVELOPES! Red envelopes come filled with all kinds of denominations and usually only at Chinese New Year. They can appear at birthdays or other momentous life events but the best ones arrive at the New Year. One of the Chinese New Year preparations is cleaning. Whether it’s cleaning up of your life, desk, closet, home, car now is the time to do it. The premise is...
Read MoreHappy Holidays!
Happy Holidays All! Tis the season is fast approaching bringing with it the New Year. Celebrating the past yet welcoming a new moment into our lives. Planning this Weekend of Workshops event has been a lot of stopping and starting. Lots of quiet empty stretches with little to work on then all of a sudden a to do list appears as if by magic. As this holiday season soon comes to a head I find my to do list magically appearing just like my event planning list! Working my to do’s one by one, focusing on each item without feeling like that next must do thing is breathing down the back of my beledi dress is a challenge. Whew! Stopping to focus my mind on something...
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