Dance, like the goddess you are

So I'm curious about something. Has anyone out there tried to do a number with both veils and zills? Obviously not a the same time, but maybe for one of those songs that starts out kind of slow and sensual, only to get very fast very quickly. I'm thinking you could maybe use the veil for the slow part, then drop it and go right in with the zills.

My only concern is that you would have to have the zills on your fingers while working the veil at the beginning. Even though you aren't playing them at that point it could be difficult. I think I'm going to try it anyway though.


L8r



V-E

It had been a few months because my computer access had been limited as of late. But let's get right back into it.

Hathor is the next Goddess to be discussed. Typically she is depicted as a cow or with cow ears wearing a red or white dress. She also has a headdress with two horns surrounding a sundisk. She is associated with love,fertility, sexuality, dance, and alcohol. She is actually associated with a lot more but that list would be too long for here so I tried to limit it to what I thought was bellydance related.

The first trait is love: Without love, there would be no dance. When do you most feel like dancing? When you have something to celebrate! Those times you most feel like "busting a move" are usually when you are bursting with joy. There would be no celebrations without love. What would we have to celebrate? What would be the point of anything? Just to survive? Well maybe, but if we are just surviving we would not be dancing. So again I say to you, without love, there would be no dance.

Fertility: Now, before you get all out-of-sorts because you think this is somehow sexist, stop. Hathor is a Goddess of ancient times when fertility was a much bigger deal then it is today. Even a Goddess is effected by her time period. Also, it is not so much sexist as scientific. Women are the ones that give birth to new life. Men are not. Use bellydance to appreciate your biological gift. Even if you don't want to have children, you are still a part of the only gender that can.

Sexuality: Again, not meaning this in a sexist or degrading manner. Simply put a woman in complete control of her body and how it moves is one of the sexiest (and therefore sexual) things in this world.

Dance: Hathor, a recognized Goddess dances. So do you. You a Goddess, even if the world doesn't recognize it.

Alcohol: I was hesitant to put this in here at first. While I am not saying that you should get falling down drunk at the club to start letting loose, if you are over 21 and use it in moderation it can be useful. This is especially true of new or shy dancers. A lot of you are better then you think you are and sometimes our self-consciousness gets in the way. If you are in a safe social setting and maybe just need enough to take the edge off I say go for it. While I don't recommend getting so impaired that you lose all inhibitions or leave yourself vulnerable in a bad situation. But a little bellydance demonstration for some friends that want to learn while at a party isn't a bad thing. I hope I made my point clear with this.

Until next time,



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So it took a bit longer then I had anticipated to get around to it, but here is the first goddess we will be discussing.


Anat was a deity for the Canaanites and Phoenicians who made her way from Syria and Palestine all the way to Egypt. She is a goddess of war, often shown with a lance, axe, and shield.

Anat would be a good goddess to visualize for most any dark and tribal fusion dance. You could even visualize her for any dance where you want to portray strong, power, even violence in you dance.

Keep her in mind as you dance like the goddess you are.

A friend of mine passed away Thursday. I might not update this blog for a while.

So I was at this great consignment store a few weeks ago and found an awesome piece of costume jewelry for a tribal outfit. So the tip of the day, check out local places for jewelry. Consignment stores, flea markets, mom and pop stores etc. Check out anywhere that you can think of for costume accessories. It will give your costume a little something extra and give you a more unique look.



L8r




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So maybe you wanted to go to Dark Romance, but you don't live near Salisbury, NC. Well I didn't find another workshop, but I did find a contest. If you live near Universal City, TX (near San Antonio from my understanding) you can enter a belly dance contest! It has cash prizes, flowers and , of course, there will be great dancing. Link below:


https://www.google.com/calendar/event?eid=ZDQ3MmpqaTJ1djRwb2NoNmU0cmQ0NGZnb2sgYXVzdGluYmRhQG0&ctz=America/Chicago

Or you can also find it here:

http://www.abda.org/cal.html





L8r




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A couple of days ago I posted about costuming. Well let's talk about practice attire now. I've seen some fancy belly-dance unitards that almost always cost $50+. Again, in today's economy that can be rough. Honestly I've always done okay with regular workout gear. Now if you want the unitard go for it, but you don't have to. Just make sure that the shirt is cropped or form fitted enough that you can tell how your body is moving.




L8r





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How many of you out there are interested in certification? There is an intensive workshop called Journey Through Egypt for if you really want to polish your moves or learn pure Egyptian style bellydance. At the last workshop I went to I told a few of the people I was interested in starting my own belly-dance studio and they said not to underestimate the value of getting certified. So if you want to teach I'll include a link below. I won't be able to make it this year, but here's to hoping for 2014.

http://www.sahrasaeeda.com/JtE_Home_Page.html


Note, this is a touring workshop so it hits several cities, you'll have to check the schedule to see what dates it will be closest to you.




Tip for today: Let's talk about costuming. I've seen belly-dance costumes that cost $500-$600! In todays economy a lot of us simply can't afford that. To be honest the first time I ever preformed I was in a sleeveless, pretty top and a peasant skirt (I'll try and post a picture of it later). The audience still enjoyed it and I still had fun. Another option, however, would be to make one yourself. There are workshops you can go to that teach you different ways of making different parts of the costume (like the Dark Romance workshop mentioned yesterday). Now if you can afford a real costume and want one then by all means go for it.





L8r





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