All posts by Tracey Vibert

About Tracey Vibert

Creativity abounds and balance is sought in both hermitting and peopling.

Dancers’ Newsletter Extra Feature – Guest post!

Halyma, , , , , , , ,
Please welcome Renee and her first contribution to the new Dancer’s Newsletter Extra Features!

Bellysurfing


Salutations from Renee D    

My journey with belly dancing began last year.  Every Friday a group of women meet at a local bead store.  We sit around and chat, admire each other’s work and talk about the world.  
 
In early April, one of our ladies was working on a marvellous belt that was pieced together with jump rings, coins and metal fishing lures. Gradually, one question lead into another and before you could say jackrabbit I was taking my first belly dance class. 
 
Apart from all the obvious elements that make belly dancing so spectacular, I quickly became aware of the music.  Unexpectedly, I discovered fresh tempos mingling together with age-old instruments that absolutely compelled my body to move.
 
I rapidly searched my CD collection to find this “new to me” sound. Fortunately, I did have some examples but I realized that I needed a broader variety and this is where I started my Bellysurfing.
 
I’ll begin this exposé with the late legendary Egyptian trumpeter Samy El Bably. Critiques describe his style “as woozy, sinuous and sometimes beguilingly sleepy.” According to the world famous percussionist and friend Hossam Ramzy, “He made this western style horn speak like a Nay flute mixed in with a singing violin with a mixture of an Armenian Duduk without the slightest change to the instrument itself.” Oddly enough, there is very little information on his life yet he was considered the Miles Davis of the Middle East.
 
As obscure as this musician is, you might be surprised to know that many of you are already dancing to his music!! Instructor Julie Tierney often plays the track Asrar El Ein from the Cairo Nights: Bellydance Bar CD, in her warm-ups.  Want to listen?  Just click to this link: http://www.maqam.com/store/p/1210-Cairo-Nights-Bellydance-Bar.html#Samples and select PREVIEW. Asrar El Ein is the first track but do have a snoop around the samples.  If you like what you hear, you can order this CD either on the internet with a reliable seller or place an order at Chapters.
  cairo-nights

 

 

 

“We don’t know who we are until we can see what we can do” -MARTHA GRIMES
  
Please feel welcome to add your own comments to this post – add to the discussion and offer your own thoughts!
  

 

 

 

 

The End of one decade, Beginning of the next Era

Personal time, , , , , ,

No, I am not going to talk about the amazing moment in history that occurred yesterday in the land of our southern neighbors.

Well, maybe for a brief moment, just to give a tip of the hat to the US of A in congrats for what looks to be the beginning of a new Era in their political and emotional journey.

Here is hoping their changes are swift and painless and reflect well on the rest of the world as well!

 

ON His Big DAY!
ON His Big DAY!

 

 

Selfishly I also want to explore my own journey on this planet, this time around if I go with that reincarnation possibilities.

Today marks the end of 40 years for me.

And I am gonna celebrate for sure.

I am the youngest of my family, and am fortunate enough to speak to them all somewhat regularly. I have 8 amazing nieces and nephews that I am blessed with the chance to see on Facebook and in person to get to know them! My mom and her hubby are also within a short distance – and she’s on Facebook now too so I get poked often enough 🙂

I have a wonderful [ understatement of the year] husband who supports me in every way possible. Emotionally, he is my rock. Business wise, he is my tech guy, consultant, first line of brainstorming for new ideas. Lifewise, he is my best friend. I luv ya honey!

 

From our 10 year anniversary party Feb.2008
From our 10 year anniversary party Feb.2008

 

 

We have our little dog Boing to keep us company and make us laugh – and she does that often between the moments of insanity.

I have many, many friendships of all depths and levels of which I can only begin to extoll the virtues! Some are here and I see them multiple times a week, some are far away and I only touch base with them once ayear or less, but we have touched each other’s lives and hold a place in each other’s hearts.
And some are new, and developing acquaintances that may stay at this level or may blossom into close friendships, and that’s nice too!

I am part of a dance community that is supportive, talented and amazing – so very happy with that aspect of my life. May of these women are also part of my friendship circle!

 

At the Bay, Bayshore!
At the Bay, Bayshore!

And I love my many jobs – I get to be creative, hands on and ethereally! I get to dance, make pretty things, and try to save the planet with my endeavors.

 

I guess this is more of a thank you note to everyone around me for the many years of support, friendship, love, adoration, fangril and fanboy behavior you have all sent my way! [ Obviously kidding on those last few quips, kids!]

So, thank you all for the well wishes, laughter, and your presence in my life at this time.

I know that my new era and Barack’s are filled with promise and hope of even more greatness and potential for us and those who we touch!  Wow, that sounded a bit arrogant, but I’ll leave it in with the caveat that the potential and greatness comes from those around us as well as within ourselves.  Working together is what makes it all happen!

Blessed  be~


DANCERS’ NEWSLETTER: EXTRA FEATURES!

Halyma, , ,

Cynthia’s party at Uncle Louis – a good time!

The opening act!
Isaden - The opening act!

I asked for folks to send me reviews, pics and comment about the Show on Saturday, January 17th and Uncle Louis’ Restaurant, organized by Cynthia/Civia. They have started to come in:
“Hi,

My girlfriend and I got there early and had front row seats for the dancing. We LOVED it! I put in a word to the waitress that I hope Uncle Louis does this again. Very inspiring and such variety.

Jane Spencer”

 

Relaxing in the back corner
Relaxing in the back corner

I had a great time last night myself, seeing all the new friends, and the old!  Great job Cynthia on this fun night out!

Halyma

While I should be doing housework…

Personal time, , , , , , , , , , ,

Instead of doing the laundry, I slept in. Instead of exercising, I couch surf. Instead of washing dishes, I dirty more by trying some new recipes.

Well, that’s only because it’s the last week off from classes and I will need to get myself in gear by the end of this week in order to be ready to start teaching again next week!  Actually I need to get myself in gear by this afternoon as I have a huge list of to-do’s for this week in regards to all three of my businesses [ well the three that I can count today – there are more when I break it down!]

What’s on my lists, you ask? Or not – depending on how busy you are with your own lists!

Beadwork done a few years back

TAV Creations has a lovely January wedding on the roster!  Yay!  I don’t always get January weddings but for the past two years I have been blessed with them!  Nice for the alleged “downtime” to not be downtime!  3 bridesmaid dresses plus the wedding gown means I need to get my space cleaned up, vacuumed, and ready for action!

 

Halyma’s Belly Dancing For Fun has a couple of events to prep for next weekend – January 17th brings us to The Bay at Bayshore for the “Beauty @ the Bay Beautiful Skin Event.  This event is all about wellness and beauty in 2009.  There are several components to this event, skin care regime, sun care, health and diet, fitness and well being.”

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHmbIcEphgo]

 

Then Halyma will be performing later that evening as part of the multi-dancer show: Uncle Louis’ Restaurant Belly dance show/Hafla Still room to book a table and come out I am sure for a fun evening of Lebanese food and dancing!

Halyma at Uncle Louis' - 2002

But before that, my classes resume on January 12th, 13th and 15th at all of my usual haunts, and I am looking forward to getting moving again!  I really do use the classes as my own personal workout time since the rest of my days seem to be involved with sitting and typing or sewing.

And the new baby: Eco-TAV has lots of work waiting for me to do for it as well!  I  will meet with a co-op this week to see about sewing help.  

mmm snackies!

I need to contact a list of stores regarding carrying the products in house – but I need to make more stock first so that i have it on hand when I approach the stores!  I still have a good amount of cotton and some hemp available [hint, hint] !

I also want to/need to do some major tweaking on the website and am looking at setting up my products on an online market place – but I need to get photos and descriptions organized for that before I go much further!

 I am supposed to be working on that lovely wedding, my time can only be split amongst so many projects before workmanship suffers!

That’s an exaggeration of course, workmanship never suffers!  Organization skills and phenomenal talents are my magical powers!  At least that’s the illusion I like to keep up!  and only as long as I schedule in fun time, rest, relaxation and time with hubby!

We won’t even get into the sewing videos, newsletter look update[ not done yet!], DVD3 [ not happening anytime soon, kids] or any of the other creative endeavors that I happily explore when I have a spare moment!

So, now that I have listed off most of what I want to do, I should really check on the soybeans I have cooking on the stove. I am trying a variation on the wontons that my friend S and I made back in December, but a vegan version with soybeans and mushrooms as the filling.
Maybe some other veggie stuff in there too – we’ll see! I was able to get the wrappers at a little chinese store in the market, so I am ready to go once the filling is !  
Hope your own lists for the upcoming year are fun filled and creative!  
Or healthy and beneficial!
Blessed be!
T/H

Another year almost over.

Personal time, ,

Today offers me a brief lull in life.

No travel, no shopping, no real obligations other than a couple of meetings that could not be avoided, but nothing more to prepare for them, so all is good.

We are in a moment of stasis between festivities.

Three holiday gatherings have filled our lives with laughter and our bellies with too much food. And two more are coming up within the next few days.

Soup, healthy eating, maybe even some exercise will bring me back to earth and help me start to feel better. We bought a new scale, and realized how off our old one was. This means renewed exuberance for the weight loss and healthy lifestyle choices journey we began in September.

I have also realized how much sugar affects me. Badly. Really badly. So, now I have to put out a request to those who graciously provided me with lovely snacks as gifts over the past week and a day [ it has only been a week!?!] that I cannot accept them. Or that I must pass them on to others. And there is another dilemma.

How do I justify passing along something that I have rejected as unhealthy/unwanted for me. If I have reached the point that I believe that sugar and white flour are really bad, and I mean really bad, for a person to consume, how can I condone the consumption of these unhealthy “foods” at all?

I’ll calm down soon, I am sure, but I really have had to explore my own reactions to holiday foods, both physically and psychologically.

I love the texture of those little squares with coconut, chocolate chips and condensed milk – other stuff too, but that combination makes me drool! A butterscotch pudding dessert was served that I had to have two pieces – and I am sure it was dreamwhip or nutriwhip on top, but I just gobbled it up!

I am off teaching dance for another 2 weeks; the ice on the sidewalks has finally been scraped up enough that I think I can go for a walk, but really, exercise over the holidays seems to involve a bit of hand to mouth motions, and maybe some carrying of packages from the car to the house or, in reverse.

And on to 2009…

I cannot say what resolutions I might consider making for 2009 as I have never really followed through on what tends to turn into goal setting exercises in futility.

I must hit a wall, realize that my choices can be amended, and then follow through with self-awareness and a dose of forgiveness for the transgressions that will inevitably ensue.

Moments of self awareness that have helped me make changes:
1 – I have no willpower.
2 – I know what works for me.
3 – I can find win-win solutions if given a moment or two!

How did these revelations help me?
1 – No willpower refers to eating crap [ read: sugar, chocolate, sweets of any sort, high calorie foods, etc..] So I don’t buy it, I try to not be around it, and then I won’t be tempted. I may moan and groan about wanting it, but if I really want it, I must make the extra effort to go out to get it.

I also can work this well when @wtl and I go out to eat. If I really want something I cannot afford calorically, we share it. But it has to be wanted by both and therefore enjoyed by both.

Bad days are when I just go ahead and order the excessive food and eat it all myself! Forgiveness required at that point and a bit of extra exercise!

2 – I know what works for me refers to my approach to life, especially when interacting with others.

When I am planning my own adventures, I have an idea of what will keep me sane, and what might cause stress so if I have to deal with adding other people into that equation, I plan accordingly to make it work for me.

I know I like to be places early or on time, so if I don’t want to have stress around that, I won’t offer to pick up those who are always/often late. Or I plan to be at their place early to allow for that time lag.

If I know someone else’s home will likely have stress inducing stimuli, I will make sure I have an escape plan/ exit strategy established before arriving – just in case!

Selfish? possibly… but it also translates into number 3 in most cases.

3 – Finding win-win situations.

Such a cheesy phrase, but it is a very accurate description of that which can be achieved with a bit of consideration and thoughtful awareness!

Think about what keeps you sane, and think about what the others involved need to keep themselves sane. Find the balance point between the two and run with it.

Having some flexibility also helps, but knowing that you are the better person for considering their needs too can really help in those self-righteous moments!

I am happy to put others’ needs on equal footing with my own, or even on occasion putting their needs ahead of mine. But not always – this leads to resentment or martyrdom! And sometimes it is okay to put my own needs first – especially if it means I am happy and that way much more pleasant to be around!

Maybe those are my main life lessons from 2008 – passed along to you for your consideration.

I wish everyone the blessings of enlightenment, awareness and opportunity for 2009!  May you see every moment with clear vision and anticipation of the joy it may bring!

The Afterglow…and a request for feedback!

Halyma, , ,

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqTHGaStpso]

Wednesday evening brought out a heck of a pile of belly dancers and their supporters.  We all descended upon the Bronson Centre in Ottawa and danced and cheered and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

I start the planning for the Ottawa Centre Class party-Holiday Edition in September.  At that point, I know my class schedule, and since I have been organizing these parties for a few years now, I have a pretty good idea of how things may go.

Unforeseen: OC Transpo Bus Strike hitting one week before the party!!!!

Damage: Somewhat affected the dancers lists for the student groups, and definitely affected attendance and last minute ticket sales for cheering fans.

While the ticket sales were in the 350 range, I know that not everyone who purchased a ticket was able to attend.  But the audience did it’s best to give lots of good energy to the dancers!

The flow was adjusted for this event as well.  More on that in a moment…

I am blessed with what I hope is a good rep for these parties, and thus am contacted by dancers directly who would like to perform.  It also might be the $5 ticket fee that everyone pays, but it makes it inexpensive for student dancers,frugalistas and families to come out and see what great fun and skills are found in our belly dance community.

Back to the flow:  with over 35 performances originally booked for the event, even with a 3-5 minute guideline for each performance, that’s a long show!  After asking the teachers what they thought, I had to make some choices and hope for the best. I organize, am responsible all the financial aspects of, and take most credit for the event; I could not do it without the support of my colleagues and friends who are also dancers/volunteers/teachers.

The choices involved imposing tighter time limits on the music choices and with only a few logical bending of the rule for combined classes, everyone seemed fine with the limits.  It also meant that I needed to deal with introductions of each group in a timely and efficient manner.  Dropping an official MC and choosing the “Voice from Beyond” method, I was able to share the task of simply announcing the group name before each performance without listing each of the sometimes up to 12 dancers who would be on stage at any one time!

If you were there, this is all pretty much: ‘Been there, saw that” and for you, I have more coming later in this post!

Back to the reflections…The dancers were all very organized and ready to go – AiWA!

There were a few on stage glitches, but this is a student show for the most part, so that is to be expected.  I have always tried to make my shows as welcoming and relaxing as possible for all dancers – from the first timers to the seasoned pros.  I would say, “Leave the judgements and egos at the door” – but really, I have never had to actually say that as people just seem to “get it”.

The Bronson Centre has a new sound and light system in place.  Dave, our sound technician for the evening, was fabulous!  This really nice, easy going and helpful guy made the evening so easy!!!!  Thanks Dave of Wall Sound!  Sorry I don’t remember his last name, but kudos will go out all over the place!

K was in charge of backstage as usual, Michele arrived with her gorgeous fabrics to decorate, and my new main helpers on the front lines were Katheryne, Cynthia, Rain and Chantal, along with Jocelyne helping once the show started!

Howard Sandler was our official photog for the evening and Darner Media shoots and edits the video for the performers!  

I am so grateful to all of these people for helping make the evening run smoothly, the dancers for taking the time to come out and share their talents with us, and the audience members for being so supportive as they watch the dancers develop their craft!

Three cheers for the Ottawa Belly Dance Community!!!! 

So, if you were there, and are therefore a part of the community, I am asking for some feedback.  Just a couple of questions and also if you have any further comments, you can submit them in the comments section!  Please note that i tried to create a poll but something is funky, so regular questions it is!

 And if you were not there but feel like voicing an opinion – go ahead!

1 – How was the “flow” of the evening for you?

a- Great – fast and fun!

b- Pretty good, but I felt I wanted to hear more about each group before they danced.

c-Good but still too long of an evening for me, I had to leave before things ended.

2-Did you get a sense that this would be/was a “community” event?

a- Yes, I had that sense when I decided to come, and that was why I came!

b- Sort of, though I had no real connection to the community other than a friend who was dancing in the show.

c-No, I did not really think of it as a community event.

3- Did you have fun?

a-yes

b-no { what?}

 

If you have thoughts you would like to share, please feel free!  

I do my best to make the evening run as smoothly as possible, and there are always new things for me to learn about audience perspective etc.

Thanks for reading! Pics will be up soon!

Halyma and the BDFF ladies at Mambo!

Halyma

Click on photo to go to my Flickr page and see more fun shots!

HPIM6925.JPG, originally uploaded by campdancer2000.

Once again we have been called upon to perform our sacred duty of educating the masses on the elegance and beauty of belly dance!

This time, we are part of a series of fashion shows raising money for the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation. These shows are happening at Mambo, in the Byward Market, and our last show will be next week on December 10th.

After that, the next week we are committed to a fabulous evening of belly dance at the Ottawa Centre Class Party – you can see us and more at that event!

Now back to this latest Mambo event…

We like to arrive early, in order to be ready to go when they need us.  We wait around down in the dressing room, trying to stay out of the way of the models!  Two amazing notes about this show: 

The clothes!

The food afterwards!

Details – > The clothes were on two racks, gorgeous fabrics, amazing designs and such fun!  Three Wild Women [and a second store that i cannot remember, but owned by the same people, so they’ll tell you,] are worth checking out.  I have no idea for pricing, but the stuff is jaw-droppingly beautiful.  I sew for my day job and make nice stuff myself, so yeah, I can voice an opinion!

And the food!  We have an arrangement to eat after we dance when we donate our time and energy to these shows.  The  meals that are being offered as part of the $40 ticket price to attend one of these events are phenomenal!  We don’t like to ask for anything in particular, so we just  sit, and food arrives in whatever way the owner feels works for her.

 OMG – we were brought 4 entrees.  So we asked for little plates so that we could share from each.  Salmon, beef, chicken and an odd combination of yummy dumplings, chicken salad and shrimp.  Everything was amazing – obvious that I am not vegan…  Sorry no pics – but you’ll have to believe me that it was wonderful.  I just kept raving afterwards, and figured I had better just post it and get it out of my system!

So, we had fun, thanks to Shade, Erika and Vashti for joining me!

And maybe I’ll see some of you next week at Mambo for a good cause!