Nearly asleep on lap.. leave me alone…, originally uploaded by WTL-Ottawa.
That’s my Boing… Keeps me humble, keeps me crazy, keeps me sane…
When life gets a bit hectic – lots of dance gigs, car issues and work to do, the ever demanding Boing will make sure I remember to take care of Number 1 – Her!
Life should be as easy as hers is 🙂
… Cabin that is!
The workshop this past weekend was so nice from my perspective. I received a lot of positive feedback too – so that’s always good as well! I like the down to earth nature of the ladies out that way – Trenton/Belleville/Madoc – they are there to have fun and and tolerate me being me without any fuss!
About 5 minutes in, I had to dig into my bag to find my ever handy facecloth – I tend to release a lot of moisture through my skin on hot days – profusely! I drip. So, rather than try to be discrete and lady like, I keep a nice absorbent facecloth handy in my dance bag all the time now. Along with toothpaste, a portable toothbrush and some deodorant, I feel like I can maintain some sense of personal hygiene in most situations!
After we began to warm up and I got a feel for the different skill sets within the group, I tired to make sure I challenged the more experienced dancer while not totally overwhelming the beginners. I think I found a middle ground that still gave everyone a sense of accomplishment at least a few times through the 3 hours. We danced and I taught them part of a routine that I had created this spring, so while it had some challenging bits for the beginners, everyone at least got a sense of putting moves together.
There are a lot of drums at The Wild Blue Yonder Cabin and so we were able to take some time to play with them and some basic rhythms. I had brought some music by Solace, the Rhythm of the Dance cd and we were able to use it to follow some basic baladi and chiftetelli rhythms – my two faves!
A reporter from the local newspaper came out to take some pics and interview the ladies – I hope to get a copy of at least a picture sometime soon!
Thanks to everyone who came out and the Debbie, our hostess – it was a great day!
Another fun event that happened in early June was Jewel’s Welcome to the Dance Spring Fling at the Ottawa University Alumni Auditorium, at which I also had the chance to perform a short solo.
Here it is!
[youtube=http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=y80ojJk49Q8]
The Ottawa Centre Class Party has been something I have organized for quite a few years now. Starting as simply my end of session party for my students, it started in my back yard for the June event. it has grown to bring in about 400 people, including about 60-80 performers. The approximately 2 hour show features all levels of dancer from student to professional. I invite colleagues and friends in the Ottawa belly dance community to join in the fun. They either dance themselves or if they have students who want to have a chance to perform for a larger audience, this provides a great chance for them to do so.
I don’t put up video of folk unless they know it is happening, so I have only included my own clip here – but enjoy!
[youtube=http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=VxyttNJwlg4]
This past weekend, I was the organizer and co-facilitator with Michelle Hrynyk in presenting our annual spiritual belly dance workshop, Dancing with the Elements. After some health issues with my husband,
I was able to head off and gratefully work with some amazing ladies!
We use the Subud Facilities on Wilmont here in Ottawa, a fantastic split level house that is rentable for a variety of workshops, classes and other endeavors.
We had a lovely number of participants, almost all new comers, with a couple of returning dancers. A variety of levels of skills were represented, and that’s perfect as this is not a workshop about technique. It is a journey into your own personal space as a dancer, woman, and participant in a community of dancers and women. [ Nothing against the boys at all – we just spent the time focused on the women for the day!]
Michelle mixes up great aromatherapy oils for each participant and the headiness of the room at the end of the day is amazing – energy, power, interconnectedness and the generosity of each woman as she has given to each of her colleagues throughout the day hangs in the air.
As Michelle and I alternate in roles throughout the day, we are able to play off each other and every year there are new lessons learned. While I teach the basics in the morning, getting everyone warmed up and prepared to put their moves to use, she is finishing the oils so that they are as fresh as possible. While she comes into the role of leader, guiding everyone through the movement meditations, I am lucky enough to be able to participate myself. I just have to pay enough attention to work the music, and then I can float off and dance through the Air, Fire, Water and Earth myself, benefiting from the magical energy she exudes as she guides us.
Lunch is simply phenomenal – everyone brings something to share and there are some powerfully good cooks out there! Thanks again to everyone!
The afternoon brings out the veils and the oils – I can just let you visualize that yourself! Until it is experienced, the practical description simply does the healing ritual no justice at all!
We end with food again to bring us back to earth, and a collaborative effort to clean up – again thanks to all! And a bit of chatting /sharing etc. to let people express anything they feel they want to, and to give us some feedback for next year!
I’ll be posting the song list in the discussion area of my Facebook group – Halyma’s Belly Dance
Now on to the next event on the calendar!
What a great start to the summer of relaxing dance. On average, we have been a collection of about 8 dancers – sometimes more, sometimes less. Some are more advanced, some are total beginners coming out to see what it is all about! For those, I suspect it is even more intimidating, but they seem to be enjoying themselves and connecting with some of the fabulous ladies in the community!
The idea is to have a space to just come out and dance – no “following the teacher”, no “leading the class”, just dancing for our own development and exploration. And a great way to socialize with each other in a time and place where we are not busy getting ready to perform, or sell things, etc.
This past week we were able to temporarily move into a larger room – which made it even more fun as Megan and I were able to chat and place with uber veil possibilities! Something to percolate on for my Creative Intermediate come September!
So, I thank everyone who has come out so far and encourage others to give it a try. You won’t be forced up to the “front” all of the time! Everyone gets a chance to use the mirrors to practice and “see” how they are doing, and everyone gets some time to “hide” in the back and relax. I have found it a great chance to try some of those moves I don’t get to do when teaching – it gives me the chance to explore what I have learned over the years with other teachers!
It’s all about the fun!
The details are here: http://www.tav-creations.com/events/event-details.cfm?id=61
Just a quick post to let people know how to use RSS to get those blogs and news to come to them!
Enjoy:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0klgLsSxGsU&hl=en]
The home page:http://www.commoncraft.com/rss_plain_english
UPDATE!!!
And a colleague in the dance world has written a great post also explaining how and why you might like to add RSS feeding to your life! Read DanceAdvantage’s post here!
Some promotional time! I’ll be teaching basics and having some fun with some folk in Madoc – be sure to check if out if you are interested in getting some bd time in this summer with a quirky slant! Click on the “z” icon for details, and view the trailer of Halyma’s Belly Dance Lessons, DVD 2 for fun!
[youtube=http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=itKnrvP1wFc]
Click on the picture to see more images!
Another great weekend for dancing – with a bit of magic worked the evening before!
4 willing students and myself graced the grassy stage area at Brewer Park to help entertain everyone from old Ottawa South who ventured out into the sunshine to celebrate the Old Ottawa South Community Association’s 30 year anniversary party.
Going on right after the preschoolers was a tough act to follow – and at least some of the little ones kept right on dancing even after we had started our show – it was very funny!
My thanks to Kim, Shade, Vashti, and Phila for joining me for this event! AS students of the recent sessions it was really nice to have them there to show what I teach/they learn in the classes I give through OSCA as well as the Routhier Centre.
And I think I only messed up Melaya Leff a couple of times with the grapevines, but no one noticed 🙂
Thanks again ladies!
[youtube=http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=qukh6AXESFE]
After the big show, there is a lot of ruminating, revisiting, self-discovery and awareness increasing that happens.
Amongst the organizers, it involves some nachos and shots accompanying complaints about things out of our control and ideas to improve things within our control.
Amongst the performers, there is self-congratulation and self-flagellation over what-ifs, could-have-beens and moments of glorious, “I did it”s. And the chattering of many voices over how beautiful the other dancers were, how great each others bits were and general participation in the wonderful “mutual admiration club”. It is all good. It is all part of the process.
Sometimes called De-toxing, sometimes called the Post Mortem, the “after party” gatherings, that consist of a small group that will include the organizer and a few select volunteers and participants from the evening, serve to remind us that we are all in it together and no matter how we did on stage, we are all there for each other.
Can a dancer perform 4 times in one night and survive? Yes. Can that same dancer learn 4 different routines perfectly and perform them all with accuracy and grace with less than 6 weeks to learn them? Maybe. Should she? Maybe not.
It becomes a question of choice- or does it?
Peer pressure plays a role for sure. All of the other students are performing – of course she is too! Expectations and the idea of our own personal reputation also play a role – I can do it! I am a _______ [ insert: advanced student, professional, teacher] therefore I have to do it!
But here is our reality: are you a full time dancer or a part time dancer? If you are a full time dancer, teacher, performer, choreographer, etc. and are making a living at it, then yes, by all means you should be able to put on a varied and exciting show of multiple acts and know them all perfectly with or without others on stage with you.
If you have an unrelated day job, teach part time, perform even less often than you teach, and actually want a social life beyond your work and your hobby, then maybe you can cut yourself a break. NO one will mind, no one will care if you say “NO” to that extra routine. Or if they do care briefly, they’ll get over it.
Two years ago I had to come to terms with what was becoming my mantra: “I cannot do everything”. I was overworked, underpaid, and stressed on a daily basis. How has this changed – I am not as overworked. Still occasionally underpaid, but I am working on that. And I have begun to choose my options more carefully.
No one is saying that I have it all figured out – I don’t. I have good friends who are there to help when I need them. I have a fabulous Husband who supports my choices. And I try to make my choices based on what will be good for me, and good for those around me, in the best ways I can.
Time passes after each event, giving it some perspective and less emotional attachment. If we can live in the moment, just that little bit more often, we can allow ourselves the chance to make mistakes, and learn from them. Or do things perfectly and be graciously appreciative of that moment. But they are all moments which will pass – the happy and the sad; the powerful and the weak, the profound and the pathetic.
But it’s all good in the long run…
Sometimes you have to just curl up and sigh….
And sometimes you need to take it all in stride….
