Some days, you need a few.
Some days , you just need a Sprocket photo
Checking out some videos
There are some fun new songs to check out – recent movies I’ve neglected due to a busy schedule, so here’s just a sneak peek at something I am contemplating playing with:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLIQzxgFeNE]
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jpYt2GuzUQ&w=560&h=315]
And I’m going to keep looking….
I love it when a plan comes together…
January 24th 2014, the Open Belly/Bollywood Dance Night took place at the Mercury Lounge in the Byward Market.
2 weeks earlier I had begun the process of making it happen.
And with the support of about 40 of my best dance friends and 20 new dance friends, it was a great night out!
In a previous post, I talked about how we need to “stir things up” in the Ottawa area and get Bellydance back into people’s vision. Since I am also into Bollywood, and teach a fusion class of the two dance forms, we also benefit from people seeing what can come from joining classes and playing!
How things fell into place…
In late November, we were in chat mode with Kuljit Sodhi to join Galitcha
for a Bollywood evening at the Mercury Lounge, with even more involvement than we had contributed in July 2013. We were all set and excitedly booked the evening of Jan 24.
Then life happened and that event had to be postponed- we are looking at April now, so keep an eye out!
But it still felt like I should do something fun to end my birthday week.
In early January I realized, maybe, if the members of BFF were up to helping me with it- awesome ladies I play with they are!!-, we could base an evening on both dance styles and do it like an open mic night.
I’ve never actually done an open mic night so I just did what I always do: Make it happen and they will come.
And they did – I decided to let people sign themselves up via a google drive document, and that may have deterred some folk, it was the easiest way to let folk have control over their time- to a degree.
But I am jumping ahead!
I contacted the Mercury Lounge via email, two different Facebook routes and even tried calling- those who know me these days know I prefer email:-).
It did take 2 days to hear back and the first bit of news was that the “Merc space” was already booked. The price of the lower club was better suited to this first try and the capacity was smaller but as I thought about it, I figured, go with it and see what happens.
A quick meeting was held at the club and the basement was not ideal- very black. We chatted in the middle level, The Collection, and I asked if it was available. After a few moments and a computer check, I was told yes- same price, same capacity – so I said, “Book it, please!!”
Next step- publicity….
- I designed 2 posters and got some feedback from some of the BFF gang, and started getting it online,
- BFF website event page created (I wanted to generate more traffic to our BFF site),
- a post written to encourage people to come out,
- Facebook event created with links to the webpage ( where the tickets were),
- post created on our BFF Facebook page,
- post created on my Halyma Facebook page,
- post created on my Bellywood FB page,
- tweets from @bwff and @halyma,
- Posting made for the Dancers’ News,
- Email sent directly to Ottawa-Gatineau teachers,
- listing on Dance-Ottawa,
- Event created on my Google+ Halyma page,
- Event listing created on my own primary website
Then completing the infrastructure:
- Testing the paypal ticket button and fixing that,
- Translating the event page with the help of Google translate but really, Suhani!
- Setting up the Google Drive sign up sheet
- Getting our ticket information sheet set up to keep the paperwork clear for myself and BFF
Sunday the 12th, it all hit the internet.
And I had some very quick responses, and the ticket sales and sign ups began.
Slowly, but steady, things filled up, not completely in the dance roster but a wonderful mix of dancers had claimed a time to dance.
IN the meantime, the BFF dancers and I were planning our segments of the show, as well as connecting with our various extracurricular groups to get their involvement all squared away.
Thanks to Farasha for being our liaison with Kuljit and the Bollywood Heat as well as Deepali for bringing her Live2Dance Crew!
I made the executive decision to make it an All Ages show with kids 12 and under coming in for free. With my OCCP, where it’s reserved seating, it has been important to keep an accurate head count and everyone pays, but for this event, it felt more important for those parents and families to just come and have fun!
And I put out the request on our planning sheet { another google drive document} if one of our dancers who draws beautifully and has done quick mehndi before, if she would be open to offering this service at the show. Both Kalyani and Suhani added some pretties that night with some awesome results!
Back to the planning stages…
SOLD OUT!
By Wednesday the 22nd in the morning, we had reached the club’s capacity of 60 in advance contributions/tickets, and so I was scurrying about to update all of the pages to indicate we were sold out.
#gratitude
…Or was it?
While I was out teaching Wednesday evening, the email came through saying there was a booking error! The space I had booked was not actually available! BUT… I could still have the black basement or the “Merc space”, which had become available in the meantime.
Once again, I used my phone as a phone and spoke with Kate, our awesome booking contact, and she assured me that since it was their mistake, for this time, I would pay the same fee for the larger space. YAY!!
#gratitudeX7
Tickets AVAILABLE!!
And back onto the internet to update everything and post and post and post!
Then suddenly, where are the advance dancers going?
Thursday afternoon, new challenges arose as 3 of the dancers who had reserved times in advance, contacted me with the sad news they would not be able to come out.
3 out of 9 advanced spots now empty meant either having a very sparse roster or more juggling was needed.
I can be chill, I swear, and then ideas pop into my head and I have to run with them…
Emails start to fly:
1 – Gothic Muses is comprised of two dancers who were already in attendance as part of Corazon, so I sent a quick email asking if they would be open to dancing twice– they said yes!
#gratitude
2- Ameenah had already been warned that I wanted her to drum while I danced my solo, and so I sent her an email ( it’s now Friday- day of!) asking if she would be okay to do some live drumming! – she said yes!!
#gratitude
3– less than 2 hours before the show, Jehane posts on FB how she’s waffling between 2 songs- I jump on it and ask if she would like to dance twice? And BOOM- she said yes!!
#gratitude!
Okay, are you with me still?
Gifts bestowed through the generous hands of helpful people:
- I now have the space I originally wanted at the price I originally had hoped to pay.
- I have a base roster of AWESOMENESS with flex room for last minute sign ups or shifts as needed { there were some of those}
- Our costs are cored with a small cushion…
Crap…food? do I get food??
To have the event catered would have cost more than we could cover with the contributions made by the attendees, and I believe that events need to pay for themselves.
But I always feed my dancers! It’s tradition!
I made another decision to pick up some “sushi” and a veggie tray for our dancers. Now that we had the upstairs space for the dancers to change and prep, having some food and water there for them to snack on was ideal.
At this location, I think this food idea will be the norm, which is why I look forward to the events that other teachers and pros have in the works where other systems will be in place and we kept highs interesting!I think I’ll stop here for now. I’ll write more about the actual event later!
This brings you up to speed on my pre-event journey, travelling with me through many of the ups and sideways and curves to get to the point where I have arrived and met up with the BFF Crew to set up in the Mercury Lounge – with a bit of foreshadowing:
Halyma and Ameenah!–click the photo to head over to the video–
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT THE EVENING, Please take a moment and click here, fill out your responses in the Contact box, and you could win a $25 gift certificate towards TAV Creations or Halyma’s Belly dance products and services.
2014- Back to Dance! Classes begin tonight – Dance Party Next week!
Every session my schedule changes. For 16 years now, I spend a few weeks before the start date negotiating with the universe, the community centres and sometimes even potential students to at least get one night of classes running.
I am weak. If I didn’t “have” to be there, the futon, the computer, the paperwork, the lurking sewing commitments would all give me one more reason to stay home.
Teaching helps me. It helps me get outside. It helps me socialize. and it helps me develop, practice and enhance my craft.
For the winter it’s Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and that’s wonderful! See some of you tonight!
Oh Yeah – And I also talked a little while ago about stirring things up… so here’s my active contribution to the solution ( with my Bollywood For Fun gals to help)…
Thank you to all of the Seekers of Knowledge…
I was thinking this morning about how much effort it takes to get out and walk around in Ottawa in January; which then progressed to how I hope the side walks have settled back into walkable surfaces by next week, when I hope to being walking to classes in the evenings.
And then I thought about the participants in my classes who has made the commitment to get out there each week and join me in our learning adventure in dance.
So… wow…thanks ladies.
It’s not that I am just realizing now how amazingly important it is having willing victims, er, I mean, students, in order for this path I am on to continue, but sometimes it’s good to be reminded that without them, my life would change significantly.
Maybe I would sign up for lessons myself, if I had more available time….
Maybe I would do more art….
Likely I would spend a lot more snuggle time with SprocketMinPin during these cold winter months and not be as active as I should be { knowing oneself is important too}.
So THANK YOU to everyone who has chosen to come play with me and force me off the futon!
Whatever classes run next week, know that I super grateful for you! And we’re gonna play with zills– just a heads up !
Here’s some of my ladies doing their thing at one of our volunteer events – Keeping it fun!:
Wow- I’m so uncoordinated…I could never do that.
Sigh…
When I tell people I belly dance, that’s one of the “admiring” statements I hear.
And my brain says, “WHAAT?”
and my heart says, “sigh…”
I would love to write an inspiring post that would lift up the self esteem and belief systems of everyone who says that to me, so that they can see how belly dance is SO MUCH MORE than just dancing.
I would love to flick that switch in everyone who says, “I can’t do that”, to ” hmm, I want to see how I can do that”.
The most I can do is continue to share my love for this dance form, educate those interested in learning more, and flash a small smile to those who might be on the fence and encourage you to give it a try.
It’s okay if belly dance is not your thing. Maybe you are a runner, maybe yoga touches your heart, maybe walking is your happy place – and to all of this I say “YAY. you go!” And the best way to find “your thing” is to try out all of the potentials – when the right activity comes your way, you’ll feel it!
My approach to this dance form began with the phrase, “Belly Dancing For Fun” and I still use that to describe our performance group of rogue dancers, the nature of my classes and my general philosophy. If it’s not fun, why bother.
Belly dance can be fun – when one chooses to:
- accept that it’s a journey
- smile and laugh with classmates/troupe mates/audiences
- slow down { journey, remember}
- no really, slow down
- take that time to explore what CAN be done
- revel in those moments of achievement – you are learning!
- breathe
- go within and focus on what you are doing, ignoring the grocery list
- BE THERE – in class, in the performance, in the moment
- Slow down.
Belly dance saved me.
It brought me into a group of whacky women with whom I could not have found myself.
It brought me the courage to leave a deadend situation for a much better one { married to the AWeSOME @WTL since 1998!}
It allows me to play! Halyma has fun sparkly costumes, has fabulous long hair, a sense of feminine empowerment that permeates all of my life!
And while I never considered myself uncoordinated { except for those moments when I am taking a workshop with a master teacher and trying to figure out, What the heck?!? – then I slow down…} I never thought I would be dancing for an audience….
Ad it’s so cool now that I do it for a “job”!
Happy Holidays – see you January 13th, 2014
New video on youtube…
Another dance season winds down….
As I sit amongst a slew of costumes, paperwork, leftover bottles of water, and general mayhem after a night of barely sleeping { don’t have a burger at 10 p.m., just don’t}, I am grateful to read a slew of Facebook comments and emails that have been coming in since last night.
The simplest was:
Thanks, Tracey.
Great show. It was a lot of fun.
M
And others include kind words of support for a job well done { by more than me, but I’ll get to that}, awe at my costume { thanks to Shibori Borealis who created the skirt fabric}, and this snippet:
Just wanted to drop in a word to let you know that your performance yesterday was absolutely spectacular. The precision and the swiftness that you play with those bells (the ones you wore on your hands) is beyond me. And I have to make an additional comment to let you know that the best part I loved about your dance were your expressions and the way you connect with the audiences.
Makes me wanna take up belly dancing 🙂
And yes, a super duper congratulations to you for yet another successful event! D
And to everyone who was confused by the postcards with the dog on them – this is Sprocket and she was the dog on the postcards:
So there’s gratitude to be expressed.
Specifically: Erika, Megan, Linda, Laura, Michele, Tom, Katheryne, Emilie, Donna, Annie, Catharine.
Generally:
My students – you all did your best and I hope had loads of fun! Hope to see many of you in 2014, if not in my classes, dancing somewhere at least!
The teachers: Safiya and Anna, Antonina, Marina, Siddiqah, Eurika, Zamira, Lois, Jalilah, Suhani, Niki – thank you all for helping make this even happen by encouraging your students to perform and spending the time and energy getting them prepared to show up and show off!
The Sponsors { and the ticket winners – email me if your number is below – I have these prizes as yet unclaimed!}:
Eco-TAV – Claimed by Siddiqah on behalf of her student!
Live2Dance – Claimed by Loulouh for her student!
Kalyani- prize claimed
Leila – Prize claimed
Eurika- Prize claimed
Zamira – Prize claimed
Anna & Safiya – ticket # 225
Jalilah – Prize claimed
And the guests:
Without your support, coming out to see these dancers do their thing, there would be a much smaller event happening with a lot less energy and desire to be the best we can be. We all get into this for ourselves, and only some of us move into performing, but when we do, it’s because we want to see the look on your face when we do our thing. so thank you for honouring us with your presence and allowing us to glow a little brighter with your positive feedback!
There is a business aspect to these community events that goes beyond having an amazing crew of people who donate their time and energy. While I choose to invest time and money into creating this opportunity for all of my students and those of other teachers to be showcased, sometimes the numbers are very close to the line. Thanks to some very wonderful people who gave more than their ticket price in financial contributions, this show, though we did not sell out, did cover it’s expenses and allow me to look at donating a little bit to some of my favourite charities. Thank you- a LOT. I hope it’s okay that I am not going to single them out, but I know who you are and you know who you are, and my gratitude to you is immense as you helped reduce the burden so much that I can in turn pay it forward.
I have also created an invitation only flickr.com group where I am hoping folks will share any great photos they took last night with respect for each others wishes on public sharing { it’s not public unless you want it to be}, and you can message me { halyma@bellydancingforfun.com} if you would like to join.
Thanks again – and remember to SIGN UP FOR THE DANCERS’ NEWS :
TO SIGN UP:
Simply send an email to news-subscribe@bellydancingforfun.com and within a minute you should get an email asking for you to confirm that you want to sign up to the mailing list. Just click reply and then send! Thats it!
TO SEND IN YOUR INFO:
Send your text only information to: newsletter@bellydancingforfun.com with “Belly Dance news” in the subject line [or something equally creative!].
And CLASSES start in about a month!
Exploring your dance persona- have you met yours yet?
I had a few thoughts occur to me this week after participating in a wonderful class party hosted by Siddiqah of Fat Cat Bellydance here in Ottawa. My Bellywood with Halyma ladies came out to test drive our latest routine and one thing I had asked them to start considering at last week’s class was to create a character and start to play with that character for the routine.
The nature of this routine has a silly little story, which the audience is unlikely to notice, but it gives us as performers a direction to come from when approaching the moves.
So, upon seeing the execution of the routine at Friday evening’s party, I realized, as a teacher, I can help enlighten my students more by actually spending a few moments focusing on the dance persona and the difference between the everyday person and the “superstar” or “Diva” who graces the stage.
So first, let me introduce Tracey:
Tracey sews, bakes, has a fabulous husband, is sometimes seen as grumpy or scary { both usually pre-coffee/ in need of food, or peace and quiet}, enjoys camping, canoeing, cider,terrorizing their dog, Sprocket, and generally being a creative problem solver with introvert tendencies. She loves food, walking, and wearing comfy sweats and simple clothes that allow her to move and work with her sewing. She can sit and bead for hours, even longer when coffee and a muffin are supplied! And she enjoys quietly working alone.
And then there’s Halyma:
Slightly over the top, smiles as much as she can, plays with the audience, always wants a new costume and new music for every show, and tries to make sure everyone gets a chance to see her. She loves to invade your personal space until you smile too and likes to try to look pretty – even if Tracey has been over indulging in the carbs! She’s happy getting out and talking to people and introducing more and more people into her fave dance forms!
And yes, obviously, they are both me. But I was Tracey a long time before I met Halyma and started to get to know her.
When I first began dancing publicly, which I did not think I would do when I first started taking lessons, I looked at the floor, I did not smile and am grateful the early videotapes of my performances have all disappeared. But I did watch myself after every show and realized where I needed to change things up a bit. I am not talking about self criticizing where all the time is spent putting oneself down. I am referring to watching for ways to improve, enjoying the moments of, “Oh yeah, I felt great at that spot”, through to, “Oh, that’s what I look like when I am thinking too much…”.
And now, I teach, so I should also teach about ways to self-improve to my peeps! Sorry it took me so long, ladies! But now there’s no excuse, I’ve brought it up in class and have a blog post about it!
I asked my students to think about:
What do you enjoy when you watch another person dance?
What aspects of how they choose to present themselves can you relate to and start to emulate?
When you watch yourself on video, how can you improve?
What are the positives that can be built upon and exaggerated into your own magical Dancer?
And if you already have a dance name { not everyone does, not everyone needs/wants one, but it really helped me}, let her come out to play!
I realized I should express a bit more about this, and so…
Why do you dance?
Why do you perform?
And some suggestions that may or may not help 🙂
Even if you are trying to be sultry, coy, or anything seductive in your facial expressions, make sure your eyes are smiling.
If you are nervous about performing a choreography and how you might forget the moves, ( I relate, and forget quite often) keep it professional on stage – you screw up, it happens, KEEP SMILING and catch up. And practice- seriously practice.
If you are not sure, practice in front of a mirror. I remember having a discussion with an actor once as she commented she hated seeing herself in the mirror as it distracted her from actually bringing out the emotions from within, and I totally saw the point of that. Dance is like acting a bit, but it’s also like modelling, and it’s about creating beauty. Sometimes you need a bit of feedback to know if you’ve got the look you want. Practice with a mirror , then close your eyes and feel what your face and body are doing. Or use a camera and record yourself and again feel what you want to express.
There are so many more intense directions one can take as a dancer to help explore your dance persona – acting classes, other dance forms, using make-up and costumes to help develop your style.
I welcome more suggestions if you have found ways to help get out of your everyday person and becoming the goddess of dance within – please share them – we can all benefit!