I was a guest blogger on DanceAdvantage.net:
Guest Post: Am I Pretty? Exploring How Costumes Can Make The Dancer
The following is a guest post by Halyma [aka Tracey, designer, TAV
Creations]. She is a belly dancer and costumer, however, she offers
pointers and considerations on costuming, color, and expressing
oneself through their own creations …
Go to Dance Advantage’s blog to read it!
Click on the pic to see more shots by @wtl
Tracey/Halyma (The Dancers’ Bazaar Organizer) flinging her hair in her booth with Linda, originally uploaded by WTL-Ottawa.
Sunday, February 22, 2009 brought out over 20 vendors with oodles and oodles of belly dance wares, music, chocolates, health make-up, and more to the Knights’ of Columbus Hall at 260 McArthur.
It was the 19th Dancer’s Bazaar organized by me, and run with the help of a pile of fabulous volunteers, and my wonderful partner/husband/floor manager extraordinaire, Tom [ aka @wtl] .
The Hall set’s up the table, and then we arrive at about 8:45 am to survey their work and re-arrange based on specific vendor requests. And signs go up outside, and balloons are blown up and attached wherever they will look effective and eye-catching.
By 10 a.m. the main onslaught of vendors begin arriving, though a few arrive earlier and help with the pre-set up. And the volunteers get to pre-shop and help the vendors as they set up.
It is a crazy and fun morning setting up for the potential of 100s of shoppers coming through the doors starting at noon.
We had over 300 patrons come through for this one, and many bags were seen dangling of their arms as they left, so we know that some serious shopping was done! Yay!
Upcoming events were advertised, photos were taken, door prizes given out and Zahra Haddad graced us with a wonderful drumming demo and our favorite Bazaar floordancer, Mel, came through and provided some energy feedback as she usually does!
Thanks to all of the volunteers – I feel like I am being a slacker by not mentioning you all by name, but you know who you are – so thanks! And Congrats to @elkae as she won the volunteer door prize!
Thanks to the vendors who make the trip to join us for the day – some coming from as far away as Montreal, Sherbrooke, Mississauga and Barrie. And the local folks are providing gorgeous stuff too – so I am glad to provide a place for us all to showcase our stuff!
Plans are in motion for the next one, but I’ll focus on other things for a few weeks!
Review of Rachid Taha by Renee
In 2008, I attended my very first belly dance recital at the Bronson Centre in Ottawa. I was so thrilled to see all the beautiful costumes and watch the performers dance to inspiring music. The final act was performed by Halyma, who danced to an Arabic version of ‘Rock the Casbah’ by Rachid Taha, (a Clash cult classic). It was an auspicious ending to the evening.
Rachid Taha (born 1958 in Oran, Algeria) is a French-Algerian musician. His music is influenced by many different styles such as raï, techno, rock and punk. Based in Paris, France where he began his solo career after his beginnings as the leader of the French rock band “Carte de Séjour”, he usually sings in Arabic. Taha moved from Algeria to Alsace and then Vosges, France, where his father had already emigrated, in 1970. In 1981, while living in Lyon, France, Taha met Mohammed and Moktar Amini. The two of them, Rachid, Djamel Dif and Eric Vaquer would later form the band Carte de séjour (“residence permit”) and record their first maxi single Carte de Séjour in 1983. Their first LP Rhoromanie, came out in 1984. Their second and last LP entitled Deux et Demi was released in 1986 and included their famous and ironic cover of Douce France, originally.
(This information can be found on several websites.)
As I watched several live performances of Taha on YouTube, I witnessed a poised performer (much like any rock star) that punched out his songs with punk-like resonance, except in Arabic! I was really taken by Taha’s unconventional approach. Traditionally Arabic music conveys parables or love songs using metaphors. Taha has broken away from the conventional style and replaced it with his own sincere views on social and political observations.
Below is an excerpt from a general out bio of Taha’s life and accomplishments. You can also visit his web page and there are numerous links to interviews and music samples everywhere on the internet.
The following excerpts are from:
About Rachid Taha by Andy Morgan
Who are you?” “Who am I?” It sounds like there’s an existential storm broiling deep inside the soul of France’s number 1 musical upsetter. ‘Tékitoi?’, the title of the latest in a long line of probing, provocative and highly original Rachid Taha releases, is a punchy piece of French street lingo whose tone actually says something more like “Who the hell are you?”. If Taha is feeling the need to ask himself and others the most basic questions, then at least he’s doing it with all the verve and vivacity of a straight-jabbing southpaw boxer.
But that’s the man all over. Some strange mutation in the Taha gene over forty-six years ago created a phenomenon as rare as as an albino tiger; a musician of Arabic origin with the courage, intelligence and insight to speak the truth as he sees it, loud and direct, without the softening comforts of metaphor, parable or nostalgia. Or perhaps this uniqueness can be put down to the simple fact that music hit Taha, and vice versa, in the first few years of the 1980s, a period when rock’n’roll still meant rebellion rather than dollars, and when young North African immigrants and sons of immigrants living in France were beginning to shake off decades of timidity with their very own equivalent of America’s Black Pride movement.
…There, at ‘Les Refoulés’ (‘The Repressed’), Taha hit the decks and span everything from Oum Khalthoum to Kraftwerk, with salvos of The Clash, Led Zep, The Who, Neil Young and Johnny Cash mixed in between.
…And last, but by no means least, there’s ‘Rock El Casbah’. In 1982 a young and eager Rachid went to see The Clash at The Mogador in Paris. “I don’t know about the others, but I especially liked Joe Strummer’s sincerity, his humor, his awkwardness,” Rachid reflects. “He had nothing to do with that typical punk cynicism. This cover is a tribute to him really.” Before the gig at the Mogador, Rachid met the band, spoke to them for a few minutes and handed over a tape of Carte de Séjour songs. “I felt that they were interested,” remembers Rachid, “but when they didn’t get in touch afterwards I just thought that’s life.” “Having said that, when I heard ‘Rock the Casbah’ later that year, I thought that maybe something really had happened after all,” he adds with a wry mischievous smile.
For the full article by Andy Morgan, click here.
Ottawa Twestival pics by wtl. Click on pic to see more!
Ottawa Twestival, originally uploaded by WTL-Ottawa.
This past week brought two completely different but equally important events to Ottawa’s Byward Market.
On Sunday, February 8th, Shakti Fusion presented the Dark Fusion Cabaret at the Mercury Lounge. The evening featured local tribal style dancers, raks gothique, and dark fusion performances.
This type of show brings “belly dance” into the community in an artful and creative style that can be appreciated by those who enjoy a darker flavour to their entertainment!
ATS or American Tribal style belly dance has been around in the US for a while now, and has been making great headway in Canada. It offers a different approach to belly dance that appeals to many dancers, be it in the costuming, the structure, the group dynamics and/ or the music.
Raks Gothique, and a variety of darker fusion styles also appeal to new dancers who are more interested in dancing in a belly dance style, yet to music that is less arabic in nature { although there are some amazing pieces that bridge the styles for sure!}
There are some fabulous photos taken of the show by Lainie Cambria, viewable here on her online gallery.
The second show that happened this week was presented at the Ottawa Twestival on Thursday evening at Suite 34. I am a member of the international online community/social media network,Twitter. In a very short time, one of the Canadian members, Amanda Rose, took it upon herself to start the ball rolling for a one day fundraiser to raise $1 million for the Charity: Water.
And it worked. In over 200 cities, all over the world, February 12th brought out many twitter members to their local Twestival events.
Online video podcasters got together to create a video to explain and promote the concept.
When I first heard about it, I realized that this might be a fun opportunity to bring the Belly Dancing For Fun Dancers out to play and asked the organizers if they thought this would be of interest. @bitpakkit and @sassymonkey { their Twitter ids} were my main contacts and they were very receptive to the idea!
I contacted the ladies and we made our plans! We chose costumes and I mixed some classic cabaret tunes into a 15 minute track that allowed us to create an energetic and fun improvised dance show!
We had a blast bringing the awareness of cabaret style belly dance to a community of social media folk who, for the most part, have not actually had the opportunity to see belly dance in person before this!
I think we are already booked for next year!
Click on the main pic to take you to @WTL‘s flickr page to see more shots from the day!
Holly, a lovely young woman, also known as “the Chosen One” has been making some major efforts to get of her comfort zone for the past three weeks.
As the winner of a contest being held by Ottawa’s Hot 89.9 fm, she has been meeting every challenge set before her in order to win a nice stack of cash at the end of it all.
At the beginning of this week, I received a call from Josie, one of the hosts of the Morning Hot Tub radio show, inquiring about coming out to my class through the Old Ottawa South Community centre.
Now, I don’t actually listen to Hot 89.9fm. I had no idea what was going on, but I am sure Josie thought I would have some clue about the contest so did not really explain too much about it. As far as I knew, it was a cool idea, and that Holly would come, try the class, and if she liked it perhaps she would sign up afterwards.
I have a policy of “First Class Free” to encourage people to try it, as they either like it and sign up right away, or at least head off knowing that they were given a generous chance to experience it.
On Monday, I got a second call asking if Holly could recruit some people to come out as well. I said , yeah, sure, it is a small class, so there is room for some extra people, no problem.
That evening, I had arrived early as usual, was all set up and then headed out to the ladies room since I did not see anyone yet looking like they were lost. Oh – they were in the hallway, getting a bit turned around! I yelled down and pointed them in the right direction while I dealt with my trip across the hall.
I got back into the gym where I teach the class a few minutes later, and they were chatting excitedly about Holly’s new hair style [ looked very nice], some of her other challenges, and life in general as the ladies she had brought were friends.
Jenny, the other co-host of the show, had come with her, and was taking photos of the group { hope to see those soon} and everyone was having a pretty relaxed time, but there seemed to be a bit of underlying tension or uncertainty.
Since none of the other students had arrived yet, I thought I should try to connect at least a bit and was curious about the contest, so I was able to get more info about the whole thing by asking a few questions and joining in the conversation a bit. Then I started taking pics of them, so that also helped them relax!
Eventually, the regulars arrived, the 4 newbies were sheathed in chiffon veils, and we started class.
My usual caveats of “knees bent, hips tucked”, and “if it hurts, stop” were issued, and off we went.
They did as well as anyone would at their first class, and some of the group were actually already dancers I think, so they caught on pretty quickly!
Overall, I think they had fun, and while they may not take it again, I think there was some new respect generated for this fabulous dance form!
Thanks for coming out to play ladies!
You can check out Holly’s own thoughts here!
Oh, and I was surprised at how many of my own students were, “Is that Holly?” “Is that The Chosen One?”
I do live under a rock obviously!
I am so gratefull to have received the first two of many more guest posts to come! Please welcome Aspa as she shares her journey into belly dance!
We Are All Dancers
By Aspa
I was never a woman who was comfortable with her body. As we know, there are a lot of social influences that affect women’s perceptions of their bodies. Being academically inclined, I had the additional challenge of always thinking of myself as a brain with legs. When I turned 40, my life changed drastically because of external circumstances I could not control. It was at this point that belly dancing came into my life.
There was so much change already, so much that was new. I think I had to challenge every limiting thought I had ever had about myself — including about my body and my relationship to it. My body was more than just a carrier for my brain, after all.
So I took a class. And to my amazement, I learned to move my hips — in front of other people no less! Flash forward in time, and I am showing my cousins how to do the camel at Christmas dinner!
When friends or colleagues ask me about belly dancing , I always tell them how important it has been to building my confidence and my self-esteem. I always tell them, too, how wonderful it is to see women of all ages and body types expressing themselves and their femininity through this form. More and more, too, I am growing to enjoy the sense of community I see — belly dancing brings together women from all walks of life to celebrate the beauty of movement and the strength to be found in that.
Ever being in the pursuit of knowledge (not everything in my life changed!), I have also come to appreciate learning about different cultures through belly dancing — it is truly cross-cultural. I have been fascinated by how belly dancing persists as a form not only across cultures but across time because it adapts to context. We can see this with the newer styles of belly dancing, which are very much adapted to contemporary times. This ability to adapt is what keeps belly dancing so alive and so vital as a form of expression.
I still consider myself a beginner belly dancer. But one thing I never say any more is that I am not a dancer. Because I am! I learned that I could be graceful and sensual in my movements, and that we are all dancers. The limiting thoughts I once had about my body are gone now. I have gone from “I can’t possibly do that” to “I can do that — with patience and with practice.” And a touch of bravery.
Belly dancing came into my life in a time of crisis. The crisis passed, but the dancing stayed, and for that, I am grateful. Through belly dancing, we honour our uniqueness and our strength, our ability to endure just as surely as the form itself has endured the centuries.
Aspa is a student of Zena’s at Dance with Alana Studios.
Just a quick additional note regarding my previous post – the DVDs are out and should be shipped soon to those who ordered them!
Here is my clip – just ’cause!
[youtube=http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=8F3BmhnLA90]
Click on the pic for a few more photos!
Live Artfully – backstage, originally uploaded by campdancer2000.
My thanks to Vashti and Erika for being able to come out and join me at the Bay, Bayshore!
We performed as part of the entertainment between fashion show sets during the Live Artfully Funky Fashion show.
Performing at these events can be approached from a few viewpoints, but really adaptability is what is needed. That and professionalism! And these ladies were great for both!
Actually most of my Belly Dancing For Fun Dancers have behaved professionally and been flexible – that’s why I choose to work with them!
We arrived with the barest of information – only having been able to confirm the evening before what length of time our show was going to be. So, dropping from 15 minutes that included a few solos, to 5 minutes, of short and sweet intermission time dancing was not so bad.
Note: Sometimes organizers forget that the performers actually need to know what is going on, other than be there on this date for this time! We were not the only performers in the event and I think the others were given the same kind of haphazard information. What matters is how you deal with it – I don’t want to train this organizer that it is okay to wreak havoc by not giving out pertinent information, but I also want her to know that we can work with last minute changes to the plan in a friendly and self-sufficient way.
We knew where to meet, and that our contact would arrive to take us to the changing room when she passed by – she was dealing with a lot so no worries there. I always try to imagine the worst case, and in many situations it involves stepping around a corner and dropping the cover up and placing our stuff near the dj booth or backstage – out of the way, but handy. Fortunately, she arrived and we headed off with her so that final costume adjustments could be dealt with!
When we got there , we found the main stage quickly enough so before even seeing our contact, we met the Dj. I gave him our cd, so that was taken care of – I try to always make sure I talk to the dj directly if I can. The few times that someone else has offered to take the cd to the dj has seemed to go badly, so lesson learned.
We were told to come out when we were ready, so that meant we would use our veils as cover-ups for the few minutes that we would be waiting for our time on stage. That gave us a bit more time to see how the crowd was filling up and decide on a “game plan”.
With no advance knowledge of the staging area for events, it is not worth trying to establish much of an advance plan. You brainstorm when you get there and be creative and flexible, assuming that if one of the group forgets, everyone keeps smiling and works it out somehow!
The plan worked perfectly! Three dancers: Vashti with her large veil up on the catwalk first with Erika and I worked our large veils while off on the sidelines amongst the crowd, ready to be cued up. Then Erika took the catwalk and showed off her double veils [ I assume from the Veiled Eye] at the time in the music when she knew would work for them. Then she cued me up and I was able to play up the taxim and have some fun!
And then I invited them back onto the catwalk with me, sans veils and we all were able to improvise, switching places as we danced, taking turns at the front, and playing with the crowd!
It was fun, short and sweet, and a great experience! I even had one of the audience chase after us as we were off and done to find out where she could take classes! Her kind words included how she was sitting with her Lebanese friends and they were very impressed with my dancing – always a bonus for the ego!
We had time to head back stage, get some quick shots and then change into regular clothes as WTL and I were heading off to a wedding east of Ottawa. I love the fast and furious shows – you get ready, dance and go!
And the video clip![youtube=http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=iHmbIcEphgo]
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]