tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2322687640109097642024-03-04T20:58:56.230-08:00Belly Dance BlogBelly Dance Blog - Advice, Discussion, Questions and Answers from Suzy Evans about all things Belly Dance!Suzy's Belly Dance Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11169743693197756283noreply@blogger.comBlogger112125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-232268764010909764.post-11240082808815129862014-07-21T18:35:00.000-07:002014-07-21T19:08:03.077-07:00Midnight at the Oasis<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">Remember this song?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some of you won’t or maybe you have heard the song many
years since it was released in 1974.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Midnight at the Oasis was written by David Nichtern and sung by Maria
Muldaur.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some of were inspired by its
lyrics, not to mention the song is simply beautiful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here are the lyrics of the song with a link at the bottom to
the song itself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Please
enjoy!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">Midnight
at the Oasis<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">Written by David Nichtern<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Singer: Maria Muldaur<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">Midnight at the oasis<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">Send your camel to bed<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">Shadows paintin' our faces<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">Traces of romance in our heads<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">Heaven's holdin' a half-moon<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">Shinin' just for us<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">Let's slip off to a sand dune<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">Real soon and kick up a little
dust<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">Come on, Cactus is our friend<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">He'll point out the way<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">Come on, till the evenin' ends<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">Till the evenin' ends<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">You don't have to answer<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">There's no need to speak<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">I'll be your belly dancer<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">Prancer and you can be my sheik<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">I know your daddy's a sultan<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">A nomad known to all<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">With fifty girls to attend him,
they all send him<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">Jump at his beck and call<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">But you won't need no harem, honey<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">When I'm by your side<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">And you won't need no camel, no no<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">When I take you for a ride<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">Come on, Cactus is our friend<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">He'll point out the way<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">Come on, till the evenin' ends<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">Till the evenin' ends<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">Midnight at the oasis<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">Send your camel to bed<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">Shadows paintin' our faces<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">Traces of romance in our heads<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">Oh, come on<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">Oh come on<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">Oh, yeah<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">Oh, yeah<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJBCv04U1pBn8hfXoVUJtt6gz8vJc-CUxTjaWbr_mkAhCDYN1cLnaZPdPiNNjd0AU1TOsyZyRLqDLY3rN-EdW0Y538jVnYEC1wro7Ra86ftacKA7VOfSkCzvBpbBElMfk2YVHtVSoGtilA/s1600/MariaMuldaur.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJBCv04U1pBn8hfXoVUJtt6gz8vJc-CUxTjaWbr_mkAhCDYN1cLnaZPdPiNNjd0AU1TOsyZyRLqDLY3rN-EdW0Y538jVnYEC1wro7Ra86ftacKA7VOfSkCzvBpbBElMfk2YVHtVSoGtilA/s1600/MariaMuldaur.jpg" height="320" width="255" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Maria Muldaur</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><a href="http://youtu.be/VlrKETxwRvM">Midnight at the Oasis</a></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Come by and visit us at </span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://www.bellydance.org/">BellyDance.org </a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><br /></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Suzy's Belly Dance Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11169743693197756283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-232268764010909764.post-80225833138040526302014-05-12T16:49:00.003-07:002014-05-13T12:20:49.078-07:00Is it Belly Dance or Bellydance? <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Although I am not 100%
sure the exact date when it happened or in what context; I do believe I have a
good idea who, what and why some in the belly dance community started spelling
and referring to belly dance as “bellydance” – one word. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I don’t see spelling
“belly dance” as one word as anything negative at all and view it as just a
personal preference for some dancers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I do however prefer - as most other dancers and the public at large do -
to spell it as two words. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I believe this trend
started as a positive attempt to gain more legitimacy for our art form. It was
in the early to mid 1990s when some started using the one word term. The first
time I remember seeing “belly dance” spelled as “bellydance” was Atea’s instructional
videos.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even in the 1990s we were
still dealing with negative stereotypes left over from the 1970s. Everyone who
belly danced in the 1970s remembers how we fought hard against being referred
to as strippers or just a small step above.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>None of us wanted to be automatically tied in with strippers
or worse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hey! We were serious
about our dancing!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Although most of us would
have preferred a more dignified term for our dance such as Raks Sharki or the
more generic term “Middle Eastern Dance”, it is the term “belly dance” that
stuck in minds of the public and it became clear that it was an exercise in
futility to educate the public at large otherwise. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> (See also a related article "<a href="http://www.bellydance.org/articles/naming.html">Naming the Dance</a>")</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">In the early years of
IAMED I also adopted the spelling as “bellydance”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The flyers for the awards shows as well as the original VHS
covers were “<a href="http://www.bellydance.org/shop/awards-belly-dance-collection-p-126.html">The First Awards of Bellydance</a>”, etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">By the early 2000s, I
changed to “belly dance” in main part because the general public rarely spelled
it any other way. So, yes – I embraced “belly dance”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The other reason I went
to the 2 word spelling was that I started noticing dancers also using the
terms: “bellydancer” and “bellydancing”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I have no objection to dancers doing this, but frankly I think the words
“bellydancing” and “bellydancer” just looks odd.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">In the end no matter how
you shake it (pun intended) it just matters that you dance. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Please leave me comments
and thoughts on this subject.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’d
like to know your thoughts and opinions. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0GOD10F-z6zEGPNj9kIDmMGDnfUqSX_1Ka3X6iFvypn3hK70UCGbyt-bt458hIaVoznbEIo046PoTBqP4HUdet6V2xLIX7CHnyPP8xgJSglqezgqPxOcCMKig_NQY0Ep-R8jA_WoomkdQ/s1600/4th13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0GOD10F-z6zEGPNj9kIDmMGDnfUqSX_1Ka3X6iFvypn3hK70UCGbyt-bt458hIaVoznbEIo046PoTBqP4HUdet6V2xLIX7CHnyPP8xgJSglqezgqPxOcCMKig_NQY0Ep-R8jA_WoomkdQ/s1600/4th13.jpg" height="400" width="257" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Hadia in the 4th<br />Awards of Belly Dance</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Please pay us a visit at <a href="http://BellyDance.org/">BellyDance.org</a></span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Suzy's Belly Dance Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11169743693197756283noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-232268764010909764.post-48756359055902075702014-03-31T21:06:00.001-07:002014-03-31T21:34:11.802-07:00MECDA 1977 – 2014 The End of an Era<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">It is the end of an era
for the local organization in Los Angeles known as MECDA – The Middle Eastern
Culture and Dance Association has closed its doors – so to speak – as of April
1, 2014.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I was there when the
organization was formed back in 1977. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">(Scroll to bottom to view an application form circa 1978) </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I don’t know that it was the first belly
dance organization, but it was one of the first. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;">The original name of the
club – and the one most of us preferred - was Middle Eastern Cabaret Dancers
Association. It was formed originally as a union for working dancers. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I remember well the belly dancers such
as Feiruz picketing with signs in hand outside nightclubs in Hollywood. The
membership at the beginning was limited to working nightclub dancers, but that
soon changed and membership was open to all.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Quickly the club started
to present workshops and the festival, later known as Cairo Carnival.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every year we looked forward to hanging
out with our belly dancer friends, performing and shopping at our own local
festival here in L.A. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The other great benefit
from MECDA was the Cymbal magazine and the monthly Happenings. The Happenings
kept us informed of any workshops and events for that month. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">As the organization grew,
it started local chapters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
belonged to one of the first ones: The High Desert Chapter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I never did live in the high desert, (I
lived in the San Fernando Valley) but the dancer who ran it – Sue Turner - was
looking for members and I guess she considered the San Fernando Valley was
close enough. Soon I was a board member for the chapter and I attended the
monthly board meetings for years. We sometimes had a booth at Cairo Carnival. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I became much less active
in MECDA when I formed <a href="http://www.bellydance.org/">IAMED</a> in 1996, as that took up all my time, spare and
otherwise. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was there as a
regular vendor at Cairo Carnival starting in 1997 promoting all things
IAMED.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">About 5-6 years ago I sat
down with some of the board members of MECDA. It had been more than a decade
since I had attended one of their meetings. I can’t remember if I was invited
or I just invited myself to the meeting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>At that time they were looking at folding it up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were experiencing some problems including
the fact that some board members were burnt out after volunteering much of
their spare time for many, many years to MECDA.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were short on quality people who wanted to keep it
going.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can’t remember some of
the other issues, but I went to the meeting to help with solutions so that
MECDA would continue to function and hold events, etc. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Well, it did keep going,
as least for several more years, but the problems unfortunately multiplied,
mainly mismanagement by a new leader. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">(They should have
listened to me.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">For me personally, I
think it will take me a couple of years to believe that MECDA is gone. It was
big part of my life for decades.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
find the demise of MECDA incredibly sad. I do have my pictures and memories of
the good times. I only hope in the coming years a new and exciting version of
MECDA will form in Los Angeles. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">And don’t worry about
<a href="http://www.bellydance.org/">IAMED</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As long as I’m still
breathing we’ll be here annoying you for years to come. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Suzy Evans</span> <span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://BellyDance.org/">BellyDance.org</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p> *****</o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">You can view the final
MECDA letter by going to <a href="http://www.mecda.org/">www.mecda.org</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Or just read it here
below: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Dear Dancers
and MECDA Supporters,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">This is a
really hard letter to write, but we believe we owe it to you to be as
transparent as possible about MECDA, an organization you have long supported.
As an organization that was founded in the 1970s, it has had a storied history
promoting and sharing Middle Eastern dance culture for over four decades. MECDA
has touched and inspired many of us to start dancing and performing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">In 2013, MECDA
underwent a massive leadership shift in a strong attempt to reinvigorate the
organization. Previous longrunning financial mismanagement, poor
organizational leadership and lack of adherence to norms of nonprofit
management led to a perfect storm: MECDA had become a nonprofit organization
serving a dance community that had long lost its faith in it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">It is a body
blow that few nonprofits can recover from, even though the newly constituted
Central Board, a small, committed group of people, worked long hours putting
their time, energy and financial health on the line to bring MECDA back from
the brink.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">But sometimes
when something is broken, it is really broken and can’t be fixed. The new Board
has tried over the past twelve months to right wrongs, pay people back, develop
better financial and business organization, rebuild our online community and
plan a better Cairo Caravan. However, in December, MECDA was notified by the
IRS that due to a lack of tax filings since 2010, MECDA had lost its
taxexempt—and therefore nonprofit—status. We stared into the abyss and it
stared back.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">We realized it
would take $20,000 MECDA didn’t have to run Cairo Caravan with no guarantee
that we would break even this year whilst working through a heavy backlog of
debts accumulated under the previous leadership. In a constrained economic
climate, dance festival attendance is dropping across the board. MECDA
membership has been dropping precipitously in recent years, and the hollowed
out membership base has made the organization’s position untenable.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">We knew a year
ago that Cairo Caravan would be the event that would either herald a new start
for MECDA or the moment where we reevaluated MECDA’s continued existence. As
the Central Board, we have to do what is most responsible for the organization
and for the community. Therefore, we are canceling Cairo Caravan and are
folding MECDA, effective April 1, 2014.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">MECDA may not
have been well managed in the past few years, but we are determined to wind it
down in the most responsible way we can. With the cash we have on hand, we will
pay back people who invested Cairo Caravan most heavily, starting with workshop
ticket holders and gala ticket holders, instructors and vendors. The details of
how we will rectify the financial picture will be communicated individually.
MECDA Chapters will be responsible for disbursing what is remaining in their
local coffers in a locally appropriate manner, whether it is donating to a
local good cause, reinvesting it into a community event, or paying off any remaining
debts. We are doing this because you deserved better, whether you were a MECDA
member, previous festival attendee, or a member of the dance community. You
deserve a Middle Eastern dance nonprofit organization that was as relevant and
meaningful to you in 2014 as MECDA was in 1977, and you deserve nonprofit
leadership that is accountable and responsive.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">If you have
questions, please contact president@mecda.org and the entire Central Board will
read and discuss your concerns and may be addressed publicly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">We know that
this is a difficult time for all of us, but we appreciate your patience and
consideration as we try to set things as right as we wind down MECDA.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">See you on the horizon, Rom, Tim,
Barbara and Rosa</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">MECDA Application Form</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">MECDA Application Form</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Suzy's Belly Dance Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11169743693197756283noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-232268764010909764.post-71691353541895647232014-01-27T18:40:00.000-08:002014-01-28T21:03:28.224-08:00BellyDance.org 15th Anniversary<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It occurred to me just a few weeks ago that we were coming up on an important anniversary that happens this week. On January 31st 1999 I purchased the domain name </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">BellyDance.org. Within weeks <a href="http://BellyDance.org/">BellyDance.org</a> went live. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The International Academy of Middle Eastern Dance aka IAMED did have an internet presence prior to 1999. In the early days of the internet there were small internet companies that for a small fee would add you to there site. In this case their was company called Web Access that taught basic website design in the San Fernando Valley. I was living in North Hollywood at the time and my boyfriend Terry took a couple of classes from the company. We set up the original website under WebAccess.com/bellydance (no need to look at it, it's long gone and the company sold off their domain name years ago). The site was several pages and contained all the basic information about IAMED. I only have vague memories of the original design but it was very rudimentary and by today's standards would look <i>very</i> dated. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Since 1999 we have grown from just a few pages to many, many pages of information, videos, store and more. Since it's inception it has consistently been one of the most popular belly dance websites on the internet. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It seems quite strange that it has been 15 years. Didn't we just celebrate the 10th anniversary? </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Over the years <a href="http://BellyDance.org/">BellyDance.org</a> has gone through several re-designs and will likely go through another one by the end of this year making for an even more exciting website experience including more articles, reviews, lots of beautiful photos and my blog. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb-7mzorS-k_AMckxxzTiyXL8L4brNHTGOjzJEhLrgCBaTmrp_bd0SiCBoT5zq_xSpQoKPb7Zr-0kD5F7yz8ZBEi_yFCC1sFoMqgL2qhwgufmu3bASDetCHCQODZsTydmCgttR9cRoRi9G/s1600/Michele.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb-7mzorS-k_AMckxxzTiyXL8L4brNHTGOjzJEhLrgCBaTmrp_bd0SiCBoT5zq_xSpQoKPb7Zr-0kD5F7yz8ZBEi_yFCC1sFoMqgL2qhwgufmu3bASDetCHCQODZsTydmCgttR9cRoRi9G/s1600/Michele.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mychelle<br />Photo by Javier Padilla</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Suzy's Belly Dance Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11169743693197756283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-232268764010909764.post-17283095952178948312013-10-31T12:00:00.001-07:002013-10-31T12:02:23.819-07:00Before Egypt Was<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A couple of weeks ago I attended an art show in Culver City. I only took a few photos while there. This was one of them. I found this piece very interesting.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq70CWen1riTISeQBFfXbSrvLj-AyQsyeMl4gwPPnB-FrqMrHGt50lnsw0MIongJRHDMfJixFkRYeY4_STkcC4CcXnrhCQjpFqcCuz-MUJuLu2bJog0wk4nlZZgDz7X8E378ovVDcs6vz9/s1600/BeforeEgyptWas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq70CWen1riTISeQBFfXbSrvLj-AyQsyeMl4gwPPnB-FrqMrHGt50lnsw0MIongJRHDMfJixFkRYeY4_STkcC4CcXnrhCQjpFqcCuz-MUJuLu2bJog0wk4nlZZgDz7X8E378ovVDcs6vz9/s640/BeforeEgyptWas.jpg" width="523" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Before Egypt Was</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Eduard Buk Ulreich</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Oil on Canvas, Circa 1940</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://BellyDance.org/">BellyDance.org</a></span></div>
</div>
Suzy's Belly Dance Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11169743693197756283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-232268764010909764.post-26433099611036073972013-10-28T16:12:00.004-07:002013-10-28T16:20:37.931-07:00Brain-ella - The Belly Dancing Brain <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Brain-ella – The Belly Dancing Brain<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Recently I was reminded of one of the
times I was the MC for a belly dance event. During the 1990s I was the MC for a
monthly showcase in Studio City at The Marrakesh restaurant and sometimes would
MC other events. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">I unexpectedly ran into Anisa earlier this month at a non-belly dance show in North Hollywood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anisa produces the dinner show King Tut
Returns every October. This year marks her 18<sup>th</sup> anniversary of the
show. Incredible!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Time flies by
too fast. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">I was the MC for the show the first
couple of years. The first year I MCed as Elvis and second year I was myself
except that the show started off with my friend Brain-ella.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, Brain-ella.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was yet another of my crazy
creations, this one especially for Halloween. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">I found a high quality rubber-like
brain at a store - not one of those cheap plastic kind of brains. Since brains are brains and have no limbs or a torso; the only way I
could give her a belly dance costume was wrapping a silver sequins belt around
her middle. I then sat her on a stool on the stage. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">The script for the show is either
lost or stuck in a box in storage somewhere but basically it went like this:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">“Hello, I am Brain-ella; the belly
dancing brain. Yes, I know I don’t have legs and arms to dance, but I do have
great rhythm, I can even shimmy if I try real hard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don’t you love my costume?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I designed it myself. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Brain-ella is not my real name. It’s
my dance name. We belly dancers always have a dance name. I did consider other dance names such as:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sarah-Bellum, Thala-mus, and my favorite: </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;">Medulla Oblongata.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;">Please do enjoy the show.”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">I bet the belly dancers that happen
to also be brain surgeons reading this are just doubled over in laughter right now. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Unfortunately I don’t think I have
any pictures of Brain-ella, but I do have some great memories.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Have a great Halloween! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiScqHV6se7PBvlN4vAUC4RzxFuavvp14YqMUagWKABH-pqgURaGNMjbU0UCudLTadRn3-TQ2-I-0aFPiz4nvGJt92QLi8pQYNTuilDvHV8qk0TVe8c17A_FWnsigJ46J4cF-4R9aoq2RzK/s1600/small-rubber-half-brain-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiScqHV6se7PBvlN4vAUC4RzxFuavvp14YqMUagWKABH-pqgURaGNMjbU0UCudLTadRn3-TQ2-I-0aFPiz4nvGJt92QLi8pQYNTuilDvHV8qk0TVe8c17A_FWnsigJ46J4cF-4R9aoq2RzK/s320/small-rubber-half-brain-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Brain-ella looked something like this, but more awesome...with a very nice sequin belt.<br /><br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Please pay us a visit at</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://BellyDance.org/">BellyDance.org</a></span><!--EndFragment-->Suzy's Belly Dance Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11169743693197756283noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-232268764010909764.post-24143926448615221822013-10-14T12:30:00.001-07:002013-10-14T17:20:42.560-07:00The Joyous Debke Dance!<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;"><u>The Joyous Debke Dance!</u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">If
you have experienced Middle Eastern Dance for any length of time or gone to an
Arabic night club you have probably seen and experienced an energetic and
fascinating dance called the Dabke. I refer to it as the most joyous dance in the world! </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">According
to one folk tradition, the dance originated in the Levant where houses were
built from stone with a roof made of wood, straw and dirt. The dirt roof had to
be compacted which required stomping the dirt hard in a uniform way to compact
it evenly. This event of cooperation is called <i>ta'awon</i> and
from here comes the word <i>awneh</i>, meaning "help." This developed
into the song <i>Ala Dalouna</i>, or roughly translated "Let's go and
help". The dabke and the rhythmic songs go together in an attempt to keep
the work fun and useful.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">I didn’t realize there
were numerous ways to spell Dabke. I’d been spelling it “Debke”, which is one of
many ways to spell it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The word Dabke is also
transliterated to"dabka","dabki", "dabkeh",
"debke", "debkah", "debki", "debka" is
an Arab folk dance native to the levant. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The dance is popular
in Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, Bosnia, Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. A
line dance, it is widely performed at weddings and joyous occasions. The line
forms from right to left. The leader of the dabke heads the line, alternating
between facing the audience and the other dancers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">World Record Debke:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In August 2011, a group in a Lebanese village Dhour El Choueir, Lebanon set a new world
record. Organized by Dhour El Choueir Summer Festival, a human chain of 5,050
was made and currently holds the world record.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dhour El Choueir event broke the record set by
Tollab, Lebanese Student Federation in Montreal, with the
participation of "La Troupe Folklorique Les Chevaliers du Liban" that
had made a human chain of 4,475 people dancing the <i>dabke</i> for more than
five minutes straight at Montreal's Marcelin Wilson Park.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Tollab had itself broken a record of 2,743 set
by a group of Israeli Arabs in Acre, Israel. An earlier
record of 1,700 had been set in Toronto.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhoRLiWCGWxIXTWlSYNldRpfD2hLw4Kap0KpqTzVXy7NtLUViDHByzkNEVlINPrRx3_KLz0bAPMLdmIGffW6uBulotkYcsUw_TG8eMHmUzBaAfbwdf5f0CpwPPX8aNUpv6rQkuNY2trfYv/s1600/Dabkemen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhoRLiWCGWxIXTWlSYNldRpfD2hLw4Kap0KpqTzVXy7NtLUViDHByzkNEVlINPrRx3_KLz0bAPMLdmIGffW6uBulotkYcsUw_TG8eMHmUzBaAfbwdf5f0CpwPPX8aNUpv6rQkuNY2trfYv/s320/Dabkemen.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Guys doing the Debke!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRaKJ26EUrJNxztKF5s5mlyz7Q6r2U95kSyz-isgrgg7G_7rTKAal_C0qsVcWS7ieyy8AsUwd6C6RqLbF-7I7TGmCVTD9t3GDUGKULoMg4blJNjFQqTyuJiPDxGg86OqUZgUewBUlFRvsn/s1600/DabkeDancers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRaKJ26EUrJNxztKF5s5mlyz7Q6r2U95kSyz-isgrgg7G_7rTKAal_C0qsVcWS7ieyy8AsUwd6C6RqLbF-7I7TGmCVTD9t3GDUGKULoMg4blJNjFQqTyuJiPDxGg86OqUZgUewBUlFRvsn/s400/DabkeDancers.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Everybody doing the Dabke!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Visit us at <a href="http://BellyDance.org/">BellyDance.org</a></span></div>
</div>
<!--EndFragment-->Suzy's Belly Dance Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11169743693197756283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-232268764010909764.post-85051428291525944462013-10-10T11:45:00.002-07:002013-10-10T11:46:25.835-07:00Top Tips to Get Belly Dance Gigs<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Top Tips to Get Belly Dance Gigs<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">These gigs would apply to performing at parties, restaurants
and teaching. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Here they are in no specific order:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Personal
networking - Attend local events of any kind, business and social. Be sure to
have plenty of business cards to hand out. Don’t just limit yourself to the
dance community; everyone is a potential employer. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Social
Media – You need at least a FaceBook account. Add and interact with new friends
that are both in and out of the belly dance world. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Call and pay
personal visits to: Gyms, dance studios, restaurants, other dancers, and
friends old and new. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Make
partners with other dancers you admire and respect. Collaboration can only help
your career in dance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhgWVFHoLiXsi6V8O6G1cZtxz1Br72PVOsI7Mc2dqH1aLRVDBNc3Qv8wzDej4Q5O9-mQwU7PODBQ7BDYU2qWWpghpYWfHFNnTcI8uKjp2Oebl6tJMD31SKRSP1mmUBQzT1wOYkZ6kYAUgt/s1600/belly_fb_copy-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="147" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhgWVFHoLiXsi6V8O6G1cZtxz1Br72PVOsI7Mc2dqH1aLRVDBNc3Qv8wzDej4Q5O9-mQwU7PODBQ7BDYU2qWWpghpYWfHFNnTcI8uKjp2Oebl6tJMD31SKRSP1mmUBQzT1wOYkZ6kYAUgt/s400/belly_fb_copy-2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Visit us at <a href="http://BellyDance.org/">BellyDance.org</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Suzy's Belly Dance Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11169743693197756283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-232268764010909764.post-5832548373563874332013-09-23T15:20:00.000-07:002013-09-23T15:22:29.200-07:00Ruth St Denis ~ An Inspiration to All Dancers<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">Ruth
St Denis ~ Inspiration to All Dancers<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';"><br /></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue';">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">“It
is not a question of who dances but of who or what does not dance.” – Ruth St
Denis<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">I’ve
been interested and intrigued by Ruth St Denis since I was a teenager. While she
was not a belly dancer, her ethnic inspired choreographies gave rise to an
interest in ethnic dance in the United States. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">She
was teacher to dance immortals Ted Shawn, Martha Graham, Lillian Powell and
Evan Burrows Fontaine. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">Ruth
St. Denis married Ted Shawn and together they created “Denishawn” known as the
cradle of American modern dance. Ruth and Ted also created the legendary dance
festival known as “Jacob’s Pillow”. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">In
the late 1990s I paid a visit to Valentina Oumansky’s Dance Foundation on
Cahuenga Boulevard next to the Hollywood Hills.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was the same and last studio where Ruth St. Denis taught
up until her death in 1968. I remember Ms Oumansky telling me that Ruth St
Denis like to be referred to as Miss Ruth. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><o:p>If you are just discovering Ruth St Denis, please learn more about her. She was a true original. </o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">“The
real message of the Dance opens up the vistas of life to all who have the urge
to express beauty with no other instrument than their own bodies, with no
apparatus and no dependence on anything other than space.” – Ruth St Denis<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">Please visit our website <a href="http://BellyDance.org/">BellyDance.org</a></span></div>
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<!--EndFragment-->Suzy's Belly Dance Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11169743693197756283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-232268764010909764.post-57448646678245759342013-07-15T18:02:00.000-07:002013-07-15T21:12:47.254-07:00Mata Hari - Dancer and Spy<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Most of us have seen
those wonderful vintage postcards with Mata Hari's photograph on them, but most
of us know little about her. I recently decided to do some research on her and
found that there was a great deal more to her than what she became most known
for and that was being a spy.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Her real name was
Margaretha Geertruida Zelle and she was born in the Netherlands on August 7,
1876. When she was 18 she answered and ad in a Dutch newspaper placed by Dutch
Colonial Army Captain Rudolf MacLeod who was looking for a wife. At the time he
was living in Dutch East Indies - which is now Indonesia. They married in 1895.
Her new husband was twenty years her senior. They had two children Norman-John
MacLeod and Louise Jeanne MacLeod. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Their marriage was a
disaster for Margaretha. Her husband was an alcoholic and he took out his
frustrations on his wife plus he had a concubine. Margaretha moved out and
moved in with another Dutch officer. She became interested in Indonesian
traditions, began studying dance and joined a dance company. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">In 1897 she officially
adopted the name Mara Hari - meaning "Sun" in Indonesian. She and her
husband divorced in 1907. Sadly, both of her children died young - both from
complications of syphilis that they contracted from their parents. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Margaretha moved to
Paris in 1903. Before Mata Hari rose to fame as an exotic dancer she
performed as a circus horse rider and an artist's model. By 1905, Mata Hari
started her rise to fame as an exotic dancer. She was a contemporary of dancers
Isadora Duncan and Ruth St. Denis, leaders in the early modern
dance movement. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Mata Hari was
promiscuous, flirtatious and she openly flaunted her body. She captivated
audiences and was an overnight success. She became the mistress of millionaire
industrialist Emile Etienne Guimet. She was photographed numerous times
during this period, nude or nearly so and that is why there are so many vintage
postcards of her. Mata Hari brought this carefree provocative style to the
stage in her act, which garnered wide acclaim. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">The most celebrated
segment of her act was her progressive shedding of clothing until she wore just
a jeweled bra and some ornaments upon her arms and head. She was seldom
seen without a bra as she was self-conscious about being small breasted. She
wore a skin colored body stocking for her performances.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Although Mata Hari's
claims about her origins were fictitious, it was very common for entertainers
of her era to invent colorful stories about their origins as part of the show.
Her act was spectacularly successful because it elevated exotic dance to a more
respectable status, and so broke new ground in a style of entertainment for
which Paris was later to become world famous. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Her style and her free
willed attitude made her a very popular woman, as did her eagerness to perform
in exotic and revealing clothing. She posed for provocative photos and mingled
in wealthy circles. At the time, as most Europeans were unfamiliar with the
Dutch East Indies and thus thought of Mata Hari as exotic, it was assumed her
claims were genuine. As with anything that becomes popular; by about 1910, a
myriad of imitators had arisen. Critics began to opine that the success and
dazzling features of the popular Mata Hari were due to cheap exhibitionism and
lacked artistic merit. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Although she continued
to schedule important social events throughout Europe, she was held in disdain
by serious cultural institutions as a dancer who did not know how to dance. Mata
Hari's career started to decline after 1912. She performed her final show on
March 13, 1915. This proved to be the end of her dancing career. She'd started
her career relatively late for a dancer, and had started putting on weight.
However, by this time she had become a successful courtesan. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">She had relationships
with high-ranking military officers and politicians in influential positions in
many countries. Prior to World War I she was generally viewed as an artist and a
free-spirited bohemian, but as war approached, she began to be seen by some as
a wanton and promiscuous woman, and perhaps a dangerous seductress. During
World War I, the Netherlands remained neutral. As a Dutch subject, Margaretha
Zelle was thus able to cross national borders freely. To avoid the
battlefields, she travelled between France and the Netherlands via Spain and
Britain, and her movements inevitably attracted attention. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">In 1916, she was
travelling by steamer from Spain when her ship called at the English port
of Falmouth. There she was arrested and brought to London where she was
interrogated at length by Sir Basil Thomson, Assistant Commissioner at New
Scotland Yard in charge of counter-espionage. He gave an account of this
in his 1922 book, saying that she eventually admitted to working for French
Intelligence. Initially detained in Cannon Street police station, she was then
released and stayed at the Savoy. It is unclear if she lied on this occasion,
believing the story made her sound more intriguing, or if French authorities
were using her in such a way, but would not acknowledge her due to the
embarrassment and international backlash it could cause. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">In January 1917, the
German military attaché in Madrid transmitted radio messages to Berlin
describing the helpful activities of a German spy, code-named H-21. French
intelligence agents intercepted the messages and, from the information it
contained, identified H-21 as Mata Hari. The messages were in a code that
some claimed that German intelligence knew had already been broken by the
French (in fact it had been broken not by the French, but by the British
"Room 40" team), leaving some to claim that the messages were
contrived. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">However, this same
code, which the Germans were convinced was unbreakable was used to transmit the
Zimmerman Telegram; its unintended interception some weeks later precipitated
the United States' entry into the war against Germany. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Mata Hari was arrested
in her room on 13 February 1917 at the Hotel Elysee Palace, on the Champs
Elysee in Paris. She was put on trial on July 24, accused of spying for Germany
and consequently causing the deaths of at least 50,000 soldiers. Although the
French and British intelligence suspected her of spying for Germany, neither
could produce definite evidence against her. Secret ink was found in her room,
which was incriminating evidence in that period. She contended that it was part
of her make-up. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">She wrote several
letters to the Dutch Consul in Paris, claiming her innocence. "My international
connections are due of my work as a dancer, nothing else. Because I really did
not spy, it is terrible that I cannot defend myself." Her defense
attorney faced impossible odds; he could not cross-examine the prosecution's
witnesses or directly question his own witnesses. Under the circumstances, her
conviction was a foregone conclusion. She was executed by firing squad on 15
October 1917, at the age of 41. Was she really a spy? In the 1970s
German documents were unsealed that proved that Mata Hari was truly a German
agent. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">In the autumn of 1915,
she entered German service, and on orders of section III B-Chief Walter
Nicolai, she was instructed about her duties by Major Roepell during a stay in
Cologne. Her reports were to be sent to the War News Post West in Düsseldorf
under Roepell as well as to the Agent mission in the German embassy in Madrid
under Major Arnold Kalle, with her direct handler being Captain Hoffmann, who
also gave her the code name H-21.In December 1916, the French Second Bureau of
the French War Ministry let Mata Hari obtain the names of six Belgian agents:
five of whom were suspected of submitting fake material and working for the
Germans, while the sixth was suspected to be a double agent for Germany and
France. Two weeks after Mata Hari had left Paris for a trip to Madrid, the
double agent was executed by the Germans, while the five others continued their
operations. This development served as proof to the Second Bureau that the
names of the six spies had been communicated by Mata Hari to the Germans.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Mata Hari went bravely
to her death. According to an eyewitness account by British reporter
Henry Wales, she was not bound and refused a blindfold.Their is a statue of
Mata Hari in Leeuwarden, Netherlands. Fries Museum in Leeuwarden,
Netherlands exhibits a "Mata Hari Room". Included in the exhibit are
two of her personal scrapbooks and an oriental rug embroidered with the
footsteps of her fan dance. Located in Mata Hari's native town, the museum is
well known for research into the life and career of Leeuwarden's world-famous
citizen. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Fortunately there are
numerous photos of Mata Hari available on the internet. And yes, she was likely
a spy but she did inspire many thousands of dancers.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><br /></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana;">Please support us by visiting our website <a href="http://BellyDance.org/">BellyDance.org</a></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mata Hari</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mata Hari - 1910</span></td></tr>
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Suzy's Belly Dance Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11169743693197756283noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-232268764010909764.post-996734111550791902013-04-29T17:13:00.002-07:002013-04-29T17:13:27.343-07:00Favorite Part of Belly Dance? I Love it all!
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our first place essay winner is Maria Toddes</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">*</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Picking just one
part of the belly dance itself is a daunting task, but when I get in that
‘zone’, I feel perfectly balanced between heaven and earth. I used to say I felt perfectly
‘bungeed’ between Mother Earth and Father Sky.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I’m a late bloomer
as I didn’t discover the beauty and freedom of belly dance until my late
30’s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Years before I had seen a
health program that featured a woman who had lost a significant amount of
weight by belly dancing and was now and instructor. That resonated with me and
I tucked that in the back of my mind, making a note to myself that I would only
join a gym that offered belly dance classes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then as luck would have it, I found a health club that
offered belly dance for fitness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Well, let’s just say, that first hour was when ‘the bug’ bit me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was hooked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My husband and daughter have been dancing with me ever
since.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We found a show on one of
our health channels and watched religiously and practiced on our own.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Then I started
looking for teachers in our area.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I found one who; to this day is probably the most beautiful dancer and
human I’ve ever had the privilege to meet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I jumped in feet first into the deep end.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She taught us beginners the basics,
zills and choreography in one block of classes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I loved it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
couldn’t get enough.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I
continued to devour every book, dvd and cd of all things even remotely related
to my new love – our instructors came and left.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Clearly guided by the Divine; I found instructors that
pushed my body and brain passed what I thought I was capable of.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Having suffered from asthma, I had to
sit out more than I wanted to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
pushed through all manner of health issues and in doing so, I’ve made mental
and written notes of what kind of teaching style brings out the best in me and
what confuses and frustrates me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We are lucky
enough to have a growing sisterhood of the dance in our area.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most of us know each other at least by
face if not by name.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My husband
has ribbed me for years telling me I’m ‘no learning, I’m remembering’ – his
opinion and I understand why, but I don’t let that come out of my mouth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Currently my
daughter and I are exploring some fusion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We’ll never forsake our first love of a more cabaret style, but being
well rounded usually serves all who dare to do that. Currently we have on
instructor who is into fusion; she’s gorgeous and her spirit lights up any
room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She’s pregnant now and we’re
all anxious to see if her delivery is an easy one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She could still do a belly roll at five months so we’ll see.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My family (hubby
too) attend and participate in every Hafla, workshop and now long weekends and
intensives we can afford.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Writing
this, we are fresh from a well planned and executed Hafla one of our teachers
organized.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While I’ve found that
each instructor has her/his own style and ways of communication, I wouldn’t
trade any one of them or anything.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In my quest to the
best dancer I can be, I’ve made dear friends, learned more about sewing than I
ever thought possible, but most importantly, have discovered more about myself
than I thought was inside me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
love all parts and aspects of the dance, but I especially love how a dancer who
is truly enjoying herself can transform from average to being the most beautiful
woman in the room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That inner
light, the shine of her spirit on her face, or in my case, my face is the part
of the dance I love the
most.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Working and playing with the
audience so the dancer transfers some of their enjoyment to the audience – the
audience by clapping and the vocalizations, the zaghareet is my favorite noise
– gives back to the dancer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What a
lovely exchange.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Just today, I was
watching a small troupe, with husband in tow start to get slow and drag, but as
soon as they hear the appreciative vocalizations, the smile and twinkle in their
eyes returned to their own delight!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So while I do love
a good drum solo, my favorite part of the routine is playing (nicely) with the
crowd and as an audience member, I love to smile and try to make the dancer(s)
feel as comfortable as I can.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If I’m not
dancing, I’m thinking about it – what can I afford next, where will I leave
more and come away with so much information I must write down, lest I forget
the precious gems I just learned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In conclusion, I
love it all; the rich history, the different styles of costuming, the music
which commands your body to move.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I can’t tell you how many times I’ve shimmied in the car, pharmacy,
waiting in line.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I like to practice
a flat footed maya waiting in line- it’s like my little secret.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t care who thinks I’m crazy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But most of all I love the change of
the dancer’s countenance while she’s basically ‘in conference’ with the Divine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7lQHOKCEYa9jjUW9vBmeyb17KYJJz7kQA10KD_RpN7d8pTbs-w1zlL6dYW1yIdqtVPOuWJXMw-qq0SsklpQwpCguNU71HAl6-UIviKbqn83-yNYU7LQo3GecCUj07y60zFov6QlxWTIA4/s1600/bdor1_37.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7lQHOKCEYa9jjUW9vBmeyb17KYJJz7kQA10KD_RpN7d8pTbs-w1zlL6dYW1yIdqtVPOuWJXMw-qq0SsklpQwpCguNU71HAl6-UIviKbqn83-yNYU7LQo3GecCUj07y60zFov6QlxWTIA4/s320/bdor1_37.jpg" width="242" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Please Support Us By Visiting Our Website <a href="http://BellyDance.org/">BellyDance.org</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Suzy's Belly Dance Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11169743693197756283noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-232268764010909764.post-4687427333593357122013-04-22T19:26:00.000-07:002013-04-22T19:37:30.701-07:00The Solo Surprise<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">This is an essay from one of our contest winners Atisheh who won second place. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><b>The Solo Surprise</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> When I read the topic for the essay contest, I thought it would be easy to
answer. My passion for bellydance is in no small part due to its delicious,
languorous movements. I love the meditative quality of the dance: holding a
pose while tracing soft curlicues in the air with my fingers, stretching out a
large hip circle to its utmost extension and letting my upper body sway down
and then up again, unfurling my snake arms deliberately as though the air were
made of maple syrup. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">
Given my love for the gooey, sensuous aspects of bellydance, answering what my
favorite part of the bellydance routine is should be easy. It must be the
chiftetelli, of course, or at least the veil section. What better chance to
delight in slowness, moving and breathing with the music, letting an entrancing
veil waft through the air, or doing sinuous undulations in floor work? And yet,
I couldn’t commit. Because the more I thought about it, the more I realized that
a different part of the routine has been winning my heart lately. And it is the
utter opposite of everything I have always loved about this dance. But first, a
little background.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">
I am not a professional dancer. I am, in fact, the eternal amateur. I go to
classes, I take workshops, I buy a ton of DVDs, I read blogs and write one, I
peek into conversations on online forums. Very, very rarely, I buy some little
bit of a costume. I adore this dance, and it takes up a very high percentage of
my physical and mental life, but no one is going to be knocking at my door
tomorrow to ask me to perform a routine. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">
So the question for me is a bit theoretical. And yet, it’s also not. I’m not a
high-energy person, a fast mover, so the slower aspects of bellydance always
appealed to me. Given a choice between following a melody or following a
rhythm, I almost always incline to the melody. I also liked the fact that slow
movements, as in the chiftetelli, really made me feel my body from the inside,
gave me a sense of deep connection to my own movement. I came to bellydance
partly because I wanted to learn a dance I could do alone, for which I wouldn’t
need a partner. It has always been something I did for myself, and only for
myself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">
But a few things changed for me recently. For one thing, I was pregnant – for
the usual amount of time – and I had a baby. I danced a lot while pregnant, I
worked with videos and I improvised on my own to many hours of Middle Eastern
music. But something else also happened. I had taken a class on world drumming,
and though I only picked up some basic skills, I did wind up with a very nice
doumbek. My husband, who is much more talented musically, started picking up
the doumbek now and then and improvising some rhythms. Some were Arabic ones
that he had heard me practicing, and others were his own invention. And I
started to dance to them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Among my favorite memories of being pregnant, before the tornado of dirty
diapers and nighttime feedings and inexplicable crankiness hit us, was my
husband playing the drum, me grabbing a hip scarf if one was near by, tying it
on, and happily improvising to his beats. It was a time in our lives when we
both lived with constant awareness of my growing body, and somehow it made
sense to play with an art form in which my body was also the focus. As his
playing got faster and faster, I would forget my weightiness or my painful back
and get carried away with the intensity of the music. There was no audience
outside the two of us (and, well, a little creature who was along for the
ride), but we had the conversation between drummer and dancer I had heard the
pros talk about. While I had been attracted to the way bellydance allowed me to
be alone and introspective, the drum solo allowed me to explore it as a partner
dance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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This is how I started to fall for the drum solo. It can be fierce and tight,
full of pops and locks, but it can also be cool and relaxed, with travel moves
and big shimmies. And it’s the perfect do-it-yourself version of bellydance.
You don’t need to have a lot of space for traveling moves, or the right floor
for spins, or ceilings high enough to practice the veil. I can listen to a drum
solo while waiting for the bus, and play with the rhythms under my winter coat.
And even more exciting, you don’t need a full orchestra to enjoy dancing to
live music. Find one drummer who is really into it, even if he or she hasn’t
mastered all of Arabic or Turkish percussion, and you can have music and dance
to it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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As I’ve recovered from childbirth and from the first, hectic year with a new
baby, I’ve found the athleticism of the drum solo – the very thing I used to be
wary of – to be a new attraction. I am spending more time dancing than I ever
have before in my life. In fact, dance has become my lifeline. And doing a drum
solo workshop or DVD, with all the sweat and speed and rehearsing of tiny,
precise moves, has become a way to measure how far I’ve come in my dance
training. The drum solo doesn’t let me stay where I’m comfortable. Whether it’s
learning a completely new shimmy or drilling a series of bumps and pops until
it comes naturally, working on a drum solo forces me to learn new skills in a
focused way. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Sure, a drum solo is not as meditative or as soft as a chiftetelli or a taqsim.
Those will always have their place in my heart. But I’m now a fan of the
euphoria that comes from practicing and dancing with the drum, the excitement
of give-and-take with a live drummer, the thrill of following crisp patterns
with my own movements. Composed of rhythm and energy, the drum solo represents
everything that I’ve always thought I didn’t have. Falling in love with it has
been my solo surprise.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Visit <a href="http://BellyDance.org/">BellyDance.org</a></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Suzy's Belly Dance Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11169743693197756283noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-232268764010909764.post-91520180947595485242013-03-12T16:35:00.001-07:002013-03-12T16:35:25.683-07:00Claudette Colbert as Cleopatra<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In 1934 Claudette Colbert <span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span style="text-decoration: none;">played starred in the title role of Cleopatra. I thought you would enjoy this stunning photo of her. Ms Colbert had an amazing face. </span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><br /></span></span></span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtASs_DBdpu2gUhjiucU5UHAErgVgO9jhcTCXbvBa0DWhYHcRvcF9jdgBJOy90-Pob4tGmjKb_dlZpxEQQCUkjEKmXlHp0PbFRz56mz2QqKquyF7Fp6FxZdJb7hbhXt6WJfzeOR98_jJ0X/s1600/Colbert.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtASs_DBdpu2gUhjiucU5UHAErgVgO9jhcTCXbvBa0DWhYHcRvcF9jdgBJOy90-Pob4tGmjKb_dlZpxEQQCUkjEKmXlHp0PbFRz56mz2QqKquyF7Fp6FxZdJb7hbhXt6WJfzeOR98_jJ0X/s400/Colbert.jpg" width="290" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Claudette Colbert as Cleopatra</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><br /></span></span></span>Suzy's Belly Dance Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11169743693197756283noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-232268764010909764.post-13728398016916279002013-03-04T18:15:00.001-08:002013-03-06T11:25:59.146-08:00The 2 Speed Belly Dancer<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yes, I know you've seen it too. Too many times. Generally it's a symptom of an inexperienced dancer. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What are the 2 speeds? Fast and faster. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So you're sitting in the audience at a belly dance event and you're watching one dancer after another. A belly dancer comes out on stage and frantically runs through the first part of her routine. Then the slow music comes up and what's supposed to be the slow sensuous part of the dance, the dancer instead moves faster than the music. Sometimes she whips out her veil and almost uses it as a weapon on the audience. Then the drum solo music comes up and she seems to be doing double time even on the fast music. She ends her routine and runs off stage. I often wonder if she falls over from exhaustion then drinks a gallon of water. Then you realize that you're exhausted from watching her too.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Well, there's a simple cure for the 2 speed dancer. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1. Practice the routine <i>a lot</i> before performing it in public. This will give you confidence in the dance and slow you down. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2. Breathe. Be sure you are breathing properly through out the routine. Don't be afraid to take a slow deep breath during the performance. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I hope this cures all future 2 speed dancers. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Suzy Evans</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Please support us and visit us at <a href="http://BellyDance.org/">BellyDance.org</a></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Suzy's Belly Dance Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11169743693197756283noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-232268764010909764.post-5005328073152566352013-02-04T18:47:00.002-08:002013-02-04T21:34:37.335-08:00The Complete Belly Dance Routine<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you took belly dance classes back in 60s and 70s you became familiar with what was called the complete belly dance routine. This was typically 7 parts although some dancers would cut it down to 5 parts. Routines could be 20 minutes or longer and I remember that you really had to build up your stamina to perform this long. If you were dancing to live music, you sometimes didn't know how long they were going to play and you just had to go with the whatever parts the musicians would play for you. I also recall a story from one of the Hollywood belly dance greats Marie Silva on how once and a while they would play a double set and she would have to perform for 30 to 40 minutes. Heck, in my hay day I couldn't have performed that long! There was no costume change like some dancers do now, the cabaret dancer stayed on stage throughout the performance. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Typically the parts of dance were as follows:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1. Medium to Fast Entrance: This is an intro or greeting of the audience. The belly dancer would be draped in one or sometimes multiple veils and keep them on through the introduction. Usually the dancer would show off your finger cymbals playing talent during the intro. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2. Slow music either Chifi Telli or Rhumba: This is where the dancer would show off her veil work. At the end of music she discards her veil. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3. Medium to Fast music: This part picks up the speed and energy of the dance. She continues to play finger cymbals. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">4. Taxseem, Chifi Telli, slow music: Floor work, sometimes sword work along with slow moves. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is one of my favorite parts of the dance. T</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">here is usually a solo instrument playing like a violin or flute. Beautiful time to improv your slow technique. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">5. Fast or medium music: Picking up the pace again. The belly dancer will sometimes work the audience for tips during this part of the routine smiling and playing finger cymbals. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">6. Fast: The drum solo. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">7. Finale - Medium/Fast tempo: The farewell to the audience. The finale tends to be short and sweet. She thanks the audience and the band (if there is one). </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">These days belly dancers usually do 3 part routines; an intro, slow and drum solo. Sometimes if time is tight it's only a 1 part routine.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here are some suggested DVDs that will help you with various parts of the routine. Click on the links below. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.bellydance.org/shop/sadie-sultry-slow-moves-p-210.html">Sultry Slow Moves with Sadie</a></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.bellydance.org/shop/marguerite-spins-turns-p-2.html">Spins and Turns with Marguerite</a></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.bellydance.org/shop/anaheed-classic-cabaret-floor-work-p-4.html">Classic Cabaret Floor Work with Anaheed</a></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.bellydance.org/shop/aziza-veil-with-aziza-p-94.html">Veil with Aziza</a></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.bellydance.org/shop/katia-smooth-silk-p-134.html">Smooth as Silk Veil with Katia</a></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.bellydance.org/shop/drum-solo-p-171.html">Drum Solo Set</a></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.bellydance.org/shop/dondi-exciting-entrances-exits-p-9.html">Entrances and Exits with Dondi</a></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.bellydance.org/shop/ansuya-play-finger-cymbals-p-192.html">Finger Cymbals with Ansuya</a></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9_BUb2KEir75PnFqflftVRr1waN-c5eqvTTTHpzFjegqAlltoj82QNXzlcWIQajV0GCmfMQH0op1ABYH-WYyb7tExoFMva3d9JgCkRrYuAkqSkKCTw8w1P4BNOEJiOUmg1c8wj4akzLjA/s1600/Ansuya15_edited-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9_BUb2KEir75PnFqflftVRr1waN-c5eqvTTTHpzFjegqAlltoj82QNXzlcWIQajV0GCmfMQH0op1ABYH-WYyb7tExoFMva3d9JgCkRrYuAkqSkKCTw8w1P4BNOEJiOUmg1c8wj4akzLjA/s400/Ansuya15_edited-3.jpg" width="215" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Ansuya<br />Photo by Keith Drosin</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Suzy's Belly Dance Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11169743693197756283noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-232268764010909764.post-4248790149282124852012-11-19T23:19:00.002-08:002012-11-19T23:22:32.244-08:00Be Easy To Work With<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Speaking as a presenter and producer it is important for you as a performer and teacher to be easy to work with. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you have reached the point in your belly dance career that you are now being hired for teaching and/or performing it's extremely important to act like a professional and one of the hallmarks of a pro is to be easy to work with. What does that mean?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">No drama</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Be prepared</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Don't constantly call the employer and bug them</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Don't be demanding</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Roll with the punches</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Offer to help</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Send a thank you note</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Be nice and friendly to everyone at the event</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Don't bug the employer/presenter at the event about little things. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(I really hate this! Belly dancers who bug me about small stuff when I'm already under stress at an event and dealing with staff and 50 dancers and last minute stuff and then they start pulling on me about how they can't find their shoe or something stupid like that... sorry, got carried away.)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you do the above you will likely be hired back again. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you don't do the above you will likely not hired again. And the presenter may tell others you were hard to work with. You don't want that. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This applies to stars and those that want to be stars. We as presenters of events have long memories. And trust me, we remember the easy people and the difficult people.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Be easy! (to work with that is...)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Suzy Evans</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://BellyDance.org/">BellyDance.org</a></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here's a photo of Sadie. Sadie is easy to work with.<br />Be like Sadie!</span></td></tr>
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Suzy's Belly Dance Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11169743693197756283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-232268764010909764.post-18072718205204728002012-09-24T20:01:00.002-07:002013-04-08T17:13:51.316-07:00Developing Great Stage Presence <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Developing great stage presence mostly comes with years of experience performing in front of an audience. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As I will say here and a million more times practice is what will give you confidence and confidence leads to a great stage persona. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One of the best things you can do to develop stage presence is to <i>watch and study</i> belly dancers that exude stage presence. Here are some to watch: Delilah, Dalia Carella, Amaya, Katia and Alexandra King. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You'll notice that they can make the most simple moves so amazingly interesting! You'll also notice it is their personality shining through their performance. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And this is one exercise you can work on... get your personality to show up in your performance. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Practice "moods" for performances. Dynamic, shy, silly, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">seductive, aloof, charming, outrageous,,, you get the idea. Be sure to practice in front of a mirror or tape yourself. Often times you can practice a mood and find out it's not translating to what you thing it is. You don't want your audience to misinterpret your mood. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Be careful about that sexy or seductive look, often it just looks like you are pissed off. Practice that look in a mirror. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In all performances - smile! Unless of course you're doing a specific theater piece where it would break character. You can't beat your million dollar smile!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I would highly recommend Star Power with Amaya DVD to help with your stage presence. <a href="http://www.bellydance.org/shop/amaya-star-power-p-119.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Click Here</span></a> to check it out. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'll write more about stage presence, as it is one of main factors to becoming a star in belly dance. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV7pRKHXen6ojt7FT1n3k5nKYiUFe7FC4V1hm83i_BeORtiYk9dlew1R3IYbctj3FNQjwI3QXZUJ58iZcXStmTVqx4SigB6Jpj8Br_7ECvVS4j03bdn84YevI1Gy2dN8VjkZo60s0Nje0e/s1600/delilah.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV7pRKHXen6ojt7FT1n3k5nKYiUFe7FC4V1hm83i_BeORtiYk9dlew1R3IYbctj3FNQjwI3QXZUJ58iZcXStmTVqx4SigB6Jpj8Br_7ECvVS4j03bdn84YevI1Gy2dN8VjkZo60s0Nje0e/s320/delilah.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Delilah defines great stage presence<br />Photo from the 2nd Awards of Belly Dance</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Suzy's Belly Dance Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11169743693197756283noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-232268764010909764.post-5734457476105685752012-07-09T17:36:00.001-07:002012-07-09T17:38:46.235-07:00Top 3 Tips for Belly Dancers<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This month's top 3 tips for belly dancers:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1. Practice free style dance for 15 minutes 3 times a week. Dance alone and dance purely to the music. You want to get the music into your head and into your body. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2. Try a different hair style this month. It doesn't have to be dramatically different, just take some time and play with your hair. Add extensions, put a little curl, use a hair decoration, highlights,, you get the idea. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3. Your feet: Are your feet noticeable in your dance? Your feet are what grounds you in the dance but they should not draw attention. Practice this a few times this month: Think about how your movements are drawn up from the ground into your feet and then travel up threw your body. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Suzy Evans</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Please pay a visit to our website </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://BellyDance.org/">BellyDance.org</a></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimm14Z73sue154T26xBb2zK29O9E0hPzOzAxdtORWir7IfpS-GxfQzPY4qJ724_3jzSaN1NzVHU1jS23U-bQ97iIpXih7hBLeZyidDsWPBvu1TB6iHruaROKpegFMPasXEbQza6qzl8d7i/s1600/Mia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimm14Z73sue154T26xBb2zK29O9E0hPzOzAxdtORWir7IfpS-GxfQzPY4qJ724_3jzSaN1NzVHU1jS23U-bQ97iIpXih7hBLeZyidDsWPBvu1TB6iHruaROKpegFMPasXEbQza6qzl8d7i/s320/Mia.jpg" width="237" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Beautiful Photo of Mia<br />by Michael Baxter</span></td></tr>
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<br />Suzy's Belly Dance Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11169743693197756283noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-232268764010909764.post-25190181835737231382012-07-02T17:00:00.001-07:002012-07-02T17:32:32.303-07:00Ultimate Belly Dancer Combination DVDs<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ultimate Belly Dance Combinations is a 5 DVD series - almost like a mini-series! </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">During a conversation with a friend, this unique concept and came to me. I had previously produced a couple of combination videos with Ansuya and Ava Fleming. Seeing how popular they were, why not have multiple instructors teach combinations on a single DVD? And why not make it a series? This would give students of belly dance a good variety of styles of combinations from different teachers. Some of these teachers had not previously taught on video before, so many students would be exposed to new teachers; an instructor they may have not been familiar with and would not normally would get a chance to take a class from. I called them Ultimate Combinations because... they were! The first 2 volumes were shot and edited. The teachers included Sadie, Ava Fleming, Aziza, Amaya, Fahtiem, Artemis, Celeste, Anaheed and Amara. These 2 videos were quickly best sellers. About 2 years later I added three more volumes with a new mix of dancers: Paulina, Zahra Zuhair, Katia, Aradia, Dondi, Ava Fleming, Celete, and Jamileh. These 3 new DVDs included new styles including some Turkish and some of that classic old-timey 1970s belly dance. Will there be more Ultimate Combinations? Maybe... we'll see. In the meantime, if you don't have these DVDs, please consider adding them to your collection. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's some links to the DVDs:</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.bellydance.org/shop/belly-dance-ultimate-combinations-p-255.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ultimate Belly Dance Combinations The Complete Set</span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.bellydance.org/shop/belly-dance-ultimate-combos-p-169.html">Ultimate Belly Dancer Combinations 1 & 2</a></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.bellydance.org/shop/belly-dance-ultimate-combinations-p-254.html">Ultimate Belly Dance Combinations 3.4 & 5</a></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwfLriR3O_sFGehb8MgWSE69nceWtCSWqOmdYtUm32B8SckaBj12E8HhVy26JRjYkBzV2raw8IWFl2kXWI4mMQDf-p3KG7N26QA1nJ6e_dTI5DYv1mJmNFVhbX9Tt-ENbRYIxlfB6oywIW/s1600/combos345_store.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwfLriR3O_sFGehb8MgWSE69nceWtCSWqOmdYtUm32B8SckaBj12E8HhVy26JRjYkBzV2raw8IWFl2kXWI4mMQDf-p3KG7N26QA1nJ6e_dTI5DYv1mJmNFVhbX9Tt-ENbRYIxlfB6oywIW/s320/combos345_store.jpg" width="225" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>Suzy's Belly Dance Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11169743693197756283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-232268764010909764.post-20141261477967599442012-06-18T14:47:00.001-07:002012-06-18T22:21:13.976-07:00You Are the Ambassadors of Belly Dance<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"></span></span><br />
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<tr><td align="center" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">No matter what level of dance you are currently at; from taking your first lessons to a professional who has been belly dancing for many years: It is you that are the representatives; the ambassadors of belly dance. It is you that is representing this beautiful dance form to the general public.<br />So how can you be an ambassador to belly dance? One of the best ways is to look to one of the top belly dancers, a dancer you admire. Some great examples: Jillina, Sadie, Ava, Kaya, Aziza, Ansuya, Zahra Zuhair, Sahra, Angelika, Leyla Jouvana, or anyone you personally admire. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How does this dancer conduct herself? </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They act like a professional would: friendly, helpful, humble, kind and living the golden rule. They behave and conduct themselves as if they were a public figure. Their performances lift up the art of belly dance, they do not drag it down. Their performances are either choreographed or if impromptu they are well thought out and rehearsed. When on stage or at a restaurant or nightclub they assume that there are people in the audience that are seeing belly dance for the first time and therefore give a performance that is classy and graceful, not a performance that would downgrade the publics perception of belly dance and belly dancers. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's not just a responsibility; it is also your duty to conduct yourself this way. All of us in this art form are depending on you to come through for all of us! For those of us that have been in the dance for many years, we can tell you how hard we fought ugly stereotypes in the early years. We don't need belly dance synonymous with stripping or pole dancing. Is ballet or modern dance ever compared to stripping? Don't we in belly dance deserve the same respect other forms of dance receive? - Suzy Evans</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5AbLqQgqLCLLozSb721Yt_RP-dqb79BwVv3jKiG8QIkqPMtmqJTBgcakACyziYPWxzK-j9cUrJHqtg8vIXSf3m9XhsGRdU_PEEKsyeNawz0Fb5elBdyX1kJw5BKdvy3eiWAtrDtaE8XyS/s1600/bdor1_32.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5AbLqQgqLCLLozSb721Yt_RP-dqb79BwVv3jKiG8QIkqPMtmqJTBgcakACyziYPWxzK-j9cUrJHqtg8vIXSf3m9XhsGRdU_PEEKsyeNawz0Fb5elBdyX1kJw5BKdvy3eiWAtrDtaE8XyS/s400/bdor1_32.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Leyla is a wonderful Ambassador to Belly Dance. Are you?</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Go Now to<a href="http://www.bellydance.org/index.html"> BellyDance.org</a> and Show Your Support for Us!</span></div>Suzy's Belly Dance Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11169743693197756283noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-232268764010909764.post-18133443486394464472012-06-16T17:22:00.002-07:002012-06-16T17:46:35.242-07:00Sadie the Belly Dancer<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sadie is a true star of belly dance, as a matter of fact she is currently considered the most popular belly dancer in the world. Besides belly dancing she also performs various forms of world dance, and theatrical theme shows. She draws upon an innate understanding of movement from her background in gymnastics and swimming. Her dance and music education spans more than 15 years. Her love for movement, music and culture has prompted her to explore and study various forms of world dance such as Belly Dance, Brazilian Samba, Salsa, Hip-Hop, Tahitian and Flamenco, with a dedication to foundation training in Ballet and Jazz. This background has given Sadie a style that is uniquely her own.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And in case you missed it; Sadie and Kaya recently competed in "America's Got Talent" </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She stars in numerous instructional and performance DVDs from IAMED / BellyDance.org. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Click on the links below to view and purchase her DVDs. </span></div>
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<em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How to Belly Dance / Instructional Videos</span></em><br />
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<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.bellydance.org/shop/sadie-kaya-pops-locks-shimmies-p-233.html">Pops, Locks & Shimmies with Sadie and Kaya</a></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.bellydance.org/shop/sadie-kaya-pops-locks-shimmies-p-261.html">Pops, Locks & Shimmies 2 with Sadie and Kaya</a></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.bellydance.org/shop/pops-locks-layers-with-sadie-kaya-p-25128.html">Pops, Locks & Layers with Sadie and Kaya</a></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.bellydance.org/shop/star-combinations-sadie-kaya-p-25163.html">Star Combinations with Sadie, Kaya and Ava</a></span></li>
<li><a href="http://www.bellydance.org/shop/sadie-thrillin-drillin-p-215.html" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thrillin' Drillin'</span></a></li>
<li><a href="http://bellydance.org/shop/product_info.php/cPath/24/products_id/210"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sultry Slow Moves</span></a></li>
<li><a href="http://bellydance.org/shop/product_info.php/cPath/24/products_id/100"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Drum Solo Technique & Choreography</span></a></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://bellydance.org/shop/product_info.php/cPath/24/products_id/169">Ultimate Belly Dance Combinations set</a></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://bellydance.org/shop/product_info.php/cPath/24/products_id/110">Ultimate Combinations 1</a></span></li>
<li><a href="http://bellydance.org/shop/product_info.php/cPath/24/products_id/111"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ultimate Combinations 2</span></a>
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<em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Performance Videos</span></em><br />
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<li><a href="http://bellydance.org/shop/product_info.php/cPath/23/products_id/181"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Belly-Dance-O-Rama 2</span></a></li>
<li><a href="http://bellydance.org/shop/product_info.php/cPath/23/products_id/180"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Belly-Dance-O-Rama 3</span></a></li>
<li><a href="http://bellydance.org/shop/product_info.php/cPath/23/products_id/36"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Belly Dance Rocks!</span></a></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://bellydance.org/shop/product_info.php/cPath/23/products_id/114">Belly Dance Live!</a></span></li>
<li><a href="http://www.bellydance.org/shop/stars-belly-dance-performances-p-25174.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Stars of Belly Dance</span></a></li>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYL1mRyZYWihRfUIffcxwUIBHr_Anw0iQsaQRsi7I4_2YdXHmlY5JZIldL-Dnj6jGu_Jc5qTvbm6UV4lrX2barzDJ5Q9liUV-xDskMh_f8RrjEb3RbDD0EIooODyGmgUrQ-RGUUj8yoD8-/s1600/bdor2_44.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYL1mRyZYWihRfUIffcxwUIBHr_Anw0iQsaQRsi7I4_2YdXHmlY5JZIldL-Dnj6jGu_Jc5qTvbm6UV4lrX2barzDJ5Q9liUV-xDskMh_f8RrjEb3RbDD0EIooODyGmgUrQ-RGUUj8yoD8-/s400/bdor2_44.jpg" width="260" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sadie in Belly Dance-O-Rama</span></td></tr>
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<br /></div>Suzy's Belly Dance Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11169743693197756283noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-232268764010909764.post-55673318950434315662012-05-31T00:15:00.000-07:002012-05-31T11:08:30.798-07:00Keep it Short<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Always keep them wanting more." </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Far too often belly dancers performances are too long. I can count on 1 hand the numbers of dancers that I can avidly watch for more than 10 minutes. Most belly dancers should keep their routines to no more than 7 minutes. Even if you have been given a 10 or 15 minute spot on a program, that does not mean you should fill it. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some years ago I was offered a 15 minute performance spot. I felt obligated to fill the entire 15 minutes. That was a mistake. Not only did the audience get bored during the performance, but I did too. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Be sure to add variety, layers and changes of pace in the routine. If you are newer to the dance, there is nothing wrong with doing a 4 or 5 minute piece. You want to be comfortable in your routine. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you keep your dance short, your audience will want to see more, but don't give it to them, it may be stepping just over the line. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Learn how to gauge the length of your performance. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Better to dance 1 minute shorter than 1 minute too long and start losing the interest of your audience. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBnuYJ24IxeYmR_oy78YXBhTg3tjoIHUGMh_ZczWbpxykoukOxO4K_J7Earz3NE_A093CuMMzas9tImGasKLesB7rHlzBAvwEZVEoaB4vpCywEZt5y5MQYx3H3IvuRZRi6Lmhxqtp7VXjS/s1600/Th.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBnuYJ24IxeYmR_oy78YXBhTg3tjoIHUGMh_ZczWbpxykoukOxO4K_J7Earz3NE_A093CuMMzas9tImGasKLesB7rHlzBAvwEZVEoaB4vpCywEZt5y5MQYx3H3IvuRZRi6Lmhxqtp7VXjS/s400/Th.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tamra Henna in Belly Dance Sensations</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Please visit our website </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://BellyDance.org/">BellyDance.org</a></span>Suzy's Belly Dance Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11169743693197756283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-232268764010909764.post-83655064364600559152012-05-15T21:42:00.000-07:002012-05-15T21:45:17.063-07:00Sword Face<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You must avoid sword face at costs!! Sword face is that look on your face you get when you are balancing a sword on your head and you're overly afraid it's going to fall off. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There's only 1 cure for sword face. Before you even think about performing sword work in a performance, you must practice with your sword enough so that you are confident enough that it will not fall off. Remember - Practice makes perfect....</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This will also put your audience at ease and they will enjoy your performance, rather than worrying with you that the sword will go a flying off!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Suzy Evans</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Please visit our website <a href="http://BellyDance.org/">BellyDance.org</a></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQeOoR0FU7L8vbo9thbpj6v1NgTWuiOGUZ0064iAOVhCk2MR1ChUK2oW0W2BzkHucfaYbOkSi_isuu2IjDualinzUzB3JKbE4y_8mLna6IC_xJ1PKkCjAKdlm0jElwxOFMUpQ8h8EmDsJ6/s1600/Zahirah.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQeOoR0FU7L8vbo9thbpj6v1NgTWuiOGUZ0064iAOVhCk2MR1ChUK2oW0W2BzkHucfaYbOkSi_isuu2IjDualinzUzB3JKbE4y_8mLna6IC_xJ1PKkCjAKdlm0jElwxOFMUpQ8h8EmDsJ6/s320/Zahirah.jpg" width="232" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is Zahirah. She never has sword face.</td></tr>
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<br />Suzy's Belly Dance Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11169743693197756283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-232268764010909764.post-23522266660378723132012-04-10T16:46:00.003-07:002012-04-21T22:14:28.861-07:00Sharing is a Good Thing<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you're like me, you are on many belly dancer's email lists. And most of us are on FaceBook, Twitter as well as other social sites. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In this "its all about me" dance, I'd like you to think of others and share your dance sister's information with your friends on FaceBook and elsewhere. When you get a newsletter you like in your email box, why not share it? If everyone did this, then you too would reach many more people as your information would also be shared. What comes around goes around. I have been sharing newsletters for some time now on my own FaceBook account. And I can tell you it is appreciated. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you as a dancer send out your own newsletter, remember to turn on the "sharing" function, as I often get emails without it and therefore cannot share your newsletter. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Sharing" costs you no money but gives you tons of goodwill dividends. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Just think of all that good Karma coming back to you!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk58UT8QCtprjSssaK6lhTWkEeu9G1xzjfEcXvVUh5y41VA5qVVCqD3fa6FtvBz-kpgkyY1guZY-08NE4wjO-R1C4NpwVAQMTrCko8dGDsRWIwu1i5jx77omwSCl8UQJfpkezcpKjJ-nCh/s1600/Share.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk58UT8QCtprjSssaK6lhTWkEeu9G1xzjfEcXvVUh5y41VA5qVVCqD3fa6FtvBz-kpgkyY1guZY-08NE4wjO-R1C4NpwVAQMTrCko8dGDsRWIwu1i5jx77omwSCl8UQJfpkezcpKjJ-nCh/s320/Share.jpg" width="289" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See....kids sharing back in the good ol' days</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Suzy Evans </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Visit <a href="http://www.bellydance.org/index.html">our website</a> and join <a href="http://www.bellydance.org/bellydance_maling_list.html">our mailing list</a>. Will ya please?</span>Suzy's Belly Dance Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11169743693197756283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-232268764010909764.post-61286775638852177932012-04-09T13:15:00.000-07:002012-04-09T13:31:54.913-07:00Eadweard J. Muybridge and the first motion pictures<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today Google is honoring Eadweard J. Muybridge on his birthday. He invited motion photographs. I thought I too would honor him. He is most famous for his "running horse". Thanks to him, who in a way is responsible for anything caught on film and video. Thank you Eadweard J. Muybridge! <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eadweard_Muybridge">Here's more</a> about him. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Just imagine how difficult it would be to learn belly dance from still pictures?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Suzy Evans</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://BellyDance.org/">BellyDance.org</a></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5aJFIV3b1ePY2s26PfGKCyedzyQhc0RySbdRSyJpSAGn1T6TPgJpabDD6PIz0JAKn1dSUEi4GT2MAaSU0Na7ca9LSOe1YfZeyt0iUUC0H_TnEdyeOhdxwUsAeUOonj9p-GUFMKZ_LM6S0/s1600/220px-Muybridge_race_horse_animated.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5aJFIV3b1ePY2s26PfGKCyedzyQhc0RySbdRSyJpSAGn1T6TPgJpabDD6PIz0JAKn1dSUEi4GT2MAaSU0Na7ca9LSOe1YfZeyt0iUUC0H_TnEdyeOhdxwUsAeUOonj9p-GUFMKZ_LM6S0/s1600/220px-Muybridge_race_horse_animated.gif" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Race Horse</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRaSsOxAUDbaWsm5uKksT_ufNhsSLilUfV8SBtLK3AnmPuzY4EqYJKXxYeUxZAjDW0ToF_3gooC8ZRUZqL0y-LjSkR8QTuo9JH9wmrna5Od7xqu7I8Iz_2KpN3P11-FLMA-2npAsXeYuLh/s1600/Muybridge_Buffalo_galloping.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRaSsOxAUDbaWsm5uKksT_ufNhsSLilUfV8SBtLK3AnmPuzY4EqYJKXxYeUxZAjDW0ToF_3gooC8ZRUZqL0y-LjSkR8QTuo9JH9wmrna5Od7xqu7I8Iz_2KpN3P11-FLMA-2npAsXeYuLh/s1600/Muybridge_Buffalo_galloping.gif" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Run bison run!</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Please visit our website <a href="http://BellyDance.org/">BellyDance.org</a></span>Suzy's Belly Dance Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11169743693197756283noreply@blogger.com0