New Classes

I've been out of dancing for about 6 months as the times of my classes changed and I physically couldn't get from work to class in time.

It's meant I'm completely out of practice - I'm a lazy bugger, and while I may have said I would drill regularly at home, you could count the amount of times I did so on one hand and still have enough left to eat crisps (something I did do regularly...)

I managed to hook up with a better timed class with the same teacher, and had the first one tonight. God I'm out of shape. The muscles still know the moves, but after about 5 minutes they were done and begging for a sit down.

It was a 2 hour class.

I may not be able to stand tomorrow. My feet are filthy from the floor in the dance hall, but bending over to wash them really hurts!

Even so, it's good to be back. 

Solo dancing and Oreo Cheesecake

My current teacher amalgamates her classes for one big party at the end of term, and we all alternate between eating copious quantities of food and wine, and dancing old favourites or trying out solos.

I had nothing lined up, but didn't need much arm-twisting to perform anyway. Egyptian Ella is one of my favourite solo pieces, and whilst I couldn't remember more than about a third of the choreography, improv no longer fazes me

As a reward, I skipped dinner and filled up on cake instead, and did so with great gusto.

I may be a bit sick of cake now. This did not stop me squirrelling the remains of the Oreo cheesecake I made at the back of the fridge so my husband couldn't find it.

You can probably tell by the lighting and the clean kitchen that I did not make this cheesecake!

This cake's deliciousness is equalled only by its simplicity (and its calorie count, which I prefer not to think about). It's only got 5 ingredients!

4 packets of oreos
50g butter
1 pot double cream
2 packs cream cheese
50g caster sugar

10 inch springform cake tin (recipe is pretty flexible so feel free to experiment with other receptacles)

Whiz two packets of oreos into crumbs. Use a food processor as bashing them with a rolling pin stops being therapeutic well before they're crushed properly.
Melt the butter and mix into the crumbs.
Press resulting gravel into base of tin. At this point you can bake it for ten minutes to make it crunchier but it will be delicious either way. if you do bake it, let it go cool before filling.
Whip the cream until it reaches stiff peaks, then mix in the cream cheese and sugar.
Whiz the third packet of oreos until broken but not total crumbs.
Stir them into the cream cheese mix and dollop it all into the cake tin.
Whiz half of the last packet of oreos into crumbs and sprinkle on top.
Put in the fridge to chill while you eat the remaining oreos and scrape out the bowl.

I did make this one. I expect you can tell

Time for a Revamp?

I appear to be averaging about 3 months between posts on here, which is not great. 

I think part of the problem (aside from inherent laziness) is that I don't necessarily have that much to say on belly dance sometimes. I'm not a professional, nor ever likely to be one. Now I'm earning more, I'm able to buy in some of my stuff rather than relying on making everything from scratch. Conversely, I'm a lot shorter of the time needed to make costumes, and what time I do have needs to be spread out across all my interests, not just the sparkly ones.

When I first set this blog up it was with the intention of sharing dance updates, but also recipes that caught my eye, other craft projects, the odd book review. I think I need to return to that format and reignite my interest in blogging!

I'm not abandoning dance-based posts entirely though - below is a shot of my latest project, a purple velvet mermaid skirt for a performance with my teacher's troupe. 

The initial brief was for a straight sided tube skirt, but to say that is an unflattering look on me would be missing the chance to use expressions like 'sack of potatoes' 'waistless wonder' and 'when is it due?'

I used two way stretch velvet from  the Rag Market in Brum, and instructions from Dutch dancer Kyria (link goes to pdf), adjusting the pattern on the hop to add a front split, and doubling the godet in the back for extra flounce.

Like an idiot, I made the skirt a good six inches too short, and had to add on a band at the top. This turned out to be a really good idea (albeit unplanned) as the old waistline now sits mid-bottom, and gives me the illusion of an actual derriere. Win all round really.

Gothla Redux

Four weeks on, my bag is still not fully unpacked, my toes are still sporting red nail varnish and I'm still finding flecks of glitter in my undies. It can only be the post-Gothla comedown.

This year was a very social one for me. I'm getting to know a lot more people in the dance scene now, and there are lots of familiar faces (still can't remember anyone's names though!). A lot of people recognised me because of the buzzcut, and I got a lot of pettings over the weekend.

Friday night's showcase was a mixed bag. I loved some of the performers, and was left cold by others (not literally, it was hotter than balls in the theatre). Highlights for me were probably Ian Southwood's drummers, doing a Zaar-like piece that almost dragged me into a trance; Ida Mahin's creepy-as-fuck Dying Swan, and Sabrina's Ghawazee piece.

Deadbeats and their dancers (photo by Sue Hutton)

Dying Swan - a fusion of belly dance, ballet and just plain scary (photo by Sue Hutton)

Saturday was also a mixed bag. I loved my morning workshop with Elin Kåven, whose Pep Dance workshop was fortunately nothing to do with high school cheerleaders, and everything to do with rediscovering joy and healing in dance. I came out of it really inspired for the rest of the weekend. My afternoon workshop was not so positive. It was meltingly hot in the studio, and I felt like we spent a very long time warming up and talking, and not much time dancing. I was very excited about learning with the teacher concerned, but it felt like a lot of style and not much substance.

Things picked up later on though as C and I transformed ourselves into a pair of post-apocalyptic swamp witches, prior to hitting the Open Stage. We had so. much. fun.

Photo by Dark Soul Photography, battling some dreadful lighting!

We closed the first act, which was pretty much the perfect spot to be, and we got a gratifyingly loud reception. It's nice to be liked! C and her husband saw the night out, and had good things to say about a lot of the other performers. I bowed out after the second act, staying just long enough to see Steffi Darkdancer and her awesome take on Marie Laveau.

I was in bed and asleep by midnight, and reaped the benefits by being disgustingly bright eyed and bushy-tailed on Sunday morning when the rest of the world was hungover and miserable.

This did not stop me from getting my arse comprehensively kicked by the heat in Sabrina's Ghoulish Ghawazee, to the extent that I sat out a lot of it and took notes. It was still awesome with knobs on though. Loads of cultural references and historical info as well as a choreography to learn. Sabrina is also an damn good saleswoman, as evidenced by the fact that C and I not only bought her CD so we could play with the choreography at home, but also went away with these beauties...

I'm living on beans on toast for a month now (genuine assuit is not cheap), but it's a great reminder of a great weekend!

Costume Evolution Part 2

Now we're post Gothla I can actually show pictures of the finished costume without getting my knuckles rapped by C!

Yes, yes, it's wonky. But so are my boobs.

 So, finished top first. This was an amalgamam of a crocheted tankini top and two cheap vests, the brown layer being added when the dress rehearsal showed up a worrying tendency for my boobs to try and make a break for it out of the bottom of the original top. All hand embellished and beaded with bits of the bling from the last post. 

C, who likes her costuming effortless, bought a top off eBay and cut the hem off. Smart girl.

Next step? Hair. This was a little more complicated than originally thought, as I shaved mine off back in June for Macmillan, and am still rather follicularly challenged. I bought a a cheap wig, cut it, styled it, plaited it, put a headband on it, covered it in bling and generally spent about 6 hours working on it.

The face of a woman who's just been hit in the face by a cowry fall.

The day before Gothla we decided it didn't go with the rest of the costume and I was sticking with my buzz cut. Humph! Still, it made a nice contrast to C's epic dreadlocks, and at least one of us escaped the misery of brushing out half a can of hairspray the morning after the night before.

You can see the finished costumes (and the new haircut) below. We always aim for a cohesive look, but not neccessarily a matchy matchy one, especially as we have different body types and colouring.

The post-apocalyptic wasteland that is my back garden

Costume Evolution Part 1

I'm well ahead with my costuming for Gothla, which is unusual for me, so it seemed like an opportune moment to have a muse about the costuming process, and how I get from the first doodles to the finished (for a given value of finished) product.

Most of my costumes start off as a series of doodles, which appear all over my desk at work, on the back of sticky notes and in the margins of minutes. Sometimes the music I'm working on sparks ideas, other times I get hooked on someone else's visual, and have an urge to rework it. Once I have concreted my ideas (and in the case of troupe costumes, everyone else's ideas too), I break out my favourite drawing pad (yes, it's cheesy, but it's exactly what I need) and start a concept sketch.

With the current piece, we wanted an earthy, organic feel, with a sprinkle of voodoo imagery. We also wanted to wear something that wasn't black! 

Next comes the process of transferring ideas from the concept into something that meets the following criteria:
a: easily made or 
b: cheaply purchased
c: suits two very different bodyshapes, neither of which are size 6 and 7ft tall
d: stands a chance in hell of being finished before being needed 

In this case, C scratched the hi-lo skirt hems as being unflattering, and found some suitable broomstick skirts on eBay. I ruled out the turkish vests as I suck at tailoring, and the tatty hems for being way too time-consuming.

Next step? Amassing stash. Oh man, I am so good at this. I hoovered up vaguely boho skirts and jewellery from every charity shop I stepped in. A lot of it bypassed the costume pile and went straight into my wardrobe instead!

Out of shot - Irish setter with sequin stuck to nose

This lot was culled almost wholly from charity shops and the discount section of Claires (like the awesome animal rings lurking at the back). Not shown, three more dismantled necklaces, a packet of feathers, two belts, seven gypsy skirts, two plain vest tops and a brown crochet tankini.

C and I compared amassed bling at each rehearsal, and eventually reached a point where it was time to start putting things together...

Gothla Preparations

It's that time of year again already, and Women of Mass Distraction are elbows deep in preparation for the dance highlight of our year, Gothla!

I'm particularly excited about my workshop with Michelle Manx. I really love her fusion of pin-up style and vintage glamour, as I am a dancer who likes a bit of cheek in her shimmy. And really, who wouldn't want to take a class with someone who dresses like this?

At the very least I intend to reap some costume inspiration!

The highlight for us at Gothla is performing at the open stage on Saturday night, and this year is no exception. It's just C and I, as R is thoroughly tied up with her baby twins (rumours that she is already training them to play zills and doumbek respectively are wholly unfounded) and will be a spectator this year.

The choreography we've put together is, though I says it as shouldn't, flipping awesome. The chosen track is sleazy, steamy, Southern style rock with a supernatural twist, and we have had a whole lot of fun making the moves match.

We're mid-costuming at the moment, and my house is full of fabric in tones of mud and swamp, cowries, disassembled jewellery and Jack Daniels miniatures. Fortunately no chicken feet. Those are C's problem!

I'm also richer to the tune of one wig, bought for about as much as it's worth (ie not much) and dubbed Cousin It because of how much it freaks out the dog. It's in need of a lot of work before it can hit the stage!

Apparently it looks like I stole it from Tina Turner's dressing room...

Happy New Year?

Oh man, where has this year gone?

I went from no real bellydance news at all to dancing so much that I haven't had time to blog!

So, a brief catch up:- 

I finally found a new class within a sensible distance from my house. It's Oriental, which makes a nice change as the last couple of years have been very heavy on the tribal, and I'm a girl who likes her glitter.

My teacher Tahirah is a very light, balletic dancer, which makes for some tricky times when you're more like the hippo out of Fantasia, but the challenge is fun. It's an intermediate class, and I'm really enjoying the feeling of being stretched in my dancing, tackling more complex choreographies and performing as a troupe.

And in other news, this happened...

No, I haven't taken Britney Spears for a style guide. This was to raise cash for Macmillan, and it succeeded to the tune of over £1000, which is almost enough to console me for the fact I won't be doing any khaleegy for a long while.

I don't actually like it, regardless of how many people have told me it 'really suits you', I could never carry it off', 'you're so brave' and 'maybe it will grow back curly'. 

I've become an expert in head scarves and hair wraps - this style is my favourite as it's idiot-proof. I have had a lot of colleagues asking me if I do tarot readings!

I also appear to have forgotten how to smile in photos. May have to relearn that before I perform again!

A Sense of Community

Another quiet patch for me at the moment. I'm not back in regular classes until January, and a series of diary clashes have meant I've also missed out on monthly intensives with my fusion teacher.

We did get out and perform at the after party for Infusion Emporium (Rachel MF Brice is teaching there next year. There may be bloodshed when the workshop places are released...) and for added excitement, we were officially dancing as a quintet!

Why? Well, turns out my troupemate, seen in the middle there, is expecting twins in March. Given she's expanding at frankly exponential rates, and I've lost two stone since we first performed the piece, it's a damn good job we went for stretchy velvet dresses!

Photo by the talented DarkSoulPhotography

Our last performance of the year was over in Coventry for Bellydance and Surprises. It was one of those rare haflas in that it felt very relaxed and informal, but there were some fantastic performers. Add to that a chance to catch up with lots of old friends, and it was a lovely way to almost round off the year.

I say almost, because the belly dance year here in the UK ended on a very different note for many, with the news that the bellydance teacher Shafeek Ibrahim was convicted on multiple counts of rape and sexual abuse of female dancers.

My heart goes out to the very brave and honourable women, including Charlotte Desorgher and Tara Lee Oakley, who brought this case to court and helped ensure justice was done. I cannot imagine what these women have experienced, and my heart goes out to them. I am so very full of pride for all my dance sisters, and I hope they can move on and find strength and hope now that this man is behind bars.

Stick!

A couple of weeks back I had the excitement of going to workshops with the lovely Sayuri. 

These were initially booked (and paid for) back in January, but frankly horrific weather on the part of the West Midlands meant that they had to be rescheduled. Which was kind of nice actually, because they felt almost like a freebie.

The workshops were organised by Lisa McKain, who has been hosting a series of dancers under the title 'Best of British'. Lisa is an amazing organiser; she even laid on a lunch for us all between the workshops, which was most welcome, although it did make for some queasy faces when we tackled spinning later in the afternoon!

We kicked off with a fun and energetic Saidi Stick piece. I'm not always a fan of choreography based workshop, but this was a great introduction to stick. It's a prop I've avoided in the past due to wrist injuries, but Sayuri was light on the drilling of individual moves, and heavy on the different ways of stringing them together, so I got to enjoy the feel of Saidi without ending up disabled by too much stick twirling. We also had a quick breakdown of different Arabic rhythms, which was very enlightening,

The veil workshop in the afternoon focused more on differing techniques and tricks than on a pure choreography. I've done a fair bit of veil work, but there were some new ideas here that I liked trying out. Only downside was that we were dancing to Yearning, which I do not love.