Joanna Ashleigh

Inspiration on Repeat

2011-12-20T09:26:00.002-07:00

I really connect with the message.
Dance is my spiritual practice.

enjoy. x.x

A slight break

2011-12-15T14:23:00.002-07:00

I'm in full gear preparing for RB's Phase 2: Cultivation in March... but other than that I am trying to rest a bit. Spending lots of time with Ryan, catching up on season 6 of bones, drinking tea, snuggling with the furbabies, spending lots of quality time in my dance room alone and listening to good music. Here's my current favourite tune.

PROJECT: Complete Dance Room - Part Three

2011-11-08T10:10:00.005-07:00

Part three of three... the end and the beginning...

The room was fairly done at the end of the last post, but there were a few things left that needed to happen. We start with a silly picture that was taken for a new wonderful friend, Pip, whom I miss dearly.

So... I had a few very special people over to my place for a movie night, and as it turned out a ringing in for the completed dance room. Awesome faces below...

More awesome faces!

And more awesome faces!

Champagne and many bottles of wine were had in addition to many wonderful snacks and a bit o dancing as well of course.
The kittens are quite in love with sliding on the floor in the dance room... and other things.

A few more pictures to round out the decor...

My little learning corner.

Ze Drums...

My pretty lil desk and fantastic rotating computer monitor (a present from my Ryan)

Tapestry, sari, to do/inspiration board and my (perhaps a little in advance) 2012 Mucha calendar.

Home.

More bits and pieces will undoubtedly be added in the coming months and years...
Now to fill it with more than material belongings.
We have a practice date tonight.

PROJECT: Complete Dance Room - Part Two

2011-10-31T09:45:00.003-06:00

Much has been done in the past week... the floor has been finished, baseboards re-nailed, mirrors hung, curtains restrung, closet doors adjusted and rehung, six years of dance and non-dance stuff sorted, boxed, some donated, some moved back into the dance room, and my new computer monitor hung. Whew! Hannah and I did a photo shoot the week before and she was nice enough to print out a few 8x10 hard copies for me, I'm holding them in the photo below.

My mom and sister were in town and came over for a bit. Angel of course enjoys being the center of attention. My mother had Hannah and I try these coconut covered dates, to me they were edible, to Hannah they were not... lol!

I went thrift shopping for picture frames, Gypsy decides she must inspect them thoroughly before they are hung.

Pictures are hung above the mirror and various other items are put up.

The book case is moved back in and sorted.

I'm having a very very small party this next weekend, a belly dancer's movie night and it also seems it'll be a bit of a ringing in for the new dance room. Part three will be the last post as there's not too much left to be done, just a nice cleaning and then it'll be time to attack the rest of the house that's been neglected for the past few weeks!

PROJECT: Complete Dance Room - Part One

2011-10-24T09:11:00.007-06:00

My dance room has been a project in waiting for quite some time... a few weeks ago Ryan and I finally laid out some plans to get it on it's way to being a fully functional haven. The pictures begin on the day we started working on it, Thursday, October 20, 2011.

Unfortunately I did not get a beginning beginning photo, much has been moved and sorted at this point.

Ryan hangs my tapestry; you can just see the bottom of it here. We hang my one mirror.

We get the room completely cleaned out, sans the flooring.

And sans the sari...

The carpet is pulled and Gypsy finds a new bed for a few hours.

We prime the horrible light mint green wall.

We start painting the accent wall a beautiful burgundy brown called Sommelier which we bought from sherwin williams.

We have puppy company.

Painting completed and the floor undergarment is put into place.

Half of the beautiful (used from another belly dancer) cherry floor is put into place.

We end on the night of Sunday, Octboer 23, 2011.
More to come...

Of which there were four things to say...

2011-10-18T09:46:00.004-06:00

1) Rachel Brice's 8 Elements was wonderful. I highly recommend it to anyone who even remotely loves belly dance. It caters to every style and is worth every penny. Plus, Portland is a beautiful friendly city. I passed my test and am Phase 1 certified, yip! I can't wait to get my official piece of paper in the mail *bounce*

2) Princess Farhana just posted a lovely little blog on writing in a dance journal and why you should do it. It is always fun to go back and read entries from years ago.

3) Pretty little drilling song that I love.

4) Upcoming performances:
-TribalTique Denver will be performing at Phoenix's Halloween Show on October 22 at 7pm.
November
-TribalTique Denver and the rest of the company will perform at our 6th Annual Holiday Hafla in Fort Collins at 7pm on November 12th!
-I will be doing a solo at the Divine Gypsies show at Gypsy House on November 19th!

October and November will be busy!

2011-09-21T11:48:00.004-06:00

October
-TribalTique Denver will be performing at Pagan Pride day on October 1 at 11am.
-TribalTique will be performing at the Belly Dance Showcase featuring Amy Sigil of Unmata on October 1 at 7PM.
-Then my dance partner and I will be going to Rachel Brices 8 Elements intensive!
-TribalTique Denver will be performing at Phoenix's Halloween Show on October 22 at 7pm.

November
-TribalTique Denver and the rest of the company will perform at our 6th Annual Holiday Hafla in Fort Collins at 7pm on November 12th!

Then we hit the holidays! Take care everyone. xo.

Tribal Style: A Review

2011-08-22T15:04:00.003-06:00

Personally I loved this documentary. Tribal Style was more than I expected it to be.

It began with a documentation of Rachel Brice's first students and followed them after she joined Miles Copeland's tour. Then it specifically starts following one new students journey through belly dance about halfway through.

It's full of lovely performance footage, interviews with known dancers and the views of students learning this art form for the first time.

I highly recommend it... for me it was quite inspiring.

You begin the movie intrigued by the older footage of well known dancers and then become caught up in the whirlwind stories of these beautiful students. For those who have been dancing a while you relate and remember...

Tribal Style: A Documentary

2011-08-11T10:08:00.003-06:00

For those of you who were unaware as I was until the Summer 2011 Fuse Magazine was released Tribal Style: Becoming a Belly Dancer Documentary is finally available for purchase!

Many of us who've known about this documentary have been waiting to see it since we heard about it back in 2006. At least that was when I first heard about it. The trailer was very well done, I will post a review once I get my copy in the mail.

Here's the original website.

And here's the Trailer and Sneak Peak of Rachel Brice from the film:

Donna Mejia Choreography Video

2011-07-27T11:34:00.002-06:00

I have found myself watching and re-watching this video... it's beautiful in so many ways.

It's been a while... hasn't it?

2011-07-19T08:39:00.004-06:00

Sorry for the lack of an update here recently, summer is my time to chill after the busyness of spring.

I have been...
-reading books that can only be classified as brain candy... it will be rotted by the time I try to pick things back up in August.
-sunbathing with my cats and romping with my dogs
-to the renaissance festival with many amazing friends
-to a Rapids (soccer) game or two
-saw a few beautiful fireworks shows
-celebrated my birthday at the club dancing with many more amazing friends (my sweet mother sent me a boxful of Trader Joe's groceries for my bday, twas the sweetest thing ever and so delicious!)

Things that are in the future...
August: Performing at the farmers market most likely on Pearl Street in Denver
September: Will be attending the belly dance swap
October: I will be going to Portland for Rachel Brice's 8 Elements and then coming back to perform at the DNote with my troupe for the Halloween hafla.
November: Performing at TribalTique's Holiday Hafla in Fort Collins
December: There will be a lovely break for belly dance... but and increase in family activities
January: Begin prep for Cues and Tattoos and Tribal Fest 12

That's the schedule... but truly I am trying to just take things one day at a time...
though I should hop on my house this weekend and clean it up, perhaps I've gotten too lazy?
Till next time sweet friends.

Introducing my new little site...

2011-05-26T22:43:00.000-06:00

www.JoannaAshleigh.com

Amazon Recommendation List

2011-05-02T16:30:00.002-06:00

This link will mostly be for my current students and as a tool to keep track of my favourite resources over the years.

Media tools for the artist, dancer and yogini

Tattoo Three

2011-04-25T09:18:00.002-06:00

All Shiny with A&D ointment

Tattoo time 2.5 hours

My lovely tattoo artist: Sandi Calistro

What did you do this past weekend?

2011-04-20T08:37:00.002-06:00

This is what I did.

Improv Piece!

Mixed Medium Trapeze and Dance Piece

A huge Thank You to Miraas Aerial Dance for having us!

Almond Blossom Woman

2011-04-19T14:39:00.003-06:00

moving... happiness...

My solo from last night...

2011-04-09T22:22:00.003-06:00

I'm not overly proud of this solo, for my own reasons... but it's not gawd awful, so... here it is.
<---Hushing
Enjoy.
xo.

The Artist's Way

2011-03-31T14:12:00.003-06:00

Yeah I know two posts in one day, don't go into shock please. ;)

Twelve weeks ago I started a book called The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron.
It's essentially a three month long journey for artist's of any medium or currently no medium. I've found it helpful on numerous levels and highly recommend it. If you can't manage a three month system make it last six months or twelve. You go through it at your own pace and take what you need from it. I'm going to let everything marinate in my brain till January 2012 when I plan to re-read it. Just thought I'd throw it your way just in case you find yourself not creating, feeling stuck or just needing something inspirational. The margins in this book are filled with wonderful quotes. Happy Reading.

Seattle!

2011-03-31T11:35:00.003-06:00

Cattle... hehehe... watch this vid for the joke. It's freaking hilarious.

ANYWAY... Seattle for reals...

THURSDAY:
Our flight took off from Denver and we landed in Seattle midday. Procured our room, dropped off luggage and headed out to grab snax and hit the amazing Banya 5. We hot tubbed, steamed and rinsed in stupid cold water for about an hour... I admit I let out a squeak when the cold water hit me, lol. We saw this pretty flower... (::edit:: I have been informed that this flower is an Azalea. In the Rhododendron family.)

Everything was so green... it made my heart ache. Come on Colorado! You can get there, no more of this fire business let's get some rain going. Anywhose... headed off to the University district where we did some shopping, specifically hitting Buddhaful where I found this awesome dress that I am currently kicking myself for not buying. doh. Stef got a verah cute hat.

We met Jennifer & Rosie down at Crab Pot for dinner snacks and they had the most amazing halibut and chips. nom!

Waiting for our table...

The Spread.

FRIDAY:
Nicole Arrived! We had a lazy morning then took off down to Pike Market via Monorail.

Stopped at the fluevog store and tried on some shoes!
Here's Stef...

And Nicole...

We were famished after all of the hard work of trying on shoes so we headed to Lowell's where Stef and Nicole flirted our way into a table. The horrible view from said table.

The Spread take two. Molly is unsure what to do with her nasty tomatoes...

So... the guy that they flirted with? Keep him in mind.

Stef all gussied up on the short bus to the Mohai to perform in the instructor show case.

Getting our zombie on... I missed the cue :(

So that cute guy? Oh look there he is at the after party with us. He likes soccer, he plays soccer, he treated Stef like a queen all weekend. I approve. There are plans in the making for him to come out to Denver and go skydiving, jeeping, soccer gaming it and zooing it. wOOt!

Molly has a moment with her Marzipan Piroshky.

SATURDAY:
We were in workshops All. Day. Long. Teaching one, then taking two. Teaching went quite well if I do say so myself. Troupe Hipnotica's workshop was a blast and then Gypsy Fire's was also fantastic. We got some awesome material from both. There really weren't any pictures unfortunately. A few goodies were bought, Nicole and I went back to the hotel and passed out, Stefanie hung out with cute Seattle guy at the after party, Molly and the gypsy fire girls hung out QUITE a bit. I swear all I heard on Sunday was "So I was talking to Quinn..." If I had a nickel... $5 bucks at least people, $5 bucks.

SUNDAY:
We had a 9AM workshop. It was a little rough getting up that early. But we did it, had another great group of girls, had a great response. Stef and I hung out and watched a few performances whilst Molly was in her Troupe Hipnotica workshop, did some more shopping. When Molly got done we said our good byes (since we didn't think we'd make it back later) and took off back down to pike for some lunch at (take a guess)... Lowell's! Cute Seattle boy and his co-worker procured us some amazing cocktails and fish. Afterward Molly wanted to go by Top Pot Dougnuts for coffee and well doughnuts... we're silly.

There was shenaniganry down the roadside...

Stefanie had never seen the muppets Manamana. We enlightened her and serenaded her that day with it.
There was a Daniel Tosh spree... whilst I was outside talking to Ryan for 45 minutes or so.

Hung out with cute Seattle boy and his coworker at the hotel later and then passed out. Fitfully in my case....

SUNDAY:
The fifull night of sleep was awful and henceforth required a baileys and coffee in the morning.
Flew back uneventfully and safely.

Fin. Can we do it again? Kthxbai. xo~

Cues & Tattoos 2011 Video!

2011-03-28T21:37:00.000-06:00

purpose.

2011-03-14T15:14:00.004-06:00

I'm searching for a purpose for this blog... I am still updating things in the professional belly dance life, but most things tend to be getting too personal for this public blog. Thoughts? Opinions? What do you want to hear about?

C&T is coming up super quick. About a week and a half then I will be in Seattle performing and assisting teaching our workshops. Goodness how that did sneak up on me. eep!

As far as my yoga practice, I am not going as often as I would like, but I am getting in a downward dog a day at least, explanation in the next paragraph.

As far as aerial I am loving it, I feel like a 5 year old swinging about. Though my arms are trying to adjust to my mid-twenties weight which is considerably more than it was at 5 years old, though reasonable for mid-twenties ;) No I'm not telling you my weight, mostly because I don't even know what it is, LOL! I could go on a rant about the abusive behaviors women put themselves through because of those silly things... but anyway. Aerial. My instructor has me doing a little morning routine to strengthen the upper body and a few things for the lower body and core for good measure. One item has been added a week, currently I am at 5 push ups, 10 knee push ups, 2 kinds of 30 second squats and a 30 second plank. I've been in heaven discussing technique and different ways of doing push ups, planks and squats.

In non movement news... I'm reading, a decent amount, see what all that has been here on my goodreads page, friend me if you like, I love book recommendations! xo.

of Yoga and Aerial... two things...

2011-02-16T10:41:00.005-07:00

One:
I was finally given an adjustment for crow with a block a week ago and was able to get into the pose fairly easily! Which was AMAZING after six years of bumbling around in it every class. Happy I am.

Two:
I tried another aerial class last night with MiraasAerial. It was geared toward the super beginner with crap for upper body strength, which would be me! I had a ton of fun and can not wait for next week. I was able to play around on the lyra/hoop a bit... it was quite happy making and my shoulder girdle is decently sore this morning. *does a happy dance*

Cues & Tattoos Prep Officially Starts Now

2011-01-06T08:31:00.005-07:00

Music: songs selected, they just needs to be meshed into one long song
Costume: Pretty much done, just need to make one or two more pieces. Need to adjust zil elastics.
Plane Ticket: Bought!
My Workshops: To be bought by the end of Jan

If you have the chance to go to this festival do, it's excellently run and operated by the fabulous ladies of Troupe Hipnotica.
If you will be there then come take one or both of our workshops and come see the instructor showcase!
Sat Workshop link & Sun Workshop link.

This will be our 3rd year attending, I can't wait to see friends we haven't seen since last year and to meet even more lovely ladies and gents!

Ze 5th TribalTique Holiday Hafla

2010-12-16T13:07:00.004-07:00

It was brilliant, vivid and so much fun. I'm reminded why I love this dance so much; the people I have come to know, my dance sisters and the community, friends and family...

There will be more pictures and possibly video to come once the photographer and videographer get them back to us.

Happy Holidays!

Upcoming...

2010-10-25T12:16:00.003-06:00

Once we hit December there's no going back.

It's the time of year for planning, because the next the six months between December and May are going to be insanely busy and fun!

Here's the lineup:

First off we have TribalTique's 5th Holiday Hafla!
TribalTique Denver has many amazing performances we're working on for this fantastic yearly event. Come support us if you're in the Denver area!

Secondly we have a festival that is very near and dear to my heart.
A festival dedicated to the Improvisational style of tribal belly dance;
Cues and Tattoos!
Put together by the amazing ladies of Troupe Hipnotica.
TribalTique will be there teaching and performing in the instructor showcase.
Be there if you can, it's always an amazing time.
Registration is open!
March 25-27, 2011
Seattle, WA

Bringing it back to Colorado at the end of April/Beginning of May, Elevation will be happening again. We're told registration should be open any day now!

And last but never least will be TribalFest11 in Sebastopol, CA on May 18-22, 2011!
Workshop registration should be open November 1st!

I am a zombie!

2010-10-18T15:03:00.002-06:00

I love my belly girls, they keep me sane in my insane world.
Picture from this past weekends hafla at the DNote.

October Lannie's Clocktower Cabaret

2010-10-12T11:44:00.003-06:00

This past weekend Molly and I performed at Off the Clock late night at Lannie's Clock Tower downtown. We did a brand new sword routine and had a ton of fun with it.
Enjoy the pre-performance pictures taken by Ryan after we finished getting ready at the Red Elephant Workshop.

Our next performance at Lannie's will be on November 13th at 11PM if you're interested!
;-)

Push Up Challenge on hold

2010-10-04T11:26:00.003-06:00

Yup, came to the definite conclusion that this specific program is not going to work for me. There are some things I could do to modify it, but I honestly don't want to. There are many things for me to stress over right now and push ups are not one of them. If I wasn't getting enough exercise then I may have pushed it... but that is most definitely not my issue.

Many wonderful things happened this past week including two days off for Ryan's Bday and our anniversary. Lovely food was eaten and much cuddling... good for the soul that's constantly being wanted and pulled.

I have been wanting and seeking alone time... I have projects I would love to put time and energy into but am lacking both. Much more contemplating to come on that front.

The weather has become chilly... I'm not sure how much a fall we will have here in Denver... I feel snow coming quickly. Not really looking forward to it... except to squelch the awful fires.

Hooping and Upper Body Strength

2010-09-15T12:26:00.004-06:00

Well I have another challenge to blog about thanks to the Miss Raspberry Stethoscope!

The One Hundred Push Ups Challenge

Hooping has made me realize how much upper body strength I currently do not have... I'm hoping this 6 week challenge will help my off the body hooping endurance. This challenge only takes a few minutes, 3x a week. I plan on starting next Monday. Wish me luck!

Shimmy Shack Aftermath

2010-09-11T09:04:00.004-06:00

TribalTique Denver's Shimmy Shack student salon was a huge success!
We had six of us for the performance.
Molly got to just sit and enjoy a beer and also let us use the beautiful Red Elephant Workshop.
Miss Fernanda was a HUGE help and manned the door for us and took a zillion pictures!

And then we went a little crazy like we do.
Chasin' Wild Women... (sorry inside joke!)

The ever lovely Desert Rain came and performed!

Tribe Nawaar also made the trip down from Boulder and left everyone speechless with their graceful and fabulous improv-tribal!

Dancers milling about the door trying to get a glimpse of the performances.
We had a packed house and there was no room for us in the main room!

Me thanking everyone for coming at the end.

Hula Hoops were brought out afterwards!

Moar belly dancers hoopin!

We had a lovely night... makes me want to do another one of these casual performances soon.
(Hopefully I will get pictures of the other fabulous performers we had last night soon for posting)
Thank You to everyone who came, performed, supported and helped out!

Fellow Belly Dancers...

2010-09-07T11:26:00.002-06:00

Please take 3 minutes and read this blog post.
Who doesn't need a reminder now and then?

I am and always will be a student; eager and thirsty.

The Versatile Blogger

2010-09-02T10:09:00.005-06:00

First off a huge thank you to Alexandra for nominating me for The Versatile Blogger Award! This thing looks pretty awesome and is a great way to find other blogs that you may be interested in! So here's the deal:

Nomination Conditions:
*Thank whoever gave you the award
*Share seven things about yourself
*Nominate 15 newly discovered blogs
*Let your nominees know about the award

Seven things about me...
1) Chai Tea is my drink of choice but I am also in love with Rose Tea
2) I buy my clothes based off of three things. Can I go to work in it? Can I dance/ do yoga in it? Can I layer it!? (I love layering pants on pants and most commonly pants and skirts in the frigid Colorado winters) Most everything in my closet is from Be Present. It lasts forever!
3) My favourite quote is the last line in the movie "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button."
4) My body is super sensitive to any kind of bleach and other harsh cleaning products. Dying my hair didn't go over so well. I haven't gotten the courage to test henna yet.
5) I only wear makeup for belly dance performances and on me and Ryan's anniversary
6) I have a scarf addiction... LOVE EM.
7) I love all the animals in my life, all four cats and three ruppy dogs (ruppies pictured below with my boyfriend of almost 8 years; Ryan)

15 of my favourite blogs:
1) First and foremost a shout out to my best friend Stefanie at her blog GrayFires. Stef is an amazing writer. She also writes a column at the Examiner (subscribe to it!) and is a part of Polite Paws Dog Training and Polite Paws Rescues!
2) The ever lovely beader Megan at Muse of the Magpie
3) The creator of American Tribal Style: Carolena Nericcio at FatChanceBellyDance: Director's Cut
4) Another talented writer and aspiring novelist Sara at Romancing the Weird (she's looking for test readers! Drop her a line!)
5) The lovely personality of Robbie at Harpy of the High Plains
6) The delicious musings of beautiful Tina at Musings and Mulishness
7) The one and only Rachel Brice
8) The blog for all practices in health, Nicole at Raspberry Stethoscope
9) The belly dance musings of Asharah at Bellydance Paladin
10) See the one million faces project of Peggy at her blog OneMillionFaces
11) The thinking space of Alyssa at Transported into Applesauce
12) The inspiring and thought provoking journaling of Tempest at OwlKeyMe & Tempest's Teapot
13) Fellow dancer Nielle at that girl is a singin, dancin fool
14) The Scribbling Gypsy DeAnna
15) Last but definitely not least, my friends over at YIP Podcast

Sewing, Hooping and Rock Crawling

2010-08-30T10:22:00.003-06:00

What a lovely weekend!

Back in July I was gifted a ton of beautiful fabric that I was told would make excellent pantaloons. Well I got the craft bug on Friday and I made them all! I now have 3 sets of pretty purple pantaloons that will be for sale and a black pair that I'm keeping for myself. Picture and descriptions will end up on facebook for these within the next few days. Saturday night I had a hoop date with Stefanie. Ryan and Angel came along too.

Saturday came and I found a couple goodies at the Belly Dance Swap at the DNote. It's always a good time. Got a couple goodies then headed over to Miss Jill's house, snuggled her new kitten Fielder (sp?), hooped, ate yummy things right out of her garden and talked late into the evening with all the girls.

Sunday Ryan and I were supposed to go to Elitches but we really weren't feeling it. Instead we went and picked up Alyssa and headed into the mountains for some rock crawling in the jeep and sporadic climbing bits... mostly I just watched Ryan and Alyssa do the climbing. I'll have to get some lessons in here right quick.

Beauty and Inspiration

2010-08-26T10:56:00.002-06:00

Painting by: Colette Calascione

Thanks to Tempest for posting one of these pictures on her blog that spoke to her.
Pass it on.

Hoop Two: Picture

2010-08-24T09:09:00.003-06:00

Apparently Gypsy approves of this one as well... LOL!

3rd Hoop Class is tonight! I'm excited to go have some fun!

I bought another hoop...

2010-08-21T21:10:00.001-06:00

yeah... I'm in deep...

Hooping Take Two

2010-08-16T12:50:00.006-06:00

Well I managed to get Stef into hooping as well this past week. We've both been having a ton of fun with it. Stef ordered her own hoop and I think I'll get another this weekend just to have it... it's a lot more fun when you're hooping with others and if you have an extra hoop there's no reason to be hooping alone! Right? LOL! Kelly with HoopinHips will be vending this Saturday at Western Welcome Week from 8:30AM-5PM. Go try a hoop on for size and enjoy the rest of the festivities!

Hooping Class!

2010-08-11T08:41:00.004-06:00

Last night was my first hoop class!
Kelly from HoopinHips taught it. We had a ton of fun; went over the basics and I learned a few transitioning tricks that I'm excited to practice more. We also experimented with adding foot patterns to waist hooping which was a lot harder than it looked.

All in all I can't wait for next week... I just wish I could find someone to go with me!

On the Runway...

2010-08-02T12:33:00.004-06:00

Apparently I should add model to my "what I am list."

Got roped into a modeling gig this past weekend by my favorite MUA. There were definitely a lot of personalities that night.

but I did happen to see my friend Jennie who I haven't seen in almost a year!

It's definitely something I'd have fun exploring in the future I think.
We'll see what it brings...

A few new Tribal Fest 10 pictures

2010-07-27T15:25:00.001-06:00

The Truth about well rounded dancers...

2010-07-27T15:07:00.003-06:00

I follow Heather Sara via her blog, and today she posted an interesting article that I'm re-posting here.

Heather's Original Blog

Original Dance Article

The Three things you need to be well rounded according to said article:

Exposure = Watching a variety of dancers, styles, and performances; Making contact with other students and professionals; Reading about dance or dance artists

Experience = Getting a taste of alternative ways of moving and patterning dance; Learning a dance; Participating in a performance; Working with master teachers or choreographers;

Training = Engaging in a course of study that prepares a dancer for the physical, cognitive, and mental requirements of codified dance forms/techniques; specialized practice and instruction over a period of time

What are you lacking or what do you have to much of in your dancing life?

What I believe I need currently:
-A more structured and diligent personal practice (File under Training)
-Learning different ways of movement, not just limited to dance, rock climbing and hooping are next on my to do list (File under Experience)
-Less youtube (File under Exposure)

Red Elephant Workshop Grand Opening Vids!

2010-07-20T08:52:00.003-06:00

Much to my delight I just found out that Miss Megan took video footage of us at the grand opening! And here it is for you to enjoy! xo.

Part One!

Part Two!

yoga and crow pose

2010-07-19T12:09:00.003-06:00

Made it to yoga yesterday for the first time in 2 or 3 weeks. It was fabulous and happy making.
Ryan went with and kept me company... I hate doing yoga in a classroom of people I don't know.

I know I shouldn't be but I'm very jealous of Ryan's crow pose. I've always had a mental block about balancing on my hands, 3 or so months ago I just about got it, but my knees slipped off of my arm and slammed into the floor, my right one taking most of the brunt and it hurt and bruised up for a while. Knee pain whilst belly dancing sucks. So there's that and all of the broken mirrors at CorePower that I've seen from balancing poses that decided not to balance... LOL. I'm also worried sick I'll hurt someone next to me in class.

*note to self, park it in the middle of the class room with hopefully not too many people around you so you'll stop making up excuses for why you can't get into this pose, how many years have you been doing yoga? Yeah, I need to stop making excuses. *sigh*

Post Red Elephant Grand Opening

2010-07-19T09:19:00.002-06:00

Molly and I all happy post-performance

The grand opening for the Red Elephant Workshop was definite a success in my book. There will be more pictures eventually on Facebook and possibly here.

All the girls arrived around 6:30ish, putzed around, putting on the last bit of makeup and bindi's. Lot's of giggling and stories from the week, drooling over Julia's goodies and greeting the first of family, friends and belly girls who showed up once doors opened.

Miss Kelly Durst of Hoopin Hips will start teaching on Tuesdays in August. She had an awesome performance and mini lesson. One of our belly girls was a total natural at it!

Then we had our performance at 8:30pm and we rocked it. I love my dance girls!

TribalTique Denver's Cues and Tattoos Video!

2010-07-08T17:05:00.001-06:00

It's Up! Enjoy!

BDay Dance Party

2010-07-08T08:56:00.003-06:00

This past Friday was my actual BDay. I had a ton of belly friends to the studio for dance, booze and good times. It seemed to work out pretty well. I'm not one to throw parties typically... twas rather weird. More pictures are on facebook.

In the days ahead the TTDenver girls are preparing for the REW Grand Opening, First Fridays at OM Time and the Belly Hafla.

There's a lot of work to be done!

Colorado Renaissance Festival!

2010-06-28T10:36:00.003-06:00

I had some good times this weekend. First off I got a massage from Miss Kellie with Infinity Massage Center. Then I went to see the Divine Gypsies perform on Saturday night. And on Sunday a HUGE group of Denver Belly Dancers went to the Colorado Renaissance Festival! We got to see Adawiya Bellydance perform, had my hair braided and a few of us got some henna!

My birthday is this next weekend... should be a good time I hope.

Fin!

2010-06-23T10:43:00.003-06:00

Managed to finish the teeny bit of choreography that will be at the beginning of our second song at DNote in August! (the rest will be improv of course!)

Now let's work on the bit I want to do in a little over a week! eep!

Spring Cleaning!

2010-06-21T08:34:00.005-06:00

Yes, I know... I literally put it off until the last day of spring. But of course by saying "putting it off" I mean I finally found 6 hours of time in the middle of the night to clean my dance room.

I've been slightly busy just going to 5 classes a week, teaching 1, family outings, taking care of all of the animals (3 dogs and 4 cats) and maintaining a loving relationship with Ryan. Not to mention the full time job.

But I finally did it... I decided late Saturday night, that I would not sleep that night and just clean and work through it instead. Smart? Probably not... but the room had been needing it BADLY! I wish I would have taken a before hand picture, but oh well. To say that the room was messy was an understatement. As Ryan put it when he saw the finished product, "Oh wow, I forgot there was carpet in here!" LOL!

*Sigh* It feels wonderful to finally have accomplished this... between C&T and TF10 the place was a mess... as was my own mind a bit... I believe and hope that I managed to clean both of them up. Now I'm just a little sleep deprived is all!

As for today... Hello Summer! Being a summer baby myself... let me just say I love it, love it, love it. It's the time of the year where I try to soak up as much warmth as possible to get me through the winter, it's a time for hiking with the doggies, playing in the water and running barefoot outside.

What's your favorite part about summer? I know for a certain person it's the fact that Fall soon follows. ;-)

Choreography Musings...

2010-06-17T08:35:00.004-06:00

I've been dabbling in choreography a bit in my personal time. I consider myself at best an intermediate choreographer when it comes to belly dance. I've mostly been focusing on solo's; experimenting with what styles and flavors of the dance I like best, thinking about stage use, stage presence and entertainment value. Recently I finished my second solo piece. It's slow, short and sweet. I'd been going back and forth in my head of is it good enough to showcase? The other half of my brain told me to just throw it out there and see what happens... you can't progress if you keep all your musings and experiments to yourself. So I did... I took a chance and performed it at People's Fair; and I realized why it hadn't been feeling just right when I had practiced it at home. Taking the stage is always terrifying, you never know what's going to happen, but man I love it. I feel alive onstage; and doing solo work is so interesting... there are no boundaries as to what you can and can't do with your energy, the only fear is not doing enough.

But back to the choreography... I found that looking at a choreography you've created on paper is intimidating. Is it good enough? It looks so bland, it even feels bland whilst practicing it. What I was missing was the audience factor. Depending on who you are you may prefer dancing alone or if you're like me, you love dancing with others or at least for an audience. (Currently) I have a hard time putting my soul into a choreography unless there's someone watching... needless to say I believe the People's Fair solo went fantastically well. The audience adds another layer to the performance that you can't replicate in practice, you can do the steps, the hip, torso, arm and head layers but it's the hardest thing to pretend you have an audience. When you have an audience to practice for you can experiment with interactions, when it's appropriate to look them in the eye and when it's appropriate to be demure, savoring the movement and moment.

Enough of my ramblings for the day... I've got a new piece I'm mulling over, a drum solo this time... we'll see if I can finish it for my birthday (July 2).

My Solo at People's Fair
Image courtesy of: www.pennyopa.com

The First Dance

2010-06-15T14:12:00.002-06:00

Today has been a day for remembering, peace and solitude. Looking at where I am now and where I was.

I was never enrolled in a dance class as a toddler, yougin' or young adult. I found my very first dance class almost 5 years ago at age 19. When anyone asks I tell them that's the first I had ever danced.

I realized today that that's not true. I danced at high school dances, albeit I'll admit I had no idea what I was doing; but even before that I learned to move with grace through the leaves and limbs of our neighbors tree. I used to sit in that tree and read to my hearts content, only coming down when the street lights came on, but I suppose you could say it was tradition after I came home from school to gaze at the tree from my front porch, suddenly break out into a sprint, grab a hold the lowest branch and pull, swing, push and step as lightly and quickly to the top as I could. I spent my youth in that tree, it was my escape from everything, it was the first dance I learned.

What you've been waiting for...

2010-06-10T08:52:00.001-06:00

Presenting TribalTique's Tribal Fest 10 performance!

TribalTique Tribal Fest 10 from TrueLove Sound on Vimeo.

My New Class!

2010-06-08T12:45:00.003-06:00

Recently I was given the opportunity to teach my own "Fundamentals of Tribal" class at the Red Elephant Workshop in Denver, CO. They're Thursdays at 7PM, $11 for drop in. We've been having a blast the past two weeks, come and join us this Thursday! Classes are done on a drop in basis, so there are never any session start dates, if you miss a class that's fine; you won't feel behind when you come back the week after!

And if Thursdays don't fit into your schedule check out the rest of the awesome classes at Red Elephant Workshop!

Post People's Fair

2010-06-07T15:20:00.002-06:00

Let's just say we had an AMAZING time performing at People's Fair this year. The girls who are in TribalTique Denver right now just blow me away, we've all grown so much, and we've grown together. Hopefully someone out there got video of it.

We had a chill day of getting our make-up professionally done by one of our best friends at MAC cosmetics, grabbed some food, took it back to the workshop, slowly ate and put ourselves together for the performance.

I love these ladies. We were amazing. If you missed it, you really did miss an amazing show.
AND...
(puffs up chest)
the stage manager came back to us afterward and told us that we definitely had the biggest crowd of the day! WIN!

People's Fair Weekend!

2010-06-04T11:51:00.003-06:00

It's here! This weekend is People's Fair in downtown Denver, CO at Civic Center Park. If you're in town come see us! We'll be performing tomorrow night at 6:55PM. We will have a mostly improvisational set with a few choreographed pieces, including a solo by me! See below for more details.

People's Fair
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Performance and Cultural Stage
6:55-7:15 PM
Enjoy a performance by the ladies of TribalTique Denver at the 39th Annual CHUN People's Fair!
Admission is free
www.peoplesfair.com

Bolder Boulder Picture Dump

2010-06-01T13:02:00.007-06:00

For the 4th year in a row I've attended the Bolder Boulder and danced with the Bolder Tribe Belly Dancers at the top of Folsom hill cheering on the runners, joggers, walkers and rollers. This year was no different. Ryan and I woke up at 4AM to get ready and drive 45 minutes to Boulder and had a blast.

Miss Lisa G. of Desert Rain Tribal Belly Dance organizes our little group each year. Here's a little back story about it and enjoy the pictures!

Me and Ryan!

Lisa and I!

Tribal Fest 10: Teaser Video

2010-05-30T22:25:00.000-06:00

Tribal Fest 10: Picture Dump

2010-05-30T22:06:00.007-06:00

Yucky blizzard conditions driving out to Cali, through Wyoming and Utah.

The Cottage Ryan and I shared in Occidental, CA.

Occidental's awesome town map, that was drawn on the side of the building!

Breakfast at Howard's Cafe

Amy Sigil of Unmata kicking our butts during a workshop at Tribal Fest.

Our deer friends that came to graze by the cottage/house every evening.

Hip drop glue gun Molly! Our costumes were quite needy things this year...

Twilight over the vineyards.

A picture in one of the books at the house... it just mesmerized me.

Breakfast near the bay with Ryan...

and Molly!

Molly's friend Herbert.

Korbel lunch!

Pretty Korbel picture.

Showing our true nature...

Ryan and I at Hopmonk post-performance.

Molly modeling at the fashion show post-performance.

Molly rocking it.

Molly rocking it 2.0.

Molly rocking it 3.0.

An old tapestry Ryan and I found hanging at a costume shop in Santa Rose... still pining for it; alas it was not for sale.

Miss Jennifer called me while I was at Tribal Fest to let me know that the picture I had her work on for Molly was done. She restored and framed an old flyer of Molly's from when she was doing solo work in NOLA. It turned out fantastic and is now hanging at REW.

Tribal Fest 10 Overview

2010-05-30T21:27:00.004-06:00

This Tribal Fest was a fun amazing time as always. It was my 4th year attending; 2nd year performing with TribalTique.

I drove the 1300 mile drive out to California with my boyfriend Ryan. The TribalTique girls and I rented a house with a little cottage above the driveway this year. It was awesome! Ryan and I got to stay in the cottage and we ate at Howards cafe down the street just about every single morning... we had the sweetest waitress.

All of the workshops I took were great... I had to end up skipping a couple just because my brain and body couldn't take it. This year I ran myself pretty ragged between Cues & Tattoos, Elevation, Tribal Fest 10 and helping to open the new studio (Red Elephant Workshop). I'm not sure what to change for next year... but I'll try to play it a bit smarter.

Our performance went swimmingly well (still in the process of trying to get C&T and TF10 vids on youtube, they'll be posted here once that is accomplished). We all remembered the choreography/ me and Molly hit all of our improvisational bits we wanted to. I don't believe I tripped this time which was fantastic! LOL!

Overall, we definitely ate a ton of good food, bought some pretties (in particular my awesome nose rings from Silk Road Tribal! I love the girls who run that business, sweetest ladies ever. Got to go to Korbel again with Molly and Ryan.

That's all that's coming to mind currently. I'll leave you with a picture from our performance at TF10. (There'll be a post to follow solely of pictures from the trip)

I love my troupe mates... we did good this year. =)

TribalFest Teaser

2010-05-24T08:50:00.001-06:00

I'm working on getting a TF braindump posted... until then have a picture!
Photo Courtesy of Steven B.

Vacation!

2010-05-10T12:14:00.003-06:00

Sort of...
We're leaving for Tribal Fest tonight! So excited to get out of Colorado.
let me out let me out!

Keep an eye on my facebook for pictures... my phone doesn't like to sync with le blog unfortunately.
Peace out!

Elevation Breakdown

2010-05-06T12:43:00.001-06:00

Finally getting to my Elevation post!

Thursday:
Took the day off from work and headed out to Golden for Rachel Brice's 3 hour 8:30AM class. With this class I definitely came away with the want and a pretty good idea of how to reignite and switch up my personal practice. I also pinpointed why I have such a hard time with a few specific types of levels, it has nothing to do with my thighs and everything to do with my ankles. I definitely have the typical girly weak ankles... but I know what I need to work on now!

Went to lunch at Ali Baba Grill with Miss Lisa, had a lovely meal and talk with her. I don't get to see her near enough these days.

Went back to the workshop area and got ready for Unmata's class. I definitely got what I came for... a fast paced dance class where you never stop moving or smiling. I love Amy's way of breaking down movements and then turning it into a combo.

Friday:
Day two of Rachel's classes. She taught a frankly invaluable method for creating your own movement creation. It was the most real life applicable workshop I've ever taken; I'm definitely never going to look at a choreography the same again. My partner for the class was a lovely lady from Australia, whom I will also be seeing at Tribal Fest! They'll be performing on Sunday, May 16th under their name Divine Elements Belly Dance Company.

Saturday:
Day three of Rachel's classes. Before class I ended up meeting a lovely girl Jenny that takes classes near Connifer. We kept with the same theme as Friday with a different twist for creating fusion choreography. It was a fun workshop again but the other three ladies I met with and myself were desperately trying to keep our brains from leaking out our ears by the end. Slightly overwhelming but it was a ton of fun. Had to bust out of class right afterward to get up to FoCo with Molly for Tribal Fest rehearsal.

Later that night we went to the Gala Show, did a decent job of staying away from the vending, got to sit with Miss Lisa and Ryan about 6 rows back which was just perfect. It was by far my favorite Elevation Gala Show to date. The performers were all excellent and the show kept moving with a 20 minute intermission. My only critique was that it was a little long... I'm by no means sad that I got to see Unmata's full RaceCar set in addition to their full new Runway set, but I was definitely having a hard time staying awake by the end and it wasn't because the performers were bad. Rachel of course finished the show and she owned it like a rock star; I say rock star because at one point with the lighting set at a lovely blue-purple hue and the pose she struck to the perfect beat in the music she looked like a rock star. Whoever the lighting director was for the show they did a fantastic job for all of the performances.

Sunday:
I got to sleep in! Sort of... the dogs woke us up at about 7:30am, but considering that was the time I had been leaving for class that past three days it felt like I slept in. Gary had got back from Iowa the night before and was asleep on the couch until all three of the dogs bounded down the stairs. Had a nice chat with him, got breakfast with Ryan at Le Peep then headed out to Golden for my last two workshops.

Awalim's was first and both of the ladies teaching it were pretty hilarious. For the most part I they taught things I already knew but it was a fun one. Rachel's Yoga class ended the entire weekend and was completely blissful. A divine combination of asana, pranayama, chanting and meditation if you chose. It was seriously the best yoga glow I've ever had... I was totally blissed out.

Rachel talked a bit about her new DVD that's coming out at the end of May called Serpentine. I can't wait to get it a Tribal Fest.

I have 10 followers!

2010-05-04T11:50:00.002-06:00

Gee! Thanks guys!
I promise to write an Elevation Brain Dump in here asap!
xo.

TF COSTUME IS DONE!

2010-04-28T13:37:00.004-06:00

Well... I do have to buy some elastic for the waistband... but that's it!
Sewing last night didn't take near as long as I thought it would!

I'm dying to post pictures of it... but it must be a surprise until after we perform Friday, May 14th, 2010 from 7:10PM - 7:23PM!

12 days till we leave!

Now that that's done I can put even more time into rehearsing. There's a part of the choreography that still makes me nervous... time to iron it flat.

A wonderful night off...

2010-04-27T08:20:00.002-06:00

After last night this is how costuming looks...
(yes my life is totally revolving around this costume currently ;-) )

Tribal Fest costuming update:
-Headdress: DONE!
-Belt: DONE!
-Bra: Covered! Working on embellishments.
-Pants: Smidge of hand stitching left and add the eyes
-Scarf: DONE!

Had a lovely uninterrupted practice last night, ran the Tribal Fest number for about 30 minutes then worked on my solo for about 30 more. Happy making. So happy making.

Actually made a home cooked dinner for Ryan and I which turned out pretty good. Made a Spicy Chicken Broil... I had never broiled anything before, I think it turned out pretty good!

By the time we were done with Dinner it was 8:30pm, decided to just work on costuming for an hour and call it good. I brought my bra with me to work; the plan is to attack it on my lunch break!

Two weeks till Tribal Fest 10

2010-04-26T09:32:00.003-06:00

Tribal Fest costuming update:
-Headdress: Definitely want and need to switch around bangles so they stop attacking my eyes
-Belt: DONE!
-Bra: Covered! Working on embellishments.
-Pants: Just need to hand sew a couple parts and add the eyes
-Scarf: DONE!

My goal for tonight is to completely finish the headdress and pants, I'll work on the bra if I have extra time and the inclination. Two week till we head out for CA... count 'em TWO! I can't believe how quickly it's coming up.

Then there's the though that this Thursday morning I'll be in class with the ever lovely Rachel Brice. I'm excited to take a class from her again, I love her teaching style.

It's pretty much official... I'll be doing a solo at People's Fair this year. *BREATHE*
It's something I definitely want to do, despite being petrified. Solo's are something I've been interested in working on since I did my first solo as an advanced dancer about a year ago... it's so much different than performing with a group. Having to command the stage all by yourself is... (to put it lightly) exhausting. Yesterday I came up with a BRILLIANT intro for a solo... but it will not happen at PF, perhaps the holiday hafla if it's appropriate (no I'm not telling you what it is ;) ).

After much debate I'm going to take a month off from Monday classes. I'm in desperate need of some time off. Burn out: Let me show you it.

Plan for my free time tonight:
-Make Dinner!
-Costume: Finish Pants and Headdress
-Run TF piece 5x
-Mull over solo, get a good feel for the song and what I want to do with it
-Perhaps attack my bathrooms if I accomplish the above things faster than expected.

Productivity is down... for now.

2010-04-20T12:40:00.003-06:00

Tribal Fest costuming update:
-Headdress: DONE! Though I may switch the dangles around a bit if I have time
-Belt: DONE!
-Bra: Covered! Working on embellishments.
-Pants: Fabric Bought. Just need to cut and sew it all together.
-Scarflet: have supplies just need to borrow Molly's serger this weekend.

The Red Elephant Workshop is complete and ready for classes. First one is tomorrow night! There are a few minor decorating bits that will need to be added but the bulk is done with huge thanks to Molly's dad Dennis. We owe him a million and one thank you cards. The time and effort he put into the studio shows, it's beautiful. Take a peek at the new pics here. Super squee!

Elevation is coming up next weekend. I can't wait to take all of the classes with Miss Rachel Brice, Awalim and Unmata. It'll be a nice intensive right before Tribal Fest, lol!

Red Elephant Workshop Webby is up!

2010-04-14T10:30:00.002-06:00

http://www.redelephantworkshop.com/index.html

Shopping Recommendation

2010-04-14T08:19:00.004-06:00

I just found out that the lovely couple I bought my belt from in Seattle has an etsy store!

Check it out!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/sathyadesigns

Seattle Trip In Pictures

2010-04-13T08:59:00.009-06:00

fyi... these pics really aren't in order of occurrence.

Our performance at the gala show!
Best Taffy Evar! It can be found in CO but it tastes so much better if you can buy it somewhere with humidity.

Me and Stef's Efalent tattoos!

Champagne Day 5!

My efalent just after he was done!

Getting efalent...

Champagne Day 4!

Space Needle taken with camera phone... I like the effect.

Champagne Day 3!

Dicks is a QUICK hamburger place... but can you see why we were amused? ;-)

Belt I happened upon, tried on and never took off till I got safely back in CO, lol!

Silly Jo.

Silly Stef.

Very silly Molly.

Stef in Fluevog Sexyness that she should have bought.

My fluevog sexyness I did buy!

Zombie bear!

Champagne Day 2!

Pretty lil tree...

PIROSHKY!!!

Bathrooms in Pike Place Market

View near Pike Place Market

Miss Red Fun!

Our seafood spread!

Crafts of yummy yum!

Me loving watery wet things and pretending I'm a photographer

Preparing to attack the fluevog store...

Oh the green goodness...

Champagne Day 1!

Productive like 'whoa' weekend

2010-04-12T13:43:00.002-06:00

On the Tribal Fest costuming front:
-Headdress: DONE! Almost... just need to put 2 globs of glue on and about 8 rhinestones!
-Belt: ALMOST DONE! just a bit more hand sewing to do! and create two more medallions
-Bra: need to cover and embelish
-Pants: need to buy fabric and sew, sew, sew...
-Scarflet: have supplies just need to steal Molly's serger

whew! Let's see if I can be just as productive this week!

New look for the blog...

2010-04-09T08:09:00.002-06:00

I get bored easily, what can I say?
What do you all think?

Coloardo weather...

2010-04-07T08:56:00.002-06:00

...please stay stable for one week so that this silly cold will go away, kthxbai.

In other news the Red Elephant Workshop webby is up! Go check it out and comment on the blog/post! The flooring is the next big step for the upcoming week/weekend. Tools have been prepped and are ready to go... now we just need to pick up our fabulous handy man at the airport tonight.

Time to hunker down on TF costuming now that Cues and Tattoos is over. I'm going to attack it this Friday; game plan looks like this:
-Headdress first (need finish asap so I can practice with it and get used to it)
-Belt (a ton of handsewing needs to be done and it will be the most time consuming)
-Bra (waiting on a few minor supplies, but I can start the groundwork)
-Pants (need to go to Joann's and find pretty emeraldy fabric)
-Scarflet (fabric bought, just need to find the trim)

now back to your regularly scheduled work week.

FYI...

2010-04-05T12:56:00.002-06:00

Jill passed her MAC Cert with flying colors!!!

In sad land news... Miss M is sick... I will be subbing tonight as well as Wednesday night.

The Red Elephant Workshop barn raisin was this past saturday and it was a huge success!
Pics of new studio are being uploaded here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stuntmuppet/sets/72157623670517256/
as well as some sporadic ones on my facebook mobile uploads album. Check em out!
Website should be up this week! E!
Time fer lunch naow!

30 hours till Seattle!

2010-03-23T08:49:00.002-06:00

Whoot!
Cues and Tattoos here we come!
I'll see about uploading pics to this blog as we're on the trip =)

I have a task...

2010-03-18T14:31:00.001-06:00

and that is to organize my dance room this weekend.
I shall post pics if I succeed.

revelation

2010-03-07T21:50:00.004-07:00

Thanks to Melissa tonight for sharing her experience, it helped me realize something.

Belly Dance allowed me to love myself for who I am.
Yoga has allowed me to love myself as I am.
Imperfect.

to dance just because you can

2010-03-07T14:06:00.002-07:00

I can't stop watching this little girl... it was in today's Belly Dance Quickie. If you're not signed up for these daily tidbits you should be, most tend to be rather inspiring and/or thought provoking.

Overall, I'm feeling a bit run down but still chugging along. Had a lovely rehearsal with Molly yesterday. Got a few things broken down so I can practice them on my own correctly!

Dinner at Arada last night for Anne's birthday was a hoot. Lots of fun stories and oh the food and honey wine!

Prepared today for the photo shoot that's this upcoming Thursday. I'm excited for this one, it'll be much less chaotic than the Cheyenne shoot, time to breathe, get to know the photographer and focus on what I'm doing.

Time for dinner with Dad, then yoga, then bath and SLEEP!
xo.

Photo Shoot

2010-03-02T13:07:00.002-07:00

This past Sunday there was an amateur photo shoot in Cheyenne, WY.
I decided to go. The fabulous Agent 5 MUA did my hair and make-up.

Here's the Flickr Gallery where I'm adding all the photos as the photographers upload them.

It was definitely a learning experience.
In 4.5 hours I worked with 13 different photographers. Some of them seemed to not know what to be with me (not being the typical type of model that showed up) and others saw the opportunity to expiriment. I had a blast working with all of them and can't wait for the next gig.

Other photos from the gig with different models will be uploaded to the Colorado Strobist Flickr Group if you're interested.

prioritizing and keeping my sanity

2010-02-23T11:41:00.002-07:00

I came to the conclusion yesterday that I need to put my solo on hold. The little time and energy I have to work on material needs to go towards C&T and the Tribal Fest Choreography. I felt the biggest relief after I made that decision yesterday, I actually felt like practicing and did after class when I got home.

C&T is coming along swimmingly, we're going to rock it at the end of March. I can not wait to go back to Seattle... the food, the shopping, the Fluevog Store! Gee...

TF choreography is mostly done and mostly in my head and muscle memory! Must work on pounding that in daily.

TribalTique Denver is performing at Bedouin Basements this upcoming Saturday! All improv baby! We're going to have a blast, you better be there! And Molly's doing a solo too!

Getting prepped for the photo shoot this weekend... getting all sorts of good tips from my favourite people. Thanks guys! <3

Hunkering Down

2010-02-16T12:18:00.002-07:00

This week:
-class 5x
-C&T Rehearsal
-TF Rehearsal
-Senior Residence Performance
-Lannie's Late Night Performance
-Yoga classes 3-5x
-Choreograph solo
-Work on C&T costuming

Next week:
-class 5x
-C&T Rehearsal
-TF Rehearsal
-Gypsy House Performance
-Finish Solo
-Finish C&T costuming
-Jill does Make-Up then head up to Cheyenne for photoshoot

If you can't get ahold of me... the above redunkulous schedule is why.

exciting things are on the horizon

2010-02-15T16:51:00.001-07:00

most of which I can't talk about yet ;-)
I'm such a tease...
but I'm not going to jynx this.
*cross your bits*

Costuming Costuming and guess what?

2010-01-25T11:13:00.003-07:00

More. Costuming.

Almost done with C&T costuming
-skirt: done
-Belt: done
-Pantaloons: arrived and are loverly
-skirt accessory: done
-bra: needs embellishing
-shoulder wrap: Will do Tues night

TF10 Costuming is a whole other story...
none of it is done, but I think I have most everything I need to complete it
*crosses fingers*

Need to listen to our C&T song more... it's a bit tricky at parts.

Phoenix's Hafla this weekend was just lovely. A ton of new and interesting performances and performers. Met a few more improv girls from around CO, we had fun with some TRUE improv, gotta love all the little nuances that are different. We all had a great time. It was also Stef's BDay night so drinks, bread, brownies and a few shirley temples were had (because we're 12! lol)

I now have 1 dog and 3 cats... thankfully it's been a decently smooth transition. Jasmine and Gypsy are even playing together a little bit! yay!

That's all for now... restorative yoga tonight!

C&T and TF10 Costuming

2010-01-11T07:48:00.003-07:00

I have been a busy, busy lady this weekend.
I attacked C&T and TF10 costuming head on. Sorry no pics ;-)

Trying to come up with a design for C&T bra that hasn't been done a million times. Ponder. Ponder.

I have much hand sewing left to do. Then to sparkle... I hope my rhinestone order gets here today.

CPY Challenge: End

2009-12-28T13:54:00.002-07:00

I've gone on:
11/27, 11/29, 12/1, 12/4, 12/8,
12/10, 12/11, 12/15, 12/16, 12/17,
12/18, 12/20, 12/22, 12/26, 12/27.

Well, I made 15/20. Not too bad all things considered.

Getting ready to take off on our road trip tonight.
I can't wait for this much needed vacation.

CPY Challenge: =(

2009-12-21T09:00:00.002-07:00

I've gone on:
11/27, 11/29, 12/1, 12/4, 12/8,
12/10, 12/11, 12/15, 12/16, 12/17,
12/18, 12/20.

12 out of 20 done.

Unfortunately since I decided not to go on Saturday, I probably won't make the goal.
I have my reasons for not going, but I still feel upset about it. I probably could make it if I can make a Tuesday morning class on the 29th... but since Ryan and I will be leaving to get out of town, it may or may not happen. We'll see how close I can get though!

Daily Om: Rediscovering Dance

2009-12-17T10:06:00.000-07:00

Healing with Movement

As children, most of us were encouraged to dance on a regular basis, freely and openly, in whatever way felt best. A few of us may have retained or regained our ability to engage in dancing unselfconsciously, but by the time we reach adulthood, many of us have stopped dancing altogether. We may have hang-ups about our bodies, or we may fear being judged. Then again, we may simply have fallen out of the habit for so long that we don’t even realize we never dance anymore. Whatever the case, there’s no time like now to rediscover the healing pleasure of moving your body to music—alone, as part of a couple, or in a group. Opportunities to dance abound, once you start looking for them.

If you haven’t danced in a long time and feel too self-conscious to start in a public situation, find some time alone to reintroduce yourself to the joy of listening and responding to music with your body. Turn the lights down low and remember that it’s much more fun when you’re not thinking about what you look like. It won’t take long before your body remembers how much it loves to move. Feel the music in your soul, feel the vibrations healing your body. Treat the time like a meditation session in which you agree to allow yourself to fully inhabit your amazing body.

If you feel awkward, remember that every culture since time immemorial has celebrated life and the body with dance. All people carry the memory of dance in their blood and bones. In other words, you were born to do this, it is in you already; all you have to do is start moving. If you prefer more interaction, take a class one night a week. In most cities, you can find everything from modern dance to African dance to ballroom and salsa. Whatever you choose, you won’t regret choosing to rediscover your birthright—the healing, joyful thrill of dancing.

New Years: A break... sort of

2009-12-17T07:56:00.002-07:00

I've definitely been on the fringes of being burnt out lately with dance. As Ryan pointed out... maybe you should do something for yourself for a change. So I've picked a song, skeletoned it and have a shit ton of ideas for choreography. Being the possessive cancer that I am, no one's seeing anything till I debut it, and I have no earthly idea when that will be... but I'll let you know when I do. ;-)

At the end of December/ during New Years, Ryan and I are taking a much needed vacation to Iowa to see his grandparents. Let me preface this by saying I love Iowa... it's been the one place I've ever vacationed to and have actually relaxed. Whether other trips are disqualified because they were with my own family (which frankly is always the opposite of relaxing), or they were for dance (in which case I'm running around like a monkey with it's head cut off); point being, they're anything but relaxing.

My grand master plan is to take over Anita's (Ryan's grandmother) huge living room that is hardly ever used (and still has the shag green carpet! I'll take pictures I promise) and dance, scheme, choreograph, perhaps work on costuming if I feel like hauling it all with me.... I think I will, I think Anita might get a huge kick out of it and maybe she'll have some bits and bobbles to add to it. Maybe she'll teach me how to sew... that would be full of win.

I can't wait!

CPY Challenge: 9/20 Done!

2009-12-16T14:36:00.002-07:00

I've gone on:
11/27, 11/29, 12/1, 12/4, 12/8,
12/10, 12/11, 12/15, 12/16

9 out of 20 down!

I went to a 6am c2 this morning. Bird taught it, I really liked his take on the flow. It was fun and refreshing to do it that early. I need a new mat for hard flow yoga though, my other mat it moving way too much; even with my yogi toes on it. I'm thinking of trying a Manduka mat. Hopefully I'll have the pennies to buy it in January.

CPY Challenge

2009-12-14T10:52:00.002-07:00

I've gone on:
11/27, 11/29, 12/1, 12/4, 12/8,
12/10 & 12/11.

7 out of 20 down!

I'm going to have to do a crazy schedule to make this challenge... the plan for the 13 left is:
12/15 thru 12/20
12/22 thru 12/28

I'm going to have to hit some 6am C2's. This should be interesting!

Another Challenge! LOL!

2009-12-09T08:20:00.002-07:00

12/04 Fri - 60 min - Hot Power Fusion w/ Melissa at Ken Caryl CorePowerYoga

12/07 Mon - 60 min - Flow Yoga w/ Molly McClellan at Motion En Fuego

12/08 Tues - 60 min - Hot Power Fusion w/ Venus at Ken Caryl CorePowerYoga

So at Core Power they are doing a challenge at just the Ken Caryl and South Denver locations. The concept is to go to 20 yoga classes from the day after thanksgiving to the new year. And if you make it they'll essentially give you a $20 cpy gift certificate free to your account. After doing yoga every single day last month this shouldn't be too hard. So far I've gone on: 11/27, 11/29, 12/1, 12/4 & 12/8. Five down fifteen to go!

Yoga: Dec 1st

2009-12-01T18:39:00.004-07:00

12/01 Tues - 60 min - Hot Power Fusion w/ Venus at Ken Caryl CorePowerYoga

Yoga Challenge Overview

2009-12-01T08:57:00.002-07:00

CorePower Free Classes - 2
CorePower $8 Classes - 5
CorePower Regular Classes - 9
Home Practice - 6
Molly/Dance Classes - 8

Tried 11 different teachers in all!

Not too shabby! After a month of going at it I feel lovely. I can tell I'm getting stronger, if only because my turkish drops are getting better, lol! But I do have more energy and my mental health has definitely improved for the most part.

I think I'm going to continue this but not at full force. My schedule will look like this:
Monday - Molly's Yoga Class
Tues - CPY
Wednesday - 15 min Yoga Warm up in Drills
Thursday - CPY
Friday - CPY
Sat - Optional CPY
Sun - CPY

Saturday was definitely the hardest day to get to yoga for me. It tends to be me and Ryans day to hang out and get errands done, plus none of the classes on Sat at Ken Caryl seem to work well for me... I do like the 8am C2 class, however if I sleep in too late, oh well... not gonna stress about it. Overall it was wonderful though. I'm going to continue blogging everyday I go to yoga... this has been fun and a good use for my journal; in addition to dance related entries of course! ;-)

YC: Day Thirty

2009-12-01T08:44:00.002-07:00

11/30 Mon - 60 min - Restorative Yoga w/ Molly McClellan at Motion En Fuego

My mind didn't really want to turn off during restorative, but it was still wonderful nonetheless. Weird... this is the last day of the yoga challenge for me... what will I do now?

YC: Day Twenty Nine

2009-11-30T09:21:00.002-07:00

11/29 Sun - 60 min - Candlelight Flow w/ Melissa D. at Ken Caryl CorePowerYoga

Next time I need to position myself closer to the mirrors and further away from the window... I never broke out into a comfortable sweat which is quite uncomforatable. boo. Had a good practice though :)

YC: Twenty Four to Twenty Eight

2009-11-28T23:20:00.002-07:00

11/24 Tues - 15 min - Home Practice

11/25 Wed - 15-20 min - Drills and Conditioning Yoga Warm Up w/ Molly McClellan at 910 Arts on Sante Fe

11/26 Thurs - 15 min - Home Practice

11/27 Fri - 60 min - Hot Power Fusion w/ Melissa at Ken Caryl CorePowerYoga

11/28 Sat - 15 min - Home Practice

Been running around with my head cut off this week. Hopefully will have time to blog more later.

YC: Day Twenty Three

2009-11-23T15:46:00.002-07:00

11/23 Mon - 60 min - C1 w/ Shere at Stapleton CorePowerYoga

I love this teacher, just fanatastic, sweet and cute. I think she said the word yummy 40 times during class! lol! Yay for a wonderful practice! Just about time to head to belly dance class! =) I'm really looking forward to tonight, there's a lovely lady starting shake n' bake, squee!

The First Time I saw the TTDenver Students Dance...

2009-11-22T19:47:00.004-07:00

07/15/2006 - Mercury Cafe Open Dance... I distinctly remember wishing I new what on earth I was doing so I could join in that night. I believe I took a workshop with Jennifer S-G. within the next month, because I remember joining in (despite having 2hours worth of education in improv) at Phoenix's next hafla in August or September.
11/21/2009 - And here we are now... I love you guys...

YC: Day Twenty Two

2009-11-22T18:38:00.005-07:00

11/22 Sun - 15 min - Home Practice

Had a lovely day with Ryan today, played with the pups, went up to Boulder and meandered about... Ryan bought me the new flyleaf cd and the Owl City cd! Yay for new music! Here's sum puppy pics for you amusement... including proof that Nanook is a pillow! and proof that Niko is... well... is... something or other. lol ;)

YC: Day Twenty One

2009-11-22T18:13:00.004-07:00

11/21 Sat - 15 min - Home Practice

Had a lot to do on Sat.
Went and saw Bollywood West perform at the Denver Pavillions, they were fantastic! Pic of me and the fantastic lady Tina below.

Later we went to the Gypsy House Cafe for Basement Bedouins. Another fabulous night, TribalTique Denver showed up in full force (as proven by the picture below)! We all had a fabulous time watching the excellent performances (<3 Janet and Raks Benazir!) and open dancing. All improv all the time! lol!
I'm so thankful for all of the wonderful people who I've met through belly dance, I can't even begin to imagine my life without every single one of you in it! XO!