Venus Uprising Bellydance New York City

MORE HOLIDAY ACTIVITY :: neon

How does one return to normalcy after the holidays? Soon after breakfast, champagne, mulled wine and port start flowing here in smooth succession, turning the world into a magical swirl of colorful beauty. I haven't worked out in a few days. Here my sister Elizabeth, a Laura Ashley furniture freak, displays to me her mirror desk from the Laura Ashley "Gatsby" Art Deco-style collection and other Laura Ashley etched-mirror items.

Elizabeth's Christmas tree is trimmed with balls in the shape of sea mines.

Among the gifts I received today was this antique Russian cameo: my parents had it set in modern gold setting.

Meanwhile, my brother-in-law Michael is mounting a massive effort to produce the Christmas cake.

HOLIDAY ACTIVITIES :: neon

Still in Oxford, today I went shopping.

Meanwhile, at home, Michael, my brother-in-law is preparing chocolate truffs.

And then Michael is making mulled wine:

He also makes a Christmas meal for the birds in the garden:

And also Michael is working on Christmas eve salad, his own recipe.

Glacee fruit awaiting placement on the Christmas cake.

VISITING FAMILY IN OXFORD :: neon

Here I am, for 4 days in Oxford, UK, to visit my family -- reflecting on the patterns of the fog in my sister Elizabeth's frost-dressed garden.

Dead leaves and flowers, decomposing fruit, seeds and grass are trimmed with frost. Frost-covered, cobwebs turn thick, displaying every nuance of their design.

Behind Elizabeth's house, beyond the garden, a wheat field coated in thick fog extends far away, ending somewhere over there, at the Victorian canal.

Davis weather station informs my sister's weather-observant family about the state of wind and temperature in their frozen garden.

My niece- out to observe the winter garden.

Frost-covered Iris berries.

Frost-covered amaryllises decay at the entrance to the garden.

Meanwhile, in the house, my brother-in-law Michael sets out to cook ratatouille.

The ratatouille.

VENUS UPRISING MAKES AN APPEARANCE IN SINGAPORE :: blanca

As you probably know, our beloved and always gorgeous Golden Apple teammate Jenna is a sought-after bellydance performer and teacher who abandoned us and moved to LA a couple of years ago. She was recently invited to Singapore's Ahlamy Festival where she taught several workshops and performed. Take a look a the snapshots she sent me, they were taken at the Gala Show.

The image above is the cover of The Russian edition of The Golden Apple - Bellydance Stars of New York DVD, available online from Amazon.com

Below: Surprise! Blanca's image from a Venus Uprising poster greets Jenna at the Singapore gala! (see more posters by Venus Uprising)

 

RAYHANA'S ROCK & ALTERNATIVE BELLYDANCE SHOW :: neon

Rayhana's Annual Rock and Alternative bellydance show is a massive 3 plus hrs event featuring 4 categories of rock and alternative numbers by student and professional bellydance talent of NYC - Vamps, Classic Rock, Latin and Contemporary/New Age. Me, Tanna Valentine and Autumn Ward (pictures below) graced the Contemporary/ New Age section of this annual extravaganza.


Tanna Valentine appears as a Fantasy Geisha (photo by Brian Lin)



Tanna - Kid Rock cane number (photo by Brian Lin)




above:Autumn Ward: the red ball dance (photo by Brian Lin)


below: Neon: "Opium" (photo by Brian Lin)



Sarah Skinner, Blanca, Neon, Dale Langdon: