Venus Uprising Bellydance New York City

SENSUAL VARIATIONS :: blanca

Being artists in New York we sometimes reach that point when we forget why we came here in the first place. A couple of months ago, after an outpouring of dance shows and DVDs, happiness, bliss, friends and DVD release parties, I fell into a bit of post-partum depression and the classic existential crisis. It was then that I had an epiphany during a voice class:

I didn't come all the way here to be bored... I came for the magic! I came for that moment when you forget about the past and the future and with all honesty you take that which is in your heart and pour it out... I came for those moments when I have a magical performance and for a moment I feel connected to the audience... and to my soul.

And then I thought:

There's only one thing that could make me even happier than those moments... and that would be to find the key... the key that will unlock that magic every time. Not just when we are in the mood, but even when we didn't have a good day... I want to learn about that key that unlocks the magic inside each of us... and I want to teach it to others.

So my 2008 resolutions (in no particular order) ended up being:
1. Have fun
2. Share fun
3. Develop new teaching methods and choreography
4. Share them

Come learn a new combination each week. This Friday (Feb 1) will feature a fun, flirty song... it will make you smile!

Yes, you will learn technique. Yes you will learn steps. And... you will learn magic. How? Come and find out!

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SENSUAL BELLYDANCE VARIATIONS
with Blanca
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when: Fridays 6 PM (from Feb 1 - Jun 6. No class April 25)
where: Harkness Dance Center @ 92nd St. Y Lexington Ave at 92nd St.
room: Lower Dance Studio
price: 18 sessions: $220.00; single class: $16; ten-class card: $145
bring: hip scarf, veil. Silk veils will be available for sale.

Class notes and music available upon request.
Every class will include hip work and veil practice.
Plus, each week we will learn a new sensual bellydance combination. Upcoming classes:

FEB 1: MAKSOUM - sexy, fun, flirty
FEB 8: BALADI - earthy, flirty, sultry
FEB 15: RHUMBA - romantic, dreamy, elegant
FEB 22: MASMOUDI - passionate, rich, intriguing
FEB 29: CIFTETELLI - mysterious, dramatic and so sensual!
MAR 7: CIFTETELLI 2 - with veil work
MAR 14: TAKSIM - no rhythm... we'll work on feeling the music and being in the moment.
MAR 21 and 28: FLOORWORK - feel like an odalisque. [ bring kneepads ]

The class level is listed as "Beginner" but it is an Open Level class. I have my ways of teaching a mixed-level group.
You will improve in each class whether you are just starting or are an experienced dancer.

READ ALL ABOUT MY CLASSES AND WORKSHOPS

WHAT'S IN A VOICE? :: blanca

Coming from a place where the prevailing mentality was that of "people are that way, they don't change", New York has been the nurturing environment I thought only existed in my dreams.

One of the most exciting things in this profession is to witness a student's immediate improvement after a teacher's correction. Whether that student is myself, a classmate or a student of mine is equally gratifying. The courage of the student to open his or her mind to new ways of learning, to push his/herself beyond his/her own capacity often fills my eyes with tears and my heart with indescribable joy. The generosity, intelligence, dedication and ingenuity of the teacher fill me with admiration, pride and inspiration.

This week is full of new wonders as I pushed myself beyond my limits and began to sing in front of a group. Not just any group, mind you. I'm taking part of Tom Burke's NUTS AND BOLTS weeklong workshop and my classmates are amazing singers. Some of them have graduate degrees in voice performance, some are voice coaches with published books on the subject, some have toured the US singing.

And here I am, a dream come true: I can stand in front of them and actually produce a song with my voice. I'm strong enough not to allow fear to grab me by the throat (literally).

My first attempt at an acting career was at the age of 6, when my older brother was trying out his new camera. I put a veil over my head (actually, a towel) and took this huge metallic scorpion that my mom had for decoration, pretending I was some sort of scary creature as I spoke to the camera. I was so into it! I was so excited to see the result... but got devastated after hearing my voice on the TV screen.

Unable to understand that the sound quality of that camera sucked, I decided that my voice was hideous. I decided to bury it. I decided that there was nothing I could do to change it or improve it or learn to love it (thank the gods dancing is usually mute!)

After moving to New York I began to take voice lessons with wonderful teachers. They were very supportive and great teachers, but being my own worst critic, it was almost as if the more I practiced and studied, the worse I felt about my singing. Perhaps my ear got better, making me more aware of my lack of perfection. Every note was a judgment: "Was I off pitch?" I would ask every 2 measures.

Today in the workshop I realized that the main reason why I'm now able to sing in front of an audience is because Tom never judges me. He doesn't patronize me or baby me either. He is very matter-of-fact, and simply tells me what to do to achieve the results we are looking for. Today he was telling the group how research has shown that students learn better by positive reinforcement every few attempts. That correcting a student after every single attempt is actually counterproductive. How true this is!

Tom treats me like a professional, and I'm starting to behave this way. His extensive and varied background allows him to combine speech pathology, Estill Voice Training (a mind-blowing / high-tech method of voice training), chakra/energy work, and other disciplines to craft each student's performance at a fast pace.

He often tells me after coming up with a mind-blowing correction: "Try that with your bellydance students and let me know how it goes"

And well... that's exactly what I have been working on! I'm very excited about my upcoming workshops:

SENSUAL VARIATIONS (starting February 1)
and
DRUM SOLO: TECHNIQUE, MUSICALITY AND SHOWMANSHIP
with Blanca & Carmine (March 29)

I could write some about these workshops... but that's another blog.

...

If you are a singer or just curious about your voice and looking to improve, discover or have fun with it... or if you want to become an amazing singer, Tom is available for coaching at the awesome Singer's Forum in NYC.
www.tomburkevoice.com

TE AMO BUENOS AIRES :: sherene

If you’ve completely lost faith in the ever-declining value of the American dollar—this is the destination. After traveling to Paris and having to cough up $7 for a cup of tea, I had almost resigned to falling in love with domestic travel. Although I used to make yearly pilgrimages to India annually, enjoying the 45 rupee to a dollar exchange rate (back in ’06), after an onslaught of health issues, as is par for the course when traveling there, my immune system begged me to stop.

B.A. has been toted as the Paris of South America, and although it deserves such comparison in terms of its café life and fabulous shops, it also deserves its own status. It’s truly unique in a myriad of ways and the people are unbelievably warm and charming.  They dress to the nines, and say exactly what’s on their mind, no censorship! – so refreshing!

Famous for cheap plastic surgery and Botox, but what might be less well known, is that it’s a Mecca for psychoanalysis. They take their Lacanian analysis very seriously. It’s actually fashionable to be in analysis the way it was in New York City in the 60’s, when great artists like Martha Graham swore by their analytic experience in fostering their creative self-actualization. Especially in the trendy district called the Palermo, (their equivalent of Nolita or Williamsburg) brimming with emerging young designers and artists, there is a strong buzz around Lacanian analysis—an interesting branch of psychoanalysis where the analyst can decide to end the session whenever he or she feels the analysand needs to be interrupted, even after only 5 minutes if he feels it will wake the person up or shake the process up. Can’t say I agree with such extreme measures, but it’s fascinating to me that it’s become so popular there.

Highlights of B.A.:

The Recoletta Cemetery: a dream setting for the next GBD DVD—I wonder how many music videos have been shot there?
It’s gorgeous, sacred, dark and eerie at the same time despite the throngs of tourists.

Lingerie shopping at Las Oreiros in the Palermo—what you imagine naughty Argentinean princesses wore. They even wrap up your prized possessions in a satin hatbox. Sigh.

High Tea at the Alvear Palace Hotel in the Recoletta

Day of Beauty at any of the notable spas. You can get pampered for an entire day including facials, body scrubs, mani/pedis, reflexology etc for under $200, something that would cost a small fortune in the city. And the aestheticians are amazing there!

Dinner at the Café Tortoni. The best grilled cheese (or jamon y queso if you’re not veg) and hot chocolate in the city!

Shopping in the Barrio Norte. I snagged some of the most amazing vintage Swarovski crystal costume jewelry at a store called Faroma. For shoes: Mishika; and for handbags, Own. They will soon be selling their pieces of art at Barney’s, but in B.A. you can get creations that would cost you upwards in the thousands for under a $100. Crazy! I sound like a materialist mama gone mad! It happens there with so much affordable beauty! Watch out!

Pastries or fresh orange juice at Francesca’s in Patio Bullrich in the Recoletta. Their version of a mall is like a palace compared to some of our corporate-fueled mega-monstrosities. It’s tiny and only filled with magical little shops and cafes. No screaming children, and you’re not left with that feeling of nausea after .002 seconds of entering.

The art museums are fantastic: Bellas Artes is my favorite.

"CULT OF MYTH" - SPRING VU SHOW :: neon

The all-important Venus Uprising Shows Committee has decreed that Spring 2008 will be graced with a new Fantasy Bellydance show hosted by Venus Uprising.
The title of the event: "Cult of Myth"
The theme is images and stories from myths, legends and fairy tales of the world depicted through the art of bellydance
Dates: April 25 (Friday) and April 26 (Saturday)
Location: DNA (Dance New Amsterdam) Theater downtown, NYC
Reception: Yes! Wine, cheese and chocolates - both days, following the show.

A small group of the Committee representatives gathered yesterday to sign the deal in blood. Predictably, the meeting occurred over a box of chocolates that enjoyed a lot of attention from some of us. There were also cakes, but I won't go into the detail here, sparing the reputation of my esteemed friends.

The meeting was followed by a celebratory dinner at Brendan's across the street. For me personally an 8 p.m. meal is a dinner, but for some people at this table (below) it was breakfast (from the "dinner" conversation:
"I'm starving, I haven't had my breakfast yet..."
"Wow, and it's almost lunch time!")
Ya gotta love New York City with its "open for breakfast ALL DAY" establishments!
Below - Blanca, Sarah, Neon and Carmine who joined our group for dinner.

FANTASY BELLYDANCE - INSTRUCTIONAL DVDs:: neon

At the end of February World Dance New York is releasing 3 choreography DVDs within our Fantasy Bellydance instructional series: Each program contains 3 intermediate-advanced choreographies - performance and choreography breakdown - by 3 instructors. The styles range from classic bellydance, to cabaret and tribal fusion forms.

"Fantasy Bellydance - Mystery" (Neon, Sera, Ayshe)
"Fantasy Bellydance - Desire" (Blanca, Naraya, Darshan)
"Fantasy Bellydance - Magic" (Isidora Bushkovski, Autumn Ward, Ariellah)

Below are a few screen shot from the performance sections of the DVDs.

Neon - "Serpent" - "Fantasy Bellydance - Mystery"

Sera - "Shadow" (Tribal Fusion - East Coast Tribal) - "Fantasy Bellydance - Mystery"

Ayshe - "Phoenix" (wings of Isis) - "Fantasy Bellydance - Mystery"

Blanca - "Nymph" (hand veils) - "Fantasy Bellydance - Desire"

Naraya - "Salome" (Tribal Fusion) - "Fantasy Bellydance - Desire"

Darshan - "Ritual Dance - Blessing of the Full Moon" (Tribal Fusion)- "Fantasy Bellydance - Desire"

Izidora Bushkovski - "Warrior Princess" (sword) - "Fantasy Bellydance - Magic"

Autumn Ward - "Enchantress" - "Fantasy Bellydance - Magic"

Ariellah - "Kali - Creator/Destroyer" (Tribal Fusion) - "Fantasy Bellydance - Magic"

More images from the Fantasy Bellydance DVDs

THE DANCER THAT GETS AROUND :: sarah

Having lived in Manhattan for years owning a vehicle never crossed my mind. Now living outside the island possibilities opened up to me. Last year, being the hip urban chic, I purchased a Yamaha Vino Scooter. The hip factor was pinning the cool meter. I clipped on my trunk to carry my costumes from gig to gig. For this Christmas I was given a new windshield. Attaching it is next on the to-do list.

But winter time seemed a bit chilly to be hopping on the scooter. It was also not practical for long weekend trips. So this winter I looked around for a four wheel option. The car is by no means a fashion statement. Instead my car of choice is a dependable, luxury focused, burgundy 98 Buick Lesabre. I like the fact that my new toy is American made with radio station control on the steering wheel. Jill my Garmin voice makes sure I find my destination.

But some how, last month, with all these transportation options I still could not get to where I wanted to go. So I hopped on a air plane and took off to Turkey and Egypt. Taking dance classes and filling my luggage with sparkles consumed my every thought. I carted all my treasures home taking planes, cars and scooted to my gig.

NEW YEAR'S EVE REPORT :: neon

Our New Year's Eve celebratory activities started with a photoshoot - Blanca for the cover of one of the upcoming "Fantasy Bellydance" DVDs. Blanca arrived with a suitcase filled with her costume, a couple evening gowns and a few bottles of Veuve Clicquot. One of those bottles was immediately put to use. It was a vigorous and uncompromising start to the night of revelry and debauchery.

As Blanca transformed from a bellydancing nymph to a NYC party girl, we went over our partying options and confirmed our enthusiasm for the event co-hosted by Carmine Guida and Liz Free - a party for the lost souls of the bellydance world and all sorts of bohemian misfits: we definitely belonged there.

New Year's resolution: Seduce Carmine in 2008.

We danced till 3 to live music - Carmine, Pete List and friends. It was great to meet the new year with our creative family, where you don't have to explain to strangers what you do for living and how you survive as an artist. Carmine and Liz, many thanks for the fabulous night! A few pictures - below; more - coming.