THE NEON REPORT :: neon

Since our grand "Tarot - Fantasy Bellydance" Venus Uprising show the first days of November, two months have rushed by leaving me dazzled and swirling in circles and spirals from the intensity of work and the never-ending kaleidoscopic festive mess of our New York City bellydance world. When asked "what's new?" I am slow to answer because everything is new, and yet everything is the same.  Since I spend a lot of time around cameras -  photo and video - here is a *brief* report in pictures!  These are just highlights that happen to be documented.

For the "Tarot - Fantasy Bellydance" conceptualized and hosted by Venus Uprising, I choreographed two pieces: "The Lovers"  (or "Venus and Tannhauser") duet, performed with Angel Burgos, and "The Magician" duet with Blanca.

Neon & Angel Burgos

Blanca & Neon

Right after this amazing show, inspired by the privilege of having shared the stage with the brightest stars of our New York City bellydance heaven (and guests from Miami, BellyCraft!), I crashed on my new fitness video program, "Love Potion." My friend Mala, a dancer and journalist in Delhi, interviewed me about "Love Potion" and our recently released bellydance fitness workout, "Luscious," for her blog.  If you have a moment to stop by and read it, here is the link! and here is me practicing the Love Potion choreography at home.  Those spectacular silver candelabra are props from Sarah Skinner's "7 Veils" instructional DVD  -- which is about to hit the shelves of Barnes & Noble for Valentine's Day!

The rehearsals for "Love Potion" with Blanca and Sarah will start this month. 

 

Meanwhile, the "Bellydance Rhythms Workout" DVD - result of my collaboration with Raquy (who designed the drum solo sound track  of "Rhythms") was released by World Dance New York in late November.  Here we are doing the video - Raquy, Liron Peled and me!

And if you are curious about the trials and tribulations suffered by an actual human being who gave this "Bellydance Rhythms Workout" a try, go back to Mala's blog and read! These are posts from Mala's dance diary: I am thrilled to see that 'Rhythms" has given her so much grief that at least 6 installments of her diary are dedicated to her struggle to survive the DVD's  intermediate flow!

Holidays! I am not really into holidays, so if I celebrate them, it's always by accident, but if this happens I put all my enthusiasm into celebrating, because hey... life is short (even though it is overwhelmingly long!) This year I had a most wonderful Christmas dinner with Jena, a friend of ours, and Scott, my boyfriend. Jena was leaving to spend Christmas with her boyfriend's family in California, when she suddently discovered that she was misticketed and had to stay in NYC for Christmas.  This mishap resulted in a magical night at the historic Keen's Chophouse around the corner from us, with a bunch of other New Yorkers who chose to pay their way through Christmas rather than rely on their own culinary talents.  Here is our picture: You can tell that Scott just loooooves posing with good-looking girls. Oh...male vanity.

More holidays: the fabulous New Year's Eve with Blanca, surrounded by the glitz and glow of NYC's nightlife replete with all the beautiful people, crazy artists, nude body-painted models and bejeweled drag queens you could ever wish or dread to encounter!  Lots of pictures were raken, here are just a couple: me and Blanca.

Scott

iPhone! Blanca, busy with global stroke-of-midnight essential telecommunications. 

Actually, my work is more of a party than any party could ever be, so, before, after and throughout the holidays I was partying at work, as the publisher of the sexy World Dance New York. Look!

This is Jo Weldon, the star of our upcoming burlesque instructional DVDs and the fierce founder and Headmistress of the New York School of Burlesque. Gorgeous, witty, glamorous Jo is everything you ever imagined burlesque to be.  Here I am adjusting the microphone on Jo's cheek during the videoshoot at the Merce Cunningham studios in Greenwich Village. (Note my red hat: It's impossible to compete in glamor with a burlesque diva, but the hat helped me to be at least moderately visible next to her! And yes, that's my everyday winter hat).

And here is the stage of the mysterious Slipper Room, where Jo and friends present regular burlesque shows, and where Jo teaches burlesque classes during the daytime.  I've recently gone to one of the Slipper Room burlesque shows and enjoyed it tremendously.  The only thing you need to know before you go is that the format is a bit difficult to handle unless you treat the event as an evening out with your friends. The 3 acts of cool and funny burlesque performances are separated from each other by 40-60 min "intermissions" with some go-go dancing, designed for keeping the party and the alcohol flowing.  So, bring a crowd of friends with the intention of spending the whole night at the show, and you will love it.

More fun at work!!!! Magnificent Autumn Ward has created a unique and delicious instructional program (beginner intermediate bellydance instruction) "Beautiful Technique from Step One: The Beginner's Guide to Flawless Artistry"- it will be released on DVD by World Dance New York at the end of January.  See the trailer for this DVD here!  I am honored to be working with Autumn as her publisher. It is incredible pleasure. With Autumn the work process itself is so flawless as to qualify to be a manual of clean and impeccable technique for ANYTHING you ever want to accomplish and achieve!  Perfection of process and result are a part of Autumn's genetic makeup.  Here she is in a meditative state with her makeup artist Andy Jones before our videoshoot.

And these are a couple screen images from Autumn's video:

And even more fun at work: Ranya's "Bellydance - Egyptian Style" DVD series! "The Baladi" 2-DVD Set. It's VAST!....It's GIGANTIC and enormously rich.  It is almost done, but not quite - but almost....a few more days and we'll be there!

Here we are, Ranya and me, proofing the video at my desk (a plate of pastries provided by Scott to keep us going).

That's about it - there is so much more I can't share because just thinking of the volume of stuff happening exhausts me.  So I am closing the report with this view of Fifth Ave. from our windows, with the lovely dyed calla lillies obtained at the corner deli.