Venus Uprising Bellydance New York City

CULT OF MYTH IS COMING :: blanca

It's one week before the opening of our show CULT OF MYTH and all I can say is "WOW!"

The amount of talent and creativity—not to mention fun and enthusiasm—is nothing short of amazing! It's so inspiring to see what everybody is manifesting and to see individual artists teaming up to create a whole bigger that its parts.

Just take a look at this program:

• AUTUMN WARD - "Atlantis! A one-act belly dance ballet" (Amantha, Danyel Jones, Erica Young, Melissa Voodoo, Victoria LaCerra)
• SIRA - "The Mermaid's Tears"
• TANNA VALENTINE - "Amaterasu"
• BLANCA - "Persephone", "Nymph"
• SHERENE VISMAYA - "Tzigane"
• SARAH SKINNER - "Salome's Sin" (Kazja, Tava, Sherene Vismaya, Patricia Delgado, Kelly Wasilishen, Tanya Michaca, Melissa Voodoo)
• TEMPEST- "Cthulhu Waits Dreaming...No More"
• LaUra - "Mona LaUra"
• AYSHE - "Firebird"
• RAYHANA - "Aphrodite, Born of the Sea" (Sirrah Nur, Elena Kirsanova, Miyoko Satoh, Nana Masuda, Kai Wen, Tanya Michaca, Jennifer Bowen, Patricia Delgado, Enzina)
• NEON - "Swan Maiden"
• JENIVIVA - "Bastet"
• ANDREA ANWAR - "Enchantress of Bioluminosity"
• IRINA- "The Call of an Amazon Warrior"
• LaUra and BELLYTRANCE - "Deja Vu" (Susanna, Zobeida, Indira and Fatima)
• BELLYTRANCE - "Mantis Speculum" (LaUra, Zobeida)
• DARSHAN - "Narcisse"
• AYSHE and ZOBEIDA - "Emergent"
• SIRA and SARAH SKINNER - "Spring Flower and Butterfly Sprite"
  

CULT OF MYTH
a Fantasy Bellydance Concert
April 25-26, 2008 ::: 8 PM
TICKETS NOW ON SALE @ SMARTTIX.COM

Reception immediately following show
$25 adv | $35 door

DNA Theater
280 Broadway, 2nd fl NYC
4/5/6/R/W to City Hall
1/2/3/A/C/E/J/M/Z to Chambers

VenusUprising.com
http://venusuprising.com/events/cult_of_myth.htm

DREAM JOB :: blanca

What a perfect weekend!

I just received pictures from Sunday's show. We opened for the Brooklyn Philharmonic. The concert was called "Shades of Babylon". It was incredible.

In the pictures: Umut, Scott, Carmine and Marissa. They played beautifully.

I was able to enjoy the last piece by the Philharmonic, which was incredibly haunting and dreamy, with wonderful storytelling.

At some point the announcer mentioned the "Secret word of the day: 'Blanca', after the bellydancer you just saw" :)

Thank you Carmine and Marissa for the opportunity to present Middle Eastern dance in such venerable setting.

 

NYC DRUM SOLO WORKSHOP REPORT :: blanca

Carmine and I taught our NYC Drum Solo workshop this past Saturday. The group was lovely, look at all those beauties!

We had so much fun... Thanks to all the dancers who attended.

Here are a few of the comments we received:

"I have been taking BD lessons for over 2 years now and until Saturday, the rhythms were a total mystery to me. I loved the sound but had no idea what they were about. I feel like a whole new aspect to BD artistry was opened up for me."

"I wanted to tell you both how much I enjoyed the workshop yesterday.  It was just what I needed to help get my creative juices flowing again after the cold winter.  I think you are both excellent teachers with good explanations and very warm personalities.  You both make the class very enjoyable and personal.

"Blanca, I love your notes!  They are very well organized and thought out.  I will use them as reference for a long time to come and share your ideas with my students as well."

"I really enjoyed the workshop.  Very straightforward and thorough.  Breaking down those riffs and hearing the drummer's perspective is invaluable.  You are both great teachers."

"Dear Blanca, The workshop was really great.  I had a lot of fun and it was a real treat to meet Carmine (he's so funny!) and to learn to "listen"...  I learned so much.  Please, more workshops!!!!!!"

Our next workshop is this Saturday: "Zils Technique" With Elsa Leandros — not to be missed!

DRUM SOLO WORKSHOP THIS SATURDAY :: blanca and carmine

Back in the days when I started I was fascinated by live Drum Solos. To me, they are the ultimate bellydance improvisation. I loved the moment when the dancer turned from a floating cloud into a sharp, articulate instrument... and a fun one at that! Even then I could sense that there was a method, an underlying structure that put together dancer and drummer and something told me that the day I was able to give a good Drum Solo I could consider my dance skills to be up on the next level.

Last year Carmine and I started talking about Drum Solos. Over lattes, we had many conversations about improvisation, performance and how Drum Solos are put together. We shared our own experiences from the viewpoint of a musician and a dancer, talked about how we found Drum Solos very challenging when we first started and noticed how often we've encountered students who are afraid of them.

Since we share a taste for analytical thinking and a passion for teaching, our conversations centered around ways to provide students with tools that would accelerate their training. We talked about ways to give in one workshop all the insights and techniques that we've come up with through our years performing. We taught our ideas in several cities in Mexico (we've been asked to go back and teach more) and have been preparing our first NYC workshop.

Carmine believes that listening is an essential skill. For him it's not enough to tell the dancer to listen; he teaches what to listen for: cues, changes, hints... and of course, the rhythms.

"We hear that Drum Solo is about dancer and drummer communicating —says Carmine— but what does that mean? The dancer should be listening to the drummer and the drummer should be watching the dancer, giving each other feedback, so they do what works for the Drum Solo, and provide a good show."

In the same vein, I encourage my students to communicate with the audience. What we feel when we are dancing not always translates the way we think it does, so I pinpoint common weaknesses and teach them how to turn potentially awkward moments into highlights.

Carmine and I think it's very important for a belly dancer to be really familiar with the rhythms. He explains that even if the other elements are too complicated, even if the drummer is playing phrases the dancer can't relate to, there's always the rhythm to fall back on. I think that for us dancers having a real understanding and appreciation of Middle Eastern rhythms is like finally being able to hear the music after having danced wearing earplugs the whole time. Also, understanding rhythm is essential if you want to create your own choreographies and if you want to feel joy and have fun when you improvise.

Another one of the tools we'll be teaching is a series of connected phrases that the dancer can draw from as she improvises. As they become ingrained in the dancer's body, she no longer has to think about them when she is performing. By connecting the movement phrases with the rhythms, they become memorable and the dancer gets a clearer understanding of them.

In Carmine's words: "Often after I play for dancers, people from the audience will say: 'You and your wife were great!'
They see us so connected they assume we must live together and practice all the time. The trick is to make it look like we practiced even if we didn't. I really want to teach drummers and dancers how to do this".

We're both very excited about sharing this workshop and look forward to having fun with you this Saturday. There will be lots of "Ah ha!" moments and surprises from Venus Uprising!

Venus Uprising presents
DRUM SOLO: TECHNIQUE, MUSICALITY & SHOWMANSHIP
with BLANCA AND CARMINE

Saturday March 29, 2008 - 12:30 - 3:45 pm
440 Studios - 440 Lafayette - Studio 4F - NYC
$55 prepaid / $70 door

Read complete info and sign up.

GROWING AS A DANCER :: blanca

What exactly makes a dancer or a choreography advanced? By "advanced" we usually mean a difficult choreography or a dancer's ability to execute fast, physically demanding movements... but this is not necessarily true.

Let's imagine a dancer. She is performing two pieces. The first one is packed with complicated movements, fast transitions and challenging isolations. Our jaw drops and we feel happy to witness what the human body is able to do. It is obvious that dancing at this level takes years of work. In the second piece she appears to be floating on a cloud and having a good time. As she dances, we forget where we are and what we came here for. For a moment we feel what she is feeling. Our imagination soars... our heart opens. "Wow! –we think– that was so simple but so beautiful".

screen captures from "MYSTERY: FANTASY BELLYDANCE"
top: Neon in "Serpent", bottom: Ayshe in "Phoenix"

These are two very different examples. They both can be called "advanced dancing", but the second example often appears deceptively easy. If the dancer's intention for the second piece is to portray the simplicity and joy of being able to bellydance on a cloud, it would be inappropiate to choose her fastest moves and most elaborate isolations. Like in the first case, her body and mind are performing at a level that only years of training and development can achieve, and much of this hard work was put for the purpose of making it look easy, effortless.

I think that what makes a performance advanced is the dancer's ability to take what needs to be taken from her toolbox of skills and knowledge and weave all the elements seamlessly together for the purpose of communicating her message effectively enough to move the audience, rather than looking like a mere athletic feat. By these "elements" I mean muscle control, musicality, facial expression, the use of props, costuming, choice of music, etc. By "message" I mean anything from interpreting the music, to portraying a character, to telling a story, to expressing one or more feelings, to communicating something abstract so effectively that the audience intuitively understands it and is moved by it.

And how do you do know what elements to take? How do you even decide what to communicate? To do that, you need to grow as a dancer, as an artist and as a person. You need to fill your heart and mind with images, music, knowledge. You need to see many performances, of bellydance and other arts. You need to read and enrich your imagination. You need to know yourself and find out what moves and what inspires you.

To me, another thing that makes a dance advanced is the effective use of all those little details that turn a dance into magic. It could be a subtle tilt of your head, a hand gesture, a nuance in your timing, a deliberate pause or a glance... these little things can create something very special and meaningful and the way you are able to do this is by being truly present in the moment.

And how can you be present? First and most importantly, you need to work on your craft, you need to take your classes, do your drills and rehearse your choreography. You need to master the technique until it's ingrained in your muscle memory. Once you have it in your body, your brain no longer needs to think about the steps and can go on "automatic". Then you can begin to engage the emotion and play with all the different little nuances that are possible. You will begin to do things your own way... and that's what you want: to grow and be your own dancer – not somebody else's copy.

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!

------------------------------------------------------
SENSUAL BELLYDANCE VARIATIONS
with Blanca
------------------------------------------------------
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

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)

 

DANCING WITH DENNIS DUNAWAY PROJECT :: blanca

For the past year I have been having massive amounts of fun and pretty much feeling like a Rock Star, dancing at some very nice venues with the awesome Dennis Dunaway Project. The song that started it all is called 'Kandahar' and I was first contacted by designer Cindy Dunaway because she thought a bellydancer would be a good addition to the band's show. This happened during the time when my internet connection was defunct, so it was lucky that the whole thing worked out.

The picture above shows guitarist Rick Tedesco and myself during our first show together at the Cutting Room. To the right we have Dennis Dunaway, who not only is great himself but has the most talented and beautiful family. The picture was taken at BB King this past weekend (how about we perform there every week?)

Here I'm enjoying some nice time with my dear Cindy after the Halloween show. Below we have the band's album cover and a photo of me onstage at Fairfield Theater (notice the corpses on the floor).

 

DDP's next show will be at the Knitting Factory on December 21. Also playing: Magnesia (whose vocalist has to be seen to be believed!) and Forever In Terror.

 

PETE LIST'S ARMY :: blanca

Nobody says it better than Melissa and Scott, so I'm going to quote them:

"Pete might have the highest talent:ego ratio of anyone I've ever collaborated with. He's a rare musician who, while brilliant himself, also lets others shine through."
-- Melissa the Loud

"Pete you are a force of nature and art incarnate. The composition, the performance... all fabulous. Let's do that again real soon - !!"
--Scott Shuster, World Dance New York

On Friday we celebrated the release of Pete List's, Kassar's and my new babies (Songs for Kassar CD, Fluid Precision DVD, Sensual Bellydance DVD and Gothic Bellydance Revelations DVD)

Wow! What a night! I danced to amazing, AMAZING live Gothic music by Pete and Melissa the Loud. I have no idea how but the two of them can sound like a full orchestra. You can see from the pictures (make sure you view the entire gallery) that they inspired me to transform into some kind of hairy beast.

  There was one inspiring artist after another on that stage... Pete must have a magnet for unique and talented friends who are also super nice. Julianne Carney's violin made us dream, Tbird Luv combined her flute and her voice to make us feel like we were in a magical forest at night (if you have ever been to one, you'll know what I mean. If not, check her out). I love how Pete combines with all these artists and something very special appears.

Sarah Locke was graceful and strong at once improvising to Pete's music. I met Irina for the first time and got to see one of her pieces--her dancing is lovely.

Being there reminded me of the first time I met the mesmerizing Melanie and Karin of Kassar, while  changing clothes after we performed at Figaro... we didn't imagine back then that the next time we would find each other backstage would be at our DVDs' release party.

Irina's dance to 'Kassar Army' thrilled me. She transformed each of Pete's drum beats, and each wail of my mijwiz, into moves of stunning grace and precision. I have a message for all the dancers out there: If you buy this CD, you'll be able to dance exactly like that too. Trust me on this.

"Also, thanks to Blanca for inspiring Pete and me to learn a new tune for her gothic dance. This might be the start of a whole new era of gothic music from Djinn. Playing music is fun on its own, but seeing such wonderful dancing to it is even better."
-- Melissa the Loud

The audience was full of wonderful talent as well! Thank you all for coming. As I watched part of the show it dawned on me: all of this was possible only because of Neon. She had the vision and provided full support for Pete to collaborate with all of us. Wow. Thank you Neonie.

I blame Neon for making this all possible. She blames Pete List:

"I loved the richness of texture in the CD/DVD release party show: the interweaving of dance styles and music styles, and the blending of the avant-garde and the traditional elements. It was very refreshing to see dance transcend the artificial style divisions (e.g. classic bellydance vs. tribal bellydance vs. avant-garde dance) - it is a winning recipe for a truly engaging, modern show. And the way it all magically came together into one artistic whole reflects the remarkably wide range of stylistic and emotive modes in Pete List's work - it was his music that made it all happen."
--Neon

"I wish Anasma, Carmine and Chern Hwei could have been there... but that is the perfect reason to have more shows."
--Pete List

The last piece of the night was an improvisation by all the musicians. It was magical how this piece of music was being created right there. I wanted to keep dancing to it but had to leave time for my fellow dancers to give their bows... one shouldn't hog the stage!

I hope that was the starting point of Pete's next album...

View the complete gallery from the Paparaksi Dale Langdon: http://www.paparaksi.com/rdr/songsforkassar

 

 

 

WORKSHOPS EVERY DAY :: blanca

 SUN OCT 21 - LEON - GUANAJUATO
We taught two private workshops for Lupita and her group DAE who drove 3 hours from Morelia. Carmine taught Middle Eastern rhythms, then together we gave a drum solo workshop. Taking the workshop was Alvaro, a musician with the Symphony Orchestra in Morelia.

 After the workshops we went to Guanajuato, my favorite town in Mexico. We stayed at the most gorgeous place... the view of the town was glorious, every detail was beautiful. We were on the top of a tall mountain and from our window we could see the fireworks in two different parts of the the city, announcing the end of the Festival Internacional Cervantino, the largest arts festival in the country. 

MON OCT 22 - GUANAJUATO - SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE
Wish we could have enjoyed the magical place that is Guanajuato longer but at 9 AM sharp we had to drive to San Miguel de Allende to meet Elsanne and teach at 11. By the time we finished the workshops I knew something was very wrong with Carmine because he had slowed down to a mere 10 jokes/hour. Elsanne gave us her dentist's number who prescribed an antibiotic over the phone and gave us a next day appointment with the root canal specialist who luckily was coming to town just that one day.

TUE OCT 23 - SMA
Just as the dentist anticipated, Carmine's pain was completely gone right after he took the medicine and he was able to teach our drum solo workshop.

After 2 hours of agony at the dentist's office, Carmine came out feeling perfectly fine as you can see from the picture [phew!]. Elsanne took us to a gorgeous Rancho for the best-looking and best-tasting party ever.

WED/THU OCT 24/25 - LEON
We went back to León and taught 6 workshops in 2 days... nice! By now Carmine is able to teach about half of the class in Spanish. He's even contributing new words to the Spanish language, such as "tamboristas" (female drummers).

FRI OCT 26
At 6 AM Carm and I leave for the airport. We have a 6-hour layover in Mexico City, the perfect amount of time to have breakfast, change our currency and write a drum solo. He leaves for California, I fly home.

I called Celia my sister to tell her I'm home and she tells me she and her son practiced with Carmine's DVD today.
"we were trying too hard, shoulders hunched, then we heard his voice say: 'relaaax...'. We turned to look at the TV screen and saw his smiling face... we couldn't help but smile too..."

SURROUNDED BY BEAUTY :: blanca

WED OCT 17 - GUADALAJARA (cont.)
Don Jose drove me from Quinta Don José to pick up Carm at the airport. Don Jose turned out to be a graduate from my high school in Morelia, (many years before my generation) I couldn't believe it! After a lifetime of directing some of the most prestigious schools in the country and managing some huge companies Don José has taken the Quinta as a personal project to help his friend who owns it. From their chaotic past, he transformed the gardens, pool, fountains and all corners of the Quinta into the most charming, lively place. He personally grooms the gardens and tends to the many sweet details that make this place so special. As you see from the photos, the place is perfect... but he says it's not up to his standards yet and the place still needs a year or two to be where he wants is to be—I can't imagine where that could be!—Again I thought of the idea of growing a garden... of nurturing a project and manifesting your dream.

THU OCT 18 - GUADALAJARA
We had my ideal breakfast: set in a beautiful garden, under a perfectly blue, sunny sky, with birds singing and fountains decorated with flowers. Carmine is quite fond of Mexican food — What a relief not having to take him to Burger King!

Later, we taught our workshops (4 hours total) and had a show. The level of the local dancers was very good! The show opened with Carmine playing an amazing drum solo (no dancers, just him). I had never heard him play a musician's drum solo — Wow, he's good. Performing with us were Araceli de Anda (our workshop hostess), Nicolee and Ayled, who are all into tribal style (he's the first male tribal dancer I've seen), also Marcela who loves cabaret style.

After the show we went to a place two houses down ("La Medina de Fez", I think) which was really pretty. There was a bellydancer there too. I'm telling you, bellydance is taking over the world.

Back at the Quinta, I learned thanks to Carmine  that there are Margarita glasses in Mexico about the size of a kitchen sink. Our bartender's joy was apparent. He prides himself of making them "extra special" (meaning that he adds way too much tequila). Enjoy the picture of the fine Carm and his Margarota.

FRI OCT 19 - GUADALAJARA - LEON
Speaking of tequila, I'm typing this on the road to León, and the fields are covered with blue agave. It's very pretty. This morning, the lady who cooks at the Quinta made us a special breakfast (even though she had prepared buffet breakfast)... she's so sweet. When we boarded Don Jose's van he told me that the lady gave me a nickname: La Sirenita :)

Today is our only day off and we happily spent a couple of hours doing nothing by the lotus pond...

SAT OCT 20 - LEON "FACETAS DE UNA DANZA MILENARIA" -- Teatro Maria Grever
We got to the theater at 10 AM for tech rehearsal. We basically had the theater at our disposal. I'm impressed by the professionalism of these people! We had great lighting equipment and at least 6 tech people, who didn't make a single mistake that night. We also had box office people, 4 ushers and Juan Melia, director of the Instituto Cultural de León arrived very early to make sure we were all set. Everybody was going out of their ways to help us. I was directing the show and the whole experience was a pleasure. Nobody got stressed out even for a second, it was wonderful.

We had dinner with my family, then headed to  to the theater to finalize the last details and get ready for performing.

There were about 300 people in the audience. The show had a great mix of styles. Performing were Belibeya (first tribal bellydance company in Mexico) and Grupo Danza y Arte. The live music was wonderful, people couldn't believe Carmine had just met Guillermo  (harmonium and djembe) and Victor (cajón) that day.

Speaking of Carmine: his drum solo was beautiful and moving... who knew drum solos can be beautiful and moving! After the show the director of the Institute invited us back to perform again in a few months. I came out to say hello to my friends and encountered a crowd of people asking for Carmine's autograph. There was also Lupita my teacher from Morelia with a bunch of her dancers and drummer Alvaro.

I am ecstatic by how the night turned out... this is what I live for: wonderful show, wonderful people to work with, happy audience. Here's a photo I took from backstage, the last one is the full cast after the show... will post more when I get them.

FIRST DAYS IN MEXICO :: blanca

    Wed, Oct. 10 - León
Shortly after landing, I was interviewed by Luis Meza, reporter for "AM" newspaper to talk about the show we are having on the 20th. I was impressed by the beauty of the "offices" (it really is a palace). At night I enjoyed some time with my sister Celia and her children whom I adore. 

Thu, Oct. 11 - León
Early in the morning I had 3 more interviews and one dance segment for 2 TV stations, which were a lot of fun. Celia and Jonathan, PR for Instituto Cultural de León, were with me. Nicté (my workshop sponsor in León) found out I had arrived because she saw me on TV. At night I drove to Morelia.

Fri, Oct. 12 - Morelia
After a long, long time I saw my first bellydance teacher Lupita! She showered me with gifts and had me sign the certificates (at least 40 of them!) that she was going to hand the students after our workshop. The certificates are also signed by the department of culture of the State of Michoacán and have curricular value (how do you say that in English). How cool is that?

The first workshop was for little girls, between the ages of 5 and 8 or 9 at the most! It was the cutest thing ever as you can see by the picture. The workshop was 2 hours long, mind you.

The second workshop was from 4-8 PM. During the first hour the students warmed up with a different teacher, then they danced with me for 3 hours! These girls have some energy! And their memories are so good! During part of the workshop we were joined by a group of musicians (the band's name is currently unavailable).

Sat Oct. 13 - Morelia
2nd part of the workshop. When I arrived I could hear them warming up to Djinn's music.

We all rushed to get pretty and headead to El Leon de Mecenas, which is a great place. We performed and had a feast. I couldn't describe how wonderful everything was, how wonderful everyone was to me. My mom, my niece Mariel, and my Sister-in-law Cindy were there! So special.

Sun Oct. 14 - Morelia
Had fun at my dad's annual birthday party!

Mon Oct. 15 - Morelia
I got to cut the ribbon at Lupita's newest DAE dance studio. At night I took a jazz class, it was really good. I got to enjoy my mom's yummy food for a few days :)

Wed Oct. 17 - Guadalajara
Drove to Guadalajara, actually Tlaquepaque, which is one of the most Mexican places in Mexico. The place I'm staying at is simply glorious, the staff is the sweetest ever. I picked up Carmine... I'll tell you more later because we have to take a bus to León now...

Hope all is wonderful in New York or wherever you are!

 

A DRESS MADE OF LIGHT :: blanca

For years I have had this image of creating a dance costume made of lights. I didn't know when or how but I knew I was going to do it. There was a purpose greater than simply creating such eccentric piece of costuming, though at the time I didn't know what it was. They say that our psyche is ahead of us.

The opportunity first came last year, when I was to represent Aquarius at Sherene's show "Zodiac Bellydance".

As you know, Aquarius rules electricity and loves being eccentric and a bit of a mad scientist, so I quickly set up my lab at home and planned how I would do the whole thing, which manifested pretty quickly. I love the idea of a person being able to plug herself onto electricity and self-sufficiently being able to light the stage, which is also a very aquarian attitude.

The idea evolved further as I worked with CollexArts on our show "Discordia 4.5". The piece became a two-part story: "Sway / Perfect Citizen".

"Sway" starts as a dark creature slowly and seductively crawls towards a white dancer who lies lifeless out in the distance. For the dark creature I used snake-like movements combined with sharp, insect-like moves and a spider-like crawl that creeps very close to the ground. Carefully, the dark creature gets close to her victim, the white dancer, and puts a spell on her, waking her from her sleep. The white dancer responds to the dark creature's commands and with her help she increasingly is able to dance, apparently becoming freer and happier... until the creature stops her in her tracks. Without the dark creature's help, the white dancer collapses. The dark creature approaches her, aiming to steal her life but the white dancer reacts and is able to stop her. The dark creature loses interest and leaves.

Shaken, the white dancer seeks refuge elsewhere, feeling vulnerable and betrayed. From the same place where the dark creature came, a savior appears. She provides comfort and reassurance and gives the white dancer strength to get up on her feet again... but this strength is once again false, she is being moved like a puppet. The piece ends as we see the white dancer collapsing when her new savior abandons her.

"Perfect Citizen" begins in darkness as we read:

"I was quite busy learning the secrets of the Universe
Building an enterprise
Telling people what to do with their lives
Being the perfect citizen
A responsible adult
Being the perfect citizen
Before I even reached nine

The task in front is now to grow up and be a child
... or is it a clown?

I've carried everyone's pain for much too long
I stared at your judging eyes till they felt like home

I say I'm done"

Then we see the dark creature's transformation. Her movements now seem more desperate than creepy... then they seem tired and longing. She stands up and slowly sheds her old skin. As she begins walking back a white skirt appears, floating in midair, reminding us of the white dancer. The dark creature has shed her dark skin and from below gets inside the white skirt as the music intensifies. As she is wearing the skirt she holds an electrical plug and outlet... then there's a blackout.

When the sweet music returns, she lights herself with a dress made of stars... realizing that she doesn't have to manipulate or put others down to have power... she can shine with her own light.

The dark creature is a symbol of that part of ourselves that craves control over our innocent, child-like nature and constantly puts her down through criticizing her, condemning any attempt at creativity, putting her down if she tries to be different. The dark creature is that part that makes you feel that your ideas are silly, that there's no time for play or innocence... it's that part that beats you up mercilessly when you make a "mistake" and it's also that part of us that criticizes others... for when we condemn others we are decreasing our own room for error.

photos: Kevin Fox www.weclick.com

 

JARAMAR :: blanca

Growing up, I was immensely lucky to live in Morelia, the only city (other than Mexico City) that had a bellydance school. DAE or "Danza Arabe y Española" was more home than my real home. You couldn't get me out of there even if you tried. My teacher —and director of the school— Lupita taught us so many things... from how to create our own costumes, to how to behave in a theater setting. She even wrote a book of rules and inspirations so we could be prepared for our shows. She is one of the most resourceful people I know and always creating something new... always improving, reinventing herself. Sometimes it felt like we were a stuffy theater group, sometimes a vaudeville caravan. It was hard work but also so much fun being around her.

We danced to Egyptian and Turkish music, which I adored... and then there was this other type of music... the most mysterious, trance-inducing sounds... Just listening to it would conjure images from a distant past... and if you paid attention to the lyrics—which were hard to understand because they were a mix of languages of the Christians, Moors and Jews of Southern Spain— you would hear romantic and often tragic, even grim tales of old. My favorite was "Tres Morillas en Jaén", a popular 15th Century song from Spain, recorded  by 'Ars Antiqua' a wonderful Mexican ensemble. The song was about three Moorish girls living in Andalucia as seen through the eyes of a Christian. Unfortunately, all the available recordings of this song do not resemble the version I am describing with gorgeous instrumentation and the voice of Jaramar, so don't bother going to iTunes for that one.

Another favorite of mine was 'Romance del Enamorado y la Muerte', also sung by Jaramar. You couldn't really bellydance to that one, but listening was enough. Here's an approximate translation:

A dream I was dreaming last night
Little dream from my soul
I was dreaming that my love
I was holding in my arms.

In came a very white lady
Whiter than the cold snow
"How did you manage to get in?
How did you get in my love?
I know all the doors are locked
And so are the windows and shutters."

"I am not Love nor the lover
I am Death. I'm sent by God."

"Oh Death, how strict you are!
Let me live just for one day"

"Not one day, it cannot be
You have an hour to live."

So quickly he wore his shoes
Even faster he wore his clothes
There you see the lover go
He goes to where his lover lives.

"Open the white door for me
Open the white door, my girl."

"No, tonight it cannot be
Not a favorable occasion.
My father did not go to palace
And my mother is not sleeping."

"If you don't open tonight
My love, you won't open again
Death is coming after me
Next to you life it would be."

"Come here under the window
Where I used to carve and sew
I will throw you a silk cord
You can use it to climb up
If the cord's not long enough
I could also add my hair."

The silk cord broke
Death was coming near:
"Come now young lover
The hour has been reached."

I've published an iMix with some of my favorite Jaramar songs (some of her solo albums are available on iTunes). The songs come from a variety of countries, not just Spain. Sandunga and La Llorona are Mexican folk songs... aren't they beautiful? Hope you enjoy her as much as I do!

BODIBALANCE NYC :: blanca

"...the beginner dancer feels like a pile of separated, unconnected bones lying in a jumbled heap. The training process must start from this initial chaos to sort out and reconnect the dismembered parts, put new muscles on the bones, new blood (feeling) into the body. It is like developing a telephone or radio network between hitherto isolated communities and a central government.

"The building of this neurological telephone network requires the awakening of a sixth sense... one which is absolutely essential for a dancer. This is the kinesthetic sense and it is no less sensory a source of physical information than tasting, smelling, touching, seeing and hearing. It is in fact a tactile sense, located not on the skin's surface, but within the muscles, tendons and joints"

      - Joan Dexter Blackmer, "Acrobats of the Gods"

On my never-ending quest for body knowledge and my constant thirst for teaching methods, there is a class that I have been craving for a long time.

My schedule finally opened up so I could attend Carol Fonda's BodiBalance, which is a system of dance training, body conditioning and kinesthetic awareness. Carol has developed a journey in which you actively and effectively increase your mind and body awareness, create connections and change habitual patterns that tire you needlessly. You will learn useful principles of movement and balance and ways to use your body energy more efficiently, no matter what style you dance.

If you are in NYC take advantage of this class before the summer course ends August 23.

BodiBalance at DanceForum

A THURSDAY NIGHT IN NYC :: blanca

Last night was one festivity after another. First, I headed to Taj, where I joined Neon, Elsa and Carmine to enjoy Angela Lambru's Decotach Fashion show, which Andy Troy and Tanna organized. Tanna also modeled and she looked beautiful as always. There were many familiar faces modeling, they all did a wonderful job. The organization was superb (not surprising, coming from Tanna and Andy), with a great turnout. Angela's designs and innovative ideas are fabulous! Stay tuned for an upcoming article on The Hip Circle. Angela's site: decotach.com

After the show we had dinner with Tempest, Keith and Scott, and we caught up on the latest Tempest happenings and made some devious plans... Tempest looks radiant. I think she likes the East Coast.

After dinner we went to the rooftop to enjoy some sweet and luscious bubbles while watching the Empire State Building lights being turned off... so wonderful... now it's time to rehearse for tomorrow's shoot. Enjoy the pictures!

 

OCEAN CALLS :: blanca

These past few months have been a constant outpouring of blessings, creations, new connections. Feels like I  was living my life in a self-contained micro-universe, and finally have stepped out into the world.

And enjoying the world is what I want. New friends, new modes of expression, new points of view...

But new adventures need to be assimilated and we sometimes have to take the time to connect to ourselves once again. Ocean is calling and I need to go listen...

DISCORDIA 4.5 :: blanca

CollexArts, like Venus Uprising, is a true artists' collective. There are no directors, no dictators. It is a group of artists gathered together because of their matching views and for no other reason than to express their own Self. Sherene and I belong to both groups.

I don't exactly know why but the range of my aesthetic taste is incredibly wide. I am what you see in Venus Uprising's Bellydance Universe as much as I am what you see when I go into the emotional depths of the Collective and Personal Unconscious with Collex. At first they seemed a contradiction, but more and more the two are interweaving, coming together both inside of me and expressed through the work I put out.

Last weekend CollexArts presented DISCORDIA 4.5 - Works from the Newly Seen. '4.5' because this is Collex's fourth production, (the previous ones were: Planetarium: a Collective Longing, Keeping the Channels Open and Pluto: a Descent). As a collective, we went through an artistic and psychic process in order to create each of these shows. But in 2006 we went through a Process, but produced no show, this is where the .5 comes from.

It is called 'Discordia' and 'Newly Seen' because as the show was developing we began to notice a lot of similarities in the themes of the show and the theme of that recently discovered planet: Eris.

Eris is that Greek Goddess that wasn't invited to the party; the one who, feeling left out, plotted revenge by leaving the Golden Apple with the inscription: "To the Fairest" near Athena, Aphrodite and Hera so they could get jealous of each other and eventually cause havoc, and... well, you know the story.

Here are some images of the show. Make sure you view the complete Photoset. Also make sure you visit the CollexArts website.

PS: pick up a copy of The Golden Apple: Stars of NYC Bellydance so you see that not all golden apples cause discordia :)

PHOTOS:
1. Sherene and Talya in Sherene's "Discordia/Flow"
2. Sherene in "Ketu Maha Dasha"
3 and 4. Leah and Blanca in Blanca's "Sway"
5. Blanca in "Perfect Citizen"
6. Collex in Sherene's "Constant Interruption"
7. William (yes, that is William) in "Rollout"
8. Leah in "Red Ribbon"
9. The dynamic trio celebrating at Matsuri after the show. My beloveds Tanna, Sarah Skinner, Elsa, Ayshe, Jenn, Mindy, Katherine and Manolo also came to the performance.

Thanks to the fabulous Tet for the pictures.

 

 

GOTHIC COVER GIRLS :: blanca

Here's the cover for the upcoming Gothic Bellydance: Revelations. So many talented artists have taken part of this massive project: Neon, Sera and Solstice Dance Ensemble, Laura Rose, Elayssa, Mavi, Sarah Skinner, Ayshe, Sashi, Tempest, Ariellah, Jeniviva, Maiiah, Shakra Dancers, Sherene Vismaya, Elsa Leandros and Isis. If you haven't, make sure you view the Flickr Photostream.

NEW 'GOTHIC BELLYDANCE: REVELATIONS' UPDATE :: blanca

What a perfect week has come to an end! I spent the weekdays preparing, then had the actual performances for two major projects: the staged production of 'DISCORDIA' (photos to come), which was very successful; and the filming of 'GOTHIC BD: REVELATIONS', which looks amazing and showcases many of my favorite bellydance artists.

In addition to our piece, 'Initiate Amongst the Forsaken' (performed by Ayshe, Sarah Murphy and myself with choreography by Ayshe), World D