Venus Uprising Bellydance New York City

SALOME'S SINS :: sarah

We filmed Salome's Sin for the upcoming Fantasy Belly Dance DVD earlier this week. We are also about to perform this piece in the sold out show CULT OF MYTH. Here are some sneak previews!

Neon talking to the lighting crew

Sarah Skinner getting makeup by Anica of Sassafrass Make-up Artistry

Sarah getting dressed in (just finished sewing it) pearl costume!

Kelly, Sherene, Tava, Tanya, Patricia, Kazja - getting there veils on

Girls arriving to the victorian tea party

Tava welcoming Tanya to the party

Kazja dances for King Herod

DIPPED TO PERFECTION:: sarah

I have been working on my performance for the upcoming Venus Uprising show: Cult of Myth, April 25-26. I love participating in big theater shows like this one. It provides a play space to create something really special. I jumped into this show with both feet in - lots of big exciting ideas. I remind myself that with all the effort and creative ideas, granted, there is no guarantee that it will be a “hit”. That is the risk any artist takes. That risk opens the door for a flop and for unequaled greatness to occur. I am happy to take that challenge.

I acquired white veils. Seeing the white white next to the opalescent color of the rich creamy pearls of my Salome costume, I could not bear it. I became determined that I needed off white veils. I went on the message boards and sent emails to dye companies asking how does one dye off white. Many responded by saying I needed to do a complicated mix of different dye color chemicals that would then vary on how much I was dying to achieve an off white color. Somehow, I got the idea to use tea. What better way to bring my costume back in time by using a natural old school way of dyeing. I spent the other day dyeing my veils as well as another skirt option for the costume. As I sat there for hours steeping and dipping my silk to just the right color I questioned my sanity. Who cares what color white my veil is? Is it really worth hours and hours of my time? And I suppose if I purely looked at the project as cost and effect, the hours devoted to the perfect shade of silk would not be economical. But as an artist, the perfect candle light cream veil will compliment the glory of my pearl encrusted costume.

The next day I drove for miles to meet up with Pete Auslan who is a sound engineer for many famous stars. He had just completed a 52 hour hellish work binder yet opened his door to me with a smile. I plopped down my little pieces of music from here and there and he chopped and hacked away with the ease of an ice skater. I wanted a knock at the door and was stressed about how to achieve that. As the words of what I wanted came out of my mouth, he pulled out a microphone and put it next to a door and said "knock". And moments later, my piece had a knock at the door added on. I also needed to add on a percussion piece of music that Kazuki created just for this piece among other things.

I had always known that Kozuru-Salifoska was a talented drummer. I worked on her new CD cover with her. I was so excited by her music and enthusiasm for recording that I asked her if she would work on this project with me. I learned that among her many positive attributes she is also an absolute joy to work on a project with.

As I work on this Salome project, fussing with perfection, I realize once again, how much time everything takes. And that big things can never get done alone. Being that things take so much- it is amazing that anything gets off the ground. But I suppose that once it goes gloriously live, that all the exhaustion of creating it will pale away and be forgotten. And the next project will be begun before the realization that once again there is a pile of things to be dipped to perfection before one can go to sleep for the night.

Send luck to complete the remaining details for the show next week.

SNOWFLAKES AND PEARLS :: sarah

Snowflakes and pearls seem to go together this month. I traveled to the snowy white north to shoot a wedding. I packed up some beading to do on the spare moments. I did not realize that there was a snowstorm was brewing. Roads were being closed all around us. Driving in white out conditions made me realized how fragile we all are. That it is not just the travelers in remote locations that end up dieing of hypothermia in a storm. I cursed that our car is not stocked with all the safely gear not usually needed in the Big Apple. Breaking down in Manhattan, well gosh, I would just walk half a block to a bodega and get myself a candy bar. But here with a town just being miles away, it represented a significant challenge.

Luckily we made it to a safe location, curled up in front of a fire and hunkered down for a couple of days until it was safe to drive again. Luckily I had a bag full of pearls to play with.

When I started working on my Salome costume I researched what kind of costume to make. In the early 1900s it was sheik to wear costumes make with pearls. I only viewed using pearls as a required material. When I was in Egypt I was digging in a shop and came across a dusty bag of pearls. I asked if he could have them made into swag fringe. And there started the Salome costume. When I got back to New York I purchased bunches of more pearls. I discovered that glass pearls are not a cheap bead.

As I progress with the costume I am falling madly in love with pearls! I had no idea how much I would enjoy working with them. I sit back and admire the costume as I work on it.  I enjoy they way they feel. I love the sheen of colors the candlelight colored pearl offers.

I supposed worrying about the dangers of the snowstorm and thinking about the story of Salome was somehow fitting. My hands worked their fever and I got a great deal of beading done, in front of the fire, with the snow swirling it furry outside.

a view as we are driving

the view out the front car window- look for the on coming car in this photo.

View at the window- at the home we were staying in the next day.

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.

FATE OPENED THE DOOR :: sarah

For so long I have wanted to go to the Middle East. I have come so close many times over the past few years but weather it be tragedy or poor timing the fates decided for me to wait until this moment. That’s right, the moment has presented itself and I am hopping on the plane Monday. I will now be able to add cities to my facebook map.

I reached out to Eva Cernik. Eva does dance tours there every year. I would love to go on one of her tours. She is such a peach. She hooked me up with some great info. One piece of advice she gave was to not fall in love with a carpet salesman. I also talked to Leni Wilson of Scott and Serena Wilson who have done dance tours for years (I tried to do one on those tours too). She hooked me up with a wealth of info on shopping and dance teachers. I emailed with Michael a fellow photographer who went last year and he gave great info too maybe stay in the same room and find “Michael was here” graffiti. Shooster explained the ways of money and Alyra spun romantic tales of Turkish baths.

I sat all day today trying to pack. Somehow nothing seems to be the right thing to bring. Finally I had to put the mini shampoo bottles down and scoot off to perform at Mezzo Mezzo. I thought with the night being so chilly that no one would come. But to my delight Leni and Scott came. And the sweetest Asian girl, who I can never pronounce her name, much less embarrass myself to try to spell. Robert was on Oud. He played a really special taxsim for me. The night rounded up with Leni giving more advice about traveling to Turkey and asking me to blog about the trip. I wonder if anyone read travel blogs or are they just more of a diary for the traveler… Well, back to fretting over what to pack.

CONNECTING WITH ANOTHER PRINCESS :: sarah

Princess Farhana is in NYC. I went to see Margret Cho’s show where Princess Farhana is performing. It is a wonderful production. I attended her class. We also went out and had a blast talking about costume design, dancing and performing. She too has created a Mata Hari costume! She is a wonderfully inspirational person to be around. I felt as though we were on the same PRINCESS page. She hooked me up with her brand new Belly Dancing with Fans instructional DVD- I can’t wait to watch it! Check out her other NYC shows this month: http://www.princessfarhana.com/news.htm

MUSICAL GUESTS INCREASE PROPERTY VALUE :: sarah

Pat and Denis of the band Pangia, performed at RAK this year. They were promoting there new CD. The new CD has photographs by me on it. This CD has some really wonderful taxsims. This cd is different from their earlier releases because it is the first that has no lyrics. This feature is wonderful since you never have to worry what the words are saying. I am always nervous to pick songs with lyrics because it always requires translation, and relying on others to get that right. (and of course the have the best photography on the cover ) Go to their website and check it out.

This year they wanted to come back for another photoshoot. I offered for them to come and stay at my home. Pat is 6’5 and we had a low hanging light in the entrance way. Pat successfully whacked his head on it each time he walked in the hallway. Pat being experienced finding his way around a hardware store offered to change it for us. I jumped at he offer. He also noticed that since we installed our own hardwood floors it complicated the closet door situation. I had a fabric curtain hanging there. Pat trotted off to the hardware store and several inches of sawdust later I have the most glorious perfectly hung closet doors you can ever wish for! Denis was on the spot with a vacuum cleaner after he finished. I am still in shock at how generous Pat and Denis were to us! Who else has non-family member guests that improve the resale property value of someone’s home. These kinds of guests can stay ANYTIME!

Charleston was happy to find chips and other food in Pat’s luggage. Here he is resting after eating a big suitcase meal.

SHAKEN MY BOOTY HOME : sarah

I entered JeBon with my costume in hand. As I walked in I was greeted with a sumptuous table of goodies for sale. The beginning of the night started out with a sneak peak of the upcoming Gothic Belly Dance DVD.

Then Blanca gave a wonderful belly dance lesson, it made me want to take class with her all the time. She gave me a copy of her brand new instructional Sensual BellyDance DVD, so I now can take class with her anytime I want! You can also take a workshop with her this weekend. She also performed. I love watching her dance.

The band Djinn cranked out its unusual musical flair. Check the out each week at JeBon on weds nights. Pete List hooked me up with his brand new CD. Neon gave me the companion DVD, Fluid Precision. Neon also gave me the Samba Reggae DVD because I photographed Quenia Ribeiro for the cover.

 

I performed. I had been looking forward to the opportunity to performing with Djinn for some time. I performed in the costume that is on my I love Turkish Belly Dance DVD. Melissa came to the performance and she ouued and ahhhed over it. She also sews. Nothing makes me happier to sit with a fellow sewer and chatting over the tales of endless hours of painstaking sewing down little black seed beads. Lucky for me the skirt is so big I didn’t have to worry about the bruise on my leg showing. See previous post for the tale of the injury.
Autumn Ward also performed. She didn’t give me any booty to take home but she sure shook it great there. She is always a treat to see perform. If you missed this performance and you missed her performance at the Venus Uprising show earlier in the month you can go to her website (which features my photographs of her- she is a great model) and find video clips. For the most recent ones from the Venus Uprising show you need to go to YouTube.

At the end of the night I had piles of booty. I happily shook on home with the treasure.

All photos by Kevin Fox of www.weclick.com

RISKING LIFE AND LIMB : sarah

Norhan Sharif is having an upcoming sale. Smart shoppers sneak over a couple of days early and get the good stuff. It eliminates the need for scratching and clawing other belly dance gear shoppers for the prized sparkles. But that is not to say it is free of risks. This injury happened while reaching for a  bejeweled covered top. I was not hampered in anyway, I moved on to the hip scarves with out blinking an eye. It was not until I was gimping home with my stash that I worried about what costume to wear that would cover the black and blue scratch.

KIFM ANONYMOUS? : sarah

Do I need to join Keep It For Myself Anonymous?

I decided to dye up some veils to sell at my upcoming veil workshop. I am really excited about teaching this workshop. What better than to have more veils around.

I spent all weekend over a hot boiling stove and putting my laundry card to the test. I risked it all; scalding water, rainbow colored fingers and battled little old ladies for washing machine time. Reality at it’s best.

When it was all over, I lined up my resulting veils to count up. I made two piles, one for sale and one to comprise of the few treasures I would keep for myself. As I divided up the piles… I realized the only ones ending up in the sale pile would be the ones that I made two of the same veil.

As rational as making money is – somehow my lust for more and more veils seems to override all that logic. I mean really, how many veils do I really need?  Clearly the answer is: Most of them.

WATCHING WHALE :: sarah

Being a wedding photographer -that happens to be a bit fish tank crazy- makes it thrilling when clients pick the Mystic Aquarium as their location. We photographed this wedding last weekend. It was great fun!

The whale watched the entire service!!! He seemed to be smiling for the camera!

The entrance had an extremely impressive jelly fish tank.

During the reception I was in heaven taking photos of the massive anemone tank that was the focal point of the room.

FALLEN BRICK :: sarah

It saddens me to see the decline of sewing in this country. I consider it part tradition. Tradition as an American, making quilts with my mom or the tradition of making personalized performance costumes for belly dance. The pragmatist in me understands why the decline in sewing is happening all too well. But it makes me sad all the same.

I ran out of hook and eyes to finish off my costume for the big show this weekend. I just went to my favorite notions shop. It was closed. It was completely cleared out. I was heart broken today. I no longer know of a store that carries the kind of in-depth sewing supplies that that store carried. One more brick crumbled out of the wall of history.

This photo is of my mother. It is from her latest visit to see me. She needed headshots so we did a photoshoot (She stole my brand new pink sweater to boot!).

While she was here we sewed together. I had asked her to bring some sewing supplies from home, just because it used to be convenient. But, apparently, back home Walmart collapsed all the local fabric stores. Now Walmart has cut the sewing department back dramatically. Even back home... sigh.

Where does one go to find five different kinds of home sewing machine thread, hooks, bees wax and bra strap lengtheners, in one shop these days? It seems that my upcoming show will be held together by safety pins... for now….

I decided to pull up and listen to Pink Floyds “Another Brick in the Wall” for this occasion. It brings up memories of hostile teenage years. The variety in remakes of that song is amusing.

ISN'T IT NICE TO ACHIEVE? :: sarah

Isn’t it nice to achieve what one loves to do?

Charleston Chu loves to be with me. Being my companion is his job and he takes it very seriously. Now as some of you may know pugs are very chest heavy and not really built for swimming. So, as an over protective owner I have several life jackets for him so that he can go on boats and canoes with me. They always have a convenient handle on the top.

As I jumped off the dock into the cold fresh water he so badly wanted to be with me.

Typically I go swimming at locations that have a little bit of a beach and he can wade in, swim to me and swim back on his own. But at Jacks Lake there was only dock then strait into deep waters. He was distraught.

This summer is when we discovered the joys of the pool noodle. This 12 dollar piece of foam transformed everything. Charleston could float with me for as long as I was out there. The next day when we were preparing to go swimming again and the pool noodles were pulled out, he was ecstatic. He could not contain himself.

Isn’t it nice to have access to the tools that make our dreams come true?

I went to the World Dance New York head quarters yesterday and saw a performance they recorded of my Mata Hari Unveiled number. It was so thrilling. It was like finding a pool noodle.

THE MATA HARI COSTUME UNVEILED : sarah

I dreamed of a concept costume. Years of dreaming. Than years of sewing. Dreams of how to present the costume. Through talented people around me, people who are committed to creativity, and sheer will to make it happen, everything has finally come into reality. A costume, a group performance, a DVD, a photoshoot. I have everything an artist could dream of. I wrote up the making of the costume. I will continue to work on sharing the rest with you.

Costume write up Sometimes dreams do come true.

SEIZE THE STUDIO :: sarah

Don't take things for granted. Carpe diem.  Seize the day. The only thing that is constant is change. All these these cliche sayings can become a rhythm of words we say and hear. Some how their meaning becomes glossed over and, dare I say it, taken for granted.

I have been doing a lot of thinking about where I wish to go with my life and taking a moment to look back at where I have been. I recalled this story.

I had done years of environmental photography and I wanted to do studio photography. I decided, instead of paying more school tuition I would go strait to real life crash course. I rented a NYC studio, bought equipment and put out ads that I would shoot anyone for the cost of my cab fair. After a certain point I felt I had achieved what I needed to learn and I had to change studios. I felt like it was a good time to start charging. I changed my advertising to announce my new, more impressive studio and my new sparkly price tag.

I was out and about one day. I ran into a person who told me that they thought my work was great and was working up the nerve to have a photo shoot with me someday. I said sure thing. And then she said, "and I am waiting until you change studios again and your price goes back to what your were originally
charging".

That conversation has stuck with me. I realized she had missed "a place" in time, that I was never going back to.

As I revel in how great my life is. I too, must pay attention to the reality that everything can change on a dime.

For instance, feeling lazy and thinking that a dance teacher will still be teaching class next week. Keeping the same dance gig for years and suddenly a new person gets put in charge of hiring. That the co-op board seems to be quietly minding its business and then a meeting gets held. That as we get settled into what things we like, they end up seeming to change. Sometimes for the better, sometimes not.

As the hot summer air settles in, baking my mind into wanting to do nothing but nap, I think about my studio. It is the biggest I have ever had. Square footage wise, it is bigger than where I live. As the rest of my life rocks and rolls with change, who's to say I will always have this studio? Will I have yet another sticking conversation with someone and realize I am no longer in "that place"? Looking into my crystal ball, will there be the day that I regret not having done more with the studio while I had the chance? I suppose it's time to dig out those old sayings and really experience the meaning of "Seize the day"... or should I say: Seize the studio!

MARY SWIMMING IN SPACE :: sarah

Mary a belly dance instructor came for a photo shoot this weekend. I welcomed her as we walked down the hallway into the main shooting space of the studio. When she saw how big the space was she stopped in her tracks and exclaimed “This space is huge!”. It felt so good to have the studio appreciated. I feel great about offering such a huge 1800 square foot space so that dancers can really stretch out. Next she and Andrew Jones went into the dressing room to do makeup. I finished up some computer work in the office and her husband sat at the meeting table reading a magazine. Ahhhh nice to have such an ample space!

In this photo is a 12 foot wide seamless back drop.

 

BEHIND THE SCENES :: sarah

After endless hours of sewing and rehearsals, Saturday was the day to realize the dreams! Andrew Jones did my makeup. He crafted pure art on my face. It made me feel more assured that I looked the best I could.
As I was getting my makeup done Laura Rose stretched. She recorded her performance after the first half of my performance. Her zombie was very inspirational. I was entranced by her number. I look forward to seeing what great idea she comes up with next.

When I entered the grand performance space I was really impressed. It was fantastic. Shooster was doing light readings and Neon was directing the lighting staff.
The Shiva girls,Bellyessence, arrived right on time. There professionalism is impeccable. They were ready on time. The coin costumes looked absolutely stunning on them. They ran through the number and worked out the spacing with Neon as I finished getting my head piece on.
Kevin Fox was my French military who drags Mata Hari off to the firing squad. There were many jokes about him liking to shoot me. Or the symbolism of the cigarettes being what really kills me.
The filming went really well. We went through number a few times and the camera crew got some really great cuts. Here is Neon checking over things.
The number met all my dreams. It was truely a moment of dreams coming true for me.
In the dressing room Jeniviva was also getting ready we hammed around with the 3-D glasses that happened to be there.
It was fun to be goofing around while being surrounded by such amazing beauty. And using my cutie little camera is always fun.
After the filming Jeniviva, Elsa and I went for greasy French fries as a reward of dieting for the filming. They were extreamly YUMMY!

A DAY OF MANY STRONG FEELINGS : sarah

I have been deeply sad about the passing of a dance legend and knowing that many of my friends and teachers were very close to her and are deeply upset. I never studied directly with her. But I doubt that it is even possible to not be effected by her. She is one of the main figures that have shaped belly dance as it entered the US and blossom into what it is today. I am in Altagracia’s dance company. Zeniada has made several chirographies for me including the ones for my Turkish DVD. They were both trained by Serena. I photographed Scott Wilsons marriage to Leni. The links of my connection to Serena’s influence goes on and on.

From left to right: Serena, Scott, Leni, Rip

I have thumbed through the emails and message boards of people talking about Serena. I came across a youtube link of Serena teaching 9/8 in 1975. I was so THRILLED to see this. I have always heard that the Turkish style I do and see around me in NYC to be from that 1970’s era. I learned this Turkish style from the teachers and performers of that era but I never thought I would actually see it performed and taught- in a video time capsule. Here lies the undeniable proof for the world to see! TURKISH STYLE IN 1975 IN NYC USES SKIRT!

As I am reeling with joy, I receive and email alerting me to a product review of my “I Love Turkish Belly Dance DVD” by Zorba. Zorba’s video review. I recently had a message board discussion on BHUZ.com about belly dance fashion with him. I just had to read what he wrote right away. I got 4.5 stars out of a possible 5. That just made my day just got even better! I am thrilled to hear that there is another happy dance shopper! And I am even more blessed that someone took the time to write a review about it. Before I left for my dance rehearsal I got an email from Leni Wilson. It contained a note saying that Scott was going through is mother Serena’s things and found this poem that she would read during Belly Dance performances. It made me feel connected to myself as a woman, and all that it entails. Embracing the sensual.

I AM A WOMAN A poem
written by Serena Wilson, believed to be used in her shows, as a spoken prelude to a dance.

I am a woman, wrapped in chiffon and jewels, Thin silks and girdle of gold. I stretch my arms... The embrace encompasses a universe. I can control a quiver in my hips, Tell a thousand stories with my eyes, Skip with child-like glee, the smile of experience on my lips. Glide in innocence, endure with age. Spin like a dervish; undulate in sensuality... Excite, promise, create, change, tease, mock, Unveil my passion. Untiringly seduce the world as I move my body, for I am a woman... I am the dancer

I went to rehearsal with Belly Essence and they had just stopped by Serena Studios. She touched so many…

New York Platinum Dancers showcase July 11, 2006 When I photographed this show I felt I needed to capture Serena in a way that conveyed the Rock Star quality she has.

SOFT REPOSE : sarah

I had purchased a carpet with a belly dancer design on it some time ago. I envisioned dancers reposing on it in. I hadn’t, until last weekend, found the right moment to pull it out and add it to the décor of a photograph. Last weekend I had the honor of photographing Aisha. The perfect moment had arrived! Aisha has landed on my magic carpet after only being in the USA for five months. She is from Russia. Her soft voice kindly tries to communicate in English with me. But in the end the photos themselves speak volumes for us. We are fortunate to have this lovely dancer joining our community.

SURROUNDED BY TALENT :: sarah

I am working on a new dance piece. I created a costume specifically for it. I have grand ideas about how important of a piece it should be. I became so in awe of my own plans that I became totally freaked out about not being able to live up to it. I was suffering from a huge case of dancers block and the deadline to the performance time is fast approaching.

Friday I went to Aszmara’s double veil class. Her veil work style reminds me of my idol, Elena Lentini (Aszmara studied with Elena so it makes sense). I am amazed by Aszmara. I left her class feeling even more overwhelmed and insecure about my abilities to come up with something great for my new piece.

I got on the phone to my friend Gazella and she said great works are not made in an isolation bubble; it is ok to be mentored, run ideas past other people, get feed back, etc. It was a perfectly obvious and logical idea! So I resolved to reach out to people I knew.

I picked up the phone and called Autumn Ward and told her how distraught I was feeling about this piece and she rushed over. We talked about the concept and hashed out the strategy. It was wonderful to see how this great choreographer got a piece started. She has created several pieces for me and my mother. She has a great command of putting choreographies together. We put pen to paper and things happened. We put the music on and before I knew it I suddenly saw shapes! She went off to her next appointment and I kept dancing and things were really coming out of me.

I called up Neon about some of the new plot ideas that came out of discussions with Autumn. I asked her what she thought about them. She is always a great person to call with these kinds of things because she is enthusiastic and supportive about any kind of creativity. I was still trying to figure out how to portray something and she tossed out several innovative suggestions. One hit the nail on the head! It was perfect. I then needed to add a few prop acquisitions to my to-do list.

That night I went off to Mezzo Mezzo and performed to a live band. Eleni was there. After my show I sat and chatted with her. She is a beautiful dancer and she books dancers at Café Figaro. She has seen hundreds and hundreds of performances. She told me so many positive things she found in my performance. She pointed out things she finds of particular interest in my dancing style. It was really important feed back for me to hear from someone like her. It made me feel confident about the particular things I have to offer in my performances.It gave me more ideas about what I should include in my piece.

Then next day I broke the music down the second piece of music like Autumn had walked me through on the first piece. That helped, but I just felt really anxious about the floor work section and I needed another big shove. I called up Rayhana that does the most amazing floor work and told her I needed her. I explained about my crazy deadline to get it done. She jumped in her car and came right over. Rayhana does the most sensual floor work I have ever seen in my life. I showed her where I was and she took me to the next level and got me off and started with the next piece.

That night I was in the studio. Kevin Fox and I were shooting Hiram Segarra . He is a very creative sort and does a lot of character acting. He is a long time friend and fan of Kevin photographic work. We got to talking and I mentioned that I am hunting for particular unusual props. He straitens up and tells me he thinks he can get a hold of it. Here is a photo from his photoshoot on sunday.

It is astounding to me to open my eyes and really see what amazing talented people that are just a phone call away.

After a weekend of hard core dancing, my mind is stretched and my body left achy and bruised. I am longer blocked and I feel so lucky to be surrounded by generosity and greatness.

PORT OF CALL : ATHENA NAJAT :: sarah

During my week long cruise I stopped in for a day to get a world wind tour of Athens by New York dancer Athena Najat. Athena has been spending the last couple of years living, dancing and teaching in Athens. I arrived in the port early in the morning where Athena scooped me up. It was imperative for us to have a frappuccino with lots of caffeine to start the day right. It was delightful to listen to Athena order in Greek.

Next on the agenda was sight seeing. We trotted over to the Acropolis. It is the most significant reference point of ancient Greek culture, as well as the symbol of the city of Athens itself as it represent the apogee of artistic development in the 5th century BC. The Propylaea are the monumental entrances to the sacred area dedicated to Athena, the patron goddess of the city.

It seems so appropriate that Athena Najat would move to a city who worships her. So fitting no? ….Where is my city located? As we posed for the picture our photographer also wanted the same shot. So we offered to return the favor. That inspired many other people to request the same of us. Soon we realized that we better RUN before ended up photographing people all day.

Erechtheion was built to accommodate the religious rituals that the old temple housed. The east end of the Erechtheion was dedicated to Athena Polias (protector of the earth and fertility) and housed the ultra-sacred wooden diipetes (fallen from the heavens) xoano (statue) of Athena. As I looked at this structure I envisioned us doing ritual dances to honor our Athena Najat. I started dreaming of making a stage modeled after it and putting on a show. (ya know- in my spare time)

As we looked out to this view of Athens Athena told me a family story of how her grand mother walked bare foot from the area over my sholder to the top of the mountain over her sholder as a prayer for her sick child, Athenas father. The child recovered and now the entire family honors the patrine Saint George. Mount Lycabettus is a Cretaceous limestone hill in Athens, Greece. At 277 meters above sea level, the hill is the highest point in the city that surrounds it. Pine trees cover its base, and at its peak are the 19th century Chapel of St. George.

We walked through the streets of Athens chatting away. Catching up on all the times missed with each other. It was really good to have an indepth converasation with someone about belly dance business and concepts with someone of like mind but with new ideas. Athena seemed particularly hungry for the conversation having been away from New York for so long.

We made our way to the Unknown Soldiers and survived a hair raising crossing of a busy street. (Yes, I was so nervous I held her hand). Changing of the Guard Evzones in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Syntagma Square, Greece.
It was wonderful to see men in uniform dancing. There is an opportunity for torists to go stand next to them and take photos. I felt shy but Athena dragged me up there explaining that it was my responcibitiy as a tourist to partake.

The most important stop for me was to see Athena’s home so that I could visualize her in life so far away. As we were entering her property her parents called from the states and then a neighbor was walking by and wanted to speak to them. So I wondered around the garden and took this photo of her roses.

On this trip I felt fascinated by streets with laundry lines, the domestic ness made it feel homey. So of course I must share with you all Athena’s panties drying on the line.

Athena was very modest when referring to the house. It was the family’s home and then as time passed it became a vacation home. Now that she is living in it renovations are updating things that one does as you shoosh an old home. The home had the stunning traditional tiles and wonderful structural bones. I was amazed at the house. I could see as she continues to live there and updates the shutters, things like that, that the home will be an absolute mansion.


She shows me her costume closet as she holds her new Bella costume. She was recently in Turkey and got me a Bella costume also! A beautiful blue costume! I always think of her in blue so it was so fitting that she found me a blue costume. I put it on and it fit me perfectly right off the rack- well some hooks need to be moved. (I think I have a sickness. I immediately started looking for things to change. Why? The costume is perfect! Yet somehow I have this urge to just stick some beads on it or ANYTHING I can come up with. Just drop all other projects, go out spend a huge amount of money on supplies and stick it on… I am not healthy.) I am so thrilled with my costume that I intend to keep my eye out for more Bella’s. I am so thankful that Athena spoiled me so grandly.

Athena showed me photos of her students and told me wonderful stories about them.
I also took a photo of where she sits when she writes emails to all of us back who miss her back in New York City.

On the way out she caught me …borrowing a costume…. Her closet was getting too crowed, I was just trying to help her out. :) (after taking this photo we giggled like crazy).
We trotted off for more frappuccinos with a great view of the water. She told me of stories of people around her having purchased my new I Love Turkish DVD and how much they are loving it. It was a wonderful feeling to realize that people in far away lands are meeting me (meeting in a sort of way). So neat! .

So being on typical Greek time I was ended up having to run like crazy to the boat. It was a good thing I was all hopped up on so much caffeine. I was the last person to board my boat and I heard my name searching for me over the intercom. My family worried I would be left behind. I didn’t mean to worry them, but I thought about it afterwards… it wouldn’t have been so awful to have gotten left in Athens.
Athena is such a wonderful host and tour guide. I can not wait to go back to visit her. More on other days of Sarah's trip.

BACK HOME WITH A TAN :: sarah

Ahhh back home in my own bed with my pug curled up in the nook. I just got back from a week long cruise in the Mediterranean. I am still jet lagged and catching up on missed sleep. My mind is swirling with all the memories of radically different architecture and Athena Najat’s stories of living in Athens.

I am working on processing the photos from the trip. When I photograph weddings or dancers in the studio I am notorious for over shooting what I am suppose to shoot. But somehow when ever I travel I never seem to take enough photos. As I process them I will be sure to share some and tell the stories to go with.

Here is a photo of me on the deck of the ship. It is from the first day as the boat is sailing away from Venice. As the boat sailed from port to port this was my perch.

While I was on the massive cruise ship I could check my email on a snail of a connection for an outrageous price per second. I received and email from Electra, a dancer in town whom I met on line. She recently came to see me perform and introduced her self to me. It was so nice of her to come out and support me like that. Well, she wrote me and let me know that she blogged about me. (Apparently she does a video clip review blog, you can subscribe to her feed). I was unable to check her blog until I returned. OH MY HEAVENS what a heartwarming homecoming it was! She said such nice things about my performance it made me blush. It is a wonderful gift to the world when people go out of their way to shout out, promote and say nice things about others. I am a very lucky person to have met Electra.

BON VOYAGE :: sarah

I am running off to the Mediterranean! I am going on a cruise and will plunk down on a chair by the pool and drink in the sea air. I have not been on a totally pleasure vacation in a long time. This will be a welcome rest from all of my projects. (can you imagion I am not going to bring any beading with me!!!) On this journey I am going to see Athena Najat in Greece- (she tells me that she has a present for me!)

I am a lucky girl!

Wish me a bon voyage- I am off to the air port!!!

FROM SMALL BEGINNINGS TO A HUGE STUDIO :: sarah

In this grand city of shakers and movers, things are always changing and space is always at a high premium. As a portrait photographer, finding the right shooting space situation is always a challenge.

As I stand on a grand new mountain top I look back to the beginning of my dance portrait work. I started out charging practically nothing. I reasoned it out by looking at the cost of a college photography course and thought it was fine to pay for the studio rent myself, while I learned the ropes. I only charged dancers the cost of my cab fair to get there. It was a little 10 foot wide space. My light stands had to sit on the backdrop.

A while later the landlord raised the rent through the roof. That was the moment I had to grow up. I had to stop shooting in order to stop spending absurd amounts of money on a studio space or I had to find a new studio and start charging.

I was having so much fun, I decided to move forward and take the plunge. A couple of studio situations later I have landed in one that I am very excited about. I have been in this studio a year. But the situation has changed as of April 1^st, more control (but more responsibility- eek). This glorious studio is located right in the photo district on 5^th avenue and 20^th street. The place is rearranged and is feeling fabulous. It is 1800 square feet of wide open professional shooting space!!!! My lights can be no where near my 12 foot backdrop! I am able to shoot large troupes and anything I can dream up.

What fun I am having now!!!

Sarah Skinner

ZEN BUSTED :: sarah

At 9-5 desk job I have taken to drinking tea. I have done so for many reasons.

• Assists me in keeping up liquid intake
• Health benefits
• Calming warm beverage in an over air-conditioned environment.
• Co-worker social aspect of selecting tea and hunting for the prettiest teapots e-bay has to offer.
• Preparing tea creates a reason to walk away, giving my eyes and body a rest from computer work.

These are all wonderful benefits. But I know that I also liked acquiring beautiful teapots and that displaying at my desk gave me visual pleasure. I collected many different patterns and shapes. I acquired so many tea pots I could feed a company’s worth of thirst.

As my tastes for tea pot collecting became more and more refined I grew to have favorites. A co-worker and I started calling a particular style of china “The holy grail” because it was so hard to find and so exquisitely crafted. In our quest, I had acquired a small patter and a tea cup with lid in that style. I often petted those pieces and called it “precious” just like the creature in the lord of the rings.

Wednesday my company decided to rearrange where we all sat and moved me from one floor to another. I packed my delights with care. I told the movers which boxes had the china and to be extra careful. The mountain of boxes they were moving also contained many large heavy boxes of my books. They heeded my warnings and carefully placed those delicate boxes on top. I watched my possessions rolled off to the new location.

I waited. And I waited... After an extended amount of time, I went in search and I found the movers huddled not far from my old desk. The mover’s boss pulled me to the side with a serious look on his face, took a deep breath and described the dramatic tale of the entire mountain of boxes crashing down upon my china.

I am not sure how it occurred that all of my non-favorites were completely unharmed. Bizarrely, every single piece I considered to be my precious was broken. These favored items were in many different boxes. Some how, fate was able to single out those particular pieces. I even found a framed photo of my beloved puppy, sandwiched in a box of books, smashed.

I really wanted to be that Zen type of person that could tell the poor upset mover that it was all ok. I wanted to tell him it didn’t matter. I wanted to be the person that didn’t feel that attached to physical belongings. I wanted to just happy that he wasn’t hurt.

But most of all I wanted the items that broke, to not be my nine favorite pieces.

PUG'S BIRTHDAY :: sarah

Charleston is my living teddy bear. He just turned nine years old yesterday. We spent the day snuggling in our chair and a half (that I bought just so we would have enough room for the both of us). He also got a curly chewy and tons of treats. I have not reached the point yet of being a crazy pug lady, dressing him up and going to doggie birthday parties...not yet. It was a day of just being together, like most days, loving each other. A few years ago he got extremely ill and almost died. I think about that on days like this. I am so thankful that he is still in my life and of course I worry about the day that he might not be. When I received the vet bill I sent out a newsletter containing information on pet insurance and recommended that everyone get it. To date, four friends have come up to me and apologized. When they heard my story, back then, they laughed at me for having spent so much money. Now they have experienced a similar thing, and of course, didn’t have pet insurance and wished they had heeded my warning. I hope I do not get any more apologies- go out and get insurance! I love my Charleston more than I can say. Happy Birthday puppy.

RAJASTAN DRESSED BUNNY

It was Easter and I was hired to perform at Café Figaro. Café Figaro is a little café that on Sunday nights transform in to a Middle Eastern hot spot. It is a two hour show with three dancers. Often it is a teacher and her students performing so that it makes it this wonderful family and community feeling to the place without any high stress.

I looked forward to this gig because I was excited to wear my newly made costume for the first time. I call it my Raj costume because I acquired the fabric on a trip to Rajasthan, India. I spent a part of the day finishing up the costume. I also recently purchased a new veil for the costume and had not practiced with it yet. I asked someone to take photos and someone to video tape thinking that I was going to have the really great show. And as the time came to get ready for the show I realized that I didn’t feel “really great” I felt kind of down on my ability to do a good show.

I slapped some sparkles on my eyes while listening to the Scott Wilson music CD to see if I wanted to try out one of their other veil songs. I went for a darker eye liner than usual. I felt like the darker tones of this costume lent it self to that. I put my costume in my removable scooter luggage and trotted on downstairs to my scoot-scoot. As the dusting snow flakes floated around me I started on my journey to the Figaro. I started out feeling very mellow and the traffic swarmed around me and I didn’t feel rushed at all. As I hit midtown Manhattan the dreamy napping daze had slipped into a fast pace pulse of the city and my scooter flew down the avenue to the perfectly timed lights. I found a perfect parking spot right in front of Figaro. It was as if it was specially made for me.

When I got there I learned that Jehan, a world renowned dancer, was going to make a guest dance appearance. I was told I was still the headliner end dance slot. But that meant I would have to follow her performance, which is no short order. But I felt it was good for my brain to go on after a more accomplished dancer and maintain being centered.

Leni is the booker and wife of the band leader. She gave me a pair of Bunny ears to wear, like hers and the drummer, Carmine. It made me feel very festive.

Nuray performed first. This was my first time meeting her and seeing her perform. She was absolutely lovely. She was sweet and sophisticated. Darshan is her teacher and must be very proud of her. She wore a coin costume and you know that always makes me extremely happy.

Amy went on next. Mariyah showed up just in time to man the video camera. Mariyah looked relaxed and tan from her adventures in Hawaii. Amy show was splendid as her shows always are. She wore her red bra and belt with an LRose Designs black dress.

Jehan was next and, of course, spectacular. She danced with a tray of flowers and candles on her head, dramatic and visually tasty. I frantically finished putting on my costume and stretched.
I entered to a pile of photographers and video cameras. The audience seemed to be filled with people who like to record things. When it came time for the veil number it didn’t go as I had hoped. It was a big veil and Figaro is small. I have relationships with veils, and well, I just wasn’t feeling it in this setting. I did a bit, yeah know, because I can, and then I ditched it and did an emotionally fulfilling taxsim to George’s clarinet instead.

Figaro is such a friendly place. The audience was very supportive. Jehan, Jacklina and Christina were a great cheering section. Raquy, Rami and Carmines drum solo raqed the house. The finally song I made sure that all the fans that came to worship the new costume got a good look and then I split to go pant.

Thumbs up to the new costume! See the making of the Rajasthan costume

BEGGING FOR CHANGE :: sarah

I have an addiction. I am coin crazy. I can never have enough coins. I hear of someone going on a trip and I beg for spare travel change that they can not exchange. Today my co-workers just came back from Chile and Uruguay. They told me of luscious stories of their travels and I politely nodded and smiled with each story of perfect weather days at the beach. My eyes wander to their pockets, hoping for that telling bulge. My pulse is beating fast, my skin flushed.

Finally after an eternal amount of time they forked over the handful of coinage. I snatched it up and horded “my precious” for fear others would want it. I scurried home with my booty and showed it to Charleston for his approval. After careful inspection, and the sniff of acceptance, it was added to my treasure chest of gold and brass colored coins.

As the sun sinks in the sky and my body grows tired I gaze into my closet at my finished coin costumes. I shall slip off to sleep dreaming of what I will make with my new Uruguay coins.

Psst: coin donations always welcome.