Mm Mm Monday - Tabu at Tribal Massive

Old school yumminess is right here, right now, in your face. Tabu performs a fabulous old school bellydance pot dance and drum choreography. The costuming! The music! The skillz! Mmm MMMMMMMMM!

22 Things Good Dancers Do Differently

 A dancer blog post has been making the rounds lately and has excellent advice. Here are just a sampling of the gems:

7. Strive to constantly make new discoveries about dancing (rather than waiting to be spoon fed the answers). This is a crucial part of developing your unique perspective and voice. Don’t be a dance robot.
8. Seek out instructors/mentors they mesh with and who push them.
9. Practice the shit out of everything. Does this one need explaining? Of course you’ll need to do high-quality practice, not mindless practice.
10. Disregard their inner critics’ harsh thoughts. Your inner critic is just a little child trying to distract you from doing worthwhile things. Hit the ignore button.

Read the whole article here:
http://rebeccabrightly.com/good-dancers-differently/

Tribal Bellydance Costuming 101

I teach costuming workshops now and again, specifically for tribal and fusion bellydancers. I used to be a professional costumer, so I have spent quite a lot of time considering all the elements that go into this style--what makes it so rich, without being gaudy? It's also so very personal--there is not real "uniform"--so it is open to wide interpretation. I have addressed the topic in brief in a previous blog post, but for a deeper look into successful costuming I offer this new post. This was developed off of a handout I have given at past workshops, which addresses some key considerations for American Tribal Style, ITS, tribal, and tribal fusion bellydance.

Getting Started with Makeup

One of the most requested topics I get, both online and in workshop requests, is for makeup tutorials. Makeup takes a lot of experimentation and can be frustrating at first, especially if you have never or rarely worn makeup in everyday life to begin with. Everything seems so intimidating! Garish! SCARY!

So here is your invitation to play. Explore. Build up your courage and confidence. And go forth and make your face glamorous!

Here are some videos I like:

A bare beginners lesson in makeup. Not dramatic enough for stage, but is great for helping you understand the steps, what shades of a palette go where, etc. I think her "newbie" tutorial cred gets ditched right around when she decides to do WINGED LINER, so I say skip that business if you're not ready to rock that.
http://youtu.be/vo1HggTYeJk

TheMakeupChair has lots of great videos. This is good, close-up, simple. You can put so many colors in where she puts the golden yellow color.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FLhm3u94qo

Wayne Goss has a fantastic "mistake-proof" method that works with any color range and is a great introduction to some simple blending skills.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEAYXm3ezNg

Faisal Zedan and Rachel Brice - solo at the DeYoung Musem

Jane Hall's amazing mentor on doumbek; Rachel Brice on belly. Enjoy!