Shame Free Blogging Day!

The lovely Arya over on Style Trumps Fashion, a student and friend of mine, is starting a new tradition this year: Shame Free Blogging.  After a recent incident of downright inappropriate and personal commenting on her blog, she was inspired to stand up and say "NO WAY will I allow you to shame me"--particularly when it comes to our bodies, and our confidence in it and love for it, it is too easy to fall prey to cruel intentions of others.  The internet (and the "blogosphere") is filled with trolls--thoughtless and insecure people who find some sense of power in their life by trying to bring others down or stir the shit.  And today, on Shame Free Blogging Day, I am saying:

We don't buy that crazy here. Peddle that shit elsewhere.

A little bit from Arya's blog about it:

"I am not ashamed of my body.  My body is strong, supple, and graceful.  It is firm in some places, and soft in others.  It rises to my demands (almost) without fail, whether I want to participate in a four-hour yoga workshop, make it through boot camp and two war zones, shimmy for two hours straight, make love with my husband, run for three miles, or stay up through the night with a woman in labor.  My body is shaped in a way that screams "WOMAN!", and I'm finally, blessedly, okay with enjoying that.

I will not be shamed."


If you have a blog, or even a Facebook page, where you would like to show solidarity for a shame-free experience on the internet, join us today by posting one of Arya's lovely badges on your blog, site, or page.

Live in the layers...

The Layers

Stanley Kunitz
I have walked through many lives,
some of them my own,
and I am not who I was,
though some principle of being
abides, from which I struggle
not to stray.
When I look behind,
as I am compelled to look
before I can gather strenth
to proceed on my journey,
I see the milestones dwindling
toward the horizon
and the slow fires trailing
from the abandoned camp-sites,
over which scavenger angels
wheel on heavy wings.


Oh, I have made myself a tribe
out of my true affections,
and my tribe is scattered!

FAQ Spotlight: When do I get to perform?

When I was a new student, I was absolutely rabid for any new information on bellydance. I was always digging around for new details about the styles I was studying, the classes I was taking, and the teachers I was studying with (or hoped to one day study with). I know a lot of you reading this blog are the same way--you just love reading about the dance, and learning all you can in your time both in and outside of class!

It was in this spirit that I started my FAQ section on my website. I knew other dancers are just like me, and are eager to read up on various topics having to do with the dance. There is a lot to cover, but I tried to focus my questions and answers on the same topics I wondered about when I was first learning. It makes for a long FAQ, though, and it can be hard to find time to dig through it all. So I am going to occasionally post a blog entry featuring one of the FAQ topics I think you may enjoy reading. I welcome any thoughts or feedback on these topics--I am still that same eager student who loves to study and discuss all the angles of this incredible dance form!

When do I get to perform?

Performing is an exciting way to bring the joy you feel in dancing to an audience--I have been a performer all my life and can definitely vouch for what a rewarding experience it can be to take to the stage. However, it is by no means a requirement, nor is it even a "natural progression" that every dancer should one day perform. Many students are quite happy to confine their dancing to class and/or their living room, and never perform for the public, and that is absolutely fine.

Steampunk Bellydance - an article and some thoughts

 On a discussion over in the comments section on this article on Gilded Serpent, there is some debate about whether Steampunk Bellydance is a legitimate genre of dance or not--the article asserts it is not, and some commenters argue the contrary.

One very articulate poster, going only by the name "T.", is clearly a Steampunk practitioner/enthusiast/community member, and had some very articulate thoughts to share on her frustrations with the overuse of Steampunk in everyday parlance.  A portion of her post read:



"It’s never a good feeling, having your meticulous, time-honored craft dismissed or eclipsed by a trend you have no immediate connection to. It’s difficult not to feel uneasy, watching your art form be oversimplified, lumped in, or lazily dismissed by an all-too-easy and reductive definition. It’s not fun, being shoved in a box that you have no desire to be in, even if that box is comfortable, or even inspiring, for plenty of others who’ve willingly placed themselves inside of it."

My reply, which I share as a founding member of the Seattle Steamrats in addition to my over a decade of teaching and performing bellydance, are as follows follows:

How many hours for a bellydance gig?

In a previous post, we looked at The True Cost of a Performance. In this installment, we look at the incomparable Delilah Flynn's question of:

Q. "How many hours does it take you to do a belly dance gig?"

Delilah's Answer:
"8PM show. 

I have to eat my last meal by 3:00 PM or I feel sluggish and bloated. So I have to plan my day accordingly. Open suitcase and gather costume pieces. Iron veil if necessary. Make sure I have costume, make up, zills, evening dress, shoes and stockings in the early day so incase I have to run an errand I have time. This takes about 30 minutes somewhere in my day. 

I shower at 5:30 and begin putting on makeup and doing hair at 6:00-6:45 and get dressed and load the car with costumes, sound system, props. 

Arrive at the gig to get acclimated at least 30-40 minutes in advance so I leave the house at 7:00 if local. The show is at 8:00 give or take a few . Usually shows go on a little late if the audience is still arriving . 

By 9 :00 I should be finished and need 30 minutes to cool down before stepping out in the Seattle rain. How ever the audience usually wants to meet the dancers so going out and saying hello is a professional curtesy.  So I probably am in my car at 10:00 realistically.