Steampunk

Steampunk Crocheted Hipband

I spent the morning making a pattern for a crocheted hip band.  Since it's a Steampunk theme I'm going to use washers at the ends of the fringe.  But for a more traditional look you can use coins, bells or wooden beads.  For pirate belly dancing you can use sea shells  As I'm working on it, I can already visualize 3 or 4 more variations on a theme. I'm putting together a tutorial video and I'll share it when I have it made.

Steps I Can Do For Tomorrow

Watching this makes me miss teaching.

Costume Inventory

I posted this in my recycling blog and realized it would probably get more use here.

I need to inventory all my belly dance costumes.  Then I can repurpose things into other things.  Like old veils that are too worn to use can be gleaned for fabric to make hair scarves, belly covers, and sleeves.
Belly dancing coins can be cut off and added to new costumes. Broken barrettes can be repaired or the beads and trim can sometimes be re-used.

Bras that no longer fit can get new straps and trim. And any damaged beadwork that can't be fixed can be cut apart and added to hats or turned into appliques.

Sometimes dancers have swap meets and trade their old costumes with other people. Since women gain and lose weight constantly, your rejects may be someone else's best find of the day.

New Year's Day Dance

I started the New Year off right with some belly dance practice.  It's cold out but if the Rose Parade marchers can parade in it, I can dance in it.

It's a Whole New Year

I got some bitchin' trim to use for my steampunk belly dancing outfit. I'm just not sure if I want to put it on my hat or my hips or what. I only bought a yard of it. Maybe I should have bought 2 or 3 yards. 

I may be having a moment of insanity, but wouldn't it be wonderful to belly dance every single day of 2011? I'll get right on that.  At least it would make my self portraits on Project 365 more interesting. I don't have anyone to dance for anymore. So I guess I'd be doing it for my own self. My boyfriend isn't the least bit interested in belly dancing. In fact I showed him a video on youtube because I think it's funny and because it shows big women in a positive way, and he thought they were good dancers. The choreography was blah. The dancers were out of sync. But they did have bright sparkly tight fitting outfits that showed lots of T and A. He's a guy, haha, its the only way I can explain it.

Photos taken at Ren Fair in Irvine last year.

Do you have any dance goals for 2011?

The Saucy Zoe Jakes

I couldn't think of anyone I'd rather spend the New Year's moment with:

Of Mothers and Daughters

Older daughter

Younger Daughter

I have two daughters and I've always wondered why they've never had the least bit of interest in becoming belly dancers. One of my daughters did take ballet for awhile but gave it up when a soccer injury gave her a bum knee. The other one doesn't like to be stared at, so becoming a performer wasn't high on her to-do list. That means I'm the only belly dancer in my family and always have been. I see so many mother and daughter dance teams, and I think that would have been nice, but one thing I know is if someone doesn't have a passion for something, you can't make them love it.

Knit Some Hair Decorations for Tribal Belly Dancing

Knitting hair ornamentation for tribal belly dance. They look a bit like faux dreads to me, and they are fun and fast to make if you already know how to knit. These are basic ones but it's easy enough to add beads, coins, bells, or shells.

What's Your Favorite Color

My favorite color today is purple, or more specifically violet red. So my new beaded belly dance costume will be violet red. But for now I'll start with a pair of earrings. Do you make jewelry specifically to match your belly dancing costumes? Hair ornaments? Other doodads. Usually if you make those in your favorite color you'll wear them time and time again.

The other end is to make neutrals. That's because they go with everything. Neutrals are colors like gray, taupe, black, ivory, white, and navy. They play well with more brilliant colors.

Keep in mind stage lights can have bizarre effects on color. And a color will look a lot different at an outdoor venue than it does indoors at night. It helps to take some quick snapshots of your costume during the dress rehearsal to see how the lights are effecting it.

Bows and Belly Dancing

I really like these hip bands, especially the one with the bow in back.

Need Eye Make-up Ideas?

This is fascinating.

SCA and Belly Dance

Recently I went to an SCA collegium and attended a belly dance class. Due to a mix-up, the teacher wasn't there but we all chipped in a step or two and someone played middle eastern music for us on her cellphone. We danced for about an hour and talked for awhile. It was great to meet some new dancers.

I hope we can make a gypsy camp of sorts at some of the shorter day long events so we can dance more often, instead of just at an SCA war once in a while.

Queen's Champion Archery

Some of my self portraits from yesterday's SCA event in Van Nuys, CA.  I made the skirt, the tunic, the corset, and the harem pants, but years apart from each other. The cloak was a trade I did with my friend many years ago.

Business Cards

I'm so excited. I just ordered 1000 business cards for my belly dance business. Not cheapo ones I print out myself, but nice ones.

Staying Warm

It's always nice to have a belly dance cover up (cloak, aba, robe, caftan) that is a bit on the warm side. You can wear it before and after your show, parade, or gathering. You might want one in a thin fabric or a heavier one for colder days. Make sure it is easy to get into and out of. Pick a color that will go with most of your costumes. A neutral like gray, camel or taupe would work out well. If you have embroidery or beading skills you can show them off on your cover-up. If you get ambitious you can even put your dance name or troupe name on your robe.

Steampunk Influenced Belly Dancing

For those of you putting together a Steampunk or Neovictorian influenced belly dancing costume there are some examples on this video. Plus it's just very cool to watch. And they interviewed one of the Abney Park guys as well.

Madonna Defends Gypsies

http://omg.yahoo.com/news/madonna-booed-in-bucharest-for-defending-gypsies/26947?nc

Sad to see there is still so much racism out there.

Gothic Belly Dance

I'm so frustrated with belly dance right now. But this video took my mind off of things for a bit.

About those videos

Watching dance videos is inspirational and great and fun, but don't forget to turn them off and actually go do some dancing.

Reasons to Dance

I wrote a longer article about my new dance project here:
http://hubpages.com/hub/100-Reasons-to-Dance Don't let dance slip out of your life. Find ways to keep yourself motivated. I'm looking forward to dancing today.

World Belly Dance Day

I just found out about World Belly Dancing Day on May 9. I found a local event I can go to but it might conflict with some Mother's Day plans. http://www.worldbellydanceday.com/join_world_belly_dance_day.html Go ahead and go to their website to see what's shakin' in your area. If I go, it will be to the one in Yorba Linda, CA.

Cairo Carnivale

MECDA's Cairo Carnivale will be on the Queen Mary this year. Impressive. It's in June. I haven't been in a few years but I'm sorely tempted because of the venue. The last time I was on the Queen Mary was for a Scottish Highland Festival. I've probably been to maybe 6 Cairo Carnivales. I danced at one, volunteered at 2 and was a tourist the other times.

There is always great shopping and many many dancers to enjoy. And an amazing photo opportunity.

Teacher From My Past

I was surfing photos on Flickr and ran across a listing about one of my former belly dancing teachers. I'm glad she's alive and well. While my troupes have always flopped, hers have always prospered. And I found out the troupe has a website so here you go: http://www.benatseratdancers.com/ I think I first met her in the early '80s. And as far as I know she's always taught for Morro Bay Park and Rec. I've been all over California several times since then. I have to admire her stability. Go Patti GO!

Tribal v other types of belly dancing

Following is a question a former student asked me and my answer:



> Hi, Fayme, I know it's been a long time.
>
> Yesterday I did some belly dancing with some
> women who are in the SCA. They do tribal belly
> dancing and I didn't know how to that. Which
> leads me to this question. What is the
> difference between tribal style of dancing
> compared to what we did when I took lessons from
> you?

Ah yes, time marches on.
What I teach is a combination of Egyptian, Arabic, Cabaret and Tribal belly dancing.
Up until about 1987, belly dancers at Renaissance Faires were doing cabaret belly dancing and dressing in that same style.

It didn't fit in too well. So a group in the SF area called Fat Chance belly dance came up with a 'look' they called tribal. It was an eclectic blend put together in the way only Americans could have done, blending together costuming from India, Egypt, Afghanistan, Africa, and wherever else seemed appropriate. Then they started dancing in a synchronized way, all doing the same moves. The closest thing I can think of is the Rockets. Tribal is the chorus line of belly dancing.

Then as the years went on, things evolved even further. More tribal groups sprung up and evolved in different directions. Some of it may barely resemble the tribal style that is credited to Fat Chance Belly Dance. Since I can't see the style you are watching in your SCA group, I can't pin it down exactly. But the background you have should not be too far away from picking up the local style. Just remember tribal is a fabrication, and not historical at all, so don't let them bully you. They'd never document it in a pentathalon for example. Tribal evolved from the steps you already know.

Lately dancing has been evolving in the direction of 'fusion' and including more and more robotics. Some of the new trends can be found on youtube by googling up 'steampunk belly dance', 'fushion belly dance', 'gothic bellydance' and 'raks gothique'.

Hopefully the SCA dancers are teaching you their choreography. If they are then you'll soon see you have a foundation for it.

I love this graphic

Comments - Graphics - Layouts - Photobucket

Use art for costume inspiration. Use color schemes that appeal to you as well. Use themes to make a new look for yourself.

Steampunk Gloves

A tutorial on Steampunk gloves.


Now you can make your very own.

Steampunk Belly Dance Costuming

This video is short but has lots of inspiring ideas in it. Since my goal is to design a steampunk belly dancing costume for myself, I am keeping an eye out on new videos in that genre.

Weather is Gorgeous in S. Calif.

The weather is gorgeous today and I'm thinking of reclaiming my dancing space in the backyard. The flower beds have encroached on the patio and need some major maintenance. Also, there is a lot less space on the patio than there used to be because of our archery projects and furniture people have given us. Why is it so hard to keep space free for dancing? I struggle with it constantly. Once someone parks a table and benches or chairs somewhere it seems as if they are there forevermore.

I used to dance out there quite a lot but then two neighbors moved in and had babies. Now I am self-concious about making noise out there. You know, like drumming and finger cymbals and belly dance music? I doubt my neighbors are as fond of it as I am.

Oh how I miss having my own house and yard.

Make a Veil

I saw some lovely fabrics at Joanne's today that could be used for belly dancing veils. Some even had scalloped edges and sequins. If you have even moderate sewing skills, it's easy to make your own veils. Especially if you have a serger. You can also hem them by hand, even though it is time consuming. One friend of mine crocheted edgings in fine thread around every veil she made. Just remember adding trim adds weight to a veil, which is both a plus and a minus depending on how you intend to dance with it.

Giving Your Costumes a Make-over

If you just bought a used costume, or you've begun to notice the wear and tear on your costume there are still ways to make it look new again.

1. Remove damaged beads and replace with new beads. Keep to the same color scheme or change it entirely. Swap the old trim or appliques for something new.

2. Sometimes you can dye your veils and skirts to give them a new lease on life. Figure out what kind of fabric they are made from, and be sure you get the right kind of dye for your fabric.

3. Add or move the push-up pads inside your bra to give yourself a lift.

4. Put fringe above the crest of your breasts. If you put it below that fall line, it tends to make you look dumpy/saggy. Not a good thing.

5. Experiment with the bra straps until you find a way that supports you the best. Add multiple straps if you have to. Neck straps work fine if you are under endowed. If you are over endowed they'll give you the worst neck ache ever.

6. Raid the lingerie department for stretch lace to cover your navel, arms or any other part where you don't want to be overexposed.

7. Make sure all your straps play well together. It can get a bit tricky with bra straps, vest holes, sleeves, and layered garments. Try moving the layers around until it looks right then take a photo so you don't forget how you did it when you are rushing to get dressed.

8. Make sure your head wraps, turbans, dreads, braids, and shells play well together. No sense getting the perfect big hair and then ruining it when you have to pull your caftan over it.

9. Shoes: Change the look of your shoes by dyeing them, adding beads, buckles or bows.

10. Check out some of the cross-over fusion styles of steampunk or burlesque. Update your look with a bustle, bloomers, camo, or something else that's cutting edge. Change it up. If you are getting bored with your look, chances are your audience is too.

Velvet Cloak DIY

To preserve the mystery of the costume when you are not performing, you are going to need some cover ups. Here is a tutorial for a velvet cape with a satin lining. A bit hot for southern CA but I'm sure some of you dancers in colder climates will enjoy this.

I'd Rather Be Belly Dancing

Wish I was out bellydancing tonight. It's a Sat. night. And here I sit on the computer. I may have to start joining Meet-up groups again before I go stir crazy. Meet up used to be free. When they started charging I left. But now, years later I realize I'm not going to meet people with the same interests that I have just wandering around the neighborhood. And meet up is actually cheaper than joining MECDA or some other dance organization again. http://www.meetup.com/ It's not a perfect solution but it does improve the odds.

Making space

Today started out raining again. S. Calif. doesn't typically get this many days of continuos rain. So today I need to concentrate on shifting all the boxes in the living room to make indoor dance space. It is rather hopeless because the minute I clear space my boyfriend takes the opportunity to pile stuff into it in spite of me telling him time and time again I need the space to exercise. He doesn't care. When he needs exercise he hops on his bike and rides half the day. (So yes, half the time I have bikes in various states of destruction in my living room). At least he doesn't own a motorcycle. My friend said her hubby had a motorcycle in her living room for six months. And a stack of tires. Come on guys, give us a break.

Belly Dancing Nurses

Well, I'll be darned. There is a forum for belly dancing nurses. http://tribes.tribe.net/bellydancingnurses

Are you a Belly Dancing Librarian?

I'm met quite a few and love this site devoted to that topic. http://www.sonic.net/~erisw/bdlib.html I ran across it years ago and I'm happy it's still up there. So I'm glad to share it with all of you.

There are also a lot of belly dancing nurses. Perhaps there's a website somewhere for that as well.

Visitors?

I must admit I'm a little nervous to see that one of the people checking out my blog is http://uglycostumegoddess.blogspot.com/ If she's sending people over here to get costume tips that's great. But if she's sending people here to laugh at me and make fun of me, that makes me a bit queasy. I couldn't find any reference to this blog on her blog, but then again I didn't glean through it with a fine tooth comb. I am glad to see http://www.bhuz.com/ on my list of visitors as I used to be a member of that site and think highly of it.

One of the turn offs in the belly dancing world is the high level of criticism and even cruelty that I've run across from time to time. I try not to let it get me down.

Walking for Fitness

Walked for an hour and a half at the archery range today. I was huffing & puffing but my friend wasn't breathing hard at all. Just shows I need to do more cardio. She's been going to a gym and chasing her two little boys. But I feel that if I keep walking an hour a day I'll soon be able to keep up with her. We live far apart so we can't normally walk together. She used to belly dance to. I keep trying to talk her into taking it up again. We'll see.

Cardio Belly Dancing For Core Strength

A few things recently have inspired me to do a more cardio version of belly dancing. Namely the people from So You Think You Can Dance doing an infomercial on 'core strength' featuring Latin Dance Moves. Now you and I both know that belly dancing has those very same moves in it like figure 8's with your hips and hip lifts and rib cage slides. In other words we already have the steps in our dance vocabulary to get fitter abs and better buns and strong arms and shoulders. Every time I see that infomercial I get more determined to use belly dance moves in the very same way, namely 30 minutes of cardio a day. Most of us have all the tools to get fit, we just don't use them often enough and consistantly enough. Focus on the moves that target above the knees up to the torso and put on your fast music (after a proper warm up of course). Set a timer for 30 minutes and don't stop. No sitting on the couch or chatting with friends or getting distracted because the cats want petted. Let me know how it goes for you.

Sewing Tips for Carrie

Sewing is all about baby steps. If you have other friends that belly dance don't be afraid to ask them if you can look at the way their costumes are put together. Look at the inside. Check out the fasteners. You can learn a lot that way.

Find a good basic sewing reference book. Used bookstores often have them. In a pinch you can get one from the library. Before you cut into expensive fabric you can do a test garment out of old sheets, muslin, yard sale fabric or clothing you no longer want. Baste it all together and then when it fits right, carefully undo the basting and you'll have a pattern that fits you. Try to find a sewing buddy so you can measure and fit the tricky spots where you can't reach. Sewing is fun in small doses so you don't get frustrated. When you quit for the day, quit after you've had a successful bit of sewing. That way you'll look forward to getting back to it.

Making Tassels

It's a rainy day in southern California. I didn't really feel like weaving today. But then I remembered I also needed to make tassels for the woven hipband so I decided I was in the mood to do that.

Making tassels goes a lot quicker when you use 3 strands of yarn at a time. So if I wrap the yarn 25 times around the cardboard, that's actually 150 strands in one tassel. Because each wrap makes 2 strands. Two strands times 25 wraps times equals 50 ends. And each wrap has 3 kinds of yarn so that's 150.

Or to put it another way. One wrap around the cardboard equals 6 individual ends once you cut the tassel across the bottom. So 6x25=150. Sometimes doing things is easier than explaining them.

Woven Hipband

I had an epiphany this morning. I realized the weaving I'm doing on a 6' board loom would lend itself well to making belly dancing tribal hipbands. All I have to do after the weaving is done is hang some matching yarn tassles, coins, shells, or other doodads from the hipband and figure out a way to fasten it around my hips.
I haven't seen any woven hipbands though no doubt someone must have done this before, but it would be unique as far as what I've seen out there so far. Blogger is being impossible today with trying to post photos, but you can see some of the weaving in my other blog here: http://craftaday.blogspot.com/2009/01/weaving-books-and-hummingbirds.html

Genie Up-do

I gotta try this quick genie look up-do sometime.
Great for those impromptu belly dance moments when you unexpectedly get asked to dance. And also this scarf look has potential. Before those chiffon scarves always slid out of my hair but she shows a clever way to pin the scarf on.

Tribal Buns

Ever find a video that was exactly like a video you just wanted to make but never got around to? Here's how to make yarn hair falls and how to add them to the buns in your hair. I personally like the Homespun yarn for this but there are many exciting yarns that will work to make your hair look opulent and exotic. I just wish the internet would have been around when I was 22. Not so sure people want to see a fat old lady on youtube videos but I haven't let that stop me so far. Anyway, here is the ever so beautiful dancer from the gypsykiss site showing how to make and wear hair falls. Happy dancing.

Belly Dancing to Non-traditional music

I never would have thought to belly dance to this song but it's wonderful.

Interview with a dancer

I would have loved to look so exotic as this lady.

Some more dance technique

Little belly dancing tidbits. http://www.thegypsykiss.com/howtobellydancefreeclips.html

Belly Dance Shops on Etsy

Hard to fit? Need a custom item? Need cowry hair falls? Bloomers? Harem Pants? Skirts? There are many artists and costumers on Etsy that cater to us. Here are but a few.
AISHAX

Akaisilks

ThreePaintedPeacocks

Shivati

Ants in your pants belly dance

ZelH

AmyOlson

These ought to keep us busy for a while.

Belly Dance Students

One of my belly dance students moved back east a few years ago and I hadn't heard from her for a long time. Then she emailed me about a month ago and said she wanted to become a belly dance teacher. Then a week ago she emailed me to say she had her first student and was just thrilled.

So the legacy continues.

Pussy Cat Dolls on Ellen today

My friend just called me and gave me a heads up that the Pussy Cat Dolls (PCD) will be on Ellen in an hour. So I looked it up on her webpage, and sure enough he was right and Carmen Electra will be on there as well. I was just watching videos from both the PCD and Carmen Electra on Youtube this morning, so what perfect timing. Ellen is on at 4 PM in my area on channel 4 (Southern CA). Can't wait. My friend already watched the show from where he lives in TX. So I have an hour to play online and then I'll try to get it if my TV will cooperate. I'm not having great luck with the direct TV convertor box.

The Importance of Ballet

Of all the dance forms I've ever studied, I must say none made me feel fitter, stronger and more flexible than ballet. The only reason I gave it up is because it's very hard on the joints. Leaps are a big part of ballet and landing takes it's tole over the years.

But I still recommend all belly dancers take at least basic ballet classes. It will improve your posture, your lines, your core strength and your flexibility.

Photos are of the Anaheim Ballet Nutcracker 2007.

Holiday Dancing

I think it is ever so useful to plan ahead for holiday costuming needs, especially if you do parades or belly grams. And I've found the most useful color of all is red.
Because red works for Christmas, Valentine's Day, and the 4th of July. One of my favorite costuming sites for things like striped stockings or Santa hats is 3wishes. I love their candy cane striped stockings. Make sure you order or make holiday costuming early. You don't want your green veil stuck in customs the day of your big party. Here are some holiday colors you might want to collect.

1. Christmas: red and green or blue and silver

2. Valentine's Day: Red and white

3. Halloween: Orange and black

4. Fourth of July: Red, white, and blue

5. St. Patrick's Day: Green

6. Mardi Gras: Green, purple and gold

7. New Year's Eve: Jewel tones

8. Earth Day: Green and brown

As far as bras and hipbands go, aim for a gold set and a silver set.
If money is no object, it's also nice to have copper or bronze too.

If I Fell In Love

Being Your Own Best Friend

To dance well you need to keep your confidence up. So when you get those catty remarks we all get, you have to give yourself a pep talk. You have to tell yourself how beautiful you are, how many hours you've devoted to your art, all the time you've put into costuming, how you know so many more steps than you used to know, and so on. Hopefully you have a friend or two that can be there for you as well. But sometimes friends can be too brutally honest, so choose wisely. Sometimes you just have to look in the mirror and tell yourself what beautiful eyes you have or how kissable your lips are or how great your neck looks. I know it's hard, but you have to believe in yourself or you'll never get anywhere. So give yourself a hug. You deserve it.

Sleep Deprived?

Dancers are typically very busy people. They usually have a job and kids just like a lot of other women, only they are also squeezing in dance classes, costume fittings, photo sessions and performances. That can make for a person that's pretty ragged around the edges at the end of the day.

Therefore, getting enough sleep and rest is critical to good health. Not to mention a good diet, vitamins and suppliments and times of relaxation. When we sleep our body is working to heal itself. And all too many dancers are on the road a lot and eat a lot of fast food. So listen to your body and see if it's telling you to rest, eat fresh foods, or slow down a little.

I know a lot of dancers smoke too. That's like shooting yourself in the foot. Your body is your instrument. Take care of it or you'll be sidelined.

Learn to play Doumbek

The more you understand drumming rhythms, the better you will dance. I can't believe I never thought to look up doumbek tutorials on the internet before. This would have really changed my life back in the 70's. Not to mention the commute to Morro Bay and the cost of drumming lessons.

Steampunk Belly Dance

This steampunk band with belly dancers is growing on me. They are called Abney Park

Steampunk Neovictorian belly dancing

Belly Dancing Groups on Tribe Net

I run a few belly dancing groups over on Tribe.net. I was surprised to see both how many hits this blog gets as well as all the people that are in the groups on Tribe.net. Gone are the days when I could blog for days without a single person reading it. I'm glad to see so many readers and participants. I am going to write more now that I know I'm not just talking to myself. If you are a member of Tribe.net my user name over there is Fayme. Look me up and find my groups if you want to see more.

Belly Dance and Steampunk

It was only a matter of time before belly dancing and steampunk (neovictorian) melded into each other. Yesterday I watched about 17 steampunk belly dancing videos on http://www.thegypsykiss.com.. They were all gathered off of youtube, so you could just go to youtube and type in appropriate tags. I could also see the burlesque and vaudeville influence. The music is very different. I don't even know where one finds music like that.

When you've been belly dancing as long as I have its refreshing to see something new and different. And the costuming looks like a lot of fun.

I just signed up for Tagfoot. http://ping.fm/lfV6m Come see all my links and comments and my wishlist.

Want to join ping.fm too? Go to http://www.ping.fm.Use the code 'legendofping' and you could have the luxury of posting to all your blogs in one fell swoop like I do. Way more efficient than doing it one by one.

I'm not sure what 'ping my default' means but I guess I'll find out when I hit send.

The week sure went by quick. I had a lot more planned but didn't have the energy to do it. My hands are still sore from woodcarving, and so I've had to lay off the knitting and crocheting. I'm looking forward to the weekend. My daughter may visit. We'll see.

Come view my Flickr photo stream. Over 3000 photos I've taken are waiting there for your pleasure. http://ping.fm/3TTAi

I just signed up for Ping.fm to make social networking more effiecient.

Do you Twitter

Follow me. http://twitter.com/raksgothique

The angel

There are no words....

Morgana

Awesome. Spellbinding.

Addicted to Dance

Last night on So You Think You Can Dance, one of the judges said that dance was her addiction of choice. Then today it hit me. That's what's been missing from my life. Over the last five years I've gradually lost my addiction to dance. Partly from aging, partly from health problems and most definitely from lack of space problems. Can I get it back? Is it dead forever or just buried under too much baggage?

Making a choli

It occurred to me that a choli is basically a cropped t-shirt cut up the back & laced together again or fastened with ties. Visualizing it makes sewing easier. I might even be able to use a t-shirt that fits me as a pattern.

Raks Gothica

And now for something different:

See some belly dancing videos.

I write articles on belly dancing sometimes. They are posted over here: http://hubpages.com/hub/Favorite_Belly_Dance_Videos on Hubpages.com.

2 Panel Skirt Tutorial

How to make an inexpensive skirt that will fit you and can be embellished in many ways.

http://hubpages.com/hub/Tutorial-Super-Simple-Belly-Dance-Skirt-Fits-Any-Size

Unmata

I was looking at belly dancing photos on Flickr and found a group with very cool costumes so I looked them up on youtube. I loved the Unmata videos I found on youtube yesterday. So I added them to my Slide Show. I hope I get to see them live sometime.

Panel Skirt

I have some lacy aqua fabric that is going to make a great 2 panel skirt. It reminds me of mermaid seaweed. I should take a photo of it and show you guys.

Dance wherever you can.

Too hot for a daily walk, but if I turn on the air conditioner, I may bellydance in my living room for a bit. Stretching too. Stretching first and after. Having a good time watching Unmata videos on youtube. Fascinating troupe. Would love to see them live some day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9LeOz_3Z4Y&NR=1

Make a Gypsy Skirt

Make a Gypsy Skirt

I'm not sure I posted this before, but it's an article I wrote on making your own tiered gypsy style dancing skirt.

Genie Hat Prototype

I made this cool little genie hat today for a social experiment, and now I'm thinking of making more for my etsy shop. Even two layers of buckram were a little too floppy, so on the next one I will make the interior from plastic canvas to help it hold it's shape better.

The veil is fastened to the pony tail holder. I tried fastening it directly to the ring, but the veil was too heavy and kept pulling it off. A chiffon veil might not have that issue, since it's the sequins that are heavy. It is held on with two hat pins, one on each side.The metal part is a vintage earring.

This is a lot of fun to wear too.

Dance when no one is looking

Tired of ironing your veil?

There was a belly dancing troupe that had those beautiful lame' veils. You know the fancy ones that catch the light but also wrinkle every time you set them down?
After constantly trying to iron out the wrinkles before every show they figured something out. If they took the veil and scrunched it all up each time, they got these lovely crinkles that looked really good under the stage lights, and no more ironing! I thought it was a stroke of genius.

Dance a little every day.

Consistancy reaps big benefits. Figure out how to squeeze at least 10 minutes of yoga, dancing, stretching, etc into each and every day. Your muscles and mind and spirit will really appreciate it.

Cowry Hair Falls

It took me all day but I did it.

Pirate Belly Dance

As soon as I get the hang of these hair falls, I'm going to make some to go with my pirate garb. Seashells belong on pirate costumes. And so do some of these neat carved bone items I've been accumulating. I have a pirate belly dance tribe over on tribe net. It will be nice to have something new to add to it.

http://piratebellydance.tribe.net

Cowrie hair falls for tribal belly dancing

Today I sat myself down and decided to teach myself to make cowry hair falls for belly dancing. First I took inventory of things I already had in my bead box and in my jewelry box. At first I was going to make a matching pair but I scrapped that idea because I don't have enough cowry shells. With any luck I'll be able to make 2 solos instead of one pair.

I started with a 9 yard strand of black yarn and a 9 yard strand of fuzzy variegated white and blue yarn. I laid them together, evened up the ends, folded them in half and tied a 2" loop in the center. That gave me four working strands. I looped it over a nail so I could keep tension on it while doing the knotwork. Now I'm in the process of stringing and knotting various items. I'm hoping to make a fall 3 feet long. Right now I'm about 1 foot into it. But hope springs eternal. Some of the cowry shells have holes that are too small so I'll have to make the holes bigger...either with my needlenose pliers or the dremel or something. I'll keep you posted.

Update: I ended up using cowry shells, brass bells, pre-made tassels, bone beads, and a bone charm, and a cross section of seashell.
A bead reamer came in very handy for making the pre-drilled cowrie shell holes bigger. I made a needle threader out of wire and used it to pull the yarn through the holes. If you need to know anything else just ask. See the photos in the later post. Basically I used macrame' knots between everything. I didn't use any braiding because I'm working with four strands, not three and I didn't want to relearn four strand braiding when macrame' works perfectly well.

Belly Dance Videos at your fingertips

Yesterday I set up a pageflake to host a number of belly dancing videos. It self-refreshes as new videos from Youtube or Metacafe are added. Check it out here: http://www.pageflakes.com/iffymail
That way every day I can see some dancing to inspire me.

Technorati

Add to Technorati Favorites

Getting more Readers

For some reason, of all the blogs I write, blogger gets the least hits. So to remedy the situation, I've added Technorati to some of my blogs.

Technorati Profile

Work on your Stamina

On days when you can't dance, make sure you get some sort of cardiovascular exercise in. For me, it's a daily walk. Maybe for you it's swimming, bike riding, stair climbing or a treadmill.

Belly dancing in the news today.

The local news (KCAL channel 9) covered an International belly dancing competition in Egypt. Evidently it’s open only to foreigners. When asked why, one of the Egyptian dancers said, “It’s our dance and if we entered we would win”. They did show one woman who was larger than average, but not without sticking in the blurb that the dance is for all sizes. They never say that when a skinny woman dances. At any rate, they showed blips of 7 or 8 dancers. The interviewer said that costumes cost from $100 to $1000. I’m wondering just what a $100 costume would look like. I haven’t seen a $100 costume worth buying in about 20 years. I didn’t quite catch the name of the winner, but they said she was from the USA. It sounded like Hakura. Maybe I can Google it up. There were over 1200 dancers entered. P.S. Nothing on Google yet. Did anyone catch who the winner was?

A rare back view of me. 

I have to stop worrying about what the neighbors think. When you need to practice, you need to practice. 

My favorite half-circle veil. Taken with the automatic timer on my digital camera. 

Coming soon.

The Cairo Carnivale is in Glendale this year (same location as last year).

Cairo Carnivale is coming soon!

Coming soon

Cairo Carnivale is in June!

Sewing Tip: Lining Bra Cups

Take the fabric you plan on lining the bra cups with and rub it against your skin. If it is scratchy or stiff, pick something else. Some dancers like corduroy, saying it doesn't slide around and feels comfortable. Whatever you use should absorb sweat, and be washable. I like to use flannel. You may want to avoid slippery things like silk or satin, because you don't want the contents of your bra shifting around too much. I recommend something that is at least 50% cotton.

Sewing Tip: testing fabric washability

When you get your new fabric, before you do anything else, cut off a 8"x8" square and wash it and dry it in whatever way you are planning to wash and dry your costume. Check for shrinkage. Some rayons will disintegrate in the wash. One foil lame' print I tried washed just fine, but when I dried it, all the foil disappeared leaving an ugly blotchy gray on the black fabric. Unfortunately I didn't test it first; the skirt I made out of it was ruined.

Test for color fastness: Take a cup of hot water, dip the scrap ,trim, or beads into it, lay on white paper, and see if it bleeds color. Remember, most cottons from India are not color-fast. When you sweat, the dye can get on your skin and leave patches of color. My dance teacher once made a gorgeous costume of pink beads her mom had given her. She started to sweat and had long rivulets of pink running down her body and skirts. All those hours of work wasted too.

Cairo Carnivale Belly Dance Festival in June

If you are in S. California, here's your big chance to see great dancers, shop in luscious costume displays, and eat, drink and be merry. All the details are at http://www.mecda.org. They also have some activities for children. Read the details carefully...the workshops and evening shows require seperate purchases.

My favorite veil. 

Pilates

Yesterday I picked up a hot little book on Pilates for a meer $3.00 from Michael's craft store. After thumbing through the photos, I once again confirmed that in all my years of modern and jazz dance, all the stretches I learned were either Pilates or Yoga. And now that I have the handy little book I can show my students just how to do the moves. For every 2 hour college level dance class, the first 45 minutes were Pilates. I can't believe I used to do 90 minutes of Pilates every single day! My boyfriend asked what was wrong with me that I couldn't do that now, and I said "Um, I'm 47 now, not 22." He didn't think that was a good reason, and that kind of goaded me to make a bigger effort. We'll see. The age factor isn't everything but you can't just ignore it either.