Decorated bra in one afternoon

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Yesterday I realized that I wanted… nay… needed a new bra for a show coming up this weekend.  With little time and only a vague idea of what I wanted to do, I headed first to the lingerie store and then to the fabric store for supplies.

At Cacique, I found a lovely beige base bra with black lace overlay.  As my costume colors are brown, beige, and black, I found this to be the perfect start and grabbed it.  I also picked up a couple of trims from JoAnn’s: a brown ribbon rose trim and cream crochet lace trim.  I also found a cream ribbon applique in the style of the brown trim.  Mind you, I wasn’t sure exactly how or if I was going to use all of these elements.  This particular bra was not yet designed or sketched out.  This was going to be an organic process for sure.  The only thing I did know was what colors I was using and that I wanted asymmetry but at the same time, balance.

The first thing I did with the bra is add a top border of this brown ribbon rose trim:

Next I decided to “beige it up a bit” and added the crochet lace trim under the roses.  I was going to go all the way across, but the lace started to lay differently and I just went with it:

The applique went on one side to balance out the light color on the bottom:

So now we’re looking awfully white on the one side and this is about where I figured I needed to dig through the bead bin.  Found some beige pearls:

Next I felt compelled to darken up the applique area somehow.  By now I’m just sort of in a groove and trying things, unreasonably confident that it will all work out.  I cut apart some of the roses on the trim and placed them with the applique:

The unfinishedness of the applique’d side was bothering me, but I wasn’t quite sure what to do about it.  What I *did* know is that the line between the crochet lace and the bra base was too “clean” so I went in and dirtied it up with some bits of the netting that backs the rose trim and some copper beads I had in my bin:

On the other side, where the crochet lace is at the top, I utilized a simpler look with just the copper beads and some pearls.  Delicate and probably won’t read on stage, but I like it and it breaks up the line a bit, which was my goal:

After adding some pearls to the centers of the lower brown roses, I decide it’s starting to look pretty good, but that open spot on the side is still vexing me:


I decide to put a piece of the crochet trim from the applique to the end of the bra band, hoping it won’t look too bad.  After adding another brown rose with a pearl at the intersection of the applique and the trim, I like it:

Normally when I’m doing a bra I don’t use the bra’s own base as outer fabric.  Because of the construction of this bra, however, and the perfect match of the black over beige to the rest of my look, I made an exception for this one.  The only place where it shows that this is a store-bought bra all dressed up is in the black sections on the sides.  The hooks and straps have been removed and D-rings added to all of those points so that I can tie the bra on either halter style or with an X-back (I like to have the choice).  I may still add to this look, but I want to wear it once or twice and see pictures and video before making that decision.  Once I’m sure it’s done and needs no more decoration, I’ll line the inside to protect the stitching and prolong the life of the bra.

Start to finish, this bra took about six hours with some interruptions.  I didn’t expect it to go as smoothly as it did, actually.  Maybe it’s best sometimes to just go with the flow instead of trying to plan it all out.

New year, new habits, new focus

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Ah yes, the new year.  Time to dust off those old resolutions and give it another go.  There are the standards: lose weight, save for retirement, stop smoking/drinking/nail biting… the list goes on endlessly.  Of course, as dancers we always promise to practice more, study more, and create more.

What if we take a different look at resolutions and instead focus on our intentions for ourselves?  Why do we want to practice more?  Why study more?  Why create?  If you don’t have a specific reason for reaching your goals, it is far less likely that you’ll reach them.  It’s not enough to say “I’m going to practice for an hour a day” if you don’t know what the purpose of practicing is.  The easy answer of course is “to be a better dancer,” but in what way?

We can drill and drill until our bodies are sore, but if there’s no intention behind our practice it will be hard to achieve a new standard of dance for ourselves.  Think about how those moves your drilling fit into your dance.  Do them at different tempos, different sizes, while moving, while leveling, and to different pieces and styles of music with different moods.  Focus on a few different things you want to practice and then create small combinations with them so you’re using them in context instead of just repeating a move over and over again.  Before you know it you’ll be creating longer combinations and even entire choreographies. Be present in your practice and always think about how what you’re doing will directly apply to your own dance.  Experiment a little and don’t let drilling get dry.  Try things you’ve never thought to try and don’t worry if it’s something you’ve never been taught.  Why imitate the last good workshop instructor you took from?  If you drill as though you are dancing then the drills will be that much more effective than if you stand stationary in front of a mirror with your playlist from 2011 doing repetitive moves.

In the words of Fahteim, “Practice doesn’t make perfect.  Only perfect practice makes perfect.”

I wish everyone reading this an amazing new year filled with possibilities, creativity, and inspiration!

On the importance of roots

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Now that my crazy December has finally wound down, culminating in a fundraiser hafla for my studio last night, I can get back to my list of blog topics I’ve been wanting to post on.  Many of the subjects on my list come directly from discussions that come up in my classes, and today’s is no different.  It started with a simple question.

In my intermediate fusion class, the group of ladies about to move up to the advanced class asked if they should also take tribal improv.  It’s not so much the question itself that I liked to hear, but why they were asking.  See, these ladies have taken classes in Egyptian dance and in tribal fusion, but feel as though their education would be more complete if they took some classes in the style from which fusion was born.  This filled me with glee and caused  short discussion about what it means to truly be a student of this dance, no matter what style you focus on.

I probably perform more fusion than anything, but it wasn’t my first style or my second.  I began my belly dance education learning Egyptian, after which I found tribal improv and then tribal fusion.   My dance development went in the same chronological order as style evolution itself and so I took it for granted for a long time that I had the foundations of the history and culture of belly dance that the modern American deviations are built upon.  I used to get upset on bellydance boards when Egyptian/Turkish dancers would get all up in arms about these new young fusionistas coming in and “taking over” belly dance without knowing what it was really about.  However, in the midst of the argument someone would invariably make a very valid statement that many of the newer dancers aren’t interested in and don’t bother to learn the roots of the dance.  This led me to some soul-searching as a dance instructor.  What is my responsibility to my students and what is my responsibility to the dance?  Do I require all students to begin in Egyptian class and work their way through tribal improv before starting fusion?  That seems like a pretty long road to ask a student who’s just fallen in love with fusion to travel before getting there.  I’m constantly figuring out ways to give information on earlier dance styles in all of my classes, but the best thing I can do is to encourage my students to branch out and take classes and workshops in traditional belly dance.

I feel as though one can become a good dancer of fusion without ever stepping into a course or workshop in traditional Middle-Eastern dance.  I also feel as though the dancer who limits herself to one course of study does herself a great disservice. There is a history there and it doesn’t start with the early tribal fusion icons or even Carolena and Fat Chance Belly Dance.  It starts in the Middle-East.  When a fusion dancer is asked what it is that she does, she should not only be able to verbally express her art, but she should also be able to speak intelligently on where it came from.  If nothing else, the dancer comes out of the conversation looking like someone who is knowledgeable about more than what she herself contributes to the dance world.

I have also found in my years of study and teaching that the tribal and fusion dancers who have taken the time to study traditional belly dance, whether before discovering the more modern styles or after, tend to be more “complete” in their presentation on stage.  I’ve heard students express concern over the possibility of getting confused and overwhelmed if they study more than one dance form at a time, but I say, the more one learns, the better.  We all know that there are certain stylizations that make a dance or dancer look Oriental or tribal.  We can usually spot the difference easily.  What we sometimes fail to do, however, is take a step back and process the similarities that are at the core of all belly dance.

I would encourage any student of this dance to sample a bit of the styles that came before her preferred concentration of study.  Fusion dancers could learn a lot by taking classes in tribal improv (or ATS) and both fusion and improv dancers will be richer for having learned what Traditional Middle-Eastern Dance is all about.  I have found that most if not all of the fusion dancers who I hold in the highest regard do have multi-faceted backgrounds. I am fortunate enough to be in a dance community where there are many crossover artists and it leads to some incredible and beautiful ideas and performances.  When it comes to study and knowledge, more is more!

I’ll leave you with these thoughts and the following link to a video (which I’m sure many reading this have seen before, but watch it again!) of Kami Liddle and Zoe Jakes doing a mostly fusion number but with brilliant shining moments of traditional Egyptian movement and style.  Enjoy!

Kami Liddle & Zoe Jakes perform at The Massive Spectacular! 2011

In gratitude of dance

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Now that we’ve all chowed down on our turkey (or tofurkey as the case may be) with our friends and families and thanked whatever powers we believe in for all the good things in our lives, it’s time to get back to dancing, of course! In the dance we can be ourselves, and for the dance we should also be grateful.

In my dance journey, I find that some of the greatest and most positive changes in my life have come about due to the dance. Of course, there are they physical advantages to start with. My posture and balance are better, I am more aware of and knowledgeable about how my muscles work, I have retained most of the flexibility I had in my youth, I am strong in the core, light on my feet, and injuries heal more quickly.

Going deeper, though, are the emotional and artistic merits of the dance. Each year that I dance I find myself taking greater artistic risks. No, I don’t mean that I use risky tricks or props on stage, but I am able to bare more of my own soul through my art, which puts me in a vulnerable place, and to me, that’s risky. I credit this to the confidence that dance can give a person. If I am confident in how I move and interpret music, I can become more confident in how I present myself and how much of myself to present. I find myself more willing to share my deeper feelings and personal stories through the dance and I’m finding it endlessly liberating. It’s one thing to express simply “I love to dance,” but I’ve come to realize that what I truly love is what the dance does to me.

Finally, there is the social aspect of the dance. I have met some of the most amazing men and women in this world that we have created for ourselves. I know so many artists who are committed to their visions and who share selflessly with others so that perhaps a little spark is ignited and inspiration can be born within another. It’s a beautiful thing to see another dancer grow and break through the latest plateau or even just to step outside of the comfort zone to see what it’s like out there. The support that dancers have for each other is inspiring all by itself. It’s nice to know that while we’re creating and choreographing and interpreting and risking, there is a built-in team of cheerleaders out there rooting for you to do something phenomenal with your art.

I will be forever grateful for this dance and for the people who have touched me through it.

The beginning of a new blog

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That’s right. I had a blog before in fact, not too far in the past, actually.  The thing was, I didn’t know what I wanted to say.  I was unfocused and really bad at keeping up with posting so I let it die.  Recently, though, I’ve been encouraged by friends and students to start up again.  Somewhere in there they see nuggets of wisdom or at least amusing anecdotes and they think I should share these with a wider audience.  I’m honestly not sure how wide my audience is going to get, but I’m willing to give it another try.

Thanks to some random insight by a friend and fellow belly dance blogger, I’ve chosen a name for my blog that I think is quite fitting.  ”A Belly Dancer’s Universe” is exactly that.  No two of us experience this art form the same way.  We learn from many teachers, dance for many reasons, choose to perform or not, choose to teach or not, and choose which style of dance is best suited to our bodies, aesthetics, and sensibilities.  This is not a blog of advice or instruction, rather a blog of my own experiences, opinions, inspirations, and stories.  It is here to open dialogue, to entertain, to make other dancers reflect on their own thoughts and experiences, and above all, to show one dancer’s universe that may or may not be very different from your own.