05.06.09
Posted in Dance at 8:58 am by deRomilly
OK. I give up. I’m back, and no surprise yet. Obviously taking time away from blogging to “Get Stuff Done” isn’t the answer. I missed you. And other things kept getting in the way of getting stuff done in any case. Maybe I’m “stuckified”. I think blogging actually kept me moving forward. I’ll spill the surprise in an upcoming post – probably before it’s finished, and we’ll celebrate it’s completion with a giveaway.
Last night I attended a “Gothic Bellydance” workshop with Tempest. Those of you who know me personally know I claim to be “so Goth I no longer have to wear black! Tempest reminds me of why I still identify with this subculture: all the best parts. Lace. Velvet. Art Nouveau. Art Deco. Research. Artsy-ness. Victoriana. Lovecraft (the author). And I don’t care what you say. Bats ARE cute! (and they eat the mosquitoes around here in NC, so they are a benefit to have around, too!)
Tempest is bright, funny, smiles a lot, and shares everything she knows about the art form she’s teaching with a smile and generousity. Her workshop focussed on bringing the feel of film noir and the 20s and 30s jazz age into dance performances. Inspired by Ruth St.Denis, Theda Bara, and Mata Hari, the combinations she taught us included bellydance variations on the Charleston (one of my favorite dances: I used to do it en pointe in ballet!) and motions based on poses that her famous inspirations have struck in publicity stills.
I had my camera, and completely forgot to take any photos of anybody or anything, but you can find photos at Tempest’s site, Darkly Dramatic And did I mention that she’s an Print artist who graduated from RISD as well?! Yeah, I’m a fan. Maybe this weekend I’ll dress up in the goth makeup and get a photo for you.
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03.27.09
Posted in Dance at 7:00 am by deRomilly
I do dance!
With wardrobe malfunctions! Everyone goes through something similar at some time in their life, I think. As Mom would have said, “builds character!”
Note: All pictures in this post are courtesy of Megan H. Freeman.
In my case it was a misunderstanding of the logistics of my current weight loss — I’ve lost 2 inches in my hips over the past few months and nothing around my waist. This takes my nice hourglass figure – the curves of which served to hold up my skirt – and turn it into a cylinder – not conducive to skirts staying up.
Note to self (and other dancers) if you are in the process of losing weight, do NOT trust even a full dress rehearsal — pin – pin- pin your costume. It will be the part you’re least worried about that will snap. Keep a professional attitude, smile, turn, wave and leave gracefully if necessary.
Oops. See how low that skirt is falling?(So are the pants!)
New Comedy Schtick!
No, I didn’t lose my costume onstage – if in doubt, turn hitching it up into a comedy schtick! But apparently it was closer than I thought it was! And yes, I was wearing underwear, but luckily it didn’t come to people seeing it.
So there!
Costuming malfunctions I’ve seen over the years include everything from the loss of a false ponytail to my skirt, to broken bra straps, to a ballerina who lost the entire bodice of her tutu in the middle of a backbend — that recovery took grace under pressure and has been my gold standard for continuing over the years. If she can handle that, I can handle almost anything. So there!
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03.23.09
Posted in Dance at 7:00 am by deRomilly
I am still building the turquoise bedlah – really I am!
But I got a reprieve as far as time goes because my troupe was asked to perform a specific routine at the show at the end of February. With everything that’s gone on in my life since Thanksgiving, I can’t say I’m sorry about that!
However, I was also included in the lineup as a solo act, which meant making sure my costume worked – I really don’ t like how my gold bedlah fits over the hips, so I chose a red bra I made a while back and a hip scarf. This is a great idea. But I have a caveat for those of you thinking about making one of these – OK, a couple of caveats.
- If you are using gimp and /or pre-beaded ribbon to cover the cups, it WILL take more yardage of both than you think it will.
- If you are using the pre-beaded decorator ribbon, run a sturdy thread through all the beadwork and knot each fringe individually! This stuff is not made to suffer the forces placed on it by sharp pops and shimmies, no matter how pretty it is – and reinforcing it will still be faster than making it new.
The Bra in question.
That second point is hard-learned for me. I put this read and black tribaret bra together in a hurry two years ago – and this year I went back and re-stitched all the fringe with a metal-core thread. I’ve only worn it once and already the threads in the fringes were breaking.
Doing this would have been much easier to do before it was stitched down to the bra in rows. Keeping the thread from wrapping around the other rows of fringe is a huge production! Ah well, learn something with every project! (And every performance… that story to come…) With this bra I thought I was also going to learn to pad the cups: but I ran out of time. I’ve shrunk since I’ve made it, though, so I ended up stuffing them the old fashioned way – with socks.
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03.18.09
Posted in Dance at 7:00 am by deRomilly
Rissa Peaceroot of Pretty Impressive Things, also the Editor of CQMagazine online, is also on several of my bellydance lists. This current issue of the magazine is a tribute to their original editor, Nora Creach. what I didn’t realize until reading Rissa’s editorial, is that Nora, or Noora, was also a dancer. she had some marvelous insights on bellydance in the “good old days.”
I have a desk job — my stitching hobby is also pretty sedentary. I love bellydancing because for me it is a way to keep moving while having fun with other women (and men) of myriad shapes and sizes.
And that brings me to a question — who else do I know hiding a secret identity? There is an entire website gallery of bellydancing librarians. There are more of us than you might guess!
Dancing stitchers – show me your shimmy! Do you make your costumes? Do you avoid “real” sewing like the plague? How do you combine your hobbies, or do you?
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