Ragnelle Performance at Alchemy

My next post is going to be writing extensively about the process involved in creating this piece, but first I wanted to share the performance itself without my thoughts:

Well hello there...

I'm really not sure how it happened, but something jumped up and ate April.  And now we're galloping through May with Tribal Fest on the horizon next week.

Let's see what ate April:

Waking Persephone was amazing and a huge success all around.  And yes, we're going to do it again: April 11th-14th, 2013 - in Providence.  Details will be posted soon about next year's instructors, live music, and more, so be sure to join the newsletter, facebook page, follow us on twitter, give us all of your kittens, etc.  (By the way, the picture to the left is of myself and my student Samara, during our "Lunatics Have Taken Over the Asylum" piece.  If you're good, you may see video of it.  But only if you're good.  I will write more details about how the event went down soon, maybe after Tribal Fest.

The next week, I took a little break and tried to recover, before launching myself into ABRAXAS Dance Theatre's "Alchemy" show in Cambridge, MA - and I definitely want to spend some time writing about this show, and particularly the piece I created for it, so more on that soon.

And now, it's MAY!

This weekend is Steampunk City up in Waltham, MA where I will be teaching and performing and vending both days. Saturday: performance at 2pm, workshop at 4pm.  Sunday, workshop is at 2pm, performance is at 4pm.  I will be vending outside in Landry Park, which is in front of the Museum, and adjacent to where Jake von Slatt will be set up with his amazing Steampunk RV and roadster.

And yeah, so a week from today, I leave for California for Tribal Fest. I will be teaching "Essence of the Dance" on Thursday, from 2:30-4:30pm and there are a few slots available still if you want to take it (and you do).  I'll be at the Meet & Greet Thursday night., Friday afternoon I'll be setting up for vending inside, in my usual spot, and at 3pm, Anaar and I, along with the live music of Nathaniel Johnstone, will perform the opening ritual dance for the event! Saturday, I'm performing solo (again with Nathaniel) at 5:30pm  - then join us all at Aubergine After Dark, starting at 9:30pm for a fabulous and super fun afterparty with The Nathaniel Johnstone Band, Unwoman, myself, Asharah, Celeste, The Standfire Collective, IrinaXara, and YOU - cause there will be LOTS of open floor dancing!

How to be Awesome

I have a feeling my blog schedule is probably going to be off for the next few months, as I have the Mutter Ball this weekend, Waking Persephone in less than 3 weeks, then Abraxas' Alchemy, IBCC, Tribal Fest, Tribal Revolution, and The Master Plan, so bear with me - stress and schedule cuts down on my writing inspiration.  But when a certain topic pops up several times in a week, I take it is a poke from the Universe to get writing.

And this week's topic is about being awesome - and by being awesome, I mean professional.  And by professional, I am not talking about having a certain number of gigs, years of experience, amount of money you're paid.  Nope, those things aren't really important in my book for defining "professional" nor do they determine the "awesome factor".

It all comes down to how you treat people on a daily basis.  You want to be awesome? You want to be professional? Here are the secrets to achieving it:

1. Everyone's time is valuable.  EVERYONE.  Students, teachers, costumers, photographers, musicians, everyone. I don't believe in arriving "fashionably late" and I try not to adhere to "bellydancer standard time." This is not an easy thing to accomplish, especially when traveling and dealing with new situations, and I will definitely vouch for the "shit happens" circumstances.  But that is not an excuse, and in this age, if a problem arises, it's very easy to text, email, or good old fashioned make a phone call.  It's not only good manners and common courtesy, it just makes sense. You make a better impression giving someone a head's up if you're going to late or not make it, then just showing up late or not at all.  Budget your time accordingly, plan ahead for the unexpected by cushioning in at least 15 minutes to your arrival time, and always have the contact info of whomever you are meeting with you.


2. Everyone is valuable. No one is above or below you. Becoming "popular" does not mean you treat "less-popular" people like they don't matter, or that you should spend all of your time up someone's ass who you deem more popular than yourself.  Here's the thing folks: popular is all eye of the beholder, and it's a brief and fleeting thing in the arts. And popularity does not automatically mean success, reliability, stability, nor a get-out-jail-free-for-being-a-diva pass.  Your dance mentor, your classmates, the instructor from the next town over, the newbie just taking their first class, the life-long hobbyist, the event producer, the vendor, the musician - all of these people should be treated with courtesy and attention.  Now, I know it's not easy to make everyone happy, especially all at once.  My typical experience walking into ANY size event is being greeted by a slew of people left and right - old friends, new folks, people I haven't seen in 5 years, someone who took a workshop 7 years ago, people you only know via twitter or facebook - and it's extremely difficult to divide your focus and give everyone equal attention all at once - and to top it off, I am actually an introvert - I shift gears into extrovert when I teach and dance, so dealing with large crowds of people in an informal setting is not easy for me.  But I still make an effort, and try to talk to everyone, even if it's just to say hello for a moment.  Even if it's someone I don't like/don't agree with/don't get along with, I believe in acknowledging them in a professional setting - whether it's just saying hello or holding the door if they need help or a safety pin.  It's not being fake, it's being an adult, and it's what I would do for anyone, whether I know them or not, whether I like them or not.  And remember two things: life is ever-changing and everyone looks different without make-up.

3. Treat yourself as valuable. By being courteous, I don't mean be a doormat.  Rule #1 and Rule #2 don't just apply to how you treat everyone else, they apply to YOU as well.  If you want other people to respect you, you need to respect yourself.  This does not mean act like a diva-bitch nor suck up to everyone around you.  It means know your boundaries, know when to say no (and say it with grace), and don't fall for the "good exposure" when it means respecting your time and value. This also means be good to your body (eat right, sleep right, take care of yourself), be as organized as you can be to help keep you on time and prepared, and focus on having positive self-image.  Be yourself, be good to yourself, and for the most part, you will get this in return.  Yes, there are assholes out there, but there will be less of them if you don't act like one yourself. :)

I promise if you follow these 3 Rules of Valuable Awesomeness, you too will achieve it!  So go forth, BE AWESOME!

"Concrete" vs "Abstract", Dance & Model Airplanes

So I have had some thoughts. (You're not surprised are you?) 

When it comes to dance workshops, it's really the difference of offering a click-together model airplane versus making one of those from bits of balsa wood, glue, and paint.  Some people just want to feel like they're assembling the parts, but not take the risk of messing it up. To have a very specific result, already packaged practically.  Others want to know how all of the parts come together, take the chance making a mess of it all, but at least no matter what, coming out in the end with a better understanding of the process.

Why this thought? I am in the midst of planning and implementing "The Master Plan" (and have been for the last several months). While I can't talk about "The Master Plan" just yet, I can talk a bit about the process and journey.  What it has required is a lot of research into business models, promotion, communication, productivity - as well as ways to maintain passion, creativity, etc.  And recently I have been thinking about the "concrete" vs. the "abstract" in terms of marketing and targeting - who is my audience? Who do I wish to attract?

But first back to those model airplanes.  One of my older brothers built a lot of model planes in his younger days.  Definitely not the most artistically gifted of the offspring, he still tried his best at building the planes from the most difficult kits.  They might not have been the most highly-crafted examples of model planes ever, but he kept at it, and it taught him about attention to detail, patience, craftsmanship, not to mention aerodynamics on a miniature scale.  And he didn't default back to the simpler kits just to get a quick end result that looked good.  He wanted the nitty gritty DIY, he wanted to learn, and that involved the struggle for getting it done the hard way.

Now back to dance. The marketing/business parts of my brain is fascinated by what people chose to take - what sponsors pick out of my two dozen+ offerings to have at events, what sells out lightning fast in one area, and slow in another. Some of them cover very specific, concrete subjects: aka, Gothic or Steampunk bellydance, floorwork, twists and turns, stage presence - others sound more abstract in title ("Essence of the Dance", "Museum Quality" etc), but have concrete results.  And while there is definitely overlap between who signs up for which workshops (especially since there are plenty of folks who sign up for whatever I'm offering regardless), I was pondering if there's a difference between those who are attracted to the neat concretely named workshops and those attracted to take the abstract-sounding ones.

And I think there is, to some extent.  I think some dancers want to learn their dance like those snap-together model airplanes. To learn some ready-made combos and choreography, go out there and perform them, and add it to their resume'.  Other dancers want to take the nitty-gritty approach.  They want to make the dance their own, figure out what makes it (and them) tick, how do the parts become the whole? How to customize it with their own style? Balsa-wood bits and all.

Now, there's a fair bit of generalization involved there, yes I know.  Concrete-sounding topics are often key opportunities to learn more about a specific subject, and the forever learning dancer will always take those if it piques their interest - they're up to expand their knowledge, try something new.  But I do wonder about a certain amount of fear factor involved with abstract topics.

So I'll ask you - what do you like to take? What piques your interest? What draws you to take a workshop or not? Why?

March 10th - Workshops & Show in Seattle!

Returning to Seattle on March 10th, to teach two workshops and do another amazing live show with the Nathaniel Johnstone band + friends. (Here's a review of the last show we did in October: http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/nathaniel-johnstone-band)

I am teaching "Essence of the Dance" which is a workshop that will help profoundly impact your dance from the inside out - at it's first run in St. Louis, dancers who have been performing years remarked how much it really centered and refocused their dance - so whether you're new to the dance, or have been doing it for a long time - tribal, cabaret, or somewhere in-between, this workshop will revitalize and empower your dance. Complete workshop description here: https://www.facebook.com/events/318364058205832/

And then Nathaniel and I are presenting "Anatomy of a Song & Dance", which provides key secrets to not only working with live music, but ANY kind of music - from both the perspective of the musician and the dancer. Suitable for all levels of dancers. Info at https://www.facebook.com/events/289165787806752/

Workshops are very reasonably priced at $35 each ($40 drop-in) or both workshops for ONLY $65. Info here as well: http://tincanseattle.com/?q=content/tempest-tin-can-studio-sat-march-10

OR YOU CAN NOW REGISTER ONLINE HERE! http://www.darklydramatic.com/workshop.html

And then the incredible show that evening, also at Tin Can! Pix from the last show: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dinalydia/sets/72157627978589276/

Sex Appeal in Bellydance: Introspection & Irony

While I have been doing a lot of thinking (surprise, I'm part of Overthinkers Anonymous...ok, not so anonymous, see the overthinking?), I haven't had a lot of time to put it all down, so here's to trying to get back to a regular schedule with the blog.  There is a lot to cover in this one, so this post will make up for it.

So, you may have noticed the image connected with this post.  It's a new photo, taken recently of me by the amazing Carrie Meyer of St. Louis, MO (http://www.thedancerseye.com) - Carrie has taken some incredible photos of me in the last year (as have several other great photographers in New England).  I'm about to totally revamp my darklydramatic.com website, since it's been several years since I've changed the overall look, so I have been thinking a lot about what images I want to use, what they reflect, what branding they put forth etc.  I also just recently posted a slew of my old costumes for sale, so I was looking at photos that were taken of me from 2005-2008 and comparing.  And how much I like the new ones more.  Not for any lack of image quality - there are some truly great photographs in that group, taken by very talented photographers, and I got a lot of mileage out of those images.  But personally, it's like looking at two different people. Which is pretty close to the truth I think.

But let me back up a bit here.  Growing up, I was never much of a girly-girl.  I have two very much older brothers who I idolized.  I played street hockey, I surfed, I spent hours in the backyard playing wilderness games, excavating under stones and "hunting" things. I wore my brothers' clothes whenever possible. I failed at "girly" activities, not interested in the pink satin trappings of ballet, cheerleading, make-up application (though I loved "fashion plates" - remember those? well, it fell under "art"). Puberty snuck up on me around 6th grade and caused much confusion for the next several years.  I had always felt more comfortable around guys, but now I was being rejected and harshly teased by them as well as the rest of the girls.  I felt stuck between the two sides, and it was fairly traumatic for me, until I moved at 15 to South Carolina, and entered a whole new school system.  The social dynamic was much different, and I could easily be the artsy/tough girl without catching any flack. And pretty much proceeded along that path indefinitely throughout college and so forth. And I found bellydancing - and my personality merged with that. Which makes a lot of sense when you look at a lot of my earlier Gothic Bellydance pieces, full of elements of "dangerous/femme fatale" mixed with "hard-edge", alternating between in that spectrum.  I had a hard time reconciling "soft" vs. "hard", feminine versus masculine, especially wondering about audience reception.  Now? Now I don't care which way my dance swings, because I think I've merged the elements now more successfully, or found a different way to say them.

So I've been thinking about what makes who I am now as a dancer different than who I was then, because I think that has a lot to do with the changes in the imagery and idea development.  It again made me think about this article I wrote about 5-6 years ago and wondering if I would have a different opinion about "a dancer has nothing to dance about until she's over 30". And well, not really. I may have something different to say now, but it doesn't invalidate what I had to say then. 

One of the things I would say is that I'm much more comfortable being ME now than I was then, as weird as that sounds.  That perhaps I know who I am more.  The girl in the old photos is pretty, touch of edgy, proud but not grounded. The woman in the photographs now seems far more confident, in command, and sexy. She knows things. And yes, I said the s-word. Sexy. 

Which brings us to the conundrum of sex appeal and bellydance.  Dancers are constantly fighting the stereotypes that we're not strippers, that what we do is a valid art form and socially proper form of entertainment.  We're endlessly debating sexual vs sensual. That we're not doing this for the arousal of the opposite sex, etc, etc.

And in looking at these photos, along with all the other photos I deal with from other dancers for the events and websites I put together, and the commentary on photos post on facebook, I realized something.  It IS about sex appeal.  The funny thing is, it's really not about the dancer in the image trying to appeal to the opposite sex, as so much it is about transferring sex appeal to the consumer - which for workshops and classes, the consumer is the potential student.  The student wants to have that same sex appeal themselves - for whatever reason, and if they perceive it in the teacher, then they feel they too can get in on the action. That's the root of it, plain and simple.

And while some of you are probably going "duh" - well, you have to understand that I don't really think that way.  I'm a geek, and a dork, and like being silly. I don't care about "looking cool", b/c I'm just going to be me no matter what, for what it's worth.  So instead of going "whoa, that is a hot photograph of X", I'm wondering if she's wearing underwear, how much shaving did that involve, and surely she wouldn't perform in THAT "costume", because if she moved her legs, we'd see it all.  And wow, that can't be comfortable. 

Which means, I either think too much (which we have already established), but also, there's different levels of sexy.  To me, sexy isn't about how much I'm exposing of my body - especially since I believe the fashion truth that it's a matter of ratio versus what you show  versus what you don't show (like ankles being sexy and taboo for Victorians, that Flappers were sexy for showing legs and arms, but they look wholesome next to the pop stars of today who bare pretty much all of their assets).  It's not about the clothing or lack there of, it's about the attitude, and how you wear that attitude that makes the sex appeal. That it's not a request for attention, but a declaration of self. That's what really makes it sexy.

Which makes me love all of my students that much more, because I think that means they're in it for themselves too.  How awesome is that?

Performing & You.

Yes, I'm a bit behind my normal schedule on posting, especially made obvious by the fact that it's now the third week of January.  Maybe I had a bit of "new year, first post" anxiety? Anyway, here's to getting back on track:

In the last month or so, I have been talking with a lot of people about performing - musicians, dancers, students, and other creative types.  Why we perform, how it makes us feel, what qualifies as a good or satisfying performance, what leaves us wanting more personally, and how to get satisfied more consistently.And what I discovered is that those who felt the most consistent and satisfied about their performances had similar reasons for WHY they performed. 

I think a lot of people get into performing for the wrong reasons. That doesn't mean they won't eventually come to the right reasons, but I have to wonder if a lot of stress and heartache could be saved if they started from the right spot.  Or maybe it's all part of the learning process. What are the "wrong reasons" anyway? I would say anything that blocks the flow of energy between the performer and the audience, and doesn't foster truth growth.

Performing is about having a shared experience on multiple levels. It's about communication, opening up a dialogue between you and the audience - you give something, they give something back, and so it cycles from there.  The amazing thing about performing is that it is a communal experience. For many of us, it's like church - there is something sacred, something energy-based about it, as close to you can get to a divine experience on the earthly plane. Time moves differently on stage, and there's a sense of transformation, of reaching an altered state of existence. 

If you're only performing to boost your ego, it's only going to go so far, because self-esteem can't be fostered from an audience glow, it's has to start from inside of you, YOUR own confidence in YOU.  Eventually, the audience will catch on, and leave you crashing hard. Attention-seeking is disrespectful to the audience and negates the communication experience for both parties.

We all have to start somewhere.  Not every performance is going to be a mystical, magical experience - but you have to start with getting experience in the first place.  It takes practice to learn how to communicate properly.  As long as you have a willingness to acknowledge that, and the desire TO communicate and share, then you are on the right path. Consider when you're putting a piece together, what is it that you want to say with it? How does it make you feel? How do you want your audience to feel? If you take the time to consider these things, you're on the right path.