It’s not fun to talk about failure. There’s a lot of pressure online to present a happy front, to promote an image of success and confidence. But sometimes it’s important to be vulnerable, so I’m going to lay it out here: On Friday I found out that I failed my second Cultivation retest. I got detailed feedback on why I failed, and while that feedback will ultimately help me finally succeed, it also felt like getting kicked in the stomach.
FYI, I don’t recommend getting kicked in the stomach in the middle of a particularly stressful work day, it makes everything harder than it should be.
Intellectually I know that I am so much more than my ability to perform a few combinations without screwing up, but emotionally I suffered through a few hours of “I suck, I’m never going to pass this test, it’s too hard, I should give up, also I’m going to go eat worms.”
When you have perfectionist tendencies, it’s easy to see failure as not just a temporary setback, but as an indication of some deeper failing of yourself as a person. I can tell myself I should have practiced harder, I should have asked for more help, I should have tried to get a better take than the video I ultimately uploaded, etc etc. But instead of focusing on what I did wrong last time, I need to focus on what I can learn from it to do better next time.
Luckily, I have a really good community of people who have my back. I got pep talks. I got advice. I got offers of help with my practicing. I got gentle reminders that I have a lot on my plate right now and I should be kind to myself. I also got chocolate gelato from my husband, because sometimes you need ice cream at your pity party.
In the end I know I’m going to feel really good about myself when I pass this test, because I know I’ll have worked hard for it. I really value the testing process as a way of making sure that I really am ready to undertake Culmination sometime down the road — and I appreciate knowing that I’ll be in a class full of people who also worked hard, even if some of them managed to get it right on the first try and didn’t have as much follow-up work as I did. I’m also going to remain confident in the knowledge that I rocked that written exam like the dance nerd I am.
So there you have it. Hopefully the next time I post about my 8 Elements journey, I’ll have good news.
Saturday was the last day of Cultivation. After 8 days of training and studying, it feels really weird to not be going into Datura with my fellow students to learn and dance all day!
I feel really grateful that I was able to do Initiation and Cultivation in the same year. I feel like 6 months was enough time to learn what I needed, but soon enough that Initiation was still fresh in my mind.
As for Cultivation itself, I loved it. I feel like the pace was pretty similar to Initiation, with slightly more challenging material and more homework requirements — but still totally doable. You’re not expected to memorize the exact wording of the required books, or demonstrate mad layering skills. It’s more about understanding the underlying concepts of things like Arabic music, musicality in general, and dance composition (whether composing a choreo, structured improv, solo, or group piece).
Cultivation seems to serve as something of a bridge between Initiation and Culmination… we spent some time looking back at and refining what we learned in Phase I, while getting some previews of what we would need to be able to do to pass Phase III if we chose to continue our training. That said, the info given and the lessons learned are still complete and valuable even if one decides to stop at Cultivation.
Of course, I’ll be continuing my training. I have my eye on possibly doing Culmination in July, or in the Fall. I’m really enjoying the opportunity to be part of a training program that is about giving dancers the knowledge and tools to be their own artists, rather than being focused on developing a specific technique-based vocabulary.
As a side note, I feel like the lessons in Cultivation meshed well with the lessons I learned in Mira’s NM retreat. Mira talks more about narrative dance, which is something that I enjoy doing, but which Rachel Brice currently doesn’t do. Rachel seems to get more into the underlying theory of dance creation, and Mira gets more into the emotional side of it. And then both ladies talk about the artistry, the importance of projecting on stage and making deliberate choices about the arc of your dance (whether it’s a narrative arc or not). I feel like combining the lessons I’ve learned from each of them will allow me to be the kind of dancer I want to be — elegant, expressive, technically adept, beautifully costumed, and above all, true to myself as an artist.
Anyway, I’m feeling super inspired to keep working on new dance material! And I’m patiently awaiting my test results, confident that I most likely passed, but knowing that if I need to retest, I have all the tools I need to succeed on the second go-round.
Well, I’m here in Portland, halfway through 8 Elements Phase II: Cultivation. I’m writing this on Tuesday, our day off from classes (but not from studying, I have a pile of homework to do, as demonstrated by the above paragraph).
I’m having an amazing time so far. I feel like I’m working right at the edge of my abilities, which means I’m learning and growing a lot. I’m also pushing my body to its limits, because I’m doing hours of dance class after a month-ish off to let my foot recover.
Sometimes in class I find myself smiling ear to ear, or fighting off tears as I am overcome by what they call “the feels.” It’s such an incredible experience to be training with Rachel Brice, who I’ve admired since I started dancing. It’s so wonderful to be able to dedicate 8 days to this training (not to mention the homework I did ahead of time).
I’m also really enjoying the chance to connect with other dancers. This class is a mix of dancers from earlier Initiations, a few people from my class, and even a few from the most recent class (for the first time, they allowed some dancers to apply to do Initiation and Cultivation all at once, which was a definite boon for experienced dancers traveling from Europe and Asia). Cultivation is half the size of Initiation, so it’s easier to get a chance to really interact with everyone.
Anyway, I’m signed up for testing, so I had better stop blogging and start studying. Check back on Monday for my Cultivation Recap post!
Ready to ride off on my majestic steed! (Note: not actually my horse)
I am pretty excited, you guys! I’m getting ready to set off on some adventures this Summer and Fall!
My first big adventure starts next Friday, when I drive off to New Mexico for the Mira Betz retreat. A week with Mira and a handful of other dedicated belly dancers… it sounds like heaven! And the surroundings look pretty amazing, too. I’m going to stop off in Albuequerque on the way, to see some of my friends there. I’ve never visited ABQ or Santa Fe so I am looking forward to seeing these two cities. I’ll be driving by myself, which in some ways is my preference. I’m an introvert and I like to have time alone with my thoughts. I’m especially looking forward to using the drive back to process everything I learned.
I’m so excited because both times that I’ve done a weekend intensive with Mira I’ve come home so inspired, really on fire for the dance all over again. I can’t even imagine what a whole week is going to be like. It’s going to be really immersive, since we’re all staying together at the retreat center and dancing for hours every day. And apparently there’s also going to be alcohol, so there’s that.
And then there’s my other adventure starting in September. I’m flying out to Portland for 8 Elements Cultivation… But wait, Waking Persephone is just a couple weeks after the end of 8E, so why bother flying home? I’m going to attempt to couch surf my way around the PNW, since I have so many friends in the area. I’m excited to check out some parts of that area that I haven’t seen yet (looks like I may have plans in Tacoma and Olympia), maybe drop in on some dance classes, possibly nab some performance opportunities? If you know of any events going on in the area any time between October 4th and 16th, let me know! Or, if you have a couch and want me to crash on it in return for social media help, blog post writing, fan veil pointers, beaded jewelry or other services that I offer, and I already know you and you’re not some random person, let me know!
I’m jumping for joy to have completed the 100 Day challenge!
On Thursday night, I completed the 100Days(tm) Improv Challenge hosted by Malik Turley. Early access to this program was one of the surprise perks of 8 Elements Initiation, but now it’s ready for the general public and you, yes you, can sign up for the next round starting on July 20th.
“But wait, Sophia,” I hear you saying, “What is this 100 day thingie? Why should I want to do it?”
That’s a very good question, astute blog reader. The 100Days(tm) Improv Challenge is a daily program designed to help you improv not just your improvisational belly dance skills, but also your self-critique skills. It connects you with a small community of fellow dancers who are going through the challenge alongside you, providing extra support and encouragement. It also really impresses your friends when you tell them about this challenge you’re doing.
I don’t want to say too much about the logistics of the challenge, because I think it’s better if you learn about it while you go. Instead, let me tell you why I signed up and what I got out of my experience.
The truth is, I almost didn’t sign up for the challenge because I consider my improv skills pretty strong and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to commit to another daily challenge, especially one that would happen with Tribal Fest right around the corner. But it seemed like it could be a fun experience, and sometimes it’s good to train to your strengths, to make them even stronger. So I took the plunge!
A big component of this challenge is that you have to video tape yourself every single day, and watch and critique that video every day. Now I don’t know about you, but every time I’ve been in a workshop and the teacher has discussed how to really get better, one of their main pieces of advice has been to video tape yourself. And I’ve always said “Yeah yeah, I should do that.” And then I only do it maybe once or twice, when developing an important piece, which doesn’t really help much in the long run.
So for 100 days (minus the two that I missed), I had to video tape myself every day. I had to get comfortable watching myself. I had to learn how to pick out what I felt good about, and what I wanted to work on. And the thing was, as I did this, I often found myself deciding to video tape a couple additional pieces while I had the camera set up. I learned to finally use my camera as the important learning tool it is.
And I learned a lot. Not only did I identify some problems that I could work on (my right hand kept wanting to hold an awkward, unnatural shape; my hip drops were super bouncy), I also started to see things I really like. I saw my own style developing, something that’s hard to see when you only get video from shows every few months, but easy to see when you have to watch yourself every day and see similar stylizations showing up again and again. I learned which moves I maybe use too often, and which I should use more often, because they looked surprisingly awesome. I also learned how often one or more of my pets is sitting behind me while I dance, looking completely unimpressed.
In addition to challenging myself, and learning a lot from it, I made some new friends through this challenge. There were a few “partner activities” where I had to swap videos with a classmate. One of these challenges happened during Tribal Fest and my partner was also attending, so I had the lovely experience of watching videos together on the front porch of the Youth Annex. The 100Days challenge really helped me feel more connected to the Initiates community that I have so recently joined.
The great thing about this challenge is that it is not style-specific, any belly dancer can participate, whether their background is in Egyptian, Turkish, or avante garde hip hop polka fusion. You just have to have a desire to develop your improv skills, an open mind for challenges, and the willingness to get over those first few awkward days of watching yourself dance. I honestly can’t recommend it highly enough! Sign up now!
Oh my gosh you guys, so much cool stuff is happening, it’s time once again for an announcement round-up post!
First, because it’s right there in the picture: I GOT A SPOT IN CULTIVATION! I am going on to Phase II of 8 Elements this September! I can’t wait to see Portland at the start of Autumn, but more importantly, to continue this important part of my dance education. I’ve got a pile of homework to do before I get there and I could not be happier. Truly, I am living the dance nerd’s dream life.
Speaking of being a nerd, last week I was interviewed by Kat for the Shut Up and Shimmy podcast, and I nerd out about fan veils, blogging, and video games. Chatting with Kat was so much fun, and I say that as somebody who hates phone calls and voice chat. The interview was part of a series to promote the variety of cool teachers who will be at Waking Persephone, which makes this a good time to remind you that you can register for my workshop “How to Build an Engaging Blog Presence” and also to tell you about the Underworld Club Raffle. Rather than trying to sum that up myself, I’m going to copy what Tempest wrote about it:
What is the Underworld Club? Greek mythology is full of tales of journeys and adventures with elusive treasures – and this year you can earn exclusive chances to get your hands on a GORGON-zolalicious selection of items – from costuming and jewelry from our amazing vendors to winning a 2016 Whole Pomegranate package! We will announce winners each day at the Gala Shows & Ball – you must be present to win the items awarded at the Gala Shows (but not necessary for the Ball).
This is how it works – you will earn
-1 ticket for every two 90 min workshops, or 1 per 3 hour workshop
-15 tickets for a Whole Pomegranate package
-And receive DOUBLE the amount of tickets if you register for at least 3 workshops or the WP Package by June 30th!
Next, Fire & Gold Belly Dance is performing up in Phoenix this Friday at the Silvia Salamanca Gala Show. Don’t miss this chance to see some of AZ’s greatest belly dancers, not to mention SILVIA who is just amazing. I’m really excited that all four members of F&G are able to be at this show and take the workshops.
Lastly, I suppose now is a good time to mention that I got a day job. Well, actually, I got THREE day jobs, but they’re all extremely part-time freelance type gigs. However, they all involve a lot of writing and social media interactions, those being my strong suits, so if it seems like this blog is a little less active, that’s why. I’m currently experimenting with writing most of my posts for the week on the weekend and pre-scheduling them, so we’ll see if that helps me maintain a strong presence here while still giving my employers my time during the week.
March ’15 Initiates, aka, a whole bunch of people who I really miss.
Sometimes at Tribal Fest there’s these mini-intensives where for 2 or 3 days you study with the same teacher. I’ve always avoided signing up for those, because it’s hard enough to avoid schedule conflicts when a workshop is just on a single day. Plus I see Tribal Fest as like, a teacher buffet. I want to try as many teachers as I can! And learn as many subjects as I can!
But after 8 Elements: Initiation, I’m starting to question that. I see the value now of spending a few days in a room with the same teacher and the same bunch of students. You form stronger bonds, and maybe you learn more. There’s certainly more opportunity for the teacher to revisit things and make sure you’re actually absorbing them, as opposed to your average 2 hour workshop where it often feels like the teacher is throwing a hundred things at you in the hopes that maybe two will stick.
I think workshops and intensives serve two very different purposes. A single workshop gives you a little window into either a specific style, prop, or a teacher’s way of thinking. You’re not going to master anything in a two-hour workshop unless you’re a much better learner than I am (and if you are, what is your secret? Will you write a guest post about it?). Maybe the teacher will let you film some things, or provide you with good notes so you can keep practicing at home. But for the most part it’s just going to let you know whether this style or prop is something you want to learn more about, or if this teacher is someone you want to learn more from in the future.
In an intensive, you actually have a chance to hopefully master a move or three, or learn an entire choreography, or get a good grasp of the basics of a style or prop. You still won’t be ready to take the stage as a soloist with that style or prop, but you might have learned enough to do a group number at a festival (a common elements of the mini-intensives at Tribal Fest is a chance to perform with your teacher). You’ll get a really good idea of the teacher’s approach to dance.
And in an intensive, you also learn more about your fellow students. You get to watch them learn right alongside you, see them achieve their goals for the weekend (or week), and maybe take the stage with them to show off what you’ve learned. I feel like I really know several of the people I went through Initiation with, because they shared so much of themselves and really showed their personalities and their character throughout the week. It’s a lot different than seeing the same person in three of your workshops during the festival, but going your separate ways the rest of the week.
Don’t get me wrong, I still love shorter workshops and enjoy my Teacher Buffet idea, but I do think I’m going to make a greater effort to take intensives when the chance arises, and enjoy that really deep immersion in a particular teacher’s style and a particular mini-community.
These announcements might leave you feeling green with envy! Ha! Photo by Liora K.
So, about a million things happened while I was in Seattle last week. Expect blog posts Monday-Friday as I try to talk about everything that’s going on with me right now. But since I couldn’t decide which piece of news to start the week with, I want to give you my three biggest announcements all in one post.
1. I passed Initiation! I’m an Initiate! The first step in my 8 Elements journey is complete, and I am already on the waiting list for Phase II: Cultivation. I really want to keep this momentum going!
2. Improv Roulette is coming to Phoenix! As promised, Mahin and I have joined forces and we will be presenting IR in the Valley on April 19th. Here’s the FB Event Page with all the details.
3. And now for the big one: I’m teaching at Waking Persephone in October!!! Now, I know you’re thinking “But Sophia, you keep saying that you’re not ready to teach belly dance!” and that’s true. However, this year WP has a really cool track called “Trade Secrets” and it’s about all that important behind-the-scenes stuff, like editing your videos and preparing for a photo shoot and doing your makeup and more. My offering will be a workshop titled “How to Develop an Engaging Blog Presence” and it will cover everything from choosing what platform to use to coming up with your own cool regular features, like Beauty Blogging for Belly Dancers. I am SO EXCITED to be part of this awesome event. The workshops and teachers this year are absolutely amazing, and of course, it’s another excuse to go back to Seattle. Registration opens on April 3rd!
This is the door to the office at the Datura Studio.
Ok, so usually there’d be some sort of Beauty Blog post here, and I feel bad about not writing one since I also didn’t do one before I left last week, but there’s no way I can wait until Monday to write about this. Next week will be crazy too, so Beauty Blogging for Belly Dancers will resume on Friday, March 28th.
With that out of the way, let’s talk about 8 Elements! As you might have guessed from the title, this is going to be a long post, so you might want to grab yourself a drink and a snack. We’re going to be here for a bit. If you don’t have time, here’s the short version: OMG SQUEEE it was AMAZING and I am SO GLAD that I did it and I CAN’T WAIT to return someday for Level 2: Cultivation!
Now let’s get down to the long version, for those of you who want the nitty-gritty details. By the way, this post will only be about the 8 Elements intensive itself. If you want to know my thoughts about the city of Portland, those will be coming on Monday.
I signed up for 8 Elements because I was at a point in my dance career where I needed a challenge. Without a teacher/troupe director challenging me, without a professional troupe to strive to someday join, I was kind of floating around with small, short-term goals of putting together a decent solo for the next hafla. I found that I was not just stagnating, but actually losing skill and losing confidence in myself as a dancer. I had a few friends on-line who were going through the 8 Elements process and it seemed like especially as they got to levels II and III that there was a lot of work to be done, a lot of goals to reach for. Plus I still have the idea that I would like to teach someday, and some places like you to have some sort of certification that says you know what the heck you’re doing, so it seemed like something good to have for the future.
As the intensive got closer, I started to worry. Mainly I was worried about my yoga skills, because while I take some yoga classes, I’m not super into yoga and here’s a secret: I do not like down dog. I was also worried I might have to know the Sanskrit names of all the poses, because they were in the book we were assigned as a reference. Plus I was worried about the test at the end, because as a homeschool student I never really learned much about note-taking, studying, and test-taking. Lastly, I was worried about spending most of my time alone, because I was traveling alone and wasn’t close friends with anyone else attending.
All of these worries proved to be for naught, and everything was awesome.
Initiation really is all about well, initiating you into the program’s specific approach to belly dance training and presentation. The yoga and pilates elements are introduced to teach you how to train and maintain the muscles and joints used in belly dance, and the expectation is to have a functional knowledge of how to have a safe yoga practice, not to be spiritually enlightened and 100% into yoga. More importantly, the focus is on honoring YOUR body and your limitations from day-to-day, so Rachel provided variations, or options for what to do if you were just not at all able to tackle something on a given day.
And this seems like a good time to bring up the pace of the intensive. With 7 hours of class time plus a couple of evening events, I was worried about being constantly exhausted. But the point of Initiation isn’t to drill yourself to death, the point is to learn. The day was divided into an early and late session, with an hour-long lunch break in between (and because there’s lots within walking distance of the Nia studio, an hour was plenty of time to go someplace, eat, and come back). Each session starts with a seated circle and a discussion period, where we’d find out about logistics of the course itself (when and where things were, what was required for testing, etc), and then have some educational chatter about our homework and concepts that would be covered that day. There was plenty of time for Q&A, too.
Once we were actually up and moving, exercises progressed at a building pace. Start out nice and slow so you can catch mistake in time to correct them, and learn how it feels in your body, then steadily ramp up until you’re going so fast you can barely keep up. Each day, we’d go back and briefly review what we did the day before, and maybe build on it by adding a layer, or maybe just drill it. The goal was to know things well enough that we can take them home and keep practicing, so we can be proficient in them by the time we go to Cultivation, for those of us who are choosing to continue training.
Because of this, while I got a little tired and sore, I didn’t feel entirely exhausted and wrung-out, so I was able to go home each night and do my homework, then get up the next day and do it all over again.
Speaking of homework, the amount assigned was pretty reasonable, so it was possible to do my assigned homework and then read back over anything we’d gone over during the day that I felt uncertain of.
On Monday night, we had an extra couple hours in the evening for Costume Cafe, where Rachel talked about the evolution of tribal fusion costuming and belly dance, and how to come up with inspiration for your own costumes, and a tiny bit about construction. She brought some of her costumes for us to look at and talked about how she sourced some of the materials and such. It was really educational and inspiring!
Wednesday was testing, and they really did their best to put everyone at ease for it. We were given a practice exam on Tuesday so we could get an idea of what sort of questions to expect, and use it to brush up on our knowledge. Wednesday’s session ended with a restorative yoga practice (this was the only day we had a yoga cool-down, which surprised me, I expected like a TON of yoga) that ended with a calming guided meditation. Once we moved into the testing room, Rachel, Sol (her partner in life and business) and Brittany (their assistant for 8 Elements, together with Sol she handles the non-dance-class logistics of the event to keep it running smoothly) came in and gave us a pep-talk and explained how the testing would work. They had a really upbeat and friendly attitude. Throughout the week the test was referred to as a “Jamboree” to try to make it less scary, which amused me.
The test – or jamboree, if you prefer – was not too difficult. There were a couple of questions I felt unsure on, where I knew I had learned it in class and studied it but the concepts just didn’t stick in my mind, but for the most part I felt confident about my knowledge and opinions and ability to express them. I will say, we were told there would be a mix of multiple choice and written questions, but they ended up being all written.
I’ll find out in a week if I passed. I’m pretty sure that I will, but if I didn’t, I can make arrangements to re-test.
After the test we had some time to refuel (hello, Voodoo Donuts located on the way to the bus stop!) and then it was time for the HAFLA! This was a hafla in the traditional sense, a come-as-you-are dance party, rather than a structured performance opportunity. Some came in costume and some in street clothes and some in our workshop clothes, and everybody got a chance to have their moment in the center of the circle on the dance floor before it turned into a free-for-all. While the classes had been held at Nia Studio downtown, the hafla was in Datura itself (where I snapped the photo at the top of this post), so we all had the chance to see the studio and shop the merch (which we descended on like a swarm of locusts, if locusts liked hoodies and kuchi). There were drinks and snacks, and spots away from the dance floor where you could snatch a few minutes of conversation with your new friends before you went home.
Speaking of friends, remember the part where I thought I’d be alone? Yeah, that didn’t happen! The first day there I connected with Sabien, who had friended me on Facebook sometime before the event. We hit it off and ate lunch together every day, had a study date before Sunday’s session, and did some shopping and dinners together. She was also chatting with me on FB while I wrote this post. I’m not sure I’ve ever formed such a close friendship so quickly! We also did a few exercises in class where the idea was to pair up with someone you didn’t know, and I made some friends that way, too. Plus it turned out that there were at least 5 of us there who love the music of Nick Cave (it was funny, two of us were talking and other people would hear the conversation and chime in). I feel like I have a brand new community of friends, a subset of my greater dance community, joined together by the 5 days we spent learning and dancing with each other.
A couple other points I wanted to mention but didn’t manage to fit in to the natural flow of things:
-There were SNACKS every day! A bowl of fresh fruit, and a bowl of almonds, and a bowl of raisins (which for one beautiful day, magically transformed into a bowl of chocolate chips), all right there on a table in the studio, so that if you felt like you were having a blood sugar crash, you could grab a bite while still watching the class and not miss anything.
-Rachel spent a lot of time talking about things she’d learned along the way as a dancer, including new things she’d learned and changed her mind about even within the past year. It’s always really refreshing to see that people who have “made it” are still willing to learn, and admit that they were wrong or misinformed in the past. Plus it’s inspiring to know that there is always more to learn and know about belly dance.
-The music was REALLY good, a mix of “authentic” music from “over there” (I learned I really like Moroccan music!), world fusion-y music and electronica, so there was something for everyone.
-Oh hey I forgot to talk about ZILS! I feel a lot better about my finger cymbal skills after spending 5 straight days learning and drilling rhythms and doing exercises and playing zils over different foot-arm-isolation patterns. I already knew I liked Rachel’s approach to zil training from her How to Be a Zil-Ionaire class on Datura Online, but it was an even better experience in person, since she was there to answer questions and offer corrections.
-Rachel, Sol and Brittany are all just wonderful people, they were great at answering questions, and ran a really well put-together, organized, smooth event that was a joy to be a part of.
So to recap, this was pretty much the best 5 days of my life and I am really struggling to return to daily life! Being immersed in dance and surrounded by dancers is an amazing experience, and something I wish I could do all the time.
Excuse me while I struggle to contain my excitement, and for once I’m not saying that sarcastically. This week is shaping up to be awesome! Obviously the biggest thing is that I am flying off to Portland on Friday, and 8 Elements starts on Saturday! I really cannot wait. Not only do I get to study with Rachel Brice, learn a ton of things, and take the test to hopefully pass Initiation, but I also get to stay with my friend Swati, who moved to Portland from Tucson a few years back.
Before I take off for Oregon, however, Open Stage is happening here in Tucson! This is going to be a special one because not only is Fire & Gold Belly Dance debuting our latest choreography, but we will also have some very special guests — Tempest and Nathaniel Johnstone! They’re going to be in town this weekend for Wild Wild West Con, where Nathaniel will be playing music with The Cog is Dead and Tempest will be performing belly dance *and* teaching workshops. Anyway, they’re getting in Thursday afternoon and agreed to bring their amazing live music and dance collaboration to our humble open stage. I’m, uhm, kind of excited.
Of course, my excitement is tempered with a bit of sadness, because I am going to completely miss WWWC. I really love that event, it’s my own chance every year to really layer on all my steampunk stuff and indulge in that side of my geekiness. Plus it’s gonna be extra belly dancery this year, with Tempest and Diva Dreads and Geisha Moth all there in addition to local belly dance groups Lykiska and Osiris. Basically what I’m saying is, if you’re a belly dancer in AZ, you should really go buy a day or weekend pass to the convention and let me live vicariously through you. It’s only fair, since many of my friends are planning to live vicariously through me while I’m in Portland.
Speaking of which, if you want to stay on top of what I’m up to while in Portland, you should go ahead and give my Facebook fan page a like, and consider following me on Instagram, too! I’m really not sure if I’ll blog while I’m there, my schedule is going to be pretty jam-packed so I may just be limited to quick social media updates until I get home.
