So. Many. Workshops.

October 22, 2015Sophia Ravenna

Through a combination of purchasing workshops and getting comped workshops for teaching and volunteering, it ended up that there were only two time slots in the entire Waking Persephone weekend that I wasn’t in a classroom! Just like last year, there were a couple time slots where I had to make the difficult decision between two equally awesome-sounding workshops. Hopefully by next year I’ll have some sort of clone or time-bending powers so I can be in all of the workshops *and* shop *and* stage manage *and* watch the shows.

And now, brief reviews of the workshops I took, in the order I took them in:

Emoticon with Kamrah — I think of Kamrah as my “big sister” of dance since she started in Skirt Full of Fire at the same time I started in Fire & Gold, so we did a lot of gigs together. Now that she’s moved on from AZ, I really enjoy taking workshops from her when our paths cross. It helps that she teaches subjects that really work with my style of dance! Emoticon was about imbuing your entire body with emotion when you dance, instead of making your face do all the work. I take a lot of these kinds of workshops so I was worried that I wouldn’t get anything out of this one, but I really liked Kamrah’s technique for getting to neutral so you’re ready to receive the emotion you want to convey, or to get back to neutral after doing a difficult emotion on stage.

What are you wearing? with Zahara Solomon — This was a really cool workshop on the symbolism behind a lot of what we use in tribal-style costuming, from the meaning behind colors to the reason why coins are used to adornment to what, exactly, is the evil eye and why were certain items believed to repel it? I think this is great information for any dancer who likes to wear textiles and jewelry from “over there.” Plus it was fun, and we got to have a nice and respectful conversation about cultural appropriation.

Life is a Cabaret with Inanna le Fey — It’s funny that I had to go to WA to study with my friend who lives in Phoenix. This is a workshop that I just took for funsies. I don’t come from a jazz or theatrical background and I’m not sure if I’ll ever want to put Fosse elements in my own belly dance, but I had a really good time learning the stylization and combos in this class. Inanna is really well-versed in jazz and Fosse’s style, and has a really cool way of fusing it with belly dance so that both styles are represented and blended together to make something awesome, so if that’s something you want to learn, you’d really enjoy studying with her.

It’s only up from here with Elizabeth Joy — Headdress construction! Yeah! I am always happy to get more costuming skills, especially of the variety that I can do by hand on my couch while watching Netflix. I learned a lot of tips for how to make headdresses and got started on one, although I am going to start over with a less problematic fabric and then return to my class project once I’ve got the basics under my belt. Elizabeth not only gave us construction knowledge, but she shared valuable resources for materials, ideas on making pieces modular, and she brought several examples of headdress to inspire us.

Beyond black eyeliner with Celeste — I’m not going to lie, this workshop disappointed me. I was hoping for some more advanced makeup technique but it was more about the basics and Celeste had too much info to try to share in 1.5 hours (plus she was late due to an unavoidable mishap). I feel like if a dancer is going to teach a stage makeup workshop in a short time frame, instead of trying to rush through the entire face, they should focus on one important aspect — like how to know your face shape and enhance or alter it with contouring, or how to do a smoky eye, or lipstick looks for performances ranging from daytime county fair to evening restaurant gig to big lips for big stage.

Understanding learning styles with Sara Shrapnell — I signed up for this one even though I’m not a teacher yet, because I figured it would be good info to file away and it might help me learn better, or facilitate Improv Roulette better. This class was great because it taught me more about how I learn and communicate, what kind of teacher I like, and why some people just don’t seem to get things that I’ve already grasped. I think it’s going to make me a more patient and empathic dancer! It was also fun to take a turn being a teacher and realize that yes, I can explain myself, and I can see what corrections a student might need to improve their form. So while I still feel like there’s more I need to learn before I’m ready to teach, I feel confident that once I want to take that step, I will be able to communicate with my students.

Playing Finger Cymbals with Modern Music with Nawal Doucette — I was really excited for this one and unfortunately it disappointed me a bit. I felt like we spent too much time learning combos and not enough time playing zils. I think Nawal had some good information to share and a good approach to sharing it, the class just needed to be a little longer in order for her to have enough time to let us experiment with zils over a combo and then try zils with various kinds of music. I did get some good food for thought on how to work zils into non-traditional music and knowing when to play and when to be silent or at least quiet, so that was good.

Narrative Belly Dance with Somni — You guys, Somni brought a carafe full of hot water, tea bags, and fresh-baked homemade blueberry scones to class! These ladies know how to kick off a Sunday morning! Seriously the scones were delicious and worth the price of admission alone, but the workshop itself was also awesome. Somni took us through choosing a narrative, characters, story arc, how to adapt literature or film themes to belly dance, how to make good use of costuming to establish characters, how to establish your relationship with the stage and audience… I think most if not all of us were left wanting to do a weekend-long intensive with Somni so we could leave the event with a fully-fleshed-out concept almost ready to go on stage. You know that for the last two years I’ve been taking a lot of theatrical belly dance workshops, and I had started to feel like all of the teachers were just saying the same things in different words and having us do the same exercises. Somni stepped beyond the basics and gave me a lot of new information and ideas. I cannot recommend these ladies highly enough.

Bellydancer’s cookbook Vol1 with Ami Amore — Have you ever wondered how dancers come up with their own signature moves and combos? I sure have! Ami Amore broke down some of the ways that she comes up with things, and then let us try all of them. This was a fun workshop that involved a lot of movement and thought exercises, first as soloists and then coming up with a combo in a group. I think that if I combine Ami’s way of thinking with Rachel Brice’s stacking method, I’ll be able to come up with a lot of my own material. I’d definitely recommend this workshop for anyone who either wants to develop combos for their group’s improv language, or who is looking for ways to come up with new material to teach their students.

Marketing to Muggles with Natalie Brown — So I expected this workshop to discuss some social media strategy and advertising methods to reach outside of the dance community to find a bigger audience for shows and new students. And while there was a little bit about that, it was actually about a lot of high-level networking, marketing, making connections, getting funding, and getting taken seriously as an artist. Instead of focusing on how to get another restaurant gig, Natalie wanted us to ask if we even want to settle for that, or if we should be reaching for swanky corporate gigs, or if we should be finding sponsors to put on epic stage shows. It was really eye-opening! In a way I wish I’d been given this knowledge a year or two ago so I could have made a go of kicking Tucson in the ass and making some awesome opportunities. Instead, now that I’m planning to move in 6 months, I’m eyeballing Seattle and thinking of how I could team up with the cool dancers I know there and make the city sit up and take notice. Natalie is currently working on expanding her ideas into an eBook and as soon as it comes out I’m going to advertise it on this blog and you all should buy it and together, we can be a belly dance marketing army and create opportunities for our dance to grow. I’m excited, you guys. Really excited.

And that was it! So many amazing workshops crammed into three days. I learned basically a million things and my head is exploding with knowledge. I want to sew things and research the meaning of my jewelry and make new combos and be friends with the arts commission and make a plan for teaching classes and be sad but also have fabulous jazz hands while telling the story of a warrior’s fight against the elements and her enemies. Plus there will be scones.

Wow, your experience at Waking Persephone sounds both intense and incredibly rewarding! It’s great to hear how each workshop brought something unique to the table, from improving emotional expression in dance to exploring the cultural significance of costuming, and even venturing into the realms of marketing and professional development.

Considering the packed schedule and the diversity of topics you engaged with, it seems like organizing and reflecting on these experiences could be quite a task. Here's where a tool like Latenode could really shine for someone in your position.

Latenode could help you manage your workshop schedules, ensuring you never miss a session despite conflicting times. It could also assist in setting reminders for follow-up actions after each workshop, like when to practice new techniques or review notes. Moreover, for managing the wealth of information and networking contacts you gained, Latenode can automate the process of cataloging contacts and important takeaways, making it easier to follow up on potential collaborations or opportunities.

Additionally, as you consider teaching or even organizing similar events in the future, Latenode’s capabilities could be invaluable. It could automate participant registration, schedule updates, and feedback collection, ensuring everything runs smoothly and efficiently. This would free you up to focus more on content delivery and personal engagement with participants, enhancing the overall experience for everyone involved.

With your rich insights from these workshops and Latenode’s automation support, you’re well-equipped to enhance your dance practice, contribute to the community, and even spearhead new initiatives. Here’s to more sewing, researching, creating, and yes—enjoying more scones!

Professional Ambitions: Teaching a Workshop

October 21, 2015Sophia Ravenna

Well, this is something that I did a little bit backwards. Usually you’re an established professional dancer before you ever consider teaching your first workshop. And before anyone freaks out about a non-pro hitting the workshop circuit, I’d like to reassure you that I wasn’t teaching dance! No, I taught about blogging, which is something I do have plenty of professional experience with.

So how did this happen? The short story is, I applied and I got accepted. But of course there’s a lot more to it than that. Before I applied to teach at Waking Persephone, I had built myself a reputation within the dance community, as both a blogger and as someone who values being a member of the community and contributes how she can. I had attended WP the previous year, had nice interactions with Tempest and the rest of the event staff. Then I came home and blogged about it. This cemented my status as someone who cared about and wanted to support WP whether or not I was teaching. I don’t know how much any of this helped with my application getting accepted, or if they just looked at it and said “You know what? Having a blog workshop is a good idea, sure glad somebody submitted that idea.” But I’m sure that being an active part of the community didn’t hurt!

I had actually hoped to offer my workshop somewhere locally before Waking Persephone, so that I could be sure that the kinks were worked out and that I had enough material and whatever. Things didn’t work out that way, so WP was my first run of offering the workshop. I did a few things to make up for my lack of opportunity to do a local offering. I read my notes aloud to my husband. I got some really good advice from a friend who teaches classes in a different medium. I proof-read my notes repeatedly. I made myself a little agenda for the day-of so I’d remember everything I wanted to do. Leading up to the event and at the start of the class, I gave my students the chance to put in requests for what they wanted to know about blogs.

So my advice for teaching your first workshop boils down to:

Be prepared.
Err on the side of being over-prepared.
Prepare more material than you might need (we didn’t get to one of the exercises that I thought might be fun, but wasn’t necessary).
Seek advice not just from others in your field, but from those outside the field.
If you’re providing notes, proofread them!
Be prepared.

Because I was prepared, I actually wasn’t too nervous stepping into my workshop. And you guys, I had such a good time! It helped that 3 of my 4 students were people I already knew — one was a fellow AZ dancer who I adore, one was my LVBDI and WP roomie, one was a FB friend who I got to meet in person the night before, and then the new-to-me person was lovely too. It also helped that not only was I prepared, but my students were also prepared. They walked into the classroom knowing what they wanted out of a blog and where their “pain points” were, as we say in my day job. They made my job easier by asking questions and having specific needs that I could address, so that I didn’t rush through my material and then have a bunch of time left to fill. They helped me keep the workshop flowing, by sometimes saying something that flowed neatly into the next section of the class. And they asked questions that helped me realize where I could expand my material for the next time I offer this blog. In short, they were wonderful!

In performing, they say “Remember, the audience wants to see you succeed!” and I think it’s the same thing with workshops. You don’t have to be afraid of your students. For the most part, they are there because they’ve heard of you, seen you dance (or read your blog…) and they think you have something to offer them. They’re receptive and ready for what you have to offer. So just relax and enjoy the experience, then ask their feedback on if there’s any way you can make it even better next time.

I’d like to close this blog post with a big THANK YOU to Tempest for taking the chance on an untried instructor! I really enjoyed my first workshop teaching experience and am already planning for future workshops!

Waking Persephone Recap

October 20, 2015Sophia Ravenna

10933720_10152579367136771_3350585949815148323_n I am back from Seattle! Waking Persephone was such an amazing experience that it’s going to take a few blog posts for me to say everything I want to say about it. As such, expect new posts every week day until I run out of words, at which point we’ll go back to a MWF schedule.

Today’s post is just a general “all the feeeeeeeeels!” recap. Last year I fell in love with Waking Persephone because it felt like an event that was for the weird, quiet, introverted, nerdy, gothy, steampunky belly dancers like me. The people who don’t fit into neat boxes. The people who sometimes feel a little awkward at other festivals. The people who would sometimes rather sit at home watching Dr. Who or Buffy than go out and be social. The people who sometimes want to belly dance as a strange character. Those people. This year just deepened my feeling of belonging, as I was able to reconnect with friends from last year while making new friends this year.

I really appreciate that this is an event that’s more about community and learning than big names and being seen. It’s a festival that was willing to take a chance on a newbie instructor — me! — because she had a topic that the organizers thought was valuable. It’s a festival with limited performance opportunities, but where anyone with a good idea has the possibility of taking the stage with the instructors. It’s a place where you can hang out and talk with the instructors between classes, or see them right alongside you in a class.

This year I especially enjoyed the “Tricks of the Trade” workshop track, which I not only taught in, but took many workshops from. More about that in my post(s) about workshops. But it was nice to have so many options that were more about knowledge, useful skills and professionalism than about dance techniques. Not that I don’t like dance technique too, but I feel like there’s a real need within the community for more opportunities to learn professional skills!

But mostly what I really enjoyed was spending time with my fellow nerdy dancers, whether it was in a workshop or backstage (I was backstage for all 3 shows, as I performed one night and stage managed the other two nights!), eating lunch, riding to the event together, chatting in the vending area… I felt like I was surrounded by friends. I never felt like I was an outsider, excluded from a clique or intruding on someone else’s conversation. I felt loved and welcomed.

I love what Tempest has built and continues to build at Waking Persephone. She and her event staff clearly work hard to put together an amazing experience for everyone, and I was so happy to be a part of it.

Waking Persephone This Weekend!

October 13, 2015Sophia Ravenna

Here it is, one last promotional blog post for Waking Persephone! It all starts on Thursday night with Motif, a pre-party which will include an Improv Roulette demo. Friday, Saturday and Sunday will feature tons of workshops by many talented teachers from across the country. Friday and Saturday are the gala shows, featuring the instructors and a few guests — I’m on Saturday night! — and Sunday is The Underworld Ball, featuring live music and more dance. There will also be vending, tea, henna, massage, the opportunity for private lessons, a community round table, and probably other cool things I am forgetting.

Online workshop registration is closed, but you can still get spots in most workshops at the door. That includes mine, which is at 10:30am on Friday. Online ticket sales for the shows goes on until tomorrow. I highly recommend getting the package deal for all three shows!

I’m really excited for this weekend! I can’t wait to offer my workshop, and I am pleased with the performance I’ve developed for Saturday night. But more importantly I am looking forward to learning and being surrounded by my fellow dancers all weekend long. It’s going to be awesome.

Upcoming Performances and Mailing List

September 2, 2015Sophia Ravenna

I'm here to share some news! — I’m here to share some news!

Just a few quick announcements to make:

1 – I got a last-minute performance spot at the Las Vegas Belly Dance Intensive! I imagine it’s late enough in the game that you will not see my name in the program, so if you want to make sure you see me, put a note on your phone or something! I will be taking the stage at 1:46pm on Saturday, September 12th. There will be fan veils involved! But not the same fan veil performance I did at Tribal Fest!

2 – But before that, you can see me tomorrow at Open Stage here in Tucson! 7pm at Sky Bar, as usual.

3 – And then next month you can see me at Waking Persephone as part of the Saturday Night Gala Show. And of course you can still get a spot in my workshop too, should you so desire.

4 – Want another way to keep track of my performances and noteworthy blog posts and new videos and stuff? I have a MAILING LIST! I’ll send out a monthly newsletter with highlights of what I’m up to.

First Annual Tucson Raqs and Rolls

August 24, 2015Sophia Ravenna

So let’s just get this out of the way: I adore Artemis Mourat. After spending a weekend learning from her, she’s my new role model for myself when I hit my 60s. I want to be an awesome, knowledgeable woman who can still dance a full set after teaching all day.

Artemis was brought to Tucson by local dancers Cat Vigil (aka Zeina) and Barbara from Veils of Mystery, to headline their first annual Tucson Raqs and Rolls event. I have to say, it’s so nice to once again have someone in Tucson hosting instructors from out of state, because it’s been way too long and I wasn’t about to take that task on myself! I think it was a really good choice in their part to kick this new event off with such a respected and knowledgeable dancer. I like it when people don’t do things by halves!

The weekend started Friday night with a hafla featuring some of Tucson’s favorite local dancers. It was also supposed to serve as a meet-and-great with Artemis, but her travel plans went awry as they so often do, so she didn’t make it. We still had fun, and I had the pleasure and honor of closing the night with a vintage-inspired femme fatale number.

Saturday we had two workshops, the first on Turkish Oriental belly dance, the second on Turkish Romani dance. I really appreciated how in the first workshop, Artemis compared and contrasted Turkish and Egyptian in a way that discussed the similarities and differences without any judgement on which was better. Then in the second workshop, she compared Oriental and Romani. I found that it really helped my understanding, to know not just what the dances were, but what they were not, and where there was also a little overlap.

Unfortunately my injured toe was not fully healed as I had optimistically felt it was. It was a little sore after Friday’s performance (I blame the concrete floor and my insistence on dancing barefoot that night), and it quickly made it clear to me that it was not ready for the fancy footwork of Turkish belly dance. So I ended up sitting out most of the first workshop and all of the second one. However, just by sitting on the sidelines, taking notes, and gently marking the movements, I feel like I absorbed a lot, which I can revisit when my foot is strong again.

On Saturday night, there was a gala show with more Tucson dancers, visiting performers from Phoenix and northern AZ, and a full set from Artemis. She must have danced for 20-30 minutes, and it included a Turkish Rom fusion piece and an acoustic zill number where she showed off the various tones she could get from her beautiful vintage finger cymbals. Not only did she demonstrate great skill, but her stage presence was scintillating!

Sunday morning we had a lecture. A lecture you guys! I am a total dance nerd and when I’m in the presence of someone with scholarly knowledge of dance, I really want to just listen to them talk all day. So I really enjoyed this! Artemis spent about 1.5 hours sharing her research and theories on the history of belly dance, all the way through its evolution to what we see on the stages today. My favorite part was when she said that belly dance was like a tree, and it doesn’t have just one single root. Anything that someone points at and says “This is the origin of belly dance!” is really just one part of the vastly tangled whole. After the talking, there was half an hour of vintage video clips, photos, and paintings that showed the evolution of dance and costuming, as well as some footage of Turkish Romani villagers dancing at a wedding. It was awesome!

Obviously, I really enjoyed my weekend and I feel like I learned a lot. Artemis had so much knowledge and was so open with it. Any time anyone asked a question, she gave a well-thought-out answer. She was really encouraging, excited when people got things and happy when they asked interesting questions.

I highly recommend taking a workshop with Artemis, or attending one of her lectures. Conveniently, she is offering her lecture on the history of belly dance at Waking Persephone, as well as a sacred dance lecture and ritual. But if you’re not going to be in Seattle in October, you can also visit her website Serpentine.org and see when and where she’ll be teaching next.

Ready for Adventure!

July 22, 2015Sophia Ravenna

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!

A few announcements!

June 16, 2015June 14, 2015Sophia Ravenna

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.

Waking Persephone is LIVE!

April 6, 2015Sophia Ravenna

As I mentioned at the end of Friday’s post, registration for Waking Persephone is now live! In addition to shopping for workshops, you can apply to vend, perform, or be a volunteer. There’s even a scholarship opportunity for cash-strapped beginner dancers who’d like to attend the event. Definitely go explore the site and start planning your trip, if you enjoy Gothic, Steampunk, Ritual or other niche forms of belly dance, this is the event for you.

I’m really honored to be teaching “How to Build an Engaging Blog Presence” at Waking Persephone. I have to admit, when I applied, I didn’t really expect to get in. I’ve just really been challenging myself to take big, scary steps in my dance career and one of those was applying to teach at an event. I figured it would be good practice for the day when I’m ready to actually teach dance, and I had had some requests in the past to teach about blogging, so I figured hey, I’ll throw my ring in the hat on a lark.

Well, now I’m committed! My workshop is going to cover everything from starting your blog to deciding what topics to write about to coming up with your own special features, like Beauty Blogging for Belly Dancers and Sophia’s Shelf. We’ll also go over technical stuff like moderating comments and dealing with spam. Basically I want to teach you all of the stuff I learned the hard way. And while I will be coming at it from the angle of developing a dance blog, there will be a lot of general good blogging advice, so musicians and artists and anyone else who has blog questions should consider signing up, too.

Of course I’m not just attending as a teacher, I am going to take at least half a dozen workshops while I’m there! I thought I’d list what they were and why I’m excited about them, so hopefully some of you will join me and we can be workshop buddies.

Friday 1pm: Emoticon with Kamrah. I really enjoyed last year’s spooky combos workshop with Kamrah, I think she has a great approach to modifying belly dance movement to suit a character or mood, so I definitely want to learn more from her.

Saturday 9am: Life is a Cabaret, Fosse-Influenced Belly Dance with Inanna LeFay. I’ve wanted to study with Inanna for a long time, and somehow despite the fact that she lives in Phoenix, I have to travel to Washington to finally learn from her! This is going to be a great class, I saw one of her Fosse-inspired choreographies at a Plaza student recital and it was awesome.

Saturday 10:45am: It’s Only Up From Here: Headdress Construction with Elizabeth Joy. More DIY skills? Yes please! I am excited to learn how to make a headdress and the fact that it’s being taught by my super awesome pal Elizabeth Joy of Improv Roulette fame is just icing on the cake.

Saturday 5pm: Playing Finger Cymbals with Modern Music with Nawal Doucette. I dance to a lot more modern music than traditional Middle Eastern music, so I think it would be really cool to learn how to use my zills with non-traditional music. This is just part of my really big zill kick this year.

Sunday 9am: Narrative Bellydance with Somni. These gals did a waaaaaay coooool performance at last year’s WP so I am really eager to learn their approach to storytelling via bellydance.

Sunday 3:30pm: Marketing to Muggles by Natalie Brown. Everyone should sign up for this! Let’s learn how to get people to come to our shows and pay us money and hire us to dance at parties and teach classes, so we can all afford more workshops and more sparkly costumes. I need this workshop more than any other workshop I am taking. Self-promotion is such a slog for me, and I feel like I’ve gotten the hang of promoting towards my fellow dancers, but the general public? No idea.

So that’s my list so far. There’s a couple other workshops that I want to add to my list, to fill up the rest of Friday especially. I just need to remember to leave myself time to eat and shop and socialize!

Are you planning to attend Waking Persephone? Which workshops are you signed up for?

Three exciting announcements!

March 23, 2015Sophia Ravenna

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!

Sophia Ravenna

Fusion belly dance in Tucson Arizona

waking persephone