Sunday, January 20, 2013

Recital, Winter Hafla, and Other Events

This last week has been very busy. Last weekend I performed for my first recital under my instructor at California Arts Academy. It went very well and had the opportunity to share stage time in one choreography piece with members of the Level 3 performing group, Tanjora. It was a lot of fun and I had a friend come down from Davis, CA to finally see me perform after 3 years of trying to get them down for a performance. So last weekend was a lot of fun in watching the kids level, Level 1 and Level 3 perform along with solos from my instructor and students from the Level 3 class.

Earlier today our local bellydance community, the Bellydance Coalition of San Joaquin Valley, had our first Hafla. It went very well with several dancers visiting and dancing. We had several solos from many dancers, a few troupe performances as well as the debut of Brazen Tassel, the new local ATS group certified by Carol herself of Fat Chance Bellydance. It was a great opportunity to see all the styles available in our community and even enjoyed a song by one of our dancers that has been learning Middle Eastern songs in the native tongue. It was quite a treat!

Some upcoming events that will be taking place, Fresno's 2013 Rogue Show will begin in March. This will be the first time since I began dancing that I will not be participating, but I am quite alright with that. It gives me the opportunity to see local bellydance groups perform in support of their art as well as allowing me the chance to continue learning without the pressure of dancing a style I am not fully knowledgable in just yet. So sitting out of the Rogue until my instructor feels I'm ready to be brought up is alright with me! But for those who may be in the area that wish to check out some of the performances, I'll be posting the schedule soon for the bellydancing shows.

Currently members in the area are preparing to participate in this year's Shimmy Mob that will take place in May. This is a world wide event that helps promote awareness and raise funds for shelters that house women and children of abuse. So if you are interested in registering to participate in this event, go to www.shimmymob.com. Once registered, you will have access to choreography, videos that break down the choreography for all levels as well as additional information on the event as updates come out. For those who are in the Central Valley of California, Crystal Ravenwolf is our team leader. So when you register, be sure to do so as dancer and find her under the Fresno, CA listing of participating cities to partake in our group. Deadline to register is April 5th I believe.

This week is also the start of the new semester at California Arts Academy. Since Banat Tanjora received permission to partake in 2 extra renaissance fairs this year, we'll be taking time in class to work on more improvising to allow everyone the chance to dance when we go to the fairs. Our first fair is Visalia Renaissance Fair April 20th-21st. Then we'll have the Fresno Pirate Fair in May and close out the fair season at Kearney Park for the Kearney Renaissance Fair in November. So many of us are excited about the upcoming fair schedule and look forward to having a fun time. If you come to one of these fairs, come say hi and enjoy what we have to offer at our encampment! We'll be at these fairs all weekend along.

For your viewing pleasure, here are videos of the 2011 and 2012 Shimmy Mob!

Shimmy Mob 2011


Shimmy Mob 2012