Successful Rogue 2011 and Other Updates

I have neglected this blog, forgive me. A lot of things have developed since my last post. Ananka successfully performed another Rogue Show worthy of much talk among other performing groups. We had received several positive comments and many people are currently excited to see what we will turn out next Rogue Show in March 2012. Below are a few pictures from our show "Down The Amazon":






































Currently we are preparing for our student party towards the end of September as well as the Hanford Renaissance Faire and Fresno Fair. As soon as I am able, I will post dates as to when the later of the 2 performances will be happening for public viewing.

Regarding JenCee, we have decided to take a break for now. Due to a lot of unforseen circumstances, we felt it was the better decision to focus on our lives before tackling extra performances outside of Ananka. We have at least 2 festivals in line for next year. We hope to participate in the Desert Dance Festival along with Cairo Caravan. We will also continue to perform as a subgroup with Ananka at Fresno State's Vintage Days, Fresno Faire and any other performances we are requested http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifto perform at under the consent of our instructor.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

On a more personal note, I am currently looking into additional belly dance classes under a different style than what I have been learning. Andalee Owens from Visalia, CA, who recently participated in Project Belly Dance and won the competition, has agreed to take me under her wing. For more info on classes by this wonderful dancer and updates as to where you can find her, here is her website information:

http://www.andalee.com/andalee/HOME.html

You can also find her on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=655270293

If anyone wishes to know who is offering belly dance classes locally, I will be more than happy to share this information. There are a variety of styles out there to choose from and not one is more popular than the other. Please remember that Bellydance is a form of expression and is not based on erotic dancing as many claim it to be. It's more of a celebration of dance and a woman's body.

"It is not the movements that make a dance beautiful, it is the emotions that inspired the movements that make it beautiful." -Kristy Nilsson

In The Absence of Updating

Forgive me to those who were watching this blog and have been checking back to see if there were any updates. My life outside of belly dancing had to be taken care of first before I could continue updating everyone on things happening in this part of my life. I have a little time to catch up on a few things for everyone.

The Hanford Renaissance Faire in October went well and we had a nice crowd gathered for all four shows that weekend. There were a few little hiccups here and there, but it was still a great show for all. JenCee made some new friends while we were there. We had the pleasure of meeting, drumming, and dancing with the Ottoman Traders, another belly dancing group that are based on a known group of traveling gypsies and traders through the Persian country back during the 1500s. JenCee feels we may have made a few great friends and look forward to continuing that friendship with that group for possible events together in the future.

The Fresno Fair performance was shortly after the renaissance faire and we had another great turn out for most of our show. We didn't expect everyone to stay for the full hour, but we had a continuous crowd coming in. JenCee was asked to open the hour with our Tunisian Fusion number before we continued on as Ananka members. We had another great performance and had a gentleman ask for autographs from all of our members.

From these events, I am waiting to receive pictures so I may post them. I received a few from the Desert Dance Festival and hope to have them posted here as soon as I am able.

Now that we have ended 2010 and beginning 2011, Ananka is making preparations for the Rogue Show that will be taking place in March. We are learning a few group numbers that I absolutely love and have begun learning the basics of another dance that will be a great closer to the show. I wish I could give out details as we get them, but we would like our show this year to be a nice surprise for a lot of people. Therefor, I can only give out a little bit of information as far as progress is concerned. The Rogue Show will be on the weekends of March 3rd and 4th as well as the 11th and 12th. Rogue Fresno's website has all the information for our show along with other performances that will be taking place.

Website: http://roguefestival.com/info/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/profile.php?id=629569142

JenCee will be trying to get our group going this upcoming year with a new dance to be presented at a festival in June. We have tossed ideas back and fourth as to what we want to do next and have yet to settle on something. We are planning to have a general idea of choreography, music and costuming soon. So far some good ideas have been placed out on the table and plans are being made to possibly start attending renaissance faires later on in the new year if time allows.

On a personal and a more individual goal, I am creating my own costume for an idea I have for a solo piece. I am hoping to have something ready to go in September when Ananka will be hosting it's student party for old and new students. I have selected 3 music pieces that I am still deciding on which will work better for the solo I have in mind. Until then, I will continue working on the costuming I wish to have completed as soon as I can.

I apologize again for not keeping everyone updated on things over the last several months. Please be patient with me as other aspects of my life have taken priority over updating this blog. I will continue to try and post when I can.

Thank you for your understanding and patience.


Hanford Renaissance Faire October 2010

Great Responses!

This past Sunday JenCee debuted our Desert Dance routine at Ananka Dance Company's student party. I must say, we got a great response from those who attended. Sadly, the video camera malfunctioned before we were able to perform so we were unable to get our performance taped. So now we are up for round two.

I am also happy to say, that a few friends who came with me to the party got 267 pictures and several of them turned out excellent. So big thank you to both of them for coming and taking pictures when I couldn't or when they felt the need to. It meant a lot to those who have seen them so far and to me.

Coming up this weekend, JenCee will perform our dance for the seniors at the Bethel Home in Selma, CA along with our own group dances with members from Ananka. We only have about 3 more practices to get things worked out before our performance in San Jose, CA for the Desert Dance Festival.

I will be sharing pictures as soon as I edit them a little. Until then, I will keep you all updated as soon as things develop.

For anyone attending the Hanford Renaissance Faire in Hanford, CA, Ananka will be performing both Saturday and Sunday (October 2nd and 3rd). We are performing at 1pm and 3pm both days. So anyone who plans to go or those who wish to see a free show, come down to Hanford =)

Courthouse Square
Hanford, CA
http://www.hanfordrenofkings.org/

Look forward to seeing people there!

Some Information and Status updates

It's hard to believe that we only have a few more weeks before the Desert Dance Festival. JenCee has a few....I take that back....many things lined up between now and the festival. Today we will be plastering our jugs that we have been working on. They all came out quite well despite having to learn how to make them from scratch. We will also be finishing up whatever costume loose ends we have today and Sunday. For today, we will be wearing everything, Tunisian costume over the Earth Intruders costume, to make sure it will all fit properly. We can't really afford to do any last minute changes and adjustments, so it has to be this weekend. After that, it's just practice, practice, practice.

Our (Ananka and JenCee) calendar has also filled up quite fast with some things coming up:


September 12th Student Party

September 18th Bethel House (last minute add on performance for the seniors)

September 25th Desert Dance Festival

October 2nd Hanford Renaissance Faire

October 16th Fresno County Fair



We were not quite expecting this month to fill up as quickly as it has. And we are not done on October 16th. That may be our last performance for the year, but will then be kicking things into high gear for the rogue show in March. From that last performance on up to March, Ananka Dance Company will be sewing, crafting, practicing and creating our dance routines and set. It's going to be pretty busy.

A few more little things I wish to share with anyone who is looking for some more online sources for bellydancing gear:

Jon's Imports
http://www.jonsimports.com/index.php?p=home

The Turkish Emporium
http://www.turkish-emporium.com/

Moondance, Bellydance
http://www.moondancebellydance.com/



I will continue adding sources as time goes on. For now, I will leave you with this:

Dress Rehearsals Begin

Starting tomorrow, JenCee will begin dress rehearsals every Sunday morning. We found out we are to be performing on September 25th at 4:15pm. So that gives us about a month to finalize everything. We found a location at a local college that we will be practicing at for a few hours. It's a nice staging area since the spot we found matched the dimensions of the stage we will be on when we head to the festival. We do plan on giving our debut performance at the Ananka student party in a few weeks. That is to be held on September 12th. Since we have limited room at the location we are holding the student party at, I'm afraid I can't give a time or place for that performance. Only family and friends are allowed, but even then it is limited due to space issues. So those who do not receive a time and place, I'm sorry but you guys will have to plan on going to the Hanford Renaissance Faire on October 2nd, where it will be free admission, or the Fresno Fair on October 16th at 2:00pm, where there will be an admission for entrance into the fair itself.

I'm still trying to get my jug done. A lot of things have come up over the last few weeks that have caused me to get behind in getting this thing done. So I am kind of in a mad dash to finish the few layers left before tomorrow morning. Currently, I'm waiting for it to dry before starting the next layer. I'm happy to say that my staff is finally completed. Took me a while to get the beads and feathers attached to it since it was a little tricky figuring out how to get these things on when the beads don't allow room to have the string or feathers be put into the openings. But I got it working and now just need to be sure the cat doesn't decide to have some fun with the staff during the night. Moving feathers tends to stimulate a cat's interest when you are not paying attention.

I have had to give up the idea of doing a solo for the previously mentioned student party. Between going to work, school, practice with Ananka, practice with JenCee, and finding the time to do homework, I have not had the chance to finish the choreography for my dance. As a result, I will save the solo for next year and perhaps have a second solo to do as well, if I am allowed for two. Otherwise, I will stick with the best one I come up with.

My instructor has begun teaching us another dance that she would like us to perform at Hanford. I am not sure how many of us will be able to perform this since we are already bogged down with 2 other dances that are not quite lining up correctly. Plus, we are still trying to get the drummers caught up on a few of the dances we have been doing since the beginning of the year and adding our zills, finger cymbals, on top of that. It's a lot to try and memorize, so we are all a little worried as to what will be expected of us over the next month.

I guess we will wait and see. In the meantime, I am making leaps and bounds while working with Jen and TC. So I will continue worrying about what is going on with them and trying to take care of what is going on in my other class before I start worrying about who is going to be able to do what. I will honestly not be disappointed if I am unable to do one or two dances for Hanford. Because I am so pressed in getting stuff with JenCee down, whatever is being taught in Ananka will have be pushed through to the best of my ability. Besides, I may get the chance to perform some of the dances at the Fresno Fair if I am unable to do them at Hanford. I know I will eventually dance those pieces, so I am not worried about it all that much.

Now that I have done a little update on things, I need to go check on my jug and try to add another lay if it is dry enough. If not, then I guess it's going to be another 30 minutes or so before I can do anything else.

Some Dates Coming Up

For those who are local and looking to see some upcoming performances, I got some dates to look for.

October 2nd, Hanford Renaissance Faire. Still trying to get times on when we perform, but anyone who is up for going, it is free and I will be posting times as soon as I know more.

October 16th, Fresno Fair. We will be performing from 2-3pm. That's right, a full hour of performances from our dance company, Ananka. As of right now, we are to be performing at the Pavilion Stage. If that changes, I will be sure to let people know asap.

Tonight's dance class went well. We had the drummers show at 7:30pm to start figuring out the rhythms they will need to play when we perform at Hanford and the Fresno Fair. I have to say, it's entertaining when both the dancers and drummers are screwing up because neither group knows what we are doing XD I take that back....we both knew what we were doing, but communication wasn't all there. Was still a good time though and we ended up dancing a routine faster than it was intended. But after doing that, we all agreed that it was better faster....because the slow tempo was kind of getting to some of us compared to some of the other dances we have lol.

With it being as late as it is, that is all I have enough energy to share. So I hope those who are local can make one of these two events since they are our last performances for the year. If not, then I guess you people need to start planning for the next Rogue Show in the Tower District that will be taking place in March.

On a related note, there is a possibility that JenCee will start doing renaissance faires this upcoming year. Depends on what JenCee wants to do since all of us will be busy with Ananka to get the Rogue Show going in November. That's right, we start getting things going in November so we can produce a quality show in March.

Only A Month....

Hard to believe JenCee only has a month left before we head to San Jose for the Desert Dance Festival. It's getting a little aggravating though since the Festival website was suppose to have the times posted by the end of July and here we are about to hit the middle of August with no word on when anyone is performing. I guess we will have to keep pestering people until something is posted.

Most of the costuming is finished for our San Jose performance. I only need to do some quick stitching to secure a few areas on my robe and waiting on the sash to be finished. We are still trying to get the sash to look right as far as connecting it together with the robe. Mainly little hiccups.

I have also found that I will need to head to a department store in the southeast part of town. Not thrilled about that since the area is not a nice one, but it's the only place I can find simple hip scarves, dance shoes and leotards needed for a few costumes. I will need to head there in the next few weeks to pick up a special leather dance shoe that is a 3/4 sole with a strap around the heel to keep the shoe in place.


These are the sandals I need to pick up. They have just enough sole to cover the ball of the foot to keep it protected since most of the moves we are doing require us to be on our toes and twist....a lot.

I will also be heading to this store to find get another hip scarf that I saw there at the beginning of the year that will match the costuming I will be wearing for Hanford. I just hope they still have them in the shade I want.

For those interested in checking out the store, it's Sunnyside Department store in southeast Fresno, Ca. They have several dance items, mainly square dance items since the owners are into that kind of dance, but they do cater to many forms. I have also found that they give dance students a 20% discount if they are with a specific dance group. I had that happen when I had gone in to purchase a hip scarf, leotard, dance pants, hip scarf and some dance shoes a while back. I had not realized that they were kind enough in giving me that discount, so that was awesome.

The next project is to get our jugs done. All three of us are very close to finishing them. There was a last minute decision to add handles, so our plans to plaster these things will wait until this upcoming Friday. I will also need to finish up my staff as well since that will be needed for the final piece we are to perform for the festival.

Busy, busy, busy, busy, busy.

On a happier note, I am excited to share that my one year anniversary of learning belly dancing is coming up the same day as my 27th birthday. Specifically this Thursday. Best Birthday gift I received last year and to this day, I don't regreat getting involved.