COSTUME HINTS FOR RESALE VALUE

Some of us make our costumes, others buy them, and most of us sell them… so here are a couple of fabricating, storage and alteration tips that’ll keep your costumes in good condition and open to a range of sizes, should you decide to sell them.

If you make your own costumes, always buy a little more than you’ll need of the trimming and embellishments you’re using- a few extra inches of pre-strung fringe, some spare crystals or beads, a couple of “just in case” appliqués or feathers. Also, save scraps of the costume’s base material, too. That way, if you-or somebody else- has to replace anything on the costume, you’ll have a perfect match on hand. Pass these extras on to the costume’s next owner and she’ll love you for it!

This concept also applies to other areas of the costumes you make, too. If your costume can fit a variety of sizes, it’ll have better re-sale value. So think about making your straps a little longer than you need, and tucking the excess into the lining of your bra. That way, it can be let out- or taken in, as the case may be- to fit someone whose size and shape is slightly different than yours. Also, if you have a pre-made costume and take anything off of it, be sure to save it for the new owner as well.


You can use the same concept when you are hemming skirts you make yourself. Create a hem that’s a little deeper than you need, so that the garment can be let out to fit someone who is taller than you are.


If you need to add extra padding to the bra of a pre-made costume, don’t butcher the costume’s lining. Instead, add your pads over the lining of the bra, then recycle and cut up an old t-shirt (in a similar or matching shade) and sew it over the pads, directly onto the lining. This way, the pads won’t slip, the original costume will remain pristine, and you’ll have a comfy and absorbent liner for your bra. If you don’t have an old t-shirt that matches the costume, use craft felt. This holds up well, is inexpensive and absorbent, plus an extra bonus is that it doesn’t need to be turned under or hemmed- just cut it to your desired shape and sewn it in place.

When making alterations on the inside of a costume, use thread that contrasts with the costume itself- say pink thread on a black costume, or green thread on an orange costume. Why? These alterations will never be seen by the audience, and when you- or the costume’s new owner- needs to adjust the costume, the stitches will be super-easy to see, and will make the task that much easier.


Keep silica sachets or canisters in your costume bags at all times to absorb moisture and keep the costumes fresh and dry. If you have to pack up quickly at a gig, the silica will start to work immediately, attacking the moisture until you get home and can unpack, allowing your costume to air-dry overnight.

Where do you get these silica products? Simple- just recycle them! Silica mini-canisters and gel packs are everywhere- nowadays, they’re tucked into vitamin and prescription drug containers, inside shoeboxes, purses, and many types of dried foods, like rice or oatmeal. Save them, they work wonders for your costumes.

More costume hints coming soon!

YOUR DANCE TEAM: SPORTS MEDICINE PROFESSIONALS

A late Happy New Year to you...welcome to my first post of 2012.

We all make New Year's Resolutions-and some we actually even keep!

But seriously, as a dancer, there is nothing more important than your overall health and physical well-being. Your body is your instrument, and it needs to stay in tune in order to perform properly.

So, for 2012, I'm proposing that we all make a resolution to get a working dance team in place.

By dance team, I don't mean a troupe- I’m referring to the variety of sports medicine professionals who keep your body- which is your main means of expression- in optimal running order. Usually, we don't think about this sort of thing until we have an emergency situation! Now's the time to change that.

Like athletes, we dancers put a huge amount of strain on our bodies… and most of us also have an extremely high pain tolerance. Unlike mere “civilians”, we are so driven by what we do that we also have a preternatural disposition to keep on working in spite of our injuries and the resulting pain. Some injuries are incurred from accidents and others from exhaustion or over-use, but any way you cut it, injuries suck!

Most professional athletes have a team that keeps them healthy and able-bodied, and as a dancer, you are essentially an athlete. Like any athlete, you will undoubtedly need sports medicine treatment at some point in your career. Basically, sports medicine is the treatment and prevention of injuries related to exercise.

Though you may not have the big bucks budget that a pro basketball player does, you do need to think ahead and anticipate what professional services your body might need in the future.

Your team should be composed of a number of sports medicine professionals with whom you have a working relationship based upon trust. The members if your team, even if you do not see them regularly, should have an understanding of what you do and the demands that you make on your body as well as what you need in terms of overall health.

On my sports medicine team, there are a couple of people I see regularly, which is at least once a month- my chiropractor and massage therapist. I’ve been working with both of them for years. If it wasn’t for them, I swear I’d be down on all fours howling in pain! They’re both familiar with my body and all it’s quirks (a big hello to all of my hyper-mobile joints!) and all of my old injuries. It’s gotten to the point where either my chiropractor or my masseur can take one look at me… and without even laying a hand on me, know where my body is off-balance.

Both of them are fully aware that I am a professional dancer with a demanding schedule, which includes hours of dancing a day plus extensive travel. Because of this, if I have an emergency, or I’m only in town for a day, they will always make room for me in their busy schedules.

My team also includes a physical therapist, who has gotten me through some serious injuries-including six herniated discs which were the result of a rear-end auto collision that occurred in 2009. Knock on wood, I don’s see him nearly as often as the other two, but he’s there in case I need him! Same with my acupuncturist.

Your team can include physical therapists, chiropractors; massage therapists, acupuncturists, personal trainers, nutritionists, Pilates or yoga instructors, performance coaches…go ahead and count in your manicurist or hair dresser if you want to! Your team members should provide services that keep you feeling robust and ready to work, and of course, everyone’s needs are unique.

Do a bit of proactive homework before you actually need any of these services. It’s a great idea to ask around and get recommendations from other dancers whose opinions you trust.

Once you have some likely prospects, introduce yourself by phone or email, explain your needs, say you are “shopping around”, and see what they have to offer, check out the prices, appointment availability, and general policies. That way, if you happen to sustain an injury, need to work on a specific area of dance, or just would love a relaxing massage, you won’t have to call your friends in desperation or troll the internet looking for whatever you need, you can simply call and make an appointment.


How often you work with your team is up to you; it might be weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, or “as needed” - but the idea is that you have your team in place, so that in case of an emergency, they are there when you need them!

Unfortunately, some of these services are not always covered by insurance and can be expensive, but if you stop to consider that all of this relates to your physical well being, (which in turn reflects on your ability to dance and sustain your career) you will realize that the money will be well spent. Determine your needs, and make absolutely sure to find a competent practitioner who is licensed!

Here are just a few basic types of health services that will keep your body tuned up:

Massage Therapy
There are many types of massage, but in general, a massage therapist works the muscles, fascia, tendons, ligaments, joints and connective tissue to keep your body functioning well. Massage can aid in the body’s natural healing process and promote relaxation and wellbeing. Massage can be gentle or vigorous, depending on what type you get- a sports massage or Shiatsu is vastly different than a Swedish massage. Some people like deeper work, others prefer gentle strokes. Massage therapists often work out of doctor’s offices, health clubs, and spas. Some do house calls, others do not.


Chiropractors
Chiropractors are licensed primary care physicians, and will perform a full intake exam before any treatment for your current complaint or injury gets underway. Chiropractors focus on the patient’s health and musculoskeletal body structures. They treat misaligned bones, joints and spinal vertebrae, which can cause problems like chronic head and neck aches, back pain, bad posture and nerve impingements.

The theory behind chiropractic medicine is to keep the body balanced, and chiropractors maintain the patient’s balance through adjustments to the structures of the body (most often to the spine) by gently manipulating the patient’s body manually. By adjusting the skeleton, the body will be able to heal naturally as it returns to it’s own balance.

Chiropractors often use other treatment modalities such as ultrasound treatment, heat or cold packs, electronic muscle stimulation, or the Activator, a rubber-tipped metal instrument that manipulates joints and vertebrae. If a chiropractor believes a patient needs an X-Ray or MRI, they will make a referral to the appropriate facility. Chiropractors do not prescribe drugs or perform surgery, but can refer patients to doctors who do.


Physical Therapists
Physical Therapists are healthcare professionals who diagnose and treat injuries or an illness that inhibits individuals from participating in the functional activities of their everyday lives. Just some of the injuries they care for are fractures and sprains, injuries of the back and neck, arthritis, and repetitive stress injuries.

A Physical Therapist is often referred to the patient by another healthcare provider, and often works in tandem with the referring physician to develop a plan of treatment and rehabilitation. Physical Therapists practice in private offices, outpatient facilities, fitness centers and hospitals. A physical therapist will fully examine a patient to ascertain what needs to be done to restore function, reduce pain and improve mobility. Some of the techniques used in physical therapy include supervised and at-home therapeutic and strengthening exercises, assistive and adaptive equipment, spinal traction, massage, ultrasound, and electrotherapeutic devices.

Acupuncture
Acupuncture is an alternative medicine treatment involving the insertion of thin needles into the body at certain meridians or points to relieve pain, treat diseases and promote general health. There are many types of acupuncture, including Chinese, Japanese and Korean styles. Stemming from the concepts of traditional Oriental medicine, the general theory behind acupuncture is that bodily functions are regulated by a flowing energy-like entity referred to as chi. By inserting needles into specific points, acupuncture practitioners believe that the energy flow will rebalance, stimulating nerves, muscles and connective tissue. The stimulation of the needles also appears to increase blood flow and boost the activity of the body’s natural painkillers. Just some of the maladies acupuncture is beneficial for are sports injuries and muscle strain, nerve pain, chronic pain management, menstrual problems and allergies.

An acupuncturist will ascertain a patient’s needs in many ways- through inquiring about all of the patient’s bodily functions including medical history, digestion and elimination, sleep patterns, and sensory function. They also take note of body type, pulse, posture, movement, the tone of the skin and luster of the hair, and assess the patient’s tongue.

Acupuncture does not hurt, which is surprising to most people. If there is any pain at all, it may occur when the acupuncturist is manipulating the needles into place, but that usually only lasts for a couple of seconds. Acupuncture treatments are generally very relaxing, but some patients may experience a bit of discomfort stemming from remaining absolutely still while the needles are in the body.


Accidents happen and injuries are inevitable...but in 2012, let's all resolve to be better prepared for them!

THE WILDEST RIDES OF 2011: OF POWER OUTAGES, BATS, BETTY BOOP AND PORN STARS

I spent most of 2011 on the road, which wasn’t much of a change from the previous few years. Though I could definitely live without the scary airport food and the hassle of condensing my cosmetics in a TSA-approved quart baggie, I love most aspects of traveling. To this day, I feel blessed grateful that I am not only doing something I love- performing and teaching dance- but that I get to travel all over the world to do it!

But life on the road isn’t always glamourous as you might think… I often joke that every year, I lose at least fifty IQ points to jetlag!

Traveling seems to generate unusual incidents, at least for me it does. I’ve been through four separate hotel fires: Vancouver, BC, Memphis Tennessee, on board the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California, and at the Mena House in Cairo. I’ve missed countless planes and had my suitcase handle break off on an English train platform… while the train departed... and my suitcase remained at the station! I’ve been delayed and searched at international borders, spent the night in a Cairo police station, and bump into all sorts of random people at airports, including rock stars. Ron Wood from The Stones helped me get my bags off the carousel once, and I walked right into Alice Cooper at the airport in Athens, Greece. I see people I know in foreign places, too. On a flight from Heathrow to Cairo, the only two people that were in First Class were Jillina and I…and on the return flight, which transferred through Paris, I was coincidentally booked on the same plane to LAX as my ex-husband!

Beyond that, once in a while, it gets even wackier. Sometimes it’s just a matter of not understanding the language or confusion over local customs, but other times things get so totally out of hand and downright bizarre that I actually start to think:

“There’s the signpost up ahead… The Twilight Zone!”

In 2011, I was in five different countries before Valentine's Day, and wasn’t home longer than a week and a half until just before this past Christmas. As per usual, I spent a lot of that travel time on a bullet train to Crazy Town… so I’m gonna share with you my year’s re-cap, The Wildest Rides Of 2011.


In February 2011, I went on a solo European dance tour. Not only did my luggage get lost three times on flights to three different countries, but also the two and a half hour ferryboat ride from Helsinki, Finland to Tallinn, Estonia was completely surreal.

To begin with, Finland and Estonia are so far north that in February, it doesn’t get light til about 10:00am, and darkness sets in again a little after 3:00pm. That alone is disorienting to a California Sunshine Gal like me. The median temperature while I was there was 28 degrees BELOW zero. My nostrils literally froze and my eyes ached every time I went outside. I don’t know how those gals look glamourous in winters like that, but they all do!

The morning I was leaving Helsinki to go to Tallinn, I had to be up super early, check out of the hotel, and get to the ferry dock two hours before the ship departed at 9:00 am…. or, as I took to calling it, “dawn”. I was meeting my Estonian sponsor Berit and the other gals from her belly dance studio Mustika, at the Helsinki dock, because they’d come to Finland for my workshops.

In my haste, I didn’t have time for breakfast, so I grabbed a hard-boiled egg from the buffet and shoved it into my purse.


The dock looked like Ellis Island- I didn’t know the ferry was going to be so big, it was the size of a cruise ship. The embarkation line stretched outside, into the darkness and falling snow. Also, the ocean was completely frozen. The boats all had ice cutters on the prow and as they pulled in and out of the harbor huge chunks of ice flew up like a gigantic blender!


I finally found the Estonian girls, and we got on the ferry. It was three stories high, there was a duty free shop, a huge casino, restaurants, and a bar lounge that had karaoke, where we settled. Beiritt said it was the best place to spend the journey, and asked if I wanted breakfast or coffee from the bar.

I dug in my purse and pulled out my egg, confessing I’d had no idea there’d be food onboard.

All the Estonian dancers laughed in disbelief.

“You look like an old Russian grandma!”, said Daisi, a burlesque artist from Tallinn, as Berit took off her scarf and wrapped it around my head like a babushka. “What else do you have in your purse?”

The ship started sailing and the moment we had our coffee, a lounge singer came on, singing Beatles and Johnny Cash songs in Finnish, Estonian and Russian.

“Oh shit,” Daisi groaned, “This is not helping my hangover!”

Soon the karaoke began. As Daisi winced in pain and the other girls kept joking about my egg, we were treated to hideous versions in various languages of ABBA’s “Dancing Queen”, Aqua’s “Barbie Girl” and the enduring all-time Euro-trash hit, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”.

Soon, a young, wholesome looking guy dressed all in white, with a tousled blonde bowl-cut took the microphone, and before he started singing, everyone burst into applause.

As he launched into a terrifyingly off-key rendition A-Ha’s “Take On Me”, the Estonian dancers started laughing hysterically and whispering amongst themselves.

“What’s so funny?” I asked, utterly confused since they were speaking Estonian.

“Oh, this man singing is the biggest porn star in Estonia!” Yahna exclaimed.

“No way!” I said, convinced they were making fun of me in all my jet lag.

“No, really, he is!” Daisi assured me, “ Everyone knows him in Estonia, and he is very, very famous for his bondage and latex videos!”

As I sat dumbfounded, Berit added,

“ His name is Arnold, but we call him “Second Arnold” because “First Arnold” is our president, Arnold Ruutel!”

Just before “Second Arnold” launched into Culture Club’s “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me”, I started to believe them, because a few audience members went up to him and had him sign autographs on napkins.

“ I can’t take this any more,” Berit, declared, “I’m going to Duty Free.”

When she returned, Second Arnold was still hogging the mic. He was on his sixth song, much to the delight of the crowd. A few matronly older women stormed the stage, giggling like schoolgirls, taking pictures.

“ I got you something to go with your egg!” Berit cried, handing me a foot-long plastic sperm, with big googley cartoon eyes.

As Second Arnold began to croon Duran Duran’s “Hungry Like The Wolf”, I held the giant sperm in my hand, regarding it mutely, quite unsure of reality at this point.

“Some cream for your coffee!” Yahna laughed, as Berit unscrewed the sperm’s head and poured a whitish-yellow substance out of its body and into my cup.

As I stared in shock, Berit assured me it was Bailey’s Irish Crème… and, thankfully it really was!

Arnold didn’t stop singing for the rest of the voyage.


* * *

It’s June 2011, and I’m in Cairo, which is curiously quiet and sedate due to the social unrest that has plagued Egypt for most of the spring. There are practically no tourists anywhere, and the Ahlan Wa Sahlan Belly Dance Festival has only about 200 attendees, as opposed to about 1,500 the year before.

My jet lag has grown to new proportions, as it always does by mid-year. I am no longer sure what time it is anywhere. The jetlag to Egypt is always really bad, but this year, it seems worse. I literally haven’t slept in three days.

So, I’m talking to a really nice lady about buying some traditional Egyptian galibayyas. She has a beautiful, friendly looking face, and her hijab perfectly matches the pink bowling shirt – embroidered with a huge Betty Boop- that she is wearing over her own galibayya.

She speaks very good English, and I’m trying to stay focused on the conversation, but I’m so spun out from lack of sleep, my eyes keep drifting from her face to her shirt. There’s English writing on it, but as she moves around, unfolding garments for me to look at, I can’t see exactly what it says. Eventually, I sort of make out the slogan…and it seems to me like something a crack whore would be wearing in a Laughlin, Nevada trailer park.

I remind myself that I am, in fact, In Cairo, and there’s no way in hell this gracious Egyptian woman would be wearing a shirt with an obscene joke on it.

Finally, after I’ve paid for the galibayyas, she stands still for a second, and I realize that her shirt indeed says exactly what I think it says:

IF YOUR GONNA RIDE MY ASS, AT LEAST PULL MY HAIR

I can’t stop staring in utter amazement, it’s as though I’m hypnotized… and then she notices me looking.

“Uh…. I like your shirt,” I manage lamely.

“Oh yes!” she says enthusiastically, pointing to Betty Boop,

“ I AM SO LOVE CARTOON!”

Suddenly, I realize she has absolutely no idea what her shirt says…and apparently nobody else does, either…. otherwise she wouldn’t be wearing it!

I tell her that her English is very good, and ask her if she reads English as well as speaking it. She shakes her head no.

“What it says?” she asks me, as if on cue, “Read shirt to me!”

Since her hair is covered, I know she is religious. If I tell her what the shirt really says, she will be absolutely humiliated. Beyond humiliated. I think there’s a good chance she will run to the bathroom, crying hysterically, and I don’t to embarrass her in any way. I can’t think of anything to substitute for what is written on she shirt, and I’m panicking.

Finally, I come up with a solution. I ask if she’s married. When the answer is affirmative, I know it’s safe to say to her,

“I can’t tell you exactly what your shirt says, but in America, this shirt is very funny…and…” I let my voice drop to a confidential whisper, “ Well…it’s also a little bit sexy!”

“Oooh!” She gasps in delight, her eyes widen and her hand flies up to her mouth as she chortles conspiratorially,

“I like very much sexy!”

Since she has made a good sale, we’ve had a nice glass of tea together and now, we are both laughing out loud she insists that we take a picture together…so, of course I oblige!


* * *

It’s September 2011 and I’m furiously preparing for The Las Vegas Belly Dance Intensive. Not only am I performing and teaching at the event, my brand new line of Egyptian costumes- Princess Farhana For King Of The Nile- will be making it’s debut at there, in three fashion shows. I’ve spent the past two and a half months on Skype to Cairo with my partner Yaz Taleb for hours every day, approving designs and seeing finished products. I’m also going crazy trying via email to corral the fourteen belly dancers models- from seven different states- to pin down their availability for the fashion shows.

Yaz emails that he’s sent the costume boxes from Egypt, but when I try to track them, all that comes up is a notice saying:

ALL DELIVERIES DELAYED INDEFINATELY DUE TO HURRICANE IRENE


I try to breathe evenly and ignore my impending sense of doom, but I can’t help it.

A few days later, as Yaz arrives in America and the tracking shows that the boxes arrived…. Thank God!

All is going well until the Friday of Labor Day weekend, when I somehow re-injure my neck. Two years ago I was in my car at a full stop when an SUV plowed into my vehicle, resulting in my suffering severe whiplash and six- yes, six- herniated discs. During my extensive treatment and healing process, my doctors had warned me that my spine would " never be the same", and that sometimes, the “jelly” inside the disc would bulge out and create discomfort.

Well, I’m here to tell you that I have never, ever experienced pain like this before, not even when the accident had first occurred!

I called every doctor I could, but because it was a holiday weekend, nobody was in. I began icing immediately, swallowed insane amounts of ibuprophen and paced constantly like a lunatic because the pain was so intense. It felt like there were electric screwdrivers in my neck and blowtorches on my shoulder, it was nuts. I can't sit or sleep, and I'm moaning and keening out loud like a wild animal that's just been shot. This goes on all weekend.

Monday is Labor Day, and it’s Tuesday morning before my doctor calls me back.

The doctor diagnoses me with a cervical disc that is bulging onto my nerve channels and sets me up with steroids and a new pain medication that I’d never had before. I take it and feel sweet relief…. finally! After taking the second dose a few hours later, I feel almost normal, and decide I to pack for Vegas, since I was leaving the very next day.

I don’t realize how high I am, because I’m literally “feeling no pain”. Halfway through packing, I trip over my suitcase, fly across the room and land spread-eagle on my floor. Laughing like a crazed junkie, I just continue to pack.

Two hours later, I wonder why my foot still hurts. Looking down, I realize I’ve broken the last two toes on my right foot! Now, I’ve broken toes before, and the most a doctor can do is tape them up, and I certainly wasn’t going to a doctor again!

I stare in amazement at their shiny purple hue, all fat and swollen. I eat another pill, and, gritting my teeth, yank both toes back into their regular positions, post about it on Twitter (!) tape up the toes, and continue packing.

The next morning I leave for Vegas, and from the moment I’m there, it’s crackers, just non-stop. The fashion shows go great, and my show with House Of Tarab goes pretty well too, considering I was hardly putting any weight on my right foot!


I don’t know what I would’ve done without my dear friend DeVilla, who came to model for me, but winds up being my personal assistant all weekend.

My workshop was another story entirely. I knew I could teach with my neck jacked up - I'd done it when I was healing from the accident, after all- so that wasn’t a problem. But the broken toes kind of threw a wrench in the matter of doing floor work, which was one of the advertised aspects of the workshop… and since I broke my toes the day before I left, and I was going to be at the Intensive anyway, I thought it would be idiotic to cancel the class.

I explain this turn of events to the students, hoping they’ll understand, and have DeVilla come up on stage to be my demo-model. As soon as I start warming up, breathing in and out, all the lights in the ballroom begin dimming and coming up, in rhythm with breathing and the way my arms rise and fall.

At first, I don’t think anything of this because I often have weird experiences with electricity- until all the lights go completely off and come up a few times, strobing like disco lights. This goes on non-stop for a few minutes…. like, ten minutes! By now I’m completely distracted, and the whole class is murmuring and making jokes about it, too.

My “electrical disturbance” as I call it, has been with me since childhood. Cell phones and computers fail regularly, I can make my television turn on and off with a wave of my hand, I cause streetlights go out when I walk beneath them, and light bulbs sometimes actually explode as I go past. This usually happens in times of stress…and I guess my stress has reached a head by now.

“What’s up with the lights?” I yell across the room to one of the festival volunteers.

“I don’t know,” she hollers back, they’ve been fine all day and there were four classes in here!”

Great!

DeVilla pushes me out of the way, steps up to the mic and regales the workshop attendees with stories of my "super powers", and how many crazy electrical incidents she’s seen during the numerous times we've traveled together. She’s telling so many stories from so many places I’m beginning to get really embarrassed… it’s not like I can control this “talent” I have.

The lights ultimately settle down, and we get on with the class. For the rest of the trip, DeVilla received her “punishment” for blabbing about my electrical secrets. Poor girl, she’d anticipated a weekend of modeling, gambling, and laying poolside with a margarita in hand, but instead has to play Nurse Maid. She makes sure I take my pills, she brings me ice, tapes up my toes daily and changes the lidocaine pain patches on the back of my left shoulder every few hours.

I couldn’t have done that weekend without her- I owe her big time!

And if you happened to be in my class at The Intensive, now you know why it was so insane!

* * *

It’s November 2011 and I’m doing a couple of dates in the Midwest - Kansas and Missouri, to be exact. I love the Midwest, and I’ve been there a lot. America’s heartland is beautiful, and so laid back and calm compared to Los Angeles, and a lot of the other places I go. The dancers are always a lot of fun, and I look forward to my workshops there, because I can always be assured of a calm, peaceful trip.

Not this time!

The Manhattan, Kansas-based belly dance troupe Eyes Of Bastet are sponsoring me for my second-to-last trip of the year. Cathia, Nashid and I had a long, laughter-filled ride from the airport, a great barbecue dinner where I met the rest of their lovely troupe, and I’m now ensconced in my really plush hotel room, more modern and higher-end than most places I’ve stayed at in major cities. I sink gratefully into my Tempur-pedic hotel bed and I’m on the brink of sleep when I feel an all-too-familiar rolling sensation.

Bolting upright, I panic, thinking it's an earthquake…then I realize I’m in Kansas, not Los Angeles, and it’s probably just a mind-trick being played by my perpetually fried jet lag brain.

The next morning, I walk into the large gymnasium for my workshop and thirty-five women yell simultaneously,

“DID YOU FEEL IT?”

It turns out what was I felt the night before really was a rather large earthquake; the epicenter was in Oklahoma, but everyone in Manhattan, Kansas could feel it!

After a great full day of workshops, I am in my hotel room preparing for the show with Maharet, my Missouri sponsor who'd arrived in Kansas that afternoon. Maharet is taking me back to Missouri after this event, for more workshops and another show the next weekend.

Suddenly, there’s another earthquake. This time, since I am wide-awake, I know it’s real.

“You brought that with you from LA!”, Maharet declares, as we leave for the show.

As I take the stage for my entrance, I spy something out of the corner of my eye, swirling around in the air. I think it’s my veil flying from my spins, until I notice many concerned audience members whispering to each other pointing animatedly to the stage.

I look up, and notice there is a large bat flying around the stage… and he's upstaging me!

The show grinds to a halt while bat is captured in a trashcan, and removed during intermission by helpful belly dance husbands. I accompany them outside to watch it’s safe release; as they let it go, I realize that without the full wingspan, the bat is much smaller than I initially thought.

Back at the hotel, Maharet and I laugh about the earthquakes and the bat. We set our phones for 7:30 am, confirming to each other that the clocks are being turned back that night. On the dot at 6:30am, her phone rings loudly. She mumbles that we still have another hour, we go back to sleep. At 7:30 both our phones go off and Maharet is surprised that hers had rang at 6:30. I wonder aloud if it’s the time change, and check the clock on the bed stand, but it’s not on.


“Our clock’s broken”, I announce sleepily, and try turning on the lights, which also doesn’t go on. The bathroom light isn't working, either.

"Is this your electrical disturbance?" Maharet asks.

Peering out into the hallway, all I see are the EXIT signs. Finally, my eyes make out two teenage girls in pajamas shambling down the hallway like zombies.

“ Are the lights out in the whole hotel?” I inquired.

They answered yes, and I ask, “ Do you know why?”

“ No,” shrugged one, “We just accepted it.” With that, they shambled off into the darkness.

I feel my way through packing my class materials like Helen Keller as Maharet gets us the last two cups of lukewarm coffee from the lobby.


We arrive in class and luckily, the lights have been restored. Apparently, a huge apartment complex that was under construction has burned to the ground, causing a power outage in most of the city.

The next day, as we prepare to leave for Missouri, Maharet discovers she suddenly has no brakes in her car; it turns out there’s a huge leak. We buy a large container of break fluid, dreading the fact that we’ll have to pull over every few miles on the long drive to Missouri to replenish the supply for safety’s sake.

We hear a loud, odd sizzle and look up towards the noise, watching in horror as a poor little squirrel gets fried to death on the electrical lines above us. He hangs limp, his tail sadly blowing in the wind.

The moment we get on the highway, it begins pouring rain. A few exits later, it becomes worse, the rain is torrential, it’s going sideways. After about an hour, it’s so bad that we pull over for coffee, hoping for the storm to pass. It doesn’t, so we decide to drive again.

As Maharet puts the key in the ignition, the burglar alarm goes off. It’s a relentless, rhythmic honking of the car’s horn. She removes the key, and somehow, the alarm continues to wail. After about five minutes of chaos, Maharet calls her husband, and yells above the noise, trying to get him to figure out what’s wrong. He can’t, so we sit in the car, until a middle aged, mustachioed trucker tries to come to our aid. “Tries” is the key word here, because he can’t figure out what’s wrong, either!

Finally, the noise dies down and we take off, thinking the car alarm’s battery has died. No such luck: as we push forward through the driving rain, every time Maharet even taps the breaks, the alarm sounds wildly. We steel ourselves to the din, turn up the radio and scream to each other over the music, gossiping and telling stories.

An hour later, approaching Kansas City, it’s now completely dark. The rain hasn’t let up one iota… and neither has the alarm! It’s rush hour, and the beltway around the city is crowded. Since the weather is so bad and the highway is backed up with cars, Maharet is on the brakes constantly, and the horn is sounding non-stop. Truckers are flipping us off; people are flashing their lights –as well as really dirty looks- at us.

An hour after that, we’re driving through the hilly, unlit roads of rural Missouri. It’s so dark and deserted, I almost expect a UFO to appear right above us…but the sound of the alarm, which is still going off, probably prevents our abduction.

Somehow we make it home. Her husband Bill comes to the door before the car is even parked, saying he heard us approaching from very far away. Once in the house, Maharet heads directly to the liquor cabinet, pulling out a two glasses and a bottle of Wild Turkey, which we down immediately before staggering into bed.

The next day, Bill starts the car, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with it, the alarm seems to have magically fixed itself!


Happy New Year my dear readers, and May your 2012 be filled with adventure… because I’m relatively sure mine will be!



ALL PHOTOS BY PRINCESS FARHANA


Excerpt from the book, " Good Girls Go To Heaven, Bad Girls Go Everywhere: My Life Onstage, Backstage, And On The Road", scheduled for publication in early 2013.

FLASH DANCE: WHAT'S GOING ON UNDER THAT COSTUME?

When figure skaters flash their panties- which is quite often- nobody cares, because the panties are part of the costume!

But when dancers flash their panties, unless it’s done intentionally at a burlesque show, the audience usually winces.

What you wear-or don’t wear- under your costume is your business, but it shouldn’t ever shock or traumatize your audience!

Nowadays, there are many types of cute, affordable and glitzy undergarments that look great on dancers of all genres...those who flash on purpose ( salsa, swing, burlesque , and can-can dancers) and those who don't, such as ballroom, Flamenco or belly dancers.

Determine your needs depending on what sort of costume you are wearing. There’s a type of undergarment for every type of costume. Many gals prefer thongs or g-strings, but you may want or need fuller coverage; it’s your call.


Lots of salsa costumes and Egyptian-made belly dance costumes now come with matching panties or dance pants built in… but there are plenty of costumes that don’t! If your costume has no built-ins, especially if you are wearing a short skirt or something sleek with a lot of hip cutouts, then G-strings or thongs are a must.


If you want to rock this kind of cut-out costume and feel secure in it, I suggest two options:

The first is to secure the thong to each side of your hips with double-sided fashion tape.

The second is to buy a thong or g-string that matches your costume exactly- that way, if part of your undies show through one of the cut outs, it will simply look like part of the costume.

Nowadays you can purchase any style of underwear in a huge range of colors and materials, including wild patterns and metallic colors, so matching your costume shouldn’t be a problem. I myself have even embellished the straps on my thongs with rhinestones, so if I have a slip-up, no one will be the wiser!


No matter what sort of panty- precautions you take, if you’ll be doing floor work, spins or high kicks, especially when working on a raised stage, unless you are wearing pantaloons or full length pants under your costume, there’s a pretty good chance that you may flash the audience…so it’s your duty to do as much damage control as possible.


Check out boy-cut dance pants and cheerleading trunks to wear under your costumes. Both styles come in a rainbow of colors and fabrics, including metallics, bi-color combos and animal prints; some even have contrasting trimming or ruffles on the booty! Wearing briefs that are color co-coordinated to your costume really minimize the impact of an unintentional flash, and make it look…well, more like a figure skater.


Danskin and Capezio both make really nice versions of dance trunks, in hip-hugger and waist-high styles with different types of legs, from French cut to boy shorts. Balera, another popular dance brand, makes dance briefs that are a tad longer than boy shorts but come in many color options and stay put, covering everything that needs to stay covered.

A word to the wise: you'll probably want to stay away from flesh-toned panties or trunks because they look like....YOU. Go for something matching, or contrasting, so there's no speculation about what's being revealed, accidentally or on purpose!

1970’s showgirls, Flamenco dancers and belly dancers of the same era often used to wear embellished undies beneath their costume, so I stole that trick and started to do that too. It looks cute if there’s a slip-up…in a Marilyn Monroe in “The Seven Year Itch” kind of way.

The popular lingerie brand Leg Avenue makes darling, lightweight, and very affordable hip-hugger boy shorts that are covered in tiny gold, red, black or silver paillettes. They are inexpensive, comfy and ultra-blingy… so if you happen to flash, it’s just another glitter explosion… and not a guessing game!

Remember- always cut the tags off your undies before you wear them on stage…. no matter what you wear over them!


Resources:

Cheerleader briefs: http://www.cheerleading.com/Category45.html

Sequin panties: http://www.lalalingerie.com/sequin-panties-p-1638.html?osCsid=1055bc88af65e40987dc5a8f1b0cfc67

Balera metallic & colored dance trunks: http://www.dancewearsolutions.com/Search.aspx?search=balera&brand=Balera&page=2



Photo: Princess Farhana in Capezio dance trunks by Gary & Pierre Silva

THE GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING...YOU!

As dancers we spend most of the year giving- we give our time, talent and energy all year round to students and to audiences. We spend our non- dancing time mending costumes, creating choreographies, developing lesson plans, taking classes, rehearsing, and doing our own administrative work. Throughout the year, many of our gigs are in honor of specific holidays, or for parties or special events marking milestones in other people’s lives.

By our very nature, we dancers are the gift that keeps on giving!

Dancers are always “on”, whether or not we are actually onstage. Though we may try to rest up and prepare for this constant out-pouring of energy, we always seem to put ourselves and our own needs last. We usually don’t get enough sleep, we eat on the go, and we rarely allow our bodies to fully heal, even though we think we do. There’s always another important gig, mandatory rehearsal or class to teach or attend.

If, like most dancers, this is your year-round modus operandi, by the time the holidays hit, you may develop an energy deficit that can sap you emotionally and mentally as well as physically. I know I am pretty depleted by this time of year...by mid-December, I've finished all of my travel and my out-of-town workshops and local classes for the year, but I can never seem to make the time to rest and recover, no matter how hard I try! This year, I'm concentrating on doing just that.

During the frenetic holiday season, really try to take some much-needed quality time to recharge your batteries and give back to yourself… even if it’s just a few moments of quiet each day.

Say no to your phone for a few hours....the world will survive without you sending constant texts or making and taking calls. Try to get enough sleep to enable your body heal naturally and become refreshed. Even an extra hour here and there can help. Don’t give in to all those glasses of champagne and yummy holiday treats- the sugar rush and crash will play havoc with your already-exhausted body.

If you don’t have children in your life, try spending some time with someone else’s kids. Even though this may sound trite( and even if you say children annoy you and that’s why you don’t have them!) hanging out with little ones will allow you to see the beauty of the holidays through their innocent eyes, not through the constant force-feeding and barrage of retail ads and blatant consumerism.

Be sure to make time for a private date with your spouse or significant other… remember that our (supportive and oh-so-patient) partners are usually casualties of our careers, too!

Now’s the time you need some pampering- especially if you don’t pamper yourself on a regular basis. This is the perfect time for you to indulge in a massage, a mani-pedi, a nice hot bath with Epsom salts, experiment with baking or some other hobby or craft you’ve always wanted to try. Spend a quiet hour alone writing in your journal, enjoying a good book…or a trashy tabloid! These little escapes are great year round, but it’s a particular a necessity at this hectic time of year.

Treat yourself to some “you time” because it will enable you to keep giving others the gift of your dancing!

DANCERS BACKSTAGE RITUALS PART SEVEN: KAJIRA DJOUMAHNA

This is Part Seven in an on-going series of articles I am posting, which shares the ways that well known- and in some cases, wildly famous- dancers prepare for their shows.

Everyone I spoke with had a highly personal take on getting ready for taking the stage.

For most of you, Kajira Djoumahna needs no introduction. She is one of the queens of Tribal Belly dance, an innovator with an illustrious career that has been spanned over two decades and shows no signs of slowing down. Kajira’s the founder, creator and “Chief Imagineer” of The BlackSheep BellyDance format, and along with her husband Chuck, is the producer of Tribal Fest, the largest and longest-running Tribal belly dance festival in the world, which takes place every May in the beautiful Northern California town of Sebastopol. She is a writer, with a regular column for the belly dance magazine “Zaghareet”, but more importantly, she is the author of the definitive book on Tribal style belly dance, “The Tribal Bible”. As of 2010, “The Tribal Bible” has been through six printed editions. Kajira has many instructional and performance DVDs on the market, and teaches and performs all over the world.

Kajira and I have known each other pretty much since the beginning of both of our careers, at the dawn of the 1990’s. We met in a really crazy way, and became fast friends. Happily, the craziness never stopped.

Before I started belly dancing, I was a wild rock ‘n’ roll chick… some people in the dance community think I’m wild now… but suffice to say, they didn’t know me before! I was a Hollywood punk rock fixture. I recorded albums and toured all over with my all-girl band, The Screaming Sirens, I booked clubs in Los Angeles, and under my given name, Pleasant Gehman, wrote extensively about rock ‘n’ roll for many national and international publications. There was a little bit of crossover time between my two careers before I began devoting all my time to dancing.

So, how does this relate to Kajira?

About twenty or so years ago, I’d written a profile of Iggy Pop for a well-known rock magazine, and when the editor asked me for a photo for the Contributors Page, I sent a picture of myself in my belly dance costume. Weeks later, on one of my visits to the office, the editor told me the magazine had published a Letter To The Editor that a reader had sent in.

Handing me the original letter, he said with a somewhat perturbed look on his face,

“I’m not sure what “AIWA!” means…. but I think it’s good.”

Upon hearing the Arabic word for “yes” I was highly intrigued, and grabbed the letter, which was from…. you guessed it- Kajira!

I wish I still had that letter, but sadly, I don’t, so I’ll paraphrase it. Basically, it went something like this:

“ A big “AIWA!” on the Iggy Pop story- I can’t BELIEVE there is another belly dancer out there who is a writer, and who also loves rock and roll!”

Well, at this point I started hyperventilating- because I also couldn’t believe there was another belly dancer out there who loved rock ‘n’roll in general and specifically Iggy Pop!

You must remember that this was pre- internet, and before cell phones. At that time, most of the women that I met who were into belly dancing were doing it as a hobby, and were, like, suburban housewives- I knew I loved this dance and was already obsessed with it, but I didn’t have jack in common with the dancers I was meeting.

Also, a in those days, most of the places that were featuring belly dancing were Arabic clubs and restaurants- I had to cut off my dreads and dye my hair from punky rainbow stripes back to it’s original color, and hide my tattoos in order to be able to get dance work…as well as borrow “normal” clothes from my mother because I only owned stuff like leather mini-skirts and ripped fishnets, and you couldn’t wear that stuff to Arabic clubs!

I couldn’t believe there was a kindred soul out there…someone who also loved rock ‘n’roll, writing and belly dancing- I was hearing angels sing because I Wasn’t Alone!

I began hounding my editor to find the envelope that the letter had come in, so I could get the return address and write a letter back to this woman who shared my passions. Finally, he did.

A couple of days after I’d written her a letter, Kajira called me, and we stayed on the phone for ages, talking about our favorite bands, writing, and, of course, belly dancing.


Kajira had just started studying with FatChanceBellyDance founder Carolena Nericcio and was making the transition from cabaret style to Tribal. Meanwhile, I had been studying with a woman who had been a student of Jamilla Salimpour, and a chorus girl in Bal Anat. I’d been learning Jamilla’s folk-based Ren Faire style, but after my first trip to Cairo, was starting to get heavily into classical Egyptian dance.

Kajira and I started corresponding through snail mail, writing lengthy letters and sending each other costume pieces. She'll probably kill me for mentioning this, but she sent me a pink lace and gold lame ruffled cabaret skirt that she was no longer using, and I sent her a hand-embroidered Bedouin vest that I’d gotten on my first trip to Egypt…which I, having “gone cabaret” was no longer wearing.

Soon, Kajira called me and excitedly told me that she would be down in Southern California to do a workshop with the legendary Morocco in Anaheim. I was rehearsing for a show and couldn’t make the class, but we made arrangements for her to come up and spend the night at my house after the workshop was over.


I wound up taking her to my favorite Hollywood dive bar, The Blacklite, a place that not only had a great jukebox, really cheap and exceedingly strong cocktails, but also was populated mostly by tranny hookers! We drank boatloads of margaritas and I dimly remember buying a bunch of studded belts for, like, a dollar a piece from a bag lady that had wandered into the bar.


The rest is history- we stayed in touch and kept track of each other’s personal dance –paths and career progress. In 2005, she asked me to teach at Tribal Fest for the first time; in 2006, beginning at the MAJMA festival in Glastonbury, England, we started meeting up with each other at various workshops and events all over the world.

But maybe the most insane dance festival experience we shared actually took place at her own event! A couple of years ago, we hung out in an equipment closet (cause it was quiet and private) in the back of the Main Hall, at Tribal Fest, while Amy Sigil of Unmata was teaching, and shot the breeze, while Kajira was being interviewed for the belly dance magazine “The Chronicles”...while simultaneously getting tattooed by artist Natasha Vetlugin. Yes, just a “normal” day in the life of Kajira Djoumahna!

Anyway, this is what my longtime friend - and globally acclaimed dance figure- Kajira has to say about the way she prepares for her shows:


“ As I put on my costume and makeup, I start my backstage process. Even if I'm still at home looking into my own mirror, I am now "backstage". If I hadn't become my stage name by now in all of my life, I would "become" it at this point; as I don my makeup I also don my persona. I become larger than life, I take on a new idea of myself as I transform my physical look.

At my destination (assuming I got ready at home or a hotel) I put on my finishing touches close to the time of my performance. These consist of my belt, lipstick, sometimes Paws or other dance shoes, and heavy tribal bracelets. Once fully adorned, I stretch and breathe and ready my finger cymbals for a quick put-on.

After my cymbals are on my hands and the time is even shorter, I always do a backstage centering meditation in the form of an East Indian pranam, or "puja for the stage". My personal pranam (also known as a prayer, moving meditation or centering exercise) is a variation of my teacher's. Everyone in my classes learn this as well, as it serves to set apart sacred time from mundane and it really works to help change focus and bring one into the "now".

My "prep" is still not over, whether I'm performing with BlackSheep BellyDance or solo! Once on stage, I almost always make a circle when I enter to help me "claim" my space and set it aside in my mind from anywhere else. If I cannot make a circuit because of my style or choreography that day, I do so in my mind to delineate my space from everyone else’s.

Now fully prepared, I lose myself in the moment and just dance!"

-KAJIRA DJOUMAHNA




Kajira & Black Sheep Belly Dance: http://www.blacksheepbellydance.com/home.html

Tribal Fest 12: The Year Of The Unicorn:
http://www.blacksheepbellydance.com/tf12/



PHOTOS: KAJIRA BY VICTORIA WEBB; KAJIRA, PRINCESS FARHANA & LEE ALI at BELLY DANCER OF THE UNIVERSE

LAST LOOKS!

”Last Looks” is an ages-old showbiz term used in the theater and on movie sets. Basically, it’s the overall appearance check that occurs just before an actor goes on camera or on stage.

As dancers, we usually don’t have the luxury of wardrobe assistants and make up artists fussing over us and perfecting our appearance…but we can always fake it!

So before you even consider stepping out of the dressing room, make sure that you perform your own version of “Last Looks”.

Even if you’ve done dress rehearsals and tech-checks in full costume and make up, it’s better to be safe than sorry!

Look over your face in a well-lit mirror and add more make-up if you need to. If you’ve been in the dressing room for any amount of time, it’s a fairly sure bet you’ll need to freshen up a bit. Clean up any streaks, raccoon eyes, migrating pigments, wayward lipstick smears or stray glitter flecks; dust a little translucent powder on your T-zone to prevent shine, and to set your foundation. Floss your teeth, add another coat of lipstick, blotting it well so it stays put, and then check your teeth for lipstick residue.

Re-spray your hair to prevent flyways. Toss your head to make sure any faux hair you may be wearing is stage-proofed, or that any flowers, crowns, head bands and head pieces are immobile. Check your earring closures and necklace clasps.

Examine yourself in a mirror from all angles -or get a friend to help you out- to ascertain that you look stage-worthy. If you’re rockin’ body glitter, or wearing any sort of body make up, see to it that the products are spread evenly over your skin, especially in hard-to-reach areas like the upper back. Be certain there is no lint from your street clothes or excess deodorant under your armpits- that stuff is bad enough in real life, but it’s a huge illusion-wrecker during performance!

See that there are no undergarments, clothing tags or bra pads showing anywhere. Spin around a couple of times to make sure your that your skirt won’t show more than you intend, and that don’t unintentionally flash the audience when you are on stage.

Shimmy vigorously in your costume, making sure every hook or snap is closed and that your costume is anchored where it needs to be. If you happen to be doing a burlesque number, also make sure that all hooks, snaps and Velcro will release easily- but only when you need them to. Shake your arms around a bit to check that all pieces of jewelry are securely fastened, and any armbands or gauntlets won’t slip down once you start dancing. If you are wearing a two-piece bra and belt belly dance costume, pin your belt to your skirt for added security.

Wearing heels when you dance? Do a few dance steps and be sure they don’t catch on the hem of your costume and trip you up- or, adding insult to injury, rip the costume! If you’re dancing barefoot, make sure any anklets or leg decorations you’re wearing won’t catch on your skirts either.

Have a big drink of water- you’ll need the hydration. And suck a mint or a have breath strip into to further stave off dry mouth.

After you’ve passed Last Looks with flying colors, get your game face on and hit the stage!



Backstage photo of Princess Farhana by Sherri Wheatley...taken in the dressing room of course!