Mood:
happyTopic: Nomad Notes
Salaam, my friends,
Larry and I have just returned from Vermont, and a wonderful weekend at Tapestry of Middle Eastern Dance sponsored by my beautiful friend, Sabah. She sponsors of Katia of Boston, in workshops and a show, in Vermont's capital, Montpelier. (Sabah was also my roommate during Katia's Treasures of Egypt trip in 2006.
As you can see, our darling cat, Jake, missed us -- here he is in my costume bag as soon as we returned!
It is a great time of year to be in Vermont; the air is lovely and fresh, and the leaves are sporting their gorgeous foliage colors and a mist comes down from the mountains each morning. This is a great setting for a workshop with Katia -- who is one of the master instructors in our art form, and reminds everyone who studies with her that no matter how long a dancer has been studying or performing, there is always something new to learn, or a learned technique that can be seen with new eyes!
The showcase featured several great solos and troupe performances, including a Bedouin dance choreographed by Katia and including Sabah and many of her students, and our friend Mahira. (Not only is Mahira a great dancer but she is the purveyor of all manner of delectable dance costumes and trinkets. I even got myself a nifty pair of Isis wings in an iridescent apricot color I'd never seen.)
Larry managed to get in some fly-fishing, and we had some time to relax together and even watch some television (We're pretty taken with Tina Fey's impersonations of Sarah Palin -- so spot on it's scary.)
Most of us Oriental dancers have to be discriminating about our dance budget. But I would say that an intensive course is a worthwhile investment for a dancer at any level. It's great to 'feel good,' and to have other people tell you that you are doing great. We all need that encouragement. But we also need to hear and see what we could do better, and how to make what we've already mastered something truly special and memorable for any audience.
If you have been out performing for a while, you can begin to get a bit comfortable, maybe too comfortable, and even start sliding back into old habits. Always see yourself as a student for life -- as does anyone in any profession -- and promise to yourself never to stop learning.
Here is a video of myself in the showcase, performing to the classical Egyptian standard, "Tamra Henna." This piece of music has been with me my entire dance career, and each time I try to hear and feel something new in its richness and beauty.
And so I am yours, a student of the dance for life, inshallah --
