Spring Follows Winter

About 10 years ago now when I was very new to belly dancing and gearing up for my very first student performance in the cabaret style of dance I made this costume:

The overall look has been well received by many and it's a costume that I've continued to wear for many years. As most first project attempts go it has been successful. However, there are some design issues that I've learned from. In the years since its creation the velvet has faded and become crushed and the soft bra cups used for the base don't have much support and frankly don't cover enough to make me feel safe whilst shoulder shimmying! It is time for this costume to have a renewal. The belt underwent some modifications a few years ago as no interfacing had been used and the velvet was 'slouching' with wear. I added buckram to the inside as well as some extra fabric and length at the sides. It wears a lot better now except that I never lined it. That leaves the scratchy buckram to rub raw spots and occasionally peak out at the top of the belt.

I'm hoping to double check the fit (due to weight loss) and add some lining to the belt. The bra must be entirely remade. I have begun by salvaging the cool colored glitter dot fabric from the old cups and cutting the embroidered-down leaves from the old bra as an applique. A new design has been drawn up and I'm ready to start getting down to business by cutting away straps from the new bra foundation and starting to cover this new bra in a style that more closely matches the remade belt. The vest will be done away with as it is too far gone for salvage. The beaded fringe will be moved to the bra and some velvet details similar to the belt will be included to contrast with the dragonfly glitter dot fabric. Some might argue that I should do away with the glitter dot all together but for some reason- maybe sentimentality- I just can't do it. I love that glitter dot. It shimmers in my favorite color!

Crow Moon Feather Neck Ruff

Click to buy

I am part of a team of fantasy artists on Etsy (search FAEteam for awesome creations!) and part of what we do is challenge each other to keep the inspiration coming thick and fast. This year has a challenge theme according to names given to each month's moon. The moon for March has many names but the one that I jumped at was Crow Moon. I have started making some of these feather neck ruffs to sell in my Etsy shop. Of course, I'm finding that my biggest hold up to adding new product is not making the product itself but taking pictures that I feel show it off to advantage!

You can see my current Etsy listings at http://NightLilyDesign.etsy.com. Click here for the actual Feather Neck Ruff listing and more pictures!

The Green Monster is Back!

Off and on over the last several months I have picked up this costume to work on as life and other projects have allowed. My half-hour lunch breaks at work have been filled with bead embroidery and now that I get to place the appliques that I worked so hard to build on the covered bra I feel so close to being done! Of course, I'm not really that close. I still have straps to build and attach, lining to sew in and the whole skirt to build and decorate! Here's what we've got so far:

Change, It's a Comin'!

Over the last 6 or 8 months I have lost about 25lbs. This has had the result that I must alter EVERY LAST ONE of my costumes so they don't simply fall off. It's not very exciting work but it must be done. In the meantime, I've moved. Twice. That's twice in the last month and a half. I'm ready for stability and some order in the chaos. I'm also ready to tackle one of my #1 dance goals- zils. I have been incorporating zil drills into class for the last several weeks and in a week and a half I will be attending THREE Karim Nagi workshops :D *does little dance of excitement* One is on zils, one is a rhythm training workshop and one is folk dancing. I'm plotting where and how to tuck little micro cassette recorders in my dance gear so that I can get audio of all 3 classes. The idea being that I can focus on the moment instead of furiously trying to memorize (which I'm no good at). I don't think I actually know anyone else who's going. Hopefully I'll recognize someone while I'm there.

Finally Dancing on the Web!

I have finally completed the unexpectedly epic struggle to get a video of one of my improvised performances up on the net. *whew* First I had to covert the iDVD movie my student graciously gave me into mp4 format with new software just for that purpose. Then I needed to split it in two so I could separate my performance from my student Vashti's drum solo. That meant going through 3 more pieces of software until finally using iMovie (with much struggle). If you should ever find yourself about to embark on this journey, learn from my efforts. YouTube has a handbook with all sorts of useful information about file size, format, camera angles, lighting, uploading, etc. IMovie works with iPhoto. Import your newly converted mp4 file into iPhoto and then you have easy access to it in iMovie. You can copy/paste the selected section of the clip that you want into a new project and then in the Share menu you can select a number of options including YouTube.

Reflection and Goal Setting

I have been thinking quite a lot about my dance lately and about how I want to grow as a dancer. I haven't seen a lot of workshops come through my area lately and while I love teaching my students, I miss having a teacher of my own. When time and resources allow, I travel an hour to Denver to study with Eva Cernik. Her 7 week class on zils was a major challenge for me. I have a few goals that I can work on in the immediate future but that will likely be areas for growth for many years.
I stink at zils. Or at least, I think I do. I must find a practice routine that works for me and USE IT! I owe it to myself, to my audience, to the art and most of all to my students! So far they aren't good enough with them to have exceeded my ability to teach but that day will come and I feel it's my job to grow as a dancer so that they have more to continue learning from me. Part of my reluctance is that I don't like the sound... it hurts my ears *whine* If I ever find a pair of zils that have a low sound perhaps I will fall in love :)
I want to deepen the emotive quality of my dance. I'm already a fairly emotive dancer as far as it goes but I'm so used to dancing to live instrumental music that I haven't pushed myself to research song lyrics so that I could bring that new layer of understanding to my dance. I have begun looking up lyrics for my restaurant sets. We will see where it takes me...
My ability to choreograph and not just improvise... Well, I've made some strides there too but I must push myself further. I have found Garage Band to be remarkably helpful in noting the phrases within the music. I can also record additional tracks for counting and calling cues which makes for an excellent learning tool. Recently I have also rediscovered how much easier it is for me to build a choreography when I have a partner to help me visualize and bounce ideas. My near goal is to finish the veil poi choreography I started. Then perhaps at least one other new piece for our proposed student show in June 2010.
It's not all weakness and faltering. I am grateful for the strengths that I have already developed. My students have access to pretty extensive costuming and construction and I'm pretty good at organizing. We've got a Yoga for Belly Dancers workshop lined up for mid-January and a whole list of interesting workshop topics like bead embroidery, silk veil dyeing and others for skirts, harem pants and arm ornamentation.

Let the Steampunk Influences Creep In!

The brown velvet Eman style costume is really starting to take on a life of its own! My students have decided that they want to try to put together little top hats for the Cirque du TribalTique show and I wanted to add something around the neck that filled the space better than a choker...