We will be performing at a variety show on March 16, 2013.  The plan is to do our Mummer's veil number and King Tut.  We will be wearing our lovely crushed velvet LRose trumpet skirts and matching tops as well as our glitzy belts.  I'm looking forward to it!

Fun Little Combos!

Hip Drop Combo

2 R hip hip drops  1-2
R hip horseshoe hip (front then back) 3-4
two body undulations (standing still) 5-6-7-8

Repeat combo on L side


Double Maya Combo

R hip  maya maya  1-2
L hip maya maya 3-4
reach to the R with full body sway 5-6
reach to the L with full body sway 7-8


Rib and Hip Circle Combo

2 ribcage circles 1-2-3-4
1 hip circle 5-6
1 ribcage lift, drop  7-8

Put them all together for a fun little choreo!

I'm so glad we have the new veil dance coming together.  The tissue lame veils look absolutely awesome in motion and in Tami's words, "this dance is HOT"!

Our next choreo will be to Moroccan Roll and once again it will be a group effort.  I'd also love to see some new solos or duets begin to materialize.  My goal is the variety show at Hamersville school and a gig at the Veteran's Home soon.  I'd also like to go to some bellydance events outside of Brown County.

My focus for class is to continue creating combos that we can fit into our dance vocabulary to help with improv skills.  

shimmy on,
rassi

I'm really struggling with my hair and make-up for the Georgetown show next Saturday.  I hope I can get it all together.  We'll be doing Fiesta, Justin, Mummers (if the breeze allows), King Tut :), a shimmy contest, and a variety of solos, duets, and trios.

We also have an upcoming performance at the Clermont Senior Center.  They are having a dance day with  dancers from different genres performing.  How cool is that?!!

I'm looking forward to some exciting events coming this summer!  We're hoping to attend the monthly hafla at Newport on the Levee in June.  In July, we will be dancing at a summer gala on the square in Georgetown, Ohio.  We're also looking forward to taking some workshops at the Cincinnati Bellydance Convention in August and attend a show.

Lots to look forward to!

YIKES! I'm excited! I'm in a drum solo choreo frenzy! Yes, yes, it is finally coming together.

Hope to see you all on January 10. Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! 2011 Coming This Way!

I'm looking forward to showing off our new costumes and new dances this year. I really want to expand our performance schedule and attend some haflas and shows. Right now, I'm playing around with a combination veil/sword choreograph to the song The Lantern.

Hope to see everyone back on Monday, January 10!

Rassi

Cane Dance!

We're going to finish it! Then on to a drum solo and polish, polish, polish.

A Brand New Year

Hi Everyone,

I'm very excited about getting back to dancing after our holiday break. We have a lot of work ahead of us....finish cane dance, finish our veil dance, polish the two choreos we just finished, and begin working on a drum solo! I also want to continue to polish our improv skills.

I hope everyone is rested, healed, and ready to shimmy! We really need to get into performance groove again......maybe some new costuming as well :)

Can't wait to see you all on January 11!

Rassi

Performance at the Veterans' Home

Wonderful job, ladies!  The performance went very well though we sorely missed Chava and Mary.  It's just not the same when some of us are missing :(

We will continue to hone our improvisational skills over the next few weeks.  Please remember to bring your dance notebooks to class for notes and homework assignments.  I look forward to seeing everyone back together very soon.

shimmy on,

Rassi

Variety Show

Wow, we really rocked it!  In spite of sound issues and no spotlights, I think we did a wonderful job.  I hope to post some pictures soon. (thanks so much,  Chava)  I'm in the process of choreographing the new veil dance which is coming along nicely.  That one spot we were having trouble with last week is smoothed out, I think.  A zenuba and a hip bump seems to work well there.  

I hope to have everyone back together in class soon.

rassi

Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone had a wonderful time!  I miss you all and look forward to class on January 5.  We will continue to work on the cane dance and I'm trying to finish another choreo.  Don't forget to work on your homework of coming up with a performance piece stressing the performance part!  We can help each other tweak the pieces if necessary.  

Shimmy on,

Rassi

Great Performance Last Saturday!

Everyone did a wonderful job!  We really are progressing!  I'm hoping that we'll have a successful performance at the Christmas Parade.  During our December break I'm going to try to choreograph a new piece so that we can begin fresh in January.  

Rassi 

Advanced Veil Moves

Ok, girls, we're going to continue to work on brushing up on the more advanced veil moves.  At the moment, I'm trying to create a choreography incorporating a lot of those moves so please practice when you get the chance.

We also NEED to perform very soon.  I feel like we've been drifting a bit all summer and really need a goal to focus on.  Now that summer has come to an end, maybe our individual schedules will be more normal and attendance at class will be more regular :))))  

We did receive an invitation to march and perform at the 2008 "Christmas in the Village" in Mt. Orab!  This year, we'll be better organized and can use my house as a base (and a bathroom).  It should be a lot of fun so mark your calendars for Sat. November 29.  Line-up for the parade is at 1 pm.  We need to discuss what we want to wear.

Please remember to pay your Sept. troupe dues.   Until later.....

shimmy on,

Rassi

Hospice of Hope Benefit

Well, it certainly was an interesting performance!   We started out with technical difficulties when our cd player wouldn't play.  We ended up piping music from a cd player in a pick-up truck.  Special thanks go out to Mary G.'s wonderful husband for helping us out of our jam!  You rock, Sam!!!

Anyway, we proceeded to dance in the sun and heat of early afternoon to a very small crowd.  Most of the people watching seemed to enjoy our dancing and one young lady danced for a bit with Chava.  Tami did her first solo and did a fantastic job!  Her new orange costume looked great too.  Anissa and Chava also did a wonderful job with their solos and Fiona and Mary G. were crowd pleasers with their duet.  We took the skirt dance out for a test run and I think we all agree that we still need to work on it to clean it up.  All in all though, it was a good experience and every chance we get to perform moves us forward.

We will meet at the barn on Monday, Aug. 11.  I am finishing up a zil choreography so if you have zils please bring them.  If you don't have them, don't worry because we can work on the routine without playing zils.

shimmy on,

Rassi

Minerva

Minerva is a founding member of the Te-Alah dance troupe.  She loves the sisterhood with her fellow dancers and feels beautiful when she's dancing.  Minerva's favorite thing about belly dancing is that it is so different from other dances that she has studied.

Minerva's other interests include running, biking, reading, and traveling.  She has run in the Boston Marathon and hiked the Appalachian Trail!

Chava

Chava is a founding member of the Te-Alah dance troupe.  She loves all types of music and loves dancing and learning new moves.  She also feels that performing has given her more confidence.

Chava also likes that what she has learned doing Tai Chi can also carry over to belly dance.  She also loves the friendships she has made with her troupe mates.

Chava's other interests include golf, music, and being with her grandchildren.

Showna

Showna is a founding member of the Te-Alah dance troupe.  She especially loves the feeling of accomplishment that comes with this dance.  She also enjoys learning about the origins and history of belly dance.  

Showna also enjoys learning new moves and the exercise that comes with doing this dance form.

Showna's other interests include gardening, scrapbooking, sewing, and photography.

Fiona

Fiona is a founding member of the Te-Alah dance troupe.  She loves the fellowship with other members of the troupe and how everyone comes together to make the performances special.  She also enjoys the movements and the knowledge that with hard work you can become a beautiful dancer.

Fiona's other interests include running and reading.  

Anissa

Anissa is a founding member of the Te-Alah dance troupe.  She finds joy in the movements and rhythms of belly dance and the great friendships she shares with her troupe mates.  Anissa  loves the fluid, graceful movements of the dance.  

Anissa's other interests include massage therapy, colored pencil drawing, playing piano, gardening, bike riding, and Bible study.  Se also enjoys yoga, horseback riding, card making with stamp art, and scrapbooking.