Two April 30 events

Click on either flier for a larger view...

International & Middle-Eastern Night

at the Bea Hive Ballroom in in Garden Grove

An Evening of Live Music and Belly Dancing

at Sam's Mediterranean Kabob Room in Monrovia

Renaissance Faire 2011

I think we may have picked the hottest day of the year to visit Ye Olde Renaissance Faire, but who cares about 90-degree weather with great friends like these.

There's no shortage of handsome and chivalrous young men at the faire, and this one's mine. (Lucky me!)

Michael, the kind and generous official faire photographer, has taken my pictures these past few years, so I felt brave enough to ask him to be in one with me. Thanks, Michael!

The Danse Macabre folks are always fun to watch.

Faire folk are so clever. He's an Old World deep sea diver.

Kindra, the lovely and talented henna artist at work here at the Maharani Mehandi tent, is responsible for....

My lovely henna design. Thank you, Kindra!

Of course we spent a lot of time here at the Trader's Market stage. It's where the belly dancers perform.

This is Baba Ku. I always enjoy watching these lovely dancers and listening to these amazing musicians.

The other group that performed on the stage was Seraphim Mora, and they also had great dancers and terrific musicians.

When the Queen's Progress interrupted their performance, the group offered this lovely salute.... The bow... And here she is -- God save the Queen. And the performance continued without a hitch... And here was my big deal of the day, a Hearts Delight corset. Fitted by the master of corsets himself, Vincent. I can't even begin to do justice to this man's skill. Yes, ladies, he is that good.

Market at the Casbah 2011

Market at the Casbah is a wonderful belly dance festival that takes place every spring at the Fullerton Senior Multi-Service Center. This year's event took place Satuday, April 2, and offered a full day of performances, shopping and food, thanks to the amazing organizational efforts of Wanda Lee Sundberg and Deborah Peterson. Here's a peek:

Shopping!

Below is my festival buddy, Alane, and drummer Ed Lee, who was scheduled to perform later in the day with Saf Mavi, accompanying Katerina and the Kabuki Dolls.

Azure Moon is the lovely 3-lady troupe who kicked off the performances just before noon.

Next up was Celia, a soloist with loads of style and grace. Not to mention an awesome costume...

How cool is this jeweled foot cover?

Ah, Azuluna -- I always love to watch these ladies dance. They are the student troupe for Sooz, who teaches ATS in northern OC.

Marla is more often seen as half of the Raks Bahlam duo, but today she performed an exquisite Egyptian solo. Gorgeous!

Roz and the Dancing Sands are always popular. The three young girls also performed a Bollywood-style choreography on their own, which they choreographed themselves. It was fun to watch their enthusiasm--and talent!

Essence of the Orient came up next, and yes, they raq'd it!

Cynthia is such a talented dancer and she just gets better and better every year. And I love her costumes! This one is a show-stopper. I wish my photos did it justice.

JJ and the Habibis -- It is impossible to watch these ladies and not have a good time. They are so much fun to watch!

And JJ (Jeri St. James) performed a terrific cane solo, too.

Next up was Medea and the Desert Mirage Dancers. And not only did they fit 12 dancers on this tiny stage, they performed with zills (and sounded great) and veils, too! Just to give you a flavor of their fun act: They opened with Red Elvises' "I Wanna See You Bellydance"

Gabriella from San Diego was next up, and she really shined in this lovely minimalist belly dance costume. Stunning.

Mariposa, who studies with Sylvia Xica Gitana, danced a Spanish-Arabic flavored tribal fusion piece.

And each dancer wore an amazing crocheted hip scarf. So pretty!

Taji and the Johara dancers came out next, and they were a lot of fun to watch. Great dancers, and they play zills, too!

A bit later in the day, Cyriana danced to live music provided by the legendary John Bilezikjian and his band.

So that's a bit of what you might have missed. If I misspelled anyone's name, please drop me a note and I'll be happy to correct it.

Happy dancing!