Friday was one of the hottest (and most humid!) days of the year here in Orange County, but the Cameron clan had a very cool time at the booksigning and belly dance showcase that
Laguna Beach Books hosted for us.
The event took place on The Old Pottery Place's brick terrace overlooking Coast Highway and the beautiful Pacific Ocean, with the lovely Danielle Bauter starting things off. After her introduction, I gave a short reading of
THE BELLY DANCER and then the real fun began with live Middle Eastern drumming and lots and lots of belly dancing.
I was thrilled that so many friends came out for the event, especially
Diane and
Mara (who also danced!) who took great care of my little belly dancer while I manned the microphone and signed books, and my multi-tasking husband managed the sound system and drummed.
Here's a peek at the evening:
The darling Taide was our first dancer for the evening
Irma Garcia followed with a great tribal fusion piece
Then it was IrinaXara, who adds a touch of Gothic flair to her tribal fusion performance
And then the always spectacular Sooz and troupe Azuluna, with special guest Soy, performed traditional American Tribal Style as the sun started to set
Sherrie followed with a sassy tribal fusion solo
Then Mara dazzled the crowd with her awesome Egyptian cabaret style
And Shanna, who came all the way from L.A., followed with another awesome Egyptian cabaret number
And Ninyshenka wowed us with her graceful dancing
Next up was Tivka, who danced to a lively Middle Eastern number
And then JJ & the Habibis, a local Laguna Beach favorite, ended the night with a big troupe number
The O.C. Register photographer who attended the book signing and belly dance showcase at Laguna Beach Books on Sept. 4 put 17 of her photos together in a slideshow on the newspaper's Web site.
Oh, I'm getting excited about tomorrow's belly dance showcase and booksigning at Laguna Beach Books! This is going to be a great way to kick off Labor Day Weekend!
If you weren't able to make it to Merry's in Long Beach on July 25 for the Book Release Party and Benefit, you'll have another chance on Friday, Sept. 4 to get a signed copy of THE BELLY DANCER and see some pretty terrific belly dancing, too.
