Pics from Sunday's World March for Peace and Non-violence at Merry's

Sarah al Nour organized United We Shimmy, a great belly dance showcase and fundraiser to support the World March for Peace and Non-violence cause, on Sunday at Merry's in Long Beach. I love going to the events at Merry's (very stroller friendly!) and they just get better and better.

In addition to the silent auction and raffle, there was an amazing lineup of dancers and musicians who donated their time and energy to the cause.

Here's a peek at some of them:

Merry welcomes the crowd

Sarah al Nour says hello

The awesome musicians, from left: Craig, Austin Cameron,

Donavon Lerman, Ed Lee, Marc Cornelius

Camille started off the dancing

Mandala Dance Works' first tribal fusion number

Mandala Dance Works' second tribal fusion number

IrinaXara performed an exciting gypsy number

Sooz (who was an excellent mistress of ceremonies

throughout the event) performed with her amazing

ATS troupe, Azuluna

Edenia proved once again she is the pop and lock queen


The awesome Katerina dancing to live music





The Om Sisters join Katerina (or Katerina joins the Om Sisters)
for some tribal improv

JJ and the Habibis raq it out

Rene performed a beautiful Egyptian number

The Om Sisters did themselves up hippy style to close the event

with a tribal fusion piece set to a 1960s medley.

Yes, they are just that awesome.

There were more wonderful dancers, but I didn't get a chance to snap their picture cuz I was starting my Christmas shopping early, buying raffle tickets, getting a henna tattoo (see below) and just generally socializing while trying to keep a sleepy baby quiet.

For more (and better!) pics, though, you should check out what Richard Lowe has over here.

Photos from Merry's Halloween Hafla

What a great, great event at Merry's on Saturday. So many wonderful dancers, so much wonderful music. And I think the crowd that gathered on the street to watch the festivities might've set a record for Merry's.

Thank you, Katerina and Merry, for putting together such a terrific Halloween Hafla.

The musicians, from left, Austin Cameron and Ed Lee, and from Kara Nomadica Brett Bowman and Marc Cornelius

The coordinator of the evening, Katerina, led the lineup of dancers.

Ra'eesa (otherwise known as science fiction/fantasy author Leslie Ann Moore) performed a rousing cane dance.

The Om Sisters added some Halloween flair to their tribal fusion.

The members of Troupe Bastet sparkled during their cabaret number.

Tehani performed a belly dance / hula / hip hop fusion piece.

Stasiah lit up the crowd with her balancing act, followed by an energetic Gypsy piece.
We got to see Katerina perform again with her Kabuki Dolls tribal fusion group.

And the star attraction for the night was master instructor and internationally acclaimed performer Fahtiem -- what an amazing opportunity to see this amazing dancer in such a fun and intimate setting.

Update on the Halloween Hafla at Merry's

You aren't going to miss tomorrow's Halloween Hafla at Merry's Fashion with Passion boutique in Long Beach, are you? I didn't think so :-)

And the lineup has grown since my last post (as lineups tend to do...)

Here's the latest:

Katerina
Ra'essa
Sarah al Nour
Om Sisters
Troupe Bastet
Tehani
Stasiah
Kabuki Dolls
and very special guest Fahtiem

And you won't want to miss the Middle Eastern music by Marc Cornelius and Brett Bowan of Kara Nomadica, along with guest musicians Ed Lee and my husband, Austin.

The event will take place from about 5 to about 8, at Merry's (2747 E. Broadway, Long Beach). The music and dancing will get underway about 5:30, and you can bet they'll be drawing a crowd. You should plan to arrive early to avoid the parking crunch and to be sure to get a good spot to see the entertainment...

Merry's Halloween Hafla on Oct. 24

Mark your calendar: Merry's Fashion with Passion boutique in Long Beach will be hosting a Halloween Hafla on Saturday, Oct. 24.

Coordinated by Katerina, the event will feature live Middle Eastern music by Marc Cornelius and Brett Bowan of Kara Nomadica, along with other special guests.

And, of course there will be some outstanding dancing. Here's the lineup:

*Om Sisters
*Saviya
*Sarah al Nour
*Ra'eesa (who in her other life is the talented writer Leslie Ann Moore, author of the Griffin's Daughter Trilogy)
*Katerina and the Kabuki Dolls

... and (drum roll, please)

* a special guest performance by master performer and instructor Fahtiem.

The event will take place from about 5 to about 8, and you can find Merry's at 2747 E. Broadway, Long Beach. (You can't miss it -- Henry the camel is always out front.)

Yeah, you can't miss this one. I know I won't.

Photos from THE BELLY DANCER Book Release Party & Benefit

Is there any other way to celebrate a book about belly dancing than with a night filled with belly dancing and belly dancers? I think not.

We had dancers, lots and lots of dancers, as well as drummers, belly dance costume models and even pirates! (Oh yeah, and some of them were even extras in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies).

We owe a huge debt of gratitude to Merry's Fashion with Passion boutique in Long Beach for allowing us to take over her store (and her sidewalk, and her alley, and the street in front of her shop...) on Saturday night to throw this party for our friends, family and folks who wanted to get their own signed copy of THE BELLY DANCER.


We had a phenomenal turnout -- at least 200 people at one point packed the store and back patio, where the guys from Hana Lima Industries set up the most amazing Moroccan tent. The crowd was so thick, it spilled out onto the sidewalk and street. My husband says he watched as the traffic on Broadway had to maneuver around the crowd, and at one point a city bus slowed down to a crawl so the driver and passengers could get a good look at the dancing and drumming taking place on the sidewalk.

We sold out of the books that Laguna Beach Books so kindly provided!

The event was such a wonderful success because of all the help and support from so many people.

The dancers: Katerina, Sarah al Nour, Enala, Sooz & her troupe Azuluna & the Om Sisters!

The musicians: Ed Lee, Donavon, Austin Cameron, Marc, and their friends


Andrea Farese of Stellar Advantage for providing the belly dance costumes for the fashion show.


Rachel from O.C. Bellydance Connection for taking great photos!

And of course, my parents, who kept my 9-week-old daughter fed, dry and entertained during the madness, and my dear friends Alane & Diane, who were the first to arrive and the last to leave, and stepped in to help me fix all the little problems that popped up throughout the night.


Honestly, I can't thank everyone enough. You're the best :-)

(Photos courtesy of Rachel of OC Bellydance Connection)

Sunday trip to Merry's and Shimmy Showcase

We headed down to Long Beach on Sunday afternoon to share in Merry's celebration of the New York Times bestseller THREE CUPS OF TEA, about author Greg Mortenson's efforts to build schools and reduce poverty in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Shop owners Merry and Dallas hosted the three-hour party, which featured tribal belly dancing by the Om Sisters and male dancer Marked Khalil, along with dancing and live music by tribal troupe Oojahm. In addition to enjoying the live entertainment, guests were treated to belly dance lessons, nibbled on gingerbread camel cookies, sipped champagne, and made donations to Pennies for Peace, Mortenson's humanitarian foundation.

This was such a great event, and I can't wait until July 25, when Merry and I will be celebrating the release of my debut novel, THE BELLY DANCER, with another big belly dance party at her shop. I'll have more details on that very soon! (Here you can see Merry with me and my ever growing pregnant belly! And if it looks like I'm holding onto that new purse for dear life, it's because I was not going to set it down for one second -- even to take a picture -- because I didn't want anyone else to snatch it up. It's my new favorite thing...)

The THREE CUPS OF TEA celebration will continue at Merry's at 6 p.m. March 11, when Jamshed Rasul will speak on art and culture in Pakistan, and a silent auction will raise more proceeds for Pennies for Peace. If you're in the area, stop in and check it out!

And of course, since we were in the area, we stopped in at the Coffee Haven to see the Shimmy Showcase. My very good friend Katerina was dancing in true ATS fashion with Sooz and Alexiis, along with four of their students, to live music performed by the Ansuz ensemble, led by Fernan Cobian. The dancing was awesome and the live music was concert quality. It was such a terrific way to end an already terrific day.

O.C. Bellydance Festival -- Oct. 12, 2008

If you haven't already heard, the first-ever O.C. Bellydance Festival, which took place at the Fountain Valley Recreation Center on Oct. 12, was an amazing success. The ladies from Troupe Incognito did a terrific job organizing, and they had everything so under control, you'd never know this was their first event of this size. (Right: Incognito gals Nikki and Renee.)

Although the event started at noon, I rolled in around 8:30 a.m., along with the other volunteers, to help them set up. We checked people in, posted signs, offered help to the vendors who were setting up inside the main hall, where the performances took place, and to those that were set up on the patio just beyond the workshop room.

I had to cut my volunteering short, though, so that I could get ready because this festival also marked the first time Marlena Shaw, Enala and I performed together. Despite being able to practice together only a few times, our troupe Al-Sukkar managed to pull off a choreography. A lot of credit goes to Marlena, who filled up a good chunk of our allotted time with her drum solo :-) (And thanks and credit go to Richard Lowe for this photograph of us dancing.)

After our 12:30-ish performance, we changed back into our street clothes and got busy shopping, visiting the vendors both inside the hall and out. There were lots of familiar faces -- Tribal Bazaar, Melodia Designs, Geisha Moth, Enchanted Designs, and so many more. There was also a definite slant toward tribal style, both in the vending and in the performances.

For anyone who might've had doubts, I don't think there's any question that tribal style is alive and well in O.C.

And my favorite part of the day? Watching all the great performances on the stage.

Here's just a sample:


Almase Arabesque


















Kashmir, dancing to live drumming by Gorkem and Vernon

Desdemona

Alexiis

(In addition to be a terrific dancer, she's one of the great coordinators for the weekly Shimmy Showcase at Coffee Haven in Long Beach.)

Troupe Masala

Sooz & Azuluna

(I love that they incorporate Carolena's dance prayer into their performance!)

Om Sisters

Politti

(Doesn't she have the most amazing hair?)

Edenia

(This is the first time I've seen her dance. Wow, can she pop and lock!)

MC Laura Sutherland (who, BTW, was nonstop funny all day long) introducing Tribe Roman Morga -- who are always a favorite. Drumming in the back is one of my favorite people in the world, Katerina.

And the final performance of the day, our hostesses, Troupe Incognito.

Thank you for a great day, ladies!