Recap of Friday's belly dance showcase and booksigning

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 pieceThen it was IrinaXara, who adds a touch of Gothic flair to her tribal fusion performanceAnd 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

Bedouin Bazaar 2008

It's been years since I've gone to Bedouin Bazaar in San Diego, but I couldn't resist the opportunity to take the Ghawazee class offered by Sakti Rinek this year. And I'm so glad I did!

I believe all modern American belly dancers owe a debt to the Ghawazee dancers because they were the nation's first introduction to Middle Eastern dance when they performed as part of the Egyptian installation on the Midway Plaisance during the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. Not only does Sakti possess an amazing wealth of information about the art and history of the Ghawazee style of dance and culture, she's also truly enthusiastic about sharing that knowledge and deeply committed to keeping the spirit of this tradition alive (it's a sad fact that it is on the brink of extinction).

She's also committed to doing it in a way that is a lot of fun, as well as educational.

To start our workshop, which I took with friends Marlena (green hip scarf) and Mara (in the orange hip scarf), Sakti explained about her costume, which was a modern version of the traditional Ghawazee costume, and offered students a 10-page booklet she'd put together of Ghawazee images, history, costuming details, basic movements, finger cymbal patterns, and combinations that can be worked into choreography. At $1, it was the best bargain of the day!

Next up, Sakti got us into the right posture (knees more bent than classical belly dance, chest lifted) and then we dove right in to the basic steps, like the Ghawazee Basic No. 1, which is a marching style of step with a vigorous hip shake; the Ghawazee Basic No. 2, with hips bouncing side to side; and various choo-choo, shimmy steps and chest drops. Most of these movements involved an amazing amount energy, and it was astounding to learn that Ghawazee dancers were sometimes hired to dance for up to seven hours at a stretch. While the 10 or so of in the workshop huffed and puffed, Sakti sailed through it all with ease--that certainly says a lot about the fitness benefits of the Ghawazee dance style.

In our two-hour workshop, she taught various combinations, demonstrated how to dance with partners (Ghawazee style is a group dance and not really meant to be danced solo), and demonstrated how to incorporate cane and zills into the dance.

At the end, I was completely exhausted, but exhilarated, too. She says she'll be back in Southern California to teach in November, and I do hope I can make it. If you're interested, you can e-mail her at sakti@newmex.com. To learn move, visit http://www.sakti-international.com/.

Still to come: Pictures and note from Sunday's first-ever O.C. Bellydance Festival. OMG, was it amazing! I can't wait to share more about it later this week.

The best in Orange County

One of the last things I wrote for Orange Coast magazine before leaving to work full time on novel No. 2 was a nomination of Angelika Nemeth as the best belly dance teacher in Orange County for the magazine's annual Best of O.C. issue. I'm happy to say that the July issue is now out and available just about anywhere magazines are sold in the county.

I'd also like to say that choosing a best teacher in Orange County isn't nearly as easy as it used to be. I chose Angelika because she is not only the teacher who has been teaching the longest in the area, but also because she is the teacher of so many terrific dancers who have gone on to great performing and teaching careers of their own.

The fact is, we're lucky in Orange County to have many wonderful teachers. Some of my personal favorites are Marlena Shaw, Mara, Sashi, Abby Duval (although she's soon heading for the big A.Z.) and Jheri St. James, and there are so many others I have heard terrific things about but haven't had the pleasure of studying with. Teachers like Sooz and Tina Enheduanna and Lilla Varese. I'm sure I have left some of them out, and that's where I'd like your input. Who has most inspired and motivated you? Who is your favorite local teacher, and why? Don't be shy, there are no wrong answers... :-)

MECDA Carnival...the day after

Despite the heat, despite the higher admission price, despite the drive, it was a great festival. I especially loved the new layout for the stages. The Gypsy Camp stage was larger and nicer than it's been in the past, and the inside stage was oriented so the pillars didn't block as many views. So a big thank you to whoever figured out those logistics :-)

It was great to see so many vendors, too. There seemed to be fewer than past years, but there were definitely more than attended Raqs L.A. One vendor we talked with who attended both events said that between the two, he did better business this weekend, but that neither came close to the business he did last year at Cairo Carnival. So it's hard to say whether the drop was caused by competition or high gas prices. It'll be interesting to see whether the rumors about Raqs L.A. moving to Memorial weekend next year come true. Miles has said they'll be announcing the dates soon...

As usual, I didn't see nearly as many performances as I'd hoped. But who can complain when there are so many dance friends to catch up with and shopping to do? I saw at least most of the performers I was hoping to see, and every one of them put on a terrific show. Here are some of the highlights in the order they appeared:

Ya Harissa Bellydance Theater
(I'd never seen this troupe before. Don't they look great?)

Om Sisters

(I've seen the Om Sisters a few times, and I enjoy them every time. They did a cool change of costume between songs. They have very sassy Melodia pants under those silky skirts. That should give you some idea...)

Kassar
(A featured duo this year, and these photos really don't them justice. I'd heard lots of good things about them, and they completely lived up to the hype. They blew away my theory that slow taxims are much more fun to do than to watch.)

Mara

(A terrific dancer, and one of my favorite people.)

Princess Farhana with Donovan drumming
(This was the first time I've seen her perform. She's definitely as good as every says!)

Angelika Nemeth Dance Ensemble, followed by a solo by Angelika
(Easily the best show I saw all day. Totally professional, perfectly executed, and a pleasure to watch. I felt bad for the performer scheduled to appear after them. I think I would've been a no show, too)

Raqs L.A. -- the day after

I thought I was playing it safe by taking just one workshop yesterday. But I'd forgotten how many drills, combos and plain hard work Ansuya can pack into two hours! The workshop ran from 11:10 a.m. to 1:10 p.m., but my great friend Enala and I arrived a few minutes early. While we waited, we watched a little of the workshop taught by acclaimed dancer and instructor Morocco as she taught from the main stage of the Glendale Civic Auditorium. When our session with Ansuya began promptly in the Terrace Room, she kicked it off with a warm-up. Then the hard work came: She ran us through an Indian combination, then moved on to a Spanish combo, then a gypsy combo, then a tribal combo and finally an African combo. Phew! We definitely got our money's worth. She was tough, but she was also great about taking questions and breaking down moves, and her sense of humor also made it fun. And thank goodness for the handouts! They break down each move and make it easy to continue practicing on our own.

Ansuya also shared some exciting news with us: She's planning to offer an online instruction series through her Web site that will allow her to demonstrate technique, as well as interact with students, perhaps as soon as August. Isn't technology great?

After the workshop, Enala and I met up with our other great friends Diane and Mara to watch the performances on the main stage and do some shopping. The event's layout was basically the same as it was for Cairo Carnivale during the years that event was held at this venue. Performances ran throughout the day on both the upstairs main stage and a secondary stage downstairs. We saw Bellydance Superstar/Desert Rose troupe member Jayna perform, and Petite Jamilla was on the printed schedule but didn't appear. We were a little disappointed because we'd been looking forward to seeing her. Other beautiful performers we did see were Fahtiem, Angelika Nemeth's Dance Ensemble, students from Anisa's School of Dance, to name just a few.

Vendors were also set up on both levels, and many of the most popular belly dance vendors were represented: Dahlal International, The Velvet Gypsy, Artemis Imports, L. Rose Designs, and many more.

The crowd was quite a bit sparser than has been the case for past Cairo Carnivals, but it was certainly strong for a first-year event. A popular topic of conversation throughout the day was if or how this new event will affect next month's Belly Dance Carnival (which is the new name MECDA has given the event formerly known as Cairo Carnival).

Guess we'll have to wait and see...