Shopping Win! Belly dance gear at Applause!

19 Aug 2011 Leave a comment

by Erica in Belly dance, Costumes, Events Tags: , , ,

Applause

Harem pants, skirts, coin belts

On Tuesday I stopped by Applause to pick up some tights and had a very pleasant surprise! The first person I saw working there was a bellydancer (Amy – I hope I’m spelling your name right – with Oasis and also Bad Weather Burlesque. She’s fantastic!). Then I found that their selection of belly dance wear had expanded since the last time I was there. Unfortunately, for the last couple of years the hours of my day job kept me from being able to stop by, so things have changed a little bit. They have some really pretty stuff in stock, and will do special orders. Just ask to see the catalog.

Reminders:

New 10 week class session starts Sept. 10 at 10am at the Spirit Room. Email me if you have any questions at viator001@hotmail.com

Shimmy Sisters, Oasis Dancers, Middle Eastern Dance students and special guests will be performing Saturday September 17th at the Beckwith Auditorium on NDSU Campus. Show begins at 7:30 pm.

New fall session and upcoming event in Fargo

27 Jul 2011 Leave a comment

by Erica in Belly dance, Events Tags: , ,

Fall 2011 Poster

Greetings all! We’re just over a month away from the new fall session and I’m really excited to get back into dancing. As before, class will be from 10:00-11:00 Saturday mornings, and this session will start Sept. 10. We’re at the Spirit Room in Fargo. This is a beginning class and all skill levels are welcome.

In other news, I will be doing a teen/tween program at the Lake Agassiz Regional Library in Barnesville on October 1 from 12:30-1:30pm. Since this is a one-off class and not a full session I plan to teach a few basic moves and then use them freestyle to some fun music. This is a totally new thing for me, so wish me luck!

For your viewing pleasure, The Shimmy Sisters, Oasis Dancers and students thereof will be performing at NDSU Beckwith Auditorium in September. I’m trying to get clarification on the date – either the 10th or 12th, so I’ll post about that as soon as I know. I’ve seen them perform before and they are delightful! I look forward to seeing their show this year.

That’s all for now. I hope to have choreography video up after the new class session starts so everyone can practice at home, but I’ll keep you updated on that. Hope to see you all soon!

 

UPDATE: Shimmy Sisters and Oasis will perform Saturday, Sept. 17.

Choreography, News, and The Mirror

16 Dec 2010 Leave a comment

by Erica in Belly dance

Ta Da!

Finally finished! Hope it was worth it.

Long time, no blog. Well, first the news: Session 2 will begin on January 15 and will be on Saturdays at 10am for 10 weeks, just like the first session. I will also be hosting a little hafla for all Spirit Room belly dance students, past, present and future, on Sunday, January 9. More details about that as I get things nailed down.

Possibly even more exciting is that I (by which I mean Paul and I) finished framing the big mirror so we can see more of our lovely selves in class next session.  Hopefully it helps. It was quite a labor, I’ll tell you.

Most importantly though is the choreography from first session. I have the steps listed below. The music can be found on Youtube (thanks Stephanie!) or the MP3 is also available for download from your favorite e-tailer. Personally, I think the whole album is worth buying. The section in between the asterisks is the part that is repeated. I will review this next session also. Note: CW= clockwise; CCW= counter clockwise. Begin stepping with the right foot.

I look forward to seeing you all after the holidays!

Choreography: “Dimineata” by Shantel
Album: Bucovina Club

8ct    Wait
16ct    cross step/point, entering from off-stage

*
8ct    CW hip circle
8ct    CCW hip circle
8ct    Basic Egyptian x4
8ct    paddle turn to back
8ct    Basic Egyptian x4 (moving away from audience)
8ct    paddle turn to front
brief pause (first time only)
16ct    horizontal figure 8 x2 (or 4 half-moon: r/l/r/l)
16ct    verticle figure 8 in circle – 1 ct per hip
16ct    Arabic 1 to right x4 (switch feet on last beat here)
16ct    Arabic 1 to left x4 (switch feet on last beat)
*
8ct    grapevine starting with right foot, moving left
8ct    grapevine, opposite

*REPEAT ABOVE

12ct    vertical figure 8 in circle – 1 ct per hip

Pose/Finish

Class Starts This Weekend!

21 Sep 2010 Leave a comment

by Erica in Belly dance

The Goddess

Doin' it Egyptian Style!

Greetings all! Just a reminder that class starts on Saturday at 10am at the Spirit Room. The Lotus studio is still in “prep” phase, but we’ll be able to use it. We just don’t have mirrors yet. It’s a really nice space and I’m very pleased we get to use it. We’ll be starting out with stretching, basic steps and drills.

Looking ahead, I have a previous engagement on October 16 so we won’t have class that day. I’ll remind everyone closer to the date.

I guess this is a pretty short post, but I just wanted to remind everyone. It seems like forever since we got together last!

Credit: Egyptian Photoshop brush courtesy Obsidiandawn.com.

Hello Fellow Goddesses!

22 Aug 2010 Leave a comment

by Erica in Belly dance Tags: , , , ,

Dance Poster

Poster for the new class

Hello dancers! My name is Erica and I’m going to be teaching beginning belly dance at the Spirit Room. It will be a 10-class session with classes on Saturdays at 10am beginning September 25.

I started this blog mainly because I found that there is very little communication amongst members of the belly dance community in the Fargo-Moorhead area and I really want to change that. I have been aware of 2 other groups but they have not updated their web sites in at least a year so I’m not even sure if they are still operating. If you are aware of any other classes or events, belly dance or any kind of dance, please let me know and I will make an announcement.

On to business. For the first few classes you will need:

  • comfortable pants (yoga, sweats, harem, etc)
  • form-fitting t-shirt, tank top or choli – something that allows you to see how your hips and rib cage are moving
  • hip scarf or some sort of sash to put around your hips
  • zills/finger cymbals
  • footwear is a personal choice: barefoot, lyrical sandals, Foot Undeez, ballet slippers, socks

We’ll talk about veils during class. This is for beginners, but if you are an intermediate/advanced student I can give you alternate things to do to challenge you a little.

I look forward to this opportunity and to seeing faces both familiar and new in September!

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