the raindrops go dum tek, dum dum tek
Apr. 17th, 2007 10:59 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alonewiththemoonGypsy Cold Care Tea, you are my friend. Dank damp weather, you are not so much my friend.
The gothic belly dance event will be July 1, it has been confirmed. Once I think of a snappy name (there has to be some way I can play on the underground location of the theatre, without sounding too much like a certain recent dvd) I'll start promoting/booking performers. I want to save the name Raks Spooki for the fall event, but I think I'll start using "a Raks Spooki (tm) production" as a tagline.
People have signed up for my intro to gothic belly dance workshop. I guess that means I have to teach it for real now.
Finally had the chance to work with my Magdy el Leisy meleya leff DVD this weekend--what a lot of fun! I would run not walk to take a workshop with this man if it's ever geographically feasible. The sound quality on the recording is pretty sketchy (the music is clear but his voice is muffled, he wasn't miked), but he doesn't give super detailed instruction anyway, it's more follow the bouncing butt style of teaching. He seemed like a very warm and encouraging teacher, full of humor. There was some tricky footwork in the choreography that will take me a few more tries to get right, but as I went through the DVD I became very aware that I am a fifth or so generation Reda descendant, because so many things made sense right away or were easily anticipated. Actually, I guess if you count Amir Thaleb as a Reda student, then I am third generation. Anyway, the material on the DVD was totally inspiring and I think I will do meleya this weekend at the Middle East, if I can fix up the beadwork on my galibeya in time. Kind of a strange venue for meleya, I guess, but I think if my acting is strong enough people will enjoy it even if they don't actually get it. I think I might pair it with a Hakim song and a short folkloric drum solo (a Mahmoud Fadl hagallah, maybe, but all of his drum solos fade at the end so maybe not) and just be all out baladi. Because I never do that ;-)
We ate at Ixtapa Sunday night--it's on Mass Ave in Lexington just past the Arlington border (in the little strip mall after Busa's). It was pretty darn tasty, although I was somewhat baffled by receiving a pint glass rimmed with salt and a lime with my negra modelo. Somewhere some Mexican of German descent is rolling in his grave. I had a kind of veggie combo platter with chiles rellenos and various enchiladas and M had fish tacos--it wasn't necessarily the most gourmet Mexican cuisine ever, but it was satisfying. Also, they are open until 10pm on Sundays, which is a profound novelty for the area so I imagine we'll be going back. The staff were all very hospitable as well.
Hungry now.
The gothic belly dance event will be July 1, it has been confirmed. Once I think of a snappy name (there has to be some way I can play on the underground location of the theatre, without sounding too much like a certain recent dvd) I'll start promoting/booking performers. I want to save the name Raks Spooki for the fall event, but I think I'll start using "a Raks Spooki (tm) production" as a tagline.
People have signed up for my intro to gothic belly dance workshop. I guess that means I have to teach it for real now.
Finally had the chance to work with my Magdy el Leisy meleya leff DVD this weekend--what a lot of fun! I would run not walk to take a workshop with this man if it's ever geographically feasible. The sound quality on the recording is pretty sketchy (the music is clear but his voice is muffled, he wasn't miked), but he doesn't give super detailed instruction anyway, it's more follow the bouncing butt style of teaching. He seemed like a very warm and encouraging teacher, full of humor. There was some tricky footwork in the choreography that will take me a few more tries to get right, but as I went through the DVD I became very aware that I am a fifth or so generation Reda descendant, because so many things made sense right away or were easily anticipated. Actually, I guess if you count Amir Thaleb as a Reda student, then I am third generation. Anyway, the material on the DVD was totally inspiring and I think I will do meleya this weekend at the Middle East, if I can fix up the beadwork on my galibeya in time. Kind of a strange venue for meleya, I guess, but I think if my acting is strong enough people will enjoy it even if they don't actually get it. I think I might pair it with a Hakim song and a short folkloric drum solo (a Mahmoud Fadl hagallah, maybe, but all of his drum solos fade at the end so maybe not) and just be all out baladi. Because I never do that ;-)
We ate at Ixtapa Sunday night--it's on Mass Ave in Lexington just past the Arlington border (in the little strip mall after Busa's). It was pretty darn tasty, although I was somewhat baffled by receiving a pint glass rimmed with salt and a lime with my negra modelo. Somewhere some Mexican of German descent is rolling in his grave. I had a kind of veggie combo platter with chiles rellenos and various enchiladas and M had fish tacos--it wasn't necessarily the most gourmet Mexican cuisine ever, but it was satisfying. Also, they are open until 10pm on Sundays, which is a profound novelty for the area so I imagine we'll be going back. The staff were all very hospitable as well.
Hungry now.
