How to Get A(head) (get it?)

Okay so if you didn't get my really awful pun, I'm talking about headpieces here people. The crowning glory to any bellydancer's get-up. The cream of your crop. The....nope I got nothing else. Most of these awesome pieces are recycled by the belly dancers themselves. What I mean by that is this: they find really amazing stuff at craft fairs, estate sales, other belly dancer's old pieces, etc. Then they refurbish them into something spectacular. Now if you're lazy like me, or you don't have time to go boppin' around estate sales (or money), I happen to know of a few options, depending on your material/base preference for the headpiece.
I happen to be a fan of Rajistani silver, which you can often find on ebay at relatively low prices. They have some great pieces if you know where to look. Another option, which is quite popular among tribal belly dancers, is using found objects, such as horse bits (as seen on Sherri), and earrings and feathers to attach to the sides. If you have some great pieces of fabric and beading, that can also make a great cabaret style headband. In my experience, sewing or attaching pieces of elastic can provide a more stable way to keep the headpiece in place while having something to attach more stuff to! But seriously guys, you can use almost anything up there, so have fun with it! Bigger is usually better (and cooler).

Here are some examples of what I'm talking about:
Tribal jewelry on Ebay
Sherri!
The fabulous Zoe Jakes even used: antlers

Happy Dancing <3

Real (Music) Talk

So let´s talk music. Once you´ve practiced a buttload and are (almost) as good as the belly dance greats that came before you, you will want to perform and whatnot. Probably at Raqs Britannia or Tribal Fest or ya know, The Oregon County Fair. Anywhere cool like that really. In the true gypsy spirit you´re going to want to choose music that will inspire, haunt, intrigue, and excite your audience. And also entrance them, but that´s with your hips. You gotta pick good music, people. It´s very important.

So what are some things to think about while choosing your tunes? Firstly, are you going to choose one song, or use a mashup of two or three or even four songs? Because if you´re going to choose one song, it better be very attention-grabbing and multi-dimensional. Your job is NOT to bore the pants off everyone with your stupid song and consequently lame choreography! Here is (in my opinion) a very good example of a great song that works. It is called "Suicidal Sunday" and is a remix of Billie Holiday´s "Gloomy Sunday" by Venetian Snares. It´s important to ask yourself how you feel after you listen to the song you choose, how fun will it be to choreograph the movements/watch the choreography, and how well does the whole thing fit together as a piece. If you´re looking for something that really showcases your talents and your attention to technique, you might try something like one of Issam Houssan´s famous drum solos.

So now that you have the criteria in mind, the time has come to choose a song or a few that go together. In the video of Kami at Tribal Fest, we saw a great example of how she used more than one song to keep the audience guessing. Watching that performance was like being on a roller coaster ride, in a good way. It was fun, exciting, playful, romantic, and entrancing. However, its important to remember that this is old hat to Kami and that she is not afraid of being adventurous with her choices, because she is skilled at captivating an audience. Don´t overwhelm yourself at first!

There are a lot of songs by Beats Antique, Venetian Snares, Balkan Beat Box, Ratatat, and other popular choices among your favorite belly dancers that work well and fit amazingly with the image you´re trying to create for yourself. But don´t forget about the benefit of searching for new and exciting music on your own! If you find something you really like, and you feel awesome when you dance to it, your audience should too.

And remember, the greatest thing of all about Tribal Style and Tribal Fusion for most people is that you do have the freedom to experiment! That´s what drew me to it in the first place. So if you´re exploding with creativity, get listenin´ and you might be the next trendsetter.

Happy Dancing! <3

Once in a Blue Moon: The Boob Cup People!

So while watching videos of another of my favorite and extremely talented belly dancers, Sharon Kihara, I saw that she had really awesome boob cups. "How came she about these boob cups?" I pondered aloud. Upon watching further videos of Sharon, namely the one where she is interviewed backstage by Gilded Serpent, I found that she ordered them from a company called "Once in a Blue Moon," a.k.a the "boob cup" people! They make the cups out of metal but include small holes or perforations for you to sew the cups onto your bra of choice, making it completely up to you how to wear them! Their designs feature everything from dragons to skulls to serpents, and are every bit as ethereal as they are badass! If I were richer, I'd buy me five! However, though they can be a bit pricey, as you can see in their store on Etsy, you can also find them on sale here and as featured vendors at many of your favorite belly dance hangouts. Definitely worth taking a look at :)

Happy Dancing!

Sharon being interviewed!

A belly dancer wearing her "peacock" cups!

All Things Zoe

If you're like me and you've become completely obsessed with the awesomeness that is Tribal Fusion, you have probably heard of the awesomeness that is Zoe Jakes. While Zoe is by no means the only awesome belly dancer around, she is one of my personal favorites, and here's why: she can turn on a dime (she even teaches a class about how to do it!), she tours with Beats Antique, she's amazingly gorgeous, and super talented at creating her signature costumes and looks. She is the bohemian goddess of my heart. Her miraculous combinations and mixture of mechanical and sensual moves make my heart go pitter patter. One day, I hope to be as great as her. Until then, I will continue to practice, practice, practice. It's not always as easy as she makes it look, but then she had to practice too, once.

You can find her current schedule of events and bio at her website
Also, this

That's all for now folks!

Happy dancing,

Charlotte