So Lorna of Cairo recently blogged about how she’s really enjoying dancing saidi right now (and forgot to mention that her costume looks amazing; I want to see bigger pictures of it!), which sent me off Gleaning The Tubes for a plethora of saidi videos. Because I have an almost unhealthy obsession with saidi.

For those who are unfamiliar with the term, saidi was/is originally a folk dance from Upper Egypt, but has been lumped into/hijacked by bellydance. It’s also known as “raqs assaya” or stick dance, when performed with a cane/stick (dur), and there’s a men’s duet version called tahtib that simulates a fight. The women’s form is, of course, more refined and less warlike; I’ve also heard that the saidi step (the lifted legs and kicks) is mimicking a ‘dancing’ horse.

So, we’ve combined pole-arms, horses, and dance. If you know me whatsoever, I think you can see where my obsession with saidi comes from. So, on that note, I present to you: SAIDI SPAM!

As Lorna’s post was the instigator, her video is first! The first half of her dance at a wedding is a saidi number with two male back-up dancers. I particularly like how she “borrows” a cane from the audience. Cheeky and awesome, as always!

I just discovered this video today of a Lebanese dancer named Rindala (though this might be proof that I’m rubbish at telling styles: I would have pegged her as Turkish style if it weren’t for the cane!). Her energy, speed, and skill is inspirational!

For a complete contrast, Yasmina of Cairo (with four male dancers) produces a far sweeter and sedate dance. Also, this video alone makes me want to jump onto a plane to Egypt RIGHT NOW.

I have to include Elspeth Swishandhips in this spam! I was lucky enough to see this performance live, and it was amazing; the video doesn’t do it half justice. Every clap and cheer was more than deserved!

Penultimately is the great Fifi Abdo, who really needs no elaboration. However, I noticed with a bit of glee that she seems to be playing to the women in the audience.

Finally, sans stick, is Aziza. On YouTube this had a bit of criticism for not being earthy enough, but I really like the softness of it. If this is a ‘horse dance’, well, I’ve known horses that move like each of these women (that’s a compliment, fyi!). Anyway, when a horse is really dancing, they’re not earthy: they practically float!

Here, to drive that point home, have a video of a dancing horse:

That’s some of the most beautiful dancing I’ll ever see.

Tags: bellydance,folk dance,saidi
Categories: dance
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Well, it’s July and I’m back Abroad. I had several other lovely craft projects going over the holiday, but of course forgot to take pictures of them — so you’ll have to wait until Christmastime to see. As for now, I’m settling back in, getting back into the swing of Work, beginning a new exercise regimen, learning a bellydance choreo to be performed in two weeks, searching for yarn for a Very Special Flat Project, and considering taking up another dance form.

The new exercise regimen is the big deal right now — I’ve been unhappy with my fitness levels for a while, but was struggling to find something that actually worked for me. Then one of my mother’s friends lent me a book on weight-training for women, saying it had helped her — and I, like an idiot, had forgotten that in my undergrad years the happiest and healthiest I ever was when I lifted weights and ran every morning. It only lasted one semester, but it was AWESOME.

So now I’m lifting weights again, and soon running will be added back in. Somewhere in here, things will be knitted, and dancing will be done. But for now, bring on the dumbbells!

Tags: life
Categories: uncategorized
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Long time no post! The middle of my June has, indeed, been crazy (a friend’s FABULOUS wedding, and running around North America with another friend!), but the last few weeks have been quiet. I’ve done some research, but mostly I’ve been rediscovering time for myself. One thing that I’ve lost in the past few years, in my desperation to keep up with both my arts and academics, is that I don’t really give myself much ME time. Yes, I spend (far too much) time on the internet, reading webcomics etc., but that’s not ME time. However, for two weeks in the middle of this month my computer was getting repaired (oops), and so I had to find other ways to entertain myself than the endless streaming of digitized information. So, gleefully, I’ve been reading children and young adult fantasy novels, a guilty pleasure that I feel absolutely NO guilt about. I discovered Rick Riordan, first via his new book “The Red Pyramid” and then via his “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” series (OMG I just finished book 4 and haven’t bought the last book yet NEED NOW), which despite what I’ve heard about its related rubbishy movie has been really quite entertaining. I also went to see Knight and Day with a friend, and to my surprise it was quite awesome. Not fourteen flavours of awesome, but at least five. And I’ve gone SWIMMING. If it weren’t for my dislike of public pools, I’d go swimming all the time. I find it calming and restorative, and I do some of my best thinking underwater.

Representative of this whole rediscovery, however, is a craft project I began years ago. The yarn, pattern, crochet hook and beads were a store-created kit given to me by my parents, but as I rarely worked on gifts for myself, it was often put off until I went on holidays (or at least plane flights), because crochet hooks are OK on planes (knitting needles aren’t). But on this trip home, I’ve finally finished it.

It’s lovely, soft, and light. And its structure reminds me that I shouldn’t over-structure my life — leave time for the ME-time, and the arts and academia will follow.

Tags: art vs. academia,crochet,life
Categories: Academia, Arts, crochet
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Only one day left on my antibiotics, and I am feeling almost one hundred percent better after the most recent bout with bronchitis! As was probably obvious by my minimal postings, I was too ill for almost any sort of cerebral activity — and definitely for all physical ones! But without anything to do, man was I bored. So I dug casually into the old crafts closet, in between  popping antibiotics and sucking down codeine,  and found a mostly-untouched batch of Sculpey clay! I’d been wanting to play a bit with Sculpey while I was home anyway, so I quickly brainstormed for something that I could leave with my parents, would actually be USED, and ended up with this:

Clay nativity!

By far the figures that turned out the best are the three kings:

I especially love how the blue king’s mustache turned out. However, out of all the figures, my favourite is the lying sheep, who quizzically would like to ask you…

“Baa?”

Tags: crafting,nativity
Categories: uncategorized
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I kept this prediction to myself because I didn’t want to jinx myself, but I had the feeling that after my conference I would probably get ill with something. I was hoping for something small, like a cold, but rather I came down with the bane of my existence* — asthmatic bronchitis. The last time I had bronchitis, I had full-blown pneumonia two months later; of course, that time bronchitis wasn’t properly treated. This time, my doctor tutted, commented that I don’t seem to do anything halfway, and said that if I hadn’t come in when I did I probably would have ended up in the ER, as my lungs were almost completely closed up.

So that was fun.

I’m now on lots of meds, including codeine cough syrup, and am mostly useless. I’ve got some of my energy back, but massive coughing fits (and codeine) are not conducive to dancing or studying. I managed to get a few days of work in at the local copyright library (sooo pretty) before the bronchitis kicked in full-force, but more research trips are currently on the backburner. Instead, I’ve been doing a bit of knitting, some clay modeling, and started roughing out a choreography to learn once I’m well. Pictures will follow in a few days.

I’ve also been catching up on ridiculous amounts of TV. I love the Capital One Vikings.

* Secondary bane of existence. The primary bane of my existence is the platypus. The bane of my existence is adorable.

Tags: life
Categories: maintenance
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I currently have issues stringing a spoken sentence together, due to exhaustion. I spent this past weekend at a conference (if you know anything about medieval academia, you’ll figure out which one without me having to say), and I am SHATTERED.

Things I learned:

• Textile-loving people are awesome, regardless of where you are.
• An etsy-seller makes hair-swords. For buns. DUDE.
• I really need to get over  “OMG I TOTALLY CITED YOU IN MY DISSERTATION/THESES!!!” and remember that my heroes are, in fact, cool people with a shared interest.
• I can be a foreigner in my own country.
• People who study monsters are really sweet.
• Academic papers can sound like spoken word performances, if it’s the right paper and the right person.
• Someone will be obnoxious if your paper is rather spoken-wordy. NB: This did not happen to me personally, nor was I this person.
• You can live off of bad coffee and even worse wine.
• Dessert is a necessity.
• DO NOT TELL MEDIEVALISTS IT IS YOUR BIRTHDAY. THEY WILL MAKE THE CAFETERIA SING.
• “Once Kalamazoo, always Kalamazoo.”

I will return when I have regained enough energy to both A) begin my fabulous research treks, and B) make something arty.

Oh, and by the way, SURPRISE I REDID THE LAYOUT. Relaunched the main site on 13 May, too. YAY.

Tags: academic,authors,conference,fandom,maintenance,medieval
Categories: Academia, maintenance
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Well, I thought May would be calmer.

I was wrong.

This weekend was fantastic, but as it is I’m already thrown headlong into finishing my conference paper. I’m running around packing for said conference, seeing friends before I head off, et cetera.  And now thanks to that bloody volcano, I’m worrying about getting out of the country.

This is stress that I do NOT need.

Tags: life
Categories: uncategorized
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Looking back through this month, it’s apparently been one long thought process on academic influences, with a bit of knitting thrown in (and one entry on bellydance, goodness!). I guess that’s only to be expected, as I’ve been working on a new thesis chapter (which I will hopefully edit and submit tomorrow!).

That said, I’ve still been doing things to keep myself sane—as noted, mostly knitting. I’ve the missing skin and new callus to prove it. But I’ve also, since I’ve been well, started into getting a dance routine habit. I haven’t necessarily been able to dance every day, but I’ve been doing the most pertinent leg stretches as well as some strengthening exercises, with an intensive set last Sunday. I can still feel a bit of twinge when I sit down, and walking up and down stairs this week has been interesting. Surprisingly, I’ve found it easier to move my sore legs if I make myself jog, or at least walk faster than normal. I’m sure there’s a proper physiological explanation for this, but all that matters to me is that it’s made me more active!

And that’s April, folks. A lovely holiday, a bit of illness, a lot of knitting, and a return to research. Now comes May, with my first ever conference (yipes!), research in copyright libraries, visiting family, and (oh yeah) my birthday. Hopefully I’ll have a new site layout to reveal by mid-May, too.

But first, I need to survive this weekend. Beltane + film + ceilidh + who knows what else. It’s going to be MADNESS! In a good way.

So, Lysse-bird out… until May!

Tags: life
Categories: Academia, Arts
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So I should be going and having dinner as a reward for actually writing part of a chapter (2700 words!!), but instead I’m rewarding myself by writing a blog post. Yes, I’m rewarding writing with…writing. My ability to reward myself with the same thing that was my task never ceases to astonish me (seriously, I do this a lot).

That said, I thought I’d write a few notes on teaching. I received a couple e-mails from last semester’s students over the weekend (mostly panics about “will I violate exam rules if I do XYZ?” to which I tend to reply “better safe than sorry, so try not to do XYZ”), and I was surprised at how much this made me miss my students.

I really like teaching.

And I’ve started to have a few worries about whether I’m actually good at teaching. I haven’t looked at last semester’s student comments yet (I’m waiting until I rework my syllabus over the summer—I’d like some distance on the semester before I destroy my soul), but student comment sheets can only go so far. Mostly because people don’t know what makes a good teacher until either a) they’re teaching themselves, or b) they’ve been taught explicitly to do or learn something new. Unfortunately, most of the teaching I do is ephemeral critical thinking skills (that don’t involve a workbook like mine did in elementary school), which is a bit harder to measure. I remember the teachers that TOLD me that I needed to start using my brain (yes, this happened…twice), but I don’t remember how they TAUGHT me to. It just happened as we went along.

Which was why this weekend was really nice, because I got to teach something where both student and teacher could see results. A bunch of my country dance friends organized a knitting afternoon, and one friend asked me to teach her how to knit at said afternoon. By the end of the afternoon she was casting on exceptionally well (I wish my tension had been that good when I’d started!) and have several rows of knit-stitch finished. I kept having flashbacks when I taught a friend from home how to knit, and that she’d been successful in learning, too (I should ask her if she’s still knitting). And tonight, I’m going over to a third friend’s to watch Glee (DON’T JUDGE ME), and as she’s just recently gotten into knitting, I’ve been asked to show her how to increase and decrease stitches. And I’m really looking forward to it.

Goodness, knitting, teaching and friends—since when did I have a social life? You’re not supposed to have one of those when you’re writing chapters!

Ah well. Off to have that reward-dinner now. Lysse out!

Tags: academic,art vs. academia,knit,life
Categories: Academia, Arts, knit
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So for the past few weeks I’ve really been glutting myself on videos of tribal fusion bellydance on YouTube—usually as a break from actual work (or, other times, because the weather was as awful as I felt). Some of my favourite new discoveries are clips from the Indigo’s show Le Serpent Rouge. Not only is the bellydance amazing, but it looks like a good show overall, the sort of thing a general audience might enjoy.

Most bellydancing is “consumed” (for lack of better terminology) by the bellydancing community. The one exception to this is restaurant work, which although invaluable as both a tradition and as a venue for properly learning to improvise, doesn’t provide a setting for duets, troupes, or choreographed show pieces. Restaurant work and haflas can only support the art so far, and—if we want the dance to not only survive but thrive in the west—then our community needs to figure out how to present itself to the general public in a desirable manner.

Which brings us to Le Serpent Rouge’s vaudeville style. It’s an appropriate adoption for a tribal fusion show, as like tribal fusion vaudeville is essentially American in origin and attitude. It also means the dancing can be broken up with musical interludes, comedy acts, and basically anything else you can think of—vaudeville is, after all, closely related to variety shows.

And it is THE WAY OF THE FUTURE!!!

Ahem. Sorry. Got a little excited there.

Originally, vaudeville was family-friendly entertainment: (mostly) clean, alcohol free, and for a middle class (educated, but not affluent) audience. Bellydancing, too, is supposed to be family-friendly (just like its folkloric social dancing origins). A vaudeville format means that, although a show could be organized by a troupe, the burden of performance isn’t necessarily on the troupe. Organizers could pull from a wide range of local performers—it’s not a difficult feat. For example, just from amongst my own social circles I have access to a folk rock band (and straight-up folk musicians), comedy acts, jugglers, stage combat artists, singers, dancers of multiple styles (belly and otherwise!), and a plethora of other artists that I currently can’t think of that would break up a show and keep an audience engaged. Mix all this together with a talented MC, and you’d have an awesome, evolving show that would introduce the general public to bellydance without overwhelming them, and would draw return visitors from both inside and outside the bellydance community.

You’d just have to make sure to keep a high quality of entertainment throughout the show—but not as sterilized as the Bellydance Superstars. It’s about comedy, quality, and variety.

Keep ‘em engaged and they’ll keep coming.

Tags: bellydance,tribal fusion
Categories: Arts, dance
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