The first update is to the costuming section, which finally exists! It’s a little sparse at the moment, only having my costumes from the days of medieval “reenacting” (quotes intended—it was American reenacting, after all). Both of the womens’ costumes were from my final year, from similar periods, and from similar locations… but very different characters. The first, with the parasol, belonged to a woman running her husband’s mercantile empire whilst he was away trading. She was a bit power-mad, and obsessed with objects from the Far East, hence the parasol. The second, with the veil, belonged to a rather foolish serving-girl with the personality of a Cocker Spaniel. The knight, however, was from my third year, and something that I remain proud of to this day. It is no where near accurate, as  I was limited on time and money, but everything except boots, leggings, sword and shield were made by me. Including the maille, which took about two-and-a-half months working all day, every day. By the time I was finished, I’d watched the extended editions of The Lord of the Rings about six times through. Including the extras. ALL OF THEM.

The second update is to my art and graphics section. To art, I’ve added the monogram that I made last year for my dear friend Katze’s wedding (you may remember the nativity I made as their gift). Unfortunately, this is the last of the drawings—most of the drawing-type-things I’ve been doing lately have either been handmade birthday cards, which I don’t I have pictures of, or stitching images and calligraphy together for my mother. I have a few things I’m working on, but graphics and drawings (for fun) tend to be the slowest things I do, art-wise. However, I have also updated my website sections with past designs of dreamhonu.com as well as other websites I’ve designed.

For those who don’t know, I do take commissions for graphics and other art, as well as website design. I occasionally will also manage websites, though so far it’s only been ones that I’m personally interested in as well (thus I have managed websites for bellydancers, medieval reenactors, and family businesses). If you’re interested in my help or management, I’m happy to chat about it!

I’ve also added a few links. And that’s it!

Coming soon: Review of the rest of the festival, crocheted coral, and other art-type-stuff.

What am I talking about? “Gaslight Faeries”, Sarasvati Tribal’s 2010 show.

Full disclosure: I was behind-the-scenes help… or you could say behind the screen, as that was what I hid behind as I hit “play” on the tapedeck and toyed with the lights, my music dictatorship signified by the Tophat of Power. From that position I got to watch everything… from behind.

If you want a proper review, might I suggest Elspeth’s? Her observations are clear, she’s refreshingly honest about any biases (or lack thereof), and overall she gives a good sense of what went on.

To continue—do you remember how I said that the future of bellydance is in vaudeville? I WAS RIGHT. “Gaslight Faeries” was a venue-specific show set at the Glasgow Panopticon, the oldest surviving dance hall in the world, and drew inspiration from the Panopticon’s heyday of 1857-1938. The show was filled with tribal fusion, Egyptian bellydance, vaudeville and burlesque. The latter sent the show into the adults-only territory, yet people were being turned away at the door. As Elspeth notes, it seemed that much of the audience was drawn from outside the bellydance community. Bringing the art to a wider audience? Oh yes!

Now that I’ve had my moment of smugness, let’s consider the show itself. Its carefully-considered mixture of acts was what made it. The interspersing of group acts, solos and theatrical pieces (overlapping with the previous two) kept the show lively, and the inclusion of several props and Egyptian pieces (including a Golden Age-inspired piece by Susanna of Habiba Dance) demonstrated the breadth of bellydance.

To get a wee bit personal (whenever is this blog not about me?), my two favourite performances were given by Laura and Ali, both of Sarasvati Tribal. Laura briefly forsook tribal to return to her Egyptian roots, performing as Mata Hari aiding her lover in stealing an officer’s documents by entrancing the officer. I loved the conceit, but the enjoyment was in the execution—Laura was entrancing, and the gentleman playing the officer played his response perfectly. It was enticing, it was humorous, and it was dramatic.

Ali danced with fan veils in a piece entitled “An Homage to Loie Fuller”. These are the dryest terms possible to describe her solo. When she entered, she faced away from the audience, towards me—I was the first to see her full-on—and I couldn’t start the music. Not because of any technical difficulty, but because I was stunned, in awe. Her hair was loose, her dress long and white, and her white silk fan veils were draped over her arms, and I remember thinking that she looked like a Greek goddess—Athena, maybe. And then I remembered oh yes, she’s supposed to dance, too, jarred myself, and hit play. And then the magic happened. That dance, that experience, is indescribable, and I was privileged to see it.

In closing—because little can follow that—I’ve been listening to the music from the show since it finished (as musical dictator, I got to keep the music!). The music from the piece entitled “Arsenical Bun” has been stuck in my head.

As only one thing could have followed Ali’s performance, only one thing can finish this blogpost. Therefore, I present to you the fabulous Nagwa! If you look carefully, you can see me running the music and the lights in the back (look for the Tophat of Power!).

Crocheted coral reefs.

I first saw my first of these a few years back—not really sure how many at this point, but it was while browsing online for patterns. I eventually was led to the Institute for Figuring, who run the Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef, a fascinating project combining crafting, mathematics, feminism, and… well, read it in their own words, as they phrase it far more intelligently than I can at the end of a long day.

Being a literature person, I could say that mathematics aren’t my strong point, and thus it’s odd that I’m attracted to this project. But that would be a lie—I enjoyed maths in school (to a certain point), and when I really started to get into knitting I wanted to revise my geometry (which I have yet to have time for). I just didn’t like it as much as reading. I have the feeling that, had I discovered knitting and crochet far earlier, I would have been far more interested in maths. (Small note: My mother loves maths, but to my surprise has only been casually interested in knitting and crochet so far, though she did once make me a fabulous scarf).

Anyway, the IFF had links to other reefs, both “satellites” of their projects and independent, which I browsed and browsed and browsed. Here and there, when I had a spare bit of yarn, I crocheted a small coral form; on one occasion of brief madness, I made an anemone out of plastic bags.

Cue moving! The instigation for the dalek has been the instigation for another item. One of our windows has a small but significant draft (as it doesn’t close properly), and I’m not one for stuffing tissues into cracks. Thus, I am knitting a draught dodger. Then, once it is finished and stuffed, it will become the base for…

…the Draught Reef.

If it goes well, I plan to make a jewel-toned reef that will conglomerate onto a ring… and be hung on my wall. Most of my walls have some sort of decoration on it (rather a lot, in some cases), but the one above my bed is surprisingly bare. As the rest of the room has batik prints, hanging jellyfish, postcards of sea otters and Hawaiian cards, a reef-garden wall sculpture would be fitting. Also, this will officially be part of the Hibernation Offensive, as it’s stash-busting AND gathering together knitted forms that have been useless until now.

So. Fibre art and wall sculptures. I think I’ve officially gone mad.

In short, once the Draft Reef is finished I’ll make the wall sculpture… After I knit a tea-cozy, because there’s nothing that makes crocheting slower than cold tea.

Coming soon: More bellydance articles, and a round-up of Festival!

Which brings us to today’s point.

I recently moved in to a new flat with flatmates of similar personality to those described above (ok, so one introduced me to Merlin, and started the movie-nights—credit where it’s due!). And when I live in a flat with people I like, I tend to get a bit crazy about themes and concepts that can be associated with said flat, though in a horribly geeky manner. Thus in undergrad our “quad” of four became Hobbiton; Frodo and Sam in one room, Merry and Pippin in the other. I’ve matured a little since then (just a little), and no longer need wide, overarching themes. However, there are certain things that geeky flats need.

DALEKS.

Okay, maybe that’s just what I think. But I suggested to my (then-future-)flatmate that maybe, just maybe, what our flat needed was a dalek. Which brings us to the “absurdity” mentioned above, because once seizing on an idea I can’t leave well enough alone. Thus my thought process proceeded something like this:

I know a knitting pattern for a dalek! Squishy knitted dalek! Yay!

Oooh, do you know what would be even more awesome? A TWEED dalek. He’d match Eleven!

NO NO NO. THE ONLY THING THAT CAN MAKE THIS MORE AWESOME? PURPLE.

Yes, folks, from the person who brought you the first-ever axe cozy (which I should really post on one of these days), I bring you: the purple tweed dalek.

And if you must know, I finished him while watching the whole of the Ninth Doctor’s series. In one day. I didn’t mean to, necessarily, but I needed a diagram on where to sew his blast-gun, etc., on to, and there was a picture in the booklet in the DVD boxset, and while it was out I might as well just watch a few episodes…

The end of the pattern encourages you to “go forth and exterminate the world with cuddly evil”. Now, I’m not so sure about the exterminating — I’d like to keep my visa, kthx — but cuddly? Boy, were they right.

What I attended were two workshops on two days, with a hafla in-between (there was a previous workshop and hafla that week that I was unable to afford).  Both workshops included a very gentle non-yoga warm-up, which was a nice change from normal yoga-heavy tribal. The first workshop had several really interesting combinations that I will definitely be using, while the second workshop was attended mostly by teachers and pro performers, with a few intermediate students (ok, me) along for the ride. Both classes used a lot of slow moves and material, which inspired me to challenge myself–I haven’t yet been brave enough to perform something slow, feeling awkward and ungainly when I practice such. Sherri also has the most amazing arabic shimmies and level changes I’ve ever seen, a further inspiration! Also, I’m far more shouldery now than before that weekend!

Overall, I felt both challenged and comfortable with Sherri’s workshops and style. Though certainly tribal, her style feels rather intimate and soft to me, which I really liked, as though I like to watch very technical pop-lock-layer bellydance, both in tribal and regional styles (such as American or Russian strains), it feels more natural to me to dance softlywith the pop-lock for accent.

The second-to-last gem that I’m holding on to was a brief moment where Sherri informed that she’s not a natural performer; she didn’t seek the spotlight in her childhood. I am a natural performer (read: mug for attention), but oftentimes I really have to psyche myself up to properly perform–there’s still that niggling in the back of the mind saying “people don’t really want to watch/listen” (first manifesting itself when I took voice lessons). That thought needs to be CRUSHED WITH EXTREME PREJUDICE.

In short, the greatest thing I got out of Sherri’s workshops was feeling comfortable in my own dance.

Now that I’ve gotten far too personal, the HAFLA!! It was fabulous, though I wasn’t able to watch as much as I liked (being far too paranoid about balancing my sword… and that my solos-in-public are still in the single-digits…and picking over Sherri’s costume in my over-obsessive manner, which she was very kind to allow!). We had a wonderful variety of performers on both the Egyptian and tribal sides of things; it was particularly tribal-heavy for a Scottish hafla, which was a nice change from the norm! We even had a bit of the gothic creep in, thanks to the fabulous Bex! Like most haflas, though, it was a “you-had-to-be-there” to really understand the awesomocity of it.

For that purpose, I present to you my last gem: Sherri’s final performance from the Glasgow hafla! Many thanks to her for the permission to post it. Also, a wee anecdote: the last of Sherri’s songs was actually something I had discovered only two weeks before the workshops, and my first response was “Someone needs to dance to that!” Imagine how thrilled I was when she did!

P.S. I also got a mention in the August issue of Nafoura, in “A Tribal Update from Scotland” (p.98, article starts p.96)! Thank you, Doris! (Also, gorgeous pictures of my dear friend Tamsin inside!)

Coming soon: knitting! As soon as I finish the current project. It’s a SURPRISE.

Of course, it’s not quite Festival yet. After all, the Book Festival has two weeks until start, and that’s the only one I ever properly attend. However, this week is Fringe previews–so cheap tickets and interesting times are ahead!

Last night, as my first festival event this year, I went to see Axis of Awesome, which I was first exposed to via this YouTube video:

It was a fabulous way to start the festival – I laughed through the whole thing. And yes, they finished with Four Chords, but had tweaked it—additions included Lady Gaga, Barbie Girl, and AULD LANG SYNE.

I was giggling all the way home.

Coming soon: bellydance workshop review and current knitting projects, as well as more festival!

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.

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!

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.

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?”