La Femme Fantastique- Exploring HerStory

It's time again for the annual BFLA -Belly Fusion Los Angeles show!  The theme this year is La Femme Fantastique and my dance troupe She'enedra is going to do a piece about Rosie the Riveters.  I assume most people are familiar with who Rosie was but maybe not.  During World War II when all the men were sent off to war the women were encouraged to go out and work in factories and many take traditionally male jobs to keep the country running.
Here is the famous icon of Rosie and a link to a wikipedia article about her which is very interesting...
Rosie the Riveter - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For this piece I've gathered a few extra dancers to fill the stage out so we will have 7 dancers and a couple of handsome soldier boys too!  

Here is the Facebook invitation to the show: https://www.facebook.com/events/1477113725882309/

And here is a link to buy your tickets!!  http://www.eventbrite.com/e/bfla-presents-la-femme-fantastique-tickets-12924340049

Spring time run down

Remember the "what I did last summer" essays you wrote when you were a kid?  Well this is what I did this spring only more pictures then essay!

I got to perform in Club Bellydance at Club Fais Do Do in L.A. with the Bellydance Superstars!  

 Then there was the Ojai Belly Dance Festival daytime was vending and dancing with my student troupe Tandava.

 

Tandava

In the night show I danced with She'enedra representing the Goddess Tiamit you can watch the video here:  She'Enedra @ Ojai Bellydance Festival 2013 - YouTube

 There was a lot of egg painting again...

 And spinning a Cotswold fleece off the combs.

As usual too much spinning!  Sorry I don't have pictures of everything!  Also I cleaned out my fiber, fabric & yarn stash and reorganized it.  This took 2 weeks.

I did a swap with a Ravelry group I belong to called Fun Onions.  This is what I got in the swap...I will be blogging more details about this soon with the resulting batt and yarn.

 Oh yes Newbury Park had a BIG fire...this is the view from my porch.

 We had a May Day party...that is the only picture I could find including myself! 

 And I made new Circus Not Pants and posted them on Etsy!  http://www.etsy.com/listing/150829470/circus-striped-not-pants-booty-short?ref=shop_home_feat

Just so you know the professional dance pictures are by Photographers Clint Marien and Roger Hendrix!  

BFLA - Belly Fusion Los Angeles

 BFLA did an awesome show in Hollywood on Saturday night called Cinema Classics 

She'enedra danced with Jillian in my place (so imagine her in this picture instead of me).  They did a tribute to Rosemary Clooney with some of my choreography as well as a She'enedra choreography.  I went along to watch and sported a hot pink wig since I thought that would be more cheerful than a hat!

AND they got some great pictures in the L.A. Weekly!  So take a look at that!!

http://www.laweekly.com/slideshow/belly-fusion-los-angeles-the-acme-theater-37754857/#28
I also am writing a review of the show which will include a lot more pictures later this week!

February 1

Time to rededicate myself to blogging every Wednesday again. I have been so over scheduled for the last 3 months that I have not had much time to do some of the fun things I want to do. Or maybe the fun things I do have really taken over my life? Not sure.

In the dance teacher part of my life I've started class sessions again and I'm preparing my student troupe Tandava to dance in Bohemian Roadhouse in a few weeks. We are all really excited, it's a Mardi Gras themed show and we'll have Sherri Wheatley & Sooz teaching workshops as well as being featured in our show. My class is wearing these wrap around skirts that are short in front & long in back, black & green bras, masks, feathers, fish net stockings and they are going to look fabulous. I'm not sure why but this round not many of my students are sew-ers so I have to do a lot of the skirts myself. Oh what I go through to make everyone pretty.

Tandava after our Circus piece at TFF '10

The exciting weaving news is that Jason Collingwood is coming to California and Ventura Guild is hosting him for part of his tour. I'm excited and have to warp the loom I've borrowed from the guild to be ready for the class. I can't wait to try my hand at rug weaving!

As a spinner, I've been doing much of what I always do...spinning yards and yards of yarn and I got Jacey Bogg's new book Spin Art. I am involved with her Insubordiknit group on Ravelry and we are working on all the techniques in the book. Even though I've done most of them before it's really good to make a study of each one to solidify my understanding of each yarn.

The first yarn in the book included a racing stripe. I did it a few times and wasn't happy at first. I spun a thin single out of a Mohair blend -that was very hard to draft- with S twist. Then I attached that single to a leader & spun a thick merino single and allowed the mohair to spin around it simultaneously. After a few miserable attempts I realized that in order to make the thicker yarn AND control the thin racing stripe at the same time I really had to get a larger whorl for my wheel. This made a world of difference...now I may actually do the yarn again. Since I have also spun some other thick singles just for the fun of it.

Multi Mohair Racing stripes with White merino/Teal merino/Black merino

My dance troupe She'enedra performed in a show called Bands and Bellies in Hollywood on January 22. It was fabulous fun! Princess Farhana was there as well as Monica Fernandez and many other beautiful performers.

Heidi, me, Tonantzin, Karma (yes those are their real names)

I also had a lot of fun with my friend Carolena, she came over to hang out and spin with me and stayed the night at the beginning of the month and then came out AGAIN last week and we had an indigo dye day with the craft grou. It was a very windy day and we had to work in the garage. If you've ever dyed with indigo you know how smelly it is. I'm waiting for some people to contribute pictures of the day so I can post them.

me & Carolena

I'm making these spindles for my Etsy shop and will be posting them soon.

That's the report on January! I'll be more consistent from now on so I don't have to put a whole month of news in one post!

Zulu Lounge

Zulu Lounge is a party that is put on by some friends of mine Khani & Zulu who own an amazing Tattoo shop in West Hollywood (my daughter Jillian is also apprenticing w/ Zulu-lucky kid). They arrange wonderful shows quarterly to raise funds for different charities. This time the show is EXTRA SPECIAL because it will feature Rachel Brice & the Fishtank Ensemble! Why am I posting this on my blog you may ask...because my troupe She'enedra is also dancing in the show! So we are in a show with Rachel Brice not a festival...tee heee! I'm kinda excited!

Livin' & learnin' people who are famous and little ole' me!

I have to say that I LOVE my life! I don't mean to brag or anything I just kind of can't believe the exposure I've had to talent & fun recently and I MUST share! Unfortunately I was so excited much of the time I didn't take pictures so you will just have to try to believe this is true!

First- Workshop in Spinning Textured (formerly known as Art Yarns) Yarns with Jacey Boggs.

I had the honor of hosting Jacey at my home during this workshop. She is an awesome inspiring woman and she brought along her film crew of 2 Chris & Julie who were equally as awesome. The first day they were here I wanted to show them some of the area. We drove home along the coast because the ocean is worth the detour. We had a spectacular lunch at Real Food Daily in Santa Monica and then we went hiking up here near my house. This is one thing I am most sorry to have no picture of...we saw a rattle snake! Jacey took pictures and I hope to see them on her blog eventually, maybe. I have never seen a rattle snake on the trail before, it even rattled at us. When we were coming back around the trail loop to the end I was thinking to myself, well I've never seen a rattler before surely I won't see one again for a long time- I was hoping to see a deer instead- when low and behold there was a 2nd rattler. Crazy huh?

Then the workshop was great, I learned a lot of tricks that I had missed from the dvd. There is nothing like learning something in person. And let me tell you if you have a chance to take this class you must do it! Jacey is an excellent, patient and thoughtful teacher. Even if you think you know everything you will learn something new or at least have a ball.

I snagged a few workshop pictures from Ercil...I hope she forgives me. And I even am putting in a picture where I look terrible just to show you I was there!

The following weekend I went to Cairo Caravan on the Queen Mary and danced with my troupes She'enedra & Tandava also wicked fun! I will post a video of the dance this week. It is my choreography inspired by the book the Red Tent.

I was home for one day after Cairo Caravan and I jumped into my car and drove up to my friend Carolena Nerrichio's house (if you are a belly dancer you know who she is). And then we went on a pilgrimage to take a cotton spinning class with Stephanie Gastaud at her home in the mountains. Stephanie is also an amazing and patient teacher, I love the way she listens to people and then just says the right thing so you understand. Just unbelieveable! We of course got to meet her husband Alden Amos as well, they are so super cute! And Carolena kept calling their home & property fairy land, and it was. We were in total spinning heaven. Wheels & books & plants...lovely, I want to move there and be their neighbor. I hope they like me ; )

Once again I learned lots of great tips and improvements on my cotton spinning. Don't squish your cotton! wow all this time I've been compacting the stuff!

Back on my whirlwind to San Francisco, stayed the night at Carolena's...6-7 hours drive home ugh!

I did remember my camera...

Then I thought it was all over and I would just sit quietly and read and reflect and practice my spinning but I had one more little thing happen. My guild received the gift of several amazing alpaca fleeces and I got one for myself and one I am spinning up that will be made into a gift for the lady who donated these fleeces to us-she is very ill and we hope that the shawl will bring her some comfort. Anyway this is the cleanest fleece I have ever seen! Just flick and spin amazing!

I am grateful.

arrrr ye tired of pirates yet?

Well year 2009 Pirate faire is over and I thought I'd just attach a few more pics for the fun of it...I know there are more floating around the web too. These are from my friend Ayleene, she is a fabulous photographer, her website is in the watermark www.ittybittydemon.com

round #2-Pirate faire

I love the idea of going, but weekend #2 is here and I have to go camping for 3 days! I am not packed. I understand that for the general public 2 weekends of a faire is preferable, but for me who has to work 3 shows a day in 90* heat...well let's just say it's a different story! I would like nothing better than to stay home and putter around the garden and bake a pizza.

Oh yes you heard me complaining! haha! my bad...bad bad bad!



Let me make it up to you with chocolate muffins...chocolate chocolate chip muffins in fact! They are NOT on anyone's diet, they have sugar, butter, & taste like brownies only you can carry them around in your hand...you could even eat one while riding your bicycle...which I think I may do in a few minutes.


see! Jillian approves this recipe!

I made these up while I was in the kitchen so I'm trying to remember the recipe now....
preheat oven 350*
line muffin tins w/ papers or grease them w/ your choice of stuff (I would choose butter).
makes 12 muffins

2 cups of unbleached flour (or you can use organic whole wheat pastry flour too)
3/4 cup sugar (I use the brownish kind you get from the health food store)
3/4 cup Dutch cocoa powder, I use Droste natuurlijk!
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
mix dry ingredients with a whisk breaking up any clumps of concentrated powder

in separate bowl
6 tablespoons melted sweet cream butter
about 1 1/2 cups milk (start w/ 1 and add more if the batter is too thick)
1 egg
beat the egg into the other liquids

add the wet ingredients to the dry at this point add more liquid if necessary, you know what muffin batter should look like right? Thicker than cake or pancakes, wetter than cookies.
Use an easy hand to mix
Dump in about 3/4 of a bag of organic dark chocolate chips and mix some more.

fill muffin tins
check at 20 minutes, they may need a few more minutes

You can also spread these with a little cream cheese that has been mixed with powdered sugar & half and half.