New Dance Pictures!

Yup, I’m at it again.  I’ve got new dance pictures.  All of this is because of a spiffy new costume.  Okay, it’s not a new costume as per say.  Much of it is old costume pieces.  You can see the same old teal skirt.  There’s the same purple skirt.  The magenta choli has returned.  The belt Sarah gave me is there too, though you may not recognize it.  Under there is the same blue hip shawl worn over the same purple one.  There’s the same purple cotton gause pantaloons.  In reality, it’s the same costume I’ve been wearing right along.  However, I’ve obviously made it more flashy!  Let’s take a look, shall we?

What have we hear?  An unflattering butt shot, right?  Isn’t that attractive?  Well, probably not with the way my arms are all sloppy, but it’s a great view of some other stuff that I’d really like to show off, so I’m going to use it anyways.  What am I trying to focus on here?  You see that pink and silver belt?  Recognize it?  It’s the one Sarah gave me back in January.  Looks a lot different, doesn’t it?  That’s because I added tassels!  Yes, I spent a rediculous amount of time making and sewing on tassles to make this belt flashier.  Thirteen tassels are on there now and there’s soon to be more.  Aren’t they lovely folks?  Don’t they brighten the whole look up?  Then there’s the bra top. I love the way it ties!  It takes all the weight off the back of my neck!  It’s so comfy!  Of course, it would have looked better if Oz were to center the knot on my spine instead of having it offset, but that’s okay.  Then there’s those flowers.  I have a blister on my hand from making those hair pieces!  Hot glue is, well, hot!  Imagine that!  High temp glue is also not a good idea for very narrow flower stems, as I found out.  Oh well…  Lesson learned, right?  I’ll be smarter next time.  This is what I get for listening to the directions that say "High temp is best for floral arrangements, plastics, and metals".  Maybe next time I won’t listen and will rely on good old experimentation!  That’s always served me well before!

Flattering pic?  Not really, but look!  Baby belly!  It’s starting to show in my costume!  Oh, yeah, and that’s pretty much what the natural light conditions in the Shisha Lounge are like.  You can really see why my regular fare costumes don’t show up too well.  They’re just too dark.  However, now I’ve got blacklight reactive and sparkles!  I stand out much better now!

Another pic that’s not terribly flattering, but it’s kind of artsy.  Well, I think so at least.

I think this is one of the most attractive pictures Sarah has taken of me yet.  You can really see that baby belly popping out!  I just love this picture.  And you can see my tip basket front and center too.  Too bad no one used it…

And last, but not least, we have the perfect picture to the end of the show on Oz’s birthday.  Yup, that’s my love!  Now if only he’d learn to smile in pictures!  He’s VERY self-concious about smiling in pictures.  He barely more than smirks when we’re in public.  If I didn’t know better, I’d say he was shy!  This is also a great view of the coin belt, the front of the tassel belt, the new bra, the matching necklace, and headdress.  This is also the only front view I have of the floral hair arrangement.  However, my make-up looks aweful in this light.  The reverse highlighting looked so much better in the darkly lit Shisha Lounge.  Oh, yeah, and most importantly, BABY BELLY!!!  That’s right folks, you can really see it all out there!  Part of it’s because I’m not holding my very lifted dance posture (which tones down the appearance of belly), and I’m not arching my back or anything to exaggerate it.  Nope, I’m just standing there like I usually do.  Baby’s hanging all out like it usually does!  And just because Oz had to say something about it, no, I’m not looking like a stripper!  I’m looking like a belly dancer that actually gets tips!  Now if only I’d gotten a few more!  And yes, I know he was only joking.

I noticed something funny about my bra.  It’s a Catholic bra.  It’s got saints medals for the Virgin Mary, St. Ann, St. Francis, and St. Dymphnia.  The current running joke is that clearly Catholics don’t have to repent for stairing at my breasts when I wear that thing.  Clearly they’re just paying homage to the saints!  I know that’s so incredibly wrong, but I think it’s funny.  After all, I was raised Catholic!

Next show I get to bring out my snake!  I’m so excited!  I can’t wait to dance with a snake at The Shisha Lounge!  That’s going to be so much fun!  Unfortunately, my time at the Shisha Lounge may quickly be coming to an end for 2009.  Wendy asked me if I wanted to take off from October until the baby’s born.  That makes me sad because I REALLY wanted to do October!  I’m excited about having a show so close to Halloween!  Sarah and I are even trying to talk her into doing some kind of special event for Halloween!  While Wendy is totally accepting that I still feel comfortable doing this, she wants to make sure I’m not hurting myself or anything.  I think she worries because about this point Gina could only do five minutes at a time.  She couldn’t handle a full fifteen minute set.  I’ve got to be honest, the fifteen minute sets are getting a bit long for me, but I think I’ve still got a few months in me yet.  I just need to focus on getting back in shape (I’ve been lazy the past couple months) and working on sets that are slower and easier to handle.  It’s going to be a challenge for me because my favored pace is fast and wild.  I told Wendy I’d like to play it month by month and I’m staying in constant contact with my midwife about it.  A part of me wanted to say "Well, Gina wasn’t as experienced as I am, so she wasn’t capable of handling it as well as I am."  Besides, that was Gina’s first pregnancy.  This

is my third.  I’m pretty sure I know what I’m ready for.  I think I may call performing off in November, but I haven’t decided yet.  I’m going to determine what the plan is for October once I see how I’m feeling in September.  I’ll determine November in October.  In truth, if the baby isn’t here by the Decemer show, I’ll gladly dance that too, but I’ll ask for the final set of the night and not to be put in the advertising in case I can’t make it in time.  I have no problems dancing until the day I go into labor.  Of course, I know I won’t be performing in December.  I’m not sure I’ll be performing in November for that matter!  However, I’m quite happy that I’m still going to be able to stick it out a while longer.  I’m doing what I love after all!

In other news, I just got a raise!  That’s right, I’m now making more!  I guess when Ruya decided to come in she held firm about her pricing.  Wendy probably feels too bad to pay her more than Sarah and I, especially when we’ve been the regular dancers there and there are return visitors just to see us.  Personally, I’m happy for it.  It’s not a huge rate change or anything.  Still, it’s good to know that we’re getting fair treatment from the owner.  I guess I won’t feel so bad if I don’t renegotiate my prices in January.  After all, I don’t think the establishment can afford to go any higher on the rates right now.  Granted, business is usually pretty hopping when we’re there, but we’ll see how things continue in the future.

Honestly, I think a part of me is getting my spark for dance back.  I’ve realized what I enjoy about dance.  I’ve made the decision that I might not go back to teaching after the baby’s born.  I’m just not feeling it.  I suppose if I’ve got a ton of students lined up for my classes that might be different.  If I had some serious interest in the form of dance that I love, that might be different.  Right now it’s just not worth it to show up for one or two students every week.  It’s too much work, too costly, and too draining.  I don’t enjoy it the way I should.  It’s just not fun.  It was great when I had Sharon, Gina, Krystal, and Virginia in the class, but since they’ve left it kind of seems lonely.  I can definitely understand.  Two of them have had babies now.  One of them will be having her baby around Halloween.  Then there’s one that’s taken the summer off from the hectic schedule of life.  I can’t blame them.  They have lives and they can’t focus on dance all the time.  Still, I miss them.  They always used to make me smile no matter what was going wrong in my life.  I miss them.  If I could have a student group like that, I think I could revive my love again.  However, I just don’t know.

What I’m finding I really love about dance is performing.  I really wish I could find an ATS group to be involved in.  I’d love to be able to perform as part of a troupe again.  I’ve decided for troupe stuff I love ATS.  I hate choreography and I love the feel of improvising with other dancers.  I love the way things just happen and all the dancers just kind of flow with it.  I’d love to have that back.  I love performing as a soloist too.  While I do miss the connection you find in a group, it’s still fun to do a solo thing.  I miss having a drummer I could connect with.  I miss having a great audience that really gets into it, not that I’ve had much of that.  There’s just something different about really connecting through dance.

So once the baby’s born, I think I’m going to focus on professional dance.  I think I’m going to put instruction on the back burner for now.  Instead I’m going to focus on advancing myself and becoming what I really want to become.  I think it’s time I took some space for me.  I’ve been teaching for over a year straight now.  I think I can afford some time off, a little break.

Speaking of breaks, it’s getting late.  I should get to bed.

~*~Rave~*~