Here is the first index of Belly Dance moves, the Core Index. For each move that I have a tutorial for I’ll add a clickable popup to the tutorial. I haven’t done tutorials for all the moves yet (sorry!) but they’ll be added as I go. The indexes are not intended to teach the moves thoroughly, but to give you an idea of dance terminology and what the moves look like. Hope you like it! Thanks for watching.
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New Project: Belly Dance Index
So I’ve been very active lately. I’ve actually been filming (and making a sound stage… which happens to be about four times as time consuming as I thought it would be) for the last little bit, to do a new project that I’ve wanted to do for a while, and that is a video index of all the belly dance moves I could think of.
How it will work is it really will function as an index or an encyclopedia, with each move being introduced for only a few seconds one after the other, and then I’ll put the links for the actual tutorial of the moves in the video description or in the little popup bubbles.
The first one will be the Core Moves Index, which will focus on torso moves like camels, taqsims, and undulations. The first video will be uploaded this Sunday, December 2, 2012.
Also I searched for several terms on YouTube to see if I could find anything like this online (I couldn’t find anything which is mostly the reason why I wanted to do it because terminology and knowing where to locate tutorials quickly is, in my opinion, important) but I DID stumble upon this little gem when I typed in ‘encyclopedia of dance’ in the search bar:
White and Red Outfit: Part 1
Here is the newest addition to the costuming section: the top/shirt for the White and Red Outfit (I know, I’m so creative with names).
I’m trying to make this a super easy costume because the last one, The Green Outfit, was pretty tough and time consuming. I’m also working on filming some more dance tutorials, but it’ll take a while for the filming and editing so in the interim, you get costumes! :D
Anyhoo, here is the first part in what should be a three part outfit.
I’m Back! Dur dur dur…
So last post I said I wouldn’t be doing very much for about a month until I took the LSAT (Labyrinthinely Scary Abominable Test) which… is over!
That’s how I’ve felt for 3 days!
So yes. It’s back to the old grindstone. Just in case anybody’s wondering (yes, this is a personal post and not so much having to do with anything relevant at all) I got two sections of my least favorite tests (instead of one, you never know with the LSAT what you’re getting) so… that kind of sucks. But fingers crossed! Hopefully I guessed REALLY well, got a 180, and I’m a shoe-in for law school! :)
Wouldn’t that be nice?
Outfit No. #1: The Green Outfit
I’m finished! Finally. :)
And you know, I’m actually rather pleased with the result. I had some awesome material, a sewing machine that had never been used, and apparently, too much time on my hands (ok, not really. This took me a lot longer than I wanted it to.) Hopefully this inspires something in someone out there, because you too can make a crazy-A costume like this.
Little bit of an update, I’m going to do another skirt for sure (the red outfit…?), but I just wanted to let everyone know that I am (and have) slowed down a bit due to something that has absolutely nothing to do with belly dance or hip hop. I’m taking the LSAT in October (Oct. 6 to be exact) and I’ve just been swamped with studying. It’s a really, really tough test and also, freaking expensive, so yes, I have slowed down production, but I’m aiming to have at least one more outfit tutorial or dance tutorial up this month. I know it doesn’t seem like a lot, but again, MUST STUDY.
Hopefully this outfit inspires somebody somewhere to take to the sewing machine! If not, well… I’ll make a different one.
Sketch of Green Outfit
So here’s the costume idea so far (click on the picture for a larger view):
My model is clearly trapped in the ’80s with that hair
- Black Pants
- Belt
- Green Overlay Skirt
- Green Arm Bands
- Green Halter Top
As you can see, I’m not an artist, but it’s a pretty simple design so I’m excited. I’ve already started on the arm bands, and holy canola oil, it’s time consuming – although that might honestly be because I’m really slow… But it feels like it’s taking forever. In reality, it’s probably only been an hour but I’m lazy and these arm bands just go on and on.
Well that’s it really. Just an update on the newest (first) costume. I call it ‘The Green Outfit’ because I’m using green cloth and I’m original like that.
Costuming for N00bs…
I’m thinking of cobbling together a whole new outfit this week (a simple outfit) just to have… you know, more things to dance in.
The reality is, costuming for belly dance, and to a lesser degree costuming for hip hop, can be extremely expensive.
You’re killing us Nike
So I just decided I’d make it myself.
Which could never end badly…
But the reality is, I’m not a costumer or designer or fashionista or seamstress. Not by a long shot.
But! I have a cunning plan. I’ll just destroy other already-made shirts, pants, bras, and nylon to get to a whole new outfit. And anything I have to sew, well, I’ll just make whatever’s the easiest thing to make – because really, no false modesty here, I cannot sew things. I have a sewing machine, I’ve thought about sewing before, I’ve dreamed of turning it on and throwing cloth into it and having it spit out something beautiful:
My sewing machine never gave me that kind of flexibility either…
But sadly, it turns out sewing machines don’t actually work that way. When will you catch up technology? When?
So I’m going to just dive head first into the costuming arena, and hopefully by this weekend we’ll have learned something new together, or you’ll have something to laugh at – which is totally fine by me. People need laughs, and let’s all just be really honest, failure can be hilarious (which is why failblog exists).
So here’s the breakdown as I see it:
- Step 1: Get an idea (also known as “kyping someone else’s ideas” – because I don’t reinvent wheels)
- Step 2: Plan costume (must learn to sketch…)
- Step 3: Get supplies
- Step 4: Turn on camera
- Step 5: Make costume
- Step 6: Post to website
I’m confident in my ability to do all of the above – with the possible exception of Step 5…
So I guess right now I’m in phase one: ripping other people off and envisioning a new costume for future Frankensteinization.
I need to do something really simple. I mean really simple. I’m going to start off with just a few easy aspects of costuming and then probably accessorize like crazy. Skirt-wise I’d like to have a 40 foot skirt, just because they’re feminine and flowing and I don’t actually have one (most of my closet is cabaret).
I was thinking something like this:
I would lighten up the top, but I love the 40-foot tucked skirt and I really like the top
OK, I might not do that top exactly, but it does look like it’s just a modified ¾ shirt, which honestly, would be easy to do. While looking up 40-foot skirts on YouTube I also happened to see this shiny thing here and… I want it.
Love the outfit, LOVE this dance!
I like the bright colors, the sequins, the fact that she doesn’t look like she’s going to fall out of her top (because serious dancers know you gotta protect the girls!), and I particularly love the fanning out properties of her deceptively simple-looking skirt. She can actually move in the outfit, jump around, and not worry about tripping over the skirt or having a wardrobe malfunction. It’s just a great outfit.
I personally think that’s what dancers really need. It’s great to look like a sexy diva goddess, but it’s usually pretty hard on your ability to move around – which is ever so slightly important in dance…
I know I’ll be making a top, and I’m sure at least one accessory, and probably destroying some already existing pants in the process.
For my top I’ll make something really really simple, like a halter top.
That’s easy. Right?
I’m also thinking of making or getting some arm wear, because accessorizing is always easier than sewing on sleeves.
OK maybe not that exact arm wear, but something tasteful and appropriate for the costume
So, I’m looking at the basics: pants/skirt, belt, top, and maybe some… flair.
At LEAST this much flair
So right now I’m just floating around ideas, but by Friday I think I’ll have an actual work in progress.
Decisions, Decisions!
So the Las Vegas Belly Dance Intensive is coming up and as I mentioned in a previous post, I’m totally going. Well, I’m going to sign up for it sometime this month, but the thing is they make you sign up for each specific class at checkout and I just can’t decide which classes to take! It’s like being a kid in an Oompa Loompa factory. GAH my brain!
So not to be a giant me-monster, but… help a body out?
Here’s the thing, I’ve never been to one of these things and I don’t know the teachers personally. Some of them have DVDs that I own, but I’m not really sure you can get a good handle on a person’s ability to teach a class through a DVD. Also, some of the classes just sound awesome, but then, sounding awesome and being awesome are two different things and then they line them up together so tightly that you’re forced to choose between awesome sounding stuff and other awesome sounding stuff!
So here’s the lineup and my musings right now, and if anyone has any suggestions for classes and why, they are greatly appreciated.
Thursday, Sept. 6 and Friday, Sept. 7, 2012
This is between Sadie Marquardt with Arabic Pop and Colleena Shakti with Indian Fusion.
I imagine the Indian Fusion will look something like this:
And Arabic Pop with Sadie might look a little more like:
Body Art 101 Part 3: Glitter Tattoos and Other Sparklies
So this week I want to talk about glitter tattoos, mica tattoos, and those fake jewels you can plaster all over yourself.
Pretty awesome
Firstly, body glitter. Body glitter can be used to accentuate other types of ‘fake’ tattoos, such as henna or jagua, as seen in the picture above. It’s important to get the right kind of glitter, as store bought craft glitter is usually a bit larger than body glitter, heavier, and harder to hold onto. Also, if you go to the right place, you can get tons of different colors, colors you’re just not going to find in Walmart’s craft section.
One of my favorite places is amerikanbodyart.com. They have a ton of body art supplies, but mostly their fairly reasonably priced, and they offer wholesale pricing, which can come in really handy if you’re prepared to spend more than $150. Which might honestly be worth it some cases, depending how often you perform with glitter. They also offer mica, which can be used to make, you guessed it, mica tattoos.
Body Art 101 Part 2: Jagua
As part of a blog on body art, let’s go over jagua. Like henna, jagua can be used to stain the skin. It permanently dyes the skin but then your skin falls off and it goes away in about 10 days.
Jagua is derived from the fruit of Genipa.
Which is just a narly looking fruit by the way…
Jagua has been used in South America to dye skin for a good long while. At least for a thousand years. Being a permanent dye, jagua is basically just like an ink tattoo when injected underneath the skin, and some South Americans, such as the Matses, use it this way.
See the mouth markings? Yeah, that’s never going away…
But jagua is most commonly used on the skin and not underneath it to give the appearance of a genuine ink tattoo that is in fact, not permanent.
