News and Notes for June
Hello Gang!
This month I was feeling a little silly, and "Every
Dancer Needs A Red Costume" was the result. I have been
tremendously busy on a book promotion tour! I now have the time
to wrap up this edition of Costumer's Notes and get it online!
The Glossary is growing more slowly
than I had anticipated, but this month I have gotten a few items
up. Our links list, in contrast,
is growing more rapidly as folks continue to write and let me
know they are out there.
The Site
As the site moves on and develops, we are adding and refining
features. At the suggestion of a reader, we have decided to include
a brief listing of some of the more prominent events in the Southwest
Region. June, July and August promise to be full of lots of opportunities
to attend workshops, festivals and dance shows in LA and the
Bay Area. If you like reading Costumer's Notes, drop us a line!
We've started adding more folks to the links page. If you have
a dance or related site, we will be happy to link you.
In response to feedback, I got the old digital camera to work
and photographed the process of making the reversible
hip wrap I described back in the February edition. Many people
wrote asking for illustrations, well, I figured I would experiment
with taking photos. The photos
turned out well! I will try to incorporate more projects like
this in future issues.
Recent Events
The third week of May I was able to attend the wonderful
'Spring Festival in Reno' sponsored by the Two
Old Bags. It was a fabulous event with two wonderful workshops
by two internationally acclaimed dancers and teachers, Amaya
and Suzanna Del Vecchio.
The gala show was wonderful, and I had the opening slot, which
allowed me to sit back, relax and enjoy the rest of the show.
There were numerous performers from around the west. One of Barry's
favorites was Asha
of Reno, who performed one of their award winning routines.
All of the viewers were in for a lucky treat because both of
the stars performed twice! Barry took some photographs of the
event.
Memorial day weekend, I attended BayCon
2001. I bumped into Aziza of Costuming
by Aziza! who was selling her wares including her excellent
video. I also stopped and shopped at the Realm
of Regalia booth, which is where I buy my dance shoes. Alter Years was there and
had a wide selection of patterns including some ME styles. At
the concert on Sunday evening, I saw a cool fusion band The Veil that blended
multicultural threads, including some ME rhythms. There was a
large dance/drum jam on Sunday night that was a resounding success.
The Klingon
ladies slipped off their headdresses and donned dancewear
at a themed "Hafla at Mara's Bar" which was a lot of
fun! Dancing at a sci-fi event is fun because you never know
whom you will dance with and some of your partners might be from
out of this world.
I then headed south for Cairo
Carnival. It was a fun event and I got to see many of my
favorite dancers including Aziza
Sa'id and Hahbi Ru.
I enjoyed the atmosphere of the event and saying hello to many
of my dance compatriots from San Diego and Los Angeles. There
were a lot of vendors there, including a few of my favorites
like Artemis Imports,
L. Rose Designs and
Gaylene's Fabric. Gaylene had some stunning lame's and sequined
yardage!
There were lots of vendors selling the latest styles. Sakti had
an amazing selection of sexy high-glam dresses that were drop
dead gorgeous. Full flirty Gypsy-esque skirts were making a big
show at this event. Both Anja of Anja Designs and Mystical Design
by Anne Blickhan had lovely full tiered and ruffled skirts. There
were fewer tribal vendors proportionally than at events held
in the Bay Area so it was feast of glamour and glitz. On Sunday,
it was beautiful to see the Southern California sun sparkle off
of the numerous tables covered with bras and belts encrusted
with sequins, rhinestones and paillettes.
I just wanted to say thank you to all the folks who stopped
by my table to say hi!
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