All of my very hard work practicing dance and drumming culminated the end of September in the first Simsbury Movement Arts Festival. The studio director where I dance decided she wasn’t busy enough working two jobs and having five kids, but also needed to put on a giant festival and… Read More »Simsbury Movement Arts Festival
I’m learning to play the Sombati Darbuka! Also known at a doumbek, this is a ceramic hand-drum from the middle-east, popularly used to accompany raqs sharqi style dancing, also known as belly-dance. I’ve been dancing for over a decade and I played percussion in school growing up. With a big… Read More »Drumming Cushion
At the end of June, the dance studio where I practice had another showcase night so that the adult classes could see what the others have been working on. It’s part of a larger push to prepare for a movement arts festival this fall that the studio is hosting. Photos… Read More »Dance Exposition Summer ’24
You need the right fabric for the job, and this one may not be it. I’ve been seeing a lot of 4-way stretch separates online retailing for hundreds of dollars. I thought the idea was cute for dance as a base-layer. I sewed the pants first, then wore them to… Read More »Dance Separates
We got professional photos back!! Courtesy of Red Letter Photography, I shall tease you first with what I imagine was the most difficult part of the day to photograph, our big entertainment surprise of a live dancer! Jake and I knew pretty much from day-one of planning that we didn’t… Read More »Surprise Wedding Belly-Dancer
With much good fortune I scored a limited-edition black Khadija set from Moresca’s Labor Day Sale. Fair season, and therefore most vendors’ income, has been cancelled this year, leading some vendors to hold never-before-seen online sales. I’ve been waiting for a Khadija belt and cuffs for a few years, but… Read More »Black Moresca Khadija Set
Wow, I really love the way that this commission turned out, and I was able to photograph it pretty well considering it is a plus-sized piece on my tiny dress form. What a blast this bustle was to design, pattern, and sew. This is another piece commissioned by the Whip… Read More »Celtic Fae Bustle
Another lower-half accessory crafted for the troupe’s use in our performance at a Celtic Belly-dance Fusion show earlier this month. Part kilt, part high-slit bella skirt, this apron brings Egypt to Ireland in a way that feels very punk-rock apocalypse to me. The design is a simple two-13-inch-wide-pleated-panels secured together… Read More »Celtic Fusion Apron, Punk Rock Apocalypse.
Oh, how the year is flying by! I have another tartan garment to share, sewn for troupe use in our last performance, a Celtic Belly Dance fusion show. This piece was commissioned for a much taller dancer than I, so it doesn’t reach the ground when it’s worn by its… Read More »Celtic Bustle
The troupe has a Celtic-themed belly dance show coming up in March for which we are preparing quite the little dance number. To tie our look together on stage, we ordered 30 yards of the same miscellaneous cotton plaid, from which we will each be making a garment–or rather I… Read More »Celtic Plaid Belly Dance Pants
What the heck’s a scooptacular? It’s an ice cream party on a farm with animals and vendors and fall things. What completes a fall party? Dancing witches, of course! It just so happens that I belong to a troupe of witches who will trade event coordinators our dance-entertainment for money.… Read More »‘Scooptacular’ Dancing as a Witch
Whipped up this new belly dance belt a few days before a performance to match this bra that I made a few years(?) ago. I had plenty of extra fabric lying around from the bra top, a super comfortable performance stretch. The pattern was simple enough: a rounded triangle essentially,… Read More »New Belly Dance Belt
So busy and yet look at all the posting I’m doing! So busy because of all that sewing, climbing, gardening, and now also because, surprise, I joined a dance troupe. The Whip City Witches, based out of Westfield, or “Whip City” Mass, is a group of adult women who share the common practice of… Read More »Bonus Post, I Joined a Dance Troupe
A year after the big move I was still searching for a good fit in a new dance studio when I enrolled in a 3-week advanced winter session of Belly Dancing in a not-so-local movement arts space. Wanting to impress my new classmates with my array of dance attire, I… Read More »Brown Harem Pants for Dance
Granite Con was a blast once again! As always, the variety of vendors, good programming, and unrivaled access to guests of honor made this another memorable year of convention-going in Manchester. This year’s convention had an unofficial Star Wars theme, and so, on fairly short notice, my friends and I… Read More »Star Wars, Belly Dance, and Granite State Comic Con
My latest little sewing project is this pair of flowing palazzo pants! They took me an afternoon to make and are sooo comfortable and breezy. I am in love with this fabric, which I got at Joann Fabrics during their black Friday sale. It is lightweight, soft, and drapes beautifully.… Read More »Palazzo pants
Another small sewing project complete! In about two hours time I whipped up these funky harem pants for dance using Simplicity sewing pattern 5359, and this wild cotton print I got at Joann’s Black Friday Sale. This pattern was ridiculously easy. It consists of 1 pant leg cut twice, and a… Read More »Harem Pants for Dance
Renaissance Fair Season is upon us! I love spending a day out in the woods with the fairies and jesters, celebrating the late summertime magic. The first Fair on my list is King Richard’s in Carver Mass, and to make sure I make the most of my Fair day, I… Read More »Preparing for King Richards Faire