on taking workshops (and being stupid)

One thing that most people hate about taking workshops is that they will look stupid in front of other people. Again, for most people, it's okay to be stupid in front of classmates (except for me. I'm *that* competitive). But workshops, especially a regional one like the Bellydance Festival Asia that I recently took, could be challenging in that you get to learn to dance with other dancers with varying degrees of intelligence.

I'm a bottom-feeder, nuff said. And by saying that, I mean to tell you that I am reallly stupid in classes, especially when doing steps and all.

Sharon Kihara corrected my "tribal" posture. I HATE doing ATS postures (because my muscles would burn!!) but after awhile, I kind of get used to it. I took three classes with her (the killer SharK as I called her because she made us all do a one-hour of yoga for warm-up and that nearly killed all of us... but I found neat stuff!).

She said something that I will cherish for the rest of my life, "We are bellydancers, that means we're athletes, and dorks." Hear, hear (especially on the dork part)!!!

I took two classes with one of my heroes, Elizabeth Strong. Bwaaaaaaa... She's just so... I really wish I had her toned arms and abs and attitude! We learned the Turkish Rom fusion (so cool!!!) and she added gorgeous jazz steps and postures to it. Something that I normally wouldn't do, but okay if I find a flirty song that I can dance to. And the Traveling Tribal class was so neat (I could finally do the Suzy Q with maya stuff that SharK taught in the class the day before).

The Haremqueen dancers (the organizer of the Bellydance Festival Asia) did a "Road to Bellydance Festival Asia" pre-event, the velvetRAQS danced there and we got a free two-hour class. I chose Bollywood Fusion with Heather Aued. OMYGOD. That could most certainly be one of the most fun classes I've taken in years! Deer hands! Lotus hands! Steps and positions! I gotta start taking Kathak class at the Indian Cultural Center near home.

With Elizabeth Strong after the Traveling Tribal class. Picture taken by Flory (an Oriental teacher from the Philippines)

For the closing night on Sunday, we were treated with outdoor buffet-style dinner and a dance-theatrical show by the Bellydance Evolution. It rained just before the show ended... *sigh*. It could be more gorgeous, though. I didn't move when I watched Elizabeth Strong dancing with her scimitar, Sharon and Kaeshi working it out Tribal fusion style, and Kaeshi dancing with a tray of candles on her head, and doing floorworks on wet dancefloor (yes, the rain got there too).

Soaked-wet after the Gala Dinner & Show.

But the most fun night was the Saturday night we all went to Khaima, a middle-eastern eatery in Seminyak. I asked my boyfriend about it and initially, it was only going to be the two of us, but I asked the other girls if they wanted to join, and they all tagged along.

It turned out to be one of the best nights of our lives. We danced with the Yamina, the Australian Oriental dancer who also took the workshops at the Bellydance Festival Asia and won 2nd prize on her Bellysamba Fusion at the Gala Dinner. Yeah! We also danced with Ika (?) the house dancer of Khaima (who also took the workshops). They were so fab. We got two free drinks and two desserts for dancing along.

At Khaima, picture taken by... was it my boyfriend?

During the Gala Dinner, the emcee announced that there will be World Bellydance Festival next year. So... I guess I'll be coming back to Bali, huh?

YEAH!

Shout-outs to: Deasy (Indonesia), Yamina (Australia/France), Sahara Dancers (Indonesia), Crystal & Flory (The Philippines), Allison (Australia).

That's one of the best things about taking workshops. You get to meet other dancers and be friends with them.

velvetRAQS: the professional bellydancers

This entry marks the cyber birthdate of the velvetRAQS and this blog having a new label post: velvetraqs (doh, what else?). Okay, so the second one is probably a lot less important than the first one. *rolls eyes*

Now let me tell you a bit about the velvetRAQS.

The velvetRAQS is the one and only Jakarta-based bellydance troupe that specializes in American Oriental and Tribal Fusion bellydance styles.

Our repertoires include flashy usage of veils, Isis wings, zills, and scimitar, with very distinct floorworks (yes, I'm proud of our floorworks) and theatrical presentation.

Another thing that makes us stand apart than most other bellydance troupes is that we actually know what we're doing, we have (quite) an extensive knowledge of songs and range of movements. As for the costume and our dance styles, well... You be the judge.

The website itself will feature a one-of-a-kind on-line store that will ship to anywhere in the world, but especially all around Jakarta and Indonesia. Plus there will be a resource center with articles that will hopefully be helpful to other dancers and those looking for enlightenment to the dance.

I'm sooo excited! Yeah!

cowries, cases, and creative chaos

Oh, whoa... I'm doing two posts in one day! In less than one hour after the earlier one was posted! How unthinkable.

Anyway, yeah. About a year ago when I was really new to the whole Tribal thing, I found a really cool link at LiveJournal. It was a cowrie-shell hairfall tutorial. I was in love with cowrie shells. I mean, there's something that's just so... Shaman-y of them that draws me. Not to mention that somehow, when being strung together, they look like a spine. Pretty creepy, huh?

But the tutorial seemed so hard and I kind of forgot about it.

A few weeks ago, I remembered that I had bought cowrie shells like a long time ago and remembered the tutorial and went to search for it. I mean, I didn't want my cowrie shells to go to waste. They'd been sitting there for almost a year then.

I found the tutorial again (click here... but omigod I don't know what happened but the pictures are gone!! Maybe I should notify the girl, huh?) and tried doing it and now I'm officially addicted to weaving cowrie shells, both for hair falls or other adornments. I even made one (well, two) for Lilith.

Oh geez, you know what, I'm still thinking how lucky I am to have found the tutorial just in time before the pictures went off!

Anyway, finding cowrie shells in Jakarta is rather hard. I mean, I used to get really nice big ones from a store in ITC Kuningan called Violetta. The store also sells really cool beads. I'm now friends with the salesgirls and the owner and they always give me good bargain! Violetta is on the fourth floor.

So one day I went to Pasar Pagi Mangga Dua with Alex. Half of the third floor sells beads and steel clasps for shoes and belts, and oh my god, more beads and paillettes and shiny stuffs!! I found a really good bargain for cowrie shells here (I forgot the name of the store, I'll need to get back to you on that). It's like a whole bag of cowrie shells and it only cost USD 4. Neat, huh??? Too bad the sizes of the shells really vary so I need to pick the shells and arrange them based on the size.

Another stand-out store in Pasar Pagi Mangga Dua is Istana Payette (Paillette Palace). Everytime I went there, I always splurged! It's not my fault! They have really cool Indian (although modern) accessories that you can use to adorn your belt, bra, etc.

For the wool, I went to Lenny's, a really neat store also in ITC Kuningan, 2nd floor if I'm not mistaken. They have all kinds of wool. Glittery(I bought gold), synthetic, etc. I got a big bundle of wool for USD 2.

If you're looking for peacock feathers, pheasant feathers, boa, etc, I think it's best to spend your money in Toko Renda (available in Plaza Indonesia and Senayan City). A peacock feather costs only USD 1 in Toko Renda yet costs USD 1.5 in stores in Pasar Pagi Mangga Dua. UPDATE (December 17, 2010): Toko Renda (at least the one in Plaza Senayan) somehow stops selling the big, big peacock feather. Only the small, blade-like ones are available. So if you want nice, big peacock feathers, go to Pasar Pagi Mangga Dua.

So here they are, the results. I'm really addicted to making them that I might do this for a living!

(From up left to bottom left, clockwise or up to down: a blue-gold cowrie fall for a wristlet, a red-black cowrie fall for Lilith, and long black cowrie hair falls)

Now everyone who's been to my house will notice that in every place I spend a long time in, there'll be a mess. When I was still working in a cubicle, my cubicle was the messiest, most chaotic place in the whole office. And I was working in a hotel.

I needed boxes and cases to store my needles, whole and cut-out-don't-throw-me-out-just-yet fabrics, scissors, beads, clasps, cowrie shells, tweezers, etc, and luckily, Alex and his mate gave me a nice can of chocolates. And what's so nice about it is that there's not only the tin can, but also two bags used as the package for the tin can. Neato!!

So here it is, my being cheap and recycling.

(From up left to bottom left, clockwise or up to down: The chocolate package, the peacock-feathered hairfalls go into the tin can, the little and not-so-delicate beads go into the tulle bag, and everything is stuffed within the black cotton bag for easy and safe travel)

Mom gave me a really cute shoe box (is glittery pink) and she told me to store away all those beads and lead a cleaner life.

Sigh.

a shiny sword is a happy sword

Oh, man, this was supposed to be done in JUNE!!! As in, June 2009. Oh, and happppy new year!! I wish you all the best for this whole year of 2010.

But yeah, maybe I should wait a little (as in more than 6 months) to actually write something like this.

I met Lilith almost a year ago through Triballine.com and I'm going to share with you the way I clean and dance with her. I've been doing this for almost 8 months now and she's still in good condition. So I think whatever I'm doing actually works for her and me.

I'm really new when it comes to dancing with a sword and there're things that I think are really helpful to keep the scimitar balanced.

Tip #1: Don't get a haircut too close to the performance.

Or if you do get a haircut, don't cut your hair too short. I love a clean, spike-haired look, and it works for me. One time I got a crew-cut and Lilith tended to fall off when I balanced her on my head and did the spins. The hair, even without hair wax, really hold the sword.

Tip #2: Smooth and silky hair is... smooth and silky.

And steel (or metal... or almost anything else in the world) tends to slip more easily on smooth and silky surfaces. How to not get smooth and silky hair? Easy. Don't rinse your hair for at least two days. Again, I've the advantage of being a guy so it doesn't matter. Some of my dancing sisters have really long hair so I know that'd be really inconvenient for them if they had to give up shampoo for two days.

Tip #3: Wax.

So you just washed your hair and suddenly a friend of yours called you right when you were just drying off. He wants you to do a sword dance to entertain his clients in a posh middle-eastern eatery. Don't fret, don't panic. Just wax the balancing part of the blade. Rub a candle on that part or, for a better grip, get the wax used by surfers to rub on the surfboards. I don't find this in stores in Jakarta, but if you happen to be in Bali or in other surfing paradise in Indonesia, go buy two. One wax can last for at least 5 years, though. Or so I think. I recommend a brand called Sex Wax.

My boyfriend bought two of this for me. The copy on the packaging is just sooo cheesy!

Tip #4: Work those muscles!

I've been doing crunches, push-ups, back-ups, balancing poses with Lilith on my head. The exercises not only form a deeper tsahaylu (I can't help myself... I'm such a James Cameron's "Avatar" freak. Tsahaylu is "bond" in Na'Vi language) between Lilith and me, but she also acts as a weight, therefore creating a more challenging routine. And of course, what's a crunch, push-up, or back-up but a form of floor work? Oh, and balancing a sword on your head is child's play once you master the isolation techniques. Try balancing it on your hip, palm, or fingers, chest, shoulder, of course while manipulating the scimitar and doing movements at the same time.

Like this video here.

Okay, so I know she's doing a double sword routine, but oh my God, did you see how she handles those things? Amazing! I mean, she's not just balancing them, but she's also making those scimitars as the extension of her body. I notice twirling the sword like a cane, I notice spinning and doing barrel turns with the swords like doing double veil, and other powerful stuff.

Now that's sick.

Tip #5: Leather makes rust.

Lilith came with a leather scabbard. Never put a scimitar in the leather scabbard and store it that way. It'll rust faster. The scabbard is good to carry the sword (it covers the sharp edge and the pointy end). I'm saving my paycheck to make Lilith a really nice velvet carrier.

Great. We've that one covered. Let's move on to how to clean your scimitar.

Lilith is a Balady Sword, a smaller version of the Cas Iberia Sword. The blade is stainless steel while the hilt is of brass with a wooden grip. It is shiny and it grips really well. It is rather heavy, though, like 1.3 kg (try putting that on your head), so it's a good work out.

Here's what I do to her.

Step #1: Take off all adornments.

I embellish Lilith with two shelled opals, back to back. And there's a hole on the end brass knob on the hilt that I use to tie in short cowrie shell accessory (I'll put up the picture in my next entry). Take off whatever adornments you put on the scimitar to get a more thorough cleaning.

Step #2: Spread metal cleanser.

I use KIT Metal Polish Cream. I spread them on the blade and later on the brass hilt and knob.

Step #3: Wipe clean.

A soft towel will do. A harsher towel will help clean off harder stains such as wax residue. I use a really soft cloth to make sure I don't scratch the blade when wiping it.

And there you have it! Three simple steps to clean your scimitar! Happy dancing!

pride, prejudice and on being "the best"

Behold, the Miss Universe tiara (2002-2007). This tiara was created by the international pearl culturer / jewelry house, the Japanese Mikimoto. 500 almost 30 carat diamonds and 120 pearls were used for this USD 250,000 masterpiece. The shape itself reminisces of phoenix rising, the symbol of status, power, and beauty.

A true work of art that befits a woman who has gone through a hard selection and conquered odds to be considered as the most intelligent, the most poise, the sexiest, and of course, the most beautiful.

Indeed, I daren't say that not all of the women chosen for Miss Universe competition are beautiful. But then again, what is beauty? Isn't it on the eye of the beholder? Who is the most beautiful woman in the world right now? Is it Megan Fox? By what, and whose standards?

Even before I danced in "The Dance Within" with Lilith, many people have come to me and said, "You are the best bellydancer!"

I was flattered, of course. My ego was boosted and my head went through the roof. I became ten feet tall and believed I could stomp on other dancers, oriental or tribal.

But lately, it has really become something that gives me the itch. It is really, truly uncomfortable.

I mean, honestly, yes, I do have an ego as big as Jupiter, but one day, when I was browsing the net, I found a youtube video of an oriental dancer who claimed to be the best oriental dancer in her country (and the fact that she once came home as the SECOND RUNNER-UP in the local bellydance competition didn't seem to stop her from using that gimmick: "the best"). I got intrigued, saw the video, and shook my head.

It was bad enough to see her facial expression giving away the fact that she was trying so hard to remember the choreography, but it didn't stop there. Some of her techniques were just way off and I know one oriental dancer also in the same country who dances 100 times better (in my opinion).

She was the one who uploaded the video to youtube and in every youtube video of her and her troupe (that she uploaded herself), she always put "The best bellydancer in X country". Heck, she even put that as her tagline right under the logo of her studio. At least that's what I saw in her website. I've never been to her studio because she's not in Jakarta. She's not even in Indonesia.

So, based on what standards are we considered as the best?

Basically, I think for oriental and tribal, the standards are: techniques, vocabulary of movements, range of movements, knowledge of the dance, costume, make-up, dancing experience, teaching experience, certificates (not necessarily in that order).

Then, in this MTV-oriented world where attention deficiency is everywhere, a dancer needs to keep his or her audience's attention. Props (veil, zills, sword, pot, tray, candle, shamadan) come to mind, so does gymnastic abilities. You know, the sharp-pop-exaggerate-your-maia-lock-fold-your-body kind of thing.

And now, based on whose standards?

Definitely not our OWN standards. We don't live in this world by ourselves. Just one, single, lonely dancer.

Students judge us, spectators judge us, our fellow dancers judge us, our teachers judge us, the youtube judges us.

It just doesn't feel right when you make up a biography of yourself and you dub yourself as the best. How do you know? Who told you that? It is true that you have to sell yourself, your troupe, and the studio that you have, but come on... What if people think of you as a joke?

Whenever someone came up to me and said, "You're the best bellydancer!" I always asked them, "Have you ever seen other bellydancers?" I gave them the names of several troupes and institutions. Some still said I was the best while others succumbed into saying, "The best male bellydancer!" and right away I shot another question, "Have you ever seen other male bellydancers?" and I gave them other names.

Usually they would just smile and say, "Take the compliment, will you?" and I would thank them.

But I still feel some discomfort deep down in my heart. "What if other people think of me as a joke?"

That question nags and nags and nags. My troupe and I always put our best in every performance. Many said we're the best. But we just shrugged it off with a thank you. Possibly because we're trying to keep a low profile and because we're not sure that we are the best.

The Velvet Raqs dancing to "Eternal Triangle" by Paul Danna (OST "Kama Sutra")
during "The Dance Within" recital, Saturday, November 21st, 2009, in RRI Auditorium, Jakarta.
Photo by Stef Manfrotto (2009).

We obviously didn't believe it when people say that we were the best when we were just starting out. I mean, obviously our costumes weren't even proper enough to be called "the best". "Good enough"? Yes. "Just good?" Maybe. We don't mind. "Very good"? Why, thank you. But "the best"?

By what standards and whose?

my worst nightmare

Today was supposed to be a quite seamless day. Everything went well. Even the streets were agreeing. They were relatively empty. In fact, they were empty enough that I could cut at least 20 minutes from my usual one-hour trip to a studio where I teach every Wednesday evening.

I arrived early (regardless of my infamous image of being unfashionably late, I almost never arrive late to teach) and waited for the aerobics class to end.

When it ended, I said hello to the aerobics instructor. She left and I popped in one CD I usually use to build the Oriental atmosphere. When the participants had gathered, I went on my regular routine: asking if there was any first-timer (no one, but there was one lady who had only joined in last week) and explaining the posture - the most important rules of oriental dance so as not to get them injured.

And then I switched on to the second CD - the one I always use to teach, with the tracks organized to form a flowing exercise: first is the warm-up and stretch, second is the oblique-toning figure eights, third is the abs-toning camel and reverse camel, fourth is the abs and obliques with omis and big circles. The cardio begins at the fifth track with the accents, and the sixth track is for the shimmies. The choreography uses the seventh track, and the cool down is the eigth.

The CD was... unplayable. I tried to load, unload, reload, unreload... And still, the interface said: No Disc.

I had no option but to use the first CD. Thank goodness I could use the tracks to also do the toning and cardio (it was at a gym, so almost no art was involved, just really basic things where I can't be too idealistic and perfectionist).

But, alas... The song for the usual choreography was not in the first CD. However, there was this song that I've been trying to do a cutesy choreography with ("Kol Youm fi Omry" by Elissa - a Lebanese pop song). So I explained to them that the choreography would be even more basic and would be a spontaneous one (I wasn't kidding. I was really familiar with the song and had made a few outline steps a few months ago, but that was it).

I just realized... Ohmigod, Elissa again??? My first solo dance was to her "Ayshalak" and a few days ago I found "Ayami Bik" (also by her) and in the middle of finishing a choreography on the song. She's really something else.

"Kol Youm fi Omry" - Elissa

Sooo, with my very, very, very limited knowledge (plus the fact that I had to teach MYSELF and THE PARTICIPANTS a SPONTANEOUS choreography that I might NOT REMEMBER when dancing the SECOND TIME), I danced.

I did a little thing with the Egyptian walk (step, bump, step bump) and modified the step. There were 10 participants and only one (the lady who just came in last week) who kept losing the beat and the steps.

But the show must go on. I went on with the new choreography the second time (it was, thankfully, easy enough even for me to remember the whole thing), and promised the participants that it was going to be the new choreography that they would be learning the next week. I also told the one lady that I would get back to her after the cool down to explain the steps.

And then we cooled down and stretched and I ended the class, took a deep sigh, and gave the lady an extra ten minute to teach her about the step. I still didn't think it get to her, though. But she nodded and I told her with a big smile to practice because I wanted to see her executing the move next week.

Now, note to self: always bring a spare CD, always know a simple song or two by heart (especially if you teach basic beginners or at gyms) so you at least have a basic frame of the beat and can make a repetitive combo, always try to be patient (I suck at this, really, really), and motivate, encourage, and remind them to be patient with their own bodies.

Oh well, now I need to finish the choreography.

(parts of my) dreams are coming true... soon - belly dance festival asia 2010: shimmy in bali

One of my friends who also belly dances sent me a message through the ever-practical-really-useful Facebook *sighing longingly at Mark Zuckerberg's picture*.

Apparently, the Belly Dance Festival Asia 2010, which was originally going to take place in Malaysia, is relocated to... *drumroll...*

INDONESIA!!!!

Well, not exactly in Jakarta, though. I mean, come on. Jakarta's filled with big yaks of hypocrites. Where else would a belly dance festival take place but in Bali?

The perfect excuse to get on a plane and see my boyfriend (he lives in Denpasar).

Jillina, Sharon Kihara, Elizabeth Strong

So, on February 25th until 28th, Indonesia will host Jillina and the Belly Dance Evolution. That's like... four freaking days of workshops. I'll obviously be taking lessons from Sharon Kihara and Elizabeth Strong. There's one particular workshop by Louchia - the Armenian Dance that I'm interested in joining. And for the closing is the gala dinner and show by Jillina and the Belly Dance Evolution.

To tell you the truth, I'm happy. Really, I am. I mean, I get to see Sharon Kihara and Elizabeth Strong! And learn from them! I pass Jillina's workshops. I mean, seriously, I'm not on her level. I'll let my teacher, Ms. Miftahul, learn from her (she's a big fan of Jillina's) and cascade the lessons down to us. Hopefully Jillina won't be as gruesome as Sadie. Earlier this year, Ms. Miftahul went to Malaysia to take Sadie's workshop and she came back drilling us like crazy. I'm telling you, the amount of sweat and pain almost killed us all.

However, yeah. I'm happy but I'm not ecstatic. I was already planning to go to Malaysia for the Belly Dance Festival Asia 2010 and a huge reason was because of Ansuya. I don't know why, but she's not coming to Bali for the workshop. Ozzy's going to be there, but no Ansuya.

I've said this many times before and I'm going to say this again. Ozzy is a hottie.

But then again, NO ANSUYA!!!

She's like... the epitome of American Oriental. Okay, I don't know where she's heading with all her cabaribalusion thing, but I really enjoy her dancing. Just like I enjoy Anaheed's and... well... Most American Oriental dancers in general.

The Belly Dance Festival Asia 2010: Shimmy in Bali is proudly presented by The Haremqueen Dancers and Magnificent 9 Production. I've heard about Haremqueen for sometime now and I'm so happy that they're doing this for the sake of Oriental (and Tribal) dance in Indonesia.

To all belly dancers in Indonesia, I'm not going to overrate Jillina or the Belly Dance Evolution, but this is the time to really spend your hard-earned money and invest on the workshops.