post-gothla/gothla post
Well... I think I'm at least partway recovered from the Gothla! I'm going to post a few links/pics of general interest, and put a few other pics and the rest of my review behind a cut.
One person's pictures are here, and the ones of my performance start on this page.
One photographer has put up a slideshow here (none of me, but still very pretty ( Read more... )
One person's pictures are here, and the ones of my performance start on this page.
One photographer has put up a slideshow here (none of me, but still very pretty ( Read more... )
Comments 22
I can't wait to see more of it in person. ^_^
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I saw Belladonna from Romka perform with sword in D.C. a few weeks ago, and thought she was great. She had a few bobbles (which happens to everyone, though it was a little nervous-making given how small the club was and how tight a space she was dancing in), but overall I really liked how she used the sword and found ways to present it and accent movements with it beyond simply balancing it. She's got a sword dvd coming out, if I recall correctly.
Did you see Asharah? I'd be curious to find out what your impressions were of her.
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Oh--yes, I did see Asharah perform, and she was wonderful! Her movements said: "Every moment you spend not watching me is a moment tragically wasted!" Very dramatic, very expressive. I've got her DVD on order. I failed to introduce myself to her, though... she was at the event all weekend, helping out, it looked like, but for some reason I thought she'd be taller so I didn't know who she was most of the time when she wasn't on stage, if that makes any sense.
And yeah, Belladonna's got a sword DVD coming out. I quite enjoy watching her dance, though I've seen more of Mavi than of her when it comes to solos.
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How exactly does one belly-dance in a boned corset/cincher? (No, that really is a serious question. :-)
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My answer is: not much. ;p
For one thing, it wasn't tight-laced. It was laced just tightly enough that I could hook it and un-hook it to get it on and off by myself, but it was still fairly form-fitting, not too loose. I used my arms, shoulders, and hands a lot, and I also did a lot of very awkward movements, such as trying--and failing--to do an undulation. This all corresponded to the mood of my piece, which was one of fighting restrictions and impositions. I un-hooked the corset and discarded it after about one minute, in order to explore further themes in my song.
Other times, though, I've tight-laced in a corset and gone out clubbing. Since my default dance style is belly dancing, I've had to adapt my dancing to the corset's restraints. So: fewer undulations and chest or hip isolations, and lots more arm work. It's fun to dance in a corset, but I don't have the same range of flexibility I'm used to, so I just have to deal with it.
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You mentioned using the nervousness for your performance... reminds me of a class I took in college, I forget the name but it was like intro to stage or something, and I had to learn a monologue from a play and perform it on stage, and I was so scared to death that I ended up picking a part where the person was incredibly nervous, and I pulled it off perfectly haha!!
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And ha, that sounds like a great way to harness nervous energy! I may continue to do something like that, in addition to trying to get over my nervousness just 'cause...
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