Welcome to the Spring Issue
Well big things
happened this Spring, first of all
Veils by Bill
debuted his line of Rhinestone jewelry
and silk veils on his own site at
www.veilsbybill.com
, at the Designs by Janie shop and web site, and finally at High Desert
Hip Fest. Only a few silk veils and a good assortment of rhinestones,
but it was a start!! Second my friend
Barb decided to quit the business and sell Distant Caravans. She called
me one day and said, "do you want to buy what is left?" And I said
sure! It took two trips to bring everything home and that was after
she had had a big 50% off sale six months before. I think she is still
trying to sell the web site and maybe the name, but the last of her merchandise
is being sold by Designs by Janie. You will find the goodies on the
Sale Page
of my web site. Because I got such a good deal
from Barb, I decided to pass along my good fortune to my customers, hence
the Sale Page. That is why you have to have the Designs By Janie and the
Janie's Oasis web sites bookmarked, because you just never know what
new things maybe happening next.
High Desert Hip Fest a Smashing Success!!
Morocco returned for her third visit
to Reno and taught a choreography to a large group of eager participants
on Saturday morning. She wore them out as usual. Zaina Hart
taught her Phoenix style hands, arms, and veils plus percussion on Sunday
morning. Saturday night there was a Gala show with lots of fabulous
dancing. I'll let the photography of David Ventura tell the rest
of the story.
The Ottoman Traders of Sacramento, CA with their own drum group started off the show in grand fashion.
Zina bint Badia of Phoenix, AZ and Phaedra Nicole of Seattle, WA were next on the bill.
Troupe Shalimar from Idaho was next
Rabia and Yalla Habibi took the stage by storm
Yosifah of California was followed by Morocco's first dance and then Zaina Hart took the stage to end the first half.
Rabia started the second half with a demonstration of Tunisian dance which she will be teaching in workshop at Wiggles of the West. Kami Liddle of Reno, NV then thrilled us with her unique style
Talk about unique! Saahira's Sirens did a Goth Tribal, Goth Belly Dance whatever they call it. The audience just loved it!
Hasson Yousif Deeb of California did his best to steal the show with his double cape and even taught some of the guys in the audience to belly dance.
Ruqaya Nahla of Lake Tahoe, CA took the stage next.
Zaina Hart's second number and then Morocco closed the show with her second performance.
Next year the Two Old Bags will again sponsor High Desert Hip Fest at Boomtown Hotel and Casino. The stars for 2005 will be Suzanna del Vecchio and Mezdulene of Jareeda magazine fame..
Dressing the Dancer Part 2
As promised last issue, here is part 2 of Dressing the Dancer. In this installment, I will discuss building your first costume. You don't want to spend too much money for your first class recital or group performance. And you certainly don't want to buy a costume that will out dance your abilities. So what do you wear? Well Mandy Mannequin and I will show you how to build a beginner costume.
Starting simple with something most beginners will be comfortable with Photo 1 is a cholli top that you can wear an everyday bra under with harem pants. Cholli tops are $30 and Harem Pants start at $25.00 (depending on the fabric used they can be higher). Thicker fabric for the Harems might not need to be covered for modesty, but just a top and pants looks so unfinished. In Photo 2 we have added a long fringe skirt to give both coverage and movement ( the fringe skirts are 32" long -- Mandy is nearly 6 foot, so they will be longer on most people). Fringe skirts come in many colors and cost $40.00. In Photo 3 A Tassel belt has been added to finish the outfit for even more movement and that very popular Tribal Style. This tassel belt sells for $65.00. You can see how the costume is coming together.
In Photo 4 a silk shawl has been substituted for the tassel belt, which gives this basic costume a whole new look. Silk shawl with silk fringe comes from Veils By Bill and sells for $50.00. In Photo 5 we are back to the basic cholli and harem pants again, only this time we have added a two panel accent skirt. This accent skirt is being sold on the Consignment page for $25.00. Skirts can always be worn over Harem pants. In some styles such as American Tribal Style it is the norm. And in some parts of the country fancy harem pants are worn under Cabaret (American Night Club) style too. In Photo 6 we have added a hip sash like the one we suggested for class and presto another costume look. It is just a basic rectangular hip sash selling for $30.00. This is why I say you can never have too many hip sashes and shawls, you just never know when you will need one to pull together an ensemble.
In Photo 1 You see a decorated velvet bra with a basic circle skirt, this is way too revealing and obviously not complete. Under circle skirts you should always wear dance pants or a bathing suit bottom, you wouldn't want anything showing. In Photo 2 we have brought up the underskirt (this skirt happens to come with this added feature) and tucked the ends into the skirt elastic. This can also be done with the skirt itself. This gives coverage with a flirty touch and for skinny people like Mandy it gives a little more to the hips. By the way this skirt is being sold on the Consignment page for $35.00. In Photo 3 we have added a coin hip sash again to finish the outfit.
And one more idea for your beginning costume is a regular satin bra covered with a Coin Bra Cover worn with Harem pants in a thicker fabric, with a purple fringe skirt which matches the color of the under bra and a triangle fringe sash made out of the same fabric as the harem pants. These harem pants sell for $45.00, the matching fabric fringe sash sells for $25.00, coin bra cover sell for $30.00 (I only have a few), and of course the fringe skirt sells for $40.00. In the second picture a Coin Collar Necklace has been added, you can see how jewelry really does finish the costume. Coin collar necklaces can be found on the Sale Page for $15.00. Coins on the bra cover and the necklace are all faux coins so they are much lighter than real coins, cheaper too.
More ideas next issue!!
The Ottoman Traders of Sacramento, CA with their own drum group started off the show in grand fashion.
Zina bint Badia of Phoenix, AZ and Phaedra Nicole of Seattle, WA were next on the bill.
Troupe Shalimar from Idaho was next
Rabia and Yalla Habibi took the stage by storm
Yosifah of California was followed by Morocco's first dance and then Zaina Hart took the stage to end the first half.
Rabia started the second half with a demonstration of Tunisian dance which she will be teaching in workshop at Wiggles of the West. Kami Liddle of Reno, NV then thrilled us with her unique style
Talk about unique! Saahira's Sirens did a Goth Tribal, Goth Belly Dance whatever they call it. The audience just loved it!
Hasson Yousif Deeb of California did his best to steal the show with his double cape and even taught some of the guys in the audience to belly dance.
Ruqaya Nahla of Lake Tahoe, CA took the stage next.
Zaina Hart's second number and then Morocco closed the show with her second performance.
Next year the Two Old Bags will again sponsor High Desert Hip Fest at Boomtown Hotel and Casino. The stars for 2005 will be Suzanna del Vecchio and Mezdulene of Jareeda magazine fame..
Dressing the Dancer Part 2
As promised last issue, here is part 2 of Dressing the Dancer. In this installment, I will discuss building your first costume. You don't want to spend too much money for your first class recital or group performance. And you certainly don't want to buy a costume that will out dance your abilities. So what do you wear? Well Mandy Mannequin and I will show you how to build a beginner costume.
Starting simple with something most beginners will be comfortable with Photo 1 is a cholli top that you can wear an everyday bra under with harem pants. Cholli tops are $30 and Harem Pants start at $25.00 (depending on the fabric used they can be higher). Thicker fabric for the Harems might not need to be covered for modesty, but just a top and pants looks so unfinished. In Photo 2 we have added a long fringe skirt to give both coverage and movement ( the fringe skirts are 32" long -- Mandy is nearly 6 foot, so they will be longer on most people). Fringe skirts come in many colors and cost $40.00. In Photo 3 A Tassel belt has been added to finish the outfit for even more movement and that very popular Tribal Style. This tassel belt sells for $65.00. You can see how the costume is coming together.
In Photo 4 a silk shawl has been substituted for the tassel belt, which gives this basic costume a whole new look. Silk shawl with silk fringe comes from Veils By Bill and sells for $50.00. In Photo 5 we are back to the basic cholli and harem pants again, only this time we have added a two panel accent skirt. This accent skirt is being sold on the Consignment page for $25.00. Skirts can always be worn over Harem pants. In some styles such as American Tribal Style it is the norm. And in some parts of the country fancy harem pants are worn under Cabaret (American Night Club) style too. In Photo 6 we have added a hip sash like the one we suggested for class and presto another costume look. It is just a basic rectangular hip sash selling for $30.00. This is why I say you can never have too many hip sashes and shawls, you just never know when you will need one to pull together an ensemble.
In Photo 1 You see a decorated velvet bra with a basic circle skirt, this is way too revealing and obviously not complete. Under circle skirts you should always wear dance pants or a bathing suit bottom, you wouldn't want anything showing. In Photo 2 we have brought up the underskirt (this skirt happens to come with this added feature) and tucked the ends into the skirt elastic. This can also be done with the skirt itself. This gives coverage with a flirty touch and for skinny people like Mandy it gives a little more to the hips. By the way this skirt is being sold on the Consignment page for $35.00. In Photo 3 we have added a coin hip sash again to finish the outfit.
And one more idea for your beginning costume is a regular satin bra covered with a Coin Bra Cover worn with Harem pants in a thicker fabric, with a purple fringe skirt which matches the color of the under bra and a triangle fringe sash made out of the same fabric as the harem pants. These harem pants sell for $45.00, the matching fabric fringe sash sells for $25.00, coin bra cover sell for $30.00 (I only have a few), and of course the fringe skirt sells for $40.00. In the second picture a Coin Collar Necklace has been added, you can see how jewelry really does finish the costume. Coin collar necklaces can be found on the Sale Page for $15.00. Coins on the bra cover and the necklace are all faux coins so they are much lighter than real coins, cheaper too.
More ideas next issue!!