Welcome to the Summer Issue
My summer was gloriously busy!! It
started of course with the 9th Annual Wiggles of the West and ended with
Ya Hala Y'all. What a ride! Well time is a wasting, so lets get
right into it.
Wiggles of the West ... Bigger than ever!
For the 9th Wiggles of the West, the
Bags made some changes like no workshops on Sunday and opening a little
later so everyone had time to sleep in or have breakfast with friends. But
the biggest change was the Bonus Day on Thursday. People come into
town early and want something Belly Dance to do, so a Bonus day on Thursday
was the answer. Two workshops and a "Meet and Greet" Hafla was the
answer. Rabia of Reno taught "Tunisian" in the morning and I taught
"Costuming on a Budget" (my favorite subject) in the afternoon. That
evening was the Hafla complete with finger food and live music from Pangia
to dance to. What Boomtown calls finger food was enough for all the
guests to make a meal. The Bonus day was a big success!
Rabia giving the workshop participants a work-out.
Left: No one went hungry ... this is only table one Right: Habib got the dancing started, Pangia entertained us all.
Rabia giving the workshop participants a work-out.
Left: No one went hungry ... this is only table one Right: Habib got the dancing started, Pangia entertained us all.
Friday started with Calypso's workshop
and then moved right into Headliner and Mini Ensemble competitions. Amina
of Utah is Headliner of the Year, with Yasmina of Arizona taking second
and Anisa Sahhar third. Deva Dasi of California is the Mini Ensemble
of the Year, with Jamileah & Calypso of Utah taking second and Angelia
& Anielo also of Utah third.
Saturday started with Yasmina teaching Cane and Double Cane in workshop. Then on to one of our traditions ... the fashion show. The lovely Erna Woo modeled one of my creations and looked absolutely stunning. Once again Dawn Devine Brown was the hostess. After that was Entertainer Pre-liminary round followed by Ensembles. Troupe Amara of Utah took the title and the stage with their fabulous choreography and 12 dancers. Second place was secured by Nouveau Cairo of California and third was Shazadi of Utah.
Left: Hassan Yosef Deeb trying to get his veil back from MC Lori
Right: Dawn Devine Brown showing off two veils from Veils by Bill
Saturday started with Yasmina teaching Cane and Double Cane in workshop. Then on to one of our traditions ... the fashion show. The lovely Erna Woo modeled one of my creations and looked absolutely stunning. Once again Dawn Devine Brown was the hostess. After that was Entertainer Pre-liminary round followed by Ensembles. Troupe Amara of Utah took the title and the stage with their fabulous choreography and 12 dancers. Second place was secured by Nouveau Cairo of California and third was Shazadi of Utah.
Left: Hassan Yosef Deeb trying to get his veil back from MC Lori
Right: Dawn Devine Brown showing off two veils from Veils by Bill
Sunday there were 3 categories starting
with Rising Star, then Wiggles & Giggles, and finally Entertainer of
the Year.
Our own Lake Tahoe girl Namira took the Rising Star title. Second place was a tie between California dancers Simone and Doretta. Third was secured by Oregon dancer Luminara. Wiggles and Giggles was won by Sahara Mascara doing the event phone in dance, absolutely hilarious because it is so true. Polara of Canada took second. Frankincense & Myrrh the Hayzill Sisters of Oregon took third with their Hillbilly Belly dancer duet. The final category of the evening was Entertainer of the year and fabulous it was, everyone was stunning! Nadira of Washington is Entertainer of the year. Reno's own Kami Liddle took second and Jamara of Oregon took third. WOW what a weekend!!!!
Left: Nadira, Entertainer of the Year Right: Namira, Rising Star
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Our own Lake Tahoe girl Namira took the Rising Star title. Second place was a tie between California dancers Simone and Doretta. Third was secured by Oregon dancer Luminara. Wiggles and Giggles was won by Sahara Mascara doing the event phone in dance, absolutely hilarious because it is so true. Polara of Canada took second. Frankincense & Myrrh the Hayzill Sisters of Oregon took third with their Hillbilly Belly dancer duet. The final category of the evening was Entertainer of the year and fabulous it was, everyone was stunning! Nadira of Washington is Entertainer of the year. Reno's own Kami Liddle took second and Jamara of Oregon took third. WOW what a weekend!!!!
Left: Nadira, Entertainer of the Year Right: Namira, Rising Star
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Sometimes You Feel More Comfortable Covered
Not everyone is comfortable baring their
tummies and sometimes you don't want to wear a body stockings either. Sometimes
you just need to be comfortable. Well Designs by Janie has the answer
... Fancy Leotards! These are made one at a time out of very
stretchy fabrics that mold to your body and move with you. They come
with the company trademark, snap crotch for extra comfort. The two
most popular right now are Antique Silver Mesh and Dark Brown Crushed Velvet
. Both work equally well with all styles from Cabaret to Tribal to Gypsy
Fantasy. In fact, the whole idea of making fancy leotards came from
making leotards for Laurel Victoria Gray's Silk Road Company. They were
doing a huge production at the Lincoln Theater in Washington DC and needed
the leotards for a Gypsy number. Laurel even had me do a velvet leotard
for her to teach seminars in. And so a product was born. You can
find them on the same page as the Body Stockings.
Left: Dark Brown Crushed Velvet Right: Antique Silver Mesh
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Left: Dark Brown Crushed Velvet Right: Antique Silver Mesh
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Happy Times at Ya Hala Y'all!!
About the end of August, Chris and I
packed all the merchandise we could into 2 suitcases each (along with our
clothes) and boarded a plane bound for Dallas, Texas. It was the
first time in Dallas for both of us. We started learning about Big
D as soon as we got off the plane. First lesson: it rains in the summer,
big surprise to us desert dwellers. They had more moisture that weekend,
than we get in Reno in a whole year. Second lesson: the Dallas/Fort
Worth area is so big it has different area codes. Third Lesson: The
people are absolutely fabulous!
Shortly after we arrived we ran into fellow venders; Suzy of IMED, Dahlal of Dahlal Imports, and Andrea of Babylon Breeze. We loaded our stuff into the hotel shuttle and headed for the Convention Center to do preliminary set-up. It was a hectic place, but right away we were taken care of by Ya Halla staff known as Ambassadors. We were shown where to put our stuff and started meeting some of the other venders. We weren't allowed to really set up, that was to be done the next morning during the first workshop. So naturally I started getting nosey. The goodies they had sitting around for the stage decor were so cool I was trying to figure out how to sneak them home. But I was caught.
Next they took us to the Isis Studio in Bedford for a "Meet & Greet" Hafla. They had a luscious spread of homemade goodies, which we all attacked hungrily. Workshops were going on in the big studio, but our Ambassador still took us on a tour of the complex. They call it a studio, I call it a complex. Isis joined the tour periodically to point out some stuff. There are 3 studios, a kitchen, a reading room, a meeting room, a massage room, Isis' office, a store, and I don't know how many bathrooms. Let's just say, I WANT THIS STUDIO! It is to die for!!
Friday morning we did our set up and at the lunch break we sold, then the students went back for the second seminar. They had their own caterer there, so we never had to leave and the food was fabulous. I'm a picky eater and I tried almost everything on the menu. This is not something I get to say every event. Harry Saroyan arrived to be the MC of the three shows and since we couldn't sell we had time to visit. Amaya showed up next, she wasn't teaching, but was there as a guest dancer. So we got to visit with her too. Then the show began, oh my what a fabulous show!! Mostly performers from the Isis studio and the instructors, but also a few workshop participants. Venders sold before the show and at intermission.
Saturday and Sunday were basically the same only different teachers for each day, totaling six 4 hour workshops. Each day also ended with a show and each show was fabulous! Whole families are involved, parents and children. Isis raises her own. Am I going again? You bet, I can't wait! But next time I'm bringing a LOT more body stockings!!
Something I almost never have time to do, get pictures taken with my friends!
Left: Harry ... Center: Amaya ... Right: Isis
Shortly after we arrived we ran into fellow venders; Suzy of IMED, Dahlal of Dahlal Imports, and Andrea of Babylon Breeze. We loaded our stuff into the hotel shuttle and headed for the Convention Center to do preliminary set-up. It was a hectic place, but right away we were taken care of by Ya Halla staff known as Ambassadors. We were shown where to put our stuff and started meeting some of the other venders. We weren't allowed to really set up, that was to be done the next morning during the first workshop. So naturally I started getting nosey. The goodies they had sitting around for the stage decor were so cool I was trying to figure out how to sneak them home. But I was caught.
Next they took us to the Isis Studio in Bedford for a "Meet & Greet" Hafla. They had a luscious spread of homemade goodies, which we all attacked hungrily. Workshops were going on in the big studio, but our Ambassador still took us on a tour of the complex. They call it a studio, I call it a complex. Isis joined the tour periodically to point out some stuff. There are 3 studios, a kitchen, a reading room, a meeting room, a massage room, Isis' office, a store, and I don't know how many bathrooms. Let's just say, I WANT THIS STUDIO! It is to die for!!
Friday morning we did our set up and at the lunch break we sold, then the students went back for the second seminar. They had their own caterer there, so we never had to leave and the food was fabulous. I'm a picky eater and I tried almost everything on the menu. This is not something I get to say every event. Harry Saroyan arrived to be the MC of the three shows and since we couldn't sell we had time to visit. Amaya showed up next, she wasn't teaching, but was there as a guest dancer. So we got to visit with her too. Then the show began, oh my what a fabulous show!! Mostly performers from the Isis studio and the instructors, but also a few workshop participants. Venders sold before the show and at intermission.
Saturday and Sunday were basically the same only different teachers for each day, totaling six 4 hour workshops. Each day also ended with a show and each show was fabulous! Whole families are involved, parents and children. Isis raises her own. Am I going again? You bet, I can't wait! But next time I'm bringing a LOT more body stockings!!
Something I almost never have time to do, get pictures taken with my friends!
Left: Harry ... Center: Amaya ... Right: Isis