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Junk to Jewels Belly Dance Costume Contest By Delilah |
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| Hello! or rather Aloha! I want to share with you the stories of eleven dancers who took on the challenge of creating beautiful bellydance costumes from recycled materials (sometimes known as junk and garbage) and in the process learned some things about caring for the adornments of our dancing Mother, the Earth. In January 1997 we held our 6th annual Visionary Bellydance Retreat on the island of Maui. At these retreats we study bellydance techniques, performance, drumming and music, and we enjoy the island! Each year we have a guest instructor and a theme. This year's theme was Caretaking, which we explored in various ways. Caretaking Ourselves was best answered by stopping the clock, taking time out for ourselves to come to Maui and spend time doing what we love, bellydancing! Next came the theme of Caretaking Community which we explored by studying the tribal style of dance taught by my guest instructor Carolena Nerricio of Fat Chance. Then came the theme of Caretaking the Earth. This we pursued by holding an Environmental Recycled Costume Contest. The idea is this: Can you see the Earth dancing in the heavens? Our living dancing bodies are metaphors for the living dancing body of the Earth. What we put out there on the Earth is what the Earth is made to wear as her dance attire. Can we transform our waste products into jewels of consciously designed adornments for her to freely dance in? By this act of creative contemplation we become mindful of the Earth's sacred garments. Our bodies are the ground on which to exercise our consciousness. What should be the criteria from which to judge? The adornments should be energy efficient, spirited, recycled and beautiful ! The rules were simple: The participants would craft costumes from as many recycled materials as possible. They had to keep personal and timely notes on their creative progress, physically, emotionally and mentally. They had to list all supplies used; the more ingenious and true to the effort of recycling the better. Then each of the dancers would give a talk about her project as well as perform in her costume at a special show held during the retreat. Here are their stories: |
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Salyna: "Wrapped for Protection" Like a mosaic of armor, hammered bottle caps adorn a bra and belt. A veil of pale pink bubble wrap surrounds and protects her as a body drape. Bright yellow tissuey merchant bags agreed to be her skirt and head scarf. She danced with her veil, popping the bubbles with her fingers. They hissed and snapped with the music, proclaiming her inner gypsy fire! As Salyna sat down to brainstorm her costume making, she put on an audio tape by a composer named Joules, from Vashon Island, WA. A song came on the player that took her breath away. It carried her to the exact creative space she was seeking. The words went like this: GRANDMOTHER'S BACK Grandmother's back being bent to the ground By the oppressor man pressing down down down Grandmother's back, see what we're doing Grandmother's back, creating a ruin Grandmother's back hear what I say now Grandmother's back be changing your ways now Her Body is not a commodity Not a product to be bought and sold Not to be mined for oil or gold Our disposable society, we're living in today Disposable society going to throw itself away So wake up! Hear her Call Wake up one and all! (From "Waterfall Child" by Joules; call 206-516-2938 for availability .) |
| Dolores Stark, Crystal River, FL: "The K Mart Special" Crocheted strips of K-Mart and Wall Mart shopping bags from out of the closet (where they must multiply at night she exclaims) create a decorative and textural rosette design for the bra belt and skirt, plus earrings and bracelets. Dolores learned that there were strategic ways to cut shopping bags for the best results when crocheting them. Cutting across the width gave more strength and allowed them to stay together as one continuous length. The colors gave it patterned pizzazz. K Mart's were red and white; Wall Mart's were blue and white. She used approximately 41 shopping bags and spent no money, but it did take her about 20 days from beginning to end. She was glad for the experience and creative opportunity and very happy to get rid of the shopping bags and free up her closet . The costume is a classic and she'll keep it for posterity. Personally I think she should apply for a job as the K Mart/Wall Mart poster girl! |
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Marya Nowakowski, Northern Oregon: "Baling Twine Bellydancer" Closely resembling costumes worn by dancers in Africa's New Guinea. Burnt orange hay baling twine made a dancer's raffia style string skirt. In the farm lands, burnt orange plastic twine removed from hay bales lies omnipresent in huge heaps that will not decompose. Marya was determined to find a way to turn this junk into jewels and give it a second purpose. It was not easy as the twine would not work in her loom, be crocheted or macramed. She had to carefully sew the twine onto fabric scraps and then sew that onto a skirt. She coordinated it with a jerry-rigged plant hanger, an old bathing suit bottom she found that had lost it's top. She substituted another find for the top. The accessories were all recycled thrift store items for under a dollar. |
| Worn by Delilah of Seattle WA, created for her by Gazelle of Cloud Creations in Scottsdale, AZ: "The Gypsy Party Costume" * In a rich and fanciful collage of color and texture, serger cuttings are given new life as they are woven into a rag weave hip blanket over a patchwork skirt. The bra is covered in more serger scraps overlaid with plastic drinking cups and plates cut into sequins, gems and crystal shapes. The head dress is a weave of plastic netting from oranges, grapefruit and kiwi packaging and even one from a Christmas tree! Audio and video tape, silver foil, tags and packaging wire, all from Christmas morning throw-away. The veil, entitled "This Veil is Not a Toy," was made of cracker foil and filmy plastics with those very words of warning floating through it's layers. Gazelle states: Everything comes wrapped in plastic and this party gypsy is no exception. Not only are all the materials recycled but they are all items used in celebration and expression! I always thought I had the best looking trash in town, and wondered if there weren't some way to use all the colorful scraps I was throwing away. When Delilah asked me to participate in this project my serger scraps came to mind immediately. History of Patch work: Patchwork clothing goes way back. It's always been a way to recycle valuable and scarce fabric back into use; as children grow out of their clothes; for extending our memory into each others' lives (patches from former generations evolving into badges); or perhaps we retain pieces of fabrics from a memorable occasion such as weddings, favorite childhood clothes; or from a famous or holy person that carries a certain charisma. Patches have held very special meanings for people over the centuries. The materials for this costume were remnants from costumes made for many bellydancers that Delilah has helped to inspire. The skirt is the base; it represents nurturance, memorabilia and friendship! * Serger scraps used from costumes for bellydancers, Calypso dancers, parades, modern dancers, Halloween costumes, and Renaissance Fairs . * 101 beer caps turned into percussive bangles * Party trays turned into crystal gems * Foil from cracker boxes * Dixie ice cream spoons * plastic netting from fruits bags * Miscellaneous throw-away items left behind on Christmas morning. |
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| Lenny Berg of Magic Circle crafts "Gingers Recycled Costume" Ginger's delicate chain woven bra cover/belly drape may be attached to any blouse or bra. The belt shimmers with iridescent colored metal wall spacers and remnants of a broken window chime. The gypsy style skirt is made from two veils Ginger has had for years and never used because they were too long and too wide for her. During the day Lenny works for a company installing alarm systems, but at night he and his partner Gary Barlow stay up late listening to Alannis Morriset, Led Zeppelin, Tracy Chapman, the Platters... They're busy designing and crafting heavy chain and coin belts for bellydancers all over the country. Tiny pieces of chain, jump rings, and scraps end up on the floor of their workshop. They get mixed up with the dust and are swept into a heap and then bagged. Over the years Lenny didn't know why he saved this stuff. These scraps were always thought of as too tedious to sort and the pieces of chains to small to be of any practical use in design. That is, until he entered the recycled costume contest. The belt and bra cover were made of a patchwork of all different colors and styles of metal jeweler's chains. He also recycled a broken brass window chime he noticed on the floor of his shop while listening to the Cowboy Junkies. What look like coins from a distance, are really metal slugs from the knock outs of the electric panels he installs all day long, otherwise destined for the landfill. For some reason these metal medallions glow with a bluish rainbow iridescence that is quite beautiful under the lights and which complemented the blue and turquoise gypsy skirt. The costume cost him nothing. He traded the labor out with Laura Rose Productions to make the skirt out of Ginger's veils. The bra cover is a costume component which can be detached and made to work in a multitude of costume combinations. Diversity in costume components saves money and resources. If we must have a completely new costume every time we dance we use tons of extra resources. Buying costumes or gifting other dancers with second hand costumes is a great recycling practice. Instead of buying something new Ginger recycled something she already owned and wasn't using. Lenny says he likes the look of the patchwork chain and will use the design concept again, and at the same time continue to recycle his scraps. Those of you who are familiar with Magic Circle know that a trademark of theirs is one-of-a-kind designs. Lenny and Gary quite often cannibalize found items that have lost their purpose and transform them into center pieces for belts or bra covers. |
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Tena Erikson, Alconbury, England: "Shamanic Priestess" Bones of fish and sand-washed sea shells adorn a sand colored shawl turned into a form fitting skirt. An elegant and prestigious crown of bones lend Shamanic authority along with a magic totem stick and a spirit drum made from a fish skin and a tuna can. Tena signed up for Maui only a couple weeks before we were due to leave, and on the day before she was going on a trip to Mexico with her sister. Having just found out about the costume contest she decided she would make her costume from found items gathered from the beach in Baja. Her costume is a tribute of honor to the sea. If anything was lost in the surf, well, it had come from there anyway was the idea. It was a wonderful project to share with her sister on their reunion. Together they gathered found treasures along the shores; when they got back she and her sister ransacked every drawer and closet to find items to reuse and incorporate as base and binding for her costume. Her best find on the beach, a gift from the Goddess, was a large piece of Mother of Pearl glinting out from a well-buried hiding place in the dark ground. She dug it up to find it was in the shape of the continent of Africa, a cradle for civilization. It became her beautiful necklace. Her costume, made completely by hand in a week and a day, cost her $6.64. She discovered that she loves working with bones as jewelry. Her thoughts were spent with every stitch, remembering the sea's beauty, how the sea gives us so much, takes care of us and how we must in turn take care of her! She used her recycled costume as her seafaring costume and wore it into the surf. A wave did claim some of her bones back to its depths. As we take, so we give! Other material included sand-washed glass, sea sponge and sea plants, gold beads from an old sweater, broken earrings and necklaces of her sister's, clear drinking straws, parcel cord, two turtle buttons, old head bands, old pair of tights, ring pulls, a few jewels and sequins taken off old used costumes. |
| Sherry Stevens, Crystal River, Florida: "Mrs Clean" GRAND PRIZE WINNER A pure white plastic worked like leather fashioned the bra, belt, and headdress. The skirt was a diaphanous smoke colored screen on top of a white ankle length lining. This creation fooled us all: what looked like finely worked, stainless white leather was really made from bleach bottles, an old plastic window screen the cat tore up and a trash liner. The bra is actually cut pieces of bleach-bottle plastic, patterned after a regular bra. It took 3 hours of hand sewing. The belt and accessories took 6-7 hours - and days in between for the holes in her fingers to heal. As she constructed her costume she listened to the natural sound of her water fountain accompanied by Celtic music and bamboo chimes for healing, inspiration and commitment to the future of our body the earth. As Sherry danced in this costume we were still fooled! Who would think window screen could be so supple a fabric? The prize was a Woodstock Wind Chime. |
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Claire Wesley, Enumclaw WA: "Play it Again Claire" Glistening like wet earth, Claire's crocheted audio tape skirt and halter top is adorned with a percussive blue poker chip belt and a fragrant dried tangerine necklace. Pages from Claire's Journal: October: I started saving audio and video tape. There doesn't seem to be any shortage of discarded audio tape from the local library where I work... Besides tape I want to use the obsolete metal plates from library cards for the belt.... November: I better get started crocheting! Three things I'm learning; audio tape comes in different colors and it stretches out! I have to keep making the waist band smaller. I get two inches from each tape. Third, the tape is very fragile it keeps breaking. Yikes! I have six tapes of "Damsel in Distress" December: I love this stuff! It's nice and soft. The library tags won't work. I'm finding they cut the tape (maybe another project). I rent "Waterworld" to watch while crocheting. The black tape from "Washington Voters Pamphlet" I'm using exclusively for the fringe. Now for my belt. As I look through my costumes I realize that they all have recycled elements. Cost has been a factor. Life is so expensive! January: My husband Fran suggests I use poker chips for the belt. I use an old scarf to attach them to. They sound great! We drill holes in some old dried tangerines for a necklace. They smell good! I want music for my dance to be recycled too. Sheila Chandra speaking in tongues is calling to me. Will the costume hold up with all the shimmies? All conditions are met; lightness, cost =zero, completely recycled and it's beautiful. Final thought: I am so thankful to have this opportunity. No one pushes me to take these creative risks as much as Delilah! |
| Saudi Abdul, Anchorage AK: "Sea Weed Goddess" Green and sparkling remnant fabrics from an archival closet reinvent themselves into a beautiful bellydance costume. Decorations salvaged from a old beaded dress. Saudi's red hair and green gown are a salute to the vitality to the earth. |
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Corrine Hollister Seattle WA, "From Rags to Fishes" A fisherman's sea net captures the allure of fluorescent fish lights draping from her hips. A mermaid bra of cotton clouds and peeking blue sky modestly worn by this bathing beauty. Corrine had entertained so many hopeful ideas over the months leading to the retreat. But no time availed itself, thus increasing the value of a retreat and escape to a tropical paradise for her. Time was running out and all the best-laid plans for her Seafaring costume as well as her Recycled Costume entry, were falling by the wayside. As she packed to get on the plane she felt sad and unprepared. But wait! Her boyfriend, who happened to be a fisherman, exclaimed, "Don't despair Corrine! Surely we can find something down in the basement that can work for both events." Two in one! And so they did. With an old useless fishing net and lures left over and previously used in the Solstice Parade she fashioned a Seaworthy skirt that might even catch fish. The top was made of cotton rags used to refinish a dresser drawer the previous summer. She had always liked the pattern left behind on those rags. Her costume worked quite nicely underwater, as her photos will attest. |
| Kajira Djoumahna, Santa Rosa, CA: "Nothing But the Truth" I don't know exactly how to politely describe this one. Ahh... like, I dream of a genie with a beer bottle hairdo, margarine container bra cups spewing plastic Christmas tinsel? From her belt dangled dinnerware and reconstituted junk over a sea of age-old blue sequins! She carries a black veil crowded with planets and stars as a back drop. Well, it brought smiles and laughter to our faces. Her dance was lively and sporting and graceful; but this junk and the way it was used was a bit disconcerting. Kajira had taken the project very seriously, spent weeks on conceiving her costume, and kept pages of detailed notes on the entire process. It effected her deeply . She collected piles of junk to contemplate but found that to really use much of it she would need to create armies of environmental bellydancers! She found that as she tied each bit of garbage into the the rest that each knot became a her personal prayer to the earth. It wasn't a serious contender for the best use for turning junk into jewels because we were painfully aware it was still junk. However I think Kajira created the most poignant entry. Like the tattoo on her back that says in a lost tribal language "Nothing but the Truth", Kajira gives it to us straight. It was the most realistic metaphor for the state of the way things are out there in the environment today! The Earth is being made to wear this junk without taste or conscious transformation by most of the world. We nervously laugh at the comical look to Kajira's costume, but something touches us in a deep place. What are we willing to do to change things? What clothes could be more beautiful in design for the earth to wear than a veil of clean air, blue sequined sparkling waters, lush green emerald forests, and golden hillsides. Her richly jeweled ensemble entails the amazing and intricate designs given to all the fantastic species on this planet. So quickly they are disappearing. Like a mirror, Kajira has brought us a momentary vision of our situation at hand, brought into brave focus for us to see. Our rich and beautiful earth, rare among planets is in danger of being pushed back into the obscurity of Kajira's veil, to be just another ordinary lifeless rock in space. |
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| *Note; Delilah's costume was crafted by Gazelle of Cloud Creations; Scottsdale AZ for Delilah to wear as MC during the special performance presentation. Since Delilah doesn't compete in her own contests, Gazelle's efforts were not eligible for consideration by the judges. She said she enjoyed the project immensely. |
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