D's Blog

Join me in Egypt for the Trip of a Life Time next Spring 2011.

We are registering people early because it insures us all the best accommodations. We have a payment plan for budgeting. I am not going to do this again so now is the time. There are other places I want to go in my life. I really rather go to Egypt with my dancing sisters, family and friends rather than a bunch of unknown tourists. I know you would too. This is going to so amazing.

We will do two trips in one. Ancient Egypt and Modern Day Egypt and if you are really adventurous continue on to Jordan where we will visit Petra and the red sea!

Check out my scrap book from previous adventures in Egypt!

Call me with questions 206 632-2353

This photo was taken of us doing a circle dance in the Queens chamber in the Great Pyramid in 2008.

Dahlia with her mouth full!

Dear Dancers,

We have just enjoyed a most successful Summer Solstice Parade! THis marks our 20th year of participation! I am so proud of everyone. We have a fun party coming up this Saturday night!

I need everyone’s focused attention right now!

We have been a studio on Fremont for 6 years and are entering our 7th year. Since we are a belly dance exclusive studio we deal with the cycles of women’s lives. We have have busy times and less busy times. Kind of like our blood moon cycles. However the studio’s over head is still very concrete in the world of bill paying cycles. We want to make sure the studio survives so we are available to women during the  full flowing times in the year. You feel me? We need support 12 months out of the year or. . .

SOOO Right now I need dancers to help.

The summer months are a harder time for the studio because of summer schedules and vacations. However the summer atmosphere is a great times to belly dance. We have more fun and are not hindered by snow and cold. heat is a rear thing here and evenings are very comfortable. If you have to miss a class and need a make up class come to a POWER BELLY on me. We do not want your schedules to get in the way. Lets stay in shape and belly dance!

Delilah in Fremont Solstice Parade 2010 (this costume is for SALE)

We are adding day time classes and work outs and weekend classes, and student and staff performance dates. Fun Fun!

Please check them out and do your best to plug in to support us.

Please RECRUIT  YOUR FRIENDS TO  start belly dancing this summer.

VDP Belly Dance Class Calendar here:

It’s so fun. You can come for free if you need to hold their hand. Sometimes thats all it takes and you can change some ones life.

I just talked to someone who discovered the world of belly dance because by chance they were drug to a show by a friend. Ha! Lots of people are living simple lives and belly dance is enchanting. It can bring such energy and vitality. When I see all your smiling faces in the parade. OMG what beauty!

THIS SUMMER:

we have some interesting plans out side all the regular classes.

Lorraine Lafata of Boston is coming to do a Belly dance Workshop for working with as well as being an Abuse Survivor. Looks like second week in August TBA.

Fri Aug 2oth

August 20th; Amel Tafsout from Algeria is being featured in H.O.T. Concert with Special Guest Musician Ishmeal. (I play his music in 70 % of my classes). This will be at a special theater . Hopefully she does a workshop too. TBA

oxox Delilah

206 632-2353

Delilah leads the Billion Bellies in Fremont Solstice Parade (Seattle)

Saturday is the annual Fremont  Solstice Parade and the wheather forecast keeps changing (worsening by the minute, 70 % precipitation at the moment). This is the 22 nd year for the parade and we have been in 20 of them. We got rained out once and a second time it started pouring just as we finished.
This season for the past 6 weeks we have had rain at almost every rehearsal. We are groups of 30-50 dancers Tuesday and Wednesday, Then the think tank class on Thursday, where we work out the choreographic bugs each week, is a bout 12 dancers. We have to practice out side in a play ground because the dance choreography is big! We have about 20 drummers and a Trumpet player. Their hands get cold. Not been easy.
Because of the obstacles this year our dances are pretty simple. Last night we had a dress rehearsal on some back streets in Fremont. We got to enact all our transitions and are looking good and ready to go. All we need is the Weather to cooperate. It’s threatened to rain before on us. Actually the year we built the pyramid they predicted rain but it held until the night. We hope our luck will holds again this year.
If it doesn’t. . .
This becomes the hardest decision of my life. How do I call it? Well if it rains buckets in the morning, it’s easy. No parade. However what if it’s just gray and threatening? We can’t dance in the rain; 1. It’s slippery, no one wants a broken ankle 2. Costumes banners and props get wrecked, 3. We can’t carry around rain gear with us just in case. It’s cold. No one wants to belly dance in coats. 4. Will the audience stand around in the rain. probably with umbrellas. 5. Drummers get cold hands.
If it’s just grey the gals have decided to show up no mater what and  call it off if it gets dangerous. A bike with cart will be with us to carry rain gear and visqueen.
If we have to call it off. Well, next year will have the same color theme and we will have a year to make our costumes even better and improve our dance concepts. Plus work on banners. Plus add more dancers!
All together we have about 89-99 folks readying themselves for this parade.
Let us share our dance works:
Our theme 2010
THE RICH GREEN PLANET EARTH

Our Colors are
WHITE AND GREEN
Our Sub themes are
EARTH, WATER,  FIRE, and AIR
We have 4 groupings of dancers and they each have different props and a rhythm where they are spot lighted a little more predominantly.
The Water has blue gauntlets with ribbon streamers and dances to bolero.
The Air has huge circle cloud like sleeves and their rhythm is 6/8
The Fire has sticks with fire streamers and they have a  fast Karachi
The Earth has brown silk veils and is the lead with the saeedi.
We have 2 different transition dances to Ayoob
The names of our dances are cute. They are inspired by the ways the Earth dynamically dances; Earth Quake, Tornado, Kelp and Critters, Volcano, whirl winds, waves, fire Storm, chaos . . .

Fremont Solstice Parade

Delilah at Isis Temple

I’m dreaming in ancient Egyptian symbols. . .

This week I got a bunch of calls from folks getting excited about coming to Egypt with me. Two gal friends are signed up for my “ Hathor down the Nile”. They are driving their families crazy with excitement. They have many months to wait, so I hope it’s not too hard on their families.

Then a family of 4 called and announced they are ALL are coming with me. The mom is one of our NTP dancers. The young daughter has a romance with ancient Egypt that I find hauntingly familiar. The teen age son I hear is a very good writer. What better to fuel his imagination with than a trip to the land of scribes and the beginning of writing. Where world histories, myths and cultures meet. A fantastic growth experience. I hope he keeps a journal and will share. The father couldn’t miss this rich opportunity to travel abroad with with his loved ones. This will be richly etched in all their collective memories. I am so pleased they are doing this as a family.
I got n email from a dance friend who wants to come and maybe on the entire 20 day trip of a life time. She said she is open for a room mate because she didn’t know if her husband would be interested or not. She and her husband are retired and very active and healthy. I hope he considers coming along too. It’s going to be a major experience for his beloved wife and life moves fast past 50. You gotta grab it while you can.  Husbands are very welcome on this tour. They won’t feel like its girls night out I assure.

In the story scrap book I put up on the Delilahs-belly-dance-retreat.com, I tried convey how powerful the experience was to share with some one close to you. I went alone the first time and made a new friend in my roommate Carol. The second time my then husband wasn’t interested and I went with a best friend (I wished he had come too). She and I had an incredible life altering trip . It was 1997 and we went to Turkey and Egypt in the same adventure.Then in 2000 I went with my folks while they were both healthy to travel.  OMG what a good decision that was. We joined harpist Ani William’s tour and about 14 belly dance fiends of mine came too. The last trip I took in 2008 my two daughters, 2 cousins, and my boyfriend came with me. I and shared with them the ancient mysteries. So fantastic. I figured that was the last time I would go. A handful of people who came with me last time in 2008 are interested in the Petra (Jordan) leg of the tours including my family members. That would be perfect.
This trip was prompted by my students who started asking me recently. Are you going back Delilah? If so I want to come. Really, I said? They said I make the adventure come to life so that it is not just a typical tour. I laughed, but I know what they mean. When we were in Costa Rica I over heard two tour guide talking to each other about how they wished they had our group because we were so vibrant and alive. I know we brighten up the guides, the guards and other tourists around us with our dance energy.

A Dance Inside the Queens Chamber

Then I realized I haven’t seen Alexandria, Petra the Red Sea and my most favorite thing in the whole world is to cruise down the Nile so this time I’m going to do it all!

So that is why we are going and have a nice long lead time so we can budget it into our dreams.
Life is so precious. Life is so fleeting. Youth believes they live forever. In our middle years we realize we better live it now.

Yours in Ancient and Modern Belly Dance.
oxox

Delilah

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