D's Blog

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