Lots of news to share, so let's get to it!

~ Thursday Time Chance and New Class Added
~ inFusion Tribal Performances Coming Up
~ Next Session Registration Open Now
~ Bring a Friend, Get a Discount
~ Shay's New Dance Blog and Twitter Feed

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THURSDAY TIME CHANGE AND NEW CLASS ADDED

Thursday Level 1 will be moving to 7:30-8:30 beginning the June session, to make some time for our next new class "Skills n' Drills!":

Thursdays 8:30-9:30pm - Phinney Neighborhood Center beginning in June

By popular request, we will be jamming on Thursday nights!
This class will be a combination of general bellydance skill drills, ATS/Tribal Group Improv concepts, zills and rhythms, combos and choreography, and more. Some nights we may watch inspirational videos, and discuss dance styles, ethics, philosophy, and creativity. Some nights will be group concepts and open jam time. Some nights we may be able to bring in guest teachers in different styles and approaches. The goal of this class is to play as we learn, to share and be inspired.

Bring your requests and ideas, and we will mold this class each week as we like!

Please note: Students must have completed at least THREE sessions of tribal bellydance classes with Sharon Moore at any level. Students will gain the most from this class with some Level 2 experience, or taking Level 2 concurrently.

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INFUSION TRIBAL PERFORMANCES

U-District Street Faire
Stage at 50th & University
Sunday, May 17th 2009 7pm
2pm
FREE!

A last-minute chance to play in the University District--come join us! inFusion Tribal, joined by their sisters in Nomaditude, will share the stage with Adderstone, Meleka, and Troupe Hipnotica. It all starts at 2pm with inFusion kickin' it off, so be there. The weather is supposed to be perfect *knock wood*

If you have never been, this faire is a blast, with lots of food, local artists, live music and performing artists, and the spirit of Seattle coming out to play in the sunshine!

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Northwest Folklife Festival
Tribal and Fusion Bellydance Showcase
Saturday, May 23rd 2009 7pm
International Dance Stage
Exhibition Hall on Mercer
Seattle Center
FREE!

See some of the best tribal and fusion bellydance from the Northwest and beyond. Including a unique inFusion Tribal Bellydance and Gypsy Fire Bellydance collaboration, Gypsy Caravan from Portland, and a finale with The Indigo from San Francisco!

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Tribal Revolution Festival
Chicago, IL

Sharon and Genevieve will be teaching and performing in Chicago, IL at the Tribal Revolution Festival June 19-21st, 2009. More details at http://www.tribalrevolution.com

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Mediterranean Fantasy Festival
aka Med Fest
July 18th and 19th
Hiawatha Community Center in West Seattle
10am-9pm daily

Schedule not up yet. But mark your calendars for dancing, shopping, eating, and schmoozing. As well as our annual summer class party at my house Saturday night!

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NEXT SESSION REGISTRATION


The next session of classes begins the first week of June. We have NO CLASS the week of the Memorial Day Holiday.

Registration is open now at http://www.mandalatribal.com/classes/register

Wanna save some money this summer? Just bring some enthusiastic friends along with you to class and get a discount! Bring enough friends, and you're dancing for FREE my friend!

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BRING A FRIEND, GET A DISCOUNT


Summer is coming, and it's time to crawl out of our dank, dreary little caves and get moving. Seattle is in bloom, and it's time to get out there! Do you have some friends who you know could use a nudge to get their booties shaking this summer? You know it's always more fun with a partner in crime, anyway. You hoist 'em off the couch and get them to register for a session, and you get a discount for your efforts!

Bring one friend, get 25% off of a single session pre-registration
(Save $15! Only $45 for the session)
Bring two friends, get 50% off.
(Save $30! Only $30 for the session)
Bring three or more friends, and I'll give you the session for FREE!!
(That's $60 off, my friend!)

Have your friends register on the website or mail a check. Then you e-mail me their names once they have registered, and your Paypal e-mail address (if applicable), and I will send you the total for your discounted session rate. Easy!

This offer is not transferrable.
Friends must all register for the same session you are attending, but not necessarily the same class level/day.
Friends must be first-time new students to Sharon's classes (sample class not included).
This offer valid for summer sessions beginning June-September.

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SHAY'S NEW DANCE BLOG & TWITTER


I recently started a new dance-related blog over on Blogger, which I think you guys will really enjoy. Not only will I be posting class and local event related info there, but I will be blogging about my performance experiences, dance musings, costume and make-up tips, inspirational video clips, links to favorite web haunts, and offering up ideas for discussion which I would really love for you guys to be a part of. Please drop by and check it out from time-to-time (or you can get it fed via RSS or Atom to your favorite reader, like Google Friend Connect).
http://thetribaldancer.blogspot.com/

If you are on Livejournal, I have a syndicated feed set up there which you can easily add to your f-list! Go to the link below and at the top click on "+ Add to Friends List"
http://syndicated.livejournal.com/thetribaldancer/

I will also be giving shout outs on Twitter when a new blog post goes up, and will be using Twitter as an additional way to keep up on class and workshop happenings and random dance musings and tidbits. I am @TheTribalDancer if you want to Follow Me!

See you in class, lovelies!!
-Shay
http://www.mandalatribal.com

YAYAYAYAYAY!I am all giddy, and I had to share. Renee is off in DC and I would call her if I wasn't so afeared I would interrupt her family time! So Renee, can you feel tingly right now and need to check in with me...?

Okay, here is the super exciting news--some you know, some you don't.

2008 highlights:

I get to teach (along with the amazing Renee, of course!) TWO workshops at Cues & Tattoos here in Seattle. I am thrilled about this because I know tons of people want to take the bhangra workshop, but I want to share some tribal bellydance stuff too, and Adriene is giving us the chance to. Hooray! Thanks, Adriene!

We will be heading to Bend, OR in March to teach some workshops and hang out with our Gypsy Fire sisters!

Our troupe is aaaaall going to Breitenbush together. And a bunch of my super-awesome Seattle students are coming as well. I already can't wait. Seattle really is taking over Da Bush. Add to this that both Michelle's of Raqs al-Hamra fame will be coming as well for a RAH-REUNION!! Unbelieveably awesome!

I will again be teaching a full weekend of workshops, in Chilliwack, BC in April, along with my faithful dance sister and Canada-trekker Genevieve.

Gypsy Caravan and inFusion Tribal will be teaming up for a performance at Tribal Fest! You heard it here first! It looks like we will likely be in the Friday night show, though confirmation is forthcoming. I could just pee I am so excited about this.

inFusion Tribal and Gypsy Fire of Bend, OR will be teaming up for Folklife this year! See two different interpretations of tribal group improv take the stage together. What will happen...? Who knows? Find out! Date/time TBA.

And the newest happy news:
Paulette asked me to teach at Tribal Quest Northwest 2008! We taught last in 2005, but haven't been back since, and I was waiting with baited breath for the chance to teach at my dance-Momma's event again. And YAY! We will have 2-3 workshop topics. And will likely be reprising our collaboration on the TQNW stage! *hopping from foot to foot*

Me and mah gurlz got to rock it today at the Totally Tribal Hafla. What a great fun event, and a GLOOOOORIOUS day for it to happen on. Unfortunately, Chris' back was bothering HIM, and he was frowny and hunhappy and needed to leave, so I didn't get to hang out and do anything (granted, he offered for us to stay as long as I wanted, but honestly...I wasn't signing up for him moaning in pain every 2 minutes while I walk around and browse the booths, ya know?)



The hafla itself was lovely, the venue was fun (must go back and check it out in more depth sometime!), and our performance was well received. It was sooo exciting to be back up there with Gen and Kym again (WAHOO!!!), and a special additional treat to have our newest sisters, Star and Kate, with us as well. It just felt...that magic we wanted to feed this fall...here it is.

For me personally...it was hard, I admit. I felt so stiff and out of sorts. I caught myself not smiling a few times, which for anyone who knows me is ridiculous. But I was in pain and the moves were a real struggle to push from my tight and out-of-dance-shape body. But I got to throw a new combo at Gen to stage-test, and I think it worked out well. There was a smatter of zaghareets from the audience and my chorus ladies, so I think it was good! Considering it has been in my head all week long, it was fun to get to pull it out. Gen rules like that to just pick it up and run with it.

It's always like a mini-reunion at these events, and seeing beautiful ladies like Leslie and Karen and Kath and Ellen and...a huge long list of lovellies. Then add to that all my sweet students who came out, and getting a chance to hang with some of the coolest people I know...it was a great way to come back to performing. I already was excited for next month's Capitol Club, and now even moreso!

Thanks to everyone who came out! And cheered and hissed and zaghareeted (and cried out for encores!! ;). And thanks for my loving hubby who took the pics and endured his back pain to be there to support us. I love you, my darling.

So last weekend was our annual troupe retreat. Continuing the pattern of beach vs mountain every other year, this year was back at the beach. Thanks to the troupe fund being pretty full from a busy year, we opted to get a nice place this year.





The beautiful Miramar

Spendy, yes, but damn it was nice! A big ass house with two story windows, a loft...everyone got their own bed except for Renee and I who shared one of the master bedrooms. Sadly, Sarah had a last-minute school related commitment, and had to cancel the night before we left. WAH!

Renee and I left at about 1pm, and it seemed like it took forever for us to get out to Ocean Shores! I don't know why, it just did. We immediately set to getting things ready for the rest of the gang, who was arriving late due to various home and family commitments which had them leaving town around rush hour.

Memory Books, and troupe gifts from Renee and Sharon

Renee worked on the troupe meeting materials while I went to town on the troupe scrapbook. I had printed out a gazillion images and little tags and notes, and had to clip and paste all of them in there. When Renee finished with her stuff, she came and helped me.


Rene and Sharon sip cider and work on the troupe scrapbook.

As we sat and sipped cider and relaxed in the cozy house, the gals began to arrive. Food in tow! Hooray! One of the best parts of the troupe retreats: we EAT! Like...yum. Everyone brings their best recipes and favorite snacks, a ton of wine, and we hang out in comfy clothes and chow down.

The last gaggle arrived close to 10pm, so we got a late start. We talked and ate and watched some dance videos, including Renee's second solo performance EVER, back down in Berkely! By about 2am (I think...it was late and we had drunk a lot...) Kym suggested we walk on the beach. It was the night before the full moon, and the whole world was silver and beautiful! So Kym, Gen, Amy and I walked down to the beach. I wish I could describe it. I wish the camera could have truly captured it (I tried). The tide was way out, and the beach looked like silver glass. The rushing sound of the waves was so loud...it was so surreal!


Beautiful moonlit beach. A pitiful attempt to capture it...

We headed back up the beach, and it was closing in on 4am. There were a lot of cars coming out to the beach, and many parked at the lot near the entrance to the beach. A ranger was there and we asked what was going on. "Tribal clam digging. Starts at 4:15am." TRIBAL CLAM DIGGING! Well, officer, let us just go get our official 'Tribal Butt Pants' and we'll join ya! Okay, we didn't say that until we were back at the house. But we got a kick out of it anyway.

Everyone was in bed, but Amy and I were still awake. We actually *gag* got ourselves more wine, and sat and talked and talked and talked. We watched the sun come up, and then some. We finally decided we should probably get some sleep. My head hit the pillow as the clock rounded 7:30am. :)

Hung over and tired as could be, I woke about 12:30am. Ugh. I felt crappy, but wanted to get the day started. I needed to get to work on the memory books--with 8 gals in the troupe, that makes for 7 troupies to write to. 14 pages of writing....by hand. And I don't write by hand much any more. Who does? We all pulled out the snacks to steel ourselves for the task ahead, and with pens in hands, we spread out around the house to settle into writing about each other for a few hours.


Bren jots her thots.

My brain...ouch, my brain! Don't make me think! I felt awful that it was such a struggle to THINK, let alone write something meaningful and profound in each journal. But I struggled away at it. I know it wasn't my finest work, but I did my best to do right by the four books I got done that afternoon.


Amy soaks up some sun on the deck while she works on some memory books

Most of the group ran into town to get supplies, while Gen and Amy and I hung back and watched movies and ate more garbage. Whee! Gorging! Later in the afternoon, some went for a walk, some sacked out in front of movies, and some (namely me) sacked out for a two hour nap. Ahhhh, I needed it. Refreshed and ready to meet the evening, I joined everyone in the work to get dinner ready. Saturday's dinner is a potluck, where everyone brings a main dish, and something to share.


The feasting begins

I brought pasta (didn't turn out, thanks to stove problems :( ), St. Agur with crackers, and salad with blue cheese dressing to share, as well as my spinach dip, which we were already digging into. Bren and Kahla made these amazingly yummy BBQ skewers with chicken, potatoes, peppers, and onions, all marinated in a Jamaican jerk spice.


The gang sups together.

Amy also made her steak with the same marinade. Kym made this incredibly delicious veggie soup, which she had put together in the early afternoon, and let stew in a stock pot all day long. YUM! Oh, and Amy of course made Michelle's garlic brie bowl. Always a favorite. Gen made an incredible cheesecake, which she decorated with the inFusion logo:


Gen's speciality: cheesecake and blowing us away with her creativity!

We started late on dinner, which means the troupe meeting was late as well. Oh we were dragging by the end. But the meeting was awesome. Got to talk about the past year, the year ahead, our goals, our concerns, and our kudos. It was especially great to pull out our list of goals from last year and literally check, check, check marked off everything we had hoped to accomplish and had! How gratifying! It was also great to make sure we were all on the same page about where we're at and where we want to go together. I always feel so much stronger in purpose and direction after our troupe retreats. Renee does a kick-ass job at this kind of stuff, and she ran the meeting like the pro she is. :)

We tried to watch some more videos, but the VCR was crapping out, and by the time we switched to DVD's, we were all so tired. It was late again, and we had eaten and underslept and drank wine...it was time to crash out. So we hit the sheets.

Next morning we were up, grabbing breakfast, packing up, and finishing our memory books. We had to be out of the house by 1pm. I was much more fluid in my writing on Sunday, and was glad I had saved Renee's until I felt more "alive". I ended up writing three pages in her journal, I had so much to thank her for in the last year. We had both worried last year, when Michelle took leave of us, that it would spell trouble for us. Michelle was a balancing force between Renee and I. But instead of trouble, we strengthened and grew closer, and I think became even better directors as well as better friends. I have loved what we have done with the troupe in the last year, including some huge milestones for the troupe (featured at TF and TQNW, for a start), and I needed to try and put all that into words. No easy task. But more easily done sober than hung over, indeed. LOL!

We were out on time, and piled into our cars, agreeing to meet in "town" for lunch. We ended up having an incredibly yummy lunch at a Mexican restaurant in the strip mall, getting to hang out, debrief, and prepare to go back to the real world. I wasn't ready. None of us were!

I was bummed that our retreat got such a late start. It meant we didn't get to play any games! Hopefully next year! And it did make the retreat feel shorter, even though it was truly only by a matter of hours. But regardless of that little thing, the rest of the retreat was awesome as always. I was reminded, yet again, what a rare and precious thing our troupe is, and how so honored I feel to get to dance with the incredible women I do. I love them all so much...



Yeah, life is gooooooood.

So last weekend was our annual troupe retreat. Continuing the pattern of beach vs mountain every other year, this year was back at the beach. Thanks to the troupe fund being pretty full from a busy year, we opted to get a nice place this year.





The beautiful Miramar

Spendy, yes, but damn it was nice! A big ass house with two story windows, a loft...everyone got their own bed except for Renee and I who shared one of the master bedrooms. Sadly, Sarah had a last-minute school related commitment, and had to cancel the night before we left. WAH!

Renee and I left at about 1pm, and it seemed like it took forever for us to get out to Ocean Shores! I don't know why, it just did. We immediately set to getting things ready for the rest of the gang, who was arriving late due to various home and family commitments which had them leaving town around rush hour.

Memory Books, and troupe gifts from Renee and Sharon

Renee worked on the troupe meeting materials while I went to town on the troupe scrapbook. I had printed out a gazillion images and little tags and notes, and had to clip and paste all of them in there. When Renee finished with her stuff, she came and helped me.


Rene and Sharon sip cider and work on the troupe scrapbook.

As we sat and sipped cider and relaxed in the cozy house, the gals began to arrive. Food in tow! Hooray! One of the best parts of the troupe retreats: we EAT! Like...yum. Everyone brings their best recipes and favorite snacks, a ton of wine, and we hang out in comfy clothes and chow down.

The last gaggle arrived close to 10pm, so we got a late start. We talked and ate and watched some dance videos, including Renee's second solo performance EVER, back down in Berkely! By about 2am (I think...it was late and we had drunk a lot...) Kym suggested we walk on the beach. It was the night before the full moon, and the whole world was silver and beautiful! So Kym, Gen, Amy and I walked down to the beach. I wish I could describe it. I wish the camera could have truly captured it (I tried). The tide was way out, and the beach looked like silver glass. The rushing sound of the waves was so loud...it was so surreal!


Beautiful moonlit beach. A pitiful attempt to capture it...

We headed back up the beach, and it was closing in on 4am. There were a lot of cars coming out to the beach, and many parked at the lot near the entrance to the beach. A ranger was there and we asked what was going on. "Tribal clam digging. Starts at 4:15am." TRIBAL CLAM DIGGING! Well, officer, let us just go get our official 'Tribal Butt Pants' and we'll join ya! Okay, we didn't say that until we were back at the house. But we got a kick out of it anyway.

Everyone was in bed, but Amy and I were still awake. We actually *gag* got ourselves more wine, and sat and talked and talked and talked. We watched the sun come up, and then some. We finally decided we should probably get some sleep. My head hit the pillow as the clock rounded 7:30am. :)

Hung over and tired as could be, I woke about 12:30am. Ugh. I felt crappy, but wanted to get the day started. I needed to get to work on the memory books--with 8 gals in the troupe, that makes for 7 troupies to write to. 14 pages of writing....by hand. And I don't write by hand much any more. Who does? We all pulled out the snacks to steel ourselves for the task ahead, and with pens in hands, we spread out around the house to settle into writing about each other for a few hours.


Bren jots her thots.

My brain...ouch, my brain! Don't make me think! I felt awful that it was such a struggle to THINK, let alone write something meaningful and profound in each journal. But I struggled away at it. I know it wasn't my finest work, but I did my best to do right by the four books I got done that afternoon.


Amy soaks up some sun on the deck while she works on some memory books

Most of the group ran into town to get supplies, while Gen and Amy and I hung back and watched movies and ate more garbage. Whee! Gorging! Later in the afternoon, some went for a walk, some sacked out in front of movies, and some (namely me) sacked out for a two hour nap. Ahhhh, I needed it. Refreshed and ready to meet the evening, I joined everyone in the work to get dinner ready. Saturday's dinner is a potluck, where everyone brings a main dish, and something to share.


The feasting begins

I brought pasta (didn't turn out, thanks to stove problems :( ), St. Agur with crackers, and salad with blue cheese dressing to share, as well as my spinach dip, which we were already digging into. Bren and Kahla made these amazingly yummy BBQ skewers with chicken, potatoes, peppers, and onions, all marinated in a Jamaican jerk spice.


The gang sups together.

Amy also made her steak with the same marinade. Kym made this incredibly delicious veggie soup, which she had put together in the early afternoon, and let stew in a stock pot all day long. YUM! Oh, and Amy of course made Michelle's garlic brie bowl. Always a favorite. Gen made an incredible cheesecake, which she decorated with the inFusion logo:


Gen's speciality: cheesecake and blowing us away with her creativity!

We started late on dinner, which means the troupe meeting was late as well. Oh we were dragging by the end. But the meeting was awesome. Got to talk about the past year, the year ahead, our goals, our concerns, and our kudos. It was especially great to pull out our list of goals from last year and literally check, check, check marked off everything we had hoped to accomplish and had! How gratifying! It was also great to make sure we were all on the same page about where we're at and where we want to go together. I always feel so much stronger in purpose and direction after our troupe retreats. Renee does a kick-ass job at this kind of stuff, and she ran the meeting like the pro she is. :)

We tried to watch some more videos, but the VCR was crapping out, and by the time we switched to DVD's, we were all so tired. It was late again, and we had eaten and underslept and drank wine...it was time to crash out. So we hit the sheets.

Next morning we were up, grabbing breakfast, packing up, and finishing our memory books. We had to be out of the house by 1pm. I was much more fluid in my writing on Sunday, and was glad I had saved Renee's until I felt more "alive". I ended up writing three pages in her journal, I had so much to thank her for in the last year. We had both worried last year, when Michelle took leave of us, that it would spell trouble for us. Michelle was a balancing force between Renee and I. But instead of trouble, we strengthened and grew closer, and I think became even better directors as well as better friends. I have loved what we have done with the troupe in the last year, including some huge milestones for the troupe (featured at TF and TQNW, for a start), and I needed to try and put all that into words. No easy task. But more easily done sober than hung over, indeed. LOL!

We were out on time, and piled into our cars, agreeing to meet in "town" for lunch. We ended up having an incredibly yummy lunch at a Mexican restaurant in the strip mall, getting to hang out, debrief, and prepare to go back to the real world. I wasn't ready. None of us were!

I was bummed that our retreat got such a late start. It meant we didn't get to play any games! Hopefully next year! And it did make the retreat feel shorter, even though it was truly only by a matter of hours. But regardless of that little thing, the rest of the retreat was awesome as always. I was reminded, yet again, what a rare and precious thing our troupe is, and how so honored I feel to get to dance with the incredible women I do. I love them all so much...



Yeah, life is gooooooood.