Belly Dance At MedFest: Why We Love This Festival

I am shocked when Seattle locals who have lived here for years are surprised to hear that one of the Northwest's largest belly dance shows occurs annually every third weekend in July in the vibrant West Seattle Community.

Over 600 dancers from California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and even Alaska register for non-stop dancing over two days on two stages for the Mediterranean Fantasy Festival, hosted by the Babylonian Ensemble. Audiences are exposed to various forms of the classic as well as emerging genres of belly dance, which include steam punk, tribal fusion, goth, martial arts, hip hop, and circus elements.

Additionally, MedFest has been open to Bollywood dance, and over the past few years, I've seen a few troupes present Indian-inspired works or full-on Bollywood pieces. This year, Mollie Singh introduced Bollywood Seattle, with excerpts of three solo choreographies as well as a group number, all choreographed by Mollie.

What I love about MedFest is how the organizers never fail to attract a high-quality workshop instructor and performer. Saturday July 17 Tito Seif of Cairo, Egypt performed on the outdoor stage (video recordings were not allowed), wowing the audience with his exciting stick dance, beledi, and dance performance while balanced on a tabla.

Tito Seif is one of the world's best male bellydancers, and an exciting choreographer. His joy is infectious, and his intensity and precision inspires dancers across the globe. In terms of the level of accomplishment this man has achieved, I was only surprised that I could not find a Wiki page about him. Bet his press team is working on that, because he is surely a "notable".

If you missed out on his workshop Saturday morning, Seif is offering another choreography workshop at 6 pm Sunday July18. For more information, go to the Babylonian Ensemble website, and click on the workshops.

Last but not least, one of my favorites is back: Shoshana of Arcata, CA. Shoshana's playful use of the four-yard veil always takes my breath away. She was the first to teach me how to use my veil like a rubber band, flicking it across the room if necessary [Added: Sunday July 18 at 1:45 pm. Shoshana had to leave early, so she performed at 12:30 pm instead of the listed time of 3 pm. Here's a few photos, taken on my Vado 3rd generation camera]:

Cocooned within a transparent, over-sized veil, Shoshana shows the audience how to spin out of a web.

Even with a breeze, Shoshana's control makes throwing, tossing, and flicking the veil look like liquid magic.

Letting the veil follow her slightest coaxing.

Did I mention the shopping? I'm not much of a shopper, so when I do shop, it's usually in binges. This year, I purchased four dresses for $65! I wasn't in need of a new costume, but there are plenty of costume vendors ready to suit you up in gorgeous glamour, whimsical skirts, and gothic tribal wear. If you don't want to depart with any hard-earned cash, do not (I repeat, do not) go anywhere near the indoor stage area where Shiny Sparkly Things is happily liberating people of their dough. I bought a pair of earrings from SST a couple of years ago, and I'm getting great mileage out of their high-quality, costume jewelry.

Hungry? Falafel sandwiches, kabobs, and non-alcoholic beverages are vended from a conveniently placed truck and grills.

All-in-all, you and your family can spend the afternoon at MedFest in this highly entertaining, vital community of dancers, musicians, fans, and people who love world music. Come and join us if you can (just don't park on Walnut Street, or you are likely to get a parking ticket), and bring a light jacket, as it is a bit chilly for mid-July.

Creativity: Blank page or Template?

With just 18 days left until Seattle's largest bellydance festival, Mediterranean Fantasy Festival I made a decision two weeks ago to challenge my usual patterns of creating choreography. Usually, I start with a piece of music I love but have never choreographed, study it, and start interpreting the music into movement. I then get a couple of sets of eyes to look at it with me, and give me feedback and suggestions to help milk the movement for ultimate emotional impact.

This year, I'm doing something different.

Blame it on Artist's Circle, which has been challenging my thinking about what makes belly dance "work" for me. Sprinkle on some pressure from BollywoodSeattle.com, where my time is being squeezed out of me like toothpaste as we prepare for our first group performance and solos at Medfest 2010 July 15-17, a restaurant, and a parade. Oh, and I could slide in an equally legitimate excuse as I work behind the scenes on getting speakers lined up for Gnomedex August 19 - 21, 2010, Seattle's "confluence of influence" for technology enthusiasts (and n00b's like me). The bottom line: what will allow me to show share with my fans my personal growth as an artist?

Over the years, I've learned to keep my choreography and song selection a secret. The powers that be have strange ways of teaching you about the malevolence and unkindness of others. This year, I considered that I might change things up a bit, so much that what I'm doing is transparent.

For nearly five years, I've been in love with a piece of music. Take a look at Tina Sargent, winner of the Miss Belly Dancer USA contest, performing Maleeha's choreography to "A Shot of Glory" from The Cafe (Mareal Caracalla):


Choreography by Maleeha (Iowa).

Having studied veil technique with master dancer and choreographer Sabura while also having taken the same choreography workshop with Maleeha featured in the above video, I have formulated a new approach to this year's offering: give a nod to my mentors, teachers, and heroes of dance, and then build upon it by adding my own flair. I'll be performing "Shot of Glory", using the first moments of Maleeha's choreography, and then departing from the choreography as you see it in the video, and welcoming you into my interpretation of those same musical notes.

If you're in Seattle, be sure to mark July 15 - 17, 2010 in your calendar. I'm dancing Sunday July 17 twice: at 11:12 am on the indoor stage with Bollywood Seattle, and later the same hour in my solo of "Shot of Glory" on the same stage at 11:50 am. Believe me, I'll be having people back stage tearing off my Bollywood costume, jewelry, and redoing my hair in a quick turn around for this belly dance solo.

If you do not live in Seattle, I'll have my interpretation of "Shot of Glory" filmed for Youtube and my websites, and if it turns out well, you'll be able to find it there on my channel Yourlilchinagirl. You'll be able to see the clear departure from Maleeha's choreography, yet still get a sense of who I've studied with, admire, and highly respect in the world of belly dance and folkloric performance art.

For me, dance has never been about the diva behavior I've been exposed to in the past few years. The proof is in the ability to give it away for free because the world needs your art to add to its beauty. It is all about the inspiration and joy we find in the dance when we share it with the world. As cheesy and tree-huggerish as that sounds, it still remains true.

This not to say that artist's aren't worth their weight in gold. I formed Hipsforhire.com to help artists like myself get hired for reasonable pay while raising money for various charitable causes. Though it's been slow going, HFH is finally being recognized, with emails and calls for paid events throughout the Northwest. I am so humbled that people are recognizing this vision, and I am thrilled that people are paying me well for my performances. Yet there are times when it is appropriate to dance for free.

I'm giving my dance away, because now it has become something that is worth being copied, yet cannot be stolen.