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.

Video Nurse Says, "Read the Labels"

Not that I totally like to live life on the dramatic side, but after doing my research, there are certainly enough things that can kill us to take in account. There are so many things, in fact, that sometimes I am reminded as to why life is such a miracle when so many things could go horribly wrong. By the way, if you're neurotic, you might want to skip this blog and move onto some of my more entertainment-friendly pieces.

From edited segments from Video Nurse on June 7, 2010, talking about "Five Things People Do That Could Kill Them", the first segment is something that people do NOT do that could harm them: they don't read the ingredients list on packaging, and they don't read the labels, dosing, and side effects and contraindications the accompany prescription medications.

How can not reading ingredients lists be harmful? In some cases, all you're going to get is some junk in your mouth. In other cases, you might have a food sensitivity and not notice that it's in the food you're about to eat. In other cases, you might mix a medication with something you shouldn't (such as a NSAID or Tylenol), and get an adverse reaction. If you don't know the side effects of medications, you might not know whether these are expected side effects, or you should discontinue the medication and call your doctor.



The rest of the segments can be viewed on my Video Nurse channel , where you'll hear the other three things that could kill you (and the last one I'm saving up for its own segment). Video Nurse airs every Monday at 5 pm PST (unless otherwise indicated).

Not reading ingredients lists over the long haul leads to the problems we're facing as a nation with the obesity crisis, Type II Adult Onset Diabetes, and the problem of corn in almost all our foods. Corn is a filler used to beef up animals for slaughter, but most of us are either allergic to it, or we don't digest it well at the quantities that are showing up in our food. Author Michael Pollan reminds us to not eat from the same place we fuel our cars (biodiesel); we need to know what's in our foods so we can eliminate the stuff that's killing us off or at least harming our quality of life.

Video Nurse wants to encourage you to take back your taste buds and your control over what goes into your body by helping you get informed about your food choices. Why should you allow food producers to groom your taste buds away from natural foods, and towards foods that are high in bad fats, sodium, cholesterol, and excess sugar? Whatever has been done can be undone, but it's going to take some knowledge and discipline. You might not stop craving chocolate cake (and I'm not saying you should!), but you can make choices about what kind of chocolate cake, ingredients, frequency, and in what portion size you want to eat that piece of decadence.

Follow me on Twitter at @HipsForHire and @VideoNurse, or on my Facebook page ImeiYogaDance.