Interview with a Bellydancer: Gaia Sophia

Thanks to Gaia Sophia from Darshana Tribal Belly Dance and World Tree Dance for agreeing to participate in our "Interview with a Bellydancer" series!

Darshana Tribal in the advertisement for 2016 Homecoming "Phone Home"
Top row: Krista, Terri, Megha, Carolena, Gaia Sophia, Dana
Bottom row:  Dawn, Patti, Cindy

I first met Gaia Sophia when Dawn and I attended her event, Tribal Wonderland, in 2014.  Her warmth and hospitality makes it no surprise that her events sell out!  She frequently (always?) wears a red shawl and it has come to symbolize her loving and kind nature.

Gaia Sophia is from Pine River, MN.  In addition to teaching belly dance, she is a massage therapist and a yoga teacher.  She is the "devoted homeschool momma of 4 and married to a beautiful man."  They "live a simple earthly hedgewitch life on [their] micro-farm."  "And [she] loves cake."

If you had superpowers, what would they be?  Powers, plural.  Wow, that is a lot to ponder. Hmmmm... I'll get back to you on that one.

(Look at the pic below, I think we can tell what her superpowers are.)

If I opened your refrigerator right now, what would I find? Cake, local beer, and kale. Maybe some other stuff too. ;)

What is your favorite genre of books? All of them. I find gems in every genre and don’t prefer one genre over another. A good book is what I look for. One of my favorite books is Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte.

If you were in a horror movie, what would be chasing you?  The director, because I’d be laughing too much at the absurdity of it all. I’m fearless and fabulous baby!

What is your proudest Bellydance moment? My first round of GS/TT/TT2 in 2012. I was away from home for 10 days, still nursing, and it was intense and incredibly rewarding. I will always be grateful for those 10 days.

What is your proudest non-Bellydance moment? Learning how to forgive.

What is the last gift you gave someone? I made a shimmy drill video for my sweetheart friend Freida.

Classic, modern, or movement dialect and why? All. Because dance is dance and all styles and approaches  are beautiful.

What is your best advice to student dancers? Dance for you. Dance every day, find a song that makes you move and just DANCE. Dance however, whenever, and for whatever reason. Just DANCE.

What is something most people don’t know about you? I fly airplanes. It’s been a while but I love to pilot single engine aircraft.

Thanks Gaia Sophia!

Dayanisma joins Third Eye Tribal on the TribalFest stage

Terri, Dawn, and Lisa during a calibrated spin sequence at Tribal Fest® 15

Sebastopol is a charming town in the middle of California wine country.  It is also the home to Tribal Fest®, the first and largest Tribal bellydance festival in the world hosted by Kajira Djoumahna of BlackSheep BellyDance.  Last Wednesday, Dawn and Lisa met Terri (of Third Eye Tribal and Lisa's sister) to take workshops, visit with old and new friends, and perform in the Saturday evening show.

There is so much to tell it is difficult to know where to begin!  The workshops were amazing.  The highlight was an advanced ATS® workshop with Carolena where we learned about ordering steps to create an engaging performance that is visually pleasing to the audience.  Later we had some fun with Carolena by "parking" in her private parking place.

"Parking" in Carolena's spot

We saw old friends from ATS® Homecoming and made lots of new friends.  A highlight was when Seba Blanchard and Kristen Cortenbach Duerr from WildCard BellyDance stopped by right after our performance with kudos, hugs and much love.  We got to see them dance earlier in the day and they lit the stage on fire- so beautiful and talented!

<3 LOVE <3

That reminds me... the TribalFest® crowd... WOW!  We loved this photo below from our performance taken by Chuck Lehnhard (Kajira's husband and co-event organizer).  The crowd was large and very enthusiastic.  We got lots of love during our dance (we could hear the cheering during an especially cool calibrated spin section of our dance- video to come soon), and off the stage we were greeted and hugged by friends and strangers.  Later that night at dinner we even had a man approach us (not in a creepy way) to tell us how much he loved our performance and to offer photos that he took.

Being on the TribalFest® stage was a dream come true.  Terri taught a workshop on ATS® with Veil this year and Dawn has been invited to teach ATS® with Baskets at next year!  Kajira asked us to perform with veils and baskets and it was a blast!  We used music from the Dayanisma CD, Beauty in Unity, and performed a slow veil and a fast basket dance.  After it was over we were filled with relief and joy because we all felt pleased with the way we danced.

We are all home now, dealing with dirty laundry, piled up work, and fatigue from too many late nights... but it was definitely worth it.  So, what do you say, let's do it again next year!!!

Interview with a Bellydancer: Lisa Allred

Hi- This is Lisa interviewing Lisa.  I am going to be writing a series for the Dayanisma blog called "Interview with a Bellydancer."  I have been interviewing and writing blogs on so many amazing dancers over the last couple of weeks and I can't wait to post them here over the coming months.  If I haven't contacted you and you would like to participate in this series, by all means, message me on Facebook or send me an email.  I would love to interview you too!!!

So for the first in the series, here is my interview with me!  (I was going to launch the series by publishing the first interview with our troupe director, Dawn Ruckert, but she hasn't gotten it back to me yet- lol.)

I am Lisa Allred and I dance with Dayanisma and Third Eye Tribal.  I live in Raleigh, NC with my daughter, my dad, and my dog.  My daughter started bellydancing when she was 4 (she is 15 now) and helps me teach mother/daughter workshops.  She isn't really dancing other than those workshops because she started competitive shooting- quite the combination of hobbies!

My favorite pic from Homecoming 2015

What is your favorite genre of books?  I like mystery novels.  Reading them is a great way to  de-stress because you can get completely involved in the story.

If you were in a horror movie, what would be chasing you?  My daughter, Kristin, gets credit for this awesome question.  It would definitely be something supernatural.  I have this approach/avoidance thing going on.  It fascinates me and terrifies me at the same time.

With Kristin getting ready to dance 2015

What is your proudest Bellydance moment?  Performing at Homecoming 2015.  I danced with my sister, Terri, and Dayanisma.  Really awesome experience!  The atmosphere was so positive and supportive.  I have never felt so much love from an audience.

What is your proudest non-Bellydance moment?  In the early 90s I was the chair of a coalition that successfully changed the marital rape law in NC.  Before then it was legal for a husband to rape his wife.  I was in my early 20s and lots of powerful women came to the table to work together on this project.  It was exciting and terrifying.

Lisa, Patti, Ming, and Natalie goofing before the ATS ® with Props DVD shooting 2014

What is something most people don’t know about you?   I used to practice Iyengar yoga as fanatically as I now bellydance.

Stay tuned for some fun interviews with some amazing dancers!  Lisa

15 Tribal Costume Care Tips

15 Tribal Costume Care Tips

by Patti Beaman

1.  After each performance, lay your bra and belt face down to air for at least a day.  This allows any sweat to evaporate and helps keep the costume smelling fresh and prevents moisture from damaging the costume.  A wooden drying rack works really well for this.

Dawn Ruckert, Dayanisma troupe director

2. Store costumes in containers that allow them to breathe such as pillow cases of fabric packing cubes, never in plastic or anything air tight.  Use silica gel packets to help absorb residual moisture.

3.  Store heavy skirts folded, not hung, preferably in something breathable.  Some folks twist and then knot them prior to storage.  One trick is to fold them and store them in a hanging shoe storage bag.

4.  Removing smells from non-washable items: mix half vodka, half water and spray the inside of the garment; let it air dry in fresh air if possible, but be careful of exposing it to direct sunlight and be sure to test it on a small inconspicuous spot first.

5.  Hand wash washable fabrics in a small basin or bowl with baking soda, Woolite, or baby shampoo in cool water.

6.  Line your bra with felt either with large basting stiches, Velcro or snaps that will make it easily removable to wash or replace after it absorbs moisture and perspiration.

7.  Reinforce bra/belt hooks with embroidery thread making them less likely to pop and more durable through multiple performances.

8.  Hand sew strong bias tape along the inside back of your belt to use when pinning skirts and/or pantaloons to the belt.  Use diaper pins as they are less likely to pop open when performing.

9.  When making a tassel, an easy way to make sure they are all even is to push them tassel first through a toilet paper roll, and then trim the excess.

10.  When making coin bras, be sure not to put holes in American coins- it is illegal to deface American money!  Embroidery thread or fishing line is best to attach coins/embellishments securely.

11.  Store your bindi in a pill box/organizer- easy to see which one you want to wear and also portable for when traveling.

12.  Cover a bulletin board with pretty fabric and hang your jewelry on it using push pins/silver tacks.  Decorative and utilitarian!

13.  Tack a length of ribbon to your wall or door and clip your hair flowers to it- another decorative and useful way to store them.  This also will keep them from getting crushed and make it easy to find the colors you want to wear!

14.  To keep jewelry protected and looking its best, store it carefully.  Don't just throw it together into a single drawer or box.  Invest in a compartmentalized jewelry box or use sets of pouches and bags- small cloth bags with drawstring tops work particularly well and can also double as storage for your jewelry when you travel.

15.  Store beaded jewelry, especially necklaces, flat so that the stringing material does not stretch.  One method is rolling a soft cloth such as velvet around them one by one so each necklace is completely embedded in the fabric and then storing them in shoe boxes (or boot boxes if they are rreally long).