The big November update.

I've been having an amazing couple of months, so I thought I had better do a little news post to catch up....

Dancewise my latest big thing was being part of The Juniper Project. I realised recently that this was the first time in 7 years that I have danced as part of a large troupe. The challenge of learning a choreography written by someone else (the amazing Alexis Southall), polishing to the point of uniform consistency and working with a bunch of brilliantly talented dancers was a really enriching, and intense experience. Oh. And the zills. All the zills.

We performed the piece at the Infusion Emporium show. I'm really looking forward to seeing the official videos  when they come out in January, because the sneak peeks I have seen are looking great.

Photos by Dan Fullard, here...

Infusion Emporium was also an excellent opportunity for me to get some training in. I took workshops with Piny Orchidaceae who really got me thinking about more interesting ways to move and to generate movement ideas, Amy Sigil, who I find really inspirational as an artist and teacher, and Anasma, who again was pushing me into realms of movement outside my usual repertoire. I came home after 4 1/2 hours of driving and went straight into the studio to start mixing some new ideas into my current WIPs.

Speaking of the studio, my home studio is now up and running. My Monday morning Glastonbury classes will now be taught out of my studio (no longer the Goddess Hall). I'm also getting a lot more work in, having a dedicated, full time training space, with all my props etc at hand.

The dancers of Bridgwater are shimmying on. We've been working on a party theme this term and I have been making them do more improvisation as well as getting a handle on some more social dancers. I am super proud of them for nailing some fairly challenging stuff this term. New dancers are always welcome to join this friendly and enthusiastic bunch.

The Laylet Amar Ensemble, a collective of musicians and dancers from the South West are going to be appearing at the Glastonbury Frost Fayre, Sat 26th Nov, on the Melodrome stage at 13.15. Come along and cheer us on if you are about.

Last of all, the big news is that I have now qualified as a Personal Trainer. Training and qualifying has been an extremely intense process, but it has given me a whole new skillset and understanding that is already adding new depths of understanding and tools for my dance teaching, particularly in terms of postural correction and complementary conditioning. I am also now providing fitness training through Fire Lotus Fitness, which will see me supporting individuals and groups in reaching their own health and fitness goals through in person and online personal training!

I'm really excited to see how the next few months pan out!

News round up, Summer 2016

Tum te tum,doo do doo DAAAAA!

It's time for a quick round up of all the things that have been happening at Scarlet Lotus HQ lately.

Bridgwater bellydance classes are on a break for the school holidays, we will be back next term, starting on the 6th of September at a new time of 7-8pm. We are still in our usual venue of the YMCA.

Glastonbury classes continue for now, in the Goddess Hall on Monday mornings at 11.30. These classes will be taking a bit of a break in autumn - The last class will be on the 5th of September and we will continue again on the 24th of October- but watch this space as we may be at a new venue, all being well.

My prenatal and baby yoga classes will also be suspended for this period, though I hope to be offering an alternative, so again, watch this space.

The reason for this break is that I will be spending 6 weeks in September and October training for a Level 3 Diploma in Fitness Instruction and Personal Training. I'm really excited about this as I believe it will add a new dimension to my dance teaching and enable me to offer a whole new range of classes and services.

The summer "break" has been remarkably busy so far. Back in June I taught a weekend of workshops, one covering Vintage Golden Era styling and the other on double veil technique. We had a great turnout and lots of fun.

At the beginning of August I ran a full day intensive, Dancing with the Red Goddess. Again we had a fantastic group of lovely dancers who came together to do some very intense and productive work. We also had catering from Wizard Hospitality, who put together an absolutely magnificent spread to fuel our efforts.

I'm spending my teaching break (hahahaha "break") working on new teaching material, planning, writing, renovating my home studio, rehearsing for the Juniper Project and taking fitness classes so as not to show myself up in Personal Trainer school. I've also had a visit from Paola Blanton, who is fabulous and taught me some Balkan dances! I suspect I might be sharing some of this with my students in the new term.

I hope you are all having a lovely summer and I hope to shimmy with you soon!

2015 round up

Well, that year happened quickly!

I've had an amazing year in dance this year and I am so grateful and happy for all the amazing opportunities I have had. I've been able to work with some wonderfully talented and generous teachers and determined and dedicated students.

In January I decided to completely overhaul the way I approached my dance practice. It's been a tough road but I've got a lot of work under my shimmy belt and I am really feeling the benefits. February was Valentines day, which meant preparing a special restaurant set, so I really did hit the ground running.

March was an amazing month, starting with Majma, where I did all 5 workshops with the wonderful Ava Fleming. I also managed to fit in a private lesson with Ava, which was absolutely brilliant. There really is nothing like spending an intensive lesson working on exactly what you need to work on with such a great teacher. I am still working on and growing through the inspiration and practical tips from that weekend. I also got to watch Ava dance "Too Close", one of my favourite fusion pieces of hers, from right by the stage.

Then there was Ashley Lopez. I was super lucky to bag a place on a low-ratio intensive weekend with Ashley. She is another brilliant teacher, both in terms of technical dance and inspiration. We did a lot of evil conditioning and some mad layering and technical geekery. We also had a really good session on creating a training schedule and a session on postural analysis, which I have applied to my own dance as well as my teaching.

I also started on Alexis Southall's Tribal Fusion Education programme. This means I have been whizzing up and down the M5 on a regular basis for studio time with Alexis. There are 17 of us on the programme and it has been a blast getting to train and hang out with the other dancers, many of whom were already good friends. We've been sharing ideas and discussions and our passion for Tribal Fusion dance in general. Alexis is a fabulous teacher, she's absolutely lovely but also understands the need to challenge us to push our boundaries. I would like to steal her and bring her down here so I can train with her every day!

It's been a good year for teaching too. I taught a fire dance workshop for Gina and the Bellygees on their glamping weekend, which was a great opportunity to hang out with those ladies and get to know them better.

Classes in Glastonbury and Bridgewater have continued and it's been great meeting a new wave of dancers coming into these groups. Glastonbury classes start back on the 11th and Bridgwater on the 5th (first session is a Burlesque session for giggles).

I've also taught a few hen parties which are always hilarious, a workshop at a large exhibition arena.

I hosted my second hafla in Glastonbury, which was a great success. I was also hosting Samantha Riggs and Demelza Fox who both taught workshops. Sam stayed with me for a little while and it was lovely to get to know her. One thing I love about the bellydance world is that I am always meeting such amazing, fun people. Sam's workshop was so much fun, and it was great to see the participants on stage with her showing off their new Bhangra skills. Demelza is another lovely, fun teacher and everyone got a lot out of her stage presence workshop. I also taught a Dark Fusion workshop. I was really impressed with the ladies who took part, the worked really hard and were totally game when I suggested we perform the choreography at the hafla, after just 2 hours spent learning it! They were fabulous!

We also had some great performances at the hafla in various styles. I am always impressed when people turn out and support events, but moreso when I see the calibre of performances on offer and the amount of work that clearly goes into it. I've also really enjoyed attending a whole bunch of haflas this year. It's been a crazy busy time, to the point that I sadly had to turn down invitations to events I really wanted to participate in.

Autumn brought the conception of the Laylet Amar Ensemble. I got the opportunity to rehearse and perform with talented, live musicians, as well as getting together with Oona for dance conspiracy! Here's a little video of part of the performance:

This performance also happened the same week as Infusion Emporium, which was a brilliant weekend of spending time with some of my best dancey people, training outside my comfort zone with Heather Stants and performing a duet with Kitty Kohl at the fabulous and hilarious Glitterball Shakedown.

I'm in my midwinter downtime now, where I sort out my accounting (yawn), plan my calendar for next year and start shortlisting performance ideas and music. Next year is going to be brilliant too. I already have some performances on the cards, a show in Wells, the TFEP showcase and some haflas. There's some good learning to be done and I'm looking forward to finding out what unfolds.

Whatever happens, I wish you a happy, dance filled new year.

Laylet Amar at the Gaia's Union Refugee Crisis Fundraiser in Glastonbury

Glastonbury bellydancers shimmy on for charity

A rare and lovely opportunity arises this week for lovers of music and dance in Glastonbury. So don’t miss your chance to see live Arabic music with not one, but two fabulous dancers - and it’s all for a good cause!

The Laylet Amar Ensemble (Night of Hope) is a collaboration featuring local dancers Oona La Luna and Kash Salem performing alongside musicians Michael Burridge (oud/riq), Elvin Herrick (darbuka/guitar) and Mark Ommadom (darbuka/frame drum). This is a brand new grouping, created especially for this occasion where they will be performing alongside some of Glastonbury’s most popular local performers.

Expect a set of popular Egyptian music, enchanting and lively, to bring balmy Arabian nights to the chill of our Somerset autumn.

To catch their debut performance, and a night of music, song, dance and poetry, come along to the Gaia’s Union Refugee Crisis Fundraiser, in the Glastonbury Assembly rooms, from 8pm on Thursday 29th October. Suggested donation £3.

Laylet Amar in rehearsal this week;
 L-R Mark Ommadom, Oona La Luna, Michael Burridge, Kash Salem, Elvin Herrick. 

No dancer is an island.

Recently I have been up to my ears in all sorts (apologies for the blog absence) and a lot of that has to do with collaborations!

I wrote recently about my ongoing work with Doum Tekka, our resident darbuka player, which, apart from brief work with musicians - like the Miss Bellydance UK competition in 2013-  represents the sum total of my work with others since leaving Juno in Weymouth. All of a sudden I have 2 separate collaborative performances happening in the same week!

Firstly is on Thursday 29th October in the Glastonbury Assembly rooms. Gaia's Union is putting on a night of entertainment from local performers to raise money for Syrian refugees.

Laylet Amar is a collaboration involving local dancer, Oona la Luna, myself, and musicians Mark Ommadom, Elvin Herrick and Michael Burridge. We are doing a set of around 20 minutes including musical favourites. Also performing are a whole bunch of brilliant local bands and performers. If you are local, you should come.

I'm really looking forward to rehearsing with these guys over the next couple of weeks. I've danced to Elvin's fantastic drumming before in training, but otherwise this is the first time I have performed with any of the collective, so it's all very new and exciting!

In contrast, the next collaboration of the week is with my oldest dance peer. We've known each other since before either of us started dancing, and it was witnessing her love of the dance that inspired me to seek out a good teacher after a disastrous first few lessons nearly put me off dance entirely. We train together with Alexis Southall, but actually, we've never performed together before either!

Kitty Kohl and I are dancing together at the Glitterball Shakedown - The Infusion Emporium festival's notorious afterparty. Living on opposite sides of the country has made choreography and rehearsal a bit tricky, but it's looking great  so far and I'm really looking forward to performing in Wolverhampton on November 1st.

Infusion Emporium, guaranteed epic dance times and you can still book in.

NEWS FLASH!!!

A general note of news for dancers in Bridgwater interested in attending my bellydance classes.

Our Tuesday night class, at the YMCA, will henceforth be running from 6.30 to 7.30pm. Same night, same location, 1 hour earlier.

Thank you!

The summer roundup!

HELLOOO DANCERS!

I am back from the void!

So first thing, I have to apologise for the brief absence, summer is supposed to be my downtime when I teach less and get my affairs in order, but this one has been fairly hectic! So here's a bit of a round up, starting with the all important new-term's class information.

Glastonbury classes continue in the Goddess Hall, Mondays at 11.30am. By request I am going to be focusing on Tribal Fusion style this term, so we will be looking at the stylisation, musicality and evolution of this style.

Bridgwater classes recommence on Tuesday the 15th September at the YMCA at 7.30 pm. In October and November there will be a slight time change to 6.30pm, just for those weeks then back to normal in December. I've been looking at some classic Golden Era dancers for inspiration for this new term.

So what's been happening in bellydance this summer?

The summer break began with the hafla. We had a brilliant day of workshops. Demelza Fox was absolutely bewitching, both in her teaching and performances. I've had a lot of excellent feedback from those who attended her class. Samantha Riggs gave an energetic workshop which resulted in a brilliant performance where she turned the attendees into her own Bhangra gang. I was extremely proud of my workshop dancers, who all opted to join in and perform my Dark Cabaret choreography at the hafla.

Sam dancing Bhangra - photo by Angie Budd

The evening hafla was a roaring success. We had some fabulous performances and I have to again thank the lovely performers who came along and shared their dancing with us.

During my "teaching break" I also ran two workshops for a group of dancers visiting the area, one on tray balancing and one on stage presence - that was a marvellous weekend which wrapped up beautifully when I got to watch them perform in town for the Glastonbury Fringe Festival, great to see them putting their stage presence tips into practice too!

I've also been up to Manchester teaching a workshop for a large exhibition, a couple of hen parties and of course Glastonbury classes have continued, Bank Holidays and Goddesses excepted.

I've been working on some new choreography, which I am very excited about. I've been enormously inspired by training with Alexis Southall this year and I've been taking things in a whole new direction. I am also working on a super secret collaboration with an amazing dance partner, but I have already said too much.

Then, on top of it all, I discovered one of my favourite fellow dancers, Dawn O Brian teaches a monthly drills intensive in Bristol, so I went to that, which was awesome.

Somehow I still managed to find myself missing the dance community, so I started a group on Facebook, to help dancers in the South West to network, socialise and organise themselves.

Doum Tekka, our resident drummer organised an event in August. Originally planned as a picnic on the Tor, though the weather sent us undercover. No spirits were dampened however, we had a whole bunch of drummers from all over the place, including Ommadom from Wales and some visitors all the way from Ireland. The Ommadom dancers rocked their thing and even took a turn out by the Market Cross to cheer everyone's Sunday afternoon. It looks like this will be a regular event, so I am looking forward to that.

So it's been a dancing, drumming, teaching, costume making, conditioning and planning kind of summer. I can't wait for the new season of classes to start so I can take a break.

Breaking news you've all been waiting for.

I am so very excited to be able to bring you the details on our final workshop for my summer 2015 hafla and workshop day in Glastonbury on July 26th 2015. It's Samantha Riggs everybody!

Samantha offered me an amazing selection of workshops, and I have chosen one which I think is going to be so much fun for everybody, quite different to anything available locally and a good compliment to the other 2 workshops on the day with myself and Demelza Fox.

Competition Bhangra with Samantha Riggs

[Samantha's description]

Bhangra is a folk dance style from the region of Punjab in Northern India. There are many Bhangra competitions around the country in which teams participate for prize money. In the quest for the prize, the traditional Bhangra moves have been spiced up by the competing teams… much as the bellydance community has elaborated on traditional Middle Eastern dances. The result is an athletic and exuberant version of traditional Bhangra… which is already quite aerobic in itself! 

Samantha has studied this over-the-top style with Punjabi instructors and will break it down for you. Be ready for jumps, stomps, drops and fun with rocking Bhangra remixes! 

This class is suitable for both men and women at a beginning or intermediate level in Bhangra. Women should be sure and wear a sports or support bra. trousers are recommended – students will only get frustrated wearing a skirt. If you need knee or ankle support to do deep knee bends, please bring it (alternate moves will be available for those with knee issues). This class is quite a workout, but fear not! You're up to it – just challenge yourself ;)

Level: All (athletic).

If you are interested in seeing some Bhangra, then Samantha has compiled an excellent playlist on YouTube.

So if you book all 3 workshops (at a discount no less), you can expect a packed day of sass and attitude, a little bit of slink, a little bit of introspection ending with a lively dance-filled session to get us all pumped up for the evening's party!

So who's the teacher?

[bio from Samantha]

Samantha Riggs is the Founder, Director and Choreographer for Portico Dance Company which is based in Bellingham, WA where she lives and teaches weekly classes. Portico Dance Company is Samantha's newest brainchild (but is now 4 years old!) and works with collaborating artists from British Columbia, North Carolina, Oregon, California and Arizona. "Portico", being an Italian word referring to a porch supported by columns, is so-named as a salute to the power of community. Samantha and Portico perform and teach traditional and original dances in the styles of Bollywood, Bhangra and Tribal Belly Dance. With profound love and respect for the cultures in India, the Middle East and the US by whom they are inspired, Portico's performances are a gift of love to their audiences. The dancers hope that their viewers, too, will partake in the joy of these traditions.

With a prestigious 21-year dance career, Samantha has amassed an impressive portfolio in both traditional and original dance styles. She specializes in Bollywood, Bhangra, Tribal Style Bellydance, Tribal Fusion, Fire Arts and Fight Choreography for Dancers, and is the creator of the innovative "Portico-Style Bollywood Fusion Improv” dance style. Gaining notoriety as both an independent dancer and with her troupe involvement as director, assistant director, choreographer, teacher and musician, her featured performances have reached audiences worldwide. During Samantha's time with Domba Tribal Fusion Dance Troupe, they won the 2006 Zaghareet “Best Troupe” award. With her second directorial project, Boom Boom Bollywood, Samantha's innovative “Minnat Kare” choreography won first place in the Aashiyana All-Indus Dance Competition in 2007. In 2012-15, Samantha's current company, Portico, performed and taught at a sold-out panel at Emerald City Comicon, as the headlining artist for the show "Bombay Underground" in Vancouver, BC, at Reigning Down on Oregon Dance Camp and as a featured artist in the “Shakti Awards Gala” in Surrey, BC. Samantha continues to be in demand as an instructor, choreographer and performance artist. She is also a core performer and the costume designer for Jamila Lotus Bellydance Carnivale.

For Samantha, Art is really all about saving the World through an unadulterated, fearless and unapologetic expression of Love and belief in the benevolence of others.

Samantha is also a tall ship sailor and gunner. She can often be found somewhere off the west coast of the United States or Canada, 70-90 feet in the air in the rigging, hauling like mad on a halyard, happily covered in pine tar or firing the black powder guns of the brig Lady Washington. She is currently studying to be a marine mechanic and electrician so she can fix things on more modern ships and work on big, loud engines.

I am feeling exceptionally lucky to be able to host Samantha here in Glastonbury, so don't miss your opportunity to learn from her, book your tickets today!

Divine intervention

Continuing with some background info about our workshops for the July 26th Hafla in Glastonbury. We've heard about my Dark Cabaret workshop, so let's go for the next one.

Presence of the Priestess: Crafting stage presence through meditation and embodiment with Demelza Fox

I am so happy to be hosting Demelza, she's a beautiful dancer both technically and expressively; I just can't wait to see what she has for us.

This is Demelza's summary of her workshop:

Using meditation, body awareness and Goddess-embodiment techniques to craft an expansive, full stage presence.

A workshop full of techniques to expand your stage presence, time to explore and experiment (play!) with the techniques, culminating in a short, slow, dark-fusion inspired dance combination.

Demelza's stage presence is truly spellbinding, if she can transmit a 10th of the magic she creates on stage to her students, this workshop will be exceptionally worthwhile.

Take a look at her in action:

Meet the teacher

[the following is taken from Demelza's own website]

Demelza Fox (known as Demi) is the resident teacher at the Serpentine School. A fantastic and passionate teacher and long time student of belly dance, she loves to travel the world to further her studies and bring belly dance skills back to share with her students here at the School.

She has trained intensively with belly dance mega stars such as Suhaila Salimpour, Zoe Jakes, Kami Liddle, Samantha Emanuel and Rachel Brice, and is a committed and innovative practitioner of Belly Dance. She has represented Belly Dance with the best at various London and nationwide theatre shows, and performed in a touring theatrical belly dance theatre show. She has a reputation for being an innovator of the belly dance format and is nationally renowned for her dedication, passion and incredible performance skills.

Demelza runs The Serpentine Fatale, an avant-garde Tribal Fusion dance and production company, specialising in bringing fairy-tale inspired theatrical splendour to a wider audience. She also runs Merlesque, the UK's top mermaid performance company, and enchants adults and kiddies around the UK as a mermaid performer.

So don't delay, take this opportunity to train with a fabulous teacher. Book online now, and don't forget, there is a discount if you book all 3 workshops together.

A workshop for you stone-cold vixens.

I thought I would take a moment to give a little more information about the workshop I will be teaching on July 26th - the awesome day of workshops and hafla in Glastonbury!

"You leave me cold" is a choreography in my Dark Cabaret style, with it's roots in bellydance it is heavily influenced by jazz, burlesque and film noir.

This is the first time I have offered this workshop to the public, although it is tried and true (with a private group) and proved to be great fun.

The deliciously dark music this choreography is built upon is this sultry track by Jill Tracey

So why should you sign up to this workshop?

Learn a choreography which you will be entitled to perform, as a solo or group. I provide written notes and a video link to make sure you don't find yourself stuck and forgetful. You can also take any elements - steps or combinations from this choreography and use them in new material.

Discover the styling and influences of this fun and sassy fusion style, bringing in elements of characterisation and stage presence. Find your inner femme fatale! This is my own signature fusion, which has evolved from a hotpot of training, cultural influences, trial and hilarious error.

Gain a deeper understanding of musicality and interpretation.

Have fun with awesome people.

Who is it for?

This is an open level workshop, which means that almost anyone can come along and keep up, however I would strongly advise that you have nailed the fundamental movements of basic bellydance as I will not be drilling any movements for very long.

The choreography is differentiated with some layers for improver to intermediate dancers, but simpler alternatives for beginner to improver level dancers. It is not particularly demanding in terms of fitness, although you will be dancing for almost all of the 2 hours.

I will be breaking down technique briefly, so if you are from a different "school" of bellydance, you will not have any translation issues!

People of all ages, sizes and genders are welcome - All I ask of you is a will to learn and the drive to give it a go.

Who's teaching it?

Me! Hi! I'm Kash, I teach the regular weekly Scarlet Lotus classes in Bridgewater and Glastonbury. If you are local you may have encountered me performing at haflas, or teaching a workshop or hanging out at festivals like Majma. If you are less local we might still have met at other events and classes like Gothla, because I get about a bit.

I'm a Classical Oriental style dancer first and foremost, although I also have a strong background in Tribal Fusion and Gothic bellydance. I perform a lot of fusion, vintage inspired pieces and drum solos with Doum Tekka.

I have completed JWWAD's foundation course for teaching and I am an affiliate member of The JTA. I have also completed Bex Priest's "Ghoul School" foundation for Dark Fusion teachers. I am a graduate anatomist with a specialist interest in movement and biomechanics which really helps me to interpret my students' movement and give helpful technical feedback.

I am a committed dancer, technique pedant and geek of all things dance related.

In my free time I like to set things on fire and hug chickens. Not at the same time.

I am really looking forward to this fabulous day of dance, I hope you can join us.

Book your place online here - there is a discount if you book all 3 workshops on the day!

Summer is here and it's time to party!

Bellydance workshops and hafla in Glastonbury!

So this week it's a news post *bellydance news jingle*

I want to tell you about some fabulous stuff that's happening on Sunday the 26th July.

We had such a great time with Michelle Manx last summer that when I was contacted on behalf of Samantha Riggs - over from the US for Gothla UK this year - I was thrilled to have the opportunity to host another high calibre teacher in our locale.

At the time I was already arranging with the gorgeous Demelza Fox, who had a workshop she wanted to share with us; and in a spell of typical Glastonbury synchronicity, it turned out that both Demelza and Samantha suggested the same day. Thus, the biggest Scarlet Lotus event to date was conceived!

So I bet you want to know what's happening, don't you?

Well, we've got a day full of workshops. Samantha is doing a Bollywood workshop which is guaranteed to be immense fun, not to mention Samantha's incredible skill in this style, Demelza is going to be doing a performance workshop which just sounds amazing, if any of us can go away with just a sniff of her poise and stage presence we'll be winning, finally, I'm going to be teaching a sassy choreography in my characteristic Dark Cabaret style.

After all that we are going to need to let our hair down, so there will be a hafla. That means performances from the workshop teachers, alongside other local dancers, teachers and student groups. If you want a dance slot, let me know.

We can bring our own food in for the hafla, so bring a plate. We can't bring alcohol in as the venue will not allow it, but the bar is well stocked and reasonable.

The event is happening at Abbey Moor Stadium, the home of Glastonbury football club. It's got a great event space, separate green room for performers, kitchen facilities and a licensed bar. Not to mention loads of parking. It's 10 minutes walk from the centre of Glastonbury and easily accessible from the A39. It's also right next to the Isle of Avalon Caravan park, for those who like to roll out of a hafla and straight into their tent.

I'd love for you to join us in helping make this event meet it's awesome potential. Tickets are already on sale on my site, so what are you waiting for?

This glitterball represents the lively party atmosphere that I can guarantee at the hafla.
I can't guarantee this glitterball however. Or any glitterball, although there are some rather fancy lights.

Spring news roundup!

The latest buzz from Scarlet Lotus bellydance classes in Glastonbury and Bridgwater

Wow! That term rushed past!

Back in January I shimmied off to new territories and rekindled the raqs flame in Bridgwater with some weekly classes.

I've met some fabulous dancers, some brand new, some more experienced and I have really enjoyed tuning into the needs of a new area. Our first term ended with some beautiful veil entrance work, accompanied by Doum Tekka on darbuka.

Having taken feedback from the Bridgwater dancers, and potential dancers in the area, I have decided to make a couple of adjustments for the new term. Firstly we will be moving to a new venue. The YMCA has an absolutely beautiful studio space, mirrored with a sprung wood floor and integral sound system. It's a bit more central than the College so it should be more accessible.

I am also adjusting the format. Last term was intended as a Fundamentals course, although I made adjustments as we went along. I have a lovely mix of dancers with different levels of experience and so I am going to be teaching the Concepts and Context format which works on different levels with the aim of challenging each dancer comfortably within her own ability. I aim to make the dance accessible to beginners (although I don't cover the basics so intensively as fundamentals) and directly deals with musicality, expression and stylisation from the outset.

The Facebook event for the first class of the new term is here. We will be at the YMCA (George Williams House) every Tuesday evening at 7.30 to 8.30. Newcomers are always welcome, as are familiar faces.

I've also had a great start to the year on the other side of the studio as a learner. The Majma Dance Festival in Glastonbury was excellent for me this year, as I had the opportunity to take 5 workshops with one of my absolute favourite performers, Ava Fleming, and also some private tuition with her to really geek out and fine tune some technical stuff. It was am amazing experience and I ended the weekend even more bursting with joy and enthusiasm for dance than usual.

As usual I've been doing some performing and "irregular" teaching. I've been to Cardiff and Exeter for haflas, as well as some commercial performing and a hen-do.

Last week was the solar eclipse, and I headed off up the Tor to meet Laura Daligan for some fire dancing... because, well, it seemed like a smashing plan. We danced to Doum Tekka's drums and got our photo featured in the Central Somerset Gazette.

I'm really looking forward to the next few months. I'll be starting training with Alexis Southall, in her Tribal Fusion Education Programme. I am also taking some teaching intensives with Shona Hagan, which is an amazing opportunity to improve my teaching skills with the help of one of my own favourite Oriental dance teachers. Then there is an intensive with the awesome Ashley Lopez in May.

The new term of my weekly Bridgwater class will of course be beginning, and my Glastonbury Goddess Hall group continues as always, every Monday at 11.30am. I'm also teaching a few workshops over the summer, including visiting groups and a large festival.

There's a few hafla's coming up that I am looking forward to dancing at, and catching up with my favourite local dancers. Doum Tekka and I will be performing together in Binegar in June and Axminster in July. I am also formulating some extra special plans for workshops and an evening event, which I shall tell you about closer to the time.

Watch this space!

More great news for Bridgwater bellydance

So my lovely Bridgwater class - Tuesdays at Bridgwater College, 7.30pm - is going really well! I'm so pleased to have met a brilliant bunch of dancers, some new, some not so new, who are gamely throwing themselves into the class and catching on really well. We have plenty of space still, and I'm still welcoming newcomers who would like to join us.

I've been asked about running a daytime class, as I do in Glastonbury, so as of February, that's what I am going to do!

The Bridgwater daytime class will run on Monday afternoons, from 1.30 to 2.30 at the YMCA and, like Glastonbury, is an open level class - although my expectation is that most will be beginning level dancers at first. It will be running in term time, with breaks in the school holidays.

If you purchase classes on 5 lesson vouchers (5 lessons for £25, no need to book specific sessions), your vouchers will be valid for any of my bellydance classes, so you are free to attend any or all of the sessions on that. Covenstead's Curious Cottage on Glastonbury High St are also offering a generous discount to dancers who pre-pay for my classes, so take your voucher with you when you go to check out their range of coin belts, skirts, tops and jewelry.

I'm looking forward to meeting even more fabulous new dancers.

The year is definitely up and running now, with workshop and performance bookings starting to come in. It's all looking very exciting, so keep watching this space!

Exciting news for Bridgwater, Somerset.

I am so very excited to be able to share my news for the New Year with you.

I actually have 3 separate New and Exciting Things (TM) going on, and I have been exploding with the need to tell everyone, but waiting for final confirmations, so this is number 1!

From January 2015, I will be teaching a new class at Bridgwater College. Tuesdays, 7.30pm.

It's a great venue, a purpose built, mirrored dance studio in the Sports centre, easy to access form the M5 and right on the A39 (Bath Rd) in Bridgwater, with parking and everything.

The first term begins on the 6th of January, it's 11 weeks of Fundamentals, which means lots of bellydance technique for new and returning dancers. And yes ELEVEN weeks, not 10, which gives us an extra lesson for an end of term party!

You can book this term, the whole term, 11 glorious hours of bellydance, for just £50! You should do this now on my website. It would make a great Christmas present for someone you clearly love very much. Or you can buy a 5 lesson card, for £25. OR you can just roll up on the evening, all casual-like at about 7.25 and pay me £6 for the hour.

This is a brand new class, not just for me, but for Bridgwater, which a dancer on Facebook described today as "a bellydance blackhole", so tell your friends, spread the Raqs love and lets get Somerset shimmying!

More details of the class are on my website, or the Facebook event page. 

Summer of bellydance in Glastonbury

Just a quick update on the Bellydancing that is happening in Glastonbury with me this summer.

This year's Summer School course is fast approaching.

Last year I took a break from my usual weekly routine, to do a series of 6 mini workshops. I got great feedback from that, so I decided to do something similar, but bigger and better.

Whether you are a fairly new, or experienced dancer Summer School 2014 is going to give you the opportunity to learn loads of new skills, and have  lots of fun. The theme is props, and specifically, we are going to be looking at some less traditional props so you will get the opportunity to try out lots of unusual props and add your favourites to your dance.

It's a 6 week course, but I'm splitting it into 2 halves, so you can do the whole lot, or just half to fit around your holidays.

In the first half we are focussing on veils. As well as conventional veil work, we are going to explore double veil and fan veils.

In the second half you can have a go at balancing, where will will look at how to construct a sword or tray routine. We will also cover hand fans, poi and palm candles. Get your booking in now, before the earlybird discount flies!

If you would like to brush up on your basics, or are a newcomer to dance, I am also running a Fundamentals course this summer alongside Summer School, there are substantial discounts for those who book both together.

We are also getting a fabulous visitor all the way from Texas! Michelle Manx is coming over for Gothla, and we are stealing her en route for a workshop on her own Pin Up Bellydance style. There's a little bit of burlesque and a lot of fun!

If you are interested in learning a new style, improving your stage presence, or simply enjoying dancing, you can book online (or in person with me) and join us on July 20th at 2pm in the Red Brick Building.

I'm doing several private workshops over the summer too. If you are interested in booking me to teach a group, or at your event, give me a shout. I have just created a fabulous Dark Cabaret choreography (a little burlesque and a little creepy) which is going to form the basis of a great workshop.

If you are interested in watching some bellydance, I'm going to be at the Bellygees' Hula Hafla in Axminster on July 5th. I will be dancing a drum solo with a  live drummer. The line up looks great so expect a fabulous show.

Looking forward there is still more delights to come this year.

If you fancy a trip over to the dark side, even just for a little visit, this Autumn I will be running a short course on Dark Fusion style bellydance. As usual there will also be a Fundamentals course running alongside, but this one will be Tribal Fusion basics.

My weekly classes are still taking place at the Goddess Hall, mondays at 11.30, and usually accompanied by our lovely drummer Pete on darbuka. I am going to be making more announcements about weekly classes very soon.....

Have a good summer, and I hope to be dancing with you soon!

The end of an era... and the start of a great summer of bellydance in Glastonbury

OK, so it's only a very short era, but last night was the last night of my first "Dancing with the Red Goddess" course, and 6 week Fundamentals course.

I've had such a wonderful 6 weeks, sharing the dance with some fabulous people, some new dancers, some more seasoned. I am going to miss them all!

The Fundamentalists ended their course with some combinations and some improvised social dancing. It is really great to see how much progress they have made. They worked really hard and put up with my bizarre technique descriptions and there is no doubt now that they an excellent set of fledgeling raquesahs. I am really looking forward to seeing them again for the next step of their dance journey.

I'm really proud of how the Red Goddess course turned out, it was an entirely new course, and I have been rewriting and adapting the content as I went. I've had a lot of great feedback, and a lot of interest from dancers who live outside of the local area. My next plan for this course is to adapt it for a weekend intensive to accommodate dancers who wish to attend it as a residential.

So what now?

Well I have been sorting out the summer of course.

I'm doing a bunch of private workshops for visiting groups, school sessions etc. I am putting together an awesome Dark Cabaret themed choreography workshop, and some folkloric sessions. Then of course I am  looking forward to the Scarlet Lotus Summer School session.

Summer School is the next 6 week block, which will actually be 2, 3 week blocks. The first block is looking at veil technique, 3, 90 minute sessions covering basic veil, double veil and veil fans. The second block it "unusual props" and we will be looking at poi, fans, palm candles and, my favourite, stuff you can balance on your head.

Another Fundamentals course will run alongside this, for new dancers, or anyone who wants to take time out to really focus on strong basic technique.

Michelle Manx

This July we are also welcoming a fabulous guest teacher for a one off, not-to-be-missed workshop. Michelle hails from Texas and has a distinctive, individual dance style that draws on the aesthetics of '50s pin ups. The workshop will be running from 2-4pm on Sunday 20th July in the Red Brick Building Glastonbury, and is just £15. Reserve your place while you still can.

If you would like to learn more about Michelle, take a look at this excellent mini documentary, this interview, or grab some popcorn and watch some of her dancing.

Looking ahead

In the Autumn we have the third of the 6 week courses, this time it's Dark Fusion basics and I will be looking at tempting some dancers over to the dark side, at least for a little visit anyway.

I've been getting a lot of great feedback from students who are interested in a weekly evening class, and potentially a bit of a hafla/dance party, so watch this space.

The year laid out

I have been very busy this week finalising some of the arrangements for the year ahead, so let's have a look at what we will be up to.

Firstly, Dancing with the Red Goddess is on for April. I've been working a lot on my original ideas, taking on comments from a variety of people (thanks for that people!) and thinking about how to make this course accessible, special and unique. What it is turning into is something that I think a variety of people can take something away from, whether they are a dancer who wants to put more depth into their on-stage storytelling, or an individual who is dealing with the plot twists in their personal story, through the creative outlet and social support that a group such as this will provide. Loads of details are on my website, as are booking options. Book early for discounts!

In keeping with the topic, I have booked the Goddess Hall in Glastonbury for this, and all my 6 week courses this year. It's a great venue that I use every Monday morning for my dance and perinatal yoga classes, it's central and easy to find.

In the style of Murphy himself, I found in the New Year, immediately after I had stopped running my weekly Thursday night  class, I had a lot of inquiries from people who were brand new to dance, and wanted to take a beginners' class. So I am also going to be running a Fundamentals class alongside each of the short courses I am teaching this year. These classes aren't just for beginners. They are for anyone who wants to go over their core technique, drill for strength and consistency or just add in a bit of extra dance on top of the other courses. There are hefty discounts for those who wish to take Fundamentals along with the accompanying course, and I recommend that those less confident with their dance technique do so.

July is going to be a great month. First the awesome Michelle Manx is going to be coming over from the US. She's here to teach at Gothla UK, but en route she is going to be stopping off in Glastonbury on the 20th of July and teaching a 2 hour workshop on "Pin Up Bellydance", her own distinctive fusion style. Book now, it's going to be a blast.

Also in July is part 1 of my Summer School block. Last year people were really positive about the run of mini-workshops I ran over the summer. This year I am making them a bit bigger. The first 3 will be all about veils. Veil entrances, fancy veil moves, double veils, fan veils. All the waving fabric about a bellydancer could ever need!

Then we have a week off and come back in August for part 2. Anything could happen then, I have designated it as 4 1/2 hours of "odd props". There will be a session on balance (for those interested in sword or tray dancing) and we will also look at fans, palm candles and my old favourite, poi (and variants thereof).

Finally, we will be back in October for the spooky stuff with a Dark Fusion course. This is for new or experienced dancers who are interested in exploring the fabulously eclectic world of Gothic Bellydance. This is an incredibly creative and inclusive style, so I expect this course to really bring out some great stuff in different dancers. The focus will be in finding your own uniqueness, and bringing that into performance (whether you wish to perform in front of others or not). As Dark Fusion tends to have a strong Tribal Fusion influence, the Fundamentals course for this season will be primarily Tribal fusion core movements, rather than Egyptian.

So that's the year ready to roll, I hope you will be able to join us for some of it.

Don't forget I am still at the Goddess Hall for Concepts and Context, every Monday at 11.30am.

In nomine Babalon

This new year, Scarlet Lotus will be bringing something new and exciting.

I have decided to maintain my weekly Concepts and Contexts class, on Monday mornings in the Goddess Hall, but take a break from my weekly Thursday classes to concentrate on other projects. More specifically I will be offering a number of short courses, focusing in depth on specific styles, or preparing for and learning a choreographed dance.

These courses will offer a structured approach with specific objectives that will allow students to track their rapid progress in the chosen topic.

The first of these will run in February/March, and I am doing something I have never offered before in the context of bellydance classes.

I have previously taught movement - posture, deportment, gesture and ecstatic dance - to ritualists in the context of magic and ritual. Movement is a language that speaks from our very core, to that of others and can be incredibly powerful in a sacred context.

In the past I have always taught dance from the perspective of teaching the "language" so that dancers might go forth and use it however they will, but I have decided, for the first of my short courses, I am going to teach technically accurate and well executed bellydance (theatrical fusion style) in a sacred context.

So here's introducing:

Dancing with the Red Goddess.

Exploring and expressing the power of Our Lady Babalon, and associated goddesses (such as Ishtar, Innanna and Astarte) through moving meditation and devotional dance.

These extended classes will consider the initiatory and transformative nature of the Red Goddess, as the participants bloom, and through their dancing their interpretation of Babalon will be born.

Movements and technique will be learned through themes of that explore the nature of the goddesses. I am already building a beautiful collection of music to complement our dancing. Finally the course will culminate in learning a devotional choreography, that brings together all these aspects and may be performed as a solo or group dance in the future.

" I gather up every spirit that is pure, and weave him into my vesture of flame. I lick up the lives of men, and their souls sparkle from mine eyes. I am the mighty sorceress, the lust of the spirit. And by my dancing I gather for my mother Nuit the heads of all them that are baptized in the waters of life. " A. Crowley, The Vision and the Voice.

I am really looking forward to working on this project, and look forward to meeting the dancers who will accompany me on this journey.

Concepts and Context

Approaching dance through creativity, interpretation and communication.

In September I will be trialing a new format of bellydance class, and I am very excited about it!

I want to shift the focus of my teaching onto the "soul" and artistry of the dance. We will still be working on good technique, but approaching the dance very squarely from the perspective of an artist and performer. In fact this format very closely resembles my own process in putting together a performance.

This is my logical next step from my policy of introducing improvisation from lesson 1, so that improvisation becomes a natural and integral part of my students' dance - I'm taking that principle and applying that to expressiveness, stage presence and storytelling.

The lessons will be themed around a fairly abstract idea in dance. It might be a technical aspect, like "Fluidity", an expressive one, like "Joy" or a stylistic one like "Earthiness".  There will be variations in style, for instance a "Serpentine" themed session with a strong Tribal Fusion leaning.

Technique will be broken down and drilled, with a focus on expressing the theme through the movement. Some lessons will involve combinations or short choreographies, and some will involve improvisation.

Each lesson will stand alone, and be open level. Beginners will be able to learn the basic techniques with no pre-requisite, while more experienced dancers can focus on the style and expression, building extra layers and variations to challenge their technique too!

Dancers who aspire to perform will be tapping straight into the key skills that make a performance vital and interesting. Those who do not will experience a full and layered class that truly takes the dance beyond the physical movements.

This is not a brand new concept. It is fairly common for open level workshops to focus primarily on an artistic aspect, I am simply attempting to bring this into a regular class, in the hope that my students come away with a touch of that post-workshop inspiration and fulfillment, every week.

There is enormous scope for diversity in the classes, and I expect a dancer could revisit a theme multiple times, each time taking away new skills and inspiration. With over 30 strong themes already in the pipeline however, I don't expect a lot of repetition.

Working on these themes has been immensely inspiring for me, as a teacher and dancer, and I hope that my students will share in this.

The inevitable

I didn't plan to have a blog for my dance life, but I have found myself short of an outlet for in-depth comment on this subject. So here it is!

Watch this space for practice tips, costume making tutorials and news about my classes and events.