Desert Gypsy Dance Company

Gypsy Tapestry Recital

2010-03-24T21:45:00.002-06:00

Tonight DGDC performed at the Gypsy Tapestry Recital at the Cover Arts Center in Provo. I was impressed with the classes that performed throughout the evening. I thought that every one, even the beginning classes, looked great on the stage and at ease performing in front of a pretty good sized crowd.

The videos below are the performances of Desert Gypsy, Gypsy Rhythm and Gypsy Melody. Obviously, I'm not a professional at recording, but you'll still be able to tell how well the troupes performed.

Desert Gypsy

Happy Dancing!
Nahia

Gypsy Tapestry Recital

2010-03-24T21:35:00.002-06:00

Gypsy Rhythm

Gypsy Tapestry Recital

2010-03-24T21:32:00.001-06:00

Gypsy Melody

Gypsy Tapestry Recital

2010-03-24T21:14:00.003-06:00

DGDC Production

Belly Dance Spring Fest 2010

2010-03-11T22:10:00.003-07:00

Lovely dancers! Girls you were very beautiful on the stage at Thia's Belly Dance Spring Fest this year. Desert Gypsy's costumes were not the traditional ones you would normally see a Gypsy wear, but they seemed very appropriate for the dances. They were very glittery and flowed nicely which made the dances graceful. It made me want one for myself.

I was happy to see DGDC on stage because I wanted to see precise movements on the musics' accents, straight lines, synchronization and above all else...their smiles. There are a lot of Gypsies on that stage and it is an accomplishment to achieve all those qualities. It makes a huge difference when you have so many other belly dancers performing...DGDC stands out.

The lighting is never that great at Spring Fest, but these are the best photos I have. I hope to have a video to post in a few weeks from their next performance, but I hope you enjoy these.

Gypsy Tapestry

2009-10-28T16:18:00.001-06:00

Wednesday, November 4th, 2009, 7:30 PM - Gypsy Tapestry Formal Event

Covey Center for the Arts
425 West Center Street
Provo, UT 84601

Doors open 7pm, show starts 7:30pm
Tickets only $5.00!!!

Covey Center for the Arts Middle Eastern dance program along with Desert Gypsy Dance Company and its directors will be highlighting their students of recent classes as well as featuring a full program of professional dancers from the area. This is definitely a show you DON'T want to miss as we close out year 2009 and introduce new and exciting events, opportunities and dancers for 2010!

Upcoming Performance and Workshops

2009-05-25T22:33:00.001-06:00

Thia's Electric Circus Performance - June 5 - 7:30 pm at Westminster College - Tickets are $15
Troupe Desert Gypsy will be performing at this event.

Thia Electric Circus Workshop - June 6 - Rose Wagner
Improve your dance technique.
http://www.bellydancingbythia.com/june-5-6-2009.htm

Oasis Dance Camp - October 2009
http://www.oasisdancecamp.com/west.html
Act soon if you are interested as a deposit needs to be sent in.
In order to ensure that we can room together - please use my name in the teacher field when signing up.

Also - don't forget Moab next weekend. Jamilla is planning a fun weekend of workshops.

Benefit Concert for Viktoriya

2009-05-21T04:01:00.005-06:00

I received the following email and wanted to pass the word along about one of our amazing local dancers from Utah County. Please help support by attending the benefit concert.

Message from Tinuviel:

Hello All, I apologize for the mass email, but I wanted to get the word out. Some of you already know about the situation, some of you don't, so I'll explain briefly. My bellydance teacher and friend, Viktoriya, was in a terrible car accident in April. She is in a coma. She is a single mother with two daughters. LaRa Zorn and other bellydancers of Salt Lake (myself included) are organizing a bellydance benefit show to help with Viktoriya's expenses with all of this.

The show will be 25th July 2009 6-9 pm at the Academy of Performing Arts 2207 South Main St Salt Lake City. There will also be a silent auction, a raffle, card readings and possible henna at the show during the breaks. The show is going to be great!!

Presale tickets are available through me.

We will not be doing actual paper tickets, but will be making a “will-call” list for the presales.

PLEASE NOTE: You will be required to bring an ID to the show to claim your “will-call” tickets.

Presale tickets are $15 (tickets at the door will be $20).

To purchase presale tickets please PAYPAL the money to rmaxwilson@gmail.com (please note that the first letter in that email address is an “r” –people often miss it…). Please include a note stating that the payment is for tickets for the Viktoriya benefit show, the number of tickets you are buying, a contact phone number and email, and the name of the person who will be claiming the tickets at “will-call”. I will email you confirmation of your order.

If you are too far away to attend the show but would still like to help a donation can be mailed to

Zion's Bank Holladay Branch
4641 South 2300 East
Holladay, UT 84117

or made in person at any Zion's Bank branch. You need to tell them it is for the Viktoriya Shershnova-Pulley account.

Feel free to pass this info along to whomever you think would be interested, and thank you very much for your help!

love you all
Kelly (Tinuviel)
tinuvieldancer@yahoo.com

http://www.bellydancingbyviktoriya.com/index.html

Utah Renaissance Festival and Fantasy Faire

2009-04-22T19:52:00.005-06:00

Desert Gypsy Dance Company is performing at the faire May 9 and May 16 at 2 pm. It's worth it to get the whole ambiance. There is also sword fighting and jousting, which I thoroughly enjoy watching.

Here is the information on the faire:

May 8,9,10 and 15,16,17, 2009 10 AM to 6:30 PM

Millcreek Hollow~3109 West Pioneer Road~ Marriott-Slaterville~Weber County

Take Exit 346 off I-15, and drive west on Pioneer Road, (400 North),
1 ½ miles to Millcreek Hollow, 52 acres of woods, ponds, creek and meadows

Adults $12, (Federal employees, Military 50% off with ID)
Seniors, guests in costume and children 5-12 $6
Children under 5 Free

~FULL CONTACT HEAVY JOUST by world champions
~ RENAISSANCE MARKETPLACE with shops from all over the United States
~MUSIC ~MAGIC ~~COMEDY~FREE PARKING~SUPERB FOOD ~ANIMALS~ART~ROYALTY~
~FAERIES~DEMONSTRATIONS~LIVE STEEL~REVELRY~BELLY DANCING~FEASTING~
~~~Escape the Mundane~~~
www.utahrenfest.com

2009-04-17T21:56:00.002-06:00

I love taking pictures of our dancers before a performance because there is such beauty in each face that shows the excitement of getting in front of a group of people.

Sadira thank you for getting us a gig with Evergreen for the second year in a row. We hope this will be a tradition from year to year.

Cassandra's 2009 Weeklong Intensive

2009-03-31T10:41:00.010-06:00

March 15th - 22nd Halima, Kalista and Odessa packed 8 days worth of clothing, food, accessories, and sparkly jingles into 6 carry-on bags. Here's a shout-out to all the plane passengers who helped us shove, punch, kick and pound oversized bags into overhead bins... not to mention their help to then retrieve them. To whomever you were, we love and appreciate you!

Let's not even discuss the trip back as we now have acquired new make-up, hip scarves, music and accessories we simply could NOT live without; again in carry-on luggage.

Cassandra Shore is no less than a Goddess. We danced all day, everyday for 6 days straight. We attended 3 incredibly entertaining and quality shows. We ate very healthy and delicious food which we then topped off with chocolate and ice cream. We drove like manics through downtown Minneapolis daily (why the police didn't remove me from the streets I know not). And yes... we visited the Mall of America.

In addition to daily technique and choreography with Cassandra and her "teacher's assistants" we also had quality time with a make-up artist, a dietitian, a history lesson by Cassandra, and percussion and melody lessons with exquisite live music by Tim O'Keefe and Laura Harada.

We started the week off with a strong focus on Orientale style and ended with Folkloric. I must say that every one of my 6 senses were satisfied and our already strong sisterhood was enhanced. We were all so impressed and proud of each other. The UTAH GIRLS ROCK!

Jawaahir Dance Company

BDSS After Party

2009-03-26T18:54:00.000-06:00

Thanks Sherry!

Bellydance Superstars

2009-03-22T20:16:00.003-06:00

March has been an exciting month, full of belly dancing. A group of us went to the Bellydance Superstars performance. Thank you Sadira for carpooling us to Park City.

The performance was amazing, full of shimmies and flutters. There were several drum solos that exhibited amazing techniques of layering moves. There was a ballet belly dancer who gracefully danced with two tribal dancers. One of my favorite moves of the evening was a toe shimmy were the dancer looked like she was floating across the stage.

We also enjoyed (what seemed like) the endless spinning dance of Petite Jamilla. She spun around for the entire song with veils. At the beginning she had two of her own veils, then seamlessly picked up two more from another spinning dancer, then another two, and finally another two. Meanwhile, in the background there were four dancers with full circle skirts that were spinning the entire length of the song. At the very end, one-by-one, Petite Jamilla dropped each of the veils and came out of her spin to a stand still facing the audience without looking like she ever got dizzy.

We thoroughly enjoyed all the energy the dancers brought on stage.

At the end of the performance, Basimah and J'adore hooked us up with after-party tickets to meet the dancers. Some of the dancers that we got to meed were Zoe, Samantha, Sonia and Adore. They were very nice and happy to talk with everyone. Arayliah was called the "purple princess" by Adore. Adore was very kind and had some advice to give. Training in jazz and ballet is a very helpful background for being a good dancer.

Zoe said that palates and Rachel Brice arms are two things that have helped her out in her dancing. She spends about 2 hours a day dancing and sometimes doesn't feel like that is enough.

Sonia said that there is always something new. I believe as dancers we are always looking for new ways to express ourselves.

Adore has a great passion for dancing and the sisterhood she interacts with in their troupe. Every one of the dancers bring their own background into the group and help each other out. None of the dancers are out on the stage to be a diva. That is what makes them unique. They are a unit and wouldn't be who they are without each other. I think that this is what Desert Gypsy Dance Company strives to achieve.

Mark's Pictures of Spring Fest

2009-03-19T20:43:00.001-06:00

Desert Gypsy Spring Recital

2009-03-13T22:57:00.003-06:00

Desert Gypsy and all three troupes together.

Desert Gypsy Spring Recital

2009-03-13T22:31:00.002-06:00

Bellydance Spring Fest III

2009-03-08T09:22:00.002-06:00

Bellydance Spring Fest II

2009-03-08T09:20:00.003-06:00

Here is the link to the news on Gypsy Melody's dance: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705289447,00.html.

Bellydance Spring Fest

2009-03-08T09:15:00.001-06:00

Here is a link to the Deseret News slide show: http://deseretnews.com/photo/slideshow/1,5587,6100,00.html.

Upcoming Classes

2009-03-06T17:40:00.001-07:00

Desert Gypsy Dance Co. is pleased to announce Intermediate and Beginning classes held at Halima's Home Studio.

Beginning Middle Eastern Dance
Wednesday
March 25- May 6
7-8 pm
6 weeks no class held on April 15th
$40

Intermediate Middle Eastern Dance
Wednesdays
March 25-May 6
6-7pm
6 weeks no class held on April 15th
$40

Intermediate Middle Eastern Dance
Wednesdays
March 25-May 6
10-11am
6 weeks no class held on April 15th
$40

Home Studio address:
DGDC
701 Bateman Lane
Alpine Ut 84004
360 7575

Checks payable to: Desert Gypsy Dance Co.
New students! sign up with a friend and take $5 off your class tuition
Returning students! Refer a new student and get 1/2 off a private session with Halima

Questions? 360 7575

Provo Workshop with Jamilla

2009-02-06T18:28:00.000-07:00

Jamilla Stage Presence Workshop

2009-01-31T12:50:00.003-07:00

Today was our stage presence workshop presented by Jamilla who came up from Moab. The first thing Jamilla had us do was share what we felt were our weaknesses that we wanted to work on: posture, arms, spacial relationship, and smiling were among some of those items.

To start off we worked on our spacial relationship with our sister dancers. Jamilla taught us "if we breath together, we dance together". Then we went through some breathing exercises to help open up to our surroundings with each other.

The picture above shows our lines as we were learning the tribal pow-wow. The last time we went through the dance it was feeling really good, like we were all coming together as one.

Here are some other things we were taught. Make sure to stretch your feet/ankles. We need to take care of them or else we wouldn't be able to dance. You need to lift your arms from the elbow, wrist and then fingers. Do not let your arms hang in purgatory. Put your angle wings in your pocket.

Another item we all need to work on is eye contact. Yes, it can be scary but we can all do it. Next we should work on our facial expression. Remember a-e-i-o-u and practice in front of the mirror. Think of what your are trying to express through your dancing. The final item I can remember is to watch your shadow and what your lines are doing.

We thank Jamilla for coming out to teach us and Odessa for organizing the event. If you remember anything else that you learned please share.

Happy dancing!

Gypsies Annual Tea Party

2009-01-17T22:49:00.001-07:00

The Gypsies Annual Tea Party has become a tradition of DGDC to start off the new year. We have tea, tea leaf reading, henna, snacks, kids craft station, music, dancing and more. We can't think of any better way to start the year off than spending time with our dancing sisters.

Many thanks to Odessa for opening up her home to us, and all the organization that she and Araylia put into the party. As well, we thank Serana for spending time with all those who chose to have their tea leaves read.

Halima in Morroco

2009-01-02T12:15:00.002-07:00

To Blog or not to Blog

2008-09-11T13:14:00.017-06:00

I SAY BLOG! I'm really excited about this. It's another way for us to reach out to our sisters and friends of DGDC to share our stories, ideas, opportunities and resources. THANK YOU NAHIA!!!

With the Mini-Fest in our rear-view mirror and the DGDC Workshops in our headlights I'm enjoying this small window of opportunity to expand myself. I started LaRa Zorn's class last night with my Araylia. I was thrilled to see Tammy and Daphne there. One of the students (Nickie) immediately recognized us a DGDC members and was quite animated in her excitement to meet us. I just adore her. It feels good to know that people ARE paying attention. LaRa had genuine compliments for DGDC as well.

I'm going to Desert Veils' Tribal Sands workshops with Fiorin!!! http://www.desertveils.org/2008festival.htm. We reserved our cabin in Moab yesterday! I'll be taking the workshops on Stage Presence, Drumming, and Seamless Dancing. I hope this will help prepare me for upcoming events!!! We may have room for you if you REALLY want to go with us. ;)

As a quick reminder, my Covey Art Center classes start NEXT Wed, Sept 17th. Halima's Home Studio and AF Jr. High classes started this week. Kalista's Mountain View HS classes also started this week. Let us know if there are any of you who desire to sign up last min. I know some classes are already full but not all.

Keep dancing on the off time. Keep checking in on local events and opportunities. I WILL get to the website soon so keep checking back here and on our site for more info.

Joyful Dancing,
Odessa
www.desertgypsydanceco.com

Welcome to the DGDC Blog

2008-09-10T19:58:00.000-06:00

Dear Beautiful Dancers,

Welcome to the DGDC Blog! We have created the blog to let you share your favorite belly dancing experiences, stories, pictures and websites. If you would like me to post something to the blog please send it to nahia.desertgypsy@gmail.com. At a future time we will be able to add authors so you can post directly to the blog. Please let me know if you are interested in being an author as well.

I hope you're as excited about the DGDC Blog as I am. I will see you all soon.

shake-a-belly!

Nahia