zbellydance

2008-06-15T20:57:00.000-07:00

It...is...finished...
I'm mailing out the last eleven audio feedbacks tomorrow. So, if you're waiting for yours, it will be there by Thursday (according to the post office, anyway.)
I found out one tidbit while mailing the last batch; the stamps "Do not bend" (or writing the words "do not bend" on the package) are no longer honored by the post office. But the carriers probably honor it, according to the lady who took my things. So, basically, the post office won't officially promise not to bend stuff, but the nice carriers will probably do their best not to bend. Um, okay. It's like everything needs a waiver these days. I keep joking next year's Classic waiver will be 20 pages long.
Secondly, I seriously miscalculated how long it would take me to do this task. I seriously undercharged for the amount of time it took to organize the tracks, burn them, address the envelopes, package and prepare, write notes with each one and then go to the post office, WAIT IN LONG LINES and then mail. (No, I'm not bitter!) Just kidding. But it will cost a lot more next year (if I even offer this option. I don't really want to talk about it right now.)
Thirdly, some tracks were inaudible or damaged and for that I sincerely apologize. Trust me, it wasn't personal! I did not sabotage anybody's stuff! I'm very sorry that happened and I hope you will understand if that happened to you.
Trust, I did not make any money on doing the audio feedback (in fact lost a lot), so I hope we can all just get along!
Zuleika
www.zbellydance.com

2008-05-28T11:37:00.000-07:00

Yay, I did a good job!
The 2008 Classic is over. I just started feeling somewhat normal last Friday. My car is almost cleaned out, and all the random detritus laying around my house has been somewhat organized. I will pack it away soon.
I wish I had been able to say hello to everyone personally. I'd love to schedule times for me to just absorb the event and not have to do anything. One of my goals was to meet people and network and just get to see the variety of dancers and dance from all over. I fulfilled that goal, but I would have liked to say hello to every single competitor, and I didn't get to.
I got to spend some time with dancers from places like Canada, Washington and New York afterwards. They were very friendly and interesting people who I was glad to meet. All of them made a lasting impression on me.
I have a two day gig in Tennessee next weekend, so it's making it a bit hard to decompress. My dance buddy and I have 6 30 minute sets spread over two days (3 sets per day), so it's no small feat to plan and choreograph everything. We don't have as much info as we'd like about the stage and the drummers we're dancing with for part of the time, so I hope that all works out. We are flexible people, so I'm sure it will be fine.
I have had lots of inquiries about my classes since the media coverage for the Classic. Other dancers featured in the articles have said the same. That's pretty exciting and something I didn't know for sure would happen. So that's infusing some positive energy into the future as well. It was probably the most costly advertising of my life, though, if you consider the work that went into it.
I've gotten a suggestion to make the Classic even more high-tech by having the judges do their feedback on laptops. However, even if the funds were there to do this, I'm surprised how few people ordered their digital feedback. Also, the videographer said many people were puzzled by the offer to be interviewed on camera. [The videography company is editing the film of the dancers professionally and it was shot on a two-camera system. They had a four person crew working the event and they came from out of town to stay in a hotel. This was not a video done by someone's husband holding a handheld home camera.]
A wiser friend says that the audio feedback and the interview (for media kits) is ahead of the curve. Despite the belief we have that the internet is extremely prevalent and technology dominates our lives, people were surprisingly hesitant to implement the more cutting-edge tools. So another jump into another even more high-tech tool gives me pause...
I suppose if my instructor did not use audio feedback, I might not understand it, either. Even more disturbin is that I know many teachers use no feedback at all...meaning that they don't critique their students. A non-threatened instructor should feel safe in giving and receiving feedback to her/his students and vice versa.
Competition is an extension of the idea that we must receive feedback in order to improve. I have dance buddies who WILL tell me if my newest costume isn't great, if my hairpiece is askew or just bad, and I'll do the same for them. We have implicit and sometimes even explicit agreements to support eachother through thick and thin.
I hope that we can develop our skin to be thicker...I know I feel vulnerable sometimes and don't want to hear the negative words, but I must also improve. It's like the people on the shows where people try out their singing voices (I rarely watch TV and can't remember the name of the show?); someone told them they were good! Someone allowed these people to go so far they drove out of town, took off work and paid tons of money to humiliate themselves on TV!
I would just say, please don't be that person. Don't lie to your friends or your students. Sure, you can phrase things politely and give 2 positives for every 1 negative. But tell them. They deserve to know. And if you can ever encourage your students to compete, treat their hearts carefully as you train. Get them ready for some balanced feedback from sensitive people who are great at what they do.
Zuleika
www.zbellydance.com

2008-05-12T18:21:00.000-07:00

Sometimes people make me very tired.

2008-05-05T16:41:00.000-07:00

It's almost here, it's almost here!
I have a lot to do, but a manageable amount. I'm really proud at how well it's coming. I don't feel overwhelmed (not at this very second, anyway. Check with me an hour!)
Getting the program together is an adventure! That's all I'm going to say about that! I gave it to my graphic designers to make it pretty, then I'll get to look it over for a final check and then to the printer by Friday. My printer needs a week to proof it and print it.
I'm picking up the trophies Friday.
Prizes are trickling in. Anybody want to donate something as a prize? Send it to my snail mail at 520 W. 21st St. Ste G2, Norfolk, VA 23517 for arrival on or before May 14.
The show performers are ready! The judges are excited! The vendors are frantically crafting and ordering things!
Weee!
Oh, and Tidewater Women has me on their May cover and www.saborhr.com will have an article about latina bellydancers online as of May 9.
Zuleika
www.zbellydance.com

2008-04-02T15:58:00.000-07:00

When it rains, it pours

In the course of a week, an article I wrote was published, I gave an interview about the job I do to support myself (non-bellydance), and a journalist came out to interview me for a cover story about my bellydance business. The timing was uncanny!
First, I realized I'm not as prepared as I should be for these types of contacts. I don't have a press kit pulled together, because I keep thinking "Oh, if someone gets in touch, I'll have plenty of time to get it together." Not!
Ironically, I'm going to be teaching "Primp your Press Kit" this summer at a workshop. So I need to practice what I preach and get that little lady together! (I also want to get a trademark on the title of the workshop, so don't steal my idea, okay?)
I also realized I need to get my little catch-phrases together. There are certain questions that most journalists are likely to ask. It helps to have some responses put together, whether you show them to the writer or not. So I'll be working on that as well!
Planning for the Classic is going well. However, I keep discovering more things to do. I just realized I don't know much about how the digital recorders work. I have them, so do not fear! This is how the judges will record their comments. Any performer that pays $10 will get a CD with her comments on there. This is a great tool because if you also buy the video, you can play the feedback and the video at the same time. If the judge says "Oh, gosh, that was beautiful!", you'll know what she means because you'll be WATCHING that same movement that she's watching. It's pretty darn cool!
I have a lot of volunteers helping me for the two days of the Classic. I wish I could hire an event planner to help me ahead of time. Maybe next year, we'll have so much money, that will be possible?

Zuleika
www.zbellydance.com
www.ecclassic.com

2008-03-09T17:45:00.000-07:00

Everyone is so nice!
I am so pleased that the competitors I've spoken to are so nice! Everyone is really sweet. Even some people I didn't think were sweet ended up being nice. Maybe my past encounters with them were not true examples of their character. I really think it's cool.
I have a really bad cold and I'm on medicine, so I feel weird right now. But that's not related to my previous comment; I've been wanting to make this post for about two weeks. (In case anyone was going to suggest the medicine was going to my head...!)
Zu

2008-02-19T14:16:00.000-08:00

One day at a time
Well, there seems to be a common theme about coping adages in the bellydance world. Why are people so mean to each other? Why can't people just work their businesses in a professional way? The amount of cattiness is out of control. So I, and other bellydancers I know, have to take it one day at a time. I find this helps. Another bellydancer has done something crazy? I'm just going to work my business for another day. I don't know what will happen tomorrow. It's a choice. Every day, you make the choice (if you're given the opportunity) to go out into the world. Some things might not be worth it, and I might decide not to do it anymore. Of course, you finish what's on your plate. Finish what you've committed to and then re-evaluate. We need some kind of Dr. Phil or Oprah for bellydancers. Serious counseling. Some kind of book about how women sabotage each other. Just venting here. It gets tiring sometimes.

Zuleika

2008-02-08T09:12:00.000-08:00

The cupcakes - also known as - To quit, do it more.
I have an obsession with cupcakes. I started eating one a week in December, in anticipation of my birthday. I thought for sure I would be offered some cake for my birthday. To which I would respond: I would rather have a cupcake. My plan didn't pan out (pardon the pun), but the cupcake crusade continued.
I was able to eat one cupcake from the local bakery. I love the mom and pop bakeries who do special order cakes and have handmade signs with rules. Some of the signs are hastily written and proclaim the policies on cancelling special orders. A confusing sign also declares that you must let them know if you're paying with debit before they ring you up. (This one seems odd, but okay....)
So I've been able to eat the cupcake once a week in moderation, which made me very happy. However, I did not know the nutritional value of the cupcake. What if I it had more calories than I thought? Or, worse, what if it had fewer? So I decided to make my own. I also had to make my own icing.
I went with Betty Crocker's Lemon Poppy Seed muffins which come with their own glaze. (To me, that's a cupcake.) They were great. I made them with low-calorie ingredients. I begin eyeing mini-cupcake pans at the store. I ended up buying one to experiment more with the quest for creamy cupcakes.
Next, I made spice cake mini muffins with pumpkin instead of oil. Those were great, too. Visitors to my house eat about five or six at a time. They just push the little ones into their mouth with no chewing. That's not how I eat them. I make one cupcake last about three bites.
The icing I used was Wilton's Ready to Decorate. I picked it because it had nutritional contents listed. I actually measured 1 tsp. out, but I only had a 1/3 tsp. measuring spoon, so it got a bit ridiculous. I chose pink icing since it's close to Valentine's Day, and I even threw on some red sprinkles.
However, I started fearing that I would eat too many since now they're at my house. I kept track of how many I ate, though, so it didn't get out of control. I haven't visited any bakeries since I started making my own.
And last night, two little kids asked me if they could have one of the mini cupcakes. I was thrilled. They think they're cupcakes, too!
But how does this relate to bellydance?
The cupcake crusade reminds me of something I read recently in Oprah Magazine by Martha Beck. Martha Beck is one of my favorite writers. Her basic theory was that to stop doing something, you should overdo it so much that you get tired of it. Eventually, the novelty will wear off and you will moderate yourself.
Every so often, we should evaluate whether things work for us and if we should quit. Ask yourself what your goals are and whether you are achieving them. What outcomes could you be happy with if your original goals aren't being met?
I apply these concepts to bellydance as well. As a sponsor of an extremely large event (the East Coast Classic), I had to establish goals for myself to examine why I continue. Periodically, I re-evaluate to see if I am reaching my goals or not and what I could do differently. I am certainly growing as far as personal development, but there are other factors to consider.
For now, I'm still in the race. This year will definitely happen. What will happen later, I can't say. It's a little amusing that I've had to consult mental health adages in order to find some clarity. (Another adage that occurs to me is this one: one day at a time.)
So, when you're tempted to quit, re-evaluate. Check your goals. Be as prepared as possible. Organize yourself so well that you've thought of every contingency.
And when you see me at the East Coast Classic, come by and say hi. I just might be eating one of those special cupcakes!

Zuleika
www.zbellydance.com
www.ecclassic.com

2008-01-31T15:25:00.000-08:00

Planning
I ordered a few albums from Peko Records yesterday. I'm excited to have some new music. I might start selling CD's to my students at the studio I teach at as well. I've sold a few hip scarves there, which people really seem to like.
I'll be working on a new piece for performance in the next month or so, so I'm eager to get my music.
There are so many events going on! It's dizzying trying to keep up with it all. Some of the workshops are very similar. And it seems that it is difficult to get people not to plan events close to (or on) the same date as another person.
Unfortunately, I couldn't, or can't, attend them all. I would like to because I like to support other people.
Now that I'm planning the Classic, I realize how much work it is. Before, competing was enough to focus on without wondering how the event was put on. Although I really had no criticisms of how things were done, which seems to differentiate me from other people. I had an appreciation even then that there was a massive amount of planning. I just had no idea how much.
I don't think I'd criticize someone's event unless they asked for some constructive criticism. But I understand that my point of view is unique now.

Zuleika
www.zbellydance.com
www.ecclassic.com

2008-01-27T18:55:00.001-08:00

The Pink Rhinestone Sweatshirt
I would never have worn this before becoming a bellydancer. A sweatshirt, for lack of a better term, with a zipper pull at the neck that comes down a few inches. The zipper pull has little rhinestones on it in the shape of what looks like the Eiffel Tower. Then there are some rhinestones all along the front of the sweatshirt. In my defense, 1) I rarely wear it outside the house and 2) it was a gift. Actually, it was a hand-me-down, which is even better. Or worse...I can't decide. But it's very comfy and my friends say it's "bedazzled". It's also too big for me and I feel like I'm swimming in it!

Zuleika
www.zbellydance.com
www.ecclassic.com

2008-01-27T15:56:00.000-08:00

I like this song by India.Arie.

Bellydancers are known for spending time on our hair (um, understatement of the universe), so I thought it would be interesting to post this take on "hair" in general.

I'm thinking of getting a weave. My friend says African-Americans call it a weave, white people call it extensions. Hmmm.

This is a lovely song which is very thoughtfully done and introspective. Buy her album!

Little girl with the press and curl
Age eight I got a Jheri curl
Thirteen I got a relaxer
I was a source of so much laughter
At fifteen when it all broke off
Eighteen and went all natural
February two thousand and two
I went and did
What I had to do
Because it was time to change my life
To become the woman that I am inside
Ninety-seven dreadlock all gone
I looked in the mirror
For the first time and saw that HEY....
I am not my hair
I am not this skin
I am not your expectations no no
I am not my hair
I am not this skin
I am a soul that lives within
What'd she do to her hair?
I don't know it look crazy
I like it.
I might do that.
Umm, I wouldn't go that far.
I know .. ha ha ha ha
Good hair means curls and waves
Bad hair means you look like a slave
At the turn of the century
Its time for us to redefine who we be
You can shave it off
Like a South African beauty
Or get in on lock
Like Bob Marley
You can rock it straight
Like Oprah Winfrey
If its not what's on your head
Its what's underneath and say HEY....
Does the way I wear my hair make me a better person?
Does the way I wear my hair make me a better friend?
Does the way I wear my hair determine my integrity?
I am expressing my creativity..
Breast Cancer and Chemotherapy
Took away her crown and glory
She promised God if she was to survive
She would enjoy everyday of her life ooh
On national television
Her diamond eyes are sparkling
Bald headed like a full moon shining
Singing out to the whole wide world like HEY...
If I wanna shave it close
Or if I wanna rock locks
That don't take a bit away
From the soul that I got Dat da da dat da
If I wanna wear it braided
All down my back
I don't see what wrong with that
Dat da da dat da
Is that India.Arie?
Ooh look she cut her hair!
I like that, its kinda PHAT
I don't know if I could do it.
But it looks sharp, it looks nice on her
She got a nice shaped head
She got an apple head
I know right?
It's perfect.

2008-01-24T19:00:00.000-08:00

Being a contest sponsor
This is just a list of things I did today...
Today I talked to the friend of a bellydancer in Canada that is thinking of coming for the Classic. I wrote some promo materials so that they can apply for a grant for the travel costs. This person mentioned Belly Dancer of the Universe to me, so I looked at that website. It made me feel good because their registration process is similar to mine, but I had no idea. I felt bad for not having had the idea to check this earlier. Mental note to go back and see if they have any more ideas I haven't thought of.
One vendor told me they won't be able to come. I wrote to a new vendor I'd been trying to get a hold of. Another vendor sent me their check today, which I photocopied so I can deposit. I still have to file her contract and e-mail her to tell her I got it.
I received four DVD's from Michelle Joyce that will be prizes. They looked so good; I really wanted to open them but didn't!
I'm finalizing the last judge. I fielded a few e-mails people had about questions on the competitions. I remembered I want to add an audio clip, if I can, of the feedback people get when they compete so people can hear a sample. I searched East Coast Classic on YouTube to see if anyone had posted footage from previous competitions and found nothing bellydance related. (This is actually good because the DVD footage isn't permitted to be posted unless it's your own.) I requested some more friends on myspace and tribe to promote the contest. I updated my calendar with some bellydance events coming up.
I e-mailed the sponsor of a show I'm thinking of being in. I wrote and sent a proposal to a person out of state who asked my group to dance. (I had to consult with my dance partner and another person to check the rates were fair. I had to try to figure out how much gas will cost in June.) I said yes to dancing in the lineup at an event in May. I talked to my dance partner to make sure all of this works for her. I e-mailed my measurements to someone who will probably make some costuming for me.
Weeee! That's just one day!

Zuleika
http://www.zbellydance.com/
http://www.ecclassic.com/
http://www.ecclassic.eventbrite.com/

2008-01-21T18:41:00.000-08:00

Waiting

I'm waiting to find out if I passed a certification test for my non-bellydance career. If I pass, I'll make a decent amount of money and be able to continue in this career. If not, I'll have to re-evaluate and see if I can still make it financially without the higher pay certification brings. I should find out about the results at the end of January, or maybe the first week of February.

It definitely helps my bellydance career to be self-employed. I'm able to answer a lot of inquiries about the Classic within a very short period (usually a few minutes, sometimes a day, depending.) I hope the speed of responses gives people a good impression.

Being self-employed definitely requires organization. I'm constantly evolving the way I keep track of things. I don't know how I was self-employed when I was younger. I think I was way too immature to handle it. This time, I'm keeping better track of things. But I still could stand to be more organized.

Oh, I'm tired of waiting! If you have any pull with the "guy upstairs", or your higher power, say a little prayer for me!

Zuleika
www.zbellydance.com
www.ecclassic.com
www.ecclassic.eventbrite.com (online registration)

2007-12-09T12:37:00.000-08:00

I went to the Jethro Tull concert last week at the Ferguson Center at Christopher Newport University. I had never been to this venue; the theater is beautiful and very spacious. We were in the fourth row, right up in front.

Tull's concert brought to mind several different topics for me, as my mind admittedly wandered a bit during the show. (I was also distracted by my companion's suggestion that a friend of a friend could help me do a bellydance show at the Ferguson, which was too exciting to ignore!)

First, I didn't know anything about Jethro Tull except a video I watched on YouTube without sound. (I am technologically disabled and didn't realize my computer was on "mute", and I couldn't figure out how to change the volume. Duh!)

I had some hint of this 60's era band's style, but as soon as the first flutey notes sounded, I was immediately reminded of the "jazz flute" part of "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy". I tried to remove the "baby-making music" scene from my mind so I wouldn't laugh or offend the people around me who were clearly enjoying themselves. I appreciated the music and could see that they were great artists, but it just wasn't my thing. But that's ok. We don't have to like everything.

I did like this quote on the very last page of the program from a TowneBank ad: "Use all of the talents you possess. Create for yourself, not for others. Keep company with those who make you better. Try something new and daring."

The lead singer of Jethro Tull, Ian Anderson, could have written this quote himself. He had a vision (playing the flute with rock music), and a way he wanted to present himself (propping his foot on his knee, raising his eyebrows frenetically and twitching his fingers), and he stayed the course. The band is reaching their 40th anniversary, so they must be doing something right!

In my own artistic career, it's scary to be creative sometimes. I worry what people will think, or if I might make a mistake. But, in a way, I respect my poor showings as much as my great ones. If you get on stage, you deserve credit for the daring you have.

It's easy for others to judge you, or to "hate", as people say. However, haters don't win my respect if everything they do is choreographed within an inch of its life. That's not artistry or passion. So I say, stick with it, Jethro Tull, and all the other daring performers of the world. Be yourself. And when you're tempted to "hate on" others, put that energy into making yourself a better performer.