Dance solos

In March, I had the privilege of dancing at my friend's birthday bash.  I had already been practicing a routine for Anaheed's Dancers' Swap Meet and the birthday party was the night before that, so I did the same routine.  To spice things up a little, I added a sword dance.   I got to break in a costume I had bought at the last Dancer's Swap Meet.

The party was at a great venue - a private Moroccan-themed room at a nice restaurant.  It was a really relaxed atmosphere (the martini didn't hurt ;) ) and I was feeling carefree.  The performance went great!  I felt really good about it and had lots of fun dancing.  We danced all night and stayed up way too late.  It was LOTS of fun!  Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of my performance, though my hubby did get a shot of me fooling around with my scimitar towards the end of the night:

It was not as much fun the next day when I was the first performer at the Swap Meet.  I wasn't hung over, but I was VERY tired.  I felt draggy during my performance and it showed very clearly in the the video.  I haven't yet perfected faking perkiness when I just want a nap.  Here's a few of the better screen grabs from the swap meet:

 

Notice:  I'll be performing a more-perfected version of this same routine on June 2nd at 11:45 at Cairo Caravan on the Queen Mary (Luxor Stage).  I'll make sure not to stay up until 4am the night before this time!

My first public belly dance solo

Last Sunday, I did my first public solo belly dance performance at Anaheed's Dancer's Swap Meet.  I've danced at public events as part of a group and have done a couple solo performances in front of classmates and friends.  But this was my first solo at a public event.  I am shy by nature, so dancing in front of a hall full of strangers was a bit nerve-wracking (and scrambling to get to the stage & get ready because I didn't get my 5-minute warning didn't help).  It definitely wasn't a perfect performance, but I felt like it was at least decent.  People told me it looked good.  I was fortunate enough to have lots of friends in the audience, despite the awful storm that day.

I'm glad I did it.  It's good to get out of my comfort zone.  Plus, it gives me an excuse to buy & wear pretty costumes (or at least make my own--full costumes are expensive)!  I know performing in public will get better & easier with more experience, so I plan to sign up for some more events this year. 

Here's a photo my husband took during my performance.  If anyone else took photos, please send me copies!