Lynchburg Tribal: Belly Dance in Lynchburg, VA
Ooooh, pretty... 08/25/2010
 
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New costuming pieces will soon be available!  Reserve yours today before they're all gone.  Only $40 ($30 for Lynchburg Tribal members)
 
 
Reposted from Belly Dancing Diva
http://bellydancingdiva.com/2010/06/10-simple-steps-to-arabic-eyes/

The following steps and video tutorial will help you create a stunning Middle Eastern inspired look.  I have seen this look on several individuals and it blew me away every time.   It is incredibly breath taking.
1. Apply a frosted white eye shadow right below the eyebrow (on the brow bone) and on the center of your eyelid, in a straight line up. This makes your eyes look bigger.

2. Apply a dark shimmery blue shadow to the inner corner of your eye and outer corner of your eye. Make sure you continue below your eye as well.

3. Apply some shadow to the crease of your eyes. This should be a lighter blue or turquoise based color.

4. Apply a pink/rose colored shadow to the outer corner of your eyelids.

5. Using a liquid liner, draw a smooth, even line along the lashes.

6. Apply a pencil black liner to the inner rim of the eyes.

7. Apply mascara on top and bottom lashes.

8. Fill in your eyebrows to give you that strong Middle Eastern brow.

9. Apply a rose blush that blends well with your skin color.

10. Line lips and fill in gloss. Et Voila, you have a stunning Arabic mixed color makeup!

Here are the video instructions – credit: Q8sugargirl for a very professional tutorial]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gs3hEokXBCM&feature=player_embedded

 
 
There is a section in "Slow & Chifti" when we are in a circle facing one another. The steps aren't particularly complex, but the pattern can be tricky. Inevitably there are dancers from all levels dancing, with varying familiarity with the piece. When we first get into the circle, I can tell from their faces who is struggling to remember the dance, who has switched on auto-pilot, and who is just delighted to be there. And I can't help but smile, and smile, and smile. There in the circle, we are each other's audience and support group. If you forget which way to step, everyone is moving to help you along. By the end of the first set of spins most every dancer is smiling. We all step in toward each other, arms across each others shoulders and then we're just having fun. That is why I dance.

I grew up with a single mom who made sure I was involved in Girl Scouts and later with a girls-only masonic group. I went to a single-sex college. Grad school was really the first time in my life I wasn't immersed in a female-dominated environment, and I made some interesting observations. The female students were rarely in the front row in class. In the auditorium, I noticed that the men used both armrests, while the women frequently used neither. In discussions the women rarely pushed their right to speak when they started talking at the same time as a male student. Small things all, most of which I only put my finger on later, but there really was a difference between female community and mixed gender community.

Around that time the director of my performance arts troupe brought a belly dancer to give a workshop. I discovered a dance that made sense to my body, that wasn't a complete struggle. I began bellydance classes I tagged along with my teacher's Tribal troupe as their resident henna artist (and groupie). One of the first gigs I went on was a revelation. Preparing for performance was bedlam; a riot of coins and fringe and safety pins; a jumble of shared mascara, bindis, bangles, and practice beats. It was glorious! Then a horde of painted and bedecked belly dancers took to the street to walk the few blocks to the performance venue. Passersby gawked; jaws dropped; a few eyes flashed in envy. Walking alone, any one of us would have felt awkward, exposed, abashed. Together, we were proud and sassy. For the first time in my life I understood what empowerment feels like. A trained feminist since adolescence the E-word was an entrenched part of my vocabulary, but now I had the taste of it in my mouth, not just the word. It made my step a little saucier, lifted my chin a little higher, did wonders for my posture.

The world may tell us to strive to be strong, accomplished women who are at home in our skins and lives, yet for many of us the reality is a bit less robust. Television fashion programming teaches us how to find clothes to hide our flaws; studies show we still only claim one armrest. In dance class, I see some women find it difficult to extend their arms fully for Snake Arms, baffled by how to move their hips off center; ashamed of jiggles in their thighs. I see that bellydance can transform them into women who show their bellies (stretch marks and all), who not only extend their arms but toss in shoulder shimmies. It delights me to see women develop a new standard of beauty—one based on fitness and strength as opposed to slimness—and to find themselves a part of a tribe, a female community. This is the real gift Bellydance gives us, the incomparable taste of empowerment.
 
 
One of the things I have always loved about Rebec Vineyard's Annual Garlic Festival is the sense of community.  Each year brings a chance to meet new people, sure; but there are some folks you meet at the Festival year after year.  People have certain Garlic Fest traditions.  For my friends and I it has been closing out the days at the Stage in the Woods enjoying the entertainment of Robin Rich and the various friends and guest artists he has brought in over the years. 
I know folks who look forward to the Garlic King and Queen competitions all year and others who are true wine lovers and can taste the difference in vintage years at their favorite wineries.
This year Lynchburg Tribal became an authentic part of the Festival experience.  The dancers worked hard for weeks on end preparing new material and working the kinks out of other piece.  Some of our newest members worked overtime learning core repertoire pieces.  I was really impressed with work and dedication the ladies put in.  At the festival they danced beautifully and dealt with last minute set changes with race and humor.
For me it was a dual honor: an honor to contribute to an event I have loved for years and an honor to dance in the company of such talented, intelligent, and professional dancers.
 
 
Lynchburg Tribal is busy packing for the Garlic Festival--a Central Virginia tradition hosted by Rebec Winery.  Actually the history of belly dance at the Garlic Festival goes back many years and is tightly woven with my love of Irish drinking songs.  Years ago my friends and I made a habit of closing out each day of the Garlic Festival be heading to the Woods to listen to that bearded fella who sang the good, bawdy songs.  It wasn't entirely uncommon for Tina and I to get up a dance (many of you know Tina as the one for whose wedding the Wedding Dance was created).  After that bearded guy's wife started taking belly dance lessons, it was all over and herds of bedecked belly dancers began showing up at his stage and shimmying whenever he took a break.
After many years, Lynchburg Tribal is dancing, officially!  We hope you'll come visit us in the Woods at Noon and 3pm,
 
 
What an great time Lynchburg Tribal has at Lynchburg's first Get!Downtown street festival.  We were joined by the exceptional drummers of Nataraja, the Hill City's own all-women drum circle.  The energy of live drummers really is incomparable!
So there we were, all dressed up, watching people mill and meander up and down Main Street.  The Randolph College Radio station DJ's played the Wedding Dance for us and we started dancing, right in the middle of the street!  Crowds gathered.  When the recording stopped, Nataraja started a killer rhythm and we started an improv set.  It felt like we could have ridden that energy all night.  We finished to a startling  amount of applause.  After three different sets (and what was with the cars that kept trying to come through?  Thought the street was closed) we were exhausted, but energized at the same time.

The Blackwater Rollers roller derby team was zooming in and out of the crowd and the incredible Ember*Ellas were graceful beyond belief on their stilts, swirling their Isis-wings. As the sun went down, Nancy and Amy and Chris brought out their fire toys as did the Ellas (including a flaming hula hoop; WOW!!!) Some of LT whipped their veils to and fro to the drumming.  And it seemed like the whole town was there.

It was one of those evenings that just *feels* special.  And we were truly honored that Lynchburg Tribal got to be part of it.

Huzzah! to Lynch's Landing and keep up the good work!
 
 
Well, we're doing it again.  Our 3rd Annual Kaleidoscope Hafla is fast approaching.  I can't believe we're in the third year; it really seems like we just got started.  But nevertheless, here we are.

This year will see some changes to the Hafla.  Most notably, a bigger theater!!!  Even our first year we were too big for our venue, Renaissance Theatre on Commerce St.  We actually turned people away at the door because we were over the building's capacity.  Much of the audience had to watch the show on closed circuit TVs from the lobby!  Well, no more!  Our new home is the auditorium at RS Payne school.  We should fit quite comfortably there.  And we're looking forward to the comfort of dancing on a traditional stage.

The Hafla is catching the attention of dancers and troupes across the state and 2009 will see some new faces on our stage.  It just keeps growing, almost independent of the organizers.

Much of our art consists of dancing for dancers.  The audiences of many regional haflas are made up primarily of other dancers and our families.  The Kaleidoscope Hafla is different.  While naturally the audience is full of Bellydance supporters, it also draws from the general public, thanks to the stupendous publicity from being a part of the Kaleidoscope Festival, Lynchburg City's month-long arts festival.  It is quite an honor to be able to bring Bellydance to folks who might otherwise have never been exposed to it.  The Hafla is the perfect platform for combating some of the ridiculous misconceptions about bellydance.  And, let's be honest, the energy of a theater full of dancers who passionately love their art is indescribable.

We hope lots of you will join us on Sept.12th--either in the audience or on stage (and there's still room to dance, send us an email if you're interested). 
 
 

The movie "Talos" is being filmed in Roanoke and the crew is actively searching for women to play "harem girls."

Several years ago a troupe member and I auditioned for what we were told was a barbarian-martial arts movie in need of bellydancers for a very tasteful representation.  We didn't have access to the script prior to the audition, but were given a copy when we finished our set.  After the audition, I read the screenplay and was horrified.  The Harem scene featured topless women and the speaking  parts were women trying to lure soldiers in to service them since it had been so long since their master's last visit.

Needless to say, I did not return the call when it came.

Now, years later, I learn that filming is on and they're still looking for their harem girls.

So, beware dancers.  They are not *really* looking for bellydancers.

~Nancy

 
 

Lynchburg Tribal members Nancy, Karyn, and Jaime and special guest Shannen Hadeed performed at the first Amherst/Nelson Summer Solstice Wine Festival this past weekend.  In its first year, the event, hosted by Rebec Vineyards, was a success!  The venue was perfect; providing lots of shade and covered space while maintaining an open, spacious feel.  The vineyards represented were stellar and Robin Rich's music was the lively, humorous, and accomplished performance we know and adore.

Dancing there was a real treat!  The audience swelled as each set began and folks got up to dance with us--which is always exciting.  In such a relaxed atmosphere, we couldn't help but be inspired and throw ourselves into the dance.  It is always an honor to be able to share Bellydance with folks at events like this.

Many good photos were taken, visit the Gallery to see some of our favorites!

 
 

So, just what is Lynchburg Tribal?  Is it a belly dance troupe?  A club?  An event promotion committee?  Well, I suppose it's a little of all of that. 

How about some history?  When I began teaching belly dance at MindBody Studio, performance opportunities came up, namely at Studio open houses.  My more advanced students and I danced at the first one billed as The MindBody Dancers.  We thought that sounded a bit too Solid Gold to us and asked to be listed in the future simply as Lynchburg Tribal.  Around that time I started the Yahoo!Group  and so the name was (sort of) official.  Since we had a name, I filed some IRS paperwork and then we had some form too.  The upper level MindBody students and I continued to perform here and there.

Three years ago Nancy Hayes suggested we host a hafla (an event with many dancers-sometimes like a recital or show, sometimes simply a dance party) as part of Lynchburg's Kaleidoscope Festival.  So we invited other belly dancers from throughout Central Virginia, rented a theatre, and put up posters.  We were astounded by the 200+ audience members.  Event staff had to turn people away at the door because we were in danger of violating the buildings maximum capacity.  Folks watched part of the hafla from the lobby on closed caption TV and then swapped seats with audience members in the theatre at intermission.  After that, things got interesting...

Groups of dancers taking classes at MindBody danced at all sorts of events--the Garlic Festival, Green Spring Expo, Starlight Cafe shindigs.  Somewhere along the line the notion took hold that one had to be one of my students to be considered "Lynchburg Tribal."  And that had not been the original intention.  In fact, LT never really had a policy on who was or was not considered part of LT.

My vision for Lynchburg Tribal is a coalition of Belly Dancers and musicians and folks who are "into" bellydance and related "stuff."  To that end I polled some of the active participants about instituting a Membership fee.  Everyone thought it was a good plan for establishing our identity in a way that was not tied to enrollment in any specific teacher's classes (we have at least 3 great Belly Dance teachers here in Lynchburg) and could help generate some funds.

What does LT do with its money?  Excellent question!  First and foremost funds go to support the now annual Kaleidoscope Hafla.  Additionally, LT purchases belly dance related gear in bulk to sell to dancers locally; we can rent space for workshops and pay instructors; and we hope to be able to financially support dance events hosted by other dancers and/or groups.

Lynchburg Tribal is growing, and becoming more vibrant each month.  None of us really knew what we were doing all those years ago when we made up a name, and we certainly didn't envision the organization LT is becoming.  But isn't that the amazing thing about Belly dance?  It opens us up to new experiences and encourages growth in areas we never dreamed. 

So, to my sister dancers I say, let's see where we can go!  Let's dream big!  Let's support, encourage, and inspire one another!!!