Monday, October 19, 2009

Dance Musings - Tribal Vibe, 16-18 October, Aylesbury

On Saturday I attended Tribal Vibe - my first time at a bellydance event that was devoted to ATS/ITS.

My day was kick-started with “Shimmy Queen” - a workshop with the wonderful Paulette Rees-Denis of Gypsy Caravan. I’d been to one of her workshops before in Edinburgh and she was as excellent a teacher as I remembered. We took a whistle stop tour through basic shimmies and then on to combos. It was an energetic workshop and my shimmies definitely felt the benefit.

After lunch, it was time for some “Dynamic Duos” with Philippa and Jesse of Moirai Tribal. The workshop focused on a core group of moves and using them in passes, turns and lead changes with a partner. It was great fun and taught me how to add an extra dimension to dancing in duets.

My final workshop was “Spins and Formations” with Sarah from Tribe of Kismet. We started off discussing elements that help when performing fast turns before trying to encompass them into a basic spin. Once we were well and truly dizzy, we moved on to formations and how to maintain them while changing lead. Finally, we combined practising formations and throwing in some fast spins for good measure. I did feel more confident spinning by the end of the class – I still can’t get the hang of spotting though!

I was unable to stay for the whole evening show but I did manage to see the first half. It was amazing to see all the different styles of ATS/ITS in the one place. I wasn’t convinced by the performances with large chorus lines, but I think in a larger space they would have worked better. I was, however, very impressed with Kalash who danced with such amazing energy I swear I could feel it emanating into the audience. Moirai Tribal, and their student troupe Apsara, were as fantastic as ever, although I am terribly biased!

Overall, I had an amazing day and learned so much from truly excellent teachers. I do hope Barefoot Bellydance decide to go ahead with next year’s event, as I will certainly be there!

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Friday, October 16, 2009

Ten days in...

... and it's all good. I started my training as a clinical scientist two weeks ago and I am really enjoying being back at the bench. For the first time since I finished my PhD, I feel like I am going in the right direction. I know it's early days yet but I really do hope I feel the same in a years time. Admittedly, I do have a lot of work to do getting my professional qualification and I may have to do an MSc (which I'm not thrilled about), but I am convinced that after the thesis trauma anything is manageable.

Off to Tribal Vibe tomorrow for a whole day of ATS workshops followed by a show in the evening. Got to get up early to get to Aylesbury for 10am. Thankfully, I have all day Sunday to lounge around and recover!

(the photo is a beautiful Peruvian butterfly. Too fast to catch open but just as beautiful closed!)

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Sunday, October 04, 2009

We made it!

G and I make it to Machu Picchu after four days of trekking - 26th September 2009.

Currently sorting out all our photos and then I can share more about our amazing holiday!

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