Tribal Fire presented Spirit in Motion Show!!!!!

Our big belly-dance show held at Wooster High School was this past Saturday evening. It went great! I didn't get very many pictures because I had to run around a lot and boss people around. :) Here are my photos of the evening.

Here's my baby Anna and her friend Hillary. Anna is on the left. Both girls belong to Bahiya Almaz Troupe.

Britney of Bahiya Almaz and her mom.

Kelli Belly - troup eleader of Bahiya Almaz and professional belly dancer. She is Anna's belly-dance teacher.

Here is Shanrae, my teacher and troupe leader of Tribal Fire.

Shanrae again.


Gypsy Soul. I have a severe non-lesbian lady crush on these women. They totally rock!

We raised over a thousand dollars for Akron Children's Hospital. It was a group effort, and a LOT of work to pull off a big show like this, but it was all worth it. Things I would do differently next year: start sooner, practice harder, invite more dancers but have them do fewer acts each, feed the audience as well as the dancers and backstage crew, charge more per ticket, charge the same same at the door as ahead of time, charge twice as much for reserved seating, rent a venue closer to home (that's a selfish change), advertise more, call more newspapers, have a website set up well in advance, designate someone in the troupe as the final word on all decisions. (Group decision making can take for friggin' EVER!)

Things I would not change: Brodan's fundraising and marketing skills - That girl could squeeze blood from a turnip. Habibi Elise's mom's cooking - the food was fantastic, and there was so much of it! thank-you! Ellway's BF's talent at running the sound for the show: Adam, you are incredible. My hubby's lighting talent - all the cues went off without a hitch. Shannon's organizational skills and artistic talent in choreography, teaching, and drawing: she's a fabulous troupe leader, a great teacher, and a very talented artist. The programs were just lovely.

A little aside about my husband: Dan was roped into running lights for the belly-dance show. He was gracious enough to give in quietly when I asked him to please, please, please run lights. Once he got through the technical rehearsal on the afternoon of the show, he settled in at the light board for the actual curtain time. The show ran like clockwork: no light cues were mssed, it was just great.

After the show I asked him how he thought I did ( I had done my first solo dance that evening). He said, "I don't know I wasn't watching." What? Not watching?? He said he had started to watch the show, but when Shanrae made her speech about the history and traditions of belly dance, all he heard was the part about belly dance being created "by women, for women," so he felt like he wasn't supposed to watch. He read a book during the show and didn't even look at it unless he had lighting cues somewhere.

Silly man. He has his own unique take on life. That's why I love him so.

Shanrae goes all R to the B!

I put my belly-dance instructor's face all over the souvenier Rachel Brice playing card that I got when the Belly Dance Super Stars were in Cleveland. Below is the real RB card. I think both are gorgeous.