Hello Gang,
Just wanted to touch base with all of my friends, family, fans, and followers and say:
Happy Holidays!!!
Over the past two months, I’ve been putting in long hours working on a tremendous new book project, “Becoming a Belly Dancer: From Student to Stage.” Sara Shrapnell, author of “Teaching Belly Dance,”photographer Alisha Westerfeld, international professional belly dancer Poppy Maya and myself, have teamed up to create a text book for the art of belly dance.This isn’t a book about how to dance, but rather, it’s a book about how to manage all of the processes that go into crafting a good performance.
Over the past two months, I’ve been putting in long hours working on a tremendous new book project, “Becoming a Belly Dancer: From Student to Stage.” Sara Shrapnell, author of “Teaching Belly Dance,” photographer Alisha Westerfeld, international professional belly dancer Poppy Maya and myself, have teamed up to create a text book for the art of belly dance. This isn’t a book about how to dance, but rather, it’s a book about how to manage all of the processes that go into crafting a good performance.
This was a big week for our team. After nearly a year of work, we reached an important milestone. Our very first proof arrived!
Although we are a few months away from being finished, we decided that it was time to get the manuscript printed to ensure that we are moving forward on a good trajectory. At this stage of the game, we are looking to identify which photographs need improving, either by adjusting the brightness and contrast, or by going back to the original color shot and adjusting the tonal qualities of the various colors. Sometimes, something that looks very spectacular in color, like a pink and blue costume for instance, can turn muddy when converted to black and white. Especially if the blue and the pink tones convert to the exact same shade of gray!
As we massage the text, work the photos, and play with the layout, the book is finally taking shape. I’ll follow up with more details of what info is included in this book in future posts. But in the meantime, I’m just so very happy to be able to share this spectacular moment!
Happy Holidays Indeed!!
Yours in Dance and Costuming,
Dawn Devine ~ Davina
Dec. 9, 2015
Hello Gang,
Cut remaining twill tape in half and attach to tops of cups.
This weekend I went to an event, a hafla hosted by Adira, of Adira Dance and Costume in Willow Glen, CA. Once a month throughout the summer, Adira transformer her parking lot into a performance space, and invites dancers from all across Northern California to come and dance. This Saturday, it was my turn, and I took the stage as one half of a duet called “Swirl,” the name I use for all of my group dancing experiences. Zemira, aka Alisha Westerfeld, my co-author and photographer on Cloth of Egypt.
Before Istanbul was Constantinople, it was called Byzantium, and I took this name for this collection of easy-to-wear costumes. The style is tribal fusion, a multicultural blend of textiles, coins, and jewelry components from along the caravan routes of the spice routes and along the silk road of Asia and North Africa. Ribbons from India, jewelry from Morocco, Coins from Iran, all came together to form these costumes. My personal mission was to make garments that would hold up to the rigorous life of dancing outdoors at festivals, historic events, on the beaches and around the campfires. They were sturdy, made from materials that could be hand washed and laid out to dry, ready for the next performance.
I adored dancing at Renaissance festivals and other living history presentations. At a festival, you might have to wear your costume for 4, 6 or even 8 hours in a row, longer than you would wear a spangled glam costume for a restaurant. They need to be flexible, and have give. And, they need to be made from period inspired materials.
