Tales from the Caravan...
Show: ASU Festival of Languages, April 22, 2005
Click here for (gallery)
Well, Travelers, since our last meeting, the Caravan
has taken the women of Alchemy to the four winds, even
away from each other. When will we dance as sisters
again? Suffice it to say, we are all looking forward
to the Hafla.
Friday, we performed for the Festival of Languages at
ASU. This was to be an outdoor event, but the weather
had other plans. After a very hectic, very short time
to prepare for the show after mundane work, we
frantically searched for the new venue. Finally, we
found a friendly security guard who was able to give
us directions. Many thanks to the Sultan for playing
chauffeur for the night. Again! :)
We found the room with mere minutes to spare before
hitting the stage. Sadly, this performance was to
feature only Mari and myself as Ame was committed to
the vanilla world for the night. Mari and I walked
around the room before performing with our brand new
baskets on our heads. I think it was a big hit! I got
alot of "Ooooo"s and "Ahhhh"s. It was a lot better
than carrying a silly old purse around to hold our
zills, flyers, business cards, CDs, and whatnot, and
it left our hands free!
After the hula dancers left the stage, and the
audience breathless!, Mari and I entered, baskets on
heads, tambourines in hand, and a zaghareet on our
lips. That will make just about anyone sit up and take
notice! :D Straight into the very exciting and
crowd-pleasing tambourine number, which I think the
audience really appreciated.
After that, we took a few minutes to put on our zills
while Mari explained who and what Alchemy is, what we
do, and how to show us encouragement. You could tell
the audience really paid attention during Gabe's Cat,
the next number, because we heard zaghareets, hand
clapping, and "Opa!"s from the left and the right! The
crowd was fantastic and made us feel like this was the
best show ever.
"Gabe's Cat" finished up, so we put down our zills,
Mari stepped to the front and we worked the crowd up
into a clapping froth before starting into
"Blessings", tribal improv style. It's always nice to
let the crowd know you are going to do a number
completely off the cuff, then realize as you're doing
it that they can't tell the difference from the
choreography. We finished to a rousing round of
applause and left the stage very happy.
Afterwards, we had many people wishing to speak with
us about the dance, classes, shows, and everything
else that goes along with Bellydance. We always take
the time to speak with anyone who honors us by being
interested in the artform we love, but this night was
special. We had to take time out for one particular
person seeking a moment to speak with us: a reporter
from the local paper.
Yes, folks, Alchemy had its first interview. No need
to say much here when you'll soon see it in the paper,
except that we were excited and grateful for the
opportunity to speak with Steven Uhles of the Augusta
Chronicle. I was very impressed with the thoughtful,
intelligent questions he asked. I was glad that he
allowed us to really tell our story and say what was
important to us. Most of all, I'm happy he asked about
the Hafla! lol Steven gave us a great chance to get
the word out about Bellydance in general and in the
CSRA, about Alchemy, and about our first major event.
Thank you, Steven!
Mari, the Sultan, and I finished up the night with a
phone call to Ame to tell her all about it so she
wouldn't feel like she missed out completely, then to
Applebee's to finally eat after all that running
around and dancing.
All in all, it was a great, exciting, whirlwind of a
night. The dancing was great, the audience was fun and
a true pleasure to perform for, and the interview went
well. The only blot on the night was how sad we were
that Ame wasn't able to be there with us. Alchemy is a
troupe, a tribe in the truest sense. When one member
is missing, you feel it as a physical sensation. You
are so used to having your sisters there, so when one
is gone, you feel off-balance.
I can't wait to dance with Mari and Ame at our very
own Hafla. Thank you ASU for a great night! Come on
out and see us April 30th, ya hear?
~Jeannie
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Alchemy: Transforming the ordinary into the sublime
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