Nejla Ates: The Turkish Delight
Article in Fanoos Magazine Dec. 2022
Follow this link to read my article and the rest of this
fantastic issue dedicated to Vintage & Golden Era belly dance.
Author: Davina
Davina ~ Dawn Devine is a belly dance costume designer, dance instructor and author of more than a dozen publications on Middle Eastern dance.
Davina: DIY Belly Dance Costume Queen Dawn Devine –
Episode 71 – “A Little Lighter” belly dance podcast with Alicia Free
It was a thrill and delight to work with belly dance podcaster Alicia Free. During an interview made during the summer of 2022, we discussed all sorts of topics from my business mission and the process of writing books to my favorite whole-food snack!
My interview is podcast #71. On the “A Little Lighter” podcast page, you can find the full catalog of past episodes. There are loads of wonderful interviews with talented dance performers, costume designers, and internationally famous instructors from across the US and beyond. What an honor to be included in a lineup with legendary belly dance personalities like Jillina of Belly Dance Superstars, Carolena Nericcio of FatChanceBellyDance, and Suhaila Salimpour just to name a few.
Catch the podcast on your favorite app. I recommend visiting Alicia’s website to get started. Be sure to check out Alisha Free’s Instagram feed too, to hear about future podcast episodes.
I hope you enjoy listening to my podcast and exploring more interviews with some of my heroes too!
Happy Dance and Costuming
Dawn Devine ~ Davina
Nov. 11, 2022
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Gaslight Steampunk Expo 2022
Snapshots from Gaslight Steampunk Expo 2022
The first weekend of October I had the supreme pleasure of attending this year’s Gaslight Steampunk Expo. I was invited to present four slide-history talks. This year, I focussed on the theme of the event, Halloween! So I presented talks on The Femme Fatale, Victorian/Edwardian Fancy Dress, The Winchester Mystery House, and a brief history of Halloween.
Assiut Head to Toe
Photographer Alisha Westerfeld and I chose to wear assiut head to toe on the Saturday of the Expo. My goal for 2022 is to wear this amazing assiut robe to every event I attend through the end of the year. So far, I’m making it happen.
For this event, I decided to skip a dance belt for ease of movement. My base layer is a long-sleeve tee shirt and leggings to make this robe comfortable for all-day wear. Alisha paired her decadent assiut tabard with a long slinky skirt. It was a serious blast to be so dramatic, sparkly, and still comfortable!
Gilded Age Assiut Vest
One of the projects for the upcoming book on costuming with assiut is this dapper assiut vest. My long-time friends Nancy and Jim joined me in this current book. Nancy and I collaborated on the embellishment of this ready-made vest similar to this one. We used a pieced hand-stitched applique technique and swapped out the buttons. Jim Hay styled his vest with pants, a coat, and an amazing top hat. In this outfit, Jim could keep up with Carnegie, Vanderbilt, or Rockefeller!
Clockwork Alchemy
My next steampunk-themed event will be Clockwork Alchemy, April 7-9 in San Mateo California. I look forward to bringing some super-nerdy history slide talks to this event.
Now I’m off to clean my studio to prepare for my next wave of costuming for the upcoming book.
Have a fantastic and creative day,
~ Dawn Devine ~ Davina
October 14, 2022
Categories
Dance Chat with Aubre Hill & Maria
Dance Chat with Aubre Hill: Episode 5 – Maria Sokolova
Los Angeles dance teacher, performer, and scholar Aubre Hill is now hosting a series of interviews on YouTube. Dance Chat with Aubre Hill: Episode #5 features the amazing Maria Sokolova who, quite literally, teaches right down the street from my home. She’s a mesmerizing dancer to watch and I recommend catching a performance with Maria any chance you get. Find out more about Maria on her website and be sure to follow her on Instagram for great belly dance content!
Dance Chat with Aubre Hill
When I heard that Aubre Hill was launching an interview series on YouTube, I immediately headed over to check them out. I have watched the first five issues and have enjoyed them all. I highly recommend giving this series a watch. As of the writing of this blog post, you can catch conversations with illustrious dancers including:
- Episode #1 Jamilla al Wahid
- Episode #2 Helena Vlahos
- Episode #3 Sahra Saeeda
- Episode #4 Anaheed
- Episode #5 Maria Sokolova
- Click Here for Aubre’s Dance Chat YouTube Playlist
LA Raqs Reboot
Aubre Hill has also taken a lead role in rebooting the LA Raqs website. This is a great resource for anyone who lives, works, performs, and studies dance in the greater Los Angeles and Southern California regions. From San Diego to Santa Barbara and beyond, you can find event and class listings, informative articles, links to performance videos, and more. Visit the site and be sure to sign up for their newsletter. http://www.laraqs.com/
Aubre Hill
I am a huge fan of Aubre Hill and recommend taking the opportunity to study with her if you can. You can find out more about her classes, events, and research on her website. I follow Aubre on her Facebook feed and on Instagram to enjoy following her adventures in dance. Her troupe, The Qabila Foundation is also a joy to watch so be sure to look for them on your favorite social media platform.
I hope that you enjoy these talks with Aubre. When you click through to YouTube to watch Maria and the rest of her Dance Chats, be sure to like and subscribe. Leaving a message below a video helps the YouTube algorithm. If you like and admire Aubre, take a moment to leave a comment or drop an emoji to give her a boost and help her channel grow.
Enjoy this great dance content!
Dawn Devine ~ Davina
September 23, 2022
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Mayyas Win “America’s Got Talent” 2022
Mayyas – Lebanese Belly Dance Ensemble Win America’s Got Talent 2022!
It was a thrilling moment to watch the Lebanese dance troupe Mayaas take the win on America’s Got Talent. While belly dancers have been a regular entry at the early stages of the competition. It is rare for belly dance performers to make it within striking distance of the win. This year, the Mayyas, under the artistic direction of Nadim Cherfan who founded the dance troupe to offer young Arab woman dancers an opportunity to perform professionally.
Cherfan has created a modern fusion rooted in traditional Arabic dances, fused with moves from around the globe. Their performances on AGT were precise and supple, a balance of smooth and staccato, with slick transitions, and astonishing synchronicity, and sequential timing.
Not only did they win a cash prize, but we can also look forward to seeing the Mayyas in the future performing in Las Vegas at the Luxor. If you didn’t see them during the run of the TV show, you can catch their performances on YouTube!
What a happy day!
Dawn Devine ~ Davina
Sept. 16, 2022.