Category: Belly Dance

Ideas, hints and tips on improving your dance from practice to performance.

Assiut – Vintage Photos

Post author By Davina
Post date September 21, 2011

Hello my friends in costuming and dance.

I just wanted to take a moment and share my latest find with you. As many of you know, I adore working with assiut and have been doing a ton of research on the history of this luscious cloth. As I have combed through dozens of books on the history of textiles in Egypt, I have found scant few references or citations to this mysterious fabric. As it turns out, in the last quarter of the 19th century and the first quarter of the 20th century, tulle bi telli, what we call assiut, was primarily sold to European and American travelers as tourist art. Hot on the trail of assiut, I’ve begun pouring over period novels, tour books, traveler diaries and journals. Hoping to find references to the way this cloth was made, bought, sold or worn.

On this quest, I’ve begun looking at other forms of tourist art as well, including the ubiquitous picture post card. While there were socially appropriate scenes of camels, pyramids, temples and tombs, there were also a great deal of naughty “French Post Card” style images available. I recently found these two images for sale on the web and snapped them up. Dating to the first quarter of the 20th century, these photos capture the pattern and drape of the classic assiut shawl. While I would prefer to have images of women entirely dressed, I’m happy to add these two lovely young ladies to my growing collection of assiut-clad beauties. Unfortunately the date and location of these photos along with the names of the models and photographers are unknown, lost in the mists of time.

And now, back to work on the trail of the history of assiut. I’ll be back with updates as I uncover more information! ~ Dawn Devine ~ Davina

Belly Dance Design Jewelry

The origins of a jewelry designer

Post author By Davina
Post date August 30, 2011

First Byzantium Collection Necklace - Cat's Eye by Davina

The Origins of a Jewelry Designer

The Byzantium Collection

As many of you have realized, 2011 marks a year of intensive change for me and my company. I moved into a new studio (just to find out that the building is slated for demolition and my time here is limited) and discovered all kinds of treasures. As I start purging the UFO’s (Un-Finished Objects) and sift through raw materials in preparation for using them or letting them go, I’m finding all sorts of lovely things that had gotten buried.

In one corner of the workroom is a pile of boxes full of beads and jewelry making supplies. I have already sent many of these supplies out into the world in the form of raw materials to fellow jewelry artists, finished pieces for my patrons, and even a few gifts to myself. As I’ve been working through a rather epic pile of tribal jewelry components, I found the very first piece of jewelry I designed and made myself.

I hired my good friend and jewelry mentor Laura Thompson of Beadzilla Jewelry to come and host a “ladies lunch & tea with jewelry” at my home. There were five of us around a table, crafting away, and I made this necklace from a handful of beads and a piece of kuchi jewelry I adored. Needless to say, I was instantly HOOKED on jewelry making and sucked up as much knowledge from Madame Beadzilla as I could. Before I knew it, I was making and selling jewelry as a creative side-line to my costumes. As time passed, I realized that jewelry making is fun, but it’s just one facet of my life as a designer. Now, I make jewelry when called upon to do so. I also make a few pieces and take them to art shows now and again. But the truth is, I’d rather be making a head-to-toe costume than just focusing on the neck. The Byzantium Collection is now created on a piece-by-piece custom for each client, sometimes even including a coordinating necklace. But I’ll always treasure this very first piece.

It’s fun to sometimes peek into the past and see the personal relics and marvel at how things got started. I’ve had a ton of fun as a jewelry artist. Be sure to try your hand at jewelry design at some point! Take a class, buy a book, or just get some materials to experiment with. It’s fun, relatively easy, and you never know where you it will end up. Enjoy! ~ Dawn Devine ~ Davina

Tags jewelry

Belly Dance Publications

Belly Dance Magazines, Newsletters & Blogs

Post author By Davina
Post date June 25, 2011

Belly Dance Magazines, Newsletters & Blogs – Belly Dance Information in the Information Age.

Do you subscribe to a belly dance magazine? I must admit, I do! I find it enjoyable to read articles written by dancers in far-flung areas with different perspectives, views and ideals. I learn things, live vicariously through travelogs that document exotic trips, and am frequently amused by the warmth and humor that pours forth from our community. There are dozens of magazines to choose from in print and eMag format, and at the end of this article, I’ve a not-quite exhaustive list of readily available print publications.

But in this era of the internet, there is much-much more information available. Today, social networking has taken the world by storm, and thousands of dancers are logging on to FaceBook, starting Yahoo Groups or are blogging away about their unique experiences. There are monthly newsletters, quarterly magazines, daily email missives available on a myriad of topics. There is truly a mind-boggling array of resources to choose from.

Digital Magazines
Print magazines have not yet been replaced, but rather, have been enhanced by the development of the digital magazine. Unlike a print magazine, they take up no space on the shelf, allow you to access large archives, and because they are limited only by the size of their site, they can publish as many articles and authors as the choose. The web’s oldest and largest digital belly dance magazines is The Gilded Serpent – with 1000’s of articles in their ever growing archives it would take an age to read them all www.gildedserpent.com. Other digital magazines include, The Hip Circle www.thehipcircle.com and iShimmy www.ishimmy.com. Several print publications are beginning to offer digital version of their print magazines at reduced costs and are a greener alternative. One magazine, Fuse, a tribal/fusion themed mag now offers a digital version www.fusetribalmag.com. I recently switched, and I love that I can easily store the issues on my computer saving both money and space.

Social Media & Internet Groups
There are numerous message-board based communities that have belly dance groups. A quick web search will turn up thousands of belly dance themed groups on sights such as Yahoo.com, FaceBook, Linked In, Tribe.com and LiveJournal.com to a name few. If there is a major social community group – there probably is a belly dance presence. Two of the most influential communities exclusively devoted to belly-dance are Bhuz bhuz.com and Belly Dance Forum www.bellydanceforums.net.

Clubs with Newsletters
All over the world dancers come together to form like-minded community groups that produce informal newsletters or professional publications. Many major belly dance magazines have emerged from humble roots. In order to access these newsletters, you often have to join a club or simply subscribe. Two that I personally have participated in are MECDA – www.mecda.org and San Diego based SAMEDA – www.sdsameda.com You should look around for a club near you.

Blogs, Blogs, Blogs
If you’re reading this right now, you’re probably reading my own blog, Costumer’s Notes – www.davina.us Simply use your favorite internet search tool to type in the words that best identify your belly dance style and the word blog, and you will find there are hundreds, if not thousands of blogs everywhere. Two that I’m following include. Belly Dance Diva – bellydancingdiva.com and Dilara’s Hip Mix – www.hipmix.net.

Newsletter Marketing
Practically every pro dancer now has a newsletter. Part of the brave new world of internet marketing, these newsletters vary in quality from well crafted and informational with articles and useful links, to banal listings of classes and events. I must admit, I’ve signed up for dozens of newsletters in an effort to learn more. I particularly enjoy Mahin’s BellyDance Quickies, www.shes-got-hips.com/Quickies.html and her monthly newsletter which always has cute YouTube links. Another great newsletter is the .pdf formatted Hawaii Belly Dancer Monthly Magazine www.hawaiibellydancermagazine.com

Of course, (insert shameless plug) you might be signed up to receive my own, costume-centric belly dance newsletter & digital magazine, Costumer’s Notes. I think it’s got excellent content, but I must say – I’m a big biased! (Psst – The sign-up is on the top right!)

With so many informational options, no one person can read them all. So explore and choose the ones that are best for you.

Good luck and enjoy your hunt,
Dawn Devine ~ Davina

Print Magazines Worldwide

Belly Dance Costumes to Color – Coming in August

Post author By Davina
Post date June 20, 2011

Belly Dance Costumes to Color by Dawn Devine ~ Davina - Coming in August 2011

Belly Dance Costumes to Color
new eBook coming in August

I’m so happy to announce that I’m nearing the end of the drawing phase of the coloring book I’ve been working on for the past few months. I’ve spent a lot of time at the drawing table, and have created a lot of good drawings, a lot of bad drawings, and a few that are simply lovely.

Over the past few weeks, I have been showing off the working sketches in progress. I’ve had several dancers ask questions and offer me advice about which ones to include, which to delete, and where to make changes. “What’s wrong with her nose?” “Are her hands supposed to look like that?” and “I’d wear that!” are all things I’ve heard recently. But by far the most common question is “How much will this cost?” and “Where can I buy that?”

Belly Dance Costumes to Color is going to be released as an eBook and will be available in August. For subscribers to the Costumer’s Notes Newsletter – good news – this coloring book is going to be FREE as a thank you for subscribing to my newsletter. For those who want a no-strings-attached version, it will be available as a $5 downloadable .pdf. Not everyone wants to read my newsletter and I totally understand, so I’m going to offer these two options.

Drawing pictures of belly dancers has just been a ton of fun! I’m hoping that my readers and fans will enjoy having this opportunity to get creative with these pages. I recommend colored pencil or fine-tipped marker, but if you want to use a more traditional crayon, by all means, enjoy!

Me – I’m heading back to the drawing board to see what else pops out. I think I’m in a folkloric mood today!

I’ll post a few more samples next week. Until then, Happy Costuming! ~ Dawn Devine ~ Davina

Belly Dance Costuming DIY

Jean-Jinglers

Post author By Davina
Post date June 17, 2011

Jean-Jinglers ~ Fun and Versatile Costume Accessory

I adore this little crafty jewelry making project. It’s fairly easy to craft and can fit many budgets. You can use recycled materials if you have excess jewelry pieces in your collection. Versions of the jean jingler can be made in upscale rhinestones to earthy versions like this one, made from heavy tribal components.

What make this project special is the large swivel clasps on each end of the chain. These clasps allow you to hang these things from nearly anything. I like to wear them suspended from my jeans, hence the name Jean Jinglers. But I’ve worn longer versions around my neck, shorter ones as anklets, and multiples can be linked together to make custom coin belts. I’ve even constructed fusion costumes edged with chain so multiple unique jinglers can be suspended, arranged and rearranged for a myriad of looks. To make these all you need is a pair of jewelry pliers to twist open the chain loops to apply your jewelry and coins. Let your materials and supplies guide your creativity. Although this sample is symmetrical, this technique is great for charm-bracelet style accessories too.