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

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

“Danse Arabe” A Postcard from Egypt

In the latest issue of Fanoos Magazine, I shared some details about one of the postcards in my research collection.  This Postcard dates to 1900-1906 and was produced in Cairo by Lichetenstern and Harari. When it arrived at my home, I took a moment to contemplate and consider its origins.  This image appears in dozens of different postcards, but also as albumen prints and in travel, anthropological, and history publications.

Fanoos Magazine Article

For the September 2022 issue of Fanoos Magazine, I wrote an article about my research into the origins of this particular postcard and image.  In this piece, I share the answers I found when I asked this series of key research questions:

• Who took this photo?
• Where was this photo taken?
• When was this photo taken?
• How valuable is it as a tool for visually dating dance costumes of Egypt?

If you are curious and want to know more, click through and read this article to learn more.  It’s short but jam-packed with information about the photographer, this image, and details about the Cairo postcard industry c. 1900-1915.

Thanks for your continued support of my ongoing historical research!
Happy Dance & Costuming,
Dawn Devine ~ Davina
Sept 15, 2022

Assiut Tally Spotted:
Okhtein – Designer Bags and Accessories

The Egyptian-based luxury handbag company Okhtein included some beautiful assiut tally work in their 2019 collection.  Their high-end structural bags are exquisite works of functional, wearable art.

Forbes Middle East choose Okhtein for their “30 under 30” to watch list in 2019. The company is owned by a pair of sisters, Aya and Mounaz Abdul Raouf who co-design the product line.

These assiut tally bags were part of the 2019 collection. I find these particular bags stylish and inspirational. You can find their current work on their company website and on Instagram.

Be Inspired!
Dawn Devine ~ Davina
Aug. 19, 2022

PS – Be sure to watch the reel below to watch the making of one of these hand-crafted beauties.

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A post shared by OKHTEIN (@okhtein)