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General Publications

Studio Davina Updates – July 2018

Mid Year Business Review

Hello Gang!

It’s that time again, the mid-year business review.  In June/July and again in December, I make the time in my schedule to sit down and evaluate my business. I gather up all of my business documentation. This includes my journal, planner, sewing log book, and sales figures.  Basically, all the data related to my business.  Once I’ve assembled it all into a big, and quite daunting, pile, I go over it all.  I ask myself key questions.  How has the business done?  What projects have been accomplished? What goals need to be re-evaluated?  What’s working?  What isn’t?

This spring my personal life took a front seat.  May and June and set me back in my business goals.  I’m in that season of my life, where my elderly in-laws require hands-on help.  Needless to say, I had to put my business on hold for two months.  This has lead to some major changes in my plans and future goals.
Check out my Last Business Review: End of Year Review 2017 Part 1 & Part 2

Newsletter Reboot

I just want to thank everyone who is part of my mailing list!   We’ve rebooted our newsletter starting this month, and moving forward through 2018, we’re going to be sending out more newsletters.  I like to share links to blog posts, news articles, classes, and websites that are useful for belly dancers and costumers.  If you would like to check out the last newsletter, check it out here.  If you would like to get more delivered bimonthly to your email box subscribe in the box at the top of the bar.

I really enjoy getting curated content in my mailbox and look forward to dancers who send out interesting and informative information in their newsletters.  So the Costumer’s Notes Newsletter has been moved up on my priority list.

Workshops and Teaching

Over the spring, I’ve had the opportunity to teach a few in-person and digital workshops. I really enjoy the opportunity I get to spend with students sharing my passion for costume design, history, and construction.  I’ve really enjoyed being hosted in-person by local Bay Area instructors like Adriana or in my own home studio.  Moving forward I’m looking forward to teaching more online via one-time digital workshops and through online courses.

On Saturday, July 14, Mahin, the owner of One World Dance and Music Studio in Phoenix has developed a digital workshop series.  She hosts top leaders in the belly dance world in intensive workshops.  I was thrilled to talk about my favorite topic – belly dance costume history.

There are many ways to approach the subject of belly dance costume history.  For this workshop, I focussed in on the development of the bedlah set. The matched bra and belt set is the “uniform” of the professional belly dancer.

In this workshop, I focussed on how changes in technology and paradigm shifts in communication have impacted the evolution of the bedlah, or uniform of the belly dancer.  From the most famous early dancer “Little Egypt” and her appearances in books and newspapers, through the modern era of the internet and instant global access to visual information.

Take a free class: 5 Layers of Belly Dance Appearance on the Belly Dance Business Academy website.

Belly Dance Performances & Events

Over the past six months, I’ve had to cut back on attending and performing at events.  Moving forward in 2018, I’m hoping to either perform or attend a belly dance event each month through the end of the year.  I love belly dance, and I’m making it a priority to engage with my local community.  I’m fortunate to live in the greater San Francisco Bay Area where the opportunities to watch and perform are plentiful!

Asheq Collective Presents Ozgen – July 15, 2018

I recently was delighted to head north to San Francisco to catch a fantastic belly dance show featuring touring celebrity dancer Ozgen of Turkey via London.  The Asheq Collective, a troupe of award-winning professional dancers hosted Ozgen in a series of workshops.  This event showcased some of the most talented local professional performers and dance instructors.

Info on Asheq Collective
Info on Ozgen

The Marrakesh is a classic Moroccan style restaurant in the heart of San Francisco. They have belly dance performances every day of the week.  The food is tasty if a bit expensive, but they were happy to accommodate the unique dietary needs of all the ladies at our table. They were busy and hopping, but the took care of us and even split the check at the end of the night.

When the belly dance community turns out to enjoy a touring celebrity, the audience is almost as sparkly as the dancers.  I spotted two of my own designs in the wild on Zemira wearing an assiut cocoon coat and Shalimar in an assiut swing dress.

Because I’m obsessed with assiut, it was thrilling to see Malia perform in an assiut skirt.  If you would like to see a clip from that performance, I’ve posted it on both Instagram and Facebook.

Writing

We are hard at work completing the manuscript for our upcoming book, Pose: A Dancer’s Guide to Making the Most of their Photos.  After several author meetings this spring, we’ve made some great progress on this upcoming publication.

I’ve created a page here on my website where I can share updates, images, and information about the development of our next book.  Two of our chapters got a little “big” so we’re doing a modest re-organization of the content at the moment to create better flow as you move through the book.

In addition to working on Pose, I’m working on illustrations for an upcoming coloring/history book about the history of bedlah. So far, I don’t have a fixed title, but I do have the subject planned!  I have to admit,  It’s nice to be back at work sketching and drawing, but it’s going to take a few weeks for me to get nice and loosened up.   As soon as I know more about this project, I’ll be sure to let you all know!

Moving Forward

So over the next few months, I’m going to be a busy bee!   I look forward to sewing more, writing more, and sharing these projects with you in future blog posts. Now it’s time for a coffee break and an afternoon of sewing!

I hope you are enjoying your summer!
Dawn Devine ~ Davina
July 18, 2018

 

 

 

 

Categories
Assiut/Assuit Belly Dance Costuming DIY General

Mixing Faux and Modern Assiut

Swirl is my informal performance group composed of my proteges and myself.  For our spring performance at HaflAdira in Willow Glen, CA, we put together a set of coordinating costumes using a combination of existing costume pieces, faux assiut, and modern assiut.  Here’s how these costumes came together.

Pulling From the Closet

Before we started costuming, we decided to do individual costume inventories.  Zemira had this gorgeous black “Bessie” skirt from the Fat Chance Bellydance studio. in her collection and this was the perfect opportunity to integrate into our trio.  Vakasha owned a Melodia “Mythica” skirt in the black and silver colorway.  I have a Melodia skirt in the same fabric but in the “Cleopatra” cut.  Since these three skirts coordinated beautifully, we decided to use these as our starting out point saving us time and money!

To make a complete a head to toe costume, we decided to unify the look by using matching body stockings.  Zemira and I already had these in our wardrobe and Vakasha picked up hers from Dahlal International.

Faux Assiut from Melodia Designs

It became clear that we were going to have to craft a trio of bras to out of the glorious Melodia faux assiut fabric.  As a team, we invested in an Infinity Scarf to be our sacrificial garment.  I took this tube and cut it apart.  There was enough fabric to create all three bras with a significant amount of cloth left over.

Zemira also bought an Infinity scarf to wear as a hip treatment over her solid black skirt. Since her scarf didn’t have fringe, I elected to use a similarly shaped piece of modern assiut to echo the shape.  Vakasha used a pair of V-shaped assiut triangles for her hip treatment, and when viewed together, they worked in visual harmony.

Custom Bras to Coordinate

To craft our faux assiut bras, we began with underwire and padded bras either from our wardrobes or new from the store.  I really feel that it’s important to get the bra that really works not only for your size and shape, but also to give you the coverage and support that you are happy with.  No two commercially made bras are the same, and the only way to find one that works for you is to go shopping and try on a lot of bras.

Once the bras were in my workbench, I pieced the faux assiut fabric onto the cups, to create three different styles.  Each bra is laid out symmetrically, from different parts of the assiut pattern.  Before I sew, I pin both cups into place to ensure that they match as closely as possible.  Then I hand sew the fabric into place.

Embellishing with Saroyan Coins

Once the faux assiut was appliqued onto the bra bases, we decided to pull some silver coins from our collections.  Vakasha had some leftover Saroyan silver “Nefertiti” coins left over from a previous project. I had some “Venus” coins and together we pooled our resources and used what we had to embellish all three bras. These coins are currently discontinued, but there’s a small quantity left on the Saroyan website.  If they spark your interest, be sure to head over there soon before they are completely gone.

These costumes are comfortable, stylish, and were actually quite affordable.  I was so happy that we shopped our wardrobes and worked together as a team to create these ensembles that we can wear together or alone.  I feel like I have a new capsule wardrobe that I can use as a base to create a variety of different looks.  I’m excited to experiment with different options in the future.

Do you like these costumes?  Check them out in action below.  And remember, if you go to YouTube, be sure to like it if you like it!

Now, I’ve gotta get back to the studio to make another costume!
Dawn Devine ~ Davina
Monday, June 11, 2018

Watch Our Performance

Categories
Belly Dance Costuming DIY General Publications

120 Years of Belly Dance Costume

Mahin and One World Dance & Music Studio Present

120 Years of Belly Dance Costume Design

Digital workshop with Dawn Devine ~ Davina

SATURDAY, JULY 14th  2:00 PM PST

Early Registration for Online or In-Studio Viewing: $15   After July 1st: $20
Reserve your ticket today!

120 Years of Belly Dance Costume Design is one of my favorite workshops to present. For the first time, I’m presenting this workshop to a worldwide audience! If you are interested in belly dance costume history, join me.  Grab a beverage and a snack and attend this workshop from the comfort of your own home.  I hope to see you there!

Workshop Description: 

This workshop will trace the evolution of belly dance costume over the past 120 years.  We’ll use the Chicago’s Columbian Exhibition of 1893 as our starting point.  That year, the US term Belly Dance was coined and a flood of performers arrived from the Middle East and North Africa to perform in the midways shows.

From this starting point, we will move forward in time. Discussing changes beyond the dance arts impacting the evolution of belly dance costume.  From technological advances in textiles, changes in entertainment venues, advertising methods, along paradigm shifts in the greater entertainment industry, we will trace this evolution in images and video.

This 90-minute workshop includes a digital handout. 
Sign up before July 1 for the best price.

Event Q & A:

As questions come via email, I’m sharing the questions and answers below.

Q:  I’m going to miss the lecture, can I watch a replay?

A:  Yes – but only if you buy your ticket before the lecture.  A replay will be available for all ticket holders for a month after the presentation for you to watch or rewatch.

Q:  How is this class being held?

A: This class is being shared via Zoom on the day of the event.  When you buy your ticket, you will receive an email with details on how to join the talk on the day of the event.
Hot Tip:  Download and install the Zoom conference software before the event.  It’s available for desktops, laptops, tablets, and phones.  Visit their website and follow the directions for your device.  

Q: How do I view the event replay?

A: Once the talk is over, Mahin will place the location in a private place and send you a link to view the presentation.  The link will be available for view for 30 days after the event.

Q: How do I buy a ticket?

A: This workshop is sponsored by my hostess Mahin of One World Dance and Music in Phoenix, AZ – You can follow this link and buy a ticket on the studio website.

If you have additional questions about this workshop,
feel free to email me and put “RE: Workshop Question” in the subject line!

This workshop is jam-packed with information for the belly dance costume enthusiast.  This is my passion and my life’s work and I’m so excited to be sharing it with you!

I look forward to seeing you at the talk!
Dawn Devine ~ Davina
Friday, June 8

Categories
General

Want a Sample of “Becoming a Belly Dancer?”

Last week the Belly Dance Business Academy celebrated its 2nd-year anniversary.  A big heartfelt congratulations go out to Terri Allred and her team who keep the Academy website up, running, and full of inspirational and information courses.

My co-author Sara Shrapnell and I both offer digital courses on the Academy website. We decided to meet up and chat about the birthday party, and how nice it would b to put together a nice thank-you gift for academy students.

After a coffee-fueled brainstorm, Sara came up with a great idea of offering a portion of our book, Becoming a Belly Dancer: From Student to Stage.  The full book is available on Amazon.com or you can get a personalized signed copy from my Etsy Store .

Sara came up with the concept of using a few pages of Chapter 7 of the Becoming book and create a mini-book or .pdf booklet entitled “The Little Book of Belly Dance Etiquette.”  I thought this was an amazing idea and I worked with her to pull out 17 pages from Becoming a Belly Dancer and create a free-standing booklet.  17 pages!!

The Little Book of Belly Dance Etiquette

Sara generously added this booklet to the free class offerings of the Belly Dance Business Academy, so if you are interested in our book, but want to check out this sample, you can visit the Academy website and enroll as a student.  ((NOTE: Enrolling as a student is free, and there are dozens of other valuable free courses on the site.))

My Current Academy Classes

When you have enrolled in the Belly Dance Business Academy, you will find a wealth of free workshops and affordable classes. Please be sure to check out some of my current class offerings.  Here are two free classes now available:

If you are interested in communicating about belly dance costumes more effectively, I recommend my “Five Layers of Belly Dance Appearance.”  This is a system for breaking down belly dance costuming into component parts.  This approach works from the inside out.  It moves through five layers from your skin to your finishing touches.  It’s a great way to objectively discuss costuming with your designer, students, friends, dealers, and troupe-mates.

For dancers who are active on social media, make event flyers, or just want to add a watermark to their website photos, I recommend my class and demo, “Flyer Design with Canva.”  In this demo, you can follow along as I design a basic belly dance flyer using this wonderful free drag-and-drop web-based design tool, Canva.  Of course, you can also simply check out Canva directly here.  It’s a great tool and I highly recommend it.

Thank you for your Support

And I want to thank all of you for your continuing support of my publications and classes.  It’s a great feeling to offer free workshops and book samples on the Academy website. I look forward to adding more free workshops and affordable classes on the subjects of costuming and business

I hope you enjoy our book sample!
Dawn Devine ~ Davina
Monday, May 21, 2018

 

Categories
General

5 Things I love from Daiso Japan

I love a good deal, and one place I go for belly dance essentials is Daiso Japan.  These cute little budget stores are filled with all the kinds of household goods you would expect at a dollar store. Almost all of the items on their shelves are from Japan and so it transcends the typical discount store vibe and feels more like a cultural import store.  Items start at $1.50 unless otherwise marked. It can be a little overwhelming at first, so let me tell you what I regularly buy!

Microfiber Towels

One of the ways to improve the efficiency of your makeup cleanup routine is to swap out traditional wash clothes for microfiber towels. There is some magic in the quality of the fiber that really picks up the makeup.  My trick is to use oil, my preference is for grapeseed oil, warm water, and a microfiber towel.  It saves time and money.  It’s also better for the environment than using disposable makeup wipes and cotton, and because it’s so efficient at cleaning your skin, you’ll use less water too!   I take these towels and cut them in half and finish the edges, so this pack of two is transformed into four.

 

Zip-top Laundry Bags

I have a fairly good-sized collection of costume pieces made from modern assiut.  I machine launder my robes and shawls on a gentle cycle, warm water, and protected in a zip-top lingerie or delicates bag.  My all-time favorite products is this mesh bag from Daiso.  At only $1.50 each, I buy one for each of my assiut pieces and I use it for storing the assiut between performances, and it’s easy to find when it’s time to do the laundry.

Packing Cubes

When I’m packing for performance, I like to keep my case organized using packing cubes.  This is the perfect size for me to keep an assiut robe and two shawls.  I purchased this one to replace a broken bag.  Although the brown and white polka dots is not my favorite pattern ever, for a mere $1.50, I don’t mind.

Small Bags for Zills and Jewelry

Although I didn’t buy this one today, Daiso sells some very well made and sturdy drawstring bags for keeping small items like zills and jewelry contained and protected in your gig bag.  Small bags are the kind of thing that I think to myself, “Oh, I could make that.”  But for a mere $1.50, and with lovely heavyweight fabrics and colors, I really couldn’t make it for that price.

False Eyelashes

Daiso Japan has one of the most remarkable, and affordable selections of false eyelashes.  This is a great place to experiment with different sizes and shapes on a budget.  At $1.50 for a package of three, you can get a pair for about .50 a pair!  I have quite a large back-stock of lashes at the moment so while I was tempted on this shopping trip, I decided to take a pass.  This time!

Shopping Discount Stores

Next time you are shopping at your local discount store, keep an eye out for great deals on the kinds of support items that make it cheaper and easier to live the belly dancer life!

Happy Shopping,
Dawn Devine ~ Davina
May 16, 2018

PS: True Confession, I also love to shop their stationery department for cute stickers, flags, pens and more.