Categories
Costuming DIY

Bobbin Holder

Bobbin Holder

Bobbin Holder – Cool Tool

One of my favorite organizational tools in my sewing arsenal is my bobbin holder.  This rubber donut-shaped bobbin holder is about 5” across and holds a lot of bobbins.  I’ve got two, color coordinated – one with lighter colors, the other with deeper jewel tones.  This holder is easy to use, the bobbins slip in and out easily but stay in place.  I love that I can easily organize by hue and tone and it’s easy to see exactly how many bobbins I have and what colors are prepared and ready to go.

There are several different companies making this style of organizational product.  Mine is stamped BobbinSaver, and it truly saves me time by helping me stay completely organized.   If you do a lot of sewing, and switch colors frequently, this might be a great product for you.

Bobbin Holder

Bobbin Saver on Amazon.com

Categories
Assiut/Assuit Belly Dance General

Video Inspirations – Assiut At Tribal Fest 2012 – Part 2

Assiut At Tribal Fest 2012 – Part 2

Tribal Fest is one of my favorite events to go to, hang out at and watch lots of fantastic dancing.  This year, there were many wonderful assiut-clad performers.  Here are three more of my favorites from this year’s events.  Check out part 1 for more.

Rachel Brice and Datura

After relocating to Portland and opening her studio Datura, which has become the new epicenter of modern tribal fusion, Rachel Brice has built a troupe featuring an amazing group of talented dancers.  You can spot one of my favorite tribal performers, another Bay Area to Portland transplant, Ashley Lopez amongst these amazing women.  The costuming is lush, silver on black assiut.  The dance – spellbinding.

Sasha

This performance features the supple Sasha, who spent his days of Tribal Fest 2012 wandering around draped in as many as 7 vintage assiut shawls.   A self-proclaimed assiut addict, here he is performing with at least four draped around his body which he tucks and wraps the scarves to preserve them whole while still enjoying the shimmer and swing of wearing them in performance.

Qabila Folkdance Company

The Qabila Folkdance Company brought to the Tribal Fest a more traditional folkloric performance wearing lovely assiut gowns. These ladies performed an upbeat Saidid and Gahwazee Suite with style and gusto. Visit their FaceBook page to connect with this talented group of women.

 

Categories
Belly Dance Costuming DIY Design General

Serina – Belly Dance Paper Doll to Color

Serina – Belly Dance Paper Doll to Color

I spend a lot of time doodling and drawing. Fantasizing on paper what I can make in cloth. To simplify the drawing process, I have a collection of croquis that I use as a proportional guides for my sketching. In the design world, a Croquis, (which is French for “sketch” ) are used as a simple tool to keep designers from having to map out female forms over and over. As a costume designer, I build a croquis for each of my regular clients, and then use that to sketch out our costuming plans together.

Serina - Belly Dance Paper Doll to Color

Serina started out as a croquis, but I found her so charming, that I turned her into a more complete drawing. When I was done, I realized that it would be fun to treat her like a paper doll with a variety of costumes. So here is Serena, my first belly dance paper doll to color.  I’ve included 8.5″ by 11″ printables below if you want to print her out and have some fun coloring in her costume – or even designing a new one!

Categories
Assiut/Assuit Belly Dance Costuming DIY

Belly Dance Dresses

Dresses for Belly Dance

Easy to put on – perfect for quick changes – dresses are an excellent item to have in a belly dancer’s wardrobe. From high glamour to traditional, fanciful to folkloric, a dress can bring high style to the stage. Some designs can even be used in multiple ways from presenting a specific culture, region, or even as a coverup between acts or to wear while announcing at events.  Consider adding a dress to your belly dance wardrobe!

Dresses for Belly Dance
Dresses for Belly Dance by davinadevine on polyvore.com

Categories
General

I’m Losing It: A Simple Arm Workout using a Resistance Band

I’m Losing It:
A Simple Arm Workout using a Resistance Band

Strong, supple, and elegant arms are one of the prime goals of every genre of belly dancer. As an observer of dance, I’ve noticed that one of the key ways you can spot the difference between the pros and the talented amateurs is how long a performer can keep her arms aloft and graceful. In my dance practice, I’ve always tried to have the best arms possible, and with that goal in mind, I work them out regularly.

Since my main activity for “losing it” is walking, (which doesn’t challenge the old arms) when I get home from my power strolls, I tag on a quick 15 – 20 minute arm work-out using a resistance band.  It helps keeps my muscles strong so my arm-work can look it’s very best.

My two-part arm routine is composed of 7-10 minutes of arm focussed dance. I just put on the music and move through a variety of typical belly dance arm and hand movements including, snake arms, classic arms, torso frames, arm, hand and finger ripples, and florios.

In the second half, I use my resistance band to perform lifts, curls, rows and raises that challenge my biceps, triceps and deltoids.  Thanks to the free on-line fitness and lifestyle community over at SparkPeople, there is a huge collection of example exercises for you to follow.  www.sparkpeople.com   To see the routine I use, follow the links below.

Simple Resistance Band Arm Workout:

  • Biceps Curls with Band – Example
  • Triceps Lift with Band – Example
  • Triceps Rows with Band – Example
  • Single Arm Front Raises with Band – Example
  • Single Arm Lateral Raises with Band – Example

Then I stretch after my work out:

Wanna see a sample of my arm work?