 Updates from lauren
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Lauren
6:57 pm on January 26, 2012 |
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We are down to 4 weeks until we shove off for New Orleans. 4 weeks left to enjoy life in LaLaLand. 4 weeks left to set the stage and hit the road.
Am I excited, nervous, pumped, anxious, overwhelmed?? You better believe it. This has been one of the longest breaks I’ve taken since I began touring with BDSS, and honestly, the adjustment from life on the road to life at home isn’t so easy for me. I take to the bellybus like a fish to water, I take to being “Home” like …. a frog to blender.
But it hasn’t been all bad. In fact, being “home” for this long has overall been a great growing experience, and I’ve managed to stay busy. Between teaching workshops, indulging in yoga , developing friendships and decorating my new apartment I have also been pounding the pavement performing around Los Angeles at Weddings, Birthdays, Nightclubs, Haflas, Restaurants, Concerts, Music Videos, Baptisms and of course: Hookah Bars.
Working as a solo bellydancer got me through college but since moving to LA (gulp – 6 years ago), 99% of all my gigs and performances have been with troupes & companies. Being a soloist takes a different set of skills than being a troupe member and over the last few months I’ve had to ‘re-invent myself all over again’ to win the admiration of an audience All. By. My. Self.
Make it Rain: All. By. My. Self.
How the HECK am I supposed to perform without 4 friends that are dressed just like me doing the same movements as me that someone else told us to do?????
I’ve had to tap into a part of my creativity that has been relatively dormant for the last 6 years and pull from it – my inner Diva. The process initially wasn’t pretty, but lately I have been enjoying the rush of performing as if it were my very first show.
I am so excited for this next Club Bellydance tour as it will be the first time for me to perform a solo on the road. I have been plucked from the chorus and placed in the center of an open stage with complete creative freedom and a 3 minute 50 second window to show audiences across America who I really am.
“And you are???” asks Stevo *Tour Manager Supremo*
.Richard.Simmons.
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Our spring/summer hiatus has been anything but. The BDSS cast and team have been hard at work creating a most magnificent tour for the fall. Something completely different, completely fresh, completely new. You may have seen BDSS before, but I can guarantee you haven’t seen what we have in store for the fall.
Last week the cast flew in from all over the country for an intense creative session. We have some amazing new cast members that are bringing with them a life time of unique experiences, a creative spirit and a new perspective on performance art. We spent the week dancing outside the bellydance box, beyond our comfort zones pushing the boundaries and limitations of our minds and bodies, exploring new realms of dance, fusion and the beauty of the East.
I wish, dear fans, that I could spill the beans and give you all the details of the new show as I am so excited I can hardly contain myself. But I will not spoil the surprise. You will just have to wait and see for yourself this fall. I cant wait to see YOU on the road!!!
By the way we are playing in my home town DALLAS TEXAS at the Palladium Ballroom, did somebody say Party? I think Brisket and Shiner Bock would be apropos.
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Issam and Lauren are hangin out at the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, talkin about drumming, and sharing some photos from the tour. Enjoy!
 
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Lauren
7:38 pm on February 17, 2010 |
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My bum is significantly sore after 6 days under Sabah’s instruction. Experiencing bellydance from the perspective of a professional ballerina is both unique and, I believe, essential.
Despite spinach being a very healthy & delicious food, a diet based on spinach alone, will leave a lot of gaps in the wide range of nutrition we need to be healthy. I might wake up every morning and do 100 pushups, but if that is all I do all day, I will never achieve my optimal level of fitness. The same comparison can be made with dance. If all we do is bellydance, our bodies will never get all the training, strength and coordination they need to be the best bellydancers we can be.
Enter Sabah. This woman is both a fantastic bellydancer and an amazing ballerina. This statement may seem impossible. Bellydance is usually thought of as being more loose and grounded, while ballet is usually thought of as stiff, with a higher center of gravity. How can one person benefit from training in each style? There are many differences between these dance forms, but these differences, and their similarities, make ballet a perfect method of cross training for bellydancers.
Each day of Sabah’s intensive we began with a floor-barre session: basically core strengthening exercises, reminded me of pilates. The moves were all very simple, not too exhausting, but focused on lengthening and strengthening the legs, and developing the core muscles; both essential for dance of any style.
We then moved on to the barre portion of class, tendus and plies and battement, OH MY! Sabah delivered all her instruction thoughtfully, teaching us how to strengthen areas of the body often overlooked in your typical bellydance class, but still areas that certainly add to bellydance technique and performance.
We finished the morning session with some dance in the center of the room and across the floor focusing on turns. As I discovered, turns are just as much about finding your center, utilizing the muscles of the torso, chest, back and arms as they are about spotting avoiding dizzy spells. All techniques that are essential for dance of any style.
After lunch, it was time to bellydance. We reviewed technique, looking at it from our new found perspective. Initiating movements from our newly found and developed center, layering different types of shimmies, attacking and ridding our selves of any bad habits we may have picked up along our bellydance careers. I believe I gained a lot from this all too short week of training.
Sabah’s bellydance style is strong and precise. Her movements are bold when they need to be and soft when they need to be. Her arms are fine tuned and perfectly frame her movements. She is an amazing talent and a generous teacher. A precious & unique gem in the bellydance community.
and I am not just saying this because she is my roommate on tour ;P
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Lauren
7:08 pm on December 20, 2009 |
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Tags: how to, makeup, tips
 Thank you Khadija! Since the release of “Babelesque: Live in Tokyo” my inbox has been overflowing with messages regarding my bright blue makeup. People wanna know “What is it?”, “How did you do that?” and always “Why would you do that!??!?”. Well as she who shall not be named once said: “if you are scared of makeup or teasing your hair, you should be a librarian, not a bellydancer!” (I will have you know i WAS a librarian…in college….the music library) <-more on that later, after you’ve bought me dinner perhaps
well in an effort to calm the masses in one, carefully written dear diary moment, here it is: my very first Picto-Tutorial-howto-Blog-on-my-Baby-Blues!
Hopefully this will quench your undying curiosity & perhaps give you some new ideas for your own look. At the very least I hope my picture :: text ratio is low enough to keep things interesting.
Step one PRIME TIME
Any eyeshadow primer will do, I am using Urban Decay’s Eyeshadow Primer Potion. I like it because it is thicker than other primers. Your primer should give you an even surface to work on and should also help to keep your eye art from floating around your face, what i like to call the Dali effect.
 Don't become a victim! Use eye primer Just a dab’ill do and smear it in with your finger, all over the lid, up to the brow and even under the eye… why not!!
 step 1: PrimeTime Step 2: Basically Base
This is the secret to my bright blue eyes, and you can do this with any color scheme you fancy. I am using aquacolor wet makeup by kryolan. This is a water activated color that you can use anywhere. Once it dries it sets. the color wont be going anywhere, but we will be adding a lot of layers so you dont have to be perfect…yet. Be sure to give your eyes about 5 minutes to dry before opening them and moving on. This is the time i like to sing along with my ipod, “Spread for me” by andre 3000 is always a good one!
 Kryolan Aquacolor wet makeup Step 3: Mix and Mash
This is starting to get exciting! In this step we are going to begin creating the highlight on the brow bone. I am mixing Ben Nye’s Lumier Luxe Powder with his Fireworks Diamond Ice to create a light luminescent turquoise blue. To mix I use my artist;s spatula. The metal spatula is perfect, it doesnt absorb any makeup and it is flat, making it easy to clean when i am done mixing. Just grab some cream, and add a pinch of the powder and mix em on a pallet, or the back of your hand.
Smear with your middle finger under your brow all the way to the crease, blending it a bit with the kryolan. I use my middle finger because i learned in my charm school that it is the weakest finger and therefore will cause the least amount of damage to the skin.
 Ben Nye Mix Step 4: Cream it up!
Time for another layer of Blue. Get out Ben Nye’s Cream Color in Turquoise and go over the area you used Kryolan on before. This is going to add another layer of boldness AND give our glitter a comfortable place to lay. This time around be a little more carefull about creating the proper shape for your eye. We all have different eyeshapes, for some people i know they follow the line of their eyebrow, others follow the shape of their lid. I say experiment and get an honest friend to help ya.
 a second layer of the medium tone Step 5: Get in there!
Using Smashbox’s Matte Shadow: Concept and a small brush I press in some of this darker blue into my crease, adding depth and mystery to the look. In the Babelesque DVD i went for a light look so I didn’t go as heavy at this step. Lately though I have been feeling dark, so I use a heavier hand at this point. Go for it, embrace the drama, become your character! Remember to blend, but not too much… mwa haha
 Adding Depth and Drama Step 6: Spark it up
Everyone knows glitter is a dancer’s best friend. The shinny sparkle reflect a lot of color and light throught the bright stage lights so your audience can see your beautiful face. I have a couple of glitter steps on my face, this is the first. I am starting with Ben Nye’s Sparklers in Royal Blue using a small tight brush I press the glitter all over my lid, up to the crease, go for it. why not?
 Addidng glitter to your color will project your look through the strong stage lights to your audience Step 7: The Thin Black line:
Time to line the eyes. I use a liquid liner for my top lid. I like to give it a good, healthy, thick line, and might need to touch up after applying lashes.I like to give my self a nice winged cat eye.
for my Bottom lid i use a black cream eyeliner with my angled brush. For my eyes, i like to create an open shape. I feel like this makes my eyes appear bigger than they actually are. On the inside corner, i dip down a bit, then follow my lid to the half way point. I then gently separate myself from my lash line and hang out a bit lower, before finally lifting at the end. Its important to make sure the outside of your lines point up. This will give the illusion that you are always smiling and happy (even when you have just flown in from out of the country, and have had the runs for 3 days straight). If your lines point down, you may look sadder or older than you actually are…. imagine the horror.
 line up (More …)
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Lauren
11:12 am on November 28, 2009 |
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Tags: aida nour, cairo (2), farida fahmy, hallah, Lauren (3), mohamed kazafy, randa kamal, Sabah (2)
I have been home for about 5 days from my big adventure in Cairo, my stomach is full of 2 turkey dinners and my brain is filling up with new holiday memories… I better blog about Cairo, before those memories get pushed out for good.
It is true what they say, visiting Cairo will change your life forever- as a dancer and as a person.
For example, I am using some of my Cairo driving techniques as I tackle LA’s fantastic freeways. I can split lanes, flash my hibeams and honk the opening fanfare from Morton Gould’s “Fourth of July” all at the same time! It’s the ONLY way to drive.
Here is a video posted on youtube.com from another fan of Cairo traffic techniques
As bellydancers visiting Cairo, Sabah and I found inspiration everywhere: from costume ideas to choreography ideas, we kept a journal of all of our ideas we dreamed up while in Egypt. AMAZING.
Our first lessons were with Hallah. She gave us a great technique class focusing (for me at least) on engaging the soaz muscle, adding depth and mouth watering juiciness to my current vocabulary. Hallah also helped us with our brainstorming sessions, this lady has so many great ideas running through her head!
Our Next lesson was with Randa Kamal. Sabah and I took a private class with her, hoping that some of her powerful technique would rub off on us. She taught us a choreography to the Om Kalsoum Classic, Daret al Ayam. Sabah and I had both danced to this song many times, we new it well, but Randa’s interpretation was completely opposite to our normal improvisation, it was quite a challenge! Imagine trying to do the exact opposite of what you have done for 5 years to the same song and there you go! We loved it though, always up for a challenge and a different perspective. Randa was a great teacher. She payed a lot of attention to us, making sure we got her technique. By the end of the hour, both Sabah and I were covered in sweat!
Lucky for us, our trip coincided with the Nile Festival, a great opportunity to take some workshops with some of Cairo’s bellydance legends and rising stars! The first workshop on our schedule was a Sagat workshop with Yousef. Since I play Zills in the show and teach a super fun License to Zill workshop. I am always looking for more practice and new ideas. This workshop was variations on the basic pattern (known as gallop or triplet) we practiced playing this rhythm to different songs, different tempos and different rhythms.
 after the Sagat Workshop Next on the schedule was Farida Fahmy: Oriental Technique. I am always excited about a good technique class. Its so easy to forget technique, or to start blending movements too much, loosing their integrity. Farida’s workshop was great! We worked on arms and weight shifting as well as some great hipwork and combos. I really enjoyed Farida’s teaching style, despite there being nearly 150 students in the class, I felt like she spent a lot of time watching and giving individual feedback.
 Significantly Sweaty after Farida's workshop After our Amazing workshop with Farida, Sabah and I headed out to khan el-khalili to make some costume supply purchases and catch the Tannoura Sufi Dance Show in the beautiful courtyard of the recently restored Wikala el-Ghouri, an old caravanserai. This is a biweekly show and is free to the public. I can honestly say this was one of the best shows I have ever seen! There was live music (featuring a TON of percussion) and dance. My inner drummer was going crazy the entire show! Theses percussionists were so powerful, their technique was so fast!
 Tannoura balancing frame drums The Tannoura dancers were equally talented and amazing. Doing Petite Jamilla’s piece in our show is always my favorite. I get to spin in the same kind of skirt that these men wear, which is such a cool experience. But these guys don’t JUST spin, they also balance drums, toss their skirts in the air and catch them, balance their skirts on sticks above their heads while spinning and spin with their skirts rotating in a vertical circle above their heads. This show was so exciting, I was on the edge of my seat the entire time!
 Sabah in Khan el-Khalili "Beautiful Movie Star" Walking though Khan as a couple of young blonds is….well…. not a walk in the park. Depending on how you look at it, it can be a great boost to your self-esteem or make you feel like you’ve wandered into a hungry pack of wolves. Merchants were shouting phrases such as “Beautiful Movie Star”, “You Remind me of high school” & “I must have died and gone to heaven”, hoping to lure us into their shop. We were on a mission though, and our sights were pointed straight towards Mr Mahmoud Gawfar, an amazing three story bellydance emporium. On our list was: Fringe, Skirts, Coins & Scarves.
 Admiring Sabah with Coins My new hobby is costume making, so I bought about 3 chiffon circle skirts, 3 different kinds of beaded fringe, some coin trim, a coin necklace and 2 veils. I already have designs ready to go for the corresponding bras/belts. I cant wait to start on em 
Two more workshops to go at the Nile festival: Mohamed Kazafy and Aida Nour. Mohamed taught us a great pop choreography. His style is very graceful, elegant and HIGH ENERGY. There is nothing lazy about this guy’s dance. With in an hour I was feeling like ‘Shirley’. Huffin and Puffin, covered in sweat, but it was SO much fun!!
Aida also taught a choreography. It was beautiful & graceful. The only down side to her workshop was it was so overcrowded. There was a lot of traveling in the choreography and we students were constantly whacking each other. Despite that, it was awesome to be taking a workshop in Cairo, from a legendary Egyptian dancer. I was as excited to be there as i felt in my very first bellydance class- smiling ear to ear, dancing my heart out. After we had gotten through about 80% of the choreography, Aida decided it was time to invite 2 students up to the stage to lead the class. The first was a gorgeous brunette Russian dancer, the second was yours truly. YIKES!
You would think performing night after night would prepare me for being put on the spot in front of almost 200 other dancers, but I got so nervous, my hands were shaking. Aida invited me up to the stage and shook my hand, asked where I was from and introduced me to Mohamed Kazafy (assisting her at the workshop) and we performed the choreography, next to Mohamed, with Aida right there watching us. YIKES! I was terrified (mainly because the stage was a slippery wood floor and i was scared of heights) but what an honor. This was the last workshop I did in Cairo, and I certainly left wanting more.
 after Aida's fantastic workshop
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 Chocolat and chocolat Blanc!!!! Greetings from Cairo!!! WELCOME!!! Ahlan wa Sahlan!!
I guess you can say that Sabah and I don’t get very homesick on tour, because at the end of this tour, we decided that we hadn’t had enough. Despite the odds, and fears of wild ferrets, we finally cashed in some frequent flyer miles and headed east to Cairo for some inspiration and relaxation! The journey here was rough, but knowing that I would be traveling with my good friend and experienced veteran of Cairo-life, Sabah (she lived here for a year did you know that?) I knew I was in the right company. Unfortunately, Sabah’s ticket from Morocco to Egypt was cancelled, had to be rescheduled and ended up making her 2 days LATE! We will save that drama for another time when I’ve had another drink. (wink wink, nudge nudge)
Lets get to the good stuff!
 Sabah & Lauren Enjoy the View off the side of the Pyramid! Cairo! Land of Inspiration, Opportunity and Belly dance Belly dance Belly dance!
Nothing but Sand and Sequins
The land of Milk and Honey, at least everyone here calls us Milk and Honey!
Since I have never been to Cairo, of course first on the list for me was to get a close look at the only remaining wonder of the Ancient World, the Great Pyramids of Giza! Lucky for us our amazing hostess and couture costumer, Hallah Mustafah, has a great view of the massive monuments from her balcony! only the best! Hallah sent us to her favorite stables and we mounted some of the best stallions in all of Egypt: Chocolat & Chocolat Blanc! They took us galloping around the pyramids for an exclusive super photo shoot. 3 days prior I was on the back of a horse in the English countryside visiting the one and only Samantha. This recent experience renewed my confidence as a Texan and awakened my inner cowgirl.
 Sabah's horse picks the perfect time to pick a fight with my horse Our guide Mohammed, knows how to line up the perfect shot, and had no problem with taking the reins (so to speak) and becoming the director of our photo shoot. His command was simple: Stand up. “you mean dismount?” I ask. “No Stand on the Horse”
Now I am not usually one to take risks like this, as a professional dancer I can’t be putting myself in harms way willy nilly, but call it Magic, or Mystic, but the energy surrounding these ancient wonders compelled me to go ahead and stand on the horse.
So I did. And despite Sabah’s horse thinking it would be the perfect opportunity to bite my horse on the FACE, I managed to get 3 memorable photos of me standing strong on the back of my stallion, without biting the dust. Time for a location change and time for Sabah to give it a try…..
 Sabah Learns to ride a horse! TADA!!!!! Proof that we are talented and beautiful both on and off the stage!
Riding around the Pyramids was an exhilarating experience. To be surrounded by such powerful monuments, riding free on the back of my faithful steed, with my good friend and trusted guides, this was a perfect day, nothing could go wrong!
Thank God sand is soft! While trotting over to see the Sphinx, maybe it was a bug biting my horse or a group of over enthusiastic wild banshees scaring my horse or perhaps my horse saw a wild ferret, but Chocolat decided that it was time to sit in the sand (like a camel) and roll over, throwing me into the sand. Sabah describes the event as “one second Lauren was there on the horse, and the next- hoofs are in the air!”
“That has never happened before……. ” exclaims Mohammed, who still insists these are VERY CALM HORSES.
 Everything is OK at the Corral After getting a look at the old Sphinx and snapping a few more photos, it is definitely time to head home for a dance class with Hallah. She is as amazing at creating costumes as she is a dance coach, this woman has amazing and endless ideas Don’t go away, more crazy Cairo adventures are coming soon! — as soon as I can get off this computer and experience them—
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Lauren
7:51 pm on September 30, 2009 |
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Last weekend we had a couple of SoCal BDSS shows. We performed the Art of Bellydance show but with a new Party Drum. Very exciting as this is an opportunity for the troupe members to have a feature in the show.
Issam composed a great new work, full of dynamic variety and beautiful melodies. We began with an entrance choreographed by Kami, which is rhythmic and hip
Nathalie takes it away with her amazing hipwork and shimmies to a saidi rhythm. This girl has got an amazing shimmy, effortless and natural! Nathalie passes the baton to me as we share a few counts of Debke. I take over outlining some entertaining Rhythmic Modulations ala Issam Houshan. I have so much fun dancing, this section is great!!
At the end of my MasMoudi…or shall I say MasBootie I call out Moria for some tribal interlude. She is of course mesmerizing, hypnotizing and all around amazing with some great floorwork.
The drummers show their musical IQ by playing some CRAZY rhythms 9/8, 10/16, 7/4 who could ask for more??
Finishing things off is Cecelia, sharing her beautiful Argentinean energy & fiery talent.
Keep your eyes and ears peeled for this new addition to the BDSS show ☺
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Lauren
8:20 pm on September 11, 2009 |
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Tags: costume, dance, dog, Lauren (3)
I think I am almost recovered from my Taiwanese jet lag, been living this week like a vampire, up all night….asleep all day….well not asleep, busy doing different things…. but would much rather be asleep!!
we have a couple of weeks off before we hit the road again and I am trying to maximize my home time. 1st priority: dance classes. Pretty easy to accomplish living in LA, have been frequenting Millenium dance complex for some jazz and ballet training, dropping in at the dance garden for some bellytime and hitting the gym to maintain my physique. Second on the list is making/finishing a new costume. I am pretty excited about this one, it’ll be red and black, inspired by the flames often painted on HotRods  should be ready for tour in a couple of weeks
Always on my mind is a bit of volunteer work. Since my main job is touring, when i am not on tour, I have a lot of free time and I choose to donate some of it to Ace of Hearts dog rescue http://www.aceofheartsdogs.com They specialize in American Bull Dogs and other large breeds, but take on any dog in need.
A few days a week, I go and walk dogs at one of their facilities. I am a big dog lover, but unfortunately can’t have one (one of the sacrifices of being a touring dancer i guess) but giving time to this rescue gives me my doggie fix for the day and some warm and fuzzies for helping out.Before volunteering with Ace, I had never walked large dogs. I was a little nervous, walking these breeds that could squash me, pull me out into the street, ect…. but most of these dogs are gentle giants, much easier to walk than the terriers i grew up with LOL. I just keep repeating advice from the dog whisperer and I am a pro!ok maybe not pro…. haha
Thats what I’ve been up to these days, throw in a recent discovery of and obsession with pandora internet radio and my week is complete!
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