You Asked For It Here's More...

Keeping it simple... It is so hard to sum anyone up in a few words, so bear that in mind.  There is a lot to THIS woman! I love games of all kinds - video, computer, board (not "mind" however) - I guess I am a kid at heart in many ways.  I sew tribal belly dance costumes ( I am the Official Costumer of Gypsy Caravan, Portland, OR), historical costumes in the SCA, and just as a hobby (to see my latest work, from New Years 2000/2001, see www.costumer.org/newyears2000.html).  I love good food and good wine, but a great microbrew is a solid substitute.  The usual stuff applies, too: reading, movies, etc; but most of all, I love to connect with other people, sharing passions, interests, and ideas.  Being with friends anywhere doing anything and being able to talk and just hang out is my favorite activity.  I call it "taking my fun with me".   If I had to choose one thing in the entire world to do, I would chose that.  I guess some people would call that "easy to please"...I like keeping it simple.

This is the Chinese symbol, or Kanji, for strength - pronounced "lee". It also means power, energy, force, or ability.  I had often thought that it would make a great tattoo, and vowed almost four years ago that one day I would get it done.  Well, I finally reached a point in my life where I felt I earned the meaning behind this symbol, and had it done March 7, 1999.  I chose to have it done in a deep royal blue - my favorite color.

"Li"

Details, details... MARRIED and loving it!  My sweet Christopher asked for my hand on Christmas Eve '99, in front of my entire family.   We were married on June 24, 2000 in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Bellagio Hotel and resort in front of God and 50 of our closest family and friends.   I am the luckiest woman in the world, without a doubt.  I will write more about him and our wedding when I have more time to gush, and wedding pictures scanned. For now, take a look at some pictures our friends Dan and Gina took for us, placed in my photo album. I live in our new house north of downtown Seattle, in the cute little neighborhood of Haller Lake.  Married life is fantastic, and homeownership is sure...um...a wake up call to repsonsibility!!  We have nearly killed the yard in the 5 months we have been in the house, thanks to the wedding and LIFE getting in the way of routine maintenance.  Poor yard...   We have LOTS of projects planned.  Electrical, new master bedroom, overhaul the basement/rec-room.  Ambitious, aren't we? My great passion (aside from costuming, DUH!), is Middle Eastern Dance (aka belly dance)!  Again, things change so fast!  If you had told me years ago that my love would one day be belly dancing, I would have laughed in your face!  "That's what girls do as an excuse to show off their half-naked bodies," I would have scoffed.  Okay, so maybe it is a little bit of an ego boost in that arena for many, but it is so much more!  The culture! The costume!  The MUSIC!  It is such great exercise, and very empowering mentally and physically.  I encourage anyone who is even a little bit curious to give it a try! You might be as pleasantly surprised as I was. Hey, I can admit when I am wrong..

At present I am teaching Tribal Belly Dance, as well as co-director of  Goddess Squad (Elizabeth Dennis is teaching the months of February and March), and host regular monthly workshops with Gypsy Caravan.  I have also taken workshops or studied with, Paulette Rees-Denis and The Gypsy Caravan Studio,  Aleili,  Hasani, Dalia Carella, Delilah, Cassandra, Amel Tafsout, Carolena Nericcio of FatChanceBellyDance, John Compton and Rebaba of Habu 'Rhu, Melissa Ruby, Elizabeth Dennis, Habib, and Elisa Gamal.  There are lots of talented instructors in Seattle, but few to none focus on Tribal Style Belly Dance, Neo-Tribal/Fusion, which are my biggest areas of interest.  These styles are arguably more ethnic based styles of belly dance (short of folkloric of course)--the origins of which is a dance traditionally danced among and for other women in the harem.

Tribal and related styles have a  more earthy focus, both in costume and execution, the former of which is demonstrated in the predominantly ATS costume in the picture to the left. If you want to know more about American Tribal, check out: Gypsy Caravan: Portland based Tribal troupe led by Paulette Rees-Denis.  I simply love them.  They make me want to move south so I can study with them! I drove three hours each way to Portland for a time last year while I studied with Paulette to become a certified  instructor in their style, and now I so enjoy sharing this dance with otthers! Lately Paulette and Dulcinea have been teaching workshops up here in Seattle once a month, and I absolutely devour the opportunity! FatChanceBellyDance: Correctly or incorrectly, Fat Chance is often referred to as the founders of ATS as we know it today. Based in San Francisco, one of the hearts of ATS, and belly dance in general.  Lead by Carolena Nericcio. I have had costume and dance related articles published in Gilded Serpent Magazine (an online publication), and in Gypsy Caravan's Caravan Trails (subscriptions information on their website).

To learn more about the Middle Eastern dance  community in Seattle, check out The Seattle Source for Middle Eastern Dance. Workshops, instructors, and performances are all listed. Meet other dancers in Seattle and nearby communities at The Seattle Med-Dance Forum - a message board dedicated to local dancers!

Above: Dressing up for fun on hafla night at Oasis Dance Camp West 2000. My friend Ziva was kind enough to pose me and take this great photo for me to have! Right and Far Right:  A comparison of some Medieval Middle Eastern garb I made alongside a rendering of similar garments.  As you can see, I opted to make mine with a  longer hem, but with shorter dropped sleeves (I still manage to dip and spill with this length sleeve!)

Becoming familiar with Middle Eastern culture and history, and finding a love of the dance, has opended up even more areas of interest for my costuming.  Currently, in addition to costuming for my business and for Gypsy Caravan, I am working hard on a new wardrobe for the SCA, as well as challenging myself to research and create historically accurate Middle Eastern clothing patterns for both dancers and re-enactors.  Much of M.E. clothing history is patchy.  The research is difficult and many findings are sketchy and debatable, but that makes it all the more intriguing! To see my inventory of Middle Eastern Dance costumes, visit Mahirimah's Tribal Costumes page at Kamikaze Costumes at www.kamikazecostumes.com To learn a little more about what I have learned about Middle Eastern Dance, visit Mahirimah's Middle Eastern Dance and Costume Pages. Also, visit my Dance Links page to begin your own research! To learn more about my love of costuming in general, visit my Costumer Page!!

Want to get in touch with me?  Like my page?  Have questions? Email me! [clotho_2@yahoo.com]

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