yep, i agree. bellydancing is a good workout. i most like going for the wonderful people i've met there though Bellydance is super awsomely cool!! :D

4th of July Parade ~ Our Beautiful Mira ~ When we danced at the Burien 4th of July Parade, Mira wore the Wings of Isis and was a shimmering vision of golden light. She was cloaked in a gorgeous gown made of a simple golden material that had reflective golden dots on it, yet when she made each turn as she walked majestically down the middle of Ambaum Boulevard she looked as regal as Cleopatra herself dripping in liquid gold. ~ Her head was draped in a beaded golden headdress and her eyes had long exotic lines drawn along the lids. As she slowly batted her lashes, you felt she was channeling a goddess from years gone past. Her wings were translucent shear gold and as she lifted her arms they wrapped around her almost as if they were a swirling cocoon. ~ Ah, she was a vision of loveliness. She continued lifting and dropping her wings, swirling and stepping forward, moving along with the parade procession. You could hear the young children gasp as they saw her coming for they thought they had seen an angel, and they had.

So a few other things I noticed... One - Hasani is a petite little gal with hair almost as long as she is tall! She is lovely! Two - Bring your credit card but make sure you have a HIGH LIMIT as this is where the ELVIS COSTUMES ARE as my husband calls them; there really is something for everyone in the vendor area... Three - In the dance arena you will see all kinds of belly dance... From the traditional to those who want to meld the new into the old... There were these two young gals - I think they were the Cheetah Girls or something like that. They had on pink and beige hips scarves and fedora hats with a sort of cheetah type vibe and they combined belly dancing and more hip/hop modern dance into their performance. Then there were these three gals and I cannot recall the song (I have blocked it - it was strange) but they kept pointing to their eyes and doing sort of hand movements, kind of like that "I'm too sexy song" anyway... So they combined belly dancing and something. Then there were three gals who did Salsa Belly dancing to a salsa belly dancing music... Hmmmm.... Did not care for it so much myself, and I LOVE SALSA, but I appreciated how much THEY LOVED IT! THE TRIBAL FUSION, the showcase troupe was awesome... they were the last troupe to go on... So, the next Hafla, the Un-Hafla will be on August 8th at the same location. And if you want to perform in the Un-Hafla, talk with your instructor! If you would like to ride with me, let me know!

60th Hasani Hafla! Another wonderful surprise of the night for me was when I saw our wonderful Luza come out on stage! Another student of Mirabai her hard work in Mexico and her at Aby Dance totally showed at the Hafla! She made her entrance with a beautiful ribbon prop that I will have to find out more about from her since it looked amazing! Her performance was flawless and she looked like someone who has danced all her life! I was so happy for her to see her up there shining! I stayed for the entire evening and was enthralled with the different types of dance and troupes that performed. One young lady performed her entire routine with the veil. For the first five minutes (or so it seemed) all she did was spin. I was amazed! First, that she could do that without being ill (conditioning, conditioning!) Second, to be able to just spin with the veil and do so many different things in such an entertaining way and look so lovely and graceful. I was hooked! Also, her dress was LOVELY! She wore a black velvet dress with swirls of light blue chiffon in the bodice which was simply beautiful. The surprise though was as she twirled around, all the way down the dress she had light blue chiffon or silk that came out and swirled in the seams, and at the waist little fringes of glistening beads popped out for a shiny surprise. I was mesmerized and could not take my eyes off her. She was one of my favorites.

60th Hasani Hafla! So I had the pleasure of going to the Hafla down in Tacoma... Now I do not know what I was expecting... I guess I had a vision of some sort of lush gypsy kind of camp, so my expectations were higher than the reality, but the blingy costumes - holy cow! Of course, I had committed to only buying zills, so I was good on that but my eyes were a bit star struck from all the sequins in the vending area... I will say I was late in getting there - late start, got lost (typical) blah, blah, (OCD) - but walked in just as Amira and her beautiful girl's were performing, and they were beautiful. The performance was tightly choreographed and all the hard work and effort they had put in on Saturday's had paid off. They looked like the total professionals they are and the audience showed their agreement with the thundering round of applause. The troupe looked stunning in gorgeous hand painted peacock shawls from Hasani in assorted colors with accent pants and tops with these wonderful gold sleeves - oh - they were simply fabulous - almost like a Jeannie but not - wonderful! And the peacock fans! So the costumes were amazing - Just beautiful!!! But they ladies were the knockouts of the night! Amira's choreography was perfect for the music and really told the story. The troupe did her proud. Everyone was fantastic. There were traditional Saidi dancers, although I must say our Mirabai has choreographed our Strawberry Festival Performance in a more exciting and robust way, if I do say so myself! Mirabai performed that night and was gorgeous! She performed with her silk fans and did not disappoint! She was a vision in red and had the attention of the entire room... The music and Mirabai become one and I do not think anyone can do justice to that music the way she does. She has created an exhilarating and breathtaking choreography that leaves the audience wanting more.

Saidi (Cane Class) Sorry this is so late in coming but I had a technical problem in getting the posting up... Again, another fabulous Mirabai production! This was my first workshop and I must admit I was apprehensive at first since I was such a new dancer. Mirabai made me feel right at home. The great thing about Mirabai is she teaches down to the lowest level and doesn't leave anyone behind. How great is that! So if she needs to come dance next to you or move you next to her so you can see what she is doing, she makes sure everyone has the move before going to the next step. Everything is broken down piece by piece which makes it really easy and understandable. But most of all, we have fun! The time just seems to fly by! The most amazing thing of all is I never would have thought when I took the class several months ago that now I am rehearsing every week with Mirabai and am now one of her Dancer's that will be performing in the Strawberry Festival. The Saidi Dance is so wonderful - we laugh with the canes and we try not to break anything, or hit each other! We are now in formation and so it is really getting exciting. I had surgery on my one hand so I am practicing the can twirling at home and getting better every day. Who would have ever thought. Two years ago I was in a cast and could not use my right hand at all. The workshops open the doors to wonderful experiences and when you hear the music and think about the history that goes with the dance, we are truly fortunate to have the amazing art and such a wonderful studio like Abssyinian Dance here providing this for us! Thanks Kellie and Marie! And thanks Mirabai for being so fabulous!

Mirabai's Fan Fusion Class This was a true delight! Mirabai is an excellent instructor and for those of you who have not taken a class or a workshop from her yet, I highly recommend you do so. The silk fans are beautiful, and learning to use them effectively in performance is a true art. Mirabai is exceptional as both a performer and an instructor. By the end of the workshop, we were able to perform a beautiful and exquisite fan performance and walk away from the class with new skills under our belt. We also learned about how to prepare our new fans for use, and maintain them to keep them looking their best for performance. If you are apprehensive about moving up to Mirabai's class because she is an intermediate instructor, don't be. Doing this has improved my dancing tenfold. I continue to take beginning classes (two) each week, in addition to intermediate classes. Plus, I am getting ready to start private lessons with Mirabai to target specific areas I need help with. I cannot wait as I know this is going to catapult me to the next level and I am beyond thrilled. Abyssinian Dance provides us with the best instructors available! All nestled in beautiful Burien... Where we catch the beautiful sun at the end of the day and get to see we really are stars in the universe!

Aby Dance is the gem of Burien! The dancers are the glistening stars that glimmer through the window and every now and then the light will shine just so and a passerby walking through the neighborhood will catch a ray of light as it cascades off a sequin or jewel... Only then do they realize the beauty nestled into that little corner of the world... Read More... Only then as they stop and stare in wonder and amazement can they begin to imagine how many lives have been changed after a woman has allowed herself the freedom to come through the doors and explore all the opportunities available as we learn this centuries old beautiful and wonderful art form. I love the simplicity. I love the complexity and richness. I love the culture and stories passed down from generation to generation. I love the color and beauty. This is history, meditation, music, magic, fashion, and exercise in one beautiful feminine package. I have never been happier in my life! I only wish I knew about this sooner!

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Leona, you are right about bellydance being a great way to keep fit! Thank you for the comment. We are so happy you enjoyed the Sampler Day...we are very proud of the wonderful teaching staff here at the studio.