“You must have the devil in you to succeed in the arts.” –Voltaire
We are excited to announce a special collaborative intensive, “The Devil in the Details,” created and taught by Asharah and Natalie Brown. We are currently booking for 2010 and 2011.
Check out our info packet to get an idea of what we’re doing. If you would like more information, or are interested in sponsoring us in your city, please contact us at either alternacirque@gmail.com or asharah@asharah.com.
We will not be performing at our usual fourth Friday in January. Instead, we’re hosting dance companies and performers from six states and the District of Columbia for a fundraising show the following night at Art Bar!
“After last year’s infamous Bellydance All-Star Show at Art Bar (with four top acts, 350 spectators standing on barstools and hanging from the rafters, and a drunken, accordion-filled after party that lasted until dawn) Delirium Tribal called up several of our favorite dancers and arranged to do it all again.
In an effort to raise money for the upcoming circus season and for our eventual goal of opening a studio, Art Bar is throwing open its doors on SATURDAY, JANUARY 23rd and welcoming bellydancers and companies from across the southeast and eastern seaboard.
Site: Art Bar indoors(21+)
Cost: $5 at the door
Currently confirmed and scheduled:
Delirium Tribal and Columbia Alternacirque (Columbia, SC)
Ashley Bennett (Columbia, SC)
Ananda Dance Company (Knoxville, TN)
Mahsati Janan (Asheville, NC)
Lisa Zahiya (Asheville, NC)
Awalim Dance Company (Atlanta, GA)
Jahara Phoenix Dance Company (Atlanta, GA)
Fierce Fusion Dance Company (Augusta, GA)
Asim (Greenville, SC)
Asharah (Alexandria, VA)
Mab, Just Mab, D.C.’s sideshow Queen (Washington, DC)
Devyani Dance Company (Birmingham, AL)”
Maria is hosting Yasmine of Magic Hips in Charlotte, NC for a workshop here in Columbia. Information follows:
“”From Funky Fusion to Cutting Edge Cabaret (C)”, Yasmine, who has an extensive background in ballet, tap, jazz, & Middle Eastern dance, is the studio owner of Mid-East Dance by Yasmine. Yasmine spent much of 2004 touring with the Bellydance Superstars performing in major cities around the United States as well as Barcelona, Spain and after touring teamed up with Master Tabla Player Issam Houshan in offering Drum & Dance workshops. Yasmine is well recognized for her dynamic and precise movements and her ability to portray the music, which she carefully extends to her students - grooming them for their own spectacular performances. As well as being a sought after instructor due to her personable and fun teaching approach, Yasmine’s distinct performance style is often referred to as “Cutting Edge Cabaret.”
Featured on the cover of the May/June 2007 issue of Zaghareet, Yasmine also appears in IAMED’s Bellydance-O-Rama vol. 3 DVD and appeared as a featured artist for Dr. Samy Farag’s 2008 CD Release Gala Show in Texas. Yasmine hosts several events in the Charlotte area & is currently teaching seminars throughout the U.S. www.magic-hips.com
Mid-East Dance by Yasmine 704-525-3606 www.magic-hips.com
yasmine@magic-hips.com
Register for workshop at yasmine.eventbrite.com
Got “Magic” Hips? Rhythmic Hips = “Magic” Hips! (2 hours) SATURDAY (12:15 - 2:15)
Dancers will learn to interpret the sounds of the drums by drilling some of Yasmine’s favorite techniques and movements to Middle Eastern Rhythms to accentuate the “Dums” and “Teks”! Drilling dance movement to these rhythms will help the dancer gain more control and to feel the rhythm. Then we will put these techniques to the test with “The Rhythmic Soul Train” Exercise and “The Battle of Rhythmic Hips!”
Zills & Drills (2 hours) SATURDAY (2:30 - 4:30)
Drills for combining finger cymbal work with dance movement and working with various rhythms. This class also leads into a Full Zill Drill routine that can be used for practice or group performance using the method of set Patterns to accompany music mixed with dance movement combinations!
Funky Fusion Combos to Choreography (4 hours) SUNDAY (10:00 - 2:00)
The combos presented in this class includes some cabaret technique mixed with a spicy blend of tribal style and alternative belly dance fusion topped with Yasmine’s own Funky Flare that can be used for a variety of modern routines! Funky Fusion blends the power and the beauty of tribal and cabaret! This class will include technique & drilling several combinations for the first portion of the class and then applying these combinations to lead into one of Yasmine’s own Funky Fusion routines.
Location: VISTA Ballroom
1019 Assembly St.
Columbia, SC 29201
Show - Bellydance Extravaganza
January 16, 2010
Door opens at 7:30
Show - 7:30 - 9:30
Location: Capital Senior Center
1650 Park Circle
Columbia, SC 29201
Workshop participants will have an opportunity to perform at the show Saturday night. Deadline for performers to register is December 15, 2009 so that we have enough time to collect music / paperwork. Limited spaces available so first come, first serve.
Performances, shopping, door prizes and more!! Come join the fun!
Tickets - $10 advance. At the door - $15 Children 12 and younger get in free.
For more information on purchasing advance tickets, please visit www.MariaPalacio.com.
Workshop tickets are not refundable. All workshops participants will have the opportunity to perform. If you have any questions, email me at workshop@MariaPalacio.com. Thanks!!!”
Don’t miss out on the opportunity to become part of Greenville’s first and only American Tribal Style dance group!
This is a great way to get started in dance as there is no guess work! You learn a specific language of moves and dance them as a group.
We will have our first ATS Boot camp on January 9, 2010 with Miss Natalie Brown of Columbia SC.
Natalie Brown is quickly becoming recognized as one of the top Belly Dance directors and instructors in the South East and is an exceptional ATS dancer.
www.nataliebrown.net
I plan on following up the boot camp with weekly or bi-monthly jam session that I will organize and lead in order for us to keep practicing and building skills.
Location: SuperStarz Dance Center on Butler Rd.
Time: 10-12 -lunch- 1-4
cost: $85 if paid by Dec. 12
$110 after Dec. 12
After the workshop..prepare to party! A very informal hafla will be held that evening. This will be a true hafla with a party atmosphere! Not a formal show at all!
Natalie will dance and may even bring some gal pals to help rock out with us! Location and details for this will be announced at a later date.
Please contact me to reserve your spot! Make it your Christmas gift to yourself!!
I opened up the Free Times yesterday and started reading an excellent cover story interview with Greg Hilton from EngenuitySC (who’s been teaching some of the artist as entrepreneur business classes I’ve been attending), Mandi Engram from the Convention Center, Katherine Swartz from the Columbia Opportunity Resource and Katherine Robinson from EngenuitySC. The article was focused on youth retention and growing and improving Columbia’s nightlife, industry, arts and community. Click here to read it.
I’ve been surprised how much I’ve liked Columbia the second time around, and I’ve been excited and pleased with the impact I feel the company and I have made on our community, and how much support, help and appreciation we get from Columbia. And I feel that this article touched on a lot of the same things I think and feel about Columbia and the potential for growth and entrepreneurship, especially in the arts.
If you go about 2/3rds of the way down the page, the Free Times kindly gave me a shout out for the work and vision we’ve been tirelessly striving for. I’m very proud to be mentioned, and what’s more, that people are understanding what we’re trying to do, and they’re hopping on board to help in any way they can.
Columbia is what we make when we roll up our sleeves and make stuff happen. What are you doing to make your city better today?
Natalie and Catherine recently completed the Suhaila Salimpour Level I intensive. For those of you unfamiliar, this is kind of like Olympic level training for Bellydancers. They successfully tested and are now Suhaila Level I certified.
Suhaila made a documentary of the weekend, which you can see below. Catherine is interviewed, and you can catch scenes of Natalie and Catherine huffing, puffing, sweating and training hard:
The Delirium Tribal suggested tunes iMix is here. Reposted from the old site, this mix contains around 80 songs that we dance, drill or perform to. Though this list is by no means exhaustive or complete, it does give you a jumping point to explore several bands, artists and genres that we use and support.
You must have iTunes installed to use this application.
Columbia is proud to be a stop on Tempest’s Durga Tour! This workshop will take place in the place of our normal basics class at 711 E. Main St. in Lexington, in the CDE studios in the basement of the old mill. Cash or check at the door, or pay ahead of time via paypal to natalie_c_brown at yahoo dot com.
Tempest started her exploration of dance in early 2000 on the East Coast. She quickly found belly dance to be incredibly rewarding not only physically, but spiritually and emotionally, as well as a source of inspiration for her visual art.
Although she enjoys what tradition has to offer, Tempest loves exploring the dance through unusual music and creative costuming, pulling on her visual arts background to “paint a picture” with the dance. By working (playing) outside of the box, Tempest engages the audience through dramatic embodied storytelling , passionate expression, and sensuous, mezmerizing movement. She particularly enjoys performing Raks Gothique, also known as Gothic Belly Dance, and sacred-fusion forms of belly dance.
Strange Presence – 7:30-9:30 PM, $30
It’s all about bleeding your soul out to audience, serving it to them on a platter, and then eating THEM for lunch instead. A truly successful performance does more than show how well you can do the moves—it should really speak to your audience and exude expression. You CAN learn how to have a stronger personality on stage and channel that energy for a more dynamic performance. Discover the key aspects of capturing your audience with your stage presence and develop your own onstage drama! We’ll particularly focus on improvisational technique, character development, and learning to be more “in the moment.” This class is especially for any dancer who is ready to perform or is considering it.
April’s Alternacirque show will be graced with two of Washington D.C.’s finest alternative performers: Tribal Bellydancer Asharah is returning to the Art Bar stage, and we are absolutely thrilled to have dancer, fire performer and sideshow queen Mab, Just Mab bringing her vaudeville hilarity along for the ride. On Friday, April 24th, both performers will join us at Art Bar for our 9:30 show. 1211 Park St., no cover, the bar is 21+ but we’re hopefully performing outside, barring bad weather.
And since they’ll be in town anyway, we figured we would pick their professional brains about their craft while they were here. In other words, WORKSHOPS!
Workshops take place on Saturday, April 25th. We’re in the process of confirming location, but it’s likely to be at the Lexington Old Mill. More information as it comes.
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Technique Intensive with Asharah– 12-3 PM, $60
Join Asharah for three hours of intense practice aimed at polishing your bellydance technique and building strength and stamina. Asharah is known for her clean technique and muscular execution, and in this workshop she will share with you tips and tricks for sharpening hard movements like hip work and chest locks and for deepening and intensifying smooth movements like undulations and Mayas. She will also share with you a few of her signature robotic movements to add spice to your bellydance movement vocabulary.
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Showcraft with Mab, Just Mab- 20 Minutes in Vaudeville! 3:30 to 5:30 PM, $40
***Warning, video is from an adult show, and has some off-color insinuations made in it.***
While there is no shortage of classes on “How To…”, it’s time to take it to the next level! Take those skills you have painstakingly learned, and work them into a great show!
This class covers how to build a “bit”, and then how to take the bits and build a set and a show! We will also develop a toolbox of elements to get the most out of your audience, heckler handling techniques, and much much more. All performers welcome, not just bellydancers. If you’re a sideshow artist, fire eater, hula hooper, host, emcee, poet, magician or improv comedian, come along and improve your presentation.
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Take both classes at the discounted price of $80.
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Pay cash at the door, or pay in advance via paypal to natalie_c_brown at yahoo dot com. Please specify which workshop(s) you are paying for.
Delirium Tribal, fire performers and hula hooptrix Susan Osbaldiston begin their second full season at Art Bar–fourth Fridays in the Art Bar parking lot starting March 27, opening set at 9:30, steampunk extravaganza at 10:30. No cover, though tips are much appreciated. Come early, as people tend to camp out for seats.
At 10:30, Alternacirque premieres its brand new, integrated show “Dreampunk,” starring Ashley Bennett and Nate Addy (returning to us from sabbatical hiking the Appalachian Trail). Dance, fire and hooping combine in our dark, creepy, original homage to steampunk, Frankenstein, Ray Bradbury and porcelain dolls. Dreampunk will run through May.
Photograph and editing of our new show poster was graciously completed by local photographer Scott Bilby. Posters will be for sale for $10 at the show. Take a steampunk dolly Natalie home with you, and help Columbia Alternacirque buy costuming, props and fire insurance.
“After last year’s infamous Bellydance All-Star Show at Art Bar (with four top acts, 350 spectators standing on barstools and hanging from the rafters, and a drunken, accordion-filled after party that lasted until dawn) Delirium Tribal called up several of our favorite dancers and arranged to do it all again. 
