Rebecca tries to catch a mole at med fest!
Time seems to slip through my mind like water through my fingers when I dip my hands in a pond and try to scoop it up and hold it with most of it sliding through and back into it’s source.
I can’t hold time any more than I can hold water. Sometimes it makes me crazy and sometimes it just is what it is and I just observe it and find peace with it.
So much has happened in my life the past few months. Change is the only constant in my life and sometimes I get sucked into the changes and lose track of time and space.
But I’m back with an update on my recent adventures.
My cousin, Kathe Alkoudsi, owner of Cartouche Costuming, decided to retire and I bravely took over her business! I changed the name to 'Bliss Belly Dance Boutique' and thus began a life-changing adventure.
Check out my Ebay Store and my Facebook Page! I am sooooo excited!!!
During the last week of May, I flew to Kansas to stay with Kathe. She picked me up at the airport and drove me directly to a fabulous Greek restaurant where we met up with Siham Ali and I was treated to wonderful food and a very fantastic show by Zaina Ali.
Then we spent the week packing 88 boxes of belly dance costuming goodness from Egypt and Syria and shipped 5 pallets with 3,000 lbs. of it to my studio in Oregon. 88 boxes! In my studio!
Where does a person put 3,000 lbs of costuming? Everywhere!
Fortunately I have a fairly large living room so I still have a place to hold dance classes! Someday, we’ll dance in the studio again where the mirrors live. Until then, I’m unpacking and I’ve opened an Ebay store.
So many beautiful costumes!
After returning home from Kansas, I hit the ground running right to Belly Dancer USA. It was a fabulous weekend and we had more entries than ever. Our new categories were a hit, the professional live music improvisation category with music by Americanistan made for a great show, and the Jungle Boogie improvisation category on Sunday was a surprise hit and so much fun, we were all energized.
With just a couple of days to recover from putting on Belly Dancer USA, I headed north for the Portland Middle Eastern Dance and Music Camp. What a wonderful weekend it was filled with dance and music classes. The days were full of live music as musicians practiced between classes.
Hanging out with Dalia Carella and Amel Tafsout, two Goddesses of belly dance, was a special treat. The dance classes were varied and fun and the shows were fabulous! It rained all weekend, but it didn’t put a damper on camp. It was a delight to go to a camp where someone beside me was in charge!
The next weekend I headed north again, this time to the Salem World Beat Festival. This is an amazing event with ‘villages’ from around the world. As you walk through the beautiful park you can hear bagpipes, African drums, Native American drums, Japanese Taiko drums and see dances from around the world. It’s a wonderful event. Of course dancing to Americanistan was my highlight along with hanging with my Salem friends.
My last big venture was to the Seattle Mediterranean Fantasy Festival where I vended my new costumes. It was an incredible weekend where every time I turned around, the Universe sent me help.
I was alone with no helper and dreaded unloading and setting up by myself. I got to the festival sight and started to unload, and here came Michelle Marion to help me, an unexpected surprise. I couldn't put the canopy up alone but Jamilla and Julie helped me. I forgot stakes and here came Joseph to stake my canopy down and then he and Jamilla came back later to help me put the sides up.
Best of all, Rebecca Wolf-Nail helped me all weekend and sold out her newest belly dance mystery, “I’ll Die at Your Wedding,” which I’m looking forward to reading. She also tried to catch a mole as it pushed dirt up right in front of us!
Overall, it was a very fun weekend and the best part was staying with my friend and mentor, Halima.
The next weekend was my third annual Divine Feminine Retreat which was filled with sacred events and bonding with heart sisters. I’m already planning next year’s retreat!
Whew!
So, you can see it’s been non-stop which is very exciting for me. To be healthy and vital enough to do so much traveling and dancing is just a miraculous feeling for me.
I feel like I have my life back.
I have to run now and prepare for my Divine Feminine Dance workshop at Unity Church tomorrow.
Blessings to all of you and have a great summer,
Mezdulene
