Busy busy

Hi there!

I'm currently preparing for a mighty onslaught of events, which will be starting this weekend and going on until DREAMBOOTCAMP, for which I am über excited, but also slightly nervous :)

However, with the right amount of planning, preparation and caffeinated beverages..I might just be..

One can hope ;)

In any case, I will do my best to keep you all updated the following weeks. In the meantime here is the Official May Newsletter, so you can see where I'll be dancing and with whom during the next few months <3

See you soon I hope!

xx K.

Bonus bonus: An interesting artist-skills article I found in my mailbox last week. Enjoy! http://www.bulletproofmusician.com/how-do-we-deal-with-an-audience-that-looks-bored/

Back from away - Aloha!

oo.. I've safely returned from my very fist Hawaiian dance adventure, Aloha! Still fully jet-lagged but thankfully a few days of calm are ahead.
I will be posting a blog post on practice soon, but first I'd like to share some gorgeous picture views and lovely memories from the past week in Kauai with you.

My first lei

I was invited by Dixie, Nelleke and Krystal Marie (also known as the Garden Nile Bellydancers) to teach and perform in Kauai, Hawaii last weekend, and I had been looking forward to the event for many months.

The GNBD gang picking me up at the airport

We had a show on Friday in a small church building (with a stage!), and even though the weather had been a bit fickle (rain, wind, sun and cloudy) that day, as you can hear in the video of my first performance, the audience was simply unstoppable :)

The event had almost sold out in presales, but tickets kept flying out the door, even continuing during the show until well into the second half. By break time there were people lining up outside and/or standing in the back to be able to catch a glimpse of the performances, so I guess we can say the show was a big succes!

Backstage with Krystal and Nelleke, just before the show madness

The week leading up to the event the local newspaper ran a front-page story about the event, so great to see that the arts are being supported.

Front page of Kaua'i times, baby!

On Saturday and Sunday we had 2 full days of workshops, held at the 'Joy of Movement studio' in Kapaa.

Pre-coffee, yet ready to rumble!

The themes for Saturday were 'A dancers' workout' and a high energy drum solo (with music from the Shimmies DVD with Issam) It was a high-energy day! Or at least it started out as one. The result:

Got work?!

On Sunday we did 'B is for belly - abdominal movements' as well as a small 3-hour masterclass on the topics 'making dances' and 'dance with attitude'.

Say my name.. All along the beach was calling me..

I really had a blast teaching (kicked my own butt a bit in the workout though - lordy lord) and one of the highlights of the week for me was getting to know the participants, many of whom had traveled from outside to attend, in sharing our hopes/dreams during the MC and classes.

The Hawaiian Masterclass - For Serious Dancers(TM)

Costume inspiration

Speaking of highlights :) The 'garden island' as Kauai is often called really, really is as beautiful as everyone (read: the internet!) says. Want picture proof? Be warned!

Visiting Secrets Beach at sunrise with Krystal Marie

Hard, hard life!

The only way to survive

I had a couple of days after the workshops to visit the sights, the beaches and a luau..

Yellow hibiscus, not for eating..

Hanalei lookout

View.

Red Hibiscus, also not for eating.

Luau-ing with Nelleke and Dixie

And if that is just not enough.. more (MOAR!) pictures can be found on my Instagram page!


So... what is next? A full week of Easter holiday family visits and practice/preparations for the upcoming events, which are quite a few. Aloha and hope to see you there, too!

xx K.

www.khalidadance.com
www.khalidashop.com

Bozenka masterclass and T-day pictures

So.. in awaitance of the next blog post (which is scheduled to be written next week.. from HAWAII!! :) ..Aloha!) I give you some highlights of the past dancetravaganza-weekend in Würselen.

A big big thank you to the lovely Bozenka, who's surprise visit to the Netherlands made it possible for Queenie and me to host her under the QooKay Productions flag (check out the new website!) for an amazing Masterclass day at the studio in Würselen.

K, B and Q

Also thank you to all of the dancers who were able to join us on such short notice. We're definitely feeling the Bozenka love!

The full picture album of the day can be found here.

Also: Behold the Brave Ones who survived a full day of K-workshops the following day, some of whom signed up for ALL THE THINGS including the intensive Bozenka masterclass, plus, in some cases, did even more dancing in between ;)

Respect!

K-day peeps, after the combos class

After the choreo workshop at the end of the day, slightly more tired, but fully Khalida-fied

End-of-day group pic, 2 seconds before complete collapsation

So.. now on to groceries, more dance practice and finalizing future (as in next week's) event preparations!

Speak to you in/from.. Hawaii! Huhuhu..

xx K.

Stars of Bellydance info is up!

One of my favorite events is coming up in Belgium this April! :) Check out the website with full program here: Stars of Bellydance

Stars of Bellydance Festival 2013

A fantastic event in Bruges, Belgium this April hosted by the fabulous Sakinah Yanara.  

This year featuring workshops and masterclasses with Mercedes Nieto ♥♥♥, Leyla Jouvana Roland, Queenie Dance, Amirah Tine Verheyen, Marâa Mystic, Samyra Buikdanseres, Linda Claessens, Johanna Rediers and Khalida :) but also a fabulous international competition and a beautiful Gala Show with guest stars Saida and Amirah Shazadi added to the mix ♥ Not to be missed! 

Official website: Stars of Bellydance
FB Page: Stars of Bellydance FB
FB Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/408669782534594/

Hope to see you all there!

xx Khalida
www.khalidadance.com

Shop upgrade - And possible future happy dance

So.. in a fit of web updatery I executed a massive upgrade of the webstore at www.khalidashop.com today, which should make the site more maintainable for the future.

Feel free to check it out, I hope it still works as it should, I added a slight (but permanent) price reduction to compensate for any shopping hiccups just in case.

www.khalidashop.com

Also: We're nearly at 500 DVDs! I sense a looming happy dance somewhere in the coming months/weeks (or who knows.. days?) Mu ah ah ah..

This was the one for 400 (recorded during BOOTCAMP 2012)

The one for 300 (recorded in the Netherlands)

And the one for 250 (recorded ..in the Seychelles!)

Make-up tips and videos

I received a copy of Princess Farhana's stage makeup instructional DVD titled 'Bombshell' a few weeks ago and I absolutely love it. The DVD can be purchased here, an extensive review of the DVD can be found here.

The DVD features several complete step-by-step makeup looks, each referring to a different era, (love the fifties and sixties looks!) plus tons of excellent makeup tips. I love that it demonstrates which looks work best for certain skin types and face/eye shapes.

Princess' Dance Blog is another highly recommended resource for tips and tricks on all things belly dance. UPDATE: Just saw she added a great blog post about her 12 favorite inexpensive drug store makeup items. Woohoo! A must read!

Princess Farhana

For those out there struggling with fake lash application: There are 2(!) different tried-and-true methods demonstrated on the DVD, each using my all-time favorite Duo Eyelash adhesive.

Duo. The best.

Duo eyelash adhesive can be purchased 'live' at M.A.C Cosmetic stores (awesome quality stage makeup) or online via MadameMadeline.com (excellent lash resource, offering bulk prices for many lash brands)

Speaking of fake lashes: My personal favorites at the moment are Gisele (for small stages/hafla lighting) and Tyra (big stage, big lights) of the Ardell Runway collection, also available via Madamemadeline.com

Tyra Lashes

I used the tips from the Bombshell DVD plus a couple of tricks from my favorite makeup youtube channels and tutorials (see below) this December and was very happy with the result.

Performance in Duisburg 2012

Some of my favorite youtube channels for makeup include Misschievous.tv, an excellent youtube channel featuring tons of different beautiful looks, plus an accompanying blog listing the products used for each look

Misschievous.tv

Pixiwoo Madness offers humorous clips with many makeup tips, but also lovely look tutorials and links to different makeup channels, plus an accompanying blog

Pixiwoo.com

Some great resources on FB are Makeup Mania (fabulous page for inspirational looks and pictures)

Makeup Mania

And also MAC Cosmetics (FB page with makeup tips, pictures, videos and tutorials)

MAC cosmetics

Check out this link for more makeup tips and a list of makeup blogs.

ETA: Just in today! Another excellent makeup blog, with an article on which makeup brushes to choose.

As with all things, good stage makeup is a matter of practice and patience. The best results can be achieved with trying out different looks at home first, using all the time you need to tweak and refine the makeup to your specific style.

To choose which look(s) would fit your performance best, also take into account the colors of your costume, the 'style' of music/dance and the 'era' you'd like to portray.

Another good tip: You can have your makeup professionally done at a MAC counter for free! If you'd like to purchase any of the products and want to recreate the look at home, be sure to specify the makeup look is for a stage performance, and ask as many questions as possible about the application and purpose of the products used.

Happy browsing!

xx Khalida
www.khalidadance.com
https://www.facebook.com/KhalidaDance

Other dance blogs

More reading for you for over the holidays :) A fun middle-eastern dance blog I enjoy browsing: http://www.occidentaldancer.com/