ShimmyCare: Bellydance for a Better World

04/23/2024

04/01/2024

ADVICE NEEDED!

I've been negotiating with a reputable production company to bring my solo show, Blood on the Veil: A Bellydancer's Journey, on an international tour!

BUT ... They want the first stop on this tour to be in St. Petersburg--as in RUSSIA (not Florida 🙀).

There are several reasons they want to do this, but chiefly:

(1) There is a strong bellydance community in Russia, but not much interest outside the community, so the show could be a way to communicate greater depth and interest about the art form to general audiences.

(2) An American performer could create more empathy for the West, and work towards undermining anti-West propaganda.

Needless to say, this would be a tremendous opportunity--IF it went well. But there are so many ways it could go wrong...

(1) Audiences might NOT understand the show, as a lot of the humor is very American (they will use supertitles, like in opera ... although they assure me that most of the audience will speak English anyway).

(2) A bad initial performance could threaten the possibility touring in other countries.

(3) Anti-American sentiment is strong enough to make me fear for my safety.

(4) I could end up being arrested for who-knows-what and end up in a gulag in Siberia...

(5) Most importantly, my conscience bristles at doing ANYTHING in or for Russia because of their horrific war on Ukraine.

The company assures me that they would protect me the entire time, with a dedicated security detail, but that would NOT stop the government, even IF they have "greased the right palms."

There are a lot of benefits and a LOT of risks.

If there are any touring performers out there who have faced similar situations, please let me know!

Many thanks!

03/17/2024

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! 🍀 🇮🇪 ☘️

12/26/2023

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate! Hope Santa brought you something wonderful!🎄🎁💛

11/22/2023

PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU COMMENT.

A friend recently posted this obnoxious meme to try to “prove” that religion causes violence. He wrote: “The joke is that the top and the bottom are the same.”

BUT THEY ARE NOT.

If you half-glance at the images, with the hamster level of attention we give stuff these days, you might just see a lot of red in sort of the same places and go, “oh yeah, religion sucks!”

And you would be a fu***ng idiot.

But if you’re not braindead and can READ A MAP you’ll see that the top and bottom are NOT THE SAME.

AT ALL.

Only FIVE non-religious countries are secular AND peaceful (Canada, Germany, Sweden, Ireland, and Japan).

The other ELEVEN are either religious and peaceful (Iceland, Poland, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Portugal), or secular and not peaceful (Spain, France, Great Britain, South Korea, and Vietnam).

That is a high enough disparity to DISPROVE any connection between religion and violence.

Looking again at the majority of supposedly violent and religious countries in the Southern Hemisphere and Middle East & Asia, what might we conclude that those countries have in common?

Maybe POVERTY? Or EXTREME WEALTH DISPARITY?

Could it be possible that those factors play a much larger role in violence than religion?

I’m not a religious person, but I do see it as having contributed to both great good and great evil in the world.

And where it leads to evil is more the fault of bad leaders and blind followers—which we see in many forms (e.g. the Cult of Trump)—who will be much more likely to put blind faith in even the craziest leader who cons them into thinking s/he will rescue them (recently in Argentina).

But let’s not blame religion for our bad choices.

Let’s just work hard at NOT being blind— especially when we’re looking at a map of the world!!!!

If you’ve read this to the end, please add a 👏🏻 or 🌍 to your comment.

MILLE GRAZIE!

06/10/2023

Finger Cymbal Fridays | Sat 6/24 7pm Celebrate Black Dancers at the Harlem Hafla | New Tuesday Classes🌟💃 - https://mailchi.mp/3878b97c8e41/zillsfri-resend

05/27/2023

Tonight! FREE!! Starting at 6pm! Catch the Tandava Arts Bellydance student troupe Whimsical Hips at 7pm.
Theater for the New City 155 First Ave & 10th St NYC

05/25/2023

Tandava Arts Bellydance is featured in today’s AM NY!!

Congratulations to the amazing Whimsical Hips dancers! You are the best!!

Read the digital copy here: https://www.amny.com/news/photos-dance-parade-east-village-2023/ — with Sul Del Mar and 16 others.

03/18/2023

Why Bellydancing Is AWEsome!! 🌟💃 - https://mailchi.mp/f6ef15997d82/awe-resent

03/03/2023

Donations are still coming in, but the current GRAND TOTAL for our Türkiye/Syria Earthquake Fundraiser—Live Music & Dance, Special Raffle is.........

(....wait for it....)

****$2,685!!****

When fund receipts are finalized, Scott Wilson and I will divide the money evenly between Ahbap and Karam Foundation, and post the confirmation in the event page.

IN THE MEANTIME..... THANK YOU SO MUCH to everyone who donated their time, effort, and talent to make this event possible!!!!

First, to Scott Wilson, my co-conspirator, who came up with idea for this fundraiser, secured a spot at Secret Room NYC (thank you, Michael), donated an unbelievable assortment of items to the raffle, and assembled a FANTASTIC band!! And to Leni Cohen, whose invaluable help on all the admin stuff I didn't have the brainspace for kept me sane. And thank you for making a fantastic video https://youtu.be/FKXNhKSJDS0 !!! Thank you both so much!

Next, to our SUPERBULOUS band! Scott (of course!), Umut Yaşmut, Enis Çağatay Özgüner, George Stathos, Ulku Durmazer, Kazuki Kozuru-salifoska, and Casey Bond. You were incredible!!! Thank you!

And then, to the ladies who enchanted the audience with their divine dance: Aszmara Sherry, Zenaide Zeina, and our surprise guest (who also generously donated the coveted Anatolian jacket), Layla Mary. Thank you all so much for sharing your transcendent talents with us!

And, of course, thank you Queen Esma, who donated the beautiful Adrienne Landau capelet, presented the raffle items with her unique panache, AND brought the audience to tears with her beautiful poem. And Norman, for helping us set up the evening (and congratulations on winning that violin!!) Thank you both!

Finally, and most importantly, words cannot express the depth of my gratitude to my wonderful colleagues and students who jumped in to volunteer at the Box Office, the Raffle Table, and everything else that needed help at the chaotic start of the evening.

Elizabeth Friedland, you are my rock. Really I couldn't do half the stuff I do if I didn't have you holding down the administrative fort. Thank you.

And Sharon Zaslaw, thank you so much for always offering a helping hand, sometimes at the last minute, but always ready to jump in to make things go smoothly.

And my beautiful students, who will soon be dancing at this lovely space, and at so many others!!! Thank you, Sul Del Mar, Eva Yang, Kezia Pormento, Leia Carter, Bianca Rodríguez, Sandra Tortolero, and Gumja Chu. YOU ARE THE BEST!!!!

The outpouring of support was amazing--from Shoshana Mizell, who donated her sought-after painting, to Akdeniz Tayyar, who donated his excellent Turkish CDS, to Lina Jang, Sal Mans, and Pamela Molinari who generously photographed the event (Sal's album is here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/TQVJHff1gne47hBu7, Lina's will be available soon). THANK YOU!!!

And of course, my deepest appreciation to the many wonderful friends, colleagues, and family who supported this event: Elisa & Stu, Frank, Ben, Cheryl, Mariyah, Amy, Steve, Alex, Joelle, and, as always, my most beloved Mom & Dad, Linda & James Henning.

We joined together to create a beautiful evening!

Now, please, let's not forget the many who still suffer in Türkiye and Syria. It will be a long time before their lives start to return to normal, so please let's not forget about them as the news cycle continues to spin.

Please, if you are able, continue to support Ahbap and Karam Foundation, and keep them in your thoughts.

THANK YOU ALL!!

A night the stars came out to raise money for the earthquake victims of Syria and Turkey! 2023