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.