New member of our family

Yes, we finally got our pooch.  

She has a beautiful temperament and we are hoping she will grow into her ears.  

We bought her from the Tablelands TSPCA, where she was delivered from the pound, covered in ticks and generally not well, so all we know of her history is that she has some foxy in her and she is six months old.  We are working on a name for her, but Jimi  (shes a foxy lady), seems to be sticking, however she regularly gets called cutie, doofus and smoochie-pooch too. 

I now have two weeks off school and am enjoying spending time with her.  She is really well behaved, made it through the first night without a wimper or a toilet stop, we were very impressed!  She loves cuddles on your lap, but is also happy just to snooze on her bed, my yoga mat or in a sunny spot on the floor. Does anyone know a good puppy school, where I can get some training skills for me and pooch?

Performance at Aileen’s Kuranda yoga class.

Wow what an intense performance! Last weekend, Aileen invited me to do a short bellydance ‘show and tell’ at her regular Yoga class on Sunday mornings.  Well it was a bit strange to be performing tribal without a tribe, but anyway, not to be a party pooper, off I went. 

I have never felt so watched so intensely.  I guess yoga participants are interested in how the body moves, but I must say, my belly was a big focus by all and I am sure it was in an appreciative way.  As I saw how absorbed everyone was, I started to shake and my slow moves felt more like wobbly moves, especially through my hands and fingertips. Although I will take the compliment that it looked like it was supposed to look concentrated and powerful, as putting strength into my hands is a personal dance weakness I am trying to improve.

A very appreciative audience gave me a big clap as I swished off the floor back to the toilets to get changed back into my yoga glad rags.  And the class continued.

A number of women approached me afterwards lamenting that Aileen’s Tuesday night class clashes with my dance class.  Aileen and I are working together to try and work out how we can both use the new facilities at the Kuranda Community Precinct, so we will keep you posted.

Thank you Aileen for giving me this opportunity and you and your students are always welcome at my dance class too!

Mareeba Grassroots bellydance - 8th March 2012

Great news - Tribal Bellydance is coming to Mareeba!

Tell your friends and spread the news, it would be great to see lots of women to enjoy this wonderful free event supported by Qld Health, Tablelands Regional Council and Qld Sports and Recreation.

Better still it is happening on International Women's Day - how perfect!

Hope to see lots of familiar faces there, with lots of new tribal sisters to be...

Dancing makes you smarter.

I just noticed on the Ausdance website a recent study that shows dancing improves your cognitive capacity.  Benefits include; stress reduction, increased seratonin levels (happy hormones) and increased sense of well being.   Furthermore, the study goes on to say that regular dancing can reduce your chances of dementia and Alzheimer's disease.  How many more reasons do we need to get along to class!

How wonderful to see the benefits of dance captured and confirmed by in an academic study by Richard Powers of Stanford University.
The link to the report summary is below:
http://socialdance.stanford.edu/syllabi/smarter.htm 

ps. the article refers to being able to make "split second raid fire decisions" as being particularly beneficial.  The improvisational nature of tribal style bellydance fills this role very capably as we lead and follow with no set choreography and adapt to the music instantaneously.

Kuranda Dance classes resume Tuesday 7th February

OK girls, we have had a good break over the summer heat, but now its time to get moving again!
Class on Tuesday night at the Kuranda Recreation Centre 6-7pm.  Beginner and beyond beginner students all welcome, i will have moves to meet both student levels and will bring to class the energy of Paulette's workshop this weekend.
Unfortunately, i am unable to offer the binta bellies (prep girls) class, as i have a school commitment on Wednesday afternoons.  I am sorry.
Any queries about class, please call me on 0409 367 967.
Look forward to seeing new faces and welcoming back familiar ones too.

Cairns Workshop with Paulette

What an amazing weekend it has been.

This morning I awoke to the familiar Paulette workout feeling, muscles that haven’t been worked for a while.  The feeling that tells me I am alive and a dancer who has worked hard!  I tried to go back to sleep, but was still buzzing from yesterday so decided to write instead.

Yesterdays workshops were a blast.  We started with the “funky moves” and it was great to work on some favourites and refine the technique, then try and fit some new ones into muscle memory.  For the beyond beginner girls in Kuranda, you will be pleased to know I have taken notes and we will have a go with them in class over the next few weeks.  We then moved onto “the art of improvisation”.  A fantastic workshop that really put me outside my comfort zone, to move beyond the steps and really find the “present moment in dance” in such an intense way.  Fabulous!

Then the icing on the cake was last nights hafla at Tribal Zest’s studio in Cairns.  It was fantastic to share this space with so many women who have dotted my journey and added so much to what we call Tribal Dance in our region.   Magnolia and I performed as Kuranda Dance for the first time. It was awesome to share what we have been building in Kuranda and is certainly the start of a lot more promotion this year.

Magnolia and Lisa from Kuranda Dance

Today it felt lovely to ooze into “slow moves” and build on our partner work from yesterday with some partner changing transitions and important technique details.  Lastly, we finished with Tribal grooves and learnt some hot and funky new moves, some of which I am sure will become my new favourites.  We closed with a full circle open chorus, such an amazing effort with twenty dancers and an awesome “stay on the moment and love it” feeling.  The closing moving meditation was really something amazing to experience.  Thanks to all the dancers from all over Australia and especially thank you Paulette. 

Cairns workshop participants

Amanda is in the newspaper again

It is such a treat to open the newspaper and see Tribal sisters faces, but even more so when it is someone from our own tribe.  Amanda is in the Cairns Weeknd Post in colour celebrating the festivals of last year.

2011 a year of wonderful transformation-bring on 2012

As we farewell 2011 i feel a little nostalgic when i recall all the amazing things that i have been given.

The opportunity to become a school teacher and explore this diverse and never-ending career has and continues to be an amazing and fascinating journey.  Let's hope i get to incorporate some geography into next year!

To be able to travel and dance has enabled me to meet and dance with a whole bunch of amazing tribal girls.  I had the opportunity to dance with Paulette Rees-Denis at Clatskanie and complete my Teacher Training Certificate 1 and to dance with the Gypsy Heart tribe at Om Studio in Portland AND many more amazing girls at Brietenbush ... phew and that was all before June!

In the second half of the year I was building a bit of courage to get out there a bit more and perform.  With the support of the TribalZest girls, at the Cairns Festival and also as an impromptu flashmob we got some fabulous experience.
I also dabbled in the idea of kids classes at the library over the school holidays which generated a Binta Bellies class here in Kuranda.

Lisa (KurandaDance), Nina (GypsyRain), Sienna (TribalZest) and Kylie (TribalPulse) - Tribal teachers of North Qld

Nina and Sienna continue to be my mentors and support in many of my decisions and Nina's monthly workshops at the temple are a wonderful way of reconnecting as a regional tribe and to continue the dedication required to be a dancer and teacher.


2012 seems very exciting, there is a wonderful surprise gathering momentum in Mareeba, but i can't tell you yet...stay tuned.

In the meantime, I have been preparing for Paulette Rees-Denis' workshop in February and KurandaDance's first performance at our Tribal Hafla in February.  Magnolia and I will be performing a duet - how exciting!  Amanda was a part of the choreography building process - her beautiful handmade candle a presence even though she is in Thailand at the moment.

My family and friends continue to be at the centre of my heart and although i don't mention you in my blog (without permission) you are never far from my heart and mind - love and hugs to you all!

-----

‎2011 has taught me that if you really want something-if you lead from your heart the universe will deliver...not always what you expected but what is right for your heart!

Many works are still very much in progress and what an exciting journey it is...

What a great day!

This week i had a wonderful day planned visiting my girlfriend for a lunch on her birthday.  I had been looking forward to it for weeks.

Happy birthday Rit.

Pooch had different ideas for my day.  She was looking for someone to play with, unfortunately it was on the Kennedy Highway. So Mark picked her up from becoming road kill and brought her home for me to look after on my non-work day. I took on the role with relish!

We didn’t know her name or her home, so while Mark made up signs and contacted the radio station, I gave her lots of love and attention. She came with me to visit my girlfriend for her birthday lunch.

When no one called that night, I thought she might be ours.  But her family called the next day and she was reunited that afternoon.  Here are some photos to remember our lovely couple of days together.

    

"Throw the ball - go on?"

One last hug (after dance class) before we give her back

Mark and I will be getting our own pooch over the school holidays, when we have the time to build a fence and spend time getting her settled in.  So we consider Lilly to be our little road test and we loved sharing our life with her!

Sawasdee ka

Sawasdee ka!

Mark and I are having a lovely time here in Thailand.  Our holiday ends soon, but in the meantime, we are enjoying spending time with my brother in law and his new wife.  They had a beautiful Buddhist wedding with five monks and a very elaborate traditional Thai ceremony.  Ta was elegantly serene and beautiful and Chris was quite the dashing groom!  Mark and I felt very privileged to be representing his family from Australia.

While I am away from classes, we have also been enjoying a holiday here.  Most of our time has been up at Chiang Mai in the north, where it is a slow pace and the people are friendly and wonderful.  The highlight of our northern trip was an amazing opportunity we had to spend time with elephants at Baan Chang Elephant Park.  Below is a photo of us with Samboon, the big male of the flock.  He was such a gentle giant and loves a scrub in the bath.

I have been thinking about dancing and wondering how you are all going.  I am also a little worried about how much food I have been eating on this trip, as the Thai cuisine is too good!  Sit ups will definitely be on the agenda when I get back…

Breathe in ...

Finally the rain has arrived!

The air has cooled and a gorgeous fog has settled in the valley giving an energised feel to everything (including me and my salad greens).

The scrub turkey is no longer scratching around like a maniac, he gently pushes the leaves, as there is plenty to eat now.  The ground is soft beneath my feet and completely wet.  The brown grass seems to already have green leaves here and there.  The air seems easier to breathe.  Colour has returned where before everything was washed out and pale, now even the dirt seems more brown.  The discarded leaves are beautiful shades of red, orange, yellow and green.

So our dance will shift into a different gear, time to respond to the wet season weather.  If the sun comes out and drags the moisture from the ground, we will draw ourselves in and concentrate on slow moves.  If another storm sweeps through, we will use this energy to drill and turn the wheel with improvisation.

To all the beautiful tropical dancers enjoying the rain – breathe it in and celebrate another wet season!