Quarterly Newsletter from Pomegranate SEEDs

IN THIS ISSUE

From Myra
(Interview from Hip Circle Magazine)

Hair Tips from Amanda

GoodSearch

Invaders of the Heart 2008

NVADERS OF THE HEART

GET YOUR SHOW TICKETS TODAY BY CALLING POMEGRANATE STUDIOS

505.986.6164

WWW.MOSAICDANCE.NET

Invaders details:

Workshops:

Aziza

Saturday 4/26 3;30 - 5:00
Sunday 4/27 12:00 - 2:00

Tribal Pura

Saturday 4/26 1:15 - 3:15
Sunday 4/27 9:30 - 11:30

Performances:

Friday April 25 8pm
Saturday April 26 8pm
General Admission
$25.00
Tickets available at Pomegranate Studios

Upcoming Events

Body Inc.
Monday
May 5
$5 suggested donation
7pm

Fusion
Friday
May 2, 16
No cover charge
7pm
call 955.0400 for
reservations

Student Salon
Sunday
May 11
$5 suggested donation
Railyard Performance
Center
7pm

SEEDs Board of Directors:

Joel Brink
President

Catherine Clemens
Vice President

Marisa del Rio
Secretary

Jason Voss
Treasurer

SEEDs
Fundraising Guild

Jodi Balsamo

Oakley Blasdel

Bill Peterson

Jennifer Ferraro

Jeff Nelson

Trish Padilla

OUR SPONSORS

Amanda Peters

Issue: #3

April 2008

TRADITION AND INNOVATION, Interview with Myra Krien
appearing in Hip Circle Magazine by Zanbaka

Z: Myra, the first time I saw you dance was years ago in the cabaret at Middle East Music and Dance Camp in Mendocino. It was absolutely breathtaking and I was so impressed with your ease of performing to live music and emotive expression through dance. As I later discovered, you're a truly versatile dance artist and experienced in many styles of belly dance. How would you describe your style(s) or is your work something not to be labeled?

M: My father, Joel Andrews, was a renowned classical Harpist. Both my parents loved music from different cultures and knew many extraordinary musicians. I grew up around live music of all sorts. I hardly ever danced to recorded music, with the exception of my Geoge Abdo albums. As a performer I came up working as an improvisational dancer. It wasn't until much later in my career that I became a choreographer. In my teaching I make it a point to focus equally on both. I am a fan of labeling because I love language and its ability to inform and communicate. Dance is a language. I hope that the more articulate we are about our dance, the more understanding there will be and hopefully a deeper respect. While I love and deeply respect tradition I am also an artist. Therefore I feel strongly that we should take the time to know what is cultural and historical about our form and also allow our art to be an expression of our authentic experience. I work in many distinct styles. I try not to blur these distinctions so as not to mar their beauty. However, like any language it is a living breathing entity and must belong to the moment. I perform and teach Modern Egyptian both Oriental and Folkloric, Tribal (ATS), and Belly Baille, a fusion form I created with an emphasis on Flamenco and a collection of Classical Indian dances. I also work in Turkish and Lebanese styles as well as Tunisian.

Z: I understand your first bellydance class was at the age of 3. Can you tell us more about your first experiences with bellydance. Was there a definitive moment where you became "hooked" or was it a gradual process? Who were your most formative instructors?

M: I was born in San Francisco, CA in 1962 and belly dance was BIG. The climate of my upbringing was eclectic and unusual. My grandfather, Alan Watts (Zen author), surrounded us with fascinating artists, intellectuals and spiritual leaders from all over the world. My mother loved to dance and she said I came out dancing (don't all little girls?). She took me to all her dance classes and we would come home and dance together. We studied with Bert Balladine and Jamilla Salimpour as well as others. My fathers' family, Floppy and Bobby Hyde, had started a bohemian community on the Mountain Drive in Santa Barbara. An event on the Mountain Drive called "Pot Wars" was the inspiration for the Patterson's Renaissance Pleasure Faires. I grew up an integral part of the northern faire where my first impressions of belly dance were of Jamilla Salimpour's Bal Anat. When we moved to North Carolina I studied with a dance duo Sara and Siri. Siri had danced with an Armenian Ballet Company in New York and had the most beautiful arm work I had ever seen. After six years with them we moved back to Northern California where I took classes with Jamilla, Mimi Spencer-Delgado, DeAnne of Light Rain and others. During this time I taught my first belly dance class at age 14 at Mt Tamalpais High school for P.E. credit and started my first dance company, Azadeh. It wasn't until I came to Santa Fe that Carolena Nerriccio taught a workshop and I began my love of Tribal. Then I met Shareen al Safy at Middle Eastern Music and Dance Camp. She changed everything for me. In her I finally met someone with whom I could have a conversation about so many things; anatomical technique, history, culture, profession, and even spiritual practice. She opened the doors for me to the world of Egyptian dance. Before and since, I have been privileged to study with so many incredible dancers who have given me so much. I have been very blessed.

Z: For those students just starting out in bellydance, what advice would you give them? What would you consider the foundations of a basic bellydance education?

M: Have faith, in yourself, in your teachers, in the dance. Relax, breathe, enjoy the movement, be the music. Take your time. Dance is a language and like any other it takes time to become fluent. Remember that it takes ten years to make a mature dancer. Start at your feet, learn your anatomy, discipline the body, but remember that technique serves what you have to say. Dance first for yourself and everyone around you will share in your joy. Dance is a pure expression of the soul. It is the gift you give yourself and it will give to you exactly what you devote to it. Fall in love, surrender to it and it will be a profound and transformative teacher.

Z: Tell us about your experience with East Indian Dance and Flamenco. Who were your most formative instructors?

M: I studied Flamenco for four years under several different teachers. Like any form of dance I knew I would have to devote much more of myself to it if I wanted to become fluent. Since belly dance was my first love and affinity I decided to let my love of Flamenco influence my belly dance. My teachers have been Leisa Foreman, Monique and Maria Benitez, among others. The East Indian dance has been somewhat different. Instead of being able to study regularly I have been relegated to workshops over the past ten years. I've studied with many beautiful dancers in the course of that time. I have had dances set upon me, and my company, at different times of different classical Indian disciplines.

Z: Tell us about Pomegranate Studios and your dance program. Describe your greatest joys and challenges that have come with running your own studio.

M: I founded Pomegranate Productions and Pomegranate Studios in 1996, Mosaic Dance Company in '98, Ahatti Apprentice Company (Tribal) in '01, Pomegranate SEEDs youth mentorship program in '00 and Almaaz Assahara (Egyptian) in '06. In that time we have grown to host over 40 classes weekly to over three hundred students, three dance companies with thirty dancers and have taken SEEDs national with a teacher training and certification. The companies perform between 60-80 shows per year, including our annual large-scale theatre production. Every year we host many of the top artists in the field and travel offering workshops and performances. I am proud of the level of excellence, versatility and virtuosity that is our work. It has taken incredibly hard work, long hours, tremendous self-sacrifice and heartbreaks to build this organization to this level. I often work 12 hour days, six days a week and teach between five to seven hours a day. My greatest joy is seeing a student fall in love with the dance, watching them grow at whatever level. One of the hardest things is watching a student's ego talk them out of the thing they love most, dance.

Z: What is the bellydance scene like in Santa Fe? (History, venues, prevalent styles, favorite local dancers, big influences on the area, etc.)

M: There are many dancers and teachers here and I've trained most of them at one time or another. My companies are blessed to perform at two gorgeous venues here in Santa Fe. Mosaic performs at a very upscale restaurant called Fusion and the pre-professional companies perform at Body, where they enjoy a stage and lights. Both these venues treat us beautifully. We could hardly ask for more. We are blessed to perform at a fabulous theatre every year to sold-out audiences of 450 each night. I still dream of having our own venue, but that may be more than I can achieve this time around.

(Tradition and Innovation is a regular column written by Zanbaka (www.zanbaka.com), Pacific Northwest Instructor, Choreographer, Performer and Author of the Bellydance for the Versatile Dancer book series. Here you'll find articles about how bellydance has developed into what it is today, where the dance form is headed, as well as candid interviews with dancers from all walks of life. History, Fusion and everything in between!)

Check back in June for Part II of this interview with Myra!

Hair tips from Amanda Peters
of Mosaic Dance Company

Along with the art form of performance comes the sometimes challenging art of costuming and hair. Hair can be literally a root of all evils: getting stuck to lipstick, sweaty foreheads or cheeks, or spilling when a rogue hairclip loses its grip -- usually at the most inopportune moment. Then there's my favorite hair travesty: the strand that sticks to the crease of my mouth, so that I can't feel it. My dance partners see it and start to give the "move the hair out of your mouth" sign language. Moral of the story: if the hair looks good and stays in place a dancer may feel a sense of peace; similar to knowing the bra hooks are sewn with button thread rather than the more questionable bent-up safety pen you borrowed at the last minute. Prepare the hair, ladies! It takes some practice, but you have bigger things to worry about while you're dancing, such as, "was it a gushi or maya in that last set?"

Here are personal tips which I have found to be helpful in creating performance hair:

Accessories
Depending on the theme/style of the dance, it is nice and sometimes required to put in hair accoutrements. Give a run-through the day before and make sure all flowers are secured to a clip, and that the glue is not cracked and falling off. Make sure the clasps or ribbons to your headpiece are in place and useable. Catching these simple things and nipping them in the bud will make everything go smoother. Trust me on this one.

Prepping the Hair
Styling works best when your hair is either freshly washed, or washed the day before. This is up to you and the kind of hair you have (fine, curly, frizzes easily, etc.) Since I have wavy hair which knots easily, I will blow it out using a spray bottle, some hair spray and hair dryer. Another tip is to straighten the hair or use rollers in order to create some smoothness and body.

Pre-Creation
Answer these questions before you start putting up your hair.
-How many costume changes do I have?
-What style of dance am I performing? Is it all tribal? Some oriental? Both? How does my hair need to look for each dance style?
-Does my top/shirt come off without messing up what I created?
-Am I wearing a headpiece or flowers?
-How much time do I have and how much time do I want to invest in this creation?
*If you have fifteen minutes to fix your hair, call me! Or relax and do what you know, trying to create something new in little time has too many variables.

Creation of Half-Up Half-Down
To start off the basic hair base- take the top section of the crown, leave out the bangs and side pieces. Pull this section forward and flat against the head. Using bobby pins, at least four, secure the hair to the root section. It should create a bump when pushed back. Smooth over and secure the same section of hair to create a pompadour at the back crown of your head. Once you have completed this, play. Twist sections of hair in and around, using bobby pins or tiny plastic claw clips to secure the pieces. At this time, putting in flowers or headpieces would be ideal. This is a base step and should be practiced.
*Most importantantly, do not worry about creating a symmetrical updo. The entire creation should compliment you and costume, do not let it control you, let it get too complicated or larger than life. Good Luck!

GOODSEARCH
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Just go to www.goodsearch.com and be sure to enter Pomegranate Seeds as the charity you want to support. Please tell your friends and family as well so we can get everyone involved! Thanks!!