PLEASE JOIN US!
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SEEDs Fundraiser
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Help SEEDs Grow!
A Fundraiser
for
Pomegranate SEEDs
(Self-Esteem, Empowerment, and Education Through Dance) Hosted by Ali MacGraw
Saturday, September 15, 2007
6pm to Midnight
Dance Party 9pm to Midnight
At Fusion (formerly Swig)
135 Palace Ave, Santa Fe, NM
All ages are welcome to this event. Pleease bring your ID.
Tickets available at Pomegranate Studios
Dinner and Auction: $150 each
or $250 per couple
Dance Party: $25
For more info or to RSVP call 505.986.6164
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 Desert Rain
She asks me why
I want to be a dancer
As if it were a question
I knew how to answer.
It's like asking a phoenix why
it wants so badly to fly.
Like the language of the soul,
melodies speak
to our curves
and find the answers
of why our bodies must move.
See, his hands touch
the skin of the drum
A rhythm of excitement,
of inspiration
to move one's soul.
She steps backwards
curves
like snake scales
in the desert rain.
She plays the caress
of his music on her body
Like fire and ashes,
ocean and rain.
Settles down your nerves
like water between the rocks.
She fits between the crevasses
with no fear
of the fall to come.
Grace Weisman is a native of New Mexico who began dancing in the '05 SEEDs program. She went on to dance in Ahatti, Almaaz Assahara and currently Mosaic Dance Company. Grace is a poet and actress. She is currently receiving her degree in business and will attend the College of Santa Fe next year. |
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Upcoming Events
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Mosaic Dance
Performances at:
Fusion · 135 Palace Ave ·
!st & 3rd Friday of every month, 7pm. 505.955.0400
Body Inc. · 333 W. Cordova
1st Monday of every month, 7pm
505.986.0362
Karim Nagi Still need info for this
Astryd Farah deMichele
Technique and Choreography Workshop October 20-21st
more info
Invaders of the Heart
April 25-26, 2008
Annual Performance at the
James A. Little Theater
hosting Aziza (Egyptian), Carolena Nericcio and Megha Gavin (Tribal), and Arul Ramiah (Classical Indian)
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Pomegranate Studios and Myra Krien have been Recognized for outstanding achievement in:
'06 Featured in Dance Magazine
'06 Featured in Bliss Magazine
'07 Saluted by the Santa Fean
as "one who as made a difference"
'07 Santa Fe Chamber of Commerce
Business of Excellence Award
'07 International Belly Dance Conference
Las Vegas, Nevada
Award of Achievement in Middle Eastern Dance
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Greetings!
Welcome to the Pomegranate Studios National Newsletter! This is our first issue and I am so excited to think what a resource it will be for all of us! It is my hope that this newsletter will serve in many ways, connecting everyone to our fabulous performances, special guest artists and general studio and company news. Our backstage articles will offer insights into self-care, costuming, make-up, helpful hints, etc. I will offer an editorial column to share thoughts and experiences that I hope will inspire. Most importantly, it will act as a forum for the SEEDs program. This program has changed the lives of so many young women and has had a profound effect on the Santa Fe community. I want to share the program with others.
We had our first national teacher training last June and will offer this annually in hopes to see the program presented in communities all over the United States or further. It is my wish that this newsletter will act as a resource for those of you implementing SEEDs programs far and wide and will serve to keep us all connected in our purpose. I'd like to thank all our contributors and especially Anne at Little Light Designs for setting up the newsletter and invite all of you who read it to feel free to contribute to it (just email me!). I hope to see many of you at our annual FUNdraiser at Fusion on September 15th and I hope you'll come and enjoy Karim Nagi. He is an incredible instructor and musician and we are honored to host him again!
Joy to you in dance!
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Notes from backstage
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Arianna Sullivan, 16, began her studies at Pomegranate Studios four years ago as a member of Little SEEDs, then went on to do the SEEDs program, dance in both pre-professional companies Ahatti and Almaaz Assahara, and is now a member of the professional company Mosaic Dance Company and a teacher for Little SEEDs. Currently enrolled at Santa Fe High School, she wishes to pursue a career in creative writing.
I arrived on time at the James A. Little Theater for the tech rehearsal of "the big show", or the 2007 Invaders of the Heart Production, but I was a mess. Not only was my hair and makeup still not done, but I was shaking. I had red blotches all over my skin, and I was cringing in pain from waves of stomach cramps and nausea.
My brother had bought me a cup of chamomile tea. As I sat backstage curled up in my seat in front of the mirror, the last thing I felt like doing was ingesting anything. I took no more than a few sips. Even the soothing warm tea seemed to curdle in my stomach.
Another member of the dance company who was recovering from a fever offered me a cup of hot fresh-brewed ginger tea. She explained that ginger is very soothing to the stomach as well as the throat.
"You," she told me, "look toxic." I admitted that toxic described exactly how I felt. I took a sip of ginger tea, but was immediately overwhelmed by the rich flavor and smell. My stomach clenched, sending me running to the toilet. I threw up, but even that did not relieve the painful, acid, knot.
I somehow worked my way through the set that I was in. I felt guilty that I could not give my entire body to the movement. I was off-kilter and unsteady throughout the piece. With every gesture, my stomach seemed to seize up. It became clear to me that I needed to get off the stage. As we chasse'd (sashayed) and turned in a large circle around the stage, I gratefully seized the opportunity to slip past the photographers into the wings. I walked as stealthily as I could across the stage behind the backdrop towards the dressing rooms. Almost there, I broke out into a run, reaching the toilet just in time to throw up once again.
Still, my stomach did not feel better. I knew that if my body was going to try to expel whatever it so strongly disagreed with, there would be more to come. I tried to nibble on the crackers being offered to me, thinking, "Well, at least I might have something more to throw up than stomach acid." I sipped cautiously at the bubbly water also provided. I probably didn't get through much more than one whole cracker before I found myself kneeling in front of the toilet wiping my mouth for a third time that night.
I was assisted back to a chair, and there faced the project of hydrating myself and giving my stomach something of substance to work with. I had only a brief break before the nausea returned and I threw up one last time. Finally, though I did not feel better, my body seemed to be done exorcizing the demons from my stomach. I was set up in a bed of pillows, where it took all of my energy to tentatively swallow the sparkling water and crackers assigned to me.
I was sent home as soon as possible. The next morning I felt mostly restored after a good night's sleep, a breakfast of eggs on toast, and lots of water. Yet even then my stomach felt delicate, I had no desire to eat anything sweet, and my entire body felt achy and sore like somebody recovering from a fever. I still felt fragile, like one wrong move could take me down.
The problem began in the weeks leading up to the show. Without my noticing, the amount of sleep I got each night diminished, squelched away by school work, extra dance rehearsals, and most of all, my preoccupied mind that seemed to turn the fastest when I most needed it to slow down and let me sleep. Not enough sleep adds to stress -- mental and physical -- which in turn adds to sleep deprivation. Or at least so the pattern went for me. But, I figured easily, shrugging away my exhaustion and anxiety and crankiness, "I'm young, of course my body will get through this with me."
I pack my own lunch during the school year, so my eating habits tended to depend on how much time I have in the morning to pack myself a lunch. Sometimes there would be a sandwich, sometimes fruit, sometimes crackers and cheese, sometimes nuts, sometimes carrots. Individually these items were great, but I did not feel I had the time or focus to make them an ensemble. I would eat a little bit of this or that, but usually not this and that.
On the day of the rehearsal, I know I had some carrots, but not much more -- maybe crackers or cookies. Already after lunch my stomach began to rebel as it registered that I was not going to feed it properly. In the class period following lunch there was a platter left from a club full of chocolate covered raisins, pretzels, and nuts. Mmm, processed sugars on a nearly empty stomach - maybe not a great choice. My stomach steadily worked itself into a knot, and for the rest of the day I didn't ingest anything -- even anything that might have helped, such as protein, or water. By the time I got to the theater, it was a lost cause, and my body simply needed to be free of the sugars that had so insulted it.
So this I learned the hard way: even a young strong body cannot function without fuel. Dancers are not often given the title "athlete", so it is easy for us to forget that that is exactly what we are. Athletes more than anybody else need special care. We cannot skip the basics: hydration, nutritious foods, sleep.
Along with the big lesson, I did learn quite a few little tonics and helpful tips to deal with nerves, cramped stomachs, and nausea: a drop of peppermint oil on the tongue for nausea; a wet cool paper towel or wash cloth on the back of the neck for nerves, faintness, dizziness, or nausea; bubbly water or coke to settle a stomach. But the important thing to remember is that it is not usually good for our bodies reach the point at which these things are necessary in the first place. It is critical for us as dancers and athletes to be responsible and think ahead of time. We need to plan food and water into the day to supply the body with something to run on, instead of treating it like it can take care of itself. If we fail, it will try to continue until it crashes or ceases to function. The warning signs may be a headache, feeling faint or having blotchy or unfocused vision, maybe passing out, migraines, or throwing up. We push and push, and forget how hard our bodies are working to keep up with our demands. Like a car, they need fuel to run on or they will, inevitably, at one point or another, break down. I am by no means the only dancer to have had an experience like this, where the body is pushed to or beyond its limits. Everybody has different reactions, but no matter how slight or dramatic an event it is, it is like our body is giving us a big shove, a reminder, that NO, it cannot carry on without our constant love and care.
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Myra in Tumbleweeds
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photo by louis leray
Interview with Myra Krien
Tumbleweeds May 2007
My mother also loved to dance. It was the early 1960's in San Francisco and belly dance was BIG. From the time I was three years old I accompanied my mother to her belly dance classes. When we came home we would practice together. These are some of my fondest childhood memories.
I will never forget my earliest impressions of the dancers that my mother would take me to see. They were so magical, beautiful beyond compare and so self-possessed. I was in awe. I never thought of them as provocative. All I saw was the beauty of their movement. Somehow I already knew that it was the dance itself that created the beauty I beheld. It was a language that spoke to the deepest parts of myself even then.
I grew up belly dancing, began performing at eleven and taught my first class at the age of fourteen. Dance was my sanctuary throughout high school. When life was almost too much to bear it was dance that gave life back to me. Always overweight and self-conscious, belly dance allowed me a place to feel safe. I could move my body without ridicule. It allowed me to express the graceful soul that was inside. The experience was both ecstatic and sublime. When I was dancing I felt beautiful, I knew I was beautiful. It was the only time I felt this way. Dance was my joy, my ritual, my meditation. Dance became my spiritual center.
In my twenties I used to perform (I still do) for many of the local schools. One day I went to perform for a Montessori school. The children "ooohed and aaahed" as I danced for them, their eyes were wide with delight and their smiles as broad as their faces. When I had finished they all wanted to touch me, stroke my hands and arms, touch my costume. We danced together for a while. Afterwards the teacher asked if I would like to go outside with the children for recess and enjoy the sun. As I sat conversing a young boy emerged from the classroom pulling his mother by the arm behind him. He was exclaiming excitedly, "See mother there she is! There's the ANGEL!" As he said the word 'angel' it took his breathe away. The way he looked at me that day is something I will never forget. It is one of my most precious memories.
I find that children experience belly dance for what it truly is, a pure expression of beauty. There is a deep satisfaction in mastering the movements of this form.
Regardless of perception, to enact the movements of bellydance offers the performer an experience that is empowering, uplifting and joyful.
Myra Krien, an international performer, choreographer and teacher for over thirty years, is the owner and Director of Pomegranate Studios, founder and director of Mosaic Dance Company, Ahatti and Nahar al Finoon dance companies, Pomegranate SEEDs youth mentorship program and Funk-Ex Fitness, a state- of-the-art dance fitness program.
For the young ones, the Seedlings, ages six to nine, the classes are about falling in love, the sheer joy of expression through movement and the love of the music. The dance and the music are a rich cultural experience. The posture and simple coordination are great, and of course nothing beats "free dance" time in a huge studio with mirrors, running across the floor with a three-yard veil made of silk! As young teens, whose bodies are beginning to change and social pressures concerning body image start to come in to play, the classes offer a safe and supportive environment. There is no competition or right body type. As they gain control over their bodies they build self-confidence and greater self-esteem. This helps them to make better choices.
For teenagers we offer a unique program Pomegranate SEEDs (Self-esteem, Empowerment and Education through Dance) designed specifically to target the difficulties of the teenage years. Pomegranate SEEDs is a non-profit organization, established by Founder/Director Myra Krien in 2001 to present to youth the finest instruction in Middle Eastern Arts along with programming that promotes self-discovery and self-actualization, provides mentorship at a very high level and prepares young women for independence. The mission of SEEDs is to mentor young women in order to create healthy and strong individuals who are socially and fiscally responsible to themselves and their community. This is accomplished through the vehicle of dance, specifically American Tribal Style (ATS) dance, talking circles, journal writing and presentations.
Pomegranate Studios offers classes for women ages six to "can you still walk?". Seedlings, ages 6-9, Tues. 3:30-4pm. Little Seeds, ages 10-14, Mon. and Fri. 4-5 pm. SEED (Self-esteem, Empowerment and Education through Dance) runs the academic year September through May and meets Tues., Wed. and Thurs. afternoons from 4:30-6 pm. Beginning adult classes in Tribal style belly dance meet Tues., Wed. and Thurs. nights at 7 pm, Thurs. at 1 pm, and beginning Egyptian style Sat. at 10 am. All classes are ongoing and drop-in, $12 per class. For more information call 986-6164 or www.mosaicdance.net.
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Pomegranate Studios is an educational and presenting organization, established in 1996 by Founder/Director Myra Krien, to present high quality programs of the rich artistic heritage of the Middle East as expressed through music, dance, poetry, visual arts, and other art forms as they relate to American culture.
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