Belly Dance Super Stars Diaries by Dondi Dahlin

Tour Diary

by Dondi Simone Dahlin Written while on tour with the Belly Dance Super Stars

tour diary part 1 It is March 5th, 2004 and I am on a toiletless bus zig-zagging across America. With 15

other people and no privacy, the days are long. Creepy truck stops in the middle of the night become our oasis.

Bottled water, a toilet, and a breath of fresh air can make the difference between total mutiny and tolerance.

We are the Belly Dance Superstars and Desert Roses. We all have different reasons for embarking on this difficult journey. One dancer likes being on the road, even when we cant find a vegetarian restaurant to suit her needs....even when we pass giant trucks filled with cows being taken to slaughter. There are other dancers at the height of their careers who dream of Superstar fame that might just put them on the map of belly dance history forever. There are several who teach and feel this will expose them to the various regions of the U.S. so they can continue booking workshops.

Some of us vend our videos and pass out fliers and business cards...this is the ideal venue for networking. For most of us who arent independently wealthy, the pay is decent. A big reason we dont catch the first train home is because we are told over and over by audience members that we are creating belly dance history. This makes us excited and the exposure of dancing for 200-500 people a night in 60 cities throughout Canada and the U.S. cannot be denied. Our producer and music mogul, Miles Copeland tells us that he has scanned the nation looking for the best, most beautiful dancers and we are some of the best that he has ever seen. This strokes our egos.

The tour started in L.A. with intense rehearsals under the direction of Jillina. Our first show was in San Di-

Me in my “Belly Bus Bedroom.” Notice the luggage beneath the seats. There was no room to put our feet. We had to have our bags, luggage and all our costumes, swords, and props in the seats with us. Additionally, this was not a big bus. It was basically a commuter bus from the airport and had no bathroom. We traveled on it for almost four months around the entire United States.

We were the original members of The Belly Dance Superstars on the first ever BDSS US tour. We had 12-14 performers. When we would have 14, we had to share seats. I shared my seat with Issam. We would lean on each other to sleep and once we were in the seats it was very difficult to get out.

ego and more like a dress rehearsal. We hardly knew eachother then and were still getting used to the show and the management. We were all freaking out while we rushed into an abyss of the unknown...what would a 60 city Nationwide tour be like? Could we handle it?

Husbands and boyfriends were being left behind as we stuffed our lives into two suitcases and crawled into a cramped bus.

The tour schedule is grueling. Put together by Ark 21 and Miles Copeland we quickly become aware of how different his perspective must be than ours. He has worked with and managed rock stars. Men mostly.

Men who can pee behind trees. Men who can eat twinkies without gaining weight (or having an energy drop). Men who dont care about finding a salad...they can eat 14 oz. steaks in 15 minutes flat at the nearest greasy spoon. Men who dont need two hours to do their makeup and attach their glamorous hair pieces.

Men who can sleep in pretzle posistions and dont care about weird smells and sounds on the bus.

But, we are women. We are adult women who are expected to look perfect, rested and gorgeous at our

shows. We are women who are supposed to be able to ride in a tiny bus for 8 hours and jump off being able to dance a 2 hour gala show. We are women who gain weight when we dont work out. We are women who dont want to stop at the gas station for hot dogs and ding-dongs and call it dinner. We are professional belly dancing women who have menstual cycles, mood swings, sensitive feelings and egos. Surprisingly, we are women who are all getting along and giving eachother support that I dont think any of us expected.

If there were catty tendencies and bitchy personalities before the tour began, they are gone now. We are almost one month into the tour and we are watching each others backs like sisters. We are becoming a tightly knit team. The mood swings still exist but, as women, we understand them and we allow for them.

We dont pretend we are perfect and we dont deny our feelings. Communication has become a priority.

There is one man on our tour and we think of him as “The Worlds Greatest Tabla Player.” As a musician, Issam is tops. As a man, he is one of the girls hanging out, laughing, joking and encouraging us to do well in every new city. His smile is contagious and his pres-

ence brings our audiences to their feet. He sits in front of me on the bus and talks on the phone to his wife and kids back home in California every single day. I call my family every day. Most of us do. What would we do without our cell phones?

The days on the bus are long and our bodies suffer.

Our driver/assistant/helper Juan is totally understanding that we must make frequent pit stops. They mean everything to us because we can stretch our bodies and lubricate our limbs. Juan drives through the rain, sand storms, heat and cold while we fill the time with DVDs on our little bus television. Juan doesnt get to see the movies including our favorites like Dirty Dancing and Pirates of the Caribbean. We love recreating the Patrick Swayze love scenes and swooning over Johnny Depp. We sleep and eat and listen to CDs. We drive during the night stopping at hotels around 5 am for hot showers and a few hours in a normal bed.

We leave just before noon and by 4 in the afternoon we all start doing our makeup.

Suction cup shelves and vanity mirrors line the windows of the bus as we try dilligently to attach our fake eyelashes while our driver Juan speeds around the curves of the road. We are mandated to wear fake eyelashes. Jillina, the artistic director has rules for the show and rules for us. The rules range from wearing eye lashes to no safety pins to no brown lipstick on the stage. I constantly have eyelash glue on my eye lids and have to literally peel my eyes open in the morning. This is a never ending battle with eyelash glue and I am afraid it is winning. Every day my eyes are swollen and red. Many of the dancers are losing lashes.

On the bus we also have drills. Our drummer, Issam takes us through tabla drills and lessons until our fingers are puffy. Often times we run Belly Dance drills.

The middle aisle barely fits one person, let alone 14 dancers, but we manage. Each dancer leads her own drill and the others follow. We have three tribal dancers and I find their drills the most challenging. Most are from their studies with Suhaila Salimpour. Sometimes I do squats on the bus. My fanny gets pushed into everyones face but no one cares anymore...we are trying to stay healthy no matter what it takes.

Most of the women on the tour are thin and beautiful.

They have svelte bodies with perky breasts and bottoms. They resemble models more than a cross-section

of dancers that the Belly Dance world represents. I am one of the only ones with flesh that shakes like jello and weight that demands I buy size 8 pants on our Walmart runs. Most of the others buy size 1-4.

There are a few exceptions, like Bozenka (who is still thin) but has shapely hips and a curvy bottom. There are also the tribal girls. Besides Rachel Brice, we have two “Glamazons” who demand attention from the most uninterested of people. Sharon and Meloldia tower over me at almost 6 feet. They are statuesque and trim but do have some supple curves and few people can take their eyes off of them.

Miles says that he wants women who are “proportionate” and he claims that he will hire bigger women and “older” women if they are physically proportionate, attractive and talented. Still, the average woman in America is supposedely 5’4” and 145 lbs. Most of the girls on this tour are at least 5”6” and below 115 lbs. This is the toughest part of the tour for me. I usually love my body, but with this company I have been made to feel that, at 125 lbs I need to lose some weight.

It is refreshing when women from the audience come up to me after a show and tell me that I am their saving grace. They shower me with compliments about my voluptuous body and tell me that I resemble a real woman. They say that if it werent for curvy bodies like mine, it would be more difficult to accept the show.

These words comfort me. Without them I might just fall apart. The pressure to be thin on this tour is overwhelming. I am the only one who is seriousely dieting. The other girls pack their pockets with Snickers bars and butter cookies...they have not gained a pound.

A luck-out for me is my roommate, Petite Jamilla from Alabama. She is a god send. She is the youngest member on the tour at 21 years old but is amazingly evolved and extremely knowledgable about the dance, its history, styles, music and technique. We get to our hotel rooms at 4 am with the rest of the crew but never go to bed right away. We spend endless moments laughing, crying, complaining and counting our blessings of being on such a phenomenal tour. The sun rises and we finally fall asleep only to be awakened a couple of hours later so we can get back on the bus again and travel to our next desitnation.

Petite Jamilla’s mom who she was named for, Jamilla

Rasa joins the tour as several venues and is a mommy to all of us. She makes sure were fed and smiles at us from the audience during the show. Ansuyas mom, Janaeni joined us in Miami as did Amar, Bozenka and Yasmins mom. My mom arrives today. I know I will not be able to withhold my tears when she arrives. All the dancers are happy that there will be more mommy energy for the next couple of days. We cant help but feel more taken care of when the moms arrive.

The producers from ARK 21 are taking turns with us. For the first two weeks we had our tour manager, Stevo on the road. He had to endure the long bus rides, truck stop dinners and venues that were below adequate. We are happy that he experienced the hardships we are going through. Stevo paid us our salaries on time (every Wednesday) and convinced us that in future tours we will have red-carpet treatment. He persuaded us to believe that we are trying to convince the normal public that belly dance is legitimate and exciting and can pack venues. Not all promoters believe this.

ARK 21 has had a hard sell with the Superstars of Belly Dance. This is why we have had to dance at places like the boxy Rhythm Room in Phoenix where we changed in power tool closets with nails sticking out of the wall and ripping at our expensive costumes.

However, we have jumped for joy when arriving at theatres like the South Broadway Cultural Center in Albequerqe and the Workplay Theatre in Birmingham, Alabama. We had food and wine waiting for us on arrival and staff asking us our needs.

Our needs can be summed up in one word: Starbucks.

This is our pleasure, our delight, our fantasy as we pass through towns of pop.48 and dream of soy chai lattes. At home most of us rebel against conformity and corporate greed, driving out of our way to patronize the small town coffee houses. But, on the road, we all love Starbucks. And, we all worship Walmart. Again,

in our home towns we might go to Walmart once or twice a year, but on this tour shopping for razor blades, deoderant and eye lashes at 3 am are the norm for the Belly Dance Superstars.

Presently, our producer Miles Copeland is with us.

He has an ironic reputation. People respect his power in Hollywood and the music industry.People speak of his intelligence. But, people are scared. He has a firey presence that is doesnt always seem to be focused. On a closer look, it is incredible what he absorbs in terms of conversation and interpersonal experiences. The moment you tell yourself that he hasnt heard any conversations around him, he proves you wrong and and is able to repeat information that you spoke of months before that you thought he never heard and certainely wouldnt remember.

There is more irony...women all over the country want Miles to make them Superstars and bring new exposure to the dance, but they wish he would have never broken in to our tightly woven community.

Fear reigns that Miles Copeland will change the face of the belly dance world for the worst. Maybe he will force all women to believe that they need to be 100 lbs. and 25 years old to belly dance. Maybe he will not care about the seasoned dancers and teachers who pioneered the way for the rest of us to be respected as belly dancers and part of the reason why Superstars are getting the recognition that they are.

Sonia and Bozenka would knit to pass the time on the belly bus.

Maybe he is money hungry and doesnt really care about the girls as long as they are youthful and beautiful and making a good buck for him. I have had all of these fears. Most of all I have feared that he doesnt really value our skill but only our looks. I have feared that he will perpetuate the myth that women have to be 22, thin and gorgeous to be successful...the exact opposite of what is so incredible about this dance form.

Most of us have spent years in bliss that we found a dance where we dont have to have boob jobs and tummy tucks to perform and shine in public venues.

We can be women and it has been honored in this dance. There is fear that that will all change. I have also feared that I am the only one really talking about this...that other dancers and teachers across the nation are still biting their tongues so they wont get on the bad side of Miles Copeland. There is a lot of butt kissing going on.

Thankfully, many of my fears have subsided. I have had real visits with Miles and heart-to-heart talks about concerns and issues with this tour. Tears have streamed down my cheeks with exasperation in my voice. Through it all he encouraged me to speak and he listened. He has given me quality time in voicing my opinions. Though he may never change his views about what a womans beauty is and can be, I feel like I have been heard and that feeling can make the difference between me leaving the tour in anger and staying

on with pride. That is what I am doing now.

Miles Copeland and ARK 21 still look for new dancers around the nation and have regular auditions in Los Angeles. At every venue we dance in there are girls/women who want to meet Miles Copeland. Since I am not only a dancer but the host of the show, people think I am in charge and many approach me with their tapes and photos. They ask me how they can become a Superstar. Some wear short skirts and high heeled boots asking me where they can find Miles. When they do find him, they pour it on.

Many have seasoned dance experience and some are new students of the dance. Some come prepared with DVD’s and 8x10 glossies and others just smile with sacharrin warmth looking at all of us with big doe eyes of hope and exitement. It spins my head. I wonder if it spins Miles head or if he is just so used to it. I am relieved that these glamorous hopefuls dont seem to affect or impress him just because they are pretty or young. He seems to be sincerely interested in talent, skill and unique dancing, gladly accepting video tapes from dancers who want a shot at being a “Superstar or Desert Rose.�

The dancers on the tour are Bozenka (Miami), Colleen (Los Angeles), Kaeshi (New York), Amar Gamal (Massachusetts), Rachel Brice (San Francisco), Melodia (San Diego), Jillina (Los Angeles), Sonia (Los Angeles), Petite Jamilla (Alabama), Sharon Kihara Ansuya hated the belly bus. That is our man(San Francisco),Yasmin ager, Stevo behind her making business calls.

(North Carolina), Ansuya (Miami), and myself from San Diego.

One dancer already left.

We dropped of Julianna at the airport in Atlanta and she flew home to her established dance career in Los Angeles.

We have been hired as either a Desert Rose or a Superstar and have talked at length amongst ourselves about what the differencs are. Certainly not skill. Certainely not

beauty. Experience? Perhaps. Fame? Perhaps. The Superstars seem to have established more of a name for themselves and are better known in the Belly Dance world...at least before this tour began.

struggle with their long legs but manage to fall asleep anyway. I find solace in being 5’4”...that in two small seats I am able to curl into a fetus posistion and comfortably doze off.

Before the tour began I wondered if all of the dancers had enough experience and training to be on a tour of this magnitude. All of them do. We have been told that there isnt a weak dancer in our show and I firmly believe that. I was also skeptical about these dancers as women...would we fight like cats on the road?

Would we sneak into closets and cry into cell phones with loved ones back home? No. We all cry in front of eachother, as well as laugh in front of each other...out loud and bodly. We are comfortable in knowing that we are accepted here and no matter how competitive we are in our normal dance lives, on the road we are a team. These women are incredible. They have far exceeded my expectations with their insight, intelligence and wit.

I dont know how Yasmin can sleep in her seats or “bedroom” as we call them because she has lined every empty space with bags, trays, shelves, hooks, hats and photos of her cats and troupe back home in North Carolina . The strangest of all the “sleepers” on the bus is Kaeshi who sleeps with her eyes open. I am in direct eye view of her seat and as her head gently falls back, she starts to resemble a vampire. Of course, when she awakens she is beauty and light. Then there are those who never seem to sleep like comical Colleen who’s infectious laugh and pleas of, “Hey Bunny...” never seem to end.

We have two roadies. One is our male model, Keili who is Rachel Brice’s boyfriend and runs around making sure we are fed and in possession of all of our props, bags and costumes. He wears sexy clothes and makes us sigh at the love and care he has for Rachel and all of us.

The other is Brian or Bunny who is Colleen’s boyfriend. With a too long goatie and grunge light way of dressing, I totally underestimated this man. I first saw him as a boy that I could disregard. He was the merchandise boy selling CDs and DVDs at intermissions.

I sit at the back of the bus...he sits at the front and I have had no real moments to have to get to know him.

A week into the tour I realized what a fool I was for my snooty judgement. He has been our sound engineer, played manager when we havent had a manager on the road and he has proven himself through pep talks, encouragement and overall understanding for twelve belly dancing women. We are lucky to have Keili and Brian.

We all have found our special positions for sleeping on the bus. Ansuya does an “open lotus” position so both knees are supported on surrounding seats. Sonia “tents” herself and cocoons into her own little world.

Amar makes it look so easy by simply leaning against her seat with a neck support. Keili and Rachel take turns laying down in the center aisle. The glamazons

We have very few days off. There are 67 days on the road. I think we get 7 days off. It is vague because they are not true days off. We spend them in the bus travelling hundreds of miles from one place to another passing through different time zones, weather patterns and geographical landscapes. We arrive in the dark of the night feelings like pretzles, barely able to straighten our legs.

It is March 8th and we are leaving Virginia. We have a night off tonight which means no eyelashes! We can do our laundry and get some real sleep. Last night we danced at The Norva, an old theatre with hot tubs in the dressings rooms, fresh fruit and pasta in the coolers. The Norva sees the likes of The Indigo Girls, Bob Dylan and Train. Now it has seen the Belly Dance Superstars.

This old Civil War land that it stands on is rich with history as is all of the South that we have been travelling in for the last week. All of our shows did well in the South with receptive audiences. In Alabama, we not only sold out, but had to send 100 people away.

We are getting rave reviews about our strong, exciting, sensual and classy show. Dixieland has been good to us. The people are warm, friendly and well-mannered.

It will be a joy to come back to the South next Fall.

But, for now we are on our way to the North East and into Canada.

We are watching the movie, The Princess Bride and sleeping. The road is bumpy (literally) and Miles

Copeland sleeps in the seat behind me. I am secretly happy that Miles is enduring this 8 hour drive to Pittsburgh. He is going through what we are going through, including carrying heavy bags, hauling boxes of merchandise and working as hard as the rest of us.

He does all of this as a “matter of fact.” Very cool.

March 10th arrives after dancing at the Carnegie Lecture Hall in Pittsburgh which was strange. The audience was obediant and acted as if we were giving an educational lecture. We drive into Washington DC and Miles informs us that the next nights DC performance is sold out with 500 people. He hires a massage therapist to come to the hotel for us. Plus, the local “Sahara Dancers” are putting aside their day to drive us around and get our hair, nails and errands done. We are thrilled.

So, what is it like to be a Superstar? It is fun, hard, strange, meaningful, exhausting and wonderful. We have a technical rehearsal every single day and never stop practicing and trying to improve our show. We all have to be flexible because there are often changes in music, routines and line-ups. When dancers get sick or injured, others have to fill in to their spots. Some dancers are rotating with eachother (Bozenka and Jillina) and some will leave the tour early like Amar Gamal while the dancer Adori in Los Angeles takes her place. We must all be “easy going” no matter what the changes consist of until the Spring tour ends on April 18th in Los Angeles.

All of us on the tour know women who could easily be in our spots. There are beautiful, talented dancers all over America and the world who would jump at the chance that we are having. There are few dancers in the U.S. who wouldnt like to be known as Belly Dance Superstars even though we are all a little uncomfortable with the title. When it comes up, we often refer to women who have danced before us and who have been our mentors and Superstars like Morrocco, Carolena Nericcio, Sahra Saida, Cassandra and so many others. We talk to Miles about the future with ARK 21 and become overwhelmed. There will be a feature film, more CDs, DVDs, a European tour and more U.S tours in the future. The next U.S tour promises to be “bigger and better.” There are already clothing lines and jewelry.

As for me and everyone on the bus, we have intense

highs and intense lows. Not one person hasnt had her day of tears. When our bodies ache, our cell phones dont work, and we cant find nutritional food or answer our emails it takes every ounce in our being to not act out in stress and anxiety. But then there are the shows.

We dance in front of hundreds of people on big stages with bright lights, while audeinces cheer and clap. We are greeted by crowds who want us to sign autographs and take pictures.

Many of us book future contracts. After the shows there are night drives on the bus while drumming with Issam, telling ghost stories and laughing until we almost pee. At those moments we feel very lucky and it takes every ounce in our being to not say, Lets never let this tour end!

Dondi, Miles (sleeping) and Kaeshi’s husband Brian on the Belly Bus.

Traveling somewhere through America as Miles watches himself on the Belly Bus TV.

tour diary part 2 I love Boston. I had danced at Laya-

leena’s a couple of years ago and fell in love with the sophisticated Arabic crowd. That doesn’t mean they were an “easy” crowd. They were one of the toughest I had ever danced for. These were Arabs who demanded excellent dancing and not just pretty costumes.

On March 13th we were to dance for the sophisticated Arab crowd again at “Baladi” in Cambridge, Mass. We pulled up to Baladi and the owner, Khaled, and a good friend to many of us greeted us on the cold cobblestone street. But, we had an addiction to satisfy...Starbucks was right around the corner. We blew air kisses to Khaled and ran like fiends to devour our Caramel Macchiato’s and biscotti’s.

Baladi was packed with lots of Middle Eastern people and lots of amazing belly dancers including, Melina of, “Daughters of Rhea.” After the show we got to dance freestyle with some of the dancers and customers to the live Arabic band. This fed my soul and took made me feel like I was dancing in the Middle East again.

Several hours later we drove down 42nd street in New York with miles of neon lights shining into our little bus home. Madame Tussauds, giant billboards of Richard Gere, flashes of neon and busy New Yorkers bustling through the streets could not distract us from the bright lights of BB King’s marquee welcoming us to the Big Apple. It seemed to beckon the entire boulevard and everyone in our group squealed with delight, pressing faces to the bus windows and reading the giant letters...”The Belly Dance Superstars!” We had arrived.

We arrived in excitement but had to change gears mid-stream. The show in New York was painful. We had become accustomed to people screaming, yelling and clapping continuously throughout the show. These New Yorkers sat stiffly in their chairs and stared with looks of, “Let US be the judge of the Belly Dance Superstars. We will decide if these women are talented.

We will decide if the show is worth it.” There was silence in places where we were used to audible praise.

There was silence where we were used to zaghareets.

Before the New York show we had had two other venues that were trying on our souls. One was Jacksonville, Florida and the other was Philadelphia. During both venues we were sure that the audiences hated us, only to receive accolades, compliments and requests for autographs after the show.

It was the same with New York. After the show, every one seemed to love it. People told us that they weren’t sure if we could pull of a show of “Riverdance” magnitude. After the show they told us we did. One woman told me that New Yorkers get the “Cream of the Crop” and were used to the very best of performances. She said she decided, beforehand, to closely observe everything with a discerning eye until the entire 2 1/2 hour show was finished to make her assesment on whether it held any calibre. She decided it did and, at the end, she did clap and told us that the show was fantastic and could not have been better...she was thoroughly entertained and impressed by our talent.

Some people approached Miles Copeland and showered him in compliments for such an outstanding show. They went on about how rivetting it was, but then told him all they ways it could have been better.

All of the solutions were extremely expensive and a bit impractical. Full live bands and entire crews of multiple lighting designers and sound technicians were the remedies. If people thought about what it would take to transport an army of show biz specialists like this, they would realize that it is financially improbable.

Bottom line: New Yorkers liked us even though we didn’t get the loud screams and whistles. What we did get were blunt in-your-face statements of “well done,” “good job,” and “some of the best dancing we have ever seen.” We also got blunt, in-your-face

statements from dancers who wanted to be on the tour with us. There were no, “hello’s” or “how-doyou-do’s.” These women were gorgeous, wasted no time with small talk and were on a mission. They cut straight to the point with an overpowering urgency, “Where is Miles Copeland and how do I get onto this tour?”

Our guest dancers in New York were Morroco and Tarik Sultan. Their company was a delightful addition to the backstage activities of the “Superstar” cast.

We bantered with them about the history of the dance, choreography VS. freestyle and everything we could in the time we had them with us. It was an honor to have them be part of our show.

I am all packed up somewhere backstage at some theatre in America. For a while Miles was trying to get this to be the Official BDSS touring jumpsuit.

I think I was the only one who regularly wore it.

The next day was March 15th and a “Promo” day.

Several of the dancers, Issam, Miles and our “roadies” were transferred by stretch limousine to the Virgin Mega Store on Union Square. When our long, white limo pulled up to the curb, people were already waiting for the “Belly Dance Superstars” including renowned dancer and teacher, Dalia Carella with a big smile and lots of hugs. We walked into the massive music store and found ourselves dancing on huge video screens. The “Superstars” DVD was playing for all to see. Escorts, security guards and store employees made sure we were taken care of as we changed into our costumes and prepared to give a 15 minute show to the excited crowds. It was a huge success!

These New Yorkers were the “common people” who, I imagined, had seldom seen something as classy, sensual and dramatic as belly dancing right in front of them, LIVE! These were people of all different colors who were of a “working class” energy. These were people who weren’t at our expensive BB King’s show and who didn’t have the discriminatory looks on their faces. These people were all appreciation and “showed us the love” by lining up for over a half hour to wait for our autographs. These were new fans and true fans. As we stood on the sidewalk waiting for our limousine, a star-eyed fan approached Miles. “Oh my god, you’re Miles Copeland!” We weren’t sure if this guy was being serious. He was. He told Miles how he LOVED the Police and couldn’t believe that right here on the streets of New York he was running into Miles Copeland! He had no idea we were there for the “Superstars” tour.

After Virgin we were taken in the limousine to an industry party at a bar called, “Kush.” It was a party for the Superstars to mingle and meet industry executives.

Kush was tiny and we couldn’t believe that our own dancers, Amar Gamal and Kaeshi used to dance there regularly.

At the end of the evening, Miles, Sonia and Bozenka caught a late night train to Baltimore for early morning news, press and publicity the next day. The rest of us made our way to “Cafe Lika,” an eclectic restaurant and bar with enough atmosphere to last a lifetime. A soothing mix of East Indian, gothic and early Hollywood influences; we sipped on chocolate martini’s and ate goat cheese salads. All memories of truckstop hot

dogs faded as we slipped into bliss. Perhaps it was the martini’s...perhaps it was that it was a rare night when we werent working...perhaps it was the willingness to surrender to the moment...perhaps it was the tangible love of our group that lead us to laughing, dancing, and speaking in prose and poetry to express ourselves.

We all became mesmerized by the photos of sensual women on the walls and with the chocolate sauce that would pool at the bottom of our martini glasses. How would we get it out? Spoons were to big for the tiny glass dimple where the chocolate was resting. Fingers and tongues became our utensils as we managed to drip chocolate sauce most everywhere. We didn’t care...it felt good on our lips, chins and cheeks and we spent a good part of the evening playing with it on our skin. At the end of the evening our waitress told us we were “all so beautiful” and I suddenly realized how silly we must have looked like little kids with our chocolate martini’s.

People in our group started to separate. Some were going to go get some sleep and others were going to sing karaoke, not wanting to waste one minute of our precious one-night stand with fun. Myself, Issam and my roomate Jeszi (Petite Jamilla) decided to go see New York. Issam’s friends picked us up and we went dancing at one of the only clubs really rocking on a Monday night. The club cost $20 a person and had security checkpoints at the front door. After our ID’s were scrutinized we had to empty our pockets, open our purses, take off our hats and walk through a security gate (similar to those in airports) only to then be hand searched all over our bodies. All of this to go dancing. We weren’t in California anymore and the shadow of 911 was looming heavy.

We talked about 911, New York and Ground Zero. We felt we had to drive there to see it. We parked, walked up to the massive unending pit and stared in disbelief. Tears fell as we read the names. Jewish, Arabic, French, Russian, Latin, Italian, Irish....so many names from so many countries and so many different parts of the world. Silently we got back in the car and returned “home” to our hotel and some sleep.

It is March 16th and it is snowing. Hard. I am thrilled.

I love snow.

Bozenka is from Miami, has rarely seen snow and is

excited too. Others aren’t . Ansuya’s body seems to get stiff and inflexible as we move farther into “cold country.” But, it is perfect for me. Being from San Diego I rarely see snow and I LOVE the experience of giant New York snow flakes. And it is perfect for all of the new boots that the dancers bought in New York. Our “team” is obsessed with boots. They are also obsessed with hair. We play with falls, dreadlocks, wigs and braids. Yasmine buys hair pieces that tie onto her head like little gerbils and feature her sweet Southern face and dimples perfectly. I am jealous. I must find some little gerbil hairpieces on our next Walmart run.

We leave the city and head for our next venue in Baltimore. Issam, Kaeshi and Amar jump on a train because of the snow storm. They have to be in Baltimore early for another promo performance. With so many people heading to Baltimore early, there are lots of seats available on the bus and we take full advantage by spreading out and sleeping the day away.

We pull up to the “FunkBox” have a short technical rehearsal, quickly eat dinner and hear of rumors about the night becoming very cold. Miles informs us that there might be ice on the roads. We need to cut a few pieces out of the show so we can leave early to head for Rochester, New York.

We dont want to do it, but this is a matter of safety. The show consistently runs long (over two and a half hours) and many of the dancers have two solo pieces so we can cut one. But, we still need to cut pieces with thoughtfulness and care.

We want Baltimore to get the best show possible. We cut a couple of numbers that are similar to other numbers and we start our show. The audience

rocks! Baltimore makes us forget all of our fatigue from the road. They yell, zaghareet, clap and scream our names. “Amar!” “Dondi!” “Rachel!” “Issam!”

It makes us feel wonderful. They go crazy for every single piece and after the show we are bombarded for autographs and photos. The stage area becomes a “mutual admiration society” of some of the nicest, most beautiful dancers coming up to us and giving us praise. Some of the dancers have made names for themselves in the Belly Dance world...Piper of “Daughters of Rhea” (and Melina’s sister) is there.

We recognize many names and the moment becomes very humbling. Baltimore is fabulous and we will all request to make it a stop on our next tour in the Fall.

We leave Baltimore and drive through the night toward Pennsylvania. It is snowing. Miles bought, “Spinal Tap” for us and we watch it on the bus TV. We make “pit stops” and the dancers buy lots of candy and snacks. Despite this, they are losing weight and their costumes are becoming looser and looser. They claim that they are “losing weight from the stress.”

Hhmmmm...I am under the same amount of stress AND dieting. No comment. Some of the girls mumble Original cast members from the 2004 US tour: Sharon Kihara, Jillina, Dondi, Petite Jamilla and Yasmine in Texas.

and lament about their fat rolls. I have to look very closely to see any fat at all. I buy nothing at the “pit stops.” No snacks for me. We stop at a hotel and climb off the bus into powder white snow and ice. Everyone goes to bed except me and Petite Jamilla...we stay up and do our emails and braid our hair. Braiding our hair gives it a beautiful wave and saves it from the fury of curling irons and hair dryers.

The next morning there is more snow. Pennsylvania is blanketed in white and it is St. Patrick’s Day. Houses circa 1800’s line little hills in little towns with church steeples and chimneys billowing wood smoke. I am happy and feel a kin to St. Patty’s Day. Very few, besides myself, wear green. We pile into the bus and put footage into the DVD player from our BB Kings performance in New York. We try to tape and watch all of our shows to see what we can improve. The show is good. When the camera pans to the audience, many of the patrons look bored. This was the show that was, oh so, painful where the guests praised us after the show, but not during. Most of the people weren’t smiling.

Many weren’t clapping. They gave us little positive feedback and very little energy, sitting in the front row frowning and smirking at us. They put their heads in their hands like they needed an Advil.

So, we were very surprised when they gave us such good reviews as soon as the show ended. The same people who frowned and smirked sought us out to congratulate and compliment us. They waited in the front lobby to praise us about a “mesmerizing show on par with any of the shows on Broadway.” I wonder, why do people come to a show only to sit looking like they are ticked off and making the performers feel horrible? I maintain that this is one of the rudest things a person can do. People who have performed know how disturbing and damaging this can be and yet, they do it anyway. I hope that someday the people who are not performers will have to get up onto a stage to give their hearts and souls to an audience who makes them feel that nothing they give is good enough. I like the idea of karma.

The bus is small and like a bunch of little nations. The front of the bus has a whole different energy than the back. The back gets bombarded by a powerful heater where Melodia and Sonia sit. Before five minutes are up, they are cooking and the front of the bus is still freezing. The heater not only cooks Melodia and So-

nia, it cooks whatever is shoved under the seats...leftover fish sandwhiches, onion rings and everything else that the dancers bring onto the bus from lunch stops at Denny’s. Smells on the bus are becoming legendary.

The dancers seats are their “bedrooms” and each one is decorated differently. Melodia’s bedroom is like a gothic castle lined with peacock feathers and skull & crossbone flags. Sonia’s has a Polynesian flair with gords and flowers. Kaeshi’s husband dubbed mine the “post office” because I have shelves fully equipped with stamps, pens, tape and scissors. But, I am not all “post office.” I also have my collection of lip glosses.

I have “Bubble Yum, “Hershey’s” and other assorted flavors which are perfect for the dry air we keep running into. The dancers decide my “Sugar Daddy” lip gloss smells the best and it ends up in Issam’s “bedroom” shelf, even though he claims he doesn’t use it but only smells it. Colleen and Brian’s room is, “Mardi Gras Delux” with feathered masks, dried roses and fuzzy things hanging from hooks.

Everywhere we look there are bunny ears. Petite Jamilla purchased lots of Easter Bunny ears on one of the ubiquitous Walmart runs and they hang all over the bus windows. Ansuya and I sit near each other and the loudest speaker on the bus is right over our heads. We get nailed with every violent/loud/foul/explitive scene in every movie that is put in the DVD. We watch lots of movies. Today Miles and Ansuya have switched seats. Ansuya couldn’t take the loud speaker anymore so Miles offered her his seat at the front of the bus.

She is sleeping like a baby now. Meanwhile, Miles is behind me, obviously uncomfortable. He can’t find a place for his feet to rest, his legs shift from left to right and I hear little grunts and sighs of frustration.

He does what the Glamazons do and tries to extend his legs out into the little aisle. His shiny, black shoes have to perch near my hanging garbage bag. I dont move my garbage bag. There is no place to move it.

Miles dresses nicer than the rest of us who wear our velvety “BellyDance” jogging outfits and it is plain to me that there can be no peace for him trying to relax in pressed pants and dress shoes. He is experiencing what we all are experiencing...that the BUS IS TOO SMALL!! I am happy he is getting this message loud and clear. I am also happy that we are getting a bigger bus on the next tour. Not only that, but he has broken the news to us that we will have TWO buses! We will

have one bus for crew instruments and props, another for dancers. Crew!! How fantastic it will be to have a lighting designer, sound engineer and more “roadies” helping us on the road. We have been the pioneers this Spring and next Fall we will be compensated for our pioneering with more help and assistance than we have now. I am excited.

We all prepare for the next tours in Europe and the U.S. this September. We listen to music, share ideas and choreograph new routines on the road. Miles wants all new pieces for the next tour and we are working diligently to make that happen. We will have new costumes, music, themes and styles. We will incorporate more Lebanese and Turkish into our mostly Egyptian cabaret show. It will be bigger and better, more colorful and exciting.

and long spine-compressing drives would make anyone edgy. On top of this, The Police had to perform their very best and sometimes the press would catch them at a moment when they were not showing manners or kindness. They were just worn out. Anyone would be worn out while living on 4-5 hours of sleep a night, some of that in a small bus with no personal space. Anyone would be worn out on a touring schedule still in its infancy. The “Belly Dance Superstars” tour is in its infancy. But, it is growing up and slowly we are feeling more comfortable with the grind and less jolted by the process.

As we make our way from Rochester to Albany there are tiny flowers poking through the snow. The seeds of Spring are starting to bloom outside and the seeds of the Fall are starting to bloom inside with our ideas, our creativity and our inspiration for another amazing tour in October.

Do we argue? Yes. Do we fight? It depends on perspective. Most of us are solo performers with established careers, styles and ego’s all trying to come Living on the road is not easy. Classic stories of rock together and work as a team. We are tired, sore and stars being on the road and having it be the hardest many times rushed into performances with no time to experience of their entire lives are legendary. Those take a breath. We wash our socks and underwear in our hotel room sinks or in the shower as we wash our hair because we reach towns and cities at 3 am when everything is closed.

Everyone has a different way of coping. Frustrations are taken out each other and sometimes we lash out.

One night Miles gives us a pep talk. He tells us that the press used to write about The Police when they were touring. Headlines would be printed in magazines and newspapers about how The Police would constantly fight one the road and how they weren’t really friends.

This was not true. It was the demanding schedule of the road that was difficult for the members of The Police. Cold Yasmine and Rachel in an early morning snow storm food, small dressing rooms, in NYC, walking to the Belly Bus from the hotel. late night venues, no sleep

stories comfort us as we dance night after night in a different city all trying to find our personal niche. The stories of rock stars saying that times on the road are some of the best times of their lives are also legendary.

Freedom of open ranges, new people, new faces, belly dance fans, new belly dance students and appreciative crowds at every stop make us feel that the long drives and small dressing rooms are worth it. In fact, all of this is worth it. It is exciting and unpredictable. We are living on the edge and I dont think any of us would want it any other way. This is what life is all about.

One month ago we were dancing at “House of Blues� during Mardi Gras in New Orleans. There were torrential rains that flooded the French Quarter while multi colored beads floated down the sidewalks. We wore big furry hats, ate fried okra & hush puppies and locked arms as we battled the crowds while trying to get glimpses of all the parades. It was loud, colorful, raucous and celebratory. Now it is white, peaceful and serene. We are driving into another country pulling out our passports, passing groves of pine trees and snow covered hills. Ice covered lakes and tiny cabins beckon to us from the bus as the last evidence of Winter.

Winter in the USA has been good to The Belly Dance Superstars and Desert Roses. Tomorrow, March 20th is Persian New Year and the first day of Spring...two big commemorations that we will be in Montreal and Toronto for. Canada here we come!

Dondi and Bozenka at The Birchmere- America’s Legendary Music Hall in Alexandria, Virginia.

It is March 19th and the Canadian border stop and passport

tour diary part 3

control is long and tedious but, for the most part, uneventful. Montreal is unique in that we dance in a giant ballroom with chandeliers and white linen tablecloths. This is a fancy affair with people paying good money for a 4 course sit-down dinner and gala show.

Chandeliers are very romantic and magical while having dinner, but for a stage production they are next to worthless. Miles and Brian quickly venture into Montreal to pick up proper lights. The ballroom starts to fill up. We are notified that 250 people have pre-bought tickets and most do not speak English. As MC of the show, I edit my introduction and narration trying to make it short and sweet. Miles takes over during intermission since he speaks French. The crowd loves the show and they clap and yell loudly. Thank goodness.

They cheer and shout and clamor for autographs. An Arab television station interviews us and the ballroom staff feeds us steak and pasta. Canada is a whirlwind.

The Canadians are warm, friendly, and generous with their praise.

Toronto is similar in attitude, though the venue is entirely different. Every venue is. On this weekend we go from a beautiful, pristine ball room to a dark and dusty gay bar. The staff suddenly realizes that the needs of a 12 person show is very different than a band as we march into the club with bags and suitcases in tow. They move furniture, sweep, mop, and turn over their “cloak and jacket” room to give us more space for a dressing room. Another show is to start immediately after our show and we are mandated to cut our show from 2 1/2 hours to 1 hour and 45 minutes. It is not easy cutting numbers. The dancers have worked hard on choreography, costuming, and staging. These are their moments to shine, but we must take something away. Miles makes the decisions, I am stage manager/ technical director and Kaeshi is “dance captain” while Jillina is gone, so Kaeshi and I have to announce to the dancers what numbers are cancelled for the night. Like most venues, the club is packed... standing room only and the audience is great, screaming and yelling as we go.

We leave the venue and decide, as a group, that we all want to see Niagara Falls. We pull up to the falls at 2:30 AM and it is below 20 degrees. As ice- bergs

hug the top of the falls and fog disguises the bottom, I know that we do not get the full effect of how mammoth the falls are in size. We play on giant ice sheaths and “snowboard,” without boards, down little embankments and around leafless trees. We glide on our boots and tennis shoes and take falls ignoring the pain, giggling and laughing through every moment. We pass through the border in really good moods with red cheeks and head for Ohio.

We approach Cleveland and several of the dancers are sick. Sore throats and head colds are the name of the game and it makes the tour even tougher. Cleveland has a large African-American contingency in the crowd and they make us feel great. They arent afraid to yell out our names and things like, “Yes!” “You go girl” and “Shake it!” They are confidant as audience members and it makes us feel confidant as performers.

It reminds me of the “black gospel” churches VS the ones that are primarily Caucasian. The people in the gospel churches feel the sermons, the music and the message. The Caucasians usually sit quietly, analyzing and processing, even when the message is meaningful

with different cultures, different responses.

The next day we have a DAY OFF WITHOUT DRIVING!! We do laundry and run to the mall. Shopping usually doesnt interest me but on this tour the colors of the mall are like magnets. I search for lip-gloss and eye lashes. We all run into different stores trying on makeup, boots, hairpieces, and clothes. We’re like maniacs, tanning, doing our fingernails, and even fitting in movies! Jeszi and I run (with wet toe nails) to see, “The Passion of Christ” while Bozenka yells to us, “Prepare to suffer!” Suffer we do. The others see a new Angelina Jolie movie and everyone relaxes into the big screens.

We travel to Columbus with a huge gift box that Cassandra Al Warda and several of the Belly Dancers from Cleveland deliver to us. And, I mean HUGE. It barely fits on the bus. We dance at a place called, “Barrister Hall” which is a local bar with NO dressing rooms and no steps for us to enter onto the stage. Keili and Brian find an old curtain and put it up in a hallway with duck tape to make us a dressing room. We have a Issam, Dondi and Kaeshi on belly bus.

lot of “Duck Shui” on this tour. For the performance, Earlier that day we passed the box around the bus, but the dancers have to climb and balance on rickety there was still a lot left for me to devour. While the chairs to walk up onto the stage area. I wonder if this dancers party inside the bar and run down the block is the night we will suffer a major injury. Patrons of to order late night food, I decide right then and there the small, dark bar must invade our “dressing room” to go off my Atkins diet. In the dark I eat several of to feed the cigarette machine with their crumply bills. the cranberry, white chocolate dunketts and HOMEThey leave cigarette butts behind and our own butts MADE banana bread. They are the first pieces of are in each others space with no room to change. bread I eat in months. It is SO WORTH IT! Bless the Elbows here, breasts there, butts everywhere...we are women who picked out the dunketts and made the immune banana bread... to each bless them. others Several dunketts body later, Colleen parts. comes up onto Over the bus hoping are the to eat some. days of They are gone. saying, I admit loudly “Excuse and proudly that me” and I ate most of “Sorry.” them and I am If we unapologetic bump about it. This This is Rachel and her boyfriend (at the time), Keili. I adored Keili. I think into gift box almost he was all of 24 but he was mature, smart and level headed. There were times when it seemed like it was me against the rest of the girls in various desomebrings on a bates about weight, appearance, performances, “authentic” belly dance, etc. ones power struggle.

Then Keili would say out loud and bold to all the girls, “You know, Dondi is limb or Who will get the right.” Aaaahhh! You rock, Keili- wherever you are! fall over Gouda cheese? into anWho will get other dancer, well, thats life. We teeter back to balance the Soy Butter? What about the Roobois tea? I must and continue trying to adorn ourselves in glamour with get the Rooibos tea before anyone sees me. Issam was absolutely no room to do it. If sequins rip off our skirts last seen with the giant strawberries and now there are and jewels roll away into dusty, bug infested corners, none. I must check his bedroom on the bus for evioh well. The bugs can have the jewels. dence of the giant strawberries. Can we handle all the goodies and WILL WE BE ABLE TO SHARE? The The audience at Barrister Hall is less than enthusiastic; tense moments of, ‘Who ate all the Dunketts?’ pass even though that weird phenomenon happens where and we enjoy the gifts and treasures of the box for the after the show they praise us like there is no tomorrow. entire next week.

I think we need to get used to this and not judge the audiences for the musculature on their faces but what When we pull into venues there is always someone they say to us after the show. Except for a few diesinging to us, “On the Road Again.” I was a child hards drinking at the bar, Barrister Hall clears out and when Willie Nelson sang that song and I didn’t underI do the only thing I can think of to cheer me up after a stand it. Now I do. The road is a cacophony of differhard nights work in an unfavorable venue. Check out ent noises and colors, darkness and light. When differthe giant gift box from the dancers in Cleveland! I feel ent tour managers join us, they do not realize what a like a little girl with my flashlight...there is not only trip they are in store for. They see us completely wiped bread, crackers, cheese, peanut butter, fruit, candy, out muttering quips and complaints and they dont Luna Bars and EVERYTHING SOY, but there are understand why. bath products! There is soap, mint-oatmeal face scrub, bubble bath, aromatherapy spray, lotions and creams.

After two days on the bus with little sleep, they get it.

Anouk Zisa-Bongiovi joins us in Canada. Yes, she is related to the famous rocker and she tells us stories of Jon Bon Jovi and what a caring, loving person him and his wife are. He actually takes his wife and kids with him every chance he can get and when he tours in Europe he takes all of the kids and puts them in school while he is working. His wife was his childhood sweetheart. This warms our heart. Anouk has been around many rock bands but she has never faced 12 exhausted Belly Dancers.

In Canada we hardly get to know her. She walks around speaking French more than English and we see this as anti-social, even though we dont realize she is working hard with the venues to get us fed properly and treated well. She is our first female tour manager and we are skeptical. We have become a strong team of performers and we dont think we need to be babysat. We are our own leaders and question why ARK21 thinks we need supervision. Of course, when we are well fed and well rested we all become less defensive and realize that every team needs a good manager looking out for our best interests.

For the first couple of days we are polarized from Anouk then one of our “on bus” meetings breaks all of the thick ice that had been separating us. Sharon is fearless and speaks with aplomb about our feelings on the tour and how hard it is to perform on 3 hours of sleep and lack of nutritious food. She explains how we are not rock musicians who can climb off the bus in grungy jeans, grab the nearest guitar and play for two hours. We are dancers who need to stretch, prepare and practice. You can practice guitar on a bus... you cannot practice fully staged bellydance routines.

Sharon says everything we all want to say. In the end, Anouk embraces us and we embrace her. She leaves within a week and I am sad. I think more time would have been beneficial for all of us to know Anouk and for her to know us better.

It is March 23rd and we are driving through Indiana on our way BACK to Ohio after performing in Missouri. Yes, this is the way of the road. The zigzagging through time zones and weather patterns is frustrating all of us, but this typical of a tour. Clubs and theatres only have certain dates open and we must take advantage of those dates, even if it means that we pass through Indiana 5 times in one week without ever performing in it.

When we need to use the bathroom we ask our driver Juan to stop at “Tinkle Town.” Tinkle Towns are usually small populations with a gas station and a local watering hole. When we all pile of the bus, the patrons of Tinkle Town stop to stare at the “city folk.” The tribal girls get the most bug-eyed looks, never compromising their low-slung pants and glaring tattoos just because people might be frightened or intimidated. Many of our dancers multi-task at Tinkle Town with puffs off of cigarettes and deep stretches on faded patches of grass. There are several of us who are highly opposed to the cigarette smoking and we have spoken openly about it. Most of the dancers who smoke want to quit and have tried diligently in the past to do so. We have all resigned to the fact that this tour is no place for them to try to quit now. We need every legal vice we can get to help us through the next month.

Indiana is peaceful. Red barns, hay fields and brick houses paint the land. My Dad is from Indiana so I dont mind passing through it all week. The weather is much warmer than Canada. It is March 24th. Most people on the bus are asleep. It is the most quiet on the bus that it has been in days...oh heaven! There are no crazy movies in the DVD player and Sharon and Ansuya have come down from their wild sugar high and they are resting now. Many dancers are fighting the flu and Issam has a fever. Despite this, there is not one who will take the night off.

Kaeshi starts to barter Power Bars from Petite Jamilla.

Petite Jamilla has one entire shelf dedicated to her collection of Power Bars and it is suctioned to one of the most visible windows for all to see. The bars taunt us throughout our travels and Kaeshi finally gives in. “Do you want a GOLD one?” Jezsi asks. “No, I just want to pay for a regular one,” Kaeshi responds.

“What about this one? It is a new one on the market.” “No, I just want to pay for a regular one.” Petite Jamilla closes the deal: “No pay today, you can have one.” I feel like I am overhearing two merchants in a souk. Kaeshi and Petite Jamilla return to their separate quarters 20 inches from each other but a whole world away when you’re eating a Power Bar and in your bus “bedroom.” Kaeshi melts into her creepy vampire nap mode with eyes wide open and Juan finally puts down his video camera that he films the road with. Yes, Juan was once a professional racecar driver so he not only

drives VERY fast but also usually has one hand on the wheel with one eye on the road. The other hand and eye are busy with a giant video camera. How does he drive like this and why do we trust him? Because we are too tired not to.

March 25th. We speed into Cincinnati, Ohio and pull up to the 20th Century Theatre. For a few precious hours our lives become manageable. The staff is gracious, generous and eager to please us. When we all discover that the only way for 12 dancers to pass from the dressing room to the stage is outside through a parking lot, the owner calls in extra security guards to “man” the parking lot for us. We are fed and the owner tells us that we are “Goddesses” and our requests are his command, including an “open bar” and anything else we would like. After the show, the old 1941 Art Nouveau theatre is kept open for us to dance, party, sing and worship Issam as he goes “all out” on his tabla. His fingers are lightening speed and his hands are a blur as he pounds, taps and vibrates the skin of his drum. It is a gift this master drummer has and we are honored to be having our own private party with him as the host.

Of course, what goes up must come down. The next day we pull in to a country club. The audience consists of Arabs and belly dancers. Surprisingly, it is like they dont “get” the show. I wonder; is it because we are in Lexington, Kentucky? Maybe they arent as exposed to belly dance as other cities are. Maybe the Arabs are not comfortable with our fusion and lack of live music. They talk during our performances. Loudly.

So loud that I have to pause several times during my announcements because I hear them over myself even though I have a microphone. I want to crawl off the stage but instead I give my, “You better listen to me” look. The look has no impact. The next day I sit in a Denny’s as Cat Stevens voice plays through the speakers. It is like he is singing to me: “Oh very young, what will you leave us this time? You’re only dancing on this Earth for a short while. There will never be a better chance to change your mind.”

One day blurs into the next and on March 28th Me, Sonia, Rachel, Issam, and Kaeshi fly to Chicago to dance at the Virgin Mega Store. Bozenka teaches a workshop and Ansuya meets us in “Shy Town.” She has been holding up there in a hotel due to the flu that was trying villigently to attack our team. We are trans-

ported around The Windy City in a gigantic Excursion Limousine.

That night after the Chicago show, me, Petite Jamilla, Miles and Kaeshi drive to Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Petite Jamilla and me zone out while Kaeshi navigates the road for three hours with Miles at the wheel. She meets her husband that morning and Petite Jamilla and me are featured on the “Ron and Don Show,” a syndicated radio program. The DJ’s are mostly interested in Miles and his past relationships with The Police, Wall of Voodoo, The Go Go’s, REM, The Bangles and so many other bands that he managed through the years.

When they talk to us about “Belly Dance Superstars” they joke and ask if we will be dancing naked. Of course, they are saying this in fun but me and Jeszi cringe. For the most part, the DJ’s promote us properly and plug the show in a very aggressive way, which is great. That afternoon we are featured on the 5:00 news in Michigan and that night the show is a huge success.

The Intersection is a beautiful venue and the audience goes crazy. The DJ’s, “Ron and Don” show up to support us. The next performance is even more supportive. It is our 43rd show and Milwaukee, Wisconsin goes off the chart! They are screaming at the tops of their lungs. Every time I enter the stage people scream my name, “Dondi!” And, these aren’t just people... these are women! These are belly dance teachers and students who came out to support us and fill the club to full capacity. Keili says they are like Beatles fans.

They give us a standing ovation that never seems to end. I can barely announce the dancers names at the end of the show because I am so moved. Everybody is in a good mood.

After the show we talk to the Milwaukee crowds and we thank them for their amazing energy during the show. They tell us that they made it an intentional point in their community to come out to the show and give us, “Belly Dance Love.” Before we arrived in Milwaukee all I knew the city for was that this was where Laverne & Shirley lived. Now I know it for “Belly Dance Love” and all the dancers and I will NEVER forget it or the women who gave us this gift.

Or the men. One man approaches Keili and says that his wife has been dragging him to all sorts of stage shows for 20 years and this is one of the few times he enjoyed himself all the way through, not wanting it to end. A 30-year veteran teacher tells me this is the best show she has ever seen. It reminds me of Amaya in

Dondi, Miles and Brad on the belly bus. Brad is Kaeshi’s husband and a drummer in New York. He joined us for part of the trip.

New Mexico. She was our guest dancer in Albuquerque and told us it was the best show she has seen in 30 years. Comments like this literally bring us to tears and we know our hard work is paying off. I hate to say that audiences make us or break us. They dont.

But after a long, hard day on the road in a bus with bad smells and no legroom, a good audience sure can makes our lives better and send us to bed with smiles on our faces. Milwaukee did that for us and in my mind I name the city, “Milwaukee: The City of Belly Dance Love.”

We are heading to Illinois and then West. It is Amar Gamal’s last day on the tour. She will go home to Massachusetts and her husband. I will miss her...we all will. The dancer Adori will replace her until our final show in Los Angeles on April 18th. Amar Gamal is classy, beautiful and fun. She and Sharon wrote a song about Wal Mart and Amar Gamal sings it in Ethel Merman style, with jazz hands. I will miss having Ethel Merman on the bus singing about the department store with cheap, plastic goods.

It is April 1st and Brian makes a morning announcement that Miles has sent a fax from L.A. that we will have an extra show tonight and we have to race to Champagne, Illinois with no lunch. This means we will eat power bars while powering through two shows

and we wont be in bed until 3 or 4 AM. In addition, tomorrow we will all have to get up very early to be on TV...another night with two hours of sleep.

Brian gives us his mischievous grin, says, “April Fools” and we explode into laughter. We head to Illinois in our leisurely 80 MPH fashion.

After tonight we will be like pioneers heading west not knowing quite what is in store for us. We are on the “home stretch!” Less than 3 weeks left of the tour and venues in cities like Denver, Salt Lake, Seattle and San Francisco await us. Rachel breaks the news that, “Fat Chance Belly Dance” will be our guest dancers in San Francisco. Yeehaw!! We are delighted beyond belief.

The Belly Bus is making its way through the hills and dales of the Mid-West and soon we will reach the Pacific Ocean. Many of us are already thinking about the friendships we have forged here on the road. Rachel Brice and I cant believe we didnt know each other before this tour. Several of us talk about how tribal has come together with cabaret in a unique and special way. We have talked about everything...we are open to anything. We have conversed about good, bad, gory, gross and endearing personal stories. We have shared secrets that we never thought we would. Solo dancers have woven their lives and dance styles together into a sort of dream catcher and the bonds run deep. Bonds that wont be easy to break in two weeks. Maybe we wont have to. Maybe we can keep the amazing bonds of “Belly Dance Love” and continue to expand Belly Dance in a skilled, intelligent, classy, graceful, entertaining and beautiful way. This is our goal as we head west.

Many times we would arrive at hotels in the middle of the night and the belly bus would be parked many blocks away. This is what happened in New York City. The next morning we had to walk to the belly bus in the beginnings of a snow storm. This is Petite Jamilla and Melodia braving New York weather so they could get to the belly bus.

tour diary part 4

It is April 2nd. A couple of days have

passed since our show in Milwaukee and I am still thinking about it. It was much sweeter in nature than I thought it would be. There were no smoke stacks or yucky smells; so why did Laverne and Shirley want to move away so bad? Lenny and Squiggy seemed to like it...maybe they knew the secret...that Milwaukee is great! There are stone houses and old brick buildings with little village streets. I loved it. I also loved that we perform at “Shank Hall” named in honor of the movie “Spinal Tap.” EVERYBODY has performed on the stage we dance on...Allanis Morisette, Jewel, Jimmy Cliff, Sarah MagLaughlin, Blue Oyster Cult, Ofra Haza and hundreds of others.

“The Belly Bus of Estrogen” is on the road again and Ansuya, Bozenka and I rush to a TV station in Champagne, Illinois to dance on the 5 pm news. As we are leaving, Sonia mentions an article that I wrote a year ago for a small magazine. She infers that I wrote about the Belly Dance Superstar tour in a way that was not flattering. I had written about my concerns of Belly Dance becoming too commercial and I used the term, “Superstar look” when referring to young girls who have not had much experience but are physically beautiful and “walk” or “pose” VS really dance.

I used the term to encompass a whole movement that

still worries me to this day. However, a year ago I was concerned that an entire tour was going to revolve around this commerciality and the myth that women have to be young, thin and beautiful to be “Superstars” or successful. I did not know Belly Queen, Sonia, and several of the roses. I had listened to the rumors that the “Superstars” were more beauty than talent. Friends of mine had seen early “Superstar” shows on the Lollapalooza tour and commented that the dancers were dancing on the tour because of their beautiful bodies and youthful appearances. People were angry and so was I. Teenagers and novice dancers were hired when many talented, highly skilled dancers were turned away when they were told that ARK21 wanted women below 23. I was furious because this went against everything I thought our dance was about. Later, ARK21 sent out apologies over the Internet about the audition notice of needing young girls. Today Miles maintains that “young girls” were never the main focus of “The Superstars of Belly Dance.” Miles says that in all forms of entertainment he looks for what works. What sells? What do audiences in Middle America, the East Coast, West Coast, Canada and Europe want? Most everyone wants to see beauty, talent and skill...that is what Miles Copeland looks for, regardless of the age.

Our average age on the tour now is 30 and the dancers

This was in an alley somewhere in America.

With 14 dancer, the dressing rooms were often too full to move so we would have to find other places to do our makeup- or just have some peace. This is Yasmine who found an alley outside of our venue so she could do her makeup in solitude.

are seasoned artists. Most of them have made a name for themselves in their regional area and are getting the opportunity to branch out with this tour. Miles says that the average age could just as easily be 47, 38, 25 or 21. The point isn’t the age of the dancer, it is whether she can deliver great Middle Eastern dancing or not. Will women, men, young people and old pay to see her dance? Is she a classy dancer of “Superstar” caliber?

In the last year I believe we have all learned a great deal about dancers, the Belly Dance community and what a “Superstar” truly is. For Miles Copeland, he came from a rock-n-roll background and knew that youth and beauty sells and he needed whatever would “sell” the dance to be able to fund a nationwide tour to venues that catered to the “mainstream.” He says he always knew that youth and beauty werent enough and that he was always interested in skill. I have seen him after shows talk to the older, experienced dancers who approach him aggressively with pointed questions demanding intelligent answers. Some have been around the Belly Dance community for 35 years and are on the verbal attack. I have watched, wondering if he would lose his cool. Many who have been in the Belly Dance community for 35 years also thank Miles for how he is bringing Belly Dance to the mainstream and giving more recognition than it has ever had before.

Miles has listened to these women. Of course, he will still have to pander to many club owners and promoters who want a Brittney Spears look. But, I believe, he will work to get venues to accept different colors, sizes and ages of women who represent “Superstars.”

It is April and a year after I wrote that article. Of the Lollapalooza team; Jillina, Amar Gamal, Ansuya, Rachel Brice, Sonia, Colleen, Kaeshi and our tabla player Issam are back. A handful aren’t. Myself, Sharon Kihara, Melodia, Petite Jamilla, Bozenka, Adore and Yasmine are new to the tour. Everyone has worked tremendously hard. Every woman on this team in working daily to improve herself. I know that every woman on this team wants to be the very best dancer she can. We practice moves and try to always expand our Belly Dance repertoire. Me, Kaeshi and anyone with a camcorder tape each performance and watch those performances on our camcorders and the bus TV with a keen eye to pick out every mistake or weakness. Every woman on this team is concerned about our Belly Dance community and we dont want to lose touch

with them or the women who have danced before us.

I know that every woman on this team respects where she came from, whom she learned from and how we are presenting Belly Dance to the masses.

It is April 3rd and oh my gawd, oh my gawd, oh my gawd!! My pants are looser. I lost a little weight!!

Hallelujah. Gurus try to reach nirvana...this is nirvana. Spiritualists try to “bliss out.” I am blissing out.

People all over the world try to reach alpha waves of transcendental peace and “oneness” with the universe...this is peace and oneness with the universe. My girlfriends speak of the ecstasy of falling in love and walking on cloud nine. I am in ecstasy and walking on cloud nine and I didn’t need a man to get me there...all I needed to do was gain control of my body. I am so happy today. Ansuya and Sonia ask why I want to lose weight so bad if I am so firm about bringing bigger body types onto the tour and into the mainstream. This is a valid point. For me, it isn’t easy to be the curviest dancer on the tour. It would be so much easier if there were more women who were on the more zaftig side and I felt like we were working together to bring variety into the “Superstar look.” I like how my clothes fit when I am thinner. Additionally, this weight loss makes me feel in control of my body and for me there is nothing sweeter than control. Except maybe the total loss of it. Oh, the contradictions of a woman. ;) About the weight issue, several dancers on the bus are fed up because they feel that I have made an issue of the weight on this tour. I have implored them to read the internet and what people were ever saying before I wrote an article...that even during Lollapalooza people were consistently surprised at how thin the dancers were. Many times, the thinness of our dancers is the first issue interviewers bring up when interviewing us for magazines and newspapers and this was the buzz long before I ever picked up a pen. With curiosity we pulled out our calculators on the Belly Bus and averaged the height and weight of the “Belly Dance Superstars, 2004.” The average of all of our weights combined is 126 1/2 lbs. We have several dancers who are 5’3”-5’6” and three who are 5’9.” It felt a bit silly to all of us to average our weights and heights and a couple of dancers were adamant about wanting nothing to do with it. I understood this and how some of the dancers just want this issue to be over so we can concentrate on more important things. But, for me, I want to be more accurate than I was in my first article

when I said that most of the dancers were less than 115 lbs. It looked that way to me, but I was incorrect and this is the most exact and comprehensive way I can think of to remedy my mistake.

The Belly Bus is passing through Illinois on our way to Madison. Our road manager, Stevo is with us again well rested after being away from the tour for a month.

We are supposed to be on local television in Madison but the news cancels us because of nationwide coverage on a missing Madison woman. We travel to Minneapolis, Minnesota and dance at the largest mall in the United States: Mall of America. There is intense security concerning our bus and our team but we dance a wonderful show with 400 people watching.

That night we perform at, “First Avenue” where the movie, Purple Rain was filmed and every well-known and popular band has performed at.

kind has played there. I run back to the dressing room to tell the dancers but their long faces tell me they dont believe me.

It is April 6th. Bozenka has left the tour for now and Jillina returns tomorrow along with a new dancer named Adore who will replace Amar Gamal. The show will be changed again and we will all have to adjust. The entire tour has been about adjusting to each other, cramped sleeping quarters and new dance styles and choreographies. We have a new mantra on the bus, “Accept it.”

We arrive in Denver and Me, Jeszi and Kaeshi are driven to a television station to perform on the news.

This, as with other news spots, is LIVE and telecasted to thousands of people around Colorado and the surrounding states. We must think on our feet wile bright lights shine in our faces and newcasters ask us imCornfields shine in the sunlight outside the window promptu questions about the show. What is it like to and Iowa barely sees us. But, we leave our mark at ev- work with the legendary Miles Copeland? Is it easy to ery Starbucks, Target, Wal-Mart, rest area and “Tinkle learn to Belly Dance? Can you teach us some moves Town” we can find. I tell the group that I want to write right now? Sonia and Ansuya are flown to Salt Lake about the trials and tribulations of our delicate digesCity to do the news there that will pre-empt our Utah tive systems and how difficult this trip has been having show the next day, and like the news in Colorado they to ingest hotdogs, chips, chocolate and grilled cheese are telecasted all over the state of Utah and surroundsandwiches. Sharon suggests that I simply write the ing areas. We do a lot of TV and news events and it is words, “farts” and “poops” and remain unapologetic very fun and rewarding. In Colorado Miles reminds us about it. So there, I said it. I guess the fact that Kaeshi that we will be dancing on Canadian MTV in a couple bought a tiny pink angel with a full diaper as the Belly of weeks. Yey!!

Bus mascot and we named her, “Poopia Poopalotta” says something representative about us.

Everyone, including Jillina and Adore meet up at The Cervantes Ballroom in Denver. The Desert Roses The Grand Emporium in Kansas City...we walk in have been sewing diligently in preparation of Jillina’s and want to cry. Stevo sees the rough and splintered return. For the last month we all got away with safety stage, sub-standard rest rooms, dirty dressing room pins on our costumes that can barely keep up with the and musty bar and tells us we can cut the show short. intense wear and tear. But, no safety pins are allowed He feels for us and hates walking into places like this when Jillina is around. I have been trying to keep up just as much as we do. Many times Miles Copeland with the supply of my flesh colored underwear, but a and ARK21 leave our shows in the hands of promoters show every night is not easy! I hope Jillina doesnt see who just dont believe that we can present a 2 1/2 hour, my purple striped panties under my red costume and Las Vegas style stage production that interests and ex- orange flowered socks that I stuff into my Belly Dance cites the general public. They have archaic visions of bras because of the extra room from weight loss. what Belly Dancers are and they book us in places that mirror those visions. After every venue, they “get it” Adore is new to all of the choreography that we have and promise Miles that on the next tour we will be on grown comfortable with for 2 months and Jillina is as bigger stages with better facilities. My friends show high as a kite from being in Egypt. The technical reup and tell me that The Grand Emporium is legendary hearsal is rough and we know we have a lot of “cleanand that the likes of Bob Dylan, Aaron Neville, Sugar ing up” to do on the last two weeks of the tour. I have Ray and every jazz and blues band known to humana brand new piece and it sucks on its first run. The

Whenever Miles could, he would treat us to extra perks. Sometimes dancers would need to leave the tour to do a radio show, news program or other event. When this happened Miles would often transport us in limousines. It was a nice distraction from the belly bus. Here Kaeshi, Issam and I are in a limo in New York to perform at a special event at Virgin Records.

carpeted stage with a puffy lightening bolt down the middle of it doesnt help. The show feels disjointed and unfamiliar. But, the audience is kind. They know me through my sister Titanya who is a dancer in Colorado.

The audience is filled with her students and professional dance colleagues like Eva Cernik, Rooshana, Kaya, Rafia’a and Siovana. The audience is so kind that they give us a standing ovation and wont stop clapping until we come back out on stage and dance again. I think to myself that maybe we should choreograph something for times like this. We take a second clumsy bow, leave the stage and are called out a third time. Jillina and Rachel have a “dance off” with Issam.

The audience finally lets us rest and we “meet and greet” for over an hour while some of the dancers get massages from the massage therapist, Jeffery who also gave us massages in New Orleans. We drive through the night to Laramie, Wyoming where we will get a hotel before heading to Salt Lake City.

The drive to Salt Lake City is stuffy inside the belly bus. But, outside is beautiful. Snow capped ridges, wheat-strewn prairies and red earthen hills envelope

the road. We are packed like sardines. Jillina is back in the two seats that make up her “bedroom” so Issam is now an orphan and will share seats with Me, Stevo and Jillina. Petite Jamilla now occupies the two seats that made up Amar Gamal’s bedroom. Where will Adore sit? There is one narrow seat in the very back between Melodia and Sonia that demand narrow hips and Adore calls this seat her home. This bites.

The shrine where we perform at in Salt Lake is magical. Big dressing rooms, a large stage, beautiful backdrop, and high vaulted ceilings put us all in good moods. “Midnight Mirage” are our guest dancers and most of us are friends with them already which makes the evening even more enjoyable. From teaching and performing at the KISMET festival through the years, many of my students and friends are in the audience. They yell and cheer and make me feel very good. They dont have any idea what they do for me.

My Utah student Cathy brings me stuffed animals and Mary gives me a Native American “medicine man” necklace. I feel like I am at home...the best feeling after being on the road for two months. The students,

teachers and dancers in Utah makes me feel alive again.

I wonder why we are headed to Boise, Idaho in the middle of the night. Has anyone ever heard of a Belly Dance community there? Not on our tour. Low and behold, there is a strong little community and they cheer, clap and yell during the show! They make us feel fantastic. During the night we drive to the high desert

Oh, joy! I love the giant pine trees and crisp feeling in the air. I spent my junior high and high school years in Ashland, Oregon and this feels like I am headed home. I know of the strong Belly Dance communities in Oregon and Washington and this excites me. But, my skin suffers, as it has for the last two months of the tour. Little lines, wrinkles and folds have a party on my face. The pressure around my eyes makes me

Colleen, Sonia, Kaeshi, Ansuya, Issam, Amar Gamal, Bozenka, Yasmine, Dondi, Sharon Kihara and Juan after our show at B.B. Kings in New York.

Juan was our driver and brother-in-law of Miles. He was Argentinean. His sister is Miles Copeland’s wife and was Miss Argentina. At one point our road manager was Anouk Bon Jovi who is th sister-in-law of John Bon Jovi.

of Oregon while Jillina stays in Boise and Ansuya flies to Seattle, both to teach workshops.

We are driving to the Pacific Northwest, flying by crystal waters of big, blue lakes. I am sure that one of the reasons Juan was hired as a driver on this tour is because of his racecar experience. Death defying speeds around craggy peaks are the only way we are getting to our venues on time.

feel like worms are crawling beneath my lids. Every afternoon that we pull out our mirrors and mascara we groan about the accelerated aging process that the tour has greeted us with. Will my skin ever be the same?

Will my eyes ever pop back to a young, clear look?

Will I ever be “bright eyed and bushy tailed” again in my life? I have always looked 10-15 years younger than I am, will I now look 10-15 years older? I am freaking out! Sharon says she has aged, at least, ten

years on the tour. Ansuya says we will bounce back.

She claims that during Lollapalooza she aged several years but after rest and relaxation her skin became milky and smooth and her eyes returned to normal.

She better be right.

The ways of the bus are cruel. In the early mornings before we climb the three heart wrenching stairs into the bus I have a hot shower, wash my hair, don my “power thong” and my baby pink, velvet Belly Dance jogging suit. I feel good. I decide, every morning to be positive. I am a Belly Dance Superstar! I am getting paid to do what I love! I should be thankful that I am not working in Greek cafes for $30 trying to make a name for myself! Seven hours later my “power thong” is a painful thong, I have fried pork-rind crumbs in my bra, eyelash glue on my cheeks and Starbucks Soy Chai all over my baby pink pants which are now beige. And, lets not talk about the bus acne and weird rashes from sitting too long. We have been good to our Belly Bus, so why is she repaying us with pimples, bumps and the effects of bad shocks that make our drinks spill?

It is April 10th and we have been on the road exactly two months. Mt.Rainier beckons in the distance. We are on our way to Seattle and Stevo tells us that we are “sold out” for tonights performance. A $10.00 IHOP breakfast sits in my stomach and I zone out while others sleep, snore and doze off with their mouths open. I stare peoples legs, arms and necks all crooked and bent and I have a flurry of random thoughts. How many chiropractic appointments will it take to make our bodies normal again? Would Miles hire a massage therapist to travel with us on the next tour if I asked him? Jeszi’s head is bobbing to the side and looks like it is going to fall off...should I risk waking her up to fix her head and neck? Since, when did IHOP become so expensive? Jillina props pillows under Jeszi’s heavy head and I daydream out the window to see marigolds dotting the land and snow frosting the mountains in the distance. I wonder if Delilah will be at our show in Seattle tonight. She was one of my earliest roll models in the dance and I still utilize combinations and moves that I learned from her videos many years ago. She is a Superstar.

Tomorrow is Easter and I am proudly wearing my Wal-Mart bunny ears. I miss my family but I will be home in 8 days. Eight days!! Holy cow, the tour will

be over in eight days!! Between now and then, a billion moments will happen, a thousands feelings will be touched, hurt, comforted and felt. There will be more nights of wild abandon after bars supply us with free libations. There will be tears and there will be laughter. Miles will arrive again and Stevo will leave.

Many of us are already vowing to “keep in touch,” “stay in contact,” and “touch base” through the summer until we come together again for our European Tour in September for which we have already sold hundreds of tickets. As for now, we will embrace the last week in Seattle, Vancouver, Portland, Eugene, Red Bluff. San Francisco and Los Angeles. And, we will allow it to embrace us.

Seattle welcomes us with Star-

bucks on every corner. Oh, heaven. An old 1908 ballroom and another “sold out” show greets our dancers.

The West Coast feels good...it feels like home. The people are open, friendly and “get” our show. Women approach us after the show and cry, telling us how inspirational we are. In turn, these women inspire us.

It is April 11th and Easter weekend. We have a couple of days off, but even on our days off we are driven around the city to do promos on television, radio and interviews with newspapers. We are tired but it is also fun, interesting and exciting being in the press and on live television.

tour diary part 5

Vancouver, Canada is even more incredible than Seattle. We are covered in the press EVERYWHERE. Our photos are on the front page of every Canadian newspaper and we are invited to perform on “MUCH TV,” Canadian MTV. We perform a 3-minute piece in front of a LIVE audience and are beamed into televisions all over Canada. That night our Vancouver audience goes off the charts! The Commodore Ballroom starts turning people away when they get to 700 customers. Two women get into a bloody fistfight while arguing over a seat. Arrests are made in the dark corners of the ballroom. Surprisingly, the frenzy doesn’t take away from the positive energy of the audience as they wait on the edge of their seats for the show to begin. Throughout the show they are watching every detail, smiling, clapping and giving us “Belly Dance Love.”

After shows it usually takes a good 1-2 hours to pack our bags and get all of the merchandise back into the trailer, which is attached to the Belly Bus. While the dancers wait for the “merch” to be packed, some spend time at the bar, others dissect what went wrong (and right) with the show and some of us sit patiently in stairways and halls eating peanut butter from a jar and singing songs from, “Purple Rain.” By 1 am we leave venues to drive to the next city. Tonight we travel to Tacoma, Washington through the dark and over the Canadian border.

The next day we make the rest of our journey to Portland, Oregon. I think it is one of the best shows yet.

The audience screams like they are at a rock concert, yelling louder at every move we make. They stand up and cheer at different high points in the show. The first 5 rows of the theatre go wild when Petite Jamilla

comes down the aisles playing her bag pipes and Me, Sharon and Melodia balance swords on our heads.

They scream again when Petite Jamilla (Jeszi) hands over the pipes and breaks out into Scottish Highland Dancing over our swords. I am happy for the four of us and happy for her. Many people who have come to see our show over the last two months have thought that Petite Jamilla wasn’t actually playing her pipes because there is recorded music of Cheb Mami accompanying our piece. One man said to me, “She wasn’t even faking it well because she never squeezed her bag!” Her bag is squeezed...she tells me, “I squeeze the hell out of it!” And, she does play; loud and proud like a proper Scots Woman. She carries her pipes all over the country and has to tune them in every single location. Highland Pipes are so sensitive that, not only does she have to tune, but she has to tune in the room we are performing in because of the supple and temperamental wood that makes up this amazing instrument. Every night we have a technical rehearsal before the show around 6:00 PM just as we roll into the city.

Jeszi is usually the last one who gets to “tech” her pipes. When I hear the wail of her bagpipes I always get excited because I know the doors of the venue are about to open.

When the doors open we usually have one hour before show time. We retreat to the backstage and try to glamorize ourselves with makeup and hairpieces. It isn’t easy. We have been on a bumpy bus all day, our necks and backs hurt and we just want to chill out, but we cant...we must get ready for the show. Between makeup and hair, several dancers find private nooks outside to smoke cigarettes. Others talk on their cell phones to loved ones back home. Several try to find food and most of the time we are cramming “dinner” into our mouths 15 minutes before the show or during intermission. Most of the group likes Indian and Thai food. This type of spicy faire rips my intestines up during the show and I question how anyone can eat it standing up and in a hurry, but they do. Many times they are eating it while they move backstage boxes and furniture to lay down their yoga mats. Kaeshi practices yoga even when I am in her face saying, “Five minutes until places!” She remains calm and monotone while asking for an extension. As stage manager, I run around tying up loose ends with Keili who is the overall handy man, Brian who runs our soundboard and any guest dancer who has usually arrived by this time and need her nerves calmed. An

hour almost always is not enough time to be ready and the plaintive cries of, ‘Dondi, do we get an extension?’ chime in with Kaeshis inquiry which has already been going on for 15 minutes from “Downward Dog” position. I must check with Keili who checks with Brian who checks with Miles or Stevo. Most of the time we get a 10-15 minute extension if the audience seems to be arriving late. Sometimes we dont and we are pulling on skirts and brushing hair literally as we walk out of the wings onto the stage, dropping all hairbrushes and curling irons right before we smile into the spotlight.

The road has been our rehearsal time. Every night we walk into completely new venues and changes are made depending on the size of the stage. Will it fit 12-14 dancers? Every night we must adjust to new choreography and formations depending on the quality of the stage. Many times there are splinters which are dangerous for many of our dancers who do tumbling, back bends and drops. Sometimes there are nails sticking up out of the wood and we must find hammers to pound them down. Everyone chips in, even Miles.

Before the tour began we had approximately 11 hours of rehearsal time in Los Angeles. It was very intense.

If we weren’t all experienced, skilled dancers, there is no way that we would have had any semblance of a 2 1/2-hour stage production with only 11 hours of rehearsal time. We didnt know each other as a group.

On that first night I went to dinner with Rachel Brice and Ansuya. They had been on the Lollapalooza tour together and told me that sometimes dancers cried on the road. At that moment I bawled my eyes out. It was the sadness of leaving my family, joining other dancers when I had been a soloist for the last 15 years and feeling low self-esteem in a group of gorgeous svelte women. Since that time in February, almost 3 months ago, there have been many moments of sadness and anger. We all cope in different ways and it has been a beautiful observation of what individual women we are.

When there is stress on the Belly Bus and people are “coping” we all have different survival techniques. Sonia and Jillina retreat to the darkness of their blankets and sleeping bags, into their own little under-world.

They are not to be reached until they are ready. Amar Gamals eyes grow very large and she becomes almost mechanical in her speech with monosyllabic answers

to any questions of, “How are you?” Jeszi puts on her gigantic “sound-canceling” headphones, looks out the window for hours and couldnt hear you if even if you screamed her name. Keashi remains levelheaded and calm even when she is stressed. It is impressive. Keili just gets plain mad and there is no misunderstanding it. Sharon says it likes it iswhatever is bugging her comes right out in an eloquent and forth-right way so she can go on reading her books and eating her seaweed. Issam says it like it is too but his face becomes a little redder, his eyes become a little more piercing and there is more fire behind his voice. I try to say it like it is, always wanting to speak openly and honestly, but my anger pushes things out of my mouth that would sound better with a little more marinating.

When we are happy on the Belly Bus it is WILD. There is dancing, singing, laughing and total freedom to say anything, do anything and act out in the weirdest ways. Weve even been known to do flips over the sears and swing form the garment bar. We talk about things that I NEVER dreamed I would be talking about with women and men that I have known for only a couple of months. “Tighty” usually comes around at those moments. Tighty is a bizarre friend of Ansuyas who meets us in various cities suddenly appearing at our pizza dinners, hotel lobbys and on the bus.

After Portland we made our way South to Eugene and Red Bluff. Americanistan joined us on stage in Eugene and made an incredible vibe for our audience.

Sabine was our guest dancer and performed a wonderful sword routine. It was a true Oregon night. I caught a ride with a friend to Ashland, OR (my hometown) and met up with the Belly Bus in Red Bluff, CA. Red Bluff? Why did we dance there? Ok, the theatre staff was VERY nice. Everyone was VERY nice, but why Red Bluff? In high school if we were travelling to Ashland from San Francisco it is where we would chain up our tires for the snow. We used to call the town, “Red Stuff.” There just isnt much there and the patrons knew that. They said to me, “Why didnt you have your Superstars show in Ashland?” Maybe next year we can.

We went from a very tame audience in Red Bluff to what I think was the best audience of the entire tourSAN FRANCISCO! Will we ever feel that loved again? Will Rachel Brice ever be able to move anywhere else in the world? NO WAY!! They will tie

her down and keep her for their very own. Our tribal dancers were revered like Goddesses that night and the supreme Goddess of them all joined us on stage, Carolena Nericcio and, “Fat Chance Belly Dance.” If we had a Richter scale in the DNA club that night it would have been a 9.5. As emcee I was screaming into the microphone to introduce our dancers and couldnt hear my own voice because the audience was going so wild for us. We left our hearts in San Francisco!

On the last morning of the tour I woke up and cried because I was so happy. No more hotel rooms that all looked the same! No more steep stairways with heavy bags, or worse: elevators. I am claustrophobic, so every time we arrived at a hotel with an elevator, I nearly died. Of course, our rooms were NEVER on the bottom floorthat would have been too easy. The dancers and crew got really good at allowing me to ride the elevators alone so I would have more space. When I would happen to be in an elevator with Miles he would sing my name: Dondi! Dondi! Dondi! Dondi! in a type of circus-like way to distract me from the feeling of total panic and fainting. It actually worked! In over two months my claustrophobia never crossed the line into fainting.

On April 18th I woke up so happy I was going to be seeing my family that night in Los Angeles. Of course, I loved the tourif I didnt, I wouldnt have said “YES” to Miles for future tours. But, there was such a feeling of relief on that morning. There was also a feeling of pride that we stuck together through thick and thin, controversy, critiques and creative differences. I called my sister that morning and said, “I cant believe we made it!” We drove to The El Rey theatre and played to a full house. One of our composers and Jillinas husband, Paul Dinlitir was there. Issams kids and wife were there. Most of the employees from ARK21 were there and many familiar faces in the world of Belly Dance including, Sahra Saeeda, Roxanne Shelby, Anisa, and Marta Schill. It was a good, solid night.

The next day we had a photo shoot for the “Belly Dance Superstars” calendar. It wasnt an easy day.

We were all tired, snappy and anxious to get home. It was as if we were at the end of our ropes. That night Bozenka and Ansuya would fly back to Florida on a “red-eye” as well as Kaeshi, Amar and Jezsi to New York, Massachusetts and Alabama. Several of us would stay in Southern California and work together

through the summer on new routines for the fall tour in Europe.

It is April 29 and I have been home over a week. I am now sitting at my normal computer with “spell check,” a stable floor beneath my feet, a glass of lemonade and

passed. We experienced rain, snow, sleet, and a pretty scary dust storm that almost ran us right off the road in Arizona. Juan saved us, at least, twice from bad car accidents by “being on the ball.” One time there was a car sideways smack dab in the middle of the freeway. At 75 MPH, Juan avoided it. Our bus and trailer

Miles and I giving the troupe a “You did great tonight” pep talk. Bunny is in this photo- he was Colleen’s boyfriend and also our “stage guy.” Lots of boyfriends and husbands joined us on short stints across the country on the belly bus. So did Moms. No Dads ever joined us.

the Southern California waves of the Pacific Ocean just outside my window. I can actually see the computer monitor and check my punctuation. It wasnt easy finding space for my laptop on the Belly Bus. We had Juan, an X racecar driver as our chauffeur and Jillina who sat in front of me and liked to recline her seats.

I cant blame her, but my writing suffered as I hunted and pecked for computer keys in the dark of the bus.

I could barely see my computer screen because there was just no space between the seats to keep up with my journal. My spelling was embarrassingly bad.

I look back on the days and weeks that have just

swerved and rocked and woke everybody up but we were safe.

We spent Valentines Day in Palo Alto, CA. We were too tired to party on St. Pattys Day in Rochester, NY (but had one of the prettier hotels there). By the time Easter came in Seattle we were sick of wearing our bunny ears. We celebrated Sonias birthday on the road and Jeszi celebrated her 21st birthday alone when she first arrived in L.A. for rehearsals and the rest of us werent there yet. There were milestones back home that we didnt get to be a part offamily members of our cast and crew had babys, birthdays and graduations.

All we could do was congratulate them over our cell phones.

Before we all left each other in Los Angeles after our final show and photo shoots for the “Superstars” calendar, one of the dancers mentioned that we all need to remain flexible with each other in the fall when we come back together. That is always true, and I also think we were amazingly flexible and that we were “real gems” as Keili would say. We were 14 dancers (mainly soloists) who came together for almost 3 months on a small, cramped bus having to be our very best at every single show in a different city on almost every single night. We roomed with women we didnt know and performed choreographys that werent always our style. We dealt with horrible dressing rooms and stages with leaky roofs. At many venues all of us couldnt fit on the stages so people would be “booted” out of routines. On some nights we had 3-4 hours to sleep and our days were spent in seats that werent much bigger than our rear ends. On some days we exploded and at the end of the tour we all felt like we just wanted it to be over. But, for the most part we argued and fought each other with respect and tried to keep communication open and honest before anything could get out of hand. I believe that if any dancer from this spring tour of 2004 needed anything from one of the other dancers in future, we would all be there for each other.

As I close this last chapter of the Spring Tour I recall: Colleens infectious laugh, Bunnys soothing voice, Jezsis sweet-n-strong nature, Yasmines quiet reserve, Rachels down-to-earth personality, Jillinas incredible work ethic, Bozenkas Latin sauciness, Kaeshis levelheadedness, Ansuyas belting voice in my ear from behind me just when I was ready to fall asleep but it was ok because it made me laugh and I found her endearing even though I should have been irritated, Sharons fearless being, Melodias baby-girl element, Amar Gamals impersonation of Ethel Merman singing, “Dont go to Wal-Mart without me,” Issams incredible smile, Sonias demure essence, Keilies “hop-to-it” response when I would ask him to do things before a show, Juans little Argentinean face, Stevos combination high-pitched voice and British accent so half the time we didnt know what he was saying, and Miles Copeland. There are just too many things to say about Miles Copeland. He once told me that growing up he was shy. Hard to imagine. He has worked with REM,

Wall of Voodoo, The Police, The Bangles, The GoGos and too many other bands too mention. When we go to Europe in the fall he promises to take us to his 14th century castle in France that he and his wife own and host all of the worlds top musicians and singers at.

The castle is legendary in the music world for a retreat that Miles has been running for ten years and where amazing music and top hits have been created for people like Jeff Beck, Toby Keith and Cher. Adriana is Miles wife and is beautiful, on the inside and out. I have only met her once. She was a top model and from Argentina. I hope we see more of her in the future.

Europe is in four months and I hear that we have already sold several hundred tickets to the shows there.

We want to take the show up a notch to another level and then again to another level for the next US tour in November. We want to keep improving this show. EUROPE IS IN 4 MONTHS? Yikes, I better get to work.

The End. almost...

Dondi, Mariela and Jillina in Sitges, Spain.

We performed in Barcelona, Spain for a month. During the day we could explore the towns and coastal villages, as long as we returned to Barcelona by the afternoon for our rehearsals which took place every single day. We also had drum lessons with Issam.

belly dance superstars in spain!

It is June 16th, 2004 at 3 am

in Barcelona, Spain. The night is still young for the Catalans who walk through the hotel lobby of the Tryp Apolo and see me dosing off at my computer. Last night I was the last “Superstar” to arrive in Spain as part of a last-minute, one-month booking. When the booking first came in, everything was rushed as 12 dancers flew into Los Angeles for a week of intense rehearsals. Following rehearsals, most of the dancers (and Issam) flew to Spain 10 days prior to Me, Jillina and Rachel Brice to rehearse and kick off our shows at the beautiful “Teatre Victoria.” Rachel Brice and Jillina arrived a day before me after teaching and performing at Cairo Carnivale, the large Belly Dance festival in Los Angeles. And, finally, it was my turn after

teaching and performing in Montana and Oklahoma City. How lucky I felt that Miles Copeland still wanted to fly me Spain to be a part of a tour that I would be 10 days late in joining. Miles, Jillina and Issam were all in the lobby of the hotel the day I arrived and greeted me with open arms which made me feel very welcome. On the same morning, Amar Gamal left the show in Barcelona for the “Ahlan Wa Sahlan” festival in Cairo.

After a 12 hour flight and no sleep in two days, I dragged myself to our technical rehearsal that afternoon and my first show that night, though a bulk of the cast had already been performing for a week. Miles and Jillina expected my fatigue and said that I could refrain from performing some of my numbers. Even though I was a little rusty and I felt jet-lagged I was thrilled to be in Spain and danced all of my routines.

I was especially excited to dance my new “Zambra Mora” style routine. While performing that night it was immediately obvious that the audience was much more reserved than America which wasn’t easy when claps and cheers didn’t come at the expected places.

But, the standing ovation at the end of the show was evidence that we were doing well in Barcelona.

during the show. I “emceed” the show in the spring but I don’t speak fluent Spanish, plus we have cut the show back and one aspect that has been shortened is the narration.

This is good and bad. The show definitely has a smoother flow to it but the “education” aspect of the show is non-existent. Unless someone is versed in Belly Dance they don’t know what styles they are seeing and why.

Four girls in bright orange dresses that hide their figures have no relevance as “Khaleegi”…they are just four girls in bright orange dresses that hide their figures. People are confused by bagpipes in a Belly Dance production when they aren’t aware that the bagpipes originated in the Middle East. Even when Petite Jamilla is accompanying a Cheb Mami song with bagpipes in it! However, to educate the audience on each piece would greatly lengthen our show. Do we cut exciting dance numbers to narrate and educate, or do we allow the show to flow from piece to piece more seamlessly? This is a constant issue that we deal with on our tours.

The 3 new members in the group are, Aubrey (LA), Layla Isis (NY), and Georgianne (LA). Kaeshi stayed behind as our “Hanoi” contingent. She held auditions in New York to cast, rehearse and fly with a group of dancers to Vietnam for the World Peace Festival.

Unfortunately, it was later cancelled, as I read in USA TODAY on the flight from The United States to Barcelona.

Before we came to Spain, our U.S. tour manager, Stevo called each of us at our various homes around the United States. I was in San Diego. Stevo has a very high-pitched voice with a choppy, British accent. So, I wasn’t sure I heard him correctly when he said, ‘Uh, er, Dawnday, whadya theenk uv dawnsin’ in Spayn?” I stayed calm, and in a relaxed voice told him I would really like to dance in Spain. I was jumping up and down in my head! SPAIN?! Weeeeeeeeeehooooooooo!!!! But, I had teaching engagements in the States. I could NOT cancel my weeklong Belly Dance retreat in Montana or a weekend engagement in Oklahoma. Miles later called and told me I could still fulfill my other teaching and performance engagements…he would just fly me over a little later. This was a dream…I had always wanted to go to Spain.

Now I was getting paid to not only go there but dance there! And, my boss was being flexible with me and my schedule! Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

On our team Michelle, Sonia and Georgianne speak fluent Spanish and have, therefore, been relegated to do almost all of the promotions for our group. Sonia has been busy interviewing daily on the radio and on TV. She is also making some of the announcements

I quickly made my Wal-Mart list of things to buy for Spain including Preparation H for the bags under my eyes. This was a suggestion of my friend and dancer in Puerto Rico, Bayaad. She said it had been the secret of supermodels for decades and now it would be the

Our cast members for Spain include: Sharon Kihara (SF), Michelle Campbell (SF), Rachel Brice (SF), Georgianne (LA), Aubrey (LA), Petite Jamilla (Alabama), Colleen Anderson (LA), Sonia (LA), Yasmin (NC), Ansuya (Miami), Layla Isis (NY), Jillina (LA), Amar Gamal (Mass), Issam (LA) and me from San Diego. Juan Corajoria is our manager (and a great one at that) and Miles Copeland is running back and forth between Barcelona and engagements in Los Angeles.

secret of the Belly Dance Superstars. I bought wetwipes, film, video tapes and lots of false eyelashes.

The eyelashes weren’t only the bane of my existence on the spring tour but they had continued to haunt me throughout the month of May when the tour ended.

It took days after the tour to peel all the glue off my eyes, unfortunately with several of my own lashes.

Then, curiously I would find lashes around my home stuck to my personal belongings. There were eyelashes everywhere as if they were trying to taunt me. How did eyelashes end up on my computer monitor and my cat’s ear? One day I spent an entire afternoon walking around the affluent Mediterranean style San Diego community of La Jolla with an eyelash stuck to my rear end. During the spring tour, Sonia had borrowed one of my Polynesian CDs and when I opened it after the tour ended, low and behold, there were a pair of her lashes. I left them stuck to “The Greatest Hits of Hula” thinking I would return them to her later. But, then my sister borrowed the CD and was confused when she opened the CD to find the lashes staring at her. The lashes are now in Poway, California at our Dad’s house. There are lashes EVERYWHERE! And, yes, I am wearing them in Spain, against my will.

Spain is a much more independent experience than the spring tour was. At the theatre we have HUGE dressing rooms for every dancer. I have my own and it is amazing to go through a whole show without other dancer’s elbows, hair and breasts in my face. I shut my door, put a CD on and I am in my own little world.

There are nooks and cranny’s in the theatre to stretch, meditate and be alone. It is a big, beautiful theatre that seats 1,200 people. There is a speaker system so we always know what is happening in the show. And, we always start on time with 10 minute and 5 minute buzzer warnings.

So, reminding each other what time it is isn’t even an issue. And, extending the start time of the show never comes into question…the theatre is strict. Most nights we start at 9:30 sharp and end at 11:30 sharp, and it works. We don’t even need to talk to each other… we can simply pass each other in the wings coming and going from our numbers. But, we do talk to each other. We giggle, laugh, constantly stretch and adjust our costumes before entering the stage lights and glow of the large audiences. Backstage we eat fruit, stretch some more and sing songs. This last spring we had

“The Wal-Mart Song” and this summer we have “The Bidet Song.” However, I promised that I wouldn’t reveal the words to the song in any of my diaries. Too bad, it is really fun to sing, “The Bidet Song!”

The audiences here are very serious. They wait until the end of pieces to clap, give us standing ovations and often yell, “Bravo!” But, during the dances they watch intently and carefully at everything we do on the stage. Issam thrills them with his drumming and newly learned mix of Spanish and Catalan getting the crowds to chant, “Yallah Habibi!”

We get to leave all of our costumes at the theatre every night and the 3 minute walk to the hotel is a breeze.

Everyday we arrive at the theatre at 4 PM to practice drumming with Issam and then go into a full technical rehearsal. We perform almost every night with two shows on Saturday, an early show on Sunday and Mondays off.

Today is Monday and was supposed to be our day off but we spent time at a film studio dancing on one of the most popular daytime variety shows in Spain.

Unfortunately the show has featured soft-porn since we have been here. Rachel saw the soft-porn segments on TV and almost fainted. She called Miles in L.A. immediately to tell him. He was shocked and they talked about how this is not the type of show we are interested in being on. None of our staff knew that we would be on a show during the same week that softporn was the focus.

How people, including other dance communities and styles, see “Belly Dance” is a responsibility for all of us as artists and all of our dancers and management are aware of that and feel strongly about it. Everyday each one of us on this tour is trying to promote a family atmosphere where all people with diverse backgrounds can come see our show, and enjoy it.

This didn’t help that quest.Neither did the word, “erotismo” which isn’t difficult to translate to English.

Somehow it has been used in conjunction with our publicity including huge posters and banners flying over various buildings, although no one seems to know how it got there. One day Jillina and I took a city tour on a “Bus Touristic.” We cruised under multiple high-flying flags that lined that median of a giant boulevard publicizing our show in the Gothic

Quarter of Barcelona. The word “Erotismo” was there for the hundreds of tourists to see. None of us are happy about it. However, one has to wonder if this could be a cultural difference. Many foreign countries would call Americans “prudish” and hung up on sexuality. In Spain and bordering France there are topless women all over the beaches and it is very normal. If you have never been to a country where women are topless, it is quite interesting to see women of all ages playing volleyball, running and attending picnics on the sand with their breasts fully exposed in front of children, men, old and young people.

I have seen three generations of women eating, drinking and socializing on the beach topless…grandmother, mother and daughter. If there are bars on the beach, the women will it at thebars topless and it is not an issue. Also, some of the skimpiest fashions I have seen are here in Barcelona. Not to mention, many of the daytime shows on TV featuring explicit, in-yourface sex. Could “erotismo” be less of a controversial word here than it is in the states? Is it only the Americans who associate the word “erotic” with stripping?

Does the word “erotismo” have a different connotation here? After all, so many other issues are directly related to culture. In Spain “personal space” is almost non-existent. If someone moves very close to on of us on the street we feel “creeped out” and ready to throw a back elbow jab. In turn, the Spaniards think we are cold, rude and “stuck-up” because we are trying to move away and put space between us and them.

After our shows we don’t have to wait for the Belly Bus to be packed because there is no belly bus, praise the lord. In fact, we don’t have to wait for anyone.

Most nights we cross the street in little groups to various restaurants and eat a very late dinner. Sonia scarf’s down coconut ice cream nightly. And, many of the dancers run quickly to slip into a nearby Japanese restaurant before it closes its doors. But, if we don’t want to be with the group we simply pack up our stuff after the last curtain call and leave the theatre. We are all on our own to slip into the inviting nights of Barcelona. Likewise, we are on our own to show up at the theatre everyday for tabla lessons with Issam and a full technical rehearsal. Before we venture into the theatre

BDSS, 2004- Barcelona, Spain. We performed in Barcelona for a month at the Theatre Victoria. Most of the dancers are pictured here (in order): Jillina, Dondi, Yasmine, Mariela, Issam, Petite Jamilla, Rachel Brice, Michelle Campbell, Georgianna, Aubre Hill, Sonia, Layla Isis.

we sun ourselves on the beaches, shop for Spanish trinkets in the stores, pick out fruit at the Farmers Market, walk on La Ramblas, (one of the most legendary strolling boulevards in the world), visit castles on the mountain and sleep. Or, if you’re Issam you RUN 4-5 miles on the beach daily. Many of our dancers are utilizing the gym in our hotel. We email and call home frequently. Phone cards are one of the only cheap things in this country. Rachel found a phone card that gives 16 hours for 10 Euro!

picking up a few days worth of fruit to almost pass out when it came to 48 Euro. This is even more in dollars at $1.22 to every Euro!

We have been warned repeatedly about theft here and we keep being told to keep our bags and purses close at our side. A typical greeting when entering or leaving restaurants is, “Mind your bags!” Two days ago Georgianne went to lunch at a popular dining spot alone. There were many tourists and young people.

Most of the diners had put their purses and bags up on a railing just above their tables so Georgianne did also. When she turned to another table to grab some napkins, a traveler grabbed her purse and walked out of the restaurant. She chased after him and said, “You have my purse in your back pack and I want it back.”

He opened his backpack and gave it to her with everything in tact. Hah! This shows what kind of strength an innocent looking blonde gal can muster up! A big BRAVO to Georgianne!

There are Arabic cafés on every corner with huge signs advertising, “FALAFEL!” On my travels I often hear vegetarians lamenting that there is nothing to eat…that they are just so restricted. So far, that doesn’t seem to be the case with breads, pastas, salads and grains. There are several Asian restaurants offering rice, tofu and algae dishes. One day when I ventured into one of the Arabic cafes for my vegetarian falafel I spotted a small sign on the window stating, “The meat on this premise is cut with a sharp knife in accordance with Islamic rules and regulations it is hereby sworn that the meat is hallal.” The lamb that was cooking did look delicious and made me want to go back to my juicy, hot, yummy Atkins way of life. But, I made a pledge to at least TRY vegetarian cuisine, so I am sticking to it. Most of the dancers are trying to eat cheap so we can return to the States with, at least, some of the money we have earned. Aubre’s favorite haunts are anything Falafel while Petite Jamilla’s mantra is “Bocadillo.” The Bocadillo is an inexpensive sandwich with meat, cheese and vegetable insides.

Colleen, as in the spring, still eats anything and everything. Usually she tags along with various dancers inhaling whatever they leave on their plates. Rice seems to be her favorite so the mandatory Paella is doing her just fine. I read that Spain has more bars and restaurants per head than any other country in the world. At very high prices, no wonder their economy is on the rise! The only one who seems to be comfortable with the prices in Spain is Layla Isis. Being from New York, I guess she is used to this. Not the rest of us. I never realized how cheap California is!

Food in Spain is plentiful and I don’t think anyone has felt limited on the trip. I decided to try a vegetarian diet for my stay here in Spain and there has been plenty for me to eat, albeit expensive. I wanted to do a semi cleanse from all the meat and dairy I had been eating on the Atkins diet and also get some good vitamins and minerals into my system with summer produce. All the fruits and vegetables of home are here, the most popular vegetable dish being white asparagus. Every market is overflowing with nectarines, oranges, figs, avocados, mangos, pineapples and heaps of greens. There is a huge “Farmers Market” or “Boqueria” off of Las Ramblas. I strolled in one day

I wouldn’t call the people here are not approachable or warm. There are Catalans (who don’t want to be called Spaniards), Spaniards, Basque and a mix of other Latin flavors. Tourists mumble about them being, “rude and arrogant.” Overall, I do feel a great sense of pride from them and a frustration when it comes to the thousands of tourists that flock to their city daily.

I have run across very small percentages who speak English and the ones that don’t are unapologetic about it. Sometimes, when I am in foreign countries, even the Middle East, people seem embarrassed that they don’t speak English, since it is hard to deny that it has become the universal language. In BarTHelona people

Tonight the dancer Mariela of “Dunya Dance Theater” from San Diego came to the show. She is vacationing here for two months and had seen our show in San Diego and Los Angeles. It is great to have her in Spain.

She speaks fluent Spanish and is now helping sell our Belly Dance merchandise during the shows. She is also helping several of us translate our classes when we teach. Bravo Mariela!

are proud to speak Catalan or Spanish and show no remorse when not able to speak to foreign tourists who only speak English.

There is a slight tension when people find out that I am American. I am not the only American who has sensed it.

This is the same tension that so many people ask me if I have experienced throughout my years in the Middle East.

I never have.

But, in Spain, I feel it.

I thought I was missing something when I noticed only youth walking around the city. The old people I see are REALLY old. They look ninety years and older hunched over and barely able to walk, bending far over from the hips and almost dragging along the ground. This is such a contrast to the young, fit, hip and scantily clad young people who breeze by them.

It is even more of a contrast with the youthful, topless females flocking to the beaches. I asked Mariella where all the middle-aged people are. She said that if I were to travel to any small villages I would see them all there sitting around sad that their youth had left for the big cities like Madrid and BarTHelona. I later found out that before 1960, Spain was a poor, rural country, in which only 37 percent of the population lived in towns of over 10,000 people. By the 1990’s young people flooded into cities and many rural areas

Every single day we would rehearse as soon as we got to our venue.

That was usually around 4 in the afternoon with a performance at 7 or 8. We would be back on the bus by 11 or 12 heading across the country to our next venue. This is Sharon Kihara and Melodia rehearsing at House of Blues in New Orleans.

became depopulated.

The fashions for women are anything TIGHT. I went into a clothing store one day and tried on pants…I thought I was in the child’s section.

The store clerk came over and was trying to convince me to squeeze into a see-thru pair of tight, low slung bell bottoms. In turn I tried to explain the words “comfy” and “baggy.” He didn’t get it. There were two types of clothing in the store, tight & skimpy or polyester & huge.

Can you say, “Spanish Muumuu?” The fashions for men are anything John Travolta for “Saturday Night Fever.” Just add some dirt and mileage. I guess the days of clean and crisp Spanish fashions are gone. However, I am promised that when I travel to Seville I will indeed witness men in white, blousy shirts with pressed pants and leather sandals. Oh, sigh.

It is 3 AM on June 24th and we just returned to the hotel after and exciting night out. Not only is it the summer solstice which people in Spain do recognize as a sort of holiday but it is St. Joan’s Day. Not one Spaniard has been able to tell me who this Saint was or why we commemorate the day, and I have asked many. All I know is that the streets are filled with people lighting fire works and there seem to be no laws, rules or regulations concerning the deadly “toys.” Ansuya, Sonia, Aubrey, Jillina and I wove our way through the streets and people to go to a Flamenco show and felt like we were in a war zone. We held onto to each other tight as men, women and children lit sparklers, bottle rockets, whirly beamers and star bursts right in our path. A few thought it was funny to throw them at our feet.

Sonia was able to tell some of the people off in Spanish but there was little impact even with the look of fear on our faces as we dodged fire balls all night.

The Flamenco show was well worth it, though the costuming was very modern with no polka dots, trains or giant ruffles that one would expect for the female dancers. Castanets were not used at all, to my disappointment. But, the dancing and the passion reigned.

The largest applause went to the heaviest, oldest dancers! I love that type of respect for older dancers who have paid their dues which I don’t find in America. It warms my heart. And, indeed the oldest, heaviest dancers were the best!

She has muscles in her upper back and shoulders that I don’t feel like I have. Maybe she has secret muscles there that none of us have. They are beautiful. They ripple and flow, pop and freeze…they even seem to smile as her lithe, whimsical arms play and hypnotize.

Her hip bones are exposed for all to see under a thin layer of skin and yet they don’t protrude; they stand strong like guardians of her belly. Rachel’s belly is in a world of its own. Her lower back is like a fertile mesa swooping down to a round, lush, curvy

Today is June 26 and I just attended Rachel’s class. I have watched Rachel for a long time now after taking a workshop with her last summer and working with her in over 80 shows. I have always been curious about her movements and body. Can any BODY move like hers, or are her genes ultimately responsible for the precise baby locks and freaky contortionist-like isolations that she effortlessly maneuvers through?

After watching her and talking to her, I am convinced it is in her genes. We may be able to dance as well and dance the same moves but they will ALWAYS look different on Rachel than they do on the rest of us. Her body is extremely unique. Her head is small, her shoulders are broad and her posture is monumental. Her broad, square shoulders create a towering support for her svelte, trim and tiny torso. I once heard someone say that when Rachel dances it looks like she doesn’t have bones. On the contrary, when she dances you can see every bone and muscle. You can see the rhythm in each rib, hip bone and abductor muscle. She is very thin but shows no hint of emaciation. Rachel is strong with long reaching limbs.

tushy. Rachel claims that her muscles are visible and strong whether she works out or not and she never gains weight in her stomach or waist. She says she can go for years without working out and she still has a “six-pack.” Her father is built the same way, showing muscle without exercise. Even though, she does exercise through dance and yoga. If she didn’t, she says the only place that would get bigger is her bottom.

Hhmmmmm…must be nice. I wonder if women who don’t have a weight gain problem can truly appreciate that part of their existence.

At the beginning of her class, Rachel explained that she would not be teaching typical “American Tribal Style” but a variation that Heather Stants and “Urban Tribal Dance Company” (San Diego) created. She described its “funkiness” and modern, hip appeal and I felt proud that she was crediting my good friend Heather way over here in Barcelona, Spain! Rachel’s dancing is, of course, off the charts. As I watched her teach her “contractions” of the stomach I kept trying to figure out why hers look so different than everybody else. After questioning her about it, she was very open to explaining how she trained herself to contract her muscles just below her belly button. It is as if she “sucks in” only the muscles below her belly button. It is like the beginning of a back-wards stomach roll but then releases. This little gift of strength took Rachel 6 months to perfect. I was so curious to know if any of her muscle “rolls” came naturally. They did not.

They were learned…even her stomach roll. And, she is proud to say that at 32 she is more flexible now than she was at 17! Rachel has been nominated for a Zaghareet award. You can vote for her at www.zaghareet.com before October 15th. I know I will!

Most of us have workshops here in Spain and many are full, especially on weekends. There is a growing dance community in Barcelona and they have come out to see several of our shows. At the end of every performance we invite people up onto the stage to dance with us and it is fun to see many of the audience members with obvious experience under their belts.

Tonight is June 28 and we only have a week left in Spain! Last week our French promoter flew in with his wife to see our production. We will be dancing in France at the legendary, “Follies Bergere” in the fall as part of our European Tour. They seemed very pleased, even though they admitted that we will be a “hard sell” in France where some of the best dancers from Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia work. He felt that the Tribal dancers would pull people in to see our show and that they would be especially curious to see “The Belly Dance Superstars” simply because of this term, “American Tribal Style.”

Tonight after we perform we will rush to a Flamenco

Show that is supposed to be the best in the city. I am in my dressing room with 15 minutes until show time and I can hear the growing build of the crowd. It sounds like a large crowd tonight with people filtering into the balcony seats. I would guess around 600 people. Juan tells us that we are getting rave reviews around the city and that the word is spreading to see “The Belly Dance Superstars and Desert Roses” from America!

We have one more week in Spain until the Barcelona experience is over. During this week several of us will comb the city for an acrylic nail salon…there just has to be one somewhere, though none of us have spotted one yet. Sharon Kihara and Yasmin had their hair done and after 6 hours left a salon still unsatisfied. This isn’t too promising. Tomorrow Ansuya will fly to Japan for a previous teaching engagement. On July 5th, a few of the dancers will fly to London to do promotional work for the fall tour. Layla Isis will vacation in Europe, several will go home and I will head to Seville to soak up the heart of Flamenco, Zambra Mora and Andalusia.

In this last week we will take train rides to medieval villages, rest, choreograph for the fall, and buy gifts to take home to loved ones. I will write again about our life here in Spain before reaching the states (this time with “spell-check,” unlike the spring…yey!)

For now, I am going to try and find some hot water for my tea, which surprisingly is hard to come by. Do I dare say that I miss Starbucks being right across the street, as it is where I live in San Diego? No, I won’t say it. However as Jillina and I made our way around various cathedrals one day I was happy to see excitement on her face when I spotted one of the few Starbucks in the city and was a bit embarrassed to ask if she wanted one. So, allow me to be embarrassed and even a little ashamed. I love traveling and soaking up foreign cultures…it’s my passion and I am sure the coffee is great in Latin countries. But, I don’t drink coffee. I only drink decaffeinated tea which is very difficult to find in so many countries. Asking for anything decaffeinated in Spain is like the anti-Christ has arrived. And because of that, I miss Starbucks. (Guilty smile here)

One night after our show at The Follies Bergeres in Paris, Miles took us to the Crazy Horse show. It was one of the best shows I saw in Europe. Seated in the audience are Jillina, Sharon Kihara, Aubre Hill, Kaeshi and myself (very blonde, in turtle neck sitting next to Kaeshi).

european tour part 1 I sit in a darkened movie studio on

Sunset Blvd in Hollywood. Sixteen years ago I was a young, teenage actress in the “City of Angels” hoping to be discovered on a famous boulevard like this one. Today I am called a “Bellydance Superstar” and I am rehearsing for my third tour with the “Bellydance Superstars and Desert Roses” for a full European tour which begins on September 12th.

Adore is in the middle of her solo and is extremely beautiful. She is the gymnast of the “team” and in the past has received reviews that she is “more tumbler than Belly Dancer.” Not today...for the European tour she has delicately and successfully blended her “Nadia Comeniche” back-hand springs, flying aerials, Egyptian style hip drops and sultry mysterious stage presence. She is simply stunning. I am hypnotized by her soulful dancing.

On September 1st, fourteen Belly Dance Superstars converged in L.A. from all over the U.S. and Spain to start rehearsing for the fall, 2004 European Tour.

Most of us were on the U.S. tour in the spring and the Spain tour in the summer with the new addition of Ana Saeeda. She was the dancer who “won” the “Superstar” auditions that Miles Copeland held when we were performing in Barcelona. There were 140 dancers who auditioned and Ana was the chosen on to join our team. Ana has studied Middle Eastern and Flamenco dance for many years and also plays African and Middle Eastern drums. She has danced all over Spain and we are happy to have her aboard.

Ah, Barcelona...for me it was a life time ago. Our tour ended in early July with a short jaunt over to England to hang out at Miles’ “London house” and do promo work for newspapers and TV shows. With Miles’ permission, I skipped out on London and headed south to study Flamenco and Zambra Mora in the heart of Andalusia in Seville.

All together, “The Bellydance Superstars and Desert Roses” danced 28 shows in Spain and had growing audiences every night. Word spread throughout Barcelona about our show and by the final week we were dancing to packed houses and standing ovations that refused to stop. Now we are headed to Germany (during Oktoberfest), Italy, England, France, Belgium, Holland and Austria.

But, for now, Issam sits by me in the dark of this Hollywood studio and we chat about new pieces in the show like the Persian and Turkish routines. We lament about the relentless heat wave in Southern California.

We talk about the upcoming “Superstars” contract to Dubai for “Eid El Fitr” in November that everyone is excited about. We talk about the European continent and venues we will perform at that ring legendary like “The Follies Bergere” in Paris and “The Bloomsbury Theatre” in London. Oh, and, Italy in September... what could be more romantic?

I mosey into the dressing room for my next costume change and Aubre is speaking about our “panty intensive” show. I know exactly what she means...we have many costume changes in the show and each one demands a different color of underwear. At any given

time we have a handful of multi-colored panties in our bags and there always seems to be a rogue thong that has become hooked onto a lamp or is simply lying in the middle of the dressing room floor. Of course, no one ever claims these homeless thongs and we all act like we are much too classy for one of our thongs to be waving from a plant or light fixture surrendering for someone to claim it and make it their own.

Several dancers are sewing, some are chatting and Amar Gamal is sitting on the floor meditating. I announce that it is very soon in which we will be in the UK eating the best fish and chips in the world. With conversations of food, Amar snaps out of her peaceful trance and notices Colleen standing in front of the mirror prodding and poking her gluteus maximus complaining that she, “has no butt.” Amar reminds her that on the Lollapalooza tour she DID have a butt and inquires about where it went. The question goes without an answer as Colleen spins away to call her boyfriend, “Bunny.” Only Colleen would have a boyfriend named, Bunny.

September 12th, 2004: Fourteen Belly Dance Superstars, our tabla player Issam, our tour manager Juan and our lighting designer Ted descend onto LAX to board a flight to Paris. Mid-flight we imbibe ourselves with American Airlines cocktails that are no longer free like the good old days, but now $5 per drink. We don’t care...we have very few days off until we start working and we are going to numb ourselves for the 16 hour journey to France. Arriving at the hotel in France is painless until we see the hotel elevator is big enough for only one person and half a suitcase. Is this what the hotels in Europe will be like? It will take us hours for each one of us to get to our rooms! Dondi... calm down...take your time...grab some Euro’s...get some food.

We walk the streets to the nearest Parisian cafe that is open. Deciphering the menu takes time. One of the main dishes is, “Melted Salad with Green Heans.”

Could that be a typo or is that a legitimate entree? I am confused. Dondi...calm down, drink some velvety French red wine with Amar Gamal and go to bed.

Bienvenue A Follies Bergere! The next day The Follies Bergere welcomes us into its historic walls from the 1860s. It is dreamy. We rehearse a twenty minute show that we will showcase for the French press...

newspapers and television stations. The stage is narrow and we must change choreography quickly and on the spot. We are treated like stars.

We finish our promo and board the bus for Antwerp, Belgium two hours away. The bus is a big European tour bus but it isn’t big enough for all of our new gear, props and people. The bus isn’t big enough! We have to put our suitcases on the seats. The bus isn’t big enough! Does the toilet even work? Something smells.

Issam and I have to share a seat. We cannot even stretch out to sleep! Miles promises us that he will get us a new, bigger bus with a working toilet. The bus isn’t big enough!

Our first show in Antwerp is great. The audience claps and howls for us. The theatre staff feeds us a wonderful, hot dinner and there are snacks and drinks everywhere. We are treated like rock stars and stay in a beautiful hotel. We all wonder if this is the start of a lucky pattern...a plush hotel, a fabulous show with a full house and a staff that caters to us...we hope so.

Jeszi and I walk the streets late at night with our lingering jet-lag. We feel completely safe in Belgium. It is clean and quaint. Everyone we meet speaks English even though it is a maze of foreigners...a melting pot of intelligent people...may Middle Easterners. We spot a gigantic poster for our show downtown next to a poster for “The Art of Genital Origami.” The genital show is hailed as a blockbuster show...one of the best in Europe. Well, I guess we have reached the big time!

We take photos.

September 16th: We travel to Den Hague, Holland.

Most Americans think that “The Netherlands” encompasses an entire area of countries likeBelgium, Holland and even Finland, Norway and Sweden. In my research I learn that “The Netherlands” is ONLY Holland and the locals prefer to call it, “The Netherlands” rather than “Holland.” Jeszi and I head into central Den Hague after sitting at a non-working train station wondering why trains were passing us. Once we finally get ourselves into the city we ask a deli for, “something traditional.” We are answered with, “Chips!” French Fries? No thanks...how about something we cant get in the Unites States? After mass confusion amongst the deli staff they come up with “Croquette.” WE are shown the deep-fried-corn-doglooking-thingys and ask what they are stuffed with.

We ask about beef and pork. We are told that “the insides come from a pig.” Oh good...neither of us are vegetarians so we settle on a croquette with pork inside. Two minutes later we bite into deep fried bread crumbs stuffed with hot pork LARD. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

by ear and see how tired we are after the Den Haag show.

I love The Netherlands. We are at another beautiful hotel, as we were in Belgium and we dance for another full house in a gorgeous theatre with top service and treatment. It is obvious that the theatres here in Europe honor dance as a high art form and This was the very first BDSS European Touring Cast (September, 2004). This because of this want is during a photo shoot in Germany. to take the best care Back Row: Petite Jamilla, Sonia, Colleen, Ansuya, Kaeshi, Sharon Kihara, of their artists...us. We Aubre Hill, Amar Gamal, Ana, Dondi “meet and greet” the Seated: Rachel Brice, Jillina, Adore, Michelle. crowds of hundreds after the show and they bombard us for autographs. It is very rewarding to talk to the people after a lot of hard work. It is refreshing ON OUR BIG VANHOOL BUS: The back of the bus is wild. I sit quietly toward the to actually have real contact with this audience that front chatting with Issam as we cruise through the dark has been watching us perform for over two hours. streets of Europe. But, in the back it is a zoo. I glance back one evening to see Jeszi flipping her entire body While in Den Haag a few of us on the tour discover over rows of seats, Michelle actually swinging upside that Amsterdam is only 45 minutes away. Hmmm... could we go after the performance? Could we explore down from the back window screaming like a howler monkey and Rachel sitting on Sonia’s lap bumping The Red Light district and all that Amsterdam has to and grinding to Led Zeppelin all at the same time. This offer...the nights there are legendary. We would have is where most of the dancers reside including Sharon, to take a train at 1 AM and return the next morning around 5 AM to be able to board the bus for Hamburg, Amar, Ansuya, Aubre, Adore and Ana. There is a bufGermany. Could we do it? Miles is heavily suggesting fer zone at the middle of the bus with various “tech” support people. Jordan & Scott; Stewart Copethat we all go to bed on this night. He wants us in our land’s boys (and Miles’ nephews) are here filming us rooms sleeping, especially since some of the dancers in a sort of behind-the-scenes Bellydance documenare catching colds and flu. But, I am a grown woman, tary. Marissa is our new merchandise person and Ted as is my roommate Jeszi, who never sleeps at night. I is our lighting designer and specialist. Juan is our tour think we can do it and SHOULD do it; when will we manager. Toward the front of the bus there is another ever get back to Holland? Life is short and, after all, wave of people like Me, Issam, Kaeshi, Jillina and Miles didn’t say we COULDN’T go. Lots of dancers Colleen. Miles sits at the very front of the bus. Hermake night excursions. We will have to play this one

man is our driver.

ON MILES COPELAND:

He’s blunt. He’s in-your-face-tell-it-like-it-is-brash.

He does NOT mince words and could be described as cruel and rude. If he doesn’t like something about your performance, you will know it (usually by him marching backstage to tell you as you’re going on stage for

ON EUROPE:

We are one week into the tour and just finished our first series of shows in Germany. Hamburg, and Munich are done. The audiences in Europe have been fantastic. The crowds clap, cheer and yell so loud it is difficult to hear the music. Tonight we will dance in Stuttgart, Germany and then drive directly after the

Jillina, Ansuya, Sonia, Adore and Dondi signing autographs at The Follies Bergeres in Paris, 2004

your next piece). His favorite mantra for something he doesn’t like is, “It’s not working!” Miles is also savvy and can be described as generous and concerned. He is quick to remedy a situation, especially if there are hurt feelings of one of the dancers. He wants the “Bellydance Superstars” to be happy. When we were on the road somewhere in Northern Europe complaining about the seats on the bus, Miles ran out and bought 20 pillows so all of us could be comfortable. He is one of the hardest promoters/managers/producers I have ever worked with. Several times I have left one of our venues to walk back to the hotel only to see Miles packing up merchandise and helping load heavy bags onto the bus. He doesn’t grimace or complain when picking up a broom to help clean up a stage that might need sweeping. And, he DID get us a bigger bus!

show to Vienna, Austria. Vienna is 417 miles away and we will prepare for the drive by showering at the theatre in Stuttgart, removing our makeup and putting on our comfy clothes. The seven-hour bus ride will be worth it to venture into another beautiful, historic European city. Alveiderzein Germany and Hallo Austria!

We have a stellar crowd in Stuttgart, Germany. Andre Elbing, the well-known Belly Dance photographer takes hundreds of photographs. We sign more autographs after the show. We board the giant European belly bus and Miles makes a surprise announcement that we wont be going to Vienna after all! The entire trip has been cancelled because an Egyptian promoter from the South of Germany wants to wine, dine and entertain us. Yousri Shereen provides special enter-

tainment for the largest amusment park in Europe: “Europa Park.” He is thrilled with our show and wants to book us at Europa Park for February, 2005. We would create a show with groups like, “Gypsy Kings” and segments of “Cirque De Soleil.” Mr. Yousri has been wanting to create a production of this kind for five years and feels like he has found the missing key in “The Bellydance Superstars and Desert Roses.”

So, we head south the next morning and meet Mr. Yousri at a plush hotel called, “Colleseo.” It is only a couple of months old, and built on land that looks like it should be frolicking with fairy folk and nature sprites. It is a heavenly area. The large hotel is built to look like Greece and Rome.

Petite Jamilla, Miles Copeland and Dondi at the Follies Bergeres in Paris, 2004 We are taken to “Europa Park” and immediately the group is riding massively high roller coasters and log rides. We toss Jillina if our hips are supposed to look identical, not our bags into a hotel that is built into the amusement just our arms and formations of “lines.” Are we suppark where we will stay for the night. We return to the posed to mold our dancing to fit her style of Modernresort and climb the Roman-looking ruins for a photo Egyptian-Cabaret, heavily influenced in ballet and shoot and then we are treated to a huge Italian buffet jazz? Jillina says, “Yes, ideally we should all be identiwith Yousri Shereen’s family. cal!” This has gone way past semantics.

That night we watch videos of our shows in Europe.

Comments are made about the dancers who are not present and how they should be there. I vocalize how important it is to simply come to the hotel at night and do yoga, take vitamins, email home and rest. Jillina makes a comment about being in Europe “to work, not party.” Woah. I didn’t say anything about partying.

This has to do with necessary recuperation, especially when many in the group are getting the flu and are in their rooms sleeping. I sit down with the group and we try to remedy any mistakes we can find on the video. A debate arises about the choreography. Are we trying to “clean up” the technique or are we all trying to look identical? I am having a difficult time understanding our goals as a company. When I first started with the “Superstars” a year ago I thought we were to retain our own identity in this dance, now I am being told that we all need to be EXACT in the hips, torso, arms...everything. Aubre says that the argument is coming down to our “wording.” I disagree. So, I ask

This “exactness” is very difficult to attain. How do you take strong Bellydancers, some of whom have had a twenty year history in the dance, make them all dance the same AND ask them to retain their own styles? I ask questions of this nature and the response is, “Excuse us for being perfectionists!” My point is missed completely. My argument has nothing to do with being perfectionists; it has to do with retaining the FEELING in the dance. To what degree should we train ourselves to dance the same and how much of our own personality should we retain? It is becoming clear to me now, through conversations with the group that for a professional production of this scale we MUST be succinct and incredibly tight in the group pieces. The word “collaborative” must ring true and we must work as one machine. This is very hard work and it is the reason we have a full two-hour technical rehearsal every day before our shows at night.

It is the reason we watch our own performances on

video and have debates about “where our shimmy is coming from.” It is the thighs? The tush? The knees?

We have to be clear about the movements to dance as a professional company. More than ever I am understanding the word, “company” and just what that entails. We HAVE reached a new level of Bellydance and if we want to compete with shows like “Riverdance,” then we must be exactly synchronized with each other in group pieces...no individuality. Whoa.

Jordan is interested in our discussion for the documentary so his camera is right on us for this little soiree in Jillina’s hotel room. I notice that personalities change for the lens. What the dancers are saying in private becomes exaggerated and quite different when the camera gets turned on.

Most of the dancers want to be on film and are thrilled that our one-of-a-kind show is being documented. One or two of the dancers relish the idea of being “famous” and are excited whenever the camera is on. In my haste and overwhelm of trying to make another point, I walk out of the room.

That night as I am walking around the hotel, various dancers approach me about “how good our controversy was for the camera.” Our CONTROVERSY? To me it was a heart-felt discussion about the profundity of Middle Eastern dance and how much it means to me. It was an argument that I was involved with because the dance is every breath that comes from my throat, every cell in my body. For me it was not “controversy for the camera.” I am not implying for a moment that the dance doesn’t mean just as much to the other dancers. It means too much to all of us in many different ways...everyone here is living and breathing the dance. Perhaps I should be as excited as some of the others that the camera is on, even at times of pointed discussion or arguments. After all, we are pioneers for this new professional level of bringing Bellydance to the masses. It is pretty awesome that we have technology today to record our every step in this process...even the painful steps. Let me begin to change my attitude toward the camera.

It is a whirlwind of a day and several of us end up at a bar near the amusement park. Some have tea, others have straight shots, and one sips on plain water. Several people in our company don’t drink at all but simply like the atmospheres of pubs and gathering places. The

camera is on again and I am asked pointedly about the “competition” in the group. I know the dancers would like me to pretend that there isn’t any but that would be dishonest of me. I express a few words about the competitive atmosphere and am reminded that it could be MUCH worse. That is true. We are lucky to have a group that agrees to disagree. We are lucky to have a group that, despite strong egos, truly gets along most of the time. Even if our differences are apparent and known, we work very hard to help each other because we are a team. Knock on wood.

The next morning includes breakfast and a “look-see” of the area at Europa Park where we will dance if we return in February. By noon we are on the road again and heading toward Milan. We will travel through Lake Lucerne, France, Switzerland and the Swiss Alps. It is a new day. Bon Giorno Italy!

Miles Copeland is well connected to the “rich, famous and accomplished” which made for interesting dinner guests and visitors in every city we went to. While in Milan, Italy Ragheb Alama stopped by to see our show and catch up with Miles. Though some of the girls on the tour didn’t know who he was, I was a bit star struck. I had worked in the Middle East for several years and I knew what a huge star Ragheb Alama was. He had dinner with us, fell in love with Adore and as a result I got to have great conversations with him and get my photo with a huge pop star!

european tour part 2

It is October 10th in London,

England; the final day of the “Belly Dance Superstars and Desert Roses European tour.” I am re-writing this diary for the third time and mustering up every bit of strength I have to remember important details of the last two weeks. An infected computer disc wiped out all the memories and moments of Italy, Germany, and France. I took a deep breath, cried and began writing again. This time I logged precious details onto stacks of paper, only to have those papers stolen along with $1,000, credit cards, computer discs, camera, photos (of me and Natasha Atlas at one of our London shows) and identification.

Last night during a full house and a brilliant show at The Bloomsbury Theatre in London, someone was able to enter the security doors while myself and our entire cast was on stage pouring our hearts out to the crowd. Me, Colleen and Amar Gamal were “pegged” but, for some reason, I was violated the most. I don’t need to write about the emptiness and disillusion one feels after such cruelty: I don’t even have the strength to do so. I can only count my blessings…that I removed my passport from my bag a couple of days before and that I work for a company (Belly Dance Superstars) which is covered by insurance, and hope-

fully we can recoup some of our loss.

So, I begin again…without my prescription glasses since they were stolen.

The last time I wrote we were on our way over the Alps to Italy from Germany. Milan, Italy is an industrial city with incredible history just around the corner from shopping malls and “working people.” It is a large city with amazing buildings like The Duomo where Miles took us on one of our days off. I had been to The Duomo before so I skipped out a bit early to treat myself to a Milan shopping spree. And, yes, I did buy the cutest clothes on earth at much cheaper prices than I thought I would find.

In Italy we had various dancers stop by the theatre to see if they could convince Miles to give them an audition for the “Superstars.” This happens at most venues now and is an interesting process to watch. Every once in a while a dancer really stands out with beauty, talent or potential. But, most of the time I am quite surprised at how unprepared the dancers are. Most of us already in the company jump at a chance to sit in the audience of a darkened theatre and watch someone else for a change.

It has to be a pretty nerve-wrecking atmosphere to audition for what these belly dancers think will be Miles and then all fourteen Superstars are watching them.

We feel for them, always, and clap and smile for them in a tense situation. But, even when I am clapping and trying to “give good vibes” I am wondering why they brought a CD that skips/don’t know their routine/sway around the stage in a free-style “head in the clouds” motion with no obvious choreography or simply look lost. Miles has his own ideas of what he likes in a dancer, a main one being to see the dancers hip work and not have it be so subtle that it doesn’t translate on a big stage. All of us have our own ideas of what we like and are sometimes shocked at the GORGEOUS and TALENTED dancers who don’t get chosen for the company. The bottom line is that someone who auditions for the “Belly Dance Superstars” has to be able to dance in a group and catch on to choreography fast.

If they don’t, they will be lost in our productions.

In Italy we also had promoters visiting every show (just as we did in Germany) and one night they treated

us out to the biggest nightclub in Milan, “The Rolling Stone.” Jeszi, Colleen, Ted, Jordan, Scott and I all went for the adventure and walked in to a crowd of 2,000 twenty-something’s. It was “hip-hop night” but could have been called, “ghetto” night with gold chains and ski caps being the fashion de rigeur. We were quickly escorted to the VIP section of the club, lead to the main stage, high over the crowded dance floor and introduced by the emcee. “THE BELLY DANCE SUPERSTARS ARE HERE!” People screamed and cheered while we danced on the private towering stage. We had a couple of cocktails and then started gracefully rejecting bottle after bottle of alcohol that was being floated our way as we sat in the private VIP section of the club. No wonder rock stars become alcoholic…everything starts becoming free when you are considered a “Superstar.”

The highlight for me in Italy was having dinner with Ragheb Alama. He came to see our show, loved it and had dinner with our entire cast at a great Italian restaurant. He was fun, friendly and talked with us about the show, the dancers and Belly Dance in general. But, as an audience, overall, Italy was reserved and not exposed to much Belly Dance so I was happy to return to Germany for more “belly dance love.”

We again passed through the majesty of the Swiss Alps and made our regular gas station stops where everyone would quickly pile out of the bus, run to the restroom and file back on the bus. After one such stop in Italy, we drove into Switzerland and through the Alps. Most people on the bus were sleeping when Miles’ loud voice startled me from gazing into the high mountains around us. Miles’ cell phone had rang and his speech was aggressive and clipped. “WHAT? WHAT THE $*%& ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? ISSAM, WHERE IS TED? DONDI, WHERE IS TED?” Issam told Miles that Ted was at the front of the bus.

Miles went to the front. Ted wasn’t there. Miles went to the back of the bus. Ted wasn’t there. Ted was nowhere. Ted wasn’t on the bus! TED WASN’T ON THE BUS! Where was Ted? When the smoke from Miles’ ears and nose cleared, we pulled over our giant bus at a McDonalds in the middle of Swiss paradise and waited for a taxi to deliver wallet-less/penny-less/ credit card-less/ Ted (who couldn’t speak SwissFrench or Italian) whom we had left at a gas station

an hour back. We were told by Miles in a VERY stern voice NOT to leave the bus while we waited for Ted. But, an hour into our stop and in pairs, we sheepishly made bathroom/French fry/cookie/Big Mac runs as we waited for Ted. He finally arrived and the dark cloud continued to hang over our bus while very little conversation took place for the rest of the day. We headed North.

“Bellydance Superstars” DVD…Live in Paris! Rehearsals went off without a hitch and so did the filming that we had been awaiting for a month. I tried desperately to eat healthy and drop a few pounds for the cameras before they rolled but to no avail. Throughout Italy and Germany I had been undergoing grief from the passing of my Dad and bags of marzipan and chocolate made that grieving more comfortable.

Over the next several days, we traveled to the cities of Berlin (where Horacio & Beata came to the show), Hanover and Cologne. As we had experienced before, Germany was off the charts with support for us all over the country. We reached Cologne on September 30th where the renowned Belly Dance photographer Andre Elbing saw our show for the 2nd time. Not only did he give a rose to every single dancer during the finale of our show but also he gave me an extra bouquet for my birthday (which we spent on the bus heading toward Paris.)

The actual night of filming in Paris was head-spinning...it was finally here...LIVE AT THE FOLIES BERGERES!! We were very excited backstage to hear that the camera crew was in place and that there were 9 cameras in all. I knew, that while dancing on the stage I could feel 3 of them following my every move.

One was swooping down off the upper balcony like a giant alien. Some of the moves that I had planned went right out the window. But, then again, I always feel like I could perform better and wished we could have filmed the show more than once.

After our Cologne show, Miles sent the “tech” crew in a separate van so they could “strike” the set and we could get to Paris before them, in plenty of time for rest. However, our driver, Herman (whom Jeszi and I nicknamed, “Human” due in part to his funky Netherlands accent) managed to get us lost, as he did every single day. At 4 AM, maps started flying around the bus, and Miles was yelling profanity as “Human” drove us in circles around Brussels. We ended up in Paris several hours after we should have, only to find out the tech crew had been sleeping soundly for hours.

“Human” was an interesting middle-aged fellow from Amsterdam. He wore pastel colored “high-water” pants and blasted Enya through the speakers on the bus but tried diligently to convince us that his favorite group was “Metali-claw.” When we asked “Human” what some of his favorite “Metali-claw” songs were, he could never name one of them. Human (and the bus) left us in Paris to spend the rest of the tour taking airplanes and trains. I couldn’t say I was sad about that.

Perhaps I was nervous with the cameras...then again, what professional performer isn’t a perfectionist? I know the DVD will be of highest quality, with a lot of new surprises on it when it is released later this year.

It will be a lot of fun to see how we look on camera with four extremely handsome models that Miles hired from the Ford Agency to escort us down a glamorous set of staircases for the final credits of the show.... It will also be fun to see how we look on camera with four extremely handsome models that Miles hired from the Ford Agency to escort us down a glamorous set of staircases for the final credits of the show. I took my moment to walk down naturally and happily only to be surprised when all the other dancers seduced the camera with their “come-hither” looks. These smoldering moments made me kick myself and remind myself to be sexy. I keep forgetting that sex sells.

Reaching Paris and having “full run” of the Folies Bergeres was incredible. There were dressing rooms for everyone, with creaky floors and winding staircases from 1860 when the legendary opera style theatre was built. We were met in Paris by Shawna Rai and Mardi Love, two tribal dancers from California to “fill out” the Tribal numbers for our filming of the new

Paris was extremely appreciative of us. Many dancers from all over the country came to our show, including Leila Haddad. The tour was winding down and Miles wanted to make sure we had some “recreation” time before it all ended. He took us to the “Crazy Horse” show (same owners as Folies Bergeres) after our final performance. I was fully expecting to be offended by strippers/sexism and vulgar performances. Of course, this is what I assumed “Crazy Horse” would be after I had heard about this modern day burlesque show in Las Vegas. I was not only riveted to the point of

being on the edge of my seat, awaiting each move that the dancers made, but I was highly impressed by their high skill and talent. The dancers were gorgeous and obviously cross-trained in many different styles of dance. The magical and watery lighting alone was enough to make any performer envious and the set was far beyond my imagination. I can honestly say that the beauty of the nudity was secondary to the hypnotic performances and a wonderful “icing on the cake” done in an extremely artistic way void of any dirty or sleazy feeling. It was a great night followed by our entire group walking around the city celebrating “White Night” and taking photos at the “L’Arc De Triomph.” I highly recommend this show to anyone visiting Paris.

On the final day of Paris several dancers were sent ahead by train to London to go backstage at the Oojami/ Natasha Atlas concert and a few of us stayed behind to take tours of The Eiffel Tower, and drink red wine in the Montmarte.

That night Jeszi, Ted, Ansuya, Colleen, Marissa, Jillina, and I lugged our bags to the Paris train station and turned in our “first class” tickets to London that Miles had bought for us. Not only were we served steak and seafood in first class but also all the wine was free.

Not being a big drinker, I quickly got tipsy and, needless to say, it was a very fun train ride as Colleen and I played, “Alien” between the train cars and teased a sweet Russian traveler who must have thought belly dancers were “really weird.” Jillina looked a little more than peeved when we arrived in London and my giant luggage cart caught speed down a hill with me hanging onto it for dear life. My luggage and me completely bit the dust at the bottom of the hill and I wound up laughing harder than I had in months. But, not everyone was laughing and this little soirée quickly ended as Jillina and Ansuya caught taxi’s to Miles’ house in St. Johns Wood and the rest of us found our way to the hotel in Euston.

In London we were splashed across the “London Times Sunday Magazine” for 3 million readers to see and read about. We were all in full belly dance costume draped across one of Miles’ antique limousines nestled into the wooded acres of his Hollywood home.

The photo turned out great and it may have been the first photo I have seen where we ALL looked decent.

We had great success in England and to celebrate, Miles rented one of the old double-decker trams and

took us on a private tour of the city. It was a thrilling day. At one point I looked over at Scott and Jordan, Stuart Copeland’s sons and thought how strange it was that, before they were even born, I was rocking out to their Dads music, singing songs like, “Roxanne” with my friends in a small town in Oregon. The dancers shared stories of who made-out to The Police, danced to The Police, LOVED The Police, “rocked out” to The Police and missed The Police. It was a terrific day.

The week in London was filled with Indian food, tours of the Thames River, Indian food, sell-out performances, Indian food, museums, Indian food, shopping in SoHo, Indian food, hanging out with Oojami, Indian food, meeting Natasha Atlas (who loved our show), Indian food, several more dancers auditioning for the company, Indian food, anti-Bush posters adorning telephone poles, Indian food, and our bags being stolen. In London the sleeping arrangements were a bit different because, half the company stayed at the hotel and the other half stayed at Miles’ multi-million dollar home in St. Johns Wood. On one memorable night we all met up at this historic house and the incredible chef in the group, Michelle made a feast for royalty. Tighty even stopped by and we listened to music, ate, visited, talked and enjoyed a relaxing night of being with good friends. Jeszi and I tried to do the dishes but without proper soap, sponges, or toweling; dishes from 15 people weren’t easy to do. Was Miles ever at this house?

While the dancers danced, chatted and played with the ouija board, Jeszi and I prowled the house looking for ghosts. Miles had no clue when it was built but I figured late 1800’s, so to me, that was ghost territory.

We climbed five? flights of stairs up and down and felt a spooky vibe near the basement. Darn…it was time to go. Back to the hotel to get some rest for our next performance.

After the final performance of our European tour, Miles treated us to a night out at “Maroush”, one of the best Lebanese clubs in London where I had performed 7 years earlier. It was a fantastic final night to a tour of hard work. Miles bought the entire dinner spread and we danced the night away to classic hits of Oum Kalthoum, Abdel Halim and more modern shaabi songs of Hakim and Amr Diab. I was in heaven finally dancing freestyle to live, Arabic music, which I hadn’t done in months. THIS was my favorite type of dancing and a wonderful way to say “goodbye” to the group.

It is October 12th and I walk through Heathrow airport after spending some extra time in Reading with dancers, teachers and students. I feel depressed about being burgled of money, credit cards, date books, address books, camera, film, Superstars diary notes and “my life in a bag.” I am depressed from the debilitating effects of a very difficult year and I know chocolate will lift my spirits. I decide it is not only my right but also duty to sample what the airport giftshop has to offer. After several different chocolate bars I give the “thumbs up” to England’s “Kinder Bueno with Milk Many times we would arrive at bars, lounges, restaurants, music halls and theatres only to find nails sticking out of the stages and a coat of dirt for us to dance on. This is a picture of Jillina sweeping and Sonia hammering so we could actually perform.

We all worked hard and sometimes dancing was a small part of that hard work.

and Hazelnuts.” I am on my last remaining bites and becoming in a much better mood and spirit. I read about Christopher Reeves and his recent passing. I learn about the seemingly impossible difficulties of a life with paralysis and I suddenly am counting my blessings of being an able-bodied dancer just wrapping up a “Superstar” tour of Europe, meeting celebrities and being somewhat of a celebrity. I think about the months to come and the future tours, shows and projects. I think about returning home and those of us who will not go on the next US tour. Kaeshi and Amar

will not tour for the rest of the year but spend time with their husbands and tend to their thriving dance company, “Belly Queen.”

Adore will rest her joints and bones which is extremely important for her as the “gymnast” of the team. Ansuya is debating whether she can endure another US “small bus” tour with injuries and a flu bug that she has been suffering from for some time. I will skip the next two US tours and, for now, travel with my family and sister to Chicago where we will spread my father’s ashes on the shores of Lake Michigan and the Indiana Dunes. I will briefly re-join the tour in November to teach in Alabama and fly with the company 9,000 miles to Dubai, United Arab Emirates to perform the gala Nancy Ajram concert for “Eid El Fitr.” I had my first “solo” Middle Eastern contract in Dubai many years ago but this will be the first time a Belly Dance touring troupe of its kind is invited to perform in the Middle East. We will embrace it with hard work and open arms. It is VERY exciting! ........................................................................................

It is November 15th and the Belly Dance Superstars and Desert Roses have just finished performing in Alabama and are heading east on their US tour. I am at home in San Diego and did not meet the group to travel to Dubai. Not only has Yasser Arafat’s death put much of the Middle East into a low-level depression, but Shaikh Zayed, the longest reigning president in Emirate history passed away on November 2nd and our trip was canceled, along with all “Eid” celebrations for The United Arab Emirates. Shaikh Zayed was called, “The Sage of the Arab World” and the entire country is in a period of official 40-day mourning which has even trickled into places like the Royal Court in Jordan which will also mourn for 40 days. I speak with Miles on the phone from Hollywood and he informs me, that though the Middle East isn’t the best place to be right now, we have many contracts booked for 2005. Besides two US tours, we will be going back to Europe in February, (late spring and fall), Morocco in June and France/Monaco in August. We are performing in new places like Wales and Ireland!

It will be a very full year and we are already booking contracts for 2006. Some of the dancers are even selling their cars and releasing their apartments to live a life on the road with the “Superstars.”

For now I rest, count my blessings and get ready to choreograph and work hard for future tours. It will be good to travel and dance a full stage production again and meet new dancers like Saida from Argentina who has joined the company. For now, the holidays are upon us and so is the “Belly Dance Superstars and Desert Roses 2005” calendar which I am anxious to see. No doubt there will be more merchandise and marketing in the next year with Miles’ recent buying trip to Egypt. There are also tales of “Belly Dance Superstars” training schools opening in the future. Woah.

Being a “Superstar” is not for the idle. Let me catch my breath and get ready to “See the world with The Belly Dance Superstars!”

Hello world.

Dondi dancing at Virgin Records in Chicago with Issam looking on.