I belly dance with
Ravenar, which performs both traditional middle eastern dance, and
science fiction and fantasy themed shows. I have some photos in my gallery. Linda L. Donahue has a more extensive gallery of Ravenar peformances on her website (click here). To see a YouTube video clip from our Pixies Gone Wild show at FenCon 2008, click here.
Originally, Ravenar was a troupe Linda Donahue started in [date censored for age sensitivity reasons].
It had sort of fallen by the wayside when Linda and I met.
My doctor had recommended exercise for my fibromyalgia, but everything
I tried aggravated the chronic fatigue syndrome. Linda suggested
belly dancing, as it's fun, low impact (if you don't do a Turkish
drop), and comes with a cool costume. My mother had been a belly
dancer at my age, so I figured what the heck? As it turns out,
belly dance has been the perfect exercise for my fibromyalgia. It
is energizing instead of draining and promotes flexibility, strength
and cardio-vascular health. It hasn't helped me lose weight
(danged thyroid), but it keeps me from gaining more.
To
encourage us to practice regularly, we decided to revive Ravenar and
begin performing at conventions. Kathy Turski, a member of the
original troupe, joined us whenever she could travel with us. Our
shows included Jungle Cats, Barbarian Princesses, Fantasy Girls,
Monster Mash, Pirate Wenches, and our Star Trek Show (pictured right).
We do all the choreography and costuming ourselves.
Amora, one of Linda's former belly dance students, (whom
we call our "Glamazon"), joined us a couple years back.
She
has been a valuable addition, not only because she's young and cute,
but because she's an excellent dancer and choreographer. Pictured left is our "Fantasy Girls" show.
Amora and Kathy aren't able to travel with us all the time, so Linda and I
still do some duets. In the picture to the right, we're in our
Vampire Vixens costumes.
|
|
