Amping up!

Finally recovered from having been on tour for about 3 weeks, and this blog is about to go back on schedule again.  I have an exciting backlog of topics I want to discuss here...but in the meantime...I have totally revamped the look of my dance website, so check it out and LMK what you think!

http://www.darklydramatic.com

The Ghosts Project West Coast Tour August 25th-30th + Atlanta + New England

Hello all!

I plan to be back on a regular posting schedule in mid-September.  Right now I'm about to head off on tour for several weeks - first with The Ghosts Project, starting in Seattle on 8/25, Portland 8/26, Eugene 8/27, San Francisco 8/28, San Luis Obispo 8/29, and Los Angeles 8/30. The Ghosts Project is an amazing improvisational world fusion live music experience - I will be dancing, and we will be featuring guest dancers from every location we stop at. Details for all of the stops (plus video!) at http://www.darklydramatic.com/tgp/

And then I will be at DragonCon in Atlanta 9/1-9/4 - performing with Frenchy & The Punk, as well as some other possible surprise performances.  I will be available for private lessons from Saturday through Tuesday, so if you're going to be there, or are from the area, and would like to schedule a lesson, please drop me an email.

And THEN, I am flying to New England, where I will be performing in ANIMUS on 9/8 in Cambride, MA - details at http://www.zehara.com/ANIMUS - AND I will also be teaching a brand new workshop in the Providence area that morning from 11am-1pm - it's nearly sold out! Sign up at: http://darklydramatic.com/ne-workshop.html

Then I will be back home in Seattle on 9/10, and my next series of classes at Tin Can Studio (http://www.tincanseattle.com) start on 9/11 and 9/13. 

And there's more in store for the Fall!

I'm alive!

I live! I have arrived successfully in Seattle (as of 7/1), it's beautiful and awesome here. Going to take me a few weeks to get situated - my stuff is still apparently back in Boston (supposed to arrive next week apparently at the latest) but I love my new apartment and neighborhood! 

I will be teaching two series of classes at Tin Can Studio (Tuesday and Thursday evenings, starting at the end of this month), I will be performing at Medfest on Saturday, July 21st, from 3-4pm with Nathaniel Johnstone...and this past Saturday I performed up in Bellingam, WA with Abney Park.  More info shortly on upcoming classes and shows.

I'm in the midst of doing a complete website overhaul, so once I get that completed in the next week, and get my toes on firm ground, we'll be back up and running with a lot of new exciting things, so stay tuned!

On The Road!

Today is Day 3 of the "Ocean to Sea" Tour, where I will be teaching tonight a shimmy workshop in Buffalo, NY.  (Yesterday was Syracuse, NY and Saturday kicked off in Spencer, MA). It's been awesome so far, and many great stops ahead:

June 18th, 2012 Buffalo, NY Darkly Sparkly Bellydance  
June 19th, 2012 Youngstown, Ohio Eos Whole Fitness & Bellidance
June 20th, 2012 Kalamazoo, MI Boheme Tribal Belly Dance  
June 21st-June 24th, 2012 Chicago, IL Tribal Revolution (workshops and show)  
June 25th, 2012 Madison, WI Dance Life Studio and Fitness  
June 26th, 2012 Minneapolis, MN Eye of Horus  
June 27th, 2012 South Dakota TBA  
June 28th, 2012 Billings, MT Spiral Skies Bellydance Troupe  
June 29th, 2012 Missoula, MT BuddahBelly Dance Studio  
June 30th, 2012 Spokane, WA Parizadah - details  
July 1st, 2012 Seattle, WA Arrival! (and there was much rejoicing, stay tuned for details on a party of 7/4 at Tin Can Studio!)

The Master Plan Has Begun

I know, I know, I've been far too quiet here...but I have a really good excuse. HONEST!

In a nutshell, I have quit my corporate design job, and I am moving to Seattle. In two weeks, I will begin the journey from Rhode Island to Washington state, via a cross-country tour with stops in Spencer, MA, Buffalo, NY, Youngstown, OH, Kalamazoo, MI, Chicago, IL, Minneapolis, MN, Billings, MT, Missoula, MT, and Spokane, WA.  Complete info is here: http://darklydramatic.com/oceantosea.html

I will be teaching regular classes in Seattle, once I get settled, at Tin Can Studio, and already have a list of upcoming performances in the Northwest/West Coast where you can catch me, including a tour with The Ghosts Project from Seattle to San Diego at the end of August: http://www.darklydramatic.com/tgp/

Instead of putting my creative energy into corporate clients, I'm going to focus on my own jewelry line and get back to making actual artwork, on top of teaching/performing dance - so more on that as I get settled.

And if that's not enough for you...here's a close-up video of my performance at Tribal Fest 12 with Nathaniel Johnstone, courtesy of Beebe Lee (who is made of awesome):

Ragnelle Performance at Alchemy

My next post is going to be writing extensively about the process involved in creating this piece, but first I wanted to share the performance itself without my thoughts:

Well hello there...

I'm really not sure how it happened, but something jumped up and ate April.  And now we're galloping through May with Tribal Fest on the horizon next week.

Let's see what ate April:

Waking Persephone was amazing and a huge success all around.  And yes, we're going to do it again: April 11th-14th, 2013 - in Providence.  Details will be posted soon about next year's instructors, live music, and more, so be sure to join the newsletter, facebook page, follow us on twitter, give us all of your kittens, etc.  (By the way, the picture to the left is of myself and my student Samara, during our "Lunatics Have Taken Over the Asylum" piece.  If you're good, you may see video of it.  But only if you're good.  I will write more details about how the event went down soon, maybe after Tribal Fest.

The next week, I took a little break and tried to recover, before launching myself into ABRAXAS Dance Theatre's "Alchemy" show in Cambridge, MA - and I definitely want to spend some time writing about this show, and particularly the piece I created for it, so more on that soon.

And now, it's MAY!

This weekend is Steampunk City up in Waltham, MA where I will be teaching and performing and vending both days. Saturday: performance at 2pm, workshop at 4pm.  Sunday, workshop is at 2pm, performance is at 4pm.  I will be vending outside in Landry Park, which is in front of the Museum, and adjacent to where Jake von Slatt will be set up with his amazing Steampunk RV and roadster.

And yeah, so a week from today, I leave for California for Tribal Fest. I will be teaching "Essence of the Dance" on Thursday, from 2:30-4:30pm and there are a few slots available still if you want to take it (and you do).  I'll be at the Meet & Greet Thursday night., Friday afternoon I'll be setting up for vending inside, in my usual spot, and at 3pm, Anaar and I, along with the live music of Nathaniel Johnstone, will perform the opening ritual dance for the event! Saturday, I'm performing solo (again with Nathaniel) at 5:30pm  - then join us all at Aubergine After Dark, starting at 9:30pm for a fabulous and super fun afterparty with The Nathaniel Johnstone Band, Unwoman, myself, Asharah, Celeste, The Standfire Collective, IrinaXara, and YOU - cause there will be LOTS of open floor dancing!