Welcomed Home

I haven't posted anything here since before moving back from Istanbul.
It has been an intense experience for sure... culture shock from home is a weird feeling. But we have been very lucky to have wonderful friends and family to help us with our transition. And that isn't only with places to stay.
When we returned, our good friend Danielle contacted us about performing as guests at the Northern California Renaissance Pleasure Faire and I was so excited! I love that setting and I was going to get to improvise several times per day which is super fun and easy.
For various reasons I ended up learning quite a few of the group choreographies and started performing during every set by the final two weekends. It has been a long time since I felt that wonderful sensation of troupe-hood, too long. Learning from fellow dancers and then performing together, laughing together, sharing our joy of dance together.
For the final weekend I learned a very meaningful choreography, The Moon Dance. 
This was like coming full circle for me because when I was 10 years old and first saw Aywah! Ethnic Dance Co. perform, it was Rosa Rojas' Moon Dance that really struck me in my core. The elegance and concentration, the power of balance. I performed it every set it was in that final weekend, relishing in the fulfillment of completing a personal dance goal, a dance cycle if you will. 
In addition to this, I made some amazing new friends who I can't wait to spend more time with, on and off the stage.
Being included in Faire this year was another type of welcoming back home, back to where I feel comfortable being a professional Bellydancer and where I feel like I can grow so much as an artist through learning and collaboration.
​On that note, here are some pictures from various photographers at Faire: 

Photo by Rosemary Guglielmelli, 2015.

Photo by Christopher Erickson, 2015.

Photo by Christopher Erickson, 2015.

Backstage ussie: Chantal, Sadira and Shanti, 2015.

Photo by Ed E. Powell, 2015.