Welcome to Suhaila Unveiled, the official e-newsletter for Suhaila Salimpour, the Suhaila Salimpour School of Dance, and Suhaila Productions.

Greetings!

This last month has been full of change and moving on.  We said hello to a new schedule at the studio and the excitement and confusion built around that was very fresh.  The desire to change and rebuild the schedule, curriculum and focus of the studio had been brewing inside me for some time now and it was exciting to have it implemented.  We said goodbye to Sheherezade for this year and our final performance on Saturday night was bitter sweet.  The amount of energy you put into producing, choreographing, and directing a show is so enormous that when it is over all you can think about is sleeping and eating.  But the shows all went great and I was so proud of my dancers that I felt a major let down while packing up at the theater.  We said hello to a new school year for Isabella and all the changes that go into being in 2nd grade.  I think being 7years old (and my daughter for sure) has brought a new level of fashion awareness.  We said goodbye to the last weeklong workshop participants with the expected tears and heartache at the fact that we weren’t going to just wake up and see these amazing women again the next day.  And last but not least we said hello to a new bunch of level 1 and level 2 certified students in the format.  Yahoo!

I want to take this time to also address what is happening around the world and make sure to live each day with a zest for life.  Make sure to give back and redirect your art.  For me it made the production of Sheherezade (now available on DVD and CD) all the more sweet knowing that a certain percentage of the profits will go to a woman’s shelter.  It makes me feel good that all the proceeds from our student night at Monteros this month will go to helping Red Cross and their efforts with Katrina.  It makes me feel good that I will be a part of and perform at a benefit for the Fulani, Tuareg and Wodaabe peoples produced by Rachel Brice and Carleigh Fastame.  So what makes you feel good?  Other than my buns DVD of course (wink).........

"Dance, when you’re broken open.
Dance, if you’ve torn the bandage off.
Dance, in the middle of the fighting.
Dance, in your blood.
Dance, when you’re perfectly free."
-Rumi

"We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are."

--Anais Nin

Editorial by Suhaila

We got out of the car and Isabella let out a gasp.  “I’m gonna dance here mommy”?  We both kind of stood in a silent excitement over the building.  I had been preparing her for her first experience with San Francisco ballet, but nothing could have prepared us for the whole picture. 

I think that I spend a lot of time in my bubble.  I try so had to give belly dance the structure and discipline that it needs in order to be able to reach the level of sophistication and demand it has the potential for.  I have forgotten at times how much the rest of the dance world just takes structure for granted.  Having a good foundation in technique and physical understanding of your body and what muscles you use to move it seems to be the “genius” of my format which still to this day makes me only compare it to creating the “pet rock”.  Every other dance form breaks down movement like this and so to feel like I am getting credit for taking other dance forms and creating the same value and demands that they have into my art form seems like a no brainer really.

We waited in the lobby and a woman came down to great us.  You can’t just come into the studio; you must wait in the lobby and then be escorted around for a tour.  I thought I was going to be able to watch a class and do the “mom” thing, but no way.  Parents are only allowed to watch class twice a year.  I thought for sure Isabella would need me closer her first day so when I asked her if she wanted me to ask the teacher if I could watch class so she wasn’t scarred Isabella held my hand and said “mommy, I’m gonna be fine”.  I started to laugh and then realized that she had to console me.  She just seemed so brave and full of excitement and life.  She was excited about the structure and the fact that she had a dress code and needed to wait to be escorted to class by her teacher.  It seemed so professional that even Isabella could tell that she was beginning a whole new world.

Read complete editorial...

Dance Movement

by Tiffany Bisconer

When I first started taking classes at the Suhaila Salimpour School of Dance I had no previous dance training.  I fell out of the sky, into her studio with two left feet, an upper body that was curled over in protection of my chest and no flexibility what so ever.  As I fell in love with the dance and the environment immediately, I quickly decided I needed a lot of work if I was even considering touching my toes, let alone undulating.   In my adventurous escapades before making my way into Suhaila’s school I had taken a random display of different types of dance, but I soon realized that the contact improv and modern interpretive definitely didn’t help my core posture as I began to learn one of the most challenging and exciting forms of movement that I had ever seen.  Suhaila’s format, approach and vision were so all encompassing that she strongly encouraged her students to take as many ballet and jazz classes as they could alongside training in her format in order to have a strong base and posture to draw from.   I heard her say this once and as I left her class I put finding a ballet or jazz class on the top of my “to do now” list.  Though I had no interest in making ballet or jazz my main dance focus, through Suhaila’s guidance I sought out an answer to hold my body in correct posturing without so much effort, so I could focus on the glute squeezes and undulations instead. 

Read complete article...

Benefit

Thursday, November 10th, 2005

An Evening of Dance Performances and Live Music
Vendors of Tribal and African goods - Raffle and Auction items

7:30pm (doors open at 6:30pm with vending)
Presented at the Brava Theater Center, 2789 24th St
(b/t York & Hampshire), San Francisco

Tickets $25 in advance, $30 door

The Fulani, Tuareg and Wodaabe peoples, among others, may lose their nomadic way of life in 2005, as a result of severe drought and locust infestation. A small donation could make the difference between a free, nomadic life, and poverty in the slums for those who survive.

Don't wait until it's too late.  Don’t Let My People Die.

Come witness an evening of tributes to African influence on American belly dance. These amazing performers: visionaries, pioneers and their new generation of the art form, have come together to help raise awareness to the crisis in Niger that threatens 12 centuries of nomadic life. All proceeds from the show will go to organizations supporting the survival of nomadic people in Niger and throughout West Africa.

All proceeds go to organizations supporting the survival of Nomadic people and culture in Niger and other parts of West Africa.

Please join us for a night of dance to help raise funds and awareness.  Suhaila, Isabella, members of Bal Anat and other Bay Area Performers will be present in hopes to facilitate aid, knowing every extended hand can go a long way.........

www.dontletmypeopledie.org  

Further reading on the web:
Niger's children continue dying

Hunger In Niger 'set to worsen'

Drought diary V: Avoiding disaster in Mali

Learn About:

Fulani | Tuareg | Wodaabe

Buy a shirt - help save a culture, Wear a shirt - help raise awareness...
www.cafepress.com