Fanning Creative Sparks

I heard an extract from a piece of music a few weeks ago which stuck in my head and refused to go away.  It snuck up on me and replayed itself in my head at odd moments.  I found myself watching for the advert in which it was used.  I had to look it up, then buy the music, and since then I have been playing it over and over.  It's a bit obsessive, I know, but it's a long time since I found a piece that arouses such an intense desire to dance to it and makes me want to scream with excitement! Not that I feel able to dance and do it justice, yet, but it is providing a much-needed motivation and inspiration too!

Suddenly, several things are coming together; an idea I had for a choreography and for a workshop, and a costume which uses some ruined assuit belts (the coins corroded and rusted to the fabric - it remains to be seen whether I can save it), and a commission for a piece of jewellery from my lovely friend Katherine over at Crafty Miss Kitty/Miss Kitty's Monsters to match, and my need to get dancing again.  As usual, I also have several other projects on the go, so I'm nibbling away at them all, feeling stimulated and happy, but frustrated too. I want to dance and my body won't let me!

I was feeling so frustrated, I was in two minds about going to a show/hafla in Pontlliw, put on by my friend Aliah and her Zahwah Belly Dancers, featuring Ozgen as the headline act. Another friend was offering a car share, so I would have been being absolutely stupid not to go.  It was great being able to chat and catch up on the journeys. The show was great, there were so many friends and acquaintances to catch up with and another two of the Imago dancers decided to come at the last minute too. Ozgen was as marvellous as ever. As I said goodnight, he asked how come I wasn't dancing and I explained about my foot op and osteoarthritis.  I wasn't going to go to his workshops the following day, but he said no, come and watch me teach, take notes.  Bless him, he's so lovely! So I did, perched on an exercise ball, stretching my toe, periodically bouncing up and down to the drum solo work and copying arm flows in his flamenco fusion workshop.

At the end of the weekend, I had new fan veils, lots of notes and fresh ideas for the drum solo and zambra pieces I've had on the back burner for ages (but after a few more notes will probably stay there pro tem). It's like oxygen on burning embers, fanning the creative sparks.  All I need now is some space in which to dance and play. And knees and a foot which work. And a lot less pain, please.