Davina - Dawn Devine

09/11/2024

One week: Fabulous Fall Festival! Visit Babdama.org for all the deets and be sure to sign up for the newsletter - to receive the last newsletter and catch a subscriber bonus!

Save the Date: Fabulous Fall Festival 2024 - Saturday November 16, 2023 - We return to the Grant Community Park in Los Altos, Ca with another year of fun!

06/11/2024

Todays vibe
“Her Thoughts are with her Eyes” by Sir Lawrence Alma Tadema

31/10/2024

Dancers at the Turkish Exhibit, Chicago World Fair 1893.

This page is from the original Souvenir Program for the Turkish Theater on the Midway. This theater was sensationally titled the "Oriental Odeon."

A Primary Source - But Highly Inaccurate

If you lead in and read this caption there's some interesting information, not all of it true. I believe the dance "Delkey" is actually the line-dance the Debke.

However one of these ladies is American, not Syrian.

Can you guess which one is "A Local Girl" just by looking at the photo?

I'll be back tomorrow for the answer - and how we know!

30/10/2024

1893, Chicago World's Fair - One of the venues you could see belly dancing was the Street of Constantinople exhibit. According to advertisements, you would see dancers with "Elegant Costumes" performing to music by the "Oriental Orchestra."

However, this exhibit was simply not as fancy or as inviting as the Streets of Cairo just a few doors down.

17/10/2024

We're a month out from our annual belly dance event:
Fabulous Fall Festival!

Here on Facebook, our event organization group, BABDAMA (Bay Area Belly Dance and Music Association) hosts a group to find out more info: Fabulous Fall Festival or visit our website www.babdama.org

Over the next few days, I'm updating the BABDAMA website, and preparing our next newsletter! Are you on the mailing list? Sign via our website.

Now - off to work on the next BABDAMA newsletter and website.

16/10/2024

I went to Archive.org and discovered they are down.. Bummer... I was looking forward to a round of "recreational research" with my morning coffee.

"Rue du Caire" Félix Vallotton c. 1901

This image gives you a sense of the popularity and the kind of buskers that worked outside the theater where patrons could watch the Egyptian dance show. You could catch the Danse du Ventre several times a day for .50 centimes.

15/10/2024

Spending some quality time organizing information. I love fining fantastic vintage imagery like this Egyptian beauty wearing a beautiful assiut shawl.

09/10/2024

We've confirmed Zoe Jakes as our Special Invited Guest for our Gala Show!

OMG - I'm so thrilled to have this opportunity to see her take the stage along with Basinah Raqs Sharqi, Maria Sokolova, Shoshanna Rose, and more!

Time to work on some Fabulous Fall Festival admin. This year I'm in charge of working with our Vendors and updating our Website: https://babdama.org/

Confirmed Vendors Include:
- Bellydance.com
- Carl Sermon and MaShuqa Mira Murjan
- Bali Isle Tribal ArtWear
- Aneena - Silk Veils
- Dhyanis Carniglia
- A to Z Belly Dance - Vintage Dancewear Cathy Azura George.. And More to announce as I work through our inquiry list.

Would you be interested in getting onto this inquiry list?
Email: [email protected]. include RE: Vending Inquiry in the Subject Line

04/10/2024

Are you free on Nov. 16?
Gotta Dance?

We are about to open festival dancing sign-ups for the Fabulous Fall Festival show!

Here's the process:
- Visit our website - https://babdama.org/
- Sign up for our newsletter
- Get the newsletter and use the special link button to sign up

Festival Dancing is "First-Come-First-Served" - so click through to sign up for our mailing list today so you don't miss the announcement! https://babdama.org/

Not sure if you're on the mailing list already? Sign up again - the automated system will confirm if you've already joined.

See ya at the Festival!

27/09/2024

Dancer Ida Rubenstein posing with a cat.
Costume for Helene de Sparte by Leon Bakst c. 1912

27/09/2024

When your slide deck is too big.. you cut-cut-cut...

I love this image - but what a hodge-podge costume with elements of... everything c. 1911

I keep this odd cabinet card image in my archive as an example of an ambiguous image. Is it assiut? Is it tulle with sequin?

Turns out I found ANOTHER card of Koós Margit and it's clear that the overskirt is definitely sequin on tulle.

Practicing my talk for Veils UnVeiled - Next Week!
https://bellydancequickies.com/register/veils-unveiled-from-art-dance-to-belly-dance-with-dawn-devine/

26/09/2024

I use a master to:do list book to keep weekly and daily lists. I just finished the book I started in 2021.

I imply adore the Pukka Pad - the paper and my favorite pen are best friends and this size and shape make it easy to spot on my shelf!!

25/09/2024

For the past few days, I've had guests in town. Now it's time to WORK!!!

Today I'm working on polishing up the Slide Deck for the upcoming talk with Mahin Sciacca - "Veils Unveiled"

Many years ago I had a specialty booklet series that included 8 titles. Two of them became "Skirting the Issues/Pants for the Dance" and are still available. The rest were too expensive to print, and when we flipped to POD (print on demand) they were too short!

Mahin's Bellydance Quickies series has offered me the opportunity to share this material in a live talk on Oct. 6.

Loads of images of primary sources that help us illustrate the history of our dance.

"Veils Unveiled: From Art Dance to Belly Dance"
with Dawn Devine aka Davina - Dawn Devine
A Live Zoom Talk and Q&A
Sunday, October 6th - 12pm PDT / 3pm EDT
60 Min talk - 30 min Q& A
Includes Handout with source bibliography
https://bellydancequickies.com/online-bellydance-events/

Image Source: "Dancer" by Hans Zatzca

12/09/2024

Lobby card image from "The Egyptian" of 1954. This cheesy sword and sandals style film featured an obligatory decadent banquet scene.

This reimagined and kitschy version of history was never intended to be historically accurate. Instead, we're served a spectacle with a fantasy formula including dancers as a signifier of wealth and power.

When you watch the dance, you will see how this closed cape looks in motion - available on YouTube: https://youtu.be/O1024c5pRGM?si=BJPQjIf5YM0ZK5ug&t=36

Dancing with fabric, in the form of veils, capes, and wings, was part of the popular entertainment landscape and became an essential element for working belly dancers during the middle of the 20th century.
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In October, I'm presenting a live talk via zoom with Mahin Sciacca and Mahin's Bellydance Quickies. "Veils UnVeiled" will explore the history and evolution of belly dancing with veils. If you're interested in joining me, follow this link for more information: https://bellydancequickies.com/online-bellydance-events/

09/09/2024

Lobby Card for the

One of the key reasons belly dance became so popular during the 50s & 60s was the numerous appearances of belly dancers on the silver screen, and later on TV.

These appearances whet the appetite of generations of people to take dance classes.

Who was the first belly dancer you remember seeing on the silver screen?

07/09/2024

Do you have a move in your repertoire commonly called a "Maya"?

Legend has it, that this dance move is named after a signature combination of the dancer Maya Medwar.
Jamila Salimpour, when writing down her dance move nomenclature, named this combo after Maya.

This is an image of Maya Medwar taken in Paris in 1954. I am looking for an image of Maya during her time in Los Angeles.

Suhaila Salimpour mentions the origin of this move's name on her website: https://suhaila.com/taqsim-family/

04/09/2024

Ooooh - I just spotted this photo while doing a little archival research. Caring is sharing - pass the image on to anyone you think might enjoy leaning in for a look!

Caption: South African soldiers serving in the British Army enjoy a performance by the belly dancers of Madame Badia Masabni’s famous cabaret troupe at the opening night of the El Alamein Club in Cairo in 1943.

Source: Alamy

03/09/2024

Do you dance with veils?
I've been invited by Mahin of Mahin's Bellydance Quickies to present my research on the history of veils in a live history slide talk.

We'll use art through the ages as primary source material to illustrate a discussion of veils in dance. We'll use over 100 images to trace and understand the evolution of dancing with veil and textile props.

"Veils Unveiled: From Art Dance to Belly Dance"
with Dawn Devine aka Davina - Dawn Devine
A Live Zoom Talk and Q&A
Sunday, October 6th - 12pm PDT / 3pm EDT

Image Source: Salomé Dancing Before the Head of St. John the Baptist - After Gustave Moreau - Met The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York - See it here: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/460053