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HAPPY BIRTHDAY MECCA!

topic posted Tue, March 31, 2009 - 7:28 PM by  sMel 		Share/Save/Bookmark
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MECCA CELEBRATES 10 YEARS OF EXPRESSIVE ART THROUGH DANCE, MUSIC, AND COMMUNITY!

April 2009 marks 10 years for Mecca in the Lexington community. So many events and incredible moments have happened through this time, we are greatly inspired to have shared them with so many and hope to share many many more in the years to come.

As for this April, Mecca offers you several opportunities to celebrate with us through performances and classes.

April 2009 Performance Schedule for Rakadu Gypsy and Mecca
(details for performances given at the end of this newsletter)

April 3rd- The Mezmer Society w/ Rakadu Gypsy and Pezhed @ Al's Bar- 9pm
April 4th- March Madness and Rakadu Gypsy @ Beaux Arts Ball- 8:45pm (MM) & 11pm (RG)
April 6th- 1st Monday @ Natasha's- Mecca Student Dance Night and Open Floor Dancing- 8pm
April 10th!!- Mecca's 10th Birthday Dance Party and Potluck @ Mecca- 8pm
April 18th- Rakadu Gypsy w/ Gypsy Nomads @ Natasha's Bistro- 9pm
April 26th- sri TaraSita Belly Dance Workshop in Louisville, KY.

Free Day of Drumming and Dance!! - Saturday April 11th
Come to Mecca on Saturday April 11th and participate in a free day of drumming and dancing! Special Birthday discount on 10-Class cards! 10-Class Dance Cards will be offered at their original price rate on this day only. You may purchase a 1 hour 10-dance card for $65 and a 1.5 hour 10-Dance Card for $85!!! (cards good for 3 months)

(Free!!) Drum and Dance Schedule for April 11th

Dumbek Drumming Basic Technique- 11:30-12:30pm (please bring drum)

Basic Belly Dance w/ Live Drumming- 12:30-2pm

*"Bring a Friend, get a class" Special for April
Spread the love!! Introduce a friend to a class at Mecca and your class is on us! We think Mecca is a wonderful place for dancing and meeting great people. Help us introduce ourselves to more of our Lexington community by bringing a friend to class. During the month of April if you bring a new student with you to class, your class on that day is free!

Performance Details: The What and the Who!!

April 3rd- The Mezmer Society w/ Rakadu Gypsy and Pezhed @ Al's Bar- 9pm
6th & N. Limestone Lexington, Ky.
The Mezmer Society appears with Rakadu Gypsy for the 3rd time at Al's Bar. Mezmer is a "Balkan Ruckus" duo from Asheville, NC. They add a flavor of saucy vaudevillian antics and Balkan sing-alongs to a very diverse show of belly dance, music, and the surreal. Absurdity rejoices in the opening act, PezHed and the BlipSquad. And of course the beauty, the dancing, the music of Rakadu!!!


The Mezmer Society

April 4th- March Madness and Rakadu Gypsy @ Beaux Arts Ball- 8:45pm (MM) & 11pm (RG)
Take in the bawdy, mayhem ball of the year!! Beaux Arts Ball! @ Old Tarr Distillery
Manchester Ave. - doors open 8:30pm
www.beaux-arts-ball.org/

March Madness Marching Band will open the festivities at 8:45pm outdoors in the courtyard and Rakadu Gypsy will mesmerize ball goers at 11pm on the main stage!!
If you've never experienced Local First Lexington's March Madness Marching Band, well then you should!! And as for Rakadu Gypsy, well, this will be one of those WOW!! Crazy Fantastic performances highlighting the girls' creative minds and special talents!! Not to be missed people!!!



Rakadu Gypsy's TT and Mel

Workshop with TaraSita of Rakadu Gypsy in Louisville, Ky.- April 26, 2009
Holiday Inn Express
Louisville NW (New Albany)
411 W Spring Street
New Albany, In 47150
Improvisation and your dancing soul-
In this class the dancer will learn techniques for accessing the language of spontaneous response and improvisation within her dancing. Creating an open physical dialogue onstage is an amazing and subtle task which requires awareness and a mental/physical clarity. Today the dancer will gain a heightened sense of spatial awareness, floor pattern, body line, and connection with other dancers. The results will be stunning! This class is applicable to all styles of dance and belly dance. *Dancers please dress for comfort and lots of moving.

Mystic Veil: Using props and improvisation to present the story-
Combining concepts of tribal improvisation and the art of storytelling that is so prevalent in many forms of cultural dance, we will explore techniques for incorporating a prop (veil) into our improvisation. Instead of just learning techniques for a veil dance, the dancer will be given a chance to incorporate the prop into a story line. The prop becomes part actor part dance partner. *Dancers, please bring a veil.

Workshop Schedule
10:00 - 11:00 Registration / Shopping
11:00 - 12:30 Class with TaraSita
12:30 - 1:30 Lunch/Shop
1:30 - 3:00 Class with TaraSita
3:00 - 4:00 Shopping & Socializing
4:00 - 6:00 Show
*Prices:
Workshop (includes class, lunch, and show)
$40 (Pre-registration needed by April 19th)
$50 (After April 19th and at the door)
Show
$5 each for non-workshop attendee
Workshop fees and show tickets are non-refundable unless the event is canceled.
workshop.crescentmoondancers.com/s...ml



sri TaraSita (TT) of Rakadu Gypsy


Mecca Live Studio & Gallery
451 Chair Ave.
Lexington, KY 40508
859 254 9790
www.meccadance.com
posted by:
sMel
offline sMel
Kentucky
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  • Erin
    Erin
    offline 25

    Re: HAPPY BIRTHDAY MECCA!

    Thu, April 2, 2009 - 9:05 PM
    Even though I've not gone "pro" with belly dance nor do I have ambitions to do so, this artform has meant a lot to me and has played a part in shaping my identity, and I'd like to share a snipet of my experience of it with anyone who'd care to read.

    The first time I took a belly dance class was some time soon after I'd turned 21 (2002). I'd seen Teresa dancing with Catawampus Universe at the old Lynagh's music club. I was totally transfixed watching her; what she wore seemed to be from some other time and place, and she moved in ways so rich and complex that I couldn't rationally comprehend what I was seeing. All this mind boggling movement ocurred on a dime due to limited stage space. I asked a woman standing near me to please explain this phenomenon that I was witnessing. She said "mecca," "bellydance," and among other words that I committed to memory immediately for an Internet search later.

    About to begin my senior year at Transy, I was plotting how I was going to quit smoking cigarettes. I thought about it in terms of health, but this was too abstract. I thought about it in terms of money, and this was something I could really grasp. I worked out the math of how much extra income I would have if I dropped the pack-a-day habit, and I soon was able to set a budget. I realized that the money I saved would be enough to pay for weekly belly dance classes. It seemed to make sense.

    My first class was on a Tuesday with Julie. I wore a hippie skirt, and the lesson was on twirling. We twirled and whirled, and I was hooked. The studio at that time was on Limestone near 2nd street, and I lived on Market St. near 2nd street. Piece by piece, I began to acquire things that seemed essential to this new pastime. A black broom skirt, a choli (even though I had never worn a bikini and had always dreaded the thought of anyone seeing my middrift), a couple of fringe scarves, a jingly anklet...among other things. I used to love jingling along my walk to class.

    I took Teresa's Valentine's Day workshop, "Dance of Seduction." It involved a veil, and I didn't have one, so she let me borrow hers to perfom it for my sweetie. A half-circle-shaped black that fades to orange with gold trim. Still the most beautiful veil I've ever seen.

    That first year, I took classes every Tuesday, many Wednesdays, occasional Thursdays and two every Saturday. I made it a point to catch as many of Rakadu's performances as possible. I researched American Tribal Style, tracing its roots in San Francisco, learning the names of the celebrities of the field. I asked for "Grandmother's Secrets" for Christmas. I was an aficianado.

    I moved away from Lexington and then back again and then away again. Life gets busy and the trips to Lexington grow less frequent. My love for belly dancing, though, just gets richer and more intricate and more profound. It has influenced the way I experience my body, the aesthetic I find most appealing, the music I listen to, what I do whiile I'm sitting at a red light, how I walk...

    There are so many interests, hobbies, pastimes, activities, etc. that people can spend their time and money on. Belly dance is just one of the many niches people from across the world can plug into. I feel truly blessed to have had the starpower and creative genius of Mecca placed right before me and to have had the compassionate, intelligent, beautiful dancers and teachers nourish this artform within me. The women of Mecca have had a lasting impact on me, and I hope that each one of them knows how powerful and special she is.

    Thank you, Mecca, and have a wonderful, wonderful birthday.
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