Queen for a year!

During one of my craziest weekends ever, a thrilling surprise...I attended a flamenco Carnaval celebration, got signed up (somewhat unwillingly) for more contests than I wanted to...and was voted Queen of the Carnaval!

I was shocked and stunned when my name was called, because I was competing with some fierce talent in my flamenco school. I wasn't even thinking of the Queen title...I just wanted to dance in the Illegales competition, no pressure, just for fun. I thought that, compared to my Sevillanas dance with castanets, there were dancers much more impressive than myself. The tangos improvisation from the girl in the beautiful dress, and the big floor-breaking lightning-footwork dude, and the reigning Queen who'd improved throughout the year, and of course the hot bellydancer were all very engaging and entertaining. (Ok, the dude couldn't be Queen, but seeing him dance, I knew it was finished for me in Illegales.) So being voted Queen was a privilege and a huge surprise.

This was on Saturday night, and it followed a very interesting afternoon, where I had been hired to dance for a major department store as they unveiled a new perfume. The manager wanted to add a flamenco air to the occasion. (I'm not sure if I'm permitted to mention names here...but the perfume belongs to a certain new mother of twins [wink].) It was my first paid dance assignment ever, and while I was apprehensive about it, it turned out to be a fun time, and I was much more at ease than I thought I would be. Who knew I had it in me? You hear all the time how good it is to push yourself out of your comfort zone, and I tend to ignore that as a worn-out platitude, but there's the proof for me right there.

So I got the regalia pictured above...the sash, and a beautiful Spanish haircomb called a "pineta", which adds several inches to my height, huzzah! (I sure do need it.) I also get free admission for the rest of the year to future events at the studio. What I need now is a royal leg masseur, because after all that plus my regular dance class the next day, my calf muscles are absolutely killing me.

notimenotimenotime! Yes, I have no time.

At least, it seems that way. I don't have a full-time office job, but it still seems like I can't ever get anything major accomplished when I need to. I just have too much going on all the time. But I can't resist the Japanese Matsuri Festival this weekend - that is not negotiable. And I've been hired for my very first paid flamenco gig ever tomorrow afternoon, can't miss that. There's flamenco class on Sunday, and then I play the doumbek for an oriental dance class...I get very grumpy when I miss those. Somewhere in there I would really like to fit in the Scottish Gathering and Highland Games, because I know someone who will be in the dance competition there, and I'm part Irish so I can plug in to all the Celticness buzzing in the air. And where will I fit in the Arizona Renaissance Festival?

So that's a lot going on. Admittedly, this is a busy season, because the weather on the weekends is nice in Arizona these days, and soon it will become far too hot here to even want to look out the window. (That is only a very, very slight exaggeration.)

It's obvious that I am culturally needy, and have to have lots of internationally-flavoured cultural stimulation, and I am normally fine with that, and even proud of it. But sometimes I think I'm unnecessarily complicating my life, and I wish I were the kind of person who was content to watch TV all day. (Which would probably be K-drama, Monk, or Mythbusters.)

I conclude with a photo of the Menkes flamenco shoes, with which my daughter and I shoed ourselves in preparation for dance class, last summer on our vacation in Barcelona. For your viewing pleasure. (Guess whose foot is whose.)

a flair for K-drama

It all started with a little show on AZN Television (via Qwest cable service) called Rooftop Room Cat. It was the first Korean tv show I had ever seen, and it was kind of cute. I watched the next day. And the next. How well-mannered they were! Even the so-called "delinquent" characters knew when they had to bow and defer to the lady, or the in-law, or the old guy on the street. How sweetly everyone smiled! Like they really meant it, even though they were just TV actors. And get this...the men cried when they were sad! Are you kidding? That is precious. I was sucked in for good, into the wondrous universe known as the Korean drama, or K-drama.

I was clued in to one of the main characteristics of K-drama as Rooftop Room Cat came to an abrupt end...unlike our shows, they're not ongoing until whenever (translate: cancellation). They're actual miniseries, with a fixed number of episodes (for the most part). RRC had only 16 episodes. As I was still mourning the loss of my new tvland friend, some odd historical thing filled the timeslot, with a dramatic, self-important sountrack, old heritage sites refurbished to their original bright shininess, and endless yards and yards of embroidered silk and ramie. Thus I started watching Dae Jang Geum -- doubtful at first, but what the heck? Seeing authentic traditional Asian costuming was enough for me to give it a chance. Then the more I watched, the more I wanted to see. This wasn't just interesting stuff put into a context you could surprisingly relate to; it had the sort of tactful scripting that treated adult subjects in a way that didn't have you shooing your kid out of the room every 15 minutes in flushed parental embarrassment.

Several series later (and some vacations spent watching Arirang TV via satellite service), I find myself signing up for the ultimate key to unlock the true mysteries of the K-drama - a fine Korean language-learning site called KoreanClass101.com (button to the right). Am I up to the challenge? Stay tuned and see. (Or, just stay...and help me!)

Chainmaille baking in the sun

I am exhausted after a weekend of selling at outdoor art/craft show events, but I'm thrilled at the feedback on my jewelry pieces.

Being new at these types of events, and at selling my jewelry in general, I learned a few things:

1) Have a tent...and if you don't, apply sunblock frequently. Ouch.

2) Make the same bracelet in a couple of different sizes. I thought it was nice that each of my pieces was "unique"...but that means there's only one person out there that can enjoy it, to the exclusion of - well, everyone else.

3) Long earrings are hot right now (and mine were...literally, in the sun all day), but people want smaller/shorter ones as well. (I can do that.)

4) People love jewelry made with chainmaille techniques...most of 'em just don't know what it is yet. (I can fix that.)

5) Bring a trash bag! You can't run to the garbage can down the street every five minutes, and you can only stuff so much waste material in the little baggie left over from the chocolate chip cookies you bought.

6) People will expect they can bargain with you, but DON'T lower your prices. The message should come across loud and clear that you're worth every bit of what you're asking, and most likely much more.

7) The AZ Crafty Burrito Collective, my local Etsy Street Team, are heaps of fun to sell with, and very talented. I shared a space with fellow Burritos Allison (of Smock You )and glass artist Cherise.

cold season

My daughter has a cold, and I feel like I have half of one. I've been taking Airborne like crazy. On top of that, weekends are a busy work time for me (retail job), so posting here and listing new jewelry pieces in my shop is slow going. Which is too bad, because I have a zillion pieces to list and no time to photograph.

Despite things being so hectic for me, I managed somehow to land my very first dance teaching job ever. Not only am I a flamenco student of the amazing Linda Machado of Flamenco!...The Studio, but I am now her replacement for one of her offsite classes, as Linda herself goes on to a full-time residency in a school.

Flamenco being a 'dance for the people' (meaning a dance for all ages, sizes, creeds and persuasions), this class is in a senior center, but don't think for a minute that these ladies can't keep up with the best of 'em. I hope to do Linda proud and really bring out the fiery flamenca that each student has inside her.

Who knew I'd be a dance teacher someday? I have no professional dance background. I've learned a few different forms of dance as a serious amateur, but I'm certainly not one of those people who learned to dance before walking - and I'm no delicate, wispy waif, either. So despite the ups and downs I've been having these past years, this is one aspect of my life that I look at and say..."cooooollll." It really is an honor for me to have been asked by Linda to do it, because she doesn't mess around, and doesn't put people in roles that she isn't completely sure they can fill.

Hmmm speaking of dance - I've got to PRACTICE for my own class. With what time? I've got a choice - laundry and ironing, or dance practice. Hmmmmm. Think, think, think. What would *you* do?