Christmas at College Park!

We had a fantastic time celebrating the season at College Park Rehab last week, as you can see from our picture below. Ladies and gentlemen, we wish you a very merry Christmas, and a healthy, happy new year!

NADHC Belly Dance Celebration!

We had a tremendous time dancing for -- and in particular, dancing with! -- our new friends at NADHC today. Wow, you ladies and gents know how to get up and shimmy! Thank you so much for inviting us to celebrate the joy of music and dance with you. We look forward to dancing with you again soon...!

Ren Faire 2015!

Did you make it to Ren Faire this year? We had a fantastic time performing, as you can see from the pictures below! If you didn't make it, don't worry...we'll be posting more pictures and videos soon!

Ren Faire Ready!

Las Vegas Renaissance Faire 2014
"Gypsy Show"

So, are you ready for Ren? We're ready for the Las Vegas Renaissance Faire! We're proud to announce we'll be performing four entirely different shows this year, all on the Shifting Sands stage:

We'll be performing our Arabic show on Friday, October 9th,  at 3 PM.

Saturday we're excited to present our Gypsy show at 1 PM, and we'll return to the stage with a flamenco-influenced show at 3:15 PM.

On Sunday, stop by at 2 PM to check out our Eastern Mediterranean show, inspired by music and dance from Greece, Lebanon, and Armenia.

If you've seen our shows before, you'll be happy to hear we're introducing many new songs, choreos, costuming, and props. There's something new in every show! We're excited to share our passion for Middle Eastern music and dance with you, and look forward to seeing you soon.

The Updating Continues...

We've just finished a new choreo for Ren, and wow, are we excited! We agree this choreo is one of the best we've come up with yet. We hope you'll stop by to see us in October, so you can judge for yourself.

Between now and then, we'd like to invite you to stop by our just-updated About Us page. Feel free to introduce yourself with a post on the page!

Throwback Thursday!

We're busy gearing up for the Las Vegas Renaissance Faire in October, and we're excited to share that we'll be introducing new music, choreography, props, and costuming. Naturally, that's keeping us busy until October, so today we'd like to call your attention to our recently updated Photo Gallery, where you can enjoy a sampling of the shows we've done since Desert Gypsies hit the road as a professional troupe back in June 2012. We've done holiday shows for Mardi Gras, Halloween, and Christmas; themed shows ranging from Arabic to Spanish to Mediterranean; and we've performed at venues as varied as the Las Vegas Belly Dance Intensive to the West Charleston Library.

Enjoy! -- and we'll see you soon at Ren Faire 2015!

Atria Seville -- Arabian Nights!

We enjoyed a marvelous evening last Thursday, celebrating "Arabian Nights" with our friends at Atria Seville! It's always a pleasure dancing with, and for, our friends there...as you can see from the pictures!

Atria Seville
"Arabian Nights!"
June 2015
 

West Charleston Library's "An Afternoon of Belly Dancing!"

Hello everyone! Desert Gypsies had a spectacular time performing at the West Charleston Library's "An Afternoon of Belly Dancing" back in May. We also thoroughly enjoyed the other shows, too. If you didn't catch the performances, you missed a terrific opportunity to see a wide and wonderful variety of belly dancers, from cabaret to tribal to Indian. If you made it to the show, we hope you enjoyed it as much as we did!

Speaking of variety, we'll be exploring a variety of musical styles and dances at Ren Faire this year, from flamenco and Gypsy to traditional Arabic to Eastern European. We'll let you know where and when we'll be performing as soon as we know. In the meantime, we're still reveling in the fun we had at the library. Enjoy!

"An Afternoon of Belly Dance!"
West Charleston Library
May 16, 2015

Grab Your Calendar...

and put our first Clark County Library performance on it! We're delighted to be one of the "local belly dancers" performing on Saturday, May 11th, at 2 PM at the West Charleston Library. And not to worry...although the flyer below highlights the sisterhood of belly dance, Anthony will be performing, too. The performance is free and open to the public, so grab your calendar right now and put in the date and time. We'll see you there!

Recipe: Slow Cooker Kebsa in Dakkous

I'm fond of converting recipes to slow cooker recipes. Here, I've combined kebsa, a traditional Saudi dish made with chicken and exotic spices, and dakkous (a flavorful tomato sauce served with kebsa) into one recipe, making it fast and easy to prepare.

Kebsa is traditionally served with rice made from the poaching broth used to cook the chicken, so if you'd like to enjoy your kebsa with rice, I suggest preparing the rice using chicken broth instead of water.

You can enjoy kebsa as is (as in the picture), in a sandwich, or served on rice or mashed potatoes, but my favorite way to enjoy it is on a pita, like an individual pizza. It's hardly traditional, especially if you add cheese, but it's delicious!

Slow Cooker Kebsa in Dakkous

Ingredients:

1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
1 (4-ounce) can mild green chiles
1/2 large onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken tenderloins

Directions:

Combine tomatoes, paste, chiles, onion, coriander, pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg in slow cooker. Add chicken and cook on LOW 4 - 6 hours, until chicken is cooked through.

Thursday Throwback! -- Atria Sutton 2013

As the middle of March approaches, I'm thinking green! -- and I found myself thinking about one of our first performances at Atria Sutton. Although this performance was in March, the theme wasn't St. Patrick's Day; it was "Dance Like You've Just Won a Million Dollars!" We had a terrific time, as we always do at Atria Sutton. Enjoy!

Mark Your Calendars!

Desert Gypsies is proud to announce that we're among the "local belly dancers" performing in "An Afternoon of Belly Dancing with Cat Maihen." This event promises to be a visual and aural spectactular, as the various groups and soloists performing will be sharing a wide variety of styles of belly dance. (And yes, although the flyer below highlights the sisterhood of belly dance, Anthony will not only be performing with Desert Gypsies -- he'll be showing off his stuff in a solo!)

So pull out your calendar right now, and be sure to be at the West Charleston Library before 2 PM on Saturday, May 16th! You'll want to snag a good seat in the library's comfortable theater so you can enjoy the show. We'll see you there!

Veil It Up for Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day is just a week away! Would you like to dazzle your sultan with a few sultry veil moves? Here's a brief primer on veil basics, and a few easy-but-effective veil moves. Even if you've never danced with a veil before, you can pick up these moves in just a week!

First, you'll need a veil. Veils can range in size, shape, and material. The moves we'll be discussing are best with either a chiffon or silk veil that's roughly 36" wide x 48" long. (The exact size that's right for you will depend on your height, but to get started, these measurements work for most women. If you have any questions about what's right for you, leave me a message.)

Once you've got your veil at hand, here's how to do the Basic Hold: Pinch the top edge (the long edge) with your first finger and thumb, with the veil in front of your body. Leave about as much space on each side past your hands. For most veil movements, the veil should be draped a little between your hands, as though your veil is giving you a little smile.

Got it? Great! You're ready to start dancing with your veil! Let's take a look at three basic movements, and some ways to vary each one:

Poses: This is the easiest of veil movements, but it packs a powerful visual punch. All you do is bring your hands together over your head! With the veil behind you, it creates a sensual background for any movement. If you drape the veil in front of you, it creates a mysterious curtain. To vary this movement, make a V-shape with your arms, instead of bringing your hands together. This variation is particularly effective with moving or traveling steps, as the veil will float up and out as you move or travel.

Turban Veil: I've heard this movement referred to by many names, but I call it this because essentially, you're wrapping your hands around your head, as if you were putting on a turban. To do the Turban Veil, begin with the Basic Hold. Bring your right hand around in front, then up and over your left ear. As your right hand passes behind your head, follow your right hand with your left hand, passing your left hand behind your head and over your right ear. Once you've got the hang of it going from right-to-left, be sure to experiment with reversing direction (bringing your veil from your left hand over your head, past your right ear, then bringing your right hand behind your head and past your left ear).

Here's a picture of me bringing my left hand behind my head, to my right ear:

The Turban Veil is incredibly simple, but effective, and you can vary it up in a number of ways. Try alternating directions; experiment with hesitating just a moment before switching directions (this creates a little whirlpool shape in the veil); or add in a level change by going up on tiptoe, then bending your knees. Try experimenting with a Turban Veil in each direction, then pausing in a Pose.

Turban Arm Veil: Once you've got the Turban Veil down, you're ready for the Turban Arm Veil. Begin with the Basic Hold, then bring your right hand and arm over your left hand (it helps to bring your left hand and arm forward a little), then place your right hand on the back of your left shoulder. When you're comfortable with doing the Turban Arm Veil to the left, experiment with going to the right (bringing your left hand and arm over your right hand, bringing your right hand and arm forward, and placing your left hand on the back of your right shoulder).

Obviously, you can do the Turban Arm Veil from right-to-left and repeat this movement, creating a sense of a bullfighter's cape. Or, you can intersperse Poses, Turban Veils, and Turban Arm Veils.

My favorite thing to do with Turban Arm Veil, though, is to work the extended arm. If your right hand is on your shoulder, your left arm will be extended...and you can use that left hand to create figure 8s, swooshes, or simply turn in place with your arm extended. (If you turn in the direction of your extended arm, the veil floats in front of your body. If you turn in the opposite direction, the veil floats behind you. Experiment with both directions!) Here's a picture of me turning in the direction of my extended arm, using the Turban Arm Veil:

Now that you have these three basics in your veil dance vocabulary, it's time to put on your favorite Valentine's Day music and get to dancing. :) Enjoy!

Recipe: Hummus

Hummus is a classic Middle Eastern recipe, which means there are many opinions and variations. In the Middle East, hummus is usually prepared with tahini (sesame seed butter), but in Greece, olive oil is used. I find raw olive oil upsets my stomach, so I opt for canola oil. It'll be delicious no matter how you prepare it! Serve with pita chips, a veggie platter, or use as a spread for sandwiches in lieu of mayonnaise. Yum!

Hummus

Ingredients:

2 (15.5 ounce) cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup bottled minced garlic (or 8 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped)
1/4 cup canola oil, olive oil, or tahini
1/4 cup lemon juice

Directions:

Combine chickpeas, water, garlic, oil or tahini, and lemon juice in blender or food processor, and puree until smooth.

Throwback Thursday: Flamenco-Gypsy Fusion!

We're already hard at work on new choreography for the new year, and right now, our focus is on enhancing our Spanish shows. We're developing some exciting new choreo that includes more flamenco footwork, more Spanish gypsy skirt, and more stick work! For now, we're keeping what we're working on under wraps. :) In the meantime, here's a throwback to one of our earliest performances as Desert Gypsies, back in August 2011.

Happy New Year 2015!

We're delighted to ring in a new year! -- but not because Desert Gypsies didn't enjoy 2014. We had the opportunity to share the magic of music and dance with old friends, and make some new friends, too.

We had the exceedingly good fortune to celebrate several holidays -- Mardi Gras, Father's Day, Halloween, and Christmas -- with our friends at Destinations Oakey, Atria Seville, and North Las Vegas Care Center. We also had the privilege of performing many themed shows this year, ranging from gypsy-flamenco to Egyptian to Greek.

In the meantime, Desert Gypsies wants to extend to all our friends our deepest thanks. We have enjoyed every moment of sharing the magic of music and dance with you this year! -- and we look forward to new adventures with you in 2015.

A special shout-out to our friend Shane Fairburn, who took the picture of Alexa and Angela at the Las Vegas Renaissance Faire (in the purple skirts on the outdoor stage). We think you'll agree he's an amazing photographer!



Desert Gypsies 2014