I am pretty excited about this new DJ thing on Blip.fm.

http://blip.fm/missyp

and listen to this piece! What do you think?

http://blip.fm/~77gou

this is a fab piece by Bill Laswell and Jah Wobble…

you can follow my music on twitter too!

http://twitter.com/

June Book Giveaway

Want to win a free copy of
Tribal Vision: A Celebration of Life Through Tribal Belly Dance?

Tell me, right here on my blog, what you love about tribal bellydance, and why!
You entree will be picked out of a turban, and may be printed in the june  Caravan Trails enewsletter, and we will send you a free book!
(out of US residents must pay for shipping!)
Include your email address so I can contact you if you win.
Deadline is May 31st.
Come on, write and tell me!

Charlene wrote me and said, “So enjoyed Tribal Vision –the women, the costumes, the passion for the dance: so inspirational!!! Thanks!”

or anything for that matter…
Chris says in my favorite blog these days, “If the band leader only says, “Nice job, guys” when everyone is playing badly, no one will ever improve. Instead, the undeserved compliment will reinforce a subculture of mediocrity. At best, the group becomes inefficient. At worst, the group falls apart because no one is holding up the flag of excellence and keeping people focused on the right goals.
Whether through failure or constructive criticism, ass-kicking reminds us we’re not alone in the world.
If people care about you getting your stuff done, that’s a good thing, because it provides effective reinforcement for the finished product. On the other hand, if no one notices or cares, you begin to feel as though you might as well not do it.”

List me five things you want to get done in the next six months…
come on, tell me!
I’ll think about my list and share it with you this week.

the Art of Nonconformity
http://chrisguillebeau.com/3×5/about-the-project/

Here is the deal! I want to see you how fab you look in our shirts or hoodies!
You buy a tshirt, tank, or hoodie. Take a photo of yourself wearing it, send it to me, if I post it on the blog or website or next month’s newsletter, then you get a free Gypsy Caravan CD or the Tribal Travels DVD!
(you just need to pay for shipping if out of the US…)
What fun!

just go to our shopping pages:

http://www.gypsycaravan.us/shopping/index.php?main_page=products_new

On the first day, we ventured to La Sagrada Familia , the still-in-progress cathedral conceived by Antoni Gaudi. No sharp corners in his designs, all very strange and strangely beautiful. We ate tapas and drank wine and cappucinos. After sitting on that long flight, it felt great to just walk and walk, even though we had not much sleep. The sun was shining and all was well in caravan land!

It was a bit hard for me to find good food to eat, being vegetarian and wheat-free, but when I found it, it was so yummy. Gina had a full plate of Spanish meats every day and was very happy. Dulc tried a little of everything! and we looooved the Creme Catalana, like a creme brulee… Always great cappucinos, and refreshing cavas, (sparkling wines) which Spain is noted for. We found a wonderful olive shop, with olive oil soaps, lotions, olive oils, vinegars, and stocked up on those goodies, and the french man who ran the shop was extremely cute and helpful! A great clothing store was Desigual, where I got a very cool dress and the best hand bag. The clothes were exceptional and very colorful, so different and many one-of-akind shops. That was refreshing to see, not the large strip mall conglomerate stores like we have everywhere now, in the states.

Hooking up with dancers Heidi and Melanie, who have studied with me in the past, was great fun!  We danced hard and then hiked around town, eating our way through Barcelona. Gina, Melanie, and I were able to hike up (and I mean hike UP) to Parc Guell, the park designed by Antoni Gaudi. It was a gorgeous late afternoon, after dancing for five hours, and lovely to be outside and see his bizarre creations. The Gypsy gals shared an apartment with Maria, the photographer for the weekend workshops and show. She was a gem to get to know. And our host Maria Rosa, from Mandragorla Tribal was always smiling and delightful, although we did not get much time to hang with her as she was running the festival.

The show on Friday night was great fun, with a variety of dancers—Sufi, Kathak, Tribal, Silk Road, and Bollywood. It was good for us to do the show on Friday, then we could concentrate on giving great, informative workshops all day on Saturday and Sunday. And as tradition goes, during our noon time breaks we ate 2 course lunches from a small bar down the street, which were amazing. And then we had to go back and dance, wow…And we did! The dancers came from mostly around Spain, and danced hard with us. We had several interpretors when needed but our hips did most of the talking. Crossing borders and uniting the tribes, yet again…

a successful adventure…

The Gypsy Caravan  Dance Company

(with the Caravan Dance Collective)

will be dancing at Folklife in Seattle, WA

Saturday, May 23, 7pm sharp!

at the International Dance Stage at Seattle Center….

with a great lineup

Raqs Serpentine, Skin Deep w/ George Sadak, Aubre, TriBellas, inFusion/Gypsy Fire

and The Indigo!

www.nwfolklife.org

What a weekend the caravan clan has had… back from our road trip to sepastopol, CA for the 9th annual tribal fest dance festival! 2 cars full of dancers, and Jeff the musician

Not only performing, but we made it a weekend of laughing, sightseeing, tasting wine, meeting new and old friends, teaching workshops, watching lots of performances, and shopping… we all took lots of photos, soon to be posted. The Gypsy Caravan Dance Company had a great show on Saturday night, with the Collective International from Italy joining the Portland Collective!

And a long drive home, 13 1/2 hours… but we did it. I feel like I’ve been on the road for so many weeks, from Breitenbush, to Spain, to California. Home for two week before I start again, time to get reorganized and grounded at home, with my man, my animals, and my garden…

ok, more posts as the photos come in!

yes, I have been neglectful to post this past week, but it was a luxury in a weird way to not have internet access easily available while I was in Spain! I was not on the computer for five days! wow, that is a first in a loooong time…

but now I have some photos from Barcelona, to get me linked back up with my blog!

Here we are, Dulcinea, Gina, and me, with two beautiful women from Hydrus Tribal Fusion, a troupe in Barcelona

and we taught four workshops, all very engaging and fun, one was a class on using african fans and baskets. We came up with an invigorating set of combos and the gals had a blast putting the moves and props together into a line dance.

Here are the girls from Zaghareet tribal, Barcelona

We had a fun show Friday night, with a lovely mix of dance styles, jazzy kathak, wild sufi, Gypsy Caravan tribal, and a bit more.

Much more to come!

We all took soooo many photos, of food and wine, and dancers, and buidlings, oh my…