Not only did the dancers perform at Pirate Festival on Sunday last weekend, but they also danced at the Alberta Street Fair. Here they are with a bit of sass and sword action!

and this weekend we have two shows also, with Raquy and the Cavemen! McMenamin’s Grand Lodge and Edgefield…

join us… f

or info go to www.gypsycaravan.us

The Portland Pirate Festival was a great success this last weekend, with sunny skies and a huge crowd. Of  course, the CDC dancers took over the festival Sunday, starting their performance at 10:15 in the morning, parading and dancing through the crowds all day, and ended with a big she-bang at 2:00 in the afternoon!

Check out the Flickr photos to the right, Some of  lovely photos courtesy of Frank Lavelle…

Kristi and Peggy had such a wonderful time dancing for the Autumn War SCA event…the SCA really knows how to throw a party too!

Doesnt’ that just look like fun? and what beautiful ladies…

that’s my girls!

Many thanks to Emily Hill for these photos from the performance Sunday at Portland’s market!

These gorgeous dancers performed over the weekend at the Grand Event for the Naito fountain reopening in downtown Portland… it was a great show, tons of people and an appreciative audience… have a look…

Last weekend Gypsy Caravan and friends had a great opportunity to grace a dock on the river with our dance for a very large private party. Karen Harte from the Collective joined myself and Gypsy Carol, along with former Gypsy dancer Karen Hunt! What a treat for me as well as the audience. Karen Hunt is a soulmate to me, an amazing dance partner with wonderful energy, and it was wonderful to have her join us for this show. With Carol’s beauty and grace, and with Karen Harte’s poise and stature, along with my smile (that about fell off my face when we were done dancing!), the four of us fired up the party and rocked the boats (literally). With the sunset behind us over the water, and the full moon coming up in front of us over the hilltops, the audience was in fine spirits, and really watched us with full attention and let me tell you, you could feel the love! It was a great, short set, included our new dynamic sword piece, and K. Hunt added some flag twirling. We ended with a really fast and furious song but I think we could have danced forever. And we were lucky to have Gypsy Jeff and his friend Brett come to play horns and drums for us as we processed in, and they played for the audience to dance when we were done. They sounded fantastic!

We were able to hang out afterwards and did a bit more casual dancing. And our hostess was forever gracious and grateful. She had also hired Jeff to come back EARLY Saturday morning (a bit after sunrise) to play the didgeridoo; a dream of hers was to wake up hearing the didg over the water. He was more thanhappy to fulfill her dream! So we set him up, also on the dock, with the misty morning waters drifting behind him as he played his haunting didg tunes, adding a bit of light percussion, and it was awe inspiring. Karen Hunt and I joined him with some drumming for a few songs—and I love playing my frame drum—and it was a fantastic morning. The campers had that special treat of the low vibrational sounds that reach into your heart and soul as they woke up and came to the dock for the morning coffee. Ahh… I love the didgeridoo. The whole event was magic.

(Top that off with a concert by the amazing Lyle Lovett that night, and I can say…heaven! Brought me to tears, wrung my heart out, and what an entertainer, that’s what I’m talking about.)

Lots of performances coming up with Gypsy Caravan and the Caravan Dance Collective, but jot these down in your calendars! We’ve had so much fun dancing and playing with this fab band over the years, and we’ll have another great weekend with them, drumming workhsop, dancing performances, and Edgefield is my favorite gig of the year, which we’ve been dancing at for the past sixteen years (OMG!).

**Drum workshop with Raquy from the Cavemen!
Sunday September 27th
10:30am-noon,

all-levels middle eastern rhythm dumbek workshop,

$25.00 at Om Studio
request for advanced workshop, let me know!
Don’t miss this opportunity to study with a master drummer!
Contact Paulette for more info dance@gypsycaravan.us

AND
Gypsy Caravan dance with Raquy and the Cavemen! WOW…
and with guest Gypsy musician Jeff Rees
TWO shows…
Saturday, September 26th McMenamin’s Grand Lodge
and
Sunday, September 27th at McMenamin’s Edgefield…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

in celebration of their new CD release!

Patty, myself, Lai, Angela, Brenda, Natasha, Darby, Sherry

I have just finished up the round of six days of all-day dance intensives—Collective Soul Level One and Teacher Training Level One here around Portland. Plus regular dance classes all week and a mini-performance at the farmer’s market! It is nice to have a break in this over 100 degree heatwave we are having! whew… The dancers were all troopers in the heat, the long days and nights dancing and discussing tribal bellydance and beyond—we sightsee’d, I got to cook for them a few times, and we had an informal dance session with live music. They played with my goats and chickens and dogs and we walked around the farm.They danced and then got tested. It takes a while to get the dance and the knowledge in the bones and muscles and brains of the body. Not everyone passes the certification tests right away. We all worked hard and I am honored to be able to dance with such fine women who share the love of tribal bellydance! Congratulations goes to Sherry, Darby, and Angela for getting certified in CS1 this round!

Then we continued right into Teacher Training with Darby, Sherry,  Angela, and Merina (certified last year in CS1) and danced through the next three days.

Getting down to the nitty gritty technique of each move, the nuances, the music, the rhythms, the zils, there is so much involved in becoming a great dance teacher, combining business and art. We talked about a lot of it!  So great to share with all of us, we learn from each other. And we danced some more… and then we tested again! Congrats to Darby and Sherry for passing this round of tests!

I am thrilled to pass on, to share, to teach, coach, advise the dancers who wish to carry this tradition on, the ones who want to learn from the roots, and help them acheive their dance goals. I look forward to continuing to work and dance with these lovely ladies, and I wish them well on their new paths!

…loud zaghareets all around!

Five of the dancers trekked to Seattle on Saturday to participate in the Meditteranean Fantasy Dance Festival that ran all weekend—Bonnie, Karen, Carol, Peggy, and Lydia, with our youngest dancer, Lydia’s little daughter Aubrey! A beuatiful day to be performing outside amongst a trilion other bellydancers. What fun! Throw in some shopping, socializing, and then a waterfront glass of wine after all was finished!
I love those gals!
A lovely dancer who has been dancing with me for a few years, said to me the other day in dance class that one of the things she loves about tribal, is that as she grows older, she can grow with the dance, as it is a dance for women of all ages. That’s what I say, we should be able to dance at least until we are in our 90’s!
And look at the Collective, all ages, some newer dances, some who’ve been with me for at least fifteen years, and they dance together, and dance with wisdom, beauty, and sincerity.
Lovely.
and I thank them for their gift of dance.

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