Ahh, England again and having a wonderful time. But I am finding it hard to  get my work done, writing, blogging, emailing, etc. when access to a computer and internet are not to be had. So after a week of no access, I am back on my computer at my lovely friend Louisa’s home, preparing dinner, and sipping celebratory champagne, toasting to my lovely hostess and host for having my in their delightful home, and she is sponsoring my Collective Soul Level 2 that starts tomorrow.

We had a fabulous weekend at the Majma Festival in Glastonbury, my first time to that magical little town where the historically mystical Chalice Well is, and so funny to be driving to Glastonbury and right in front of us on the highway was Stonehenge. Oh my…just right there. Well then, I have now seen it, driven by it, and viewed it under the stars on our way back home after the festival. So much I don’t know about the magical history of these places. I so enjoy driving through all of these very old, crumbly farming towns, sheep covering the hillsides, as we wind our way to our destination, laughing often, and comfortably silent as we view the countryside through the windows.

Glastonbury, a town full of magic shops, fairie wings, soul readers, and of course, our bellydance festival. My workshops were great fun, sold out, and we laughed (as always), danced, swirled shawls, played zils, experimented with dance concepts, tranced, and more. The shows were packed with performers of all genres, the crowd was great and enthusiastic and I was honored to be a part of the event.

~~~~~~~~~~~

and now, while I am on the computer, I think it is time for a monthly CD giveaway!

Gypsy Caravan’s Awakening

I love this CD, recorded by Jeff Rees and Bruce Beaton of Gypsy Caravan, with special guests, Jeremiah Soto and Wayne Gilbertson. Some slow and fast and in between danceable pieces, tribal-ly. I can’t sit still when I play this CD, it has memories that I cherish, and the music makes me groove.

**Write a comment here, on this blog, and tell me what kind of music makes you move, groove, and dance; and why. Short, long, or in between, send me your words by March 20th to have your name put in the turban to be the lucky winner of  that CD, Awakening, and include your email address. I look forward to reading your words to share.

Tribal Bellydance Intensives with Paulette of Gypsy Caravan–

Collective Soul Levels One and Two,

in April (CS1 April 8-10, CS2 April 11-13) in Hungtingdon Valley, PA, near Philly. last Call!

email dance@gypsycaravan.us

Can you join us? I would love to dance with you…

www.gypsycaravan.us

For March D-quad, Delicious Divas Dancing Dreams,

Where has the dance lead you, or to whom?

Can you write about the experiences the dance world has shared with you, that may not even be about dance?

Take some time to think and journal about that, and then form it into a short story to share with us. Due February 20th. I look forward to reading about your journey. You can post it here, or email it to me  (dance@gypsycaravan.us) so that I can publish it in the March issue of Caravan Trails! I look forward to reading about your journey!

pearls of denmark

more fruits of nature to experience: I am thankful for stunning seaweed, 25 black swans to wake up to

black swans

a gorgeous morning with time for reflection

a party full of beautiful dancing women having a great time. wonderful food and wine, good rockin’ music, and lovely new friends…

and a delightful gorgeous platter of yummy fresh cheeses right on the farm, along a country road loaded with wineries and flowers…

what a journey…

What a journey this has been, the last few weeks in Australia. I have had the opportunity to meet and dance with some beautiful women, who have undertook intensive study with me. Congratulations to them for getting their certification, both in Collective Soul Level One and Teacher Training Level One. And not without a few giggles!

Collective Soul Level One grads...

Back row: Kelly, Colleen, myself, Shanne, Kate, Julie, and Dee

Front row: Margart, Heidi, and Becky

Heidi, Becky, and Dee did the course as a refresher, to get ready for the next intensive that immediatly followed, Collective Soul Level 2, testing today!

Lately I’ve been discussing how the dance is empowering to the women, on so many levels. Appropriately on Chris Guillebeau’s blog today, he writes:

Empowerment, as I think of it, is all about the beautiful principle of transferring knowledge and helping people consider possibilities that previously seemed out of reach.

This was a perfect read for today:

http://chrisguillebeau.com/3×5/the-small-man-builds-cages-for-everyone/

Fulfilling, rewarding, with sweat, tears, and joy… we reach for what we desire, experience our own journey along the way, and listen and share with the other’s we are joined with. Trust and community building: that is beautiful. I am constantly awed and rewarded by the women I dance with.

Thank you gals for giving me you trust, your time, and your dance! andhere is to the next step on your dance path.

Celebration!

Good work Teacher Trainees: Becky, Christine, and Sienna (photos to follow!)

Awakening early every morning, my time clock is messed up! Not sure what day or time it is over here, since it is about 17 hours ahead of time at home

but I go with the flow and take a walk to the water near my hotel. Gorgeous, quiet, what a great way to start the day, and there are so many birds, singing, ranting, calling their wake-ups to the world. On the water is a group of pelicans, resting, bobbing for their breakfast while I sip on my instant Nescafe. (Oh, so waiting for that cappuccino!)

Without the internet for a few days, is a relief but also feels like hell. Not sure I am liking that addiction, but needing to feel in touch with my home, my man, my other life away from touring. So I journal some more.

The workshops are splendid, six hours in one day is a lot for any dancer to take it all in. More steps, more drills, more sweat, then more steps. Laughter, questions, chocolate, and another coffee. They tease me and call me the everready bunny, because I don’t stop! When I get focused, I can’t stop. Drill, drill, drill. but it is the only way for the dancers to remember what I’m showing them.

By sunday afternoon, the 4th and 5th hours, the dancers are dropping out, tired, overloaded, brain full and body tired. But it feels good, everyone has a glow about them, and I feel rewarded for sharing and giving what was wanted and needed. We keep pushing as some dancers leave early for a long drive home. Some dance until the end, laughing still, but glazed over with more love for the dance then when they started, and asking me to come back soon (or they will kidnap me to stay). Ah, my job is done. Hugs, friends, passion, time for a glass of wine…

I thank you all, dancers, for your dance and your desire to continue on, for supporting Becky, your sponsor in bringing me to you. It was a pleasure…

paulette's foot on the beach

Time is moving so quickly now. I have been dancing for days and days, many hours a day with the most delightful and inquisitve dancers! Becky sponsored a weekend with me, called A Journey Back to the Heart, a Weekend Tribal Intensive – ‘Heart’ of Tribal Style, the Gypsy Caravan Way.

She did a great job arranging the weekend, with dancers coming from primarily the west coast of Australia. It was another full on weekend, six hours of workshops everyday, and a super fun hafla in a winery Saturday night. But we started out with that 2nd gonging (!), a bit of sightseeing, a beach walk and some wine tasting (of course!)

Facebook being what it is , there are already tons of photos going around from the journey so far. Go to my fan pages for a quick peek

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Paulette-Rees-Denis/71253377401

windblown becky and paulette

The dancers had lots of good questions about what is tribal and what is my style and what are the differences in all the styles, and how tribal is about dancing together and from the soul. We talked  about this over the weekend, working the brain, while we worked our bodies hard too. Nothing like dancing and discussing dancing, I love hearing what others think and feel about dance in general, and dance for them. And how they adopt and adapt my tribal stylings to suit themselves and their artistic endeavors. Dancing is such a good source of healing, fun, community building, or rebuilding, and a good physical workout. Women met new tribes, saw old friends, reunited friendships, and learned not only from me, but from each other. It really is all about empowering ourselves and each other when we do tribal. More to come…

I love the country side down here around Albany. Rolling hills, lots of farmland, cool breezes, great birds and animals, lots of wineries because it is good land for growing grapes, and miles of beachfront, although the water is a bit chilly! Nothing like a good windy walk on the beach to clear the cobwebs though… a great way to kick off the weekend.

2^nd part of the journey

Wildlife and plants…

I love seeing other countries, cultures, and the tribal dance variations, and I also love seeing the different wildlife and native plants. I was so fortunate to stay at the Banksia Farm in Mt. Barker, when I was teaching the dancers for those few days.

It is a B&B that is known for it’s 11 acres of the native plant, the Banksia, which is an amazingly diverse plant, with wildly exotic blooms and pods. Not only are the grounds are great walking tour to see this plant, but also to see lots of wildlife. The birds themselves were numerous, with loud calls throughout the day, as they flew in flocks around the grounds, the bush, and the pond.

I awoke every morning to the shrills and calls of the white-tailed black parrots, the ducks, the other assorted parrots, the guineas, and other birds I have no idea what they were, but there were lots of them! I saw the Blue Wren, the Honey sucker,  along with the guana lizard ( a monitor), an ibis, several hawks and crows, tons of cows and sheep with the assorted goats, a gorgeous baby donkey, and others.

And of course the variations on the eucalyptus and gum trees were outstanding, the bark alone diverse in its striped and peeling nature was a visual treat, as always.

And Kevin, the banksia expert, gave me the informative lecture on the banksia, which are just so cool!

and now, on to a weekend in Denmark with Becky and a full on two days of dancing and a hafla….

Oh, where have I been? I”ve missed my blogging! and you…

The long lost traveler without her computer! Traveling across the world for the past week, on the road, without much computer access, but I’m still lurking with blog in mind!

I finished off the Tribal Vision book giveaway before I left Oregon, and Hiya was thrilled to be the winner. Such lovely entrees for the new year, may all of you receive your dreams and desires in the dance and beyond.

I have been writing the February enewsletter, which should be out next week. February already? Wow… the new year is cruising and life is good.

After a 30 some hour flight, a too brief visit with a good friend, I jumped yet another plane for another dance adventure. Dancing with the crazily wonderful girls called Tribal Thunder down in southern Australia for a few days has been such a treat. They get the true meaning of tribal dance, and it warms my heart to see such a beautiful, loving community of women who want to dance together to celebrate their friendship, creativity, and passion for life. They share it with their community, and when they do make money from a performance, they save it for their yearly giveaway when they pick a cause to donate it to. How lovely is that?

So we danced and talked dance for several hours every day, and then they treated me to sightseeing their beautiful countryside, their local wineries, and a gonging session!

Yes, I’ve been gonged, as everyone should be. I’ve had many different healing experiences, and tried varieties of methods. But this was a new one for me. This involved a vibrational sound healing using five different very large gongs in a teepee type room, plus adding the scent of sandalwood to help with the meditation. We lay on soft mats in a circle in the dimly lit room while our facilitator gonged around us and over us for almost an hour. The purpose is to relax our muscles and our minds, and it took me almost the full hour to let myself unwind. I figured it was because after teaching dance for four hours and then going into the gonging with the uncertainty of trying something new, my mind didn’t quite want to let me go.

So I went back the next day, now knowing what to expect, and being earlier in the day too. And I enjoyed it so much more. The facilitator was also better, with a healing rhythm to her talk and energy, and I was able to relax better, although that crazy monkey mind chatter kept jumping in throughout the session! Just breathe those thoughts away and let go… ahhh… I love the deep vibrations of the gong, and with the several different sounds and tones, it was a calming experience. Just like the didgeridoo sound healing I have done before, with that deep vibrational wave of sounds that washes over you. And vocal toning is another great method of using sounds as a tool for energetic healing where you are doing the toning instead of having it done to you. If you’ve ever chanted, it is similar, having not only the vocal release, but the vibrational sound within your chest and body.

ok, more tribal travels to come…

So many wonderful entrees. Thank you all for taking the time to write and share you thoughts about your dance and art form, and your desires… You are all possibiltarians!

The lucky dancer whose name got pulled from the turban is….

Hiya!

Here, again, are her words, about desires for 2010…

Last year, my new year’s resolution was to be better at leading – more comfortable, more smooth, more confident.  I didn’t quite make it.  We are a VERY small troupe (2-3 of us) and mostly it’s been our teacher, Petra, leading.  This year, we are hoping to expand a little, opening up to new students and possibly new troupe members – and I really want to make sure that I know my moves, the cues, and when to use them.  I love the beautiful, non-verbal interaction between leaders and dancers, and when the flow happens from one to another it is magical.  I want to create more of that magic!

This dance is magic, and life is magic. We create it and participate in it, and it takes us all to be a part of the supporting community. How blessed are we all to be able to dance with each other is some way.

I will send her my book, Tribal Vision: a Celebration of Life Through Tribal Belly Dance…

and I hope you all have a chance to read it!

Watch for the next giveway next month…

Thanks again.