LADY D’ARBANVILLE BELLYDANCE

Finally, i have dedicated this dance to my favorite singer. And this is an experiment to play zills to a guitar piece. The beat is obviously altered to fit his music. R-RLR-R-RLR

R standing for Right and L standing for left. I can see my mistakes clearly. A video record does help to show the mistakes you make. I love this particular song alot and i wish to learn how to play it on my guitar.

I have gone through tips for zills. Its always good to keep practising, the more we practise the better we would be. Its always good to make sure the tradition of zills never leave the world of bellydance. Its considered old fashioned in the middleast. So, i hope more bellydancers keep up this tradition of playing to their own music.

I attempted backbends again. Ouch! I am so used to it. I finally realised this is the correct way of executing one(i hope). The impact is on the back. I did hide a towel where my knees were. But the floor cause some friction in the front part of my feet. It hurts cos i think i scraped my skin. I was lazy to protect myself. And it looks less obscene than my previous backbend attempt. Gosh, it looks much better in a skirt. I didnt quite realize pants isnt a good idea.

The last portion i showed my rabbit. Her name is Zills and Lisa as well. She likes the song “sad lisa” by Cat stevens. She is a lop ear.

Just in case if you are curious, the makeup on the pictures were done by my friend (more of a sis) SHIRIN REI

Bellydancing -Finally reaching my target audience

I am so happy today morning when i recieved a comment in wordpress from a lady called Carly saying that these videos helped her alot. I had been feeling extremely down thinking if it was all a good idea after all. Even though i wanted to keep a video record of all the steps so i can always refer back even if i forget. Keeping it up on the net is more safer than my comp, that could crash and i lose all the info.

I am starting my next level today. I am quite excited. We are going to use veils and hopefully zills. I have been practising my zills quite hard lately.

TIP ON ZILLS

I am no expert on zills. But this is what i noticed

Currently for the Cat Stevens music, the zills beat would be RLR-R-RLR.

1)WALK WITH IT -Dont immeditaely try dancing while playing the beat, you will probably cry cos you wont be suceeding unless you are a pro. Walk with it and listen to the song while you try playing. Hopefully try drowning in the music and see how zills enhance it futher

2) Practise your choreography

Understand your choreography without zills. Learn it by heart. Then slowly add zills to each step. I break my choreography to 4 parts. Entrance, middle portion, exit 4 an example. Practise for each part.

3) Understand the music

A good zill player always understands the music she is playing to. Listen to the music and what kind of beat can be used for the music. I try t listen to the drums to see what kind of beat will suit.

4) THE IMPORTANCE OF SILENCE

Most people love bellydancers who play zills. But not throughout the song. Its important to pause and certain points and continue zilling, so it sounds good to the ears.

5) Dont hate your zills

I have come across dancers who begin hating their zills just because they find it hard to play. You have to become good friends with your zills.  I learnt from a lady once that you have to use zills as a basic dancer, or you would find it very difficlut to add zills when you advanc in your steps.

Zills is slowly fading from the middleast. American bellydancers are holding on to this tradition of zilling which is very good. I find zills really a  beautiful element to add on to your dance. And its great in helping you multitask, and the good news is

I CAN WRITE WITH MY LEFT HAND TOO!!

Training with my zills, helped me use my left hand more often. Now i train myself in writing with my left as well. So i can play zills real well. It does help. Why waste the left hand when you have it?

10 RULES IN INDIAN FILM MAKING

1.      Two brothers separated in childhood will always grow up on different sides of the law. The law-breaker, however, will suddenly turn over a new leaf before the end, bash up the villain (who is the *real* bad guy), and be pardoned for all his sins before the last-scene family reunion. (This is possible only if he has a heroine – see rule 2 below).

2.      If the number of heroes is not equal to the number of heroines, the excess heroes/heroines will a) die b) join the Red Cross and take off to Switzerland before the end of the movie.

3.      If there are 2 heroes in a movie, they will fight each other savagely for at least 5 minutes (10 if they are brothers).

4.      Any court scene will have the dialogue “Objection milord”. If it is said by the hero, or his lawyer, it will be overruled. Else, it will be sustained.

5.      The hero’s sister will usually marry the hero’s best friend (i.e. the second hero). Else, she will be raped by the villain within the 1st 30 minutes, and commit suicide.

6.      In a chase, the hero will always overtake the villain, even on a bullock-cart, or on foot.

7.      When the hero fires at the villain(s), he will never 
a) miss 
b) run out of bullets. When the villain fires at the hero, he will always miss (unless the hero is required to die, as in rule 2).

8.      Any fight sequence shall take place in the vicinity of a stack of a) pots b) barrels c) glass bottles, which will be smashed to pieces.

9.      Any movie involving lost and found brothers will have a song sung by 
a) the brothers 
b) their blind mother (but of course, she has to be blind in order to regain her sight in the climax) 
c) the family dog/cat.

10. Police inspectors (when not played by the hero) come in two categories:
a) Scrupulously honest, probably the hero’s father – killedby the villain before the titles.
b) Honest, but always chasing the anti-hero (as in Rule 1), saying “Tum kanoon se bach nahin sakte”, only to pat him in the back in reel 23. Usually, this inspector’s daughter is in love with the anti-hero.
c) The corrupt inspector, (usually the real villain’s sidekick) unceremoniously knocked about by the hero(s) in the climax

Well i really found that interesting and very true in fact. Indian movies really run full of crap. That doesnt make hollywood any better. It runs with the crap too. But with more special effects

Updates…

I am going to Kerala in God’s grace next semester’s holiday. I have to take care of my brother’s mother. If there is anyone that can restore the smile on their faces, i guess it can only be me. Its not easy. But that’s my duty.

I am contnuing my course in bellydancing. We are covering veils in the next section. Veil dancing is a very egyptian practise. Most egyptian dancers enter the stage with a veil. I have also been practising my spinning alot lately. I believe i can spin longer now without losing my balance. But i cant wait for the section of drum solos.

I am trying to experiment playing zills to a cat steven’s song. I know it sounds odd. But i realise adding zills makes it inetresting. And its Cat Steven’s song that makes me sleep nowdays. Playing zills help me forget the memories of my brother. I have also decided to collect all the footage i have of my brother. It sucks to know that i cant lean on a shoulder anymore. But what has happened has happned. It all happens 4 a reason. I cant argue with God. I can only make do with what i am left with. My goal is to fulfill all the desires anas had 4 his mother. And ive decided to forgive Anas’s brother as well for whatever he did in the past. I just hope this trip doesnt affect my bellydancing course.

Its very hard to be in my position. I was forced to grow up in an age when everyone else was enjoying. Now the only shooulder i could lean on is gone as well. But i have to keep making myself rise up. Thats all i have to say for now…

Stepping into the role of my brother Anas..

It always feels good to have an older brother protecting you and loving you. Maybe i had been motherly to everyone, but Anas is the only one i had been a child to. I am very much shaken by everything still. Hoping in my heart to avoid Kerala, so that i wont have to wake u to the reality he isnt there.

Anasikka had alot of dreams. Alot. Especially to live a normal life and make his mother happy. Maybe even get married. He used to love everyone alot. Maybe its no point brooding over the fact he is gone. He never belonged to this world to start with it. Nobody belongs to this world.

Maybe i was too naive to understand that he too had dreams like all young people. I cant help crying when i look at his videos, he had everything a young guy needed. Good looks, sense of humour but not a healthy heart. I was explaning to my dad that it wasnt his fault that his family wasnt as well off as the others. They could have saved him if not for his stupid father’s side. He was born with a hole in the heart. And the Aunt hid the issue from the family for whatever reason!! When he was an adult, he fainted once and the doctor told him this problem. He hid it for some time from his own family. Maybe cos he didnt want to be a burden to everyone.

And now after 5 years of suffering he is gone. Maybe he is released from his suffering. But i lost a brother. And he brought all the happiness with him. Now, i have to do something. Maybe i could never fulfill what Anas wants, or he isnt there to see it. Its very strange he told me my mother, “When we have wealth, i wouldnt be able to enjoy it.”

I guess i have to go there and take care of all my little cousins. They arent small anymore as i remmeber them 5 years ago. And his mother will be like my mother from now on. I have that gratitude she brought a nice playmate for me for atleast for a few years.

Its very hard to juggle my studies with a heavy heart. And my eyes are always puffed up. I look like i had a bad night’s sleep. Its good i have the support of my T1B2 children. I am trying not to think about what happened. The long hours at school and the long journey is really killing me. But i have to go through this test from God. Sometimes strangely it would be better i leave the world soon, cos i find alot of people who sincerely loved me over the other side. I am not the sort that commit sucides, no one needs to worry of that. I have some duties in this world, after ive finished with them, i know deep down inside i would have to go…

I love you Anas

I didnt know i loved you this much till today. I love you so much that i cant hate you for leaving me all alone. What i have left of you is the green string you tied on my hand, and videos of you. Looking at those videos, tell me how much i must have loved you. Half of the time, in fact almost all the time it was focused on you.

I cant understand that your illness would be fatal. I have really nothing much left there to see. I feel lonely. I have lost my play mate, my companion, my good friend. You took away the happiness with you. I remmeber waiting for you to come back home. And i would run to you and start teasing you.

I remmebred the only fight we had when i was about 8. I cant remmeber the fight, but i knew you were angry and lying in bed and i would say. “i am sorry anasikka”.

I dont know whether its a premonition, its like i became very attached to you espcially in the last trip. All the tapes were focused on you as if somehow i knew i had to collect your image as much as i could.

Sometimes i hear your voice. And i still remmeber how upset i was when you shaved off your beard and moustache when i was leaving. I liked that the most about you.

Maybe you didnt know you will die. Or maybe you knew. Sometimes, i wish you actually know that i love you alot. In fact, mommy is stronger than i am. But i am crying every minute. It would have been good if it had been a long nightmare. I am still wishing to wake up from it.

You didnt see how much we have grown. Or even what we look like now. How i wish i knew that would be the last time i would be seeing you. But, i think no one can get enough of you, your jokes or the way you tease.

Sometimes, i dont want to come back to kerala. I dont want to go back to a reality where you dont exist.

I had a dream a year back. I saw myself visiting your grave after you died. I woke up with so much relief. And indians usually say if you see someone as dead, that person will live very long. But that’s crap isnt it. I guess i cant dismiss my dreams as just dreams. It could be another premontion.

I have one responsibility left Anasikka. I have to take care of your mom. I know you had many dreams. It took me years to understand that you were just like any other young person. But what are the dreams of this world? Everything is temperory. Atleast 4 the kids’ sake i have to go there. I realised lately i have some of your characteristics. Sticking out ma tongue seems to be one. Or maybe unconsciously i am being like you.

We could have lots of fun right. Adich polikaam ayirunnu. I dont think anyone can replace you esp the way you sing the shaggy’s songs. Or the way you look at the mirror

I can remember the things you tell me

Edi Naari Kulicho?

Your fav nickname for everyone – Thendi.

Listening to my dad, i misunderstood your family alot. But now nothing can reverse time back, i am very sorry. But i will take care of Pasia Mummy. She’s the one who gave birth to my lovely companion

A tribute to my dead brother..The green string of love

Today i get a call from india, that my brother has on;y 2% chance of survival. And after 5 mins, we recieve another call that God called him. I have no more tears to cry. I loved him so much. I didnt know i loved him this much till tonight. It took me a long time to understand he is gone.

Do you guys remmeber a green string tied to my wrist.

It was tied on me 5 years ago by my brother, when i was leaving to singapore. Indians have a believe if you blow on the string with religious verses you will get well. And my bro ran to get me this string and tied it on my hand cos i broke my leg. Even though, i never believed the string has power, i never took it off cos of the love i had 4 him. Deep inside my heart that night, i made a promise that i will never untie it till i come back to see him again.

Tonight as i looked at the string i couldnt help crying. Cos i wanted to keep it as a surprise to show him that i loved him so much. He meant so much to me. Despite being a matured girl, i used to sleep beside him at night. My relatives werent happy. But age didnt matter to me. Cos he was my bro.

Tonight i learnt another lesson. That death is inevitable. This world is very temperory. And our journeys should be fully utilized to learning and doing things we like. Thats why i want to learn dance guitar, and do what i like. My ideals and goals arent cliche nor is it conventional. But i am only given one chance.

I dont know if my brother enjoyed life. And i hope he had loved God enough so he reside in heaven. I pray to my Lord that the angels will be gentle with him. Cos he means to me so much. I am very unlucky cos i can take care of my rabbits when they near death, but i culdnt even be beside the one i loved the most.

Its so strange, that whoever i chose had something so close to my brother Anas. Even my ex, had some sort of simiarity to him.

We would sit watching the sunrise drinking tea. And there is never a day he never forgot to make fun of me. He would always tell me that i wet the bed when i was young and he a;ways had to wake up to wash me. He would always tell me that i am a stinky person. But i knew he loved me the most among us three.

I never really knew he would leave me. I will miss his hugs.

I want to confess to him something

Dear Anasikka,

It was true i broke my leg once. But the 2nd time i lied it broke again cos i didnt want to leave to singapore cos i wanted to spend more time with you. I feared it would take too many years to come back and see you. That much i actually i loved you. I just hope you attain paradise”

globalization and shampoos

Globalization does have many positive effects. I totally agree to that. But to meet people’s needs, many businesses are substituting harmful chemicals in their products just because its cheaper. Shampoos and soaps are one of the common items people buy. They pay about 5 to 6 dollars for a normal shampoo. But they have no idea what sort of harmful chemicals sit on their head probably causing the all the possible health problems they have been experiencing.

SLS a common ingredient in your soap and shampoos

If you still find it hard to believe. Take a walk to your nearest supermarket and read the labels off the shampoos. And you would find sodium lauryl sulfate as the 2nd most prominent ingredient after water.

So what is there is SLS?

(Found in a website)

Both Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) and its close relative Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES) are commonly used in many soaps, shampoos, detergents, toothpastes and other products that we expect to “foam up”. Both chemicals are very effective foaming agents, chemically known as surfactants.

So why is a dangerous chemical like sodium lauryl sulfate used in our soaps and shampoos?

The answer is simple – it is cheap. The sodium lauryl sulfate found in our soaps is exactly the same as you would find in a car wash or even a garage, where it is used to degrease car engines.

In the same way as it dissolves the grease on car engines, sodium lauryl sulfate also dissolves the oils on your skin, which can cause a drying effect. It is also well documented that it denatures skin proteins, which causes not only irritation, but also allows environmental contaminants easier access to the lower, sensitive layers of the skin.

Perhaps most worryingly, SLS is also absorbed into the body from skin application. Once it has been absorbed, one of the main effects of sodium lauryl sulfate is to mimic the activity of the hormone Oestrogen. This has many health implications and may be responsible for a variety of health problems from PMS and Menopausal symptoms to dropping male fertility and increasing female cancers such as breast cancer, where oestrogen levels are known to be involved.

What is the world coming to?

I believe in one thing very firmly. If you do a business, your customer trusts you and your product and pays his hard earned money, and the most just thing to do is to make sure your service or product is of good quality. It is even worse when it causes danger to the person who trusts you. Well to put it in harsh terms. This is what i call HYPOCRISY. And a real BETRAYEL OF TRUST!!!

You might think i am overreacting. This chemical is found in baby shampoos as well and it does have potential harmful effects on the baby. Globalization may be great in meeting the needs of millions and in developing countries. My argument here is not whether globalization is good or bad. I know the debate can go on for eons. I have no objection against Globalization. The main ingredient you need in your business is humanity. If you are going to produce a product in large scale, make sure its off good quality. Just because its cheap, it doesnt have to cost a person’s life. You are dealing with people here. The only thing i ever wanted is Globalization with a little humanity.

Macdonalds fries doesnt decompose?

I saw this video on youtube.  Why doesnt that fries rot? What could be inside it? Plastic? What does it do to us?

So our shampoos arent natural….our food isnt even foood? What do they gain from this?

There are so many things that need to be changed in this world. Our world isnt perfect at all. If you think im crazy to even take this seriously, im sorry im only human. I cant imagine how many people’s lives is going to be in danger. Especially children.

As for shampoos?

It doesnt mean you to not use shampoos anymore. Buy organic shampoos. Dont worry about the price. Cos i got Giovanni tea tree triple treat for TWELVE DOLLARS!! Just 12 dollars. You can get a big sized bottle of drugstore shampoo for 10 bucks. And you can get equally big organic shampoos for 12 BUCKS! Drugstore shampoos isnt that cheap after all. Isnt it? And yet they feed us with Sodium Laurthyh Sulfate.

Hmm bonus bad news

Your toothpaste has SLS too. So happy brushing

By the way meet my new toothbrush

I am not kidding. Its a herbal twig. You bite and your brush your teeth. And your mouth will be healtheir than using a toilet cleaning detergent in your toothpaste? Which is better? TWIG OR TOILET CLEANER?

I love Cat stevens as much as I love Yusuf Islam :D

Well, after a long time of only writing about bellydance. I have decided to write about a singer which i really love, admire and wish to be like him someday. Thats none other than Cat Stevens a.k.a Yusuf Islam

Among all his looks, i like this nice hairy one with beard and moustache. I knew him first as Yusuf Islam. A very religious and peaceful person who was a singer back in the seventies. Thats all i knew about him. I listened to some of his new songs nowdays and really admire the way he evolved. Two days back, Yannick sends me two songs of Cat Stevens. “I love my dog” and “Matthew and son”.

Thats was the first time, i am hearing how Yusuf Islam sounded when he was Cat Stevens. I fell in love with the simple lyrics and music and decided to learn more about Cat Stevens. There was a documentary on Youtube about Brother Yusuf.

It made me admire him so much. He had a great love for music and arts and at the peak of singing career, he abandons everything. What i love about this man is that he actually reflects to himself. When he was down with TB, he was looking at spiritual side. He looked at Christianity, Buddhism and even tarot cards. It is strange to know he realised, money fame and women didnt give him peace. And when he almost drowned, he made a promise to God that he will serve him. His brother, when returning from a trip to Jerusalem, passes him a “Quran”. Reading the chapter Joseph, he found peace in it and later declares himself as a Muslim. He abandons his career to help and serve the poor.

What really touched me was when he gave the respect to his mother to find him a bride. He brought a few home and asked his mother. And actually married the one his mom asked him to.

And now he is still happily married with 5 children. Serving poor people and helping around. Even though, alot hate him for the fact he is a Muslim. I respect the way he threw everytg superficial to help those who are in need. And he wasnt very old to realise that. At the age of 19, he was researching and finding answers. How many youngsters do that .

I believe i must be very much into the arts even though i never really wanted to do anything in arts. Most of my relatives are into medicine, engineering or business. I kind of considered being in the arts field not very priestigious. But that isnt true. What is most important is that you live life the way you feel it should be. I had always loved writing, drawing, singing or dancing. I discovered i could dance only after taking up bellydancing. In fact, i am more of a singer. For some reason, i left singing in primary school itself due to the lack of opportunity. Maybe in the future, i will look into indian classical music. But for now, i want to really understand bellydancing. It still captivates me with all those mysterious movements.

I love this man’s music so much. I was never a fan of fast paced western Music. Listening to this man, made me feel much better. The simple background music and his voice. His lyrics were not obscene but simple and touching to the heart. My favorite is “I love my dog” which was his first song. And i think the meaning is really true. Its the same way i feel about my rabbits. Its like he brings something so “everyday” into music.  Maybe my taste in music is a little old fashioned. As a child, i loved all the old songs my dad played. “Child” was my favorite, but God knows who was the singer.

Yusuf Islam taught me something really important. He realised that singing can have positive effects. That made me feel that maybe my dancing isnt such a bad thing after all. Even though people look at it sexually. I wish to help many women out there. Like the old ones in my class. And i do wish to be like him and lead my life the way i really want, no matter what others might think or say. And i do wish to adopt a child from a war country or a really poor country. I also wish to adopt many abandoned rabbits. Just to keep you updated, i adopted a rabbit lately. Her name is Zills. She is a one year old lop rabbit.

i shall add something i read about him in a webpage along with the documentary.

Steve Georgiou BORN: July 21, 1947, London, EnglandMy father was a Greek Cypriot and my mother was Swedish, but for some reason they decided to send me to a Roman Catholic school. I suppose that was the first anomaly of my life. Born Steven Demetre Georgiou, I was brought up Greek Orthodox, so didn抰 take part in the religious rituals at school; you could say it meant I started out life as an observer.My family weren抰 at all strict, but they did want me to have a good moral grounding – hence their reasons for sending me to a Catholic school. I learned about good and bad, and about morality in general, and religion definitely left a strong impression on me. When a friend of mine refused to kneel at prayer because he didn抰 want to spoil the crease in his trousers, it caused a fracture in our friendship. I must only have been about seven at the time!Ironically, considering I have now converted to Islam (and am now called Yusuf Islam (Bio)), my upbringing was very anti-Muslim. Essentially, the Greeks and Turks were enemies, so I adopted the stance of my Greek Cypriot father and hated everything about the Turks, including their religion: ‘Islam’, whatever that meant.There was a Muslim family living near us and, although we never hurled abuse at them or anything like that, we did keep our distance. I grew up in the West End of London. My parents ran a busy restaurant in the upper part of Shaftesbury Avenue and so the atmosphere I was born into was exciting. Life was all lights, hurried people and black taxis. We were close to the theatres and that is definitely where I picked up my interest in the entertainment industry. I was the youngest of three, and I抦 sure my brother and sister would say I was very spoiled as a result, but I certainly did my fair share of hard work. By the time I was 10, I was already working as a waiter in the shop, clearing away and mopping up, so I suppose that抯 when I first learned how to serve people. Sometimes, I turned the kebabs, but normally things went quite well and, because I was so young, I got lots of tips from the customers. Being a mixed-race child wasn抰 difficult. The part of London I grew up in was so cosmopolitan that I didn抰 stand out at all. But it was an interesting situation at home. The hot and cold of my parents?different personalities meant I learned to maintain a kind of balance throughout my life. I loved the emotions of my father and the fact that he was so very strong-willed, active and smart. But his temper was sometimes a bit much for some of us. Our mother, on the other hand, was very cool and collected, and always found time to listen. But I do remember a bit of shouting in our household. I must have been about eight when my parents decided to break up. It was an unusual separation because they both remained in the house. We all lived above the restaurant, with my father taking a first floor room, while my mother took another. We all shared a single living room but the real centre of activity was the shop, where my parents both continued to work. The only difficulty was the sleeping arrangements. Occasionally, I would become the object of a tug-of-war between them. Because my father usually won, I would end up sleeping in his room most of the time. Strangely, though, I was always closer to my mother. After they separated, she tried to set up home in Sweden, and I found myself going to school there for about six months. I was the only dark-haired, dark-eyed, olive-skinned boy in the whole blond- haired, blue-eyed school. At play time, I was the centre of attention. I had a section of the playground for myself where all the boys could come to take a look at me. This way, I got to choose who would be my friends that day, but it increased my sense of being an observer. I was always a sensitive child and tended to look rather closely at life for someone so young. I was quite an introvert and was forever thinking. I can抰 remember a time as a child when I wasn抰 thinking about something. Once, I tried not thinking, while I was on my way to school, but I couldn抰 manage it. When we returned to my father in London, I found myself always trying to patch up things between my parents. I felt I had to be a bridge between them. Later, when I became famous, my success was a great source of pride to both of them. In a way, I think that helped to keep us all together. I showed my artistic ability at a very young age, and it was my mum who encouraged me. I would often draw late into the evenings, but instead of telling me to stop and go to bed, she would leave me to get on with it. My interest spread to music, which gave me a way of expressing all those thoughts. We had a grand piano at home, and I soon learned how to play it. Later, I switched to the guitar and started writing songs which I recorded on to a demo tape in a studio just down the road. Once I had changed my name to Cat Stevens (Bio), I was on my way. I had my first hit when I was 18, with a song called 慖 Love My Dog (Song)? All that fame led to a big change of lifestyle. I was being interviewed, photographed and chased by girls. Although I抎 love to say none of that actually changed me, it did have an effect. Rather than worrying about being too young for this success, I thought I had left it too late, my expectations were so high. I had grown up in Soho and was pretty streetwise. I suppose I was quite naughty when I was young, trying to see what reaction I would get from my parents. I smoked and went off to art school at 17, and that exposed me to lots of ideas and new customs. Although I lived life fast, I was always searching for answers. I was aware that there was something I had to achieve in life. At first I thought that if I had luxuries, that would answer all my problems, but it didn抰. At 19, I contracted tuberculosis and was whisked off to hospital. It was a very scary time – I came face-to-face with my own mortality. It sparked off my first earnest search for a way forward. The thoughts which I developed during that teenage period of illness helped me to reflect on things, and paved the way for the life I now lead as a Muslim.