WOOT!  Back from Ocean City and the amazing belly dance convention that is Art of the Belly.  This will be a picture filled post to kind of balance out my more intense post from earlier this week.

First of all, who doesn’t want to spend time on the beach?  (Even when it’s entirely too cold out.)

Sunrise over the Atlantic in Ocean City, Maryland
March 22, 2013

I’d like to pretend that I watched the sunrise and then immediately went into the hotel to order a Head Slide, but Ocean City isn’t New Orleans or Vegas.  They wouldn’t serve me at 8 AM!  I had to wait until noon.  *sigh*

A Head Slide is just like a Mud Slide. But with butterscotch schnapps instead of vodka. It didn’t pack much of a punch, but it was still fun to order one. Sarah and I enjoyed them at least.

The Autumn Ward workshop was spectacular!  Who knew about opposition hip shoulders and American stops?  Not me.  I really took a lot away from that class, including two DVDs.  You can buy them by clicking here.  (I give you my solemn oath that if you’re an experienced beginner or intermediate level dancer, you will benefit from these DVDs.)

Click Me!

No, Click Me!

And then it was time to apply all the makeup forever and get ready for performance.  As I wrote in a previous post, this was my last performance with the troupe I’ve been dancing with for two years.  It was bitter sweet, but it was also one of my best performances.  So there was a tiny touch of sadness here, but you can’t really see it in the pictures.

Sarah is all smiles back stage.

Misha looking like a boss before we take the stage.

And, of course, me, rocking my brightly colored ensemble in the moments before our performance starts.

And finally, the video (I imagine in my fantasies) that you’ve all been waiting for, our performance!

The first song is Dance of Mourning by Helm.  And the second is Ganesh is Fresh by MC Yogi.  And the best part of it all is that other than our entrance and a few moves during the songs, all of our dancing was improvisational.  Thank you Mama C for developing the ATS vocabulary!

I wish every hobby had such a strong, supportive community like belly dance does.  When I need to know I’m not alone in my pursuits, all I have to do is look around me.  And once a year, I get to run away to the beach and surround myself with all of these beautiful women (and some great guys) at once.

If you ever wonder if you’re doing the right thing with your life, take a look around you.  Is your life filled with beauty?  Do you feel fulfilled?  Even though there are things I want that I haven’t accomplished yet, I know I’m on the right track because I look around me and see this.  It’s not magic every minute of every day.  But when I stop to take stock of it all, I see it- the beauty and the magic.

The best selfie I’ve ever taken. The gorgeousness cannot be contained!