Nina

My name is nina and I have been on the gypsy path for around 12 years. Coming from a basic cabaret start in 1996- Cairns, I was quickly influenced by yearly workshops held by Terezka. Terezka brought us folkloric dance styles from morocco, turkey, tunisia and egypt. These moves we kind of fused together with our growing interest in American Tribal Style (ATS). We called it “gypsy fusion”. We danced in circles, did a lot of skirt swooshing and had choreographies that changed leaders within our dance. We had great fun but needed more.

In 2004 Leila and I did our first workshop in ATS with Devi from Ghawazi Caravan. We finally “got’ it and understood the basic dynamics that make ATS special. From there we studied and studied our Fat Chance Bellydance dvds but still found that something was missing in our presentation and style.

I knew we needed some hands on intensive work and energy, and one day out of the blue, Alaine from Gypsy Trail dance rang me. She offered very generously to come over and teach for the price of an airfare, so we jumped at the chance to have a master teacher in our midst. Alaine spent nearly a week teaching and refining our technique. Drilling, drilling, drilling. I think that once the cues are mastered you can truly start to understand what you are doing.

We loved how she taught us about the fcbd format, and the elegance and control of Carolena and the fcbd troupe, however Alaine kept dropping hints about another woman that was influencing dancing around the world, Paulette from gypsy caravan. Somehow Paulette has managed to capture the romance of the folkloric style and marry it with ATS elegance to create a vibrant, original style.
And once again the path is slowly shifting.

I think this dance we do is like a living force, that draws women from all corners of life into a vortex of colour, passion and devotion. Once you start on the path it’s a heady spiral up.

13/03/2006

The last 6 months has seen a great change in our dancing and tribal philosophy. After our initial workshop with Alaine in April 2005, we were keen to improve our improv technique, posture and general fcbd ‘frame’.

We had booked spaces in Carolena’s workshop for Perth oct 2005, and were very much excited about meeting the great Lady of Tribal. What I learnt most about her workshop was drill hard, keep it simple and dance till you no longer know you’re dancing. You become an instrument of the dance. You are at one with yourself , the tribe and the music……..

I actually had a one on one with Carolena. What an honour. I think I stood there for 20 minutes just getting my posture right. Then I was so worried, my arms went wonky, my neck stiff, I had to leave it there. However I haven’t forgotten her sound advice of dancing with a coconut pushing into the middle of my back.

In December Alaine came over to Brisbane for another fabulous workshop. It was wonderful to see most of the qld tribes and their teachers attending. I think Alaine brought home the idea that with our common tribal language we can be a great big tribe. Alaine was also very good at defining the origins of moves whether they were fcbd/caravan/romani/domba/urban and how to cue them into our format. Because we do fuse these moves into our dance, I think it is important to recognize the rise of our own Australian style. We no longer need to copy other dance groups in total, we need to find our own ‘frame’.

Then along comes Paulette, from gypsy caravan. She and Jeff stayed with us for four days, I’m still pinching myself, she was so cool and awesome.

You know you can never get the real vibe out of a dvd etc. it really is important to do workshops, from the total beginner to the most advanced just to feel the essence of what someone has to give .

She seemed to be talking Italian where we were speaking French, our language was similar yet there was this difference, hers seemed warmer, sunnier. Her frame is different, her count is different, her philosophy is different. Her philosophy of dance is very community minded, it's about everyone in the group being special- everyone with their own grace to share and be appreciated.

It was so good I went and did her level 1 teacher training course. Didn’t really know what I was getting myself into, except as the days wore on things got harder and harder. Every tribal teacher out there should do this course, it focuses on the beginner, it focuses on your strengths and weaknesses. It’s not to say I’m only doing Caravan moves, far from it, however it seems to have softened our approach, its not quite as fierce, rigid and cool in approach. She has added a big pinch of spice and happiness into our dancing.

well...sooo much has happened in 2006!! loads of workshops, tribal and trance festival, and rachel brice. i think i have finally found my frame...after rachels workshop i really understood the importance of posture and how to get into it.

the 1st ttf was a real treat for our troupe, its so awesome having hundreds of like minded women all dancing , feeling the power and strength of the dance......here's to 2007!

june 2007

The year so far has been about practicing and teaching. The focus has been our posture and frame as well as developing new tribal formations to spice up our performances......

The highlight of teaching this year, was going to tassie and hanging out with the girls down there....they were great.

December 2007

Sue Erokan was coming to Brissy....and i had heard so much about her and her troupe- Clandestine. What a sassy and innovative dancer she is....her workshop showed the importance of playing a little[alot] to the audience, incorporating fusion to suit your style and generally to have a lot of fun when you dance!!

Dee, Me and Sue -Brisbane 2007-Cheers!

May 2008

At the start of this year we completed our dance studio -The Temple....it is one of the best decisions I have had to make!Add to that an amazing group of women that have turned up for class this year, I didn't think it could get much better....then of course, Paulette came to town. Our workshop in Cairns was wonderful, made so by the local girls and our sister tribes from Brisbane and Hobart.

Paulette once again showed us her brand of tribal which we love for its subtle simplicity and collective philosophy. 2 weeks before i had travelled to Ararat in Victoria to attend collective soul 2- which i passed , with much sweat and tears......thanks to leslie and chris for all their moral support!!

June...2008

The girls and I had been messing around with swords for a while, however we just couldn't get the vibe of it....so i invited Dee from Tribal Blossoms to the Temple for a workshop. Dee is an accomplished sword mistress, she showed us the correct ways to hold a sword, how to move without it tumbling to the floor, and how to make it your own. I would recommend anyone starting out or needing inspiration with their sword to attend one of Dee's workshops or check her out on youtube.

Thankyou Dee for a very special day!