Mary Bellamy

Please forgive the ABBA reference. On Friday and Saturday, Tundra Caravan performed at the Tanana Valley Fair in Fairbanks. With two different performances, we were all able to perform solos and a variety of troupe routines. Since this is my blog, the pictures are very Mary-centric. All pictures courtesy of Jacob and Gretta Stone.


Chandani (Teresa Ortego), Samira (me) and Zara Noor (Terri Massa) performing a sword dance. I struggled a bit with the sword, which only made Chandani and Zara Noor look better as they easily balanced their swords.



Samira, Myriah (Suzn Hanson) and Zara Noor perform Talakik, with choreography by Hadia. This routine is new to the troupe this year, but we all enjoy the lively steps.


Zara Noor and Chandani during a veil performance choreographed by Margo Abdo O'Dell. Margo was the guest instructor at the 2004 workshop in Fairbanks. She taught the troupe this routine, but we've added many small changes since then, tweaking the choregraphy here and there for different numbers of dancers.


Souzana (Susan Chapa), Samira and Myriah spin around the stage during Amayguena. I didn't think I was ready to perform this one in public, but the troupe said I was. They were right. The dance is a fun, Spanish-inspired number with lots of dramatic movements.


Finally, my solo! This is an original choreography I created after 6 months of Middle Eastern dance lessons with Zara Noor. I got to add in lots of veil work, shimmies and floor work. The dance is performed to "Salma Ya Salama" by Alabina. I've developed another solo routine since then, but it's a Bollywood number. It's high time I create another Middle Eastern dance solo. Tom has recommended Istanbul (Not Constantinople). I was thinking of something more serious, but that could work.