[Ansteorra-MiddleEastern] Re: Ansteorra-MiddleEastern Digest, Vol 1, Issue 1

[zubeydah at northkeep.org]

> Kerra asked:
> >>>How many of you think forming a kingdom guild is a good idea? Why?


I don't know anything about the various elements of "Official Guildness" that 
HL Magdelena addressed so very well (Hi Maggie! Your garb still looks 
gorgeous!), but I do think that some kind of 'organized group' for supporting, 
documenting, sharing, etc middle eastern culture, costume, dance, food, etc, 
would be really neato.

I held three or four very very informal ME dance classes at NK Fighter 
Practices last fall, and had something like fifteen people show up out of the 
woodwork.  I have also done two classes for children at wInterKingdom, each of 
which had at least 5 youth participants, and the first one had 7 adults show 
up, as well.  We had much fun twirling our scarves and learning about the 
geographic origins of the dance style. So there's definately a LOT of folks 
interested... but they may have 'guild-fear' or concern about 'more 
officialness' or something. 

Side Question : Can anyone recommend pattern sources that are more period than 
others? I've had positively miserable luck with the Fat Chance Belly Dance 
choli pattern. I was looking at the Simplicity patterns, but was worried about 
how authentic they might be. FCBD's patterns talked about conservation of 
fabric being vital in the culture, and thus their pieces were laid out against 
the grain, and on the bias, and just didn't come together very nicely... 
advice? suggestions? 

Side Question #2: has anyone on the list studied Ghedra? I was able to attend 
an invitation-only class taught by Kisma Stepovich in Costa Mesa, California, 
but it was on the condition that what we learned never be performed for 
entertainment purposes. I've always been eager to find someone who could teach 
more, as the Ghedra struck a very strong chord with me. 

Namaste,

zubeydah jamilla al-badawiyya