The Voodoo Sisters Evil Dustbunnies Nook's topics - tribe.net

Final Salon April 9th!

melissasdance — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 20:58:33 GMT

We are going to have to cancel the March 12th salon, much to our
distress. After the April 9th show, we will have to go on hiatus
for an unspecified period of time.

We've had a great time doing the Salon, and we thank everyone for
their support and assistance. We hope to see you all at the final
show in April, at Teneleven art bar at 171 Avenue C between 10th
and 11th. The show will start at 9:45, doors open at 9:30. No
cover, just a really good time!

Looking forward to seeing you then,

the Voodoo Sisters

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Why I do what I do

melissasdance — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 21:04:06 GMT

Why I do what I do
Reading the paper last week, I came across a review of the NYC City ballet's current show, "Founding Choreographers I". I'm always interested in reading reviews and criticism of dance, to see how people think about it and what they notice.

One section caught my eye: "Several members of Tuesday's cast dancers... have aspects of tension across the upper torso that rob the carriage of their necks and heads of the clarity that surely characterizes a true Robbins stylist." Later the reviewer mentions that a dancer's "head is so well-placed that its least shift registers expressively."

(I'm going to keep an eye on Alastair Macauley, the reviewer. He is paying attention to the use of the dancer's body as the tool it is for expressing emotion and story in movement.)

This is why I do what I do, why I teach like I teach.

In my class, it is of vital importance that students focus on turning their bodies into well-trained tools for expressing the emotions and stories inherent in their choreographies. A tense, clumsy, or inflexible body is hampered by these limitations, unable to rise to the peak of its art form, or to live up to the artistic vision of its choreographer.

I see lots and lots of dancers in my travels, visiting festivals and so on. The really good ones are technically AND EXPRESSIVELY stunning. And why? Because they have trained their bodies for clarity of expression as well as of movement. There is nothing in the way of their emotions-- not a clumsy hip, a tight shoulder, a weak thigh holding them back. Most of them probably don't even think about it this way-- these are the dancers we call "naturally gifted."

I believe that these natural gifts can be taught. I believe I am able to teach them, not only to my own body, but to others'. I believe I have no talent for expressing this (see the rest of this post!).

I wish I did. I know so many people who would love to dance the way I can teach them.

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The Voodoo Sisters are on Facebook and Myspace

melissasdance — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 20:38:03 GMT

Yes, we've joined even MORE social networking sites-- whee! But we do have a pile of pictures etc. up on 'em.

And exciting news to publish soon!

Stay tuned!

mv

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Welcome, Deidre Voodoo!

magdalena — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 14:17:21 GMT

The Voodoo Sisters are swelling their ranks!

Last night at our Between Dimensions salon (2nd Thursday of every month at Teneleven Bar, Ave C NYC) Deidre Voodoo made her Voodoo debut with an improvised veil dance, rounding out the "traditional nontraditional dance night."

Stay tuned for news. If you have a submission for our salon, e-mail us via our Web site www.voodoosisters.com.

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Voodoo Dolls in the News

magdalena — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 17:21:17 GMT

Court: Sarkozy Voodoo doll should not be stabbed

Paris--A French appeals court says Voodoo dolls of President Nicolas Sarkozy may remain on sale, but must carry a notice saying that pricking them harms the president's dignity.
Sarkozy's attorney had asked that the dolls be withdrawn from sale, saying the president like any French person owns the right to his own image.
The appeals court backed an earlier ruling allowing the dolls to stay on the market in the name of freedom of expression.
But it ordered the doll's marketer, publishing house K&B Editions, to add a warning that using the needles which come with the kits "constitutes an attack on the personal dignity of Mr. Sarkozy."
"Nicolas Sarkozy: The Voodoo Manual" costs euro12.95 ($16.50) and includes a handbook and 12 pins.

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Between Dimensions Salon #1: What you missed

melissasdance — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 17:38:55 GMT

The Salon last night ROCKED! The Salon's goal is to provide a more frequent and informal venue than our Between Dimensions stage show ('cause we'd die doing that every month!) to showcase the more alternative branches of bellydance, and to give the bleeding edge of this rising art form a home. I must admit that I was a bit worried about attendance on 9/11, but we had a good turnout, and a fantastic show!

We had a beautifully liquid duet from Sophia and Diana, a hilariously sassy solo (with rockin' isolations!) from Stacy, and a stunning veil fan piece from Teuta. Deirdre and I premiered our revamped floor duet with backbends galore and an out-of-control creation (honest, not a metaphor for my artistic life...), and I learned that Kawaii no Cane is much more fun as a duet than a solo (the lovely Magdalena Voodoo was not available that evening, much to my chagrin), and that I should never wear fingerless gloves when doing cane work.

The space (171 Ave C between 10th and 11th, 9:30 every 2nd Thursday of the month) turned out to be even better to work in than I expected, and the lighting bank I brought in really worked. We are always accepting video submissions for performers, so show us your stuff!

We'll have video of the show to post as soon as possible, and I'm definitely looking forward to next month's show.

Plan on being there.

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More Salon stuff, and Where I've Been

melissasdance — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 23:03:49 GMT

I've been off Tribe for a while-- with all its technical difficulties, it was hard to log on, and then I moved! And Magdalena moved as well! (Yes, we're both still in NYC!)

So now we're out from under the piles of boxes (alt least the larger piles!) and gettin' back to work!

We've had 3 salons so far-- each has been nifty and unique, and each has been a hell of a lot of fun. If you haven't been to a salon, and you're in NYC, you're missing out! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZPzwM0CyE4) In fact, if you're in NYC and you've got a piece for me, let me know!

More later!

melissa V.

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FYI: In case any of you might travel to DE

delaware_lorelei — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 00:18:18 GMT

that's Delaware (you know, on I-95 between Philly and Baltimore)

I'm hosting the lovely Tempest for workshops on Sept 6th
and having an evening Gothla with performances and vendors
so if anyone on the list might happen to travel south =)
(yes yes, I know I must come north, working on that part too)

http://www.geocities.com/re_sullivan/tempest/tempest.html

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Bellydance Underground

magdalena — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 19:00:10 GMT

The Voodoo Sisters are coming to Chicago on August 16 to participate in Bellydance Underground, an awesome bd show that will raise money for Between Friends, a nonprofit agency dedicated to breaking the cycle of abuse and domestic violence.

We'll be there on Friday August 15--where can we find a goth club in Chicago to contain our fabulousness?

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Things Melissa Voodoo Taught Me

magdalena — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 15:36:30 GMT

Stillness in choreography is just as important as movement

Your diaphragn is a jellyfish parachute flower

Your kidneys glow blue with chi

If you roll your muscles with a dryer ball, you are suddenly one inch taller

Martinis sharpen wordplay for at least an hour

Pilates armpit pushups are not for the weak

Real anatomy nerds schedule dissections

A cane routine can easily become a Kawaii no death match

You can do bellydance drills to Shatner's cover of "Common People"

Wearing cat ears can be a lifestyle choice

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Between Dimensions I

melissasdance — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 18:28:16 GMT

The show kinda rocked.

I'll leave it up to Magdalena to tell all: http://people.tribe.net/7cc63c70-a755-474c-9f24-1e4ac3eb4be1/blog/b308be2a-1248-4067-b632-c24f115fa791

I'm way excited to see the video myself.

Slightly sleep-deprived, though.

Melissa V.

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Voodoo Sisters Mailing List

melissasdance — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 22:02:54 GMT

The VS mailing list is now up and ready to rock!

To sign up, just go to http://www.voodoosisters.com/, click on "Mailing List" (top right) and enter your info.

It's an opt-in list so we're sure you're a real person (heh). So you'll get a confirmation email.

Once you click on the "confirm" link in the email, you're in! And we'll send you piles of stuff! (ok, only bits of stuff...)

Melissa V., having spent too much time on the computer today.

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Gother-Than-Thou

magdalena — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 15:19:36 GMT

The source of all comedy is sorrow—Mark Twain

It is rather difficult to distinguish buffoonery from melancholy, life itself being a comical drama or dramatic comedy—Comte de Lautréamont

Someone called the Voodoo Sisters “silly” the other day. Although the adjective undeniably fits, the dismissive and trivializing way in which it was meant bugged me.

Here’s my short response: the Voodoo Sisters Rule You.

Here’s the longer one:

In Western theater, tragedy and comedy come from the same glorified roots: Aristotle’s Poetics. Tragedy is a work characterized by seriousness and dignity Comedy was never treated seriously as an art form, even in its inception.

That the ancient Greeks championed tragedy, which represents spirit rather than soul, cerebral rather than bodily energy—no surprise.

Look up Mikhail Bakhtin and the term “grotesque realism” as it relates to the carnival tradition if you want to see which artistic ancestors the Voodoo Sisters claim; incidentally, this is also the tradition of gothic literature.

Just because something is not “serious” doesn’t mean that it is not vital, not useful in cultural representation and critique, not worthy of respect as a well-crafted creative enterprise.

Conflict is one of the essential elements of comedy. It’s freeing to have structures held up to ridicule, and to have one’s expectations subverted. Comedy allows us to grapple with serious issues and posit creative responses to potentially oppressive, repressive, or stagnant situations. Such as people trying to lock down what’s goth and what isn’t.

Dante’s narrative poem about a tour through hell is called The Divine Comedy. The Voodoo Sisters are in good company.

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Voodoo Reading List

magdalena — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 12:32:24 GMT

Want to know more about Voodoo? I present the voodoo reading list:

Voudou Visions--Sally Ann Glassman

Jambalaya: The Natural Woman's Book of Personal Charms and Practice Rituals--Luisa Teish

Tell My Horse: Voodoo and Life in Haiti and Jamaica--Zora Neale Hurston

The Haitian Vodou Handbook: Protocols for Riding with the Loa--Kenez Filan

Haitian Vodou: Spirit, Myth, and Reality--Patrick Bellegarde-Smith

Mama Lola: A Voodoo Priestess in Brooklyn--Karen McCarthy Brown

I'd like this to be an ongoing list, so please do post titles if you've got some great ones. Also let us know which are the lousy ones. For instance, I read a book called Voodoo Rituals by Heike Owusu, and it seems to be the very broadest information, which you could probably find in tabloids at the supermarket.

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Using Elements of Ritual in Dance

magdalena — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 12:46:47 GMT

How do you use ritual elements in your dance?

Given that many gestures and movements in ritual are repetitive and designed for trance--that is, to affect the participant rather than the viewer-- how do you make a ritual compelling to watch?

How do you choose which elements of a ritual you're going to include in the dance?

When do you consider it disrespectful to use elements of a particular ritual in your dance?

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Why Evil Dustbunnies?

magdalena — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 21:55:14 GMT

The Voodoo Sisters conceived the metaphor "We are the evil dustbunnies under the bed" as part of a series of meditations on what we SHOULD have written for our introduction when we performed at Gothla.

We arrived at Gothla jetlagged, and as Melissa filled out DVD paperwork, she handed the intro card to me, and I relied on two of our standard taglines to give to Madame Raine the MC to introduce us: The Voodoo Sisters are NYC's internationally unknown gother-than-thou bellydance troupe. We put the "ick" in gothic bellydance.

Then as we sat in the audience watching all the other deliciously evil and mysterious acts, I realized I'd blown a perfect opportunity. Many of the other acts included spiffy details in their intros, such as, "so and so enjoys dark nights and moonlight and incense and blood kisses."

In short, our introduction lacked elegance, drama, mystery.

So after a few drinks in the hotel room later, we hit on this train of thought:

The Voodoo Sisters revere the dark and the moon just as much as the next goth. But we are what you trip over in the dark. We are the evil dustbunnies under the bed.

Roderic, my husband, also known as Voodoo Consort Number One, said, "The Voodoo Sisters are what you accidentally put your hand in, in the dark."

Some of those accidental hand-puttings in the dark can be rather glorious, can't they? So I'll take the Consort's words as an intended compliment.

In conclusion: The Voodoo Sisters are the Tenacious D of gothic bellydance.

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Between Dimensions

magdalena — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 12:53:19 GMT

The Voodoo Sisters are producing a gothic variety show! Our debut event will be at the Bowery Poetry Club on April 13 at 5 pm. Tix $10.

What Is Between Dimensions? Between Dimensions is a neo-vaudeville gothic variety show, a place where carnival sideshow freaks, gothic belly dancers, performance poets, and Middle Eastern drummers might share the stage.

It is a performance venue for gothic and experimental performance. Any work that is risky, dark, transgressive, funny, and strange will be welcomed. It's a performance space for dancers, poets, and musicians whose work defies easy categorization but which definitely comes from the dark parts of the self.

Why Between Dimensions? We are putting the "mental" back in "experimental" performance. There is no other variety show that seeks to showcase the gothic subculture in all its forms, providing a place for the darker side of poetry, dance, and music to flourish. We defy neat categorizations. Is it a poetry night? Dance? Music? Will I laugh? Cry? Have bad dreams? We straddle the line between light and dark, words and music, dance and theater. We look for works that defy strict categories, that bleed across boundaries, that don’t fit into boxes, that live in the border country between dimensions, the liminal state in which anything can happen—and it usually does.

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The Voodoo Sisters's Gothic Manifesto

magdalena — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 16:28:45 GMT

Beauty is nothing but the beginning of terror. –Rainier Maria Rilke

Beauty provokes vertigo, the sense of the uncanny, which is the spectral presence behind every delight. The worm turning inside the full-blown rose.

Gothic is the language of the outsider. What makes us outsiders is our inability to quench our authentic selves: The fact of our own death ripening inside us is an abyss that follows us. Which means our ghosts are welded to us, closer than our shadows.

We project our extreme emotional states in order to confront them. When extreme emotion takes a physical form, we call it grotesque. This accounts for the particular gothic dance vocabulary, the shapes gothic dancers make, which look at once fluid and somehow spidery and broken, aggressive yet skulking, ready to celebrate creation or bring the whole works smashing down. Creator. Destroyer. Priestess. Servant. Mad Scientist and Deformed Sidekick.

Always a woman transgressing the boundaries proscribed for her. This is still monstrous to many people, which accounts for the prevalence of monsters in gothic art.

The quintessential gothic image: A brave woman confronting the unknown with the spark of her self.

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Evil dustbunnies are nibbling on my toes.

melissasdance — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 23:49:12 GMT

Kind of fun, yet kind of disturbing at the same time.

Anyhow, feel free to post any photos you may have of the Voodoo Sisters here on this tribe. I'm slowly processing the Gothla shots, but I think Magdalena has many all ready to go.

And by the way, apologies to Magdalena and any other editors out there for the lack of apostrophe in the title of this tribe-- I ran out of characters, and I just couldn't stand to get rid of a space or misspell anything.

Melissa V.

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