Hi everyone<br><br>I got selected as one of several choreographers for the July 11 Parade in Burlington VT,<br>
part of the celebration of the <br>QUADRICENTENNIAL OF THE DISCOVERY OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN.<br><a href="http://www.champlain400.com/" target="_blank">http://celebratechamplain.org/content/view/174/115/</a><br><br>As such, I am issuing a <b><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Call to Artists</span></b><br>
for dancers and musicians who would like to be part of this event.<br><br>Parade starts at 6 PM on Saturday, July 11, rain or shine.<br>The parade route is about a half mile long, and you will be <br>
walking/dancing for 45 mins to an hour, but outside for longer. <br>There may also be a post-parade performance.<br><br>
We will cycle through about 5 rhythms,
playing each for about 1-2 minutes per shot, <br>so we will probably get through our whole cycle once or twice per stage. <br><br>Percussionists can play the straight rhythm and/or add ornamentation.<br>Melody instruments will have a
simple song, ornamantation, and/ or freestyle improvisation to play over the rhythm.<br>Dancers
will have a simple series of traveling steps, about 4 steps per rhythm.<br>We may arrange the steps so each group has its own order of steps and vary the visual effect.<br><br>The parade will stop about 5 times along the route for staged sequences.<br>
of about 2 minutes each. Each time the parade stages, a group will come forward and do their thing. <br> <br>Dancers will be in 5 groups, and each group will get one staged sequence, <br>which I will set individually for them based on a particular rhythm and their level of ability. <br>
A class can be a group, or a bunch of dancers can be a group. <br><br>Some possible group motifs might be Zar, Sword, Stick, Debke, etc (Veil is out due to wind/rain complications). <br>Really there are far more motifs than time to do them. We could also do shorter times and more groups.<br>
<br>Costumes: We are classified as "Contemporary Dance," the designation for dance rooted in ethnic forms. <br>We are not obliged to be folkloric in either presentation or costuming. <br>However, this is chorus work, and each group will need to dress alike for the sake of visual unity.<br>
I will work with you on costuming, which should be fairly covered<br>(weather protection, plus no one needs a sunburned belly button). <br>Groups must be willing to provide their own costuming for the event.<br><br>Rehearsal locations will depend on where the majority of participants are located, <br>
but will probably be in STJ, Burlington, and/or WRJ areas. <br>Expect rehearsal at least once a week through July 11.<br>I can also come to your class and teach the sequences there.<br>There will be at least one full-group rehearsal, probably in Burlington.<br>
<br>Please email me if you or your class would like to participate, and <br>Please pass this along to any musicians/dancers you think would make a good addition to the mix.<br><br>This is going to be a really fun event! <br>
<br clear="all">Thanks,<br>Alia<br><br>Alia Thabit<br>Traditional and Avant-Garde Bellydance<br>Vermont Arts Council Juried Artist; NEST Roster Artist<br><a href="http://www.earth-goddess.com" target="_blank">http://www.earth-goddess.com</a>; <a href="http://youtube.com/aliathabit" target="_blank">http://youtube.com/aliathabit</a><br>
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