My boys, Voodoo Consort Number One and Sweeney Dog.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Monday, September 22, 2008
Melissa Voodoo dances-- don’t miss it.
At 8:00 pm on Tuesday the 23rd, Melissa Voodoo will perform at a fund raiser for mirrors for rehearsal space at We Click. Live music by Scott Wilson, and friends. We Click Studios, 20 West 20th Street, Suite 602, NYC NY 10011 Studio: 646.233.3767 Cost: Min door donation $15
And yes, I'll be testing out part of the Voodoo Sisters Warrior Woman Suite. You will be sad if you miss this.
melissa v.
P.S.: Next month, Thursday night classes switch to Kinected, 151 W. 19th st at 7th ave, 2nd floor, 7-8:30 PM. Be there.
And yes, I'll be testing out part of the Voodoo Sisters Warrior Woman Suite. You will be sad if you miss this.
melissa v.
P.S.: Next month, Thursday night classes switch to Kinected, 151 W. 19th st at 7th ave, 2nd floor, 7-8:30 PM. Be there.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Between Dimensions Salon #1: What You Missed
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.
-Melissa V.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Voodoo Sisters in Chi-Town
This past weekend, the Voodoo Sisters went to Chicago to participate in Bellydance Underground's benefit show for Between Friends, an organization fighting domestic violence (www.betweenfriendschicago.org). Great cause, great show, great time!
We debuted Vampian Lespire Cats to a highly entertained audience, and had a great time doing it. We also spent the show backstage, listening raptly to the music, but unable to go out and watch the show because, well, our cover-up veils were under the MC's shirt.
You'll understand when you see the video, which we shall post as soon as we get it.
Many thanks to Rocio, who set this up, and the fine ladies of Chicago's belly dance world, as well as to Renee for putting us up, and George for letting us rip out his innards in public.
In the meantime, I gotta link to Aziza's post on weirdness and belly dance, which encapsulates why the Voodoo Sisters do what we do: http://azizasaid.wordpress.com/2008/08/17/is-that-weird/
We debuted Vampian Lespire Cats to a highly entertained audience, and had a great time doing it. We also spent the show backstage, listening raptly to the music, but unable to go out and watch the show because, well, our cover-up veils were under the MC's shirt.
You'll understand when you see the video, which we shall post as soon as we get it.
Many thanks to Rocio, who set this up, and the fine ladies of Chicago's belly dance world, as well as to Renee for putting us up, and George for letting us rip out his innards in public.
In the meantime, I gotta link to Aziza's post on weirdness and belly dance, which encapsulates why the Voodoo Sisters do what we do: http://azizasaid.wordpress.com/2008/08/17/is-that-weird/
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
None of the Above Bellydancers
Finally back in town after a lovely 2 weeks in Seattle (a shout-out to Kendra, who made me feel very welcome; sorry we didn't get to hang more!) and right back to business!
Teaching lots of Pilates, planning to start teaching some Biomechanics for Bellydancers classes or workshops next month or in September.
More immediately, check out the Evil Dustbunnies' Nook for info on the None of the Above dancers' meeting. We're really looking to develop a community for all the people out there who love being, well, out there. I'm really excited about it!
Melissa V.
Teaching lots of Pilates, planning to start teaching some Biomechanics for Bellydancers classes or workshops next month or in September.
More immediately, check out the Evil Dustbunnies' Nook for info on the None of the Above dancers' meeting. We're really looking to develop a community for all the people out there who love being, well, out there. I'm really excited about it!
Melissa V.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Spring Caravan--whee!
Many thanks to all who came out to see us at Spring Caravan! That may have been our best audience reception yet! Many thanks!
If you missed the show, you can see it online at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViMgEX-L7PA.
Enjoy!
--Melissa V.
If you missed the show, you can see it online at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViMgEX-L7PA.
Enjoy!
--Melissa V.
Friday, June 6, 2008
Dissection Redux: Still not safe for reading
OK, here's where things go a bit more below the proverbial surface, now that I've slept and had a chance to think about things.
What I Learned This Spring in Gross Anatomy Lab:
There are a lot more structures than just muscles, bones, and ligaments involved in movement. I spent the last day of the dissection with a colleague from the Kane School working on raising May's (our cadaver) arm above her head. Aside from the obvious difficulties with lack of elasticity in the muscle tissue, we found that most shoulder restriction comes from: 1. tight lats. 2. The tendon of the long head of the triceps sticking to the teres major and minor (see http://www.bartleby.com/107/illus412.html) for this area). 3. The bundle of the brachial artery, radial and ulnar nerves, and associated veins etc. (http://www.bartleby.com/107/illus523.html).
Yeah, your nerves can get tight. You can stretch them with nerve gliding exercises like these. It really does help mobility. We kept trying to figure out what was restricting May's arm, and while I've been doing nerve gliding stuff for a while, this really brought its purpose home to me.
Another really interesting revelation was the effect your life has on your organs. May's chest was very narrow, but the rib cage bulged in the center to accommodate her enlarged heart. The membrane on the inside of the ribs was very, very thick on the right, which must have restricted her breathing. The male cadaver, whom we called Georgi, had intestines that had literally adhered to each other. The manual therapists in the group were fascinated by this because there are techniques for visceral massage that are designed to help with this sort of thing. We movement people made mental notes about the "use it or lose it" principle of movement. It applies to organs, too.
I've known that organs move around each other for a while-- if your organs didn't move at all, your thorax and abdomen would be a solid mass, not the flexible thing it is. So it is important to keep your organs moving as well as your muscles-- not only by bending and stretching and exercising, but by putting your body in different relationships to gravity. Hence all the inversion work in yoga!
I was particularly interested in the relationship of the liver, descending aorta/vena cava, upper psoas, and diaphragm. This is the kind of thing you don't often see in anatomy texts, and is really impossible to get a feel for in 2-D. The perfect fit of the curve of the left half of the diaphragm and the top of the liver is a thing of beauty. And as the aorta/vena cava come down from the heart, they go through the diaphragm and zip right behind the liver. And right below the liver, your right psoas arises. Oh yeah-- and your kidneys sit back there too, hanging out with the upper psoas and posterior diaphragm. Cushioned by, yes, FAT! Which is actually your friend. Not that you should be the size of a house, but fat-phobia is really overrated.
What do all these relationships mean? Right now, they mean "everything really IS connected!" But they also mean that the muscular system affects the cardiovascular system affects the excretory, digestive, and endocrine systems very directly. How, exactly? I'm still working on it.
BTW, if anyone knows bio researchers looking for interesting topics to work on, I'm more than happy to start spouting ideas. I'd love to know more about the interrelationships of the systems myself, and the more scientific proof we have, the better!
More later, I'm sure.
Melissa V.
What I Learned This Spring in Gross Anatomy Lab:
There are a lot more structures than just muscles, bones, and ligaments involved in movement. I spent the last day of the dissection with a colleague from the Kane School working on raising May's (our cadaver) arm above her head. Aside from the obvious difficulties with lack of elasticity in the muscle tissue, we found that most shoulder restriction comes from: 1. tight lats. 2. The tendon of the long head of the triceps sticking to the teres major and minor (see http://www.bartleby.com/107/illus412.html) for this area). 3. The bundle of the brachial artery, radial and ulnar nerves, and associated veins etc. (http://www.bartleby.com/107/illus523.html).
Yeah, your nerves can get tight. You can stretch them with nerve gliding exercises like these. It really does help mobility. We kept trying to figure out what was restricting May's arm, and while I've been doing nerve gliding stuff for a while, this really brought its purpose home to me.
Another really interesting revelation was the effect your life has on your organs. May's chest was very narrow, but the rib cage bulged in the center to accommodate her enlarged heart. The membrane on the inside of the ribs was very, very thick on the right, which must have restricted her breathing. The male cadaver, whom we called Georgi, had intestines that had literally adhered to each other. The manual therapists in the group were fascinated by this because there are techniques for visceral massage that are designed to help with this sort of thing. We movement people made mental notes about the "use it or lose it" principle of movement. It applies to organs, too.
I've known that organs move around each other for a while-- if your organs didn't move at all, your thorax and abdomen would be a solid mass, not the flexible thing it is. So it is important to keep your organs moving as well as your muscles-- not only by bending and stretching and exercising, but by putting your body in different relationships to gravity. Hence all the inversion work in yoga!
I was particularly interested in the relationship of the liver, descending aorta/vena cava, upper psoas, and diaphragm. This is the kind of thing you don't often see in anatomy texts, and is really impossible to get a feel for in 2-D. The perfect fit of the curve of the left half of the diaphragm and the top of the liver is a thing of beauty. And as the aorta/vena cava come down from the heart, they go through the diaphragm and zip right behind the liver. And right below the liver, your right psoas arises. Oh yeah-- and your kidneys sit back there too, hanging out with the upper psoas and posterior diaphragm. Cushioned by, yes, FAT! Which is actually your friend. Not that you should be the size of a house, but fat-phobia is really overrated.
What do all these relationships mean? Right now, they mean "everything really IS connected!" But they also mean that the muscular system affects the cardiovascular system affects the excretory, digestive, and endocrine systems very directly. How, exactly? I'm still working on it.
BTW, if anyone knows bio researchers looking for interesting topics to work on, I'm more than happy to start spouting ideas. I'd love to know more about the interrelationships of the systems myself, and the more scientific proof we have, the better!
More later, I'm sure.
Melissa V.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Dissection day 4: Not a safe day to read
Hi all,
Didn't blog last night because I had a really awesome energy work session done last night by a classmate of mine, and I needed to sleep a whole lot. Very, very cool stuff.
Again, this day was pretty intense. Do not read if you are unnerved by anything I've written so far. If you haven't been reading, this is a bad day to start.
Things I learned yesterday:
When dissecting the digestive system, take extreme care not to puncture the intestines. This is very, very important.
Should you puncture the intestines, much cleanup will have to ensue. We definitely had a day of poop going on.
Despite this, we managed to remove the heart and lungs as a unit-- just fabulous. The lungs really are huge, and much heavier than the heart. May had an enlarged heart and a gigantic aorta; even so, the lungs are enormous and weighty!
We also managed to remove (most) of the digestive system at a go. The relationships are fascinating. The esophagus really does run right down the front of the spine, and the inferior vena cava runs right down into the liver. The heart itself is sitting right on top of the liver, with the diaphragm in between them, and the stomach and spleen take up the other lobe of the diaphragm. The kidneys, adrenals, and upper psoas indeed hang out right next to each other in the back of the diaphragm, and the ovaries also hang out on the psoas. I knew all these things intellectually, but seeing them in situ really brings home the interrelatedness of the organs and muscles.
Speaking of psoas, leaving it in place while removing the viscera illustrates quite clearly the 2 separate bowls of the upper and lower pelvis. I had read about this recently, and even looking at a skeleton could only vaguely see the divisions, but the reality of it is that the upper iliac crests form one bowl, then the sacrum dives down and back, forming almost a pelvic cylinder rather than a pelvic floor. It's fascinating, and will definitely inform my teaching in the future.
Today, with any luck, we'll see the rotator cuff, deep rotators of the hip, and possibly even the attachments of the psoas and psoas minor.
Yay.
--Melissa V.
Didn't blog last night because I had a really awesome energy work session done last night by a classmate of mine, and I needed to sleep a whole lot. Very, very cool stuff.
Again, this day was pretty intense. Do not read if you are unnerved by anything I've written so far. If you haven't been reading, this is a bad day to start.
Things I learned yesterday:
When dissecting the digestive system, take extreme care not to puncture the intestines. This is very, very important.
Should you puncture the intestines, much cleanup will have to ensue. We definitely had a day of poop going on.
Despite this, we managed to remove the heart and lungs as a unit-- just fabulous. The lungs really are huge, and much heavier than the heart. May had an enlarged heart and a gigantic aorta; even so, the lungs are enormous and weighty!
We also managed to remove (most) of the digestive system at a go. The relationships are fascinating. The esophagus really does run right down the front of the spine, and the inferior vena cava runs right down into the liver. The heart itself is sitting right on top of the liver, with the diaphragm in between them, and the stomach and spleen take up the other lobe of the diaphragm. The kidneys, adrenals, and upper psoas indeed hang out right next to each other in the back of the diaphragm, and the ovaries also hang out on the psoas. I knew all these things intellectually, but seeing them in situ really brings home the interrelatedness of the organs and muscles.
Speaking of psoas, leaving it in place while removing the viscera illustrates quite clearly the 2 separate bowls of the upper and lower pelvis. I had read about this recently, and even looking at a skeleton could only vaguely see the divisions, but the reality of it is that the upper iliac crests form one bowl, then the sacrum dives down and back, forming almost a pelvic cylinder rather than a pelvic floor. It's fascinating, and will definitely inform my teaching in the future.
Today, with any luck, we'll see the rotator cuff, deep rotators of the hip, and possibly even the attachments of the psoas and psoas minor.
Yay.
--Melissa V.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Dissection day 3: Not for the faint of heart. Or lung.
Today was the day of viscera!
We opened up the thoracic and abdominal cavities and spent the day palpating and talking about the digestive system and the "500 functions of the liver."
I learned:
--The intestines are not just hanging out like spaghetti; they're more like coral or very tight ruffles.
--The large intestine does not look all neat and organized like it does in books.
--The lungs really take up most of the sides of the body.
--The greater omentum (never heard of it? It's cool!) is your internal security blanket. It moves (moves!) and wraps itself around any unhappy organ it can reach and tries to make it better.
--The liver really does do about 500 different things.
Time to sleep!
--Melissa V.
We opened up the thoracic and abdominal cavities and spent the day palpating and talking about the digestive system and the "500 functions of the liver."
I learned:
--The intestines are not just hanging out like spaghetti; they're more like coral or very tight ruffles.
--The large intestine does not look all neat and organized like it does in books.
--The lungs really take up most of the sides of the body.
--The greater omentum (never heard of it? It's cool!) is your internal security blanket. It moves (moves!) and wraps itself around any unhappy organ it can reach and tries to make it better.
--The liver really does do about 500 different things.
Time to sleep!
--Melissa V.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Dissection Day 3: Probably don't read this one.
Hi all,
1. Really, I'm fine. Just tired.
2. Formalin stench gets easier to deal with by the third day.
3. Ladies, you have fat investing your musculature. Gentlemen, that's why we're soft. Both of ya, get used to it.
4. It's nice to be done with superficial fascia. The layers really do have their own "vibrations" and emotional content. Yesterday, dissecting superficial fascia (or the adipose layer), the class was getting slow and grouchy. Today, as we got into muscle tissue, the energy was palpably higher in the room.
5. Real cadaver forms look nothing like the pictures in the books. Nothing is neatly differentiated. Skin, superficial fascia, and deep fascia are stuck together like the skin of an orange and the white stuff outside the slices. In fact, if you carefully pull the skin off an orange, you'll find fluff similar the that which binds the layers. My nephrologist friend says that in a live person, it's more slippery and less fluffy, but we agree that's likely a temperature and preservation artifact.
6. I know I said I wasn't going to blog, but hey. No one said it had to be coherent.
Goodnight, all.
--Melissa V.
1. Really, I'm fine. Just tired.
2. Formalin stench gets easier to deal with by the third day.
3. Ladies, you have fat investing your musculature. Gentlemen, that's why we're soft. Both of ya, get used to it.
4. It's nice to be done with superficial fascia. The layers really do have their own "vibrations" and emotional content. Yesterday, dissecting superficial fascia (or the adipose layer), the class was getting slow and grouchy. Today, as we got into muscle tissue, the energy was palpably higher in the room.
5. Real cadaver forms look nothing like the pictures in the books. Nothing is neatly differentiated. Skin, superficial fascia, and deep fascia are stuck together like the skin of an orange and the white stuff outside the slices. In fact, if you carefully pull the skin off an orange, you'll find fluff similar the that which binds the layers. My nephrologist friend says that in a live person, it's more slippery and less fluffy, but we agree that's likely a temperature and preservation artifact.
6. I know I said I wasn't going to blog, but hey. No one said it had to be coherent.
Goodnight, all.
--Melissa V.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Dissection Day 2: SAFE TO READ
Hi all,
I've decided I'm not able to blog this dissection as it's happening-- one, because I need this evening time to recharge myself, reset my hands and eyes (when you've been dissecting all day, your eyes and hands REALLY need to do something else), and study anatomy to prep for the next day.
I also feel like it's not fair to make you all read the dissection notes without the experience of getting into the necessary mindset first. (I know all you med students are giggling right now, but your first dissection is on hell of an experience, especially if you aren't prepared by med school.) Gil is very careful to prepare us mentally and psychologically for the encounter, and I don't feel I can do a good job of that, especially in my current state of mind.
So if insights come to me that are coherent enough to share with y'all, I'll definitely let you know. Otherwise, you'll just have to get the benefits of my experience some other way-- like taking classes over the summer! Whee!
Take care-- I'm going to sleep!
--Melissa Voodoo
I've decided I'm not able to blog this dissection as it's happening-- one, because I need this evening time to recharge myself, reset my hands and eyes (when you've been dissecting all day, your eyes and hands REALLY need to do something else), and study anatomy to prep for the next day.
I also feel like it's not fair to make you all read the dissection notes without the experience of getting into the necessary mindset first. (I know all you med students are giggling right now, but your first dissection is on hell of an experience, especially if you aren't prepared by med school.) Gil is very careful to prepare us mentally and psychologically for the encounter, and I don't feel I can do a good job of that, especially in my current state of mind.
So if insights come to me that are coherent enough to share with y'all, I'll definitely let you know. Otherwise, you'll just have to get the benefits of my experience some other way-- like taking classes over the summer! Whee!
Take care-- I'm going to sleep!
--Melissa Voodoo
Sunday, May 4, 2008
WARNING! Future graphic posts!
Hi all,
From May 5 to May 10, I will be participating in a Somanautics human dissection workshop. I will be blogging the experience here.
If you are in any way squeamish about this concept, PLEASE DELETE UNREAD THE POSTS FOR MAY 5-10!!!
Let me repeat that: If you are in any way squeamish about this concept, PLEASE DELETE *UNREAD* THE POSTS FOR MAY 5-10!!!
If this concept does not bother you, though, feel free to read on! I expect this to be a thoroughly educational experience, and I am extremely excited about the learning opportunity!
So keep an eye out for the next 5 days' worth of posts-- or not, as the case may be! It will definitely be a unique experience.
--Melissa Voodoo
From May 5 to May 10, I will be participating in a Somanautics human dissection workshop. I will be blogging the experience here.
If you are in any way squeamish about this concept, PLEASE DELETE UNREAD THE POSTS FOR MAY 5-10!!!
Let me repeat that: If you are in any way squeamish about this concept, PLEASE DELETE *UNREAD* THE POSTS FOR MAY 5-10!!!
If this concept does not bother you, though, feel free to read on! I expect this to be a thoroughly educational experience, and I am extremely excited about the learning opportunity!
So keep an eye out for the next 5 days' worth of posts-- or not, as the case may be! It will definitely be a unique experience.
--Melissa Voodoo
Monday, April 28, 2008
Miley Cyrus and Boundary-breaking
So Miley Cyrus is making a big splash by doing what every other star-chicky has done since the beginning of time: posed for a photo showing some skin.
Yeah, so there's a damn good argument that since she'd 15, this could technically be child porn. Also that parents are kind of tired of their kids being exposed to over-sexualized media (sorry guys; welcome to America!). And generally bemoaning the loss of role models you can count on (they're all ducking back down that alley with anyone they can get, apparently.).
What I find interesting about this is that for Miley, appearing topless wrapped in bedsheets is daring, controversial, and potentially career-denting.
The photo itself, though, is bland. And trite. I mean, really- show me a star who HASN'T appeared coyly clutching a sheet to her bare chest, and I'll show you someone who hasn't searched hard enough online.
What's ground-breaking for one person is trite for another. This happens a lot to women-- we go through an arduous personal journey of accepting our bodies, maybe even feeling comfortable enough to wear daring clothing-- a tank top! A bikini! A thong and pasties!
And this great result of our long soul- searching produces... yet another chick showing some skin. Of which, if you'll look at any magazine, billboard, or TV show, there is a serious glut. (But maybe that's the motivation-- I want to be one of the crowd!)
If you want to make your own personal journey unique, not only for yourself, but for everyone to whom you're declaring it, you have to take your inner world public in a way that doesn't pound the same old path yet again. You have to find a fresh perspective on your experience that makes it different from everyone else's. Sound hard? It shouldn't-- no one else is you.
Sure, some people are better than others at expressing how they feel and think, but there are lots of media for self- expression, and lots of places to get practice writing, drawing, singing, dancing, building things. And if not everyone gets it, then that's ok-- just as no one else is you, not everyone is on your wavelength.
But those who are will get it. And if you work on getting better at expressing yourself, your inner world will be able to reach and touch more people.
And you won't have to pose naked to get people's attention.
--Melissa Voodoo
Yeah, so there's a damn good argument that since she'd 15, this could technically be child porn. Also that parents are kind of tired of their kids being exposed to over-sexualized media (sorry guys; welcome to America!). And generally bemoaning the loss of role models you can count on (they're all ducking back down that alley with anyone they can get, apparently.).
What I find interesting about this is that for Miley, appearing topless wrapped in bedsheets is daring, controversial, and potentially career-denting.
The photo itself, though, is bland. And trite. I mean, really- show me a star who HASN'T appeared coyly clutching a sheet to her bare chest, and I'll show you someone who hasn't searched hard enough online.
What's ground-breaking for one person is trite for another. This happens a lot to women-- we go through an arduous personal journey of accepting our bodies, maybe even feeling comfortable enough to wear daring clothing-- a tank top! A bikini! A thong and pasties!
And this great result of our long soul- searching produces... yet another chick showing some skin. Of which, if you'll look at any magazine, billboard, or TV show, there is a serious glut. (But maybe that's the motivation-- I want to be one of the crowd!)
If you want to make your own personal journey unique, not only for yourself, but for everyone to whom you're declaring it, you have to take your inner world public in a way that doesn't pound the same old path yet again. You have to find a fresh perspective on your experience that makes it different from everyone else's. Sound hard? It shouldn't-- no one else is you.
Sure, some people are better than others at expressing how they feel and think, but there are lots of media for self- expression, and lots of places to get practice writing, drawing, singing, dancing, building things. And if not everyone gets it, then that's ok-- just as no one else is you, not everyone is on your wavelength.
But those who are will get it. And if you work on getting better at expressing yourself, your inner world will be able to reach and touch more people.
And you won't have to pose naked to get people's attention.
--Melissa Voodoo
Making the Darkness a Little Squishier
This is where we stick pins in as many things as we can think of. Sometimes, it's to deflate them. Sometimes, it's to nail them to the Web where they will be worshipped for ever and ever. And sometimes, it's because we like poking holes in things.
Welcome to the pincushion.
--Melissa Voodoo
Welcome to the pincushion.
--Melissa Voodoo
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