Rakkasah West

This weekend was amazing. I attended Rakkasah both Saturday and Sunday. Rakkasah is to Belly Dance as Stitches is to Knitting. Except bigger. It is the biggest belly dance festival in the world, with one of the festivals in Egypt coming in a close second, and lucky for me, it takes place in my backyard. I really don't even have to take the highway to get there and still make it in 10 minutes.. if I hit every red light along the way. Classes and workshops began last weekend, and continued into this weekend. The main room was full of vendors selling costumes, coins, DVD's, and anything belly dance related that you can imagine. There were two performance stages, the main stage and the cabaret stage, both of which were being occupied by one troupe or another from 11am to 7pm both Saturday and Sunday. Middle Eastern music was playing from every corner of the rooms; there was no escaping the sounds. It was incredible. Dancers and musicians from all over the world flew into my little corner of California specifically for this event. How do I begin to describe it?
First, the vendors. I was looking at costumes, and there are so many options, and quite a range of prices. There were $700 cabaret bra/belt/skirt sets that had the most intricate coin/beading/mirror/sequen designs. A lot of the Egyptian costumes had tassles hanging from various parts. There were harem pants of every style, vests, jackets, goth style, and tribal gear. Some costumes had shells, some were flashy and brights, others were velvety and had very old styles of beading and jewels. Saturday I was so overwhealmed by the world's belly dance convergence into one spot, that even though I was looking for a costume, I couldn't decide what style I wanted. I decided it would be best to wait until Sunday before making decisions so I had the night to think about what was being offered, what I like, and most especially what I could afford.
Interestingly enough, one of my co-workers also dances and she and her troupe were performing on Saturday. I managed to watch their amazing show, and then I wandered around with her getting insights into the different styles of music, costumes, zills, and other stuff. My troupe, Bal Anat, performed, and everyone was so lovely. Rashid performed a snake dance in which he lured a python out of a basket (who was more interested in staying curled up in the dark) and mimicked the smooth motions a snake would make. T performed a segment where she had 3 goblets set on the floor upside-down in front of her. She placed one foot flat on two of them and stood in releve on the third. Then she danced, still standing on the glasses. She even moved them like she was on shoes, turning to the side dancing to different sides of the audience. At one point, one glass moved in front of her while she had her toes each on a glass and did a straddle. Without her feet or legs touching the floor. How's that for inspiration?
Sunday I arrived in time to watch Suhaila perform with her band. It seemed everyone was gathered at the stage to watch. Having had the night (and the internet) to think about what style of costume I wanted it was less stressful looking at what the vendors had to offer. From one location I bought a black skirt with velvet, lace, and embroidery. From another I ended up getting a bra/belt set that looks almost exactly like this:

I have to wear my own skirt or pants with the pieces, but I fell in love with it almost immediately. Now I don't have an excuse to not perform with the class. Much like Stitches, this was a very inspiring weekend. I had a blast and I feel as though I grew just from being emersed in the dance and culture. If only every day were like that.