Apparently Dragon*Con really DOESN'T like belly dancers :-/

[capriciouspuss.livejournal.com]

Just a note to let everyone know that there will apparently be no belly dance performances or classes at the Con this year.

For the last few years, the belly dance community has put countless hours into producing great shows featuring both Middle Eastern and Asian dances. These shows have attracted premier performers such as the Awalim Dance Company and Jahara Phoenix, as well as the talented Chinese dancer, Yolanda Campbell (all of whom graciously donated their time).

Apparently we just aren't cool enough... to even be acknowledged. Not only were we not given space or time for a show this year, the track director we worked with in the past ignored numerous attempts to be contacted throughout the year and simply refused to discuss the matter.

I'm kind of appalled that *someone on* Dragon*Con's staff behaves this way.

ETA: I am not the person who was ever in charge of coordinating the belly dance shows or events in the past. I'm just a frustrated party who has seen the events unfold over the past two years.

Comments

[spidersweb.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry to hear that!

[rangerlyn.livejournal.com]

Let's see - they don't consider belly dancing as sci fi, yet wrestling *is*??

::sigh::

Well, at least they are still allowing the Drum Circles...

Another thought - perhaps it was that particular track director that refused, and since D*C won't give us our own track, well...

[capriciouspuss.livejournal.com]

We have asked more than once if we could have a performance at the beginning of the drum circle on one of the nights... kind of like a kick off, hafla style. That too was nixed, because, you know, they don't consider the drum circle to be bellydancing time *eyeroll*

And yes, I'm quite sure that particular track director refused. They made the refusal quite clear by ignoring all attempts at contact, as I said. However, we've also asked to have the show as part of main programming.

[sylphon.livejournal.com]

Well, there isn't bellydancing on the SciFi channel, oh I'm sorry, the SyFy channel...

[steluloona2.livejournal.com]

Y'all, wrestling is sci-fi because it does involve the science fiction of spandex.

[glasscannon.livejournal.com]

I'm going to stay far, far away from the politics there, but as a DC first timer and someone who started dancing ATS this past year, I was a bit bummed when I couldn't find anything belly dancing related in the pocket program.

Ah well, there's always the drum circles, right?

[glasscannon.livejournal.com]

Going through the schedule with a closer eye, I saw this in the Costuming track:

"Middle Eastern Costume Designs
Learn the process for makeup and costume design associated with the popular Bellydance craze. Bring your drums and veils! Mon 2:30 pm; M103-M105 [M]"

Not actual dancing, but it's something I guess. :P

[tyme.livejournal.com]

Ugh, no silk road dance?!!

My toddler daughter had a blast at last year's dance session :(

If that track didn't respond, maybe another track might have a room available at some point?

-Tyme

[capriciouspuss.livejournal.com]

Tyme, from what we can tell the Silk Road doesn't want us again :( Their programming seems to be about 50% origami and some other Asian culture thrown in.

The powers that be instructed us that we were to be part of the Silk Road - I think this was three years ago. I'm not sure if any of the other tracks are open to a dance show, but it might be worth a try for next year.

BTW, is CrimsonArt doing Henna this year? Elizabeth did a great job on me @ Frolicon before last!

[pdfunplugged.livejournal.com]

I'm kind of hurt and dismayed by this. I just worked my 10th year on staff and I sure don't recall sitting around at the last meeting deciding to ban bellydancing. I'm not speaking for anyone but myself but this is kind of like saying i had a bad experience with one dancer there for ALL dancers must be bad.

I've been trying to get a group of mine doing a live TV show on DCTV for years now... and I helped start DCTV. Competition to get things going at DragonCon is tough. Everyone is passionate about something. And yes sometimes things due fall through cracks through one various reason or another... And yes hard to reach track directors can be part of it...

Just... please... remember... Dragon Con is volunteer... We all have day jobs we have to go to... And while your fears may be valid until you know for sure just don't throw around blanket accusations about the convention staff. "DragonCon" isn't out to get Bellydancers just like they aren't out to kill my morning show ideas. To accuse all of us is just hurtful and seems like an attempt to shame us into something.

Now... this all being said. I do NOT speak for the rest of DC staff and only for myself.

[capriciouspuss.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the response. I do not think ALL of Dragon*Con is bad, by any means. I understand that it's volunteer, that everyone has day jobs and that communication breakdowns can occur. I apologized if it seemed that I was directing this to the entire staff.

However, there are volumes of more incriminating things I've left out of this post concerning our particular situation. When contact is attempted every single weeks for months, when you write on their facebook page, call their phone, send them emails more times than you can count on your fingers and your toes, that is blatant disregard.

I realize competition is tough. However, we had shows before that were so well attended they were over capacity for our space and security had to do a one in, one out thing for the entire time span. We had classes attended by LOTS of people. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

Last year shortly before the con, Monet wrote THIS post http://community.livejournal.com/dragoncon/1610898.html ... the title of my post was actually a play on the title of hers.

[paranatural.livejournal.com]

I always enjoyed the bellydancing stuff at dragoncon. You can't, you know, just go to a drum circle and start dancing or something?

I'm throwing a room party, btw. All bellydancers will be more than welcome to attend and dance your hearts out :)

[monetgypsy.livejournal.com]

oh honey we're pretty easy to spot, invite us and offer some good beats and we're game!

[rock-biologist.livejournal.com]

All belly dancers who would like to join our attempt on Sunday to break the world record for number of people dancing to "Thriller" in one place are quite welcome to join us! :)

http://www.dragonconthriller.com/

[lady-kathana.livejournal.com]

Speaking as a track Director, who is very, very busy with many projects outside DragonCon, I know I get swamped with email pretty frequently and some things just slide away from me. I think I'd prefer if someone attempting to contact me regarding programing would contact my senior Director if they couldn't reach me, rather than make a public post about it. Such an action would not make me inclined to work with that group.

[paradisacorbasi.livejournal.com]

I think it is important for both sides to consider the other side a little.

It sounds like the OP was feeling intentionally ignored, even after what she considered several reasonable and multi-platform attempts to reach someone to assist her. So she was airing her frustration -- like any human being would.

It sounds like the track directors are besieged from every direction with track matters, logistics, and other Dragon*Con minutia, to say nothing of whatever their real lives are like when Dragon*Con isn't chomping away on them. So yes, stuff slips through the cracks, spam filters may catch things that shouldn't have been caught. But I believe that being besieged from every direction doesn't mean somebody else expressing their frustration means they're not necessarily worth working with.

Both sides can agree that the communication didn't work as well as hoped, and perhaps try to start from neutral space for 2010?

[capriciouspuss.livejournal.com]

I am sure once I ask this you're going to think I'm being crappy, but I'm actually not.

Is it considered part of a track director's responsibility to tell someone who was on their staff and who coordinated multiple events and classes for them, "Hey, we're taking the track in a different direction next year so we've decided against having (bellydancing, bodypainting, whatever)." If not, who does that responsibility fall to?

What makes me so upset about this is not just that the programming was lost, it's that the person coordinating was not contacted at all.

As I've said below, the belly dance community didn't get together an elect me their spokesperson. I'm just very frustrated at seeing something unfold that I don't understand and don't think is very reasonable.

[monetgypsy.livejournal.com]

All the more reason to dance our butts off in the parade!

[paradisacorbasi.livejournal.com]

Off topic: even with the spooky-awesome steampunk cat eye thing going on, you are uncommonly lovely.

[foxxtrot1.livejournal.com]

GGGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[glowingdome.livejournal.com]

Come oh guys let the belly dancer complain. I don't have a horse in the race either so I don't mind.

I'm not really sure were they would fit in but I could say that about lot's of stuff at Con. Wrestling is only there for the money. Maybe if belly dancing brought in a larger audience it would still be there.

Who knows???

[basbleugrrl.livejournal.com]

Good job cutting yourself off at the knees there. You've guaranteed that track will never want to deal with you again.

Well... wow

[capriciouspuss.livejournal.com]

I certainly never expected this kind of firestorm response. If I'd known, I'd have put on my asbestos suit before I posted.

Just for the record - I'm not the person who has directly attempted to deal with the track director. I don't believe I claimed to be in charge. I'm just a friend/past participant/interested party who is extremely frustrated with the treatment that person has received for two years running.

[datavortex.livejournal.com]

This is unexpected, unfortunate, and should be corrected so that belly dancers are able to perform somewhere that I can see them.

[jynxjaguar.livejournal.com]

Hey guys, first time posting on LJ. I wanted to chip in my two cents and apologize. I've volunteered for the Silk Road since its inception, and the last thing in the world I, or anyone else on the track for that matter, want to do is to upset the dancers. They've always been the most polite and genial guests in our room, and I'm terribly sorry that I didn't see the Dance Expo in the program, it drew an amazing crowd last year. If any of the Dancers like, I will stay on top of the room schedule and wait for (pray for, actually) cancellations up to the Con and report times here if there are any. Again, I am very sorry about the scheduling, and I hope you ladies come by the room.

Silk Road programming

[empooress.livejournal.com]

Yes , you have limited information. Let me fix that for you. There will be a show Sunday at 8:30.
I have had three acts that have had to pull out, I am looking for replacements, which must be either Asian style or eastern style dancing, no tribal. I can be contacted at empooress@gmail.com, I am now the person to contact about performances.

Yes, Yolanda Campbell is not on the schedule this year, because she won't be at Dragoncon, she and her husband just moved out of state a couple of weeks ago. There will be an Asian hair styles panel , so if you want to know how to get that Tang Dynasty hair do, come and we'll show.

FYI..programming changes every year defendant on many factors. It would be a bore for us as well as the con goers if we did the same thing every year.

BTW we do not have 50% origami and then some Asia stuff. I do the origami panels, we have 4, one with a guest from Australia. Oh and experts in kimonos, History of Geisha and Asian street fashion this year. Sabutai Musash, martial arts master, The lions will be coming back for the parade this year and the dragon's coming too. And yes there is a drum circle panel.
And many other things., We are not just about dancing.

Yes stuff happens. Not all of which you know, but it has not stopped you from spewing vitriolic sentiments which are unmerited. But I can assure you that your chances of performing are pretty slim.

Just in case I misunderstood...

[capriciouspuss.livejournal.com]

Didn't you just say that you were specifically excluding belly dancers from your show? Or are you allowing Egyptian style, Turkish style, and American Cabaret, but not any of the many forms of Tribal in your "Geisha Theater"?

This post was originally about a) the lack of belly dancing programming at this years con, and b)the belly dancers getting shafted by the track we were instructed to be a part of at the time the track was created, and about the lack of responsiveness and communication that went along with it. I really don't see how your response changes, explains or absolves any of that.

[empooress.livejournal.com]

I have absolutely nothing against the person to whom puss refers, I would in fact consider her a friend. But things do change, We get different guest, and there is x amount of time. But coming on here and post a bunch of half truths does not make me want to work with a person. At least I gave her a slim chance where I could have just said never. ok? Ask the drumming panels , I'm their contact point, so, if you want to dance, then I am who you should be talking to.

tagged

[tantelle.livejournal.com]

I added a tag to this, since I just posted a call for belly dancers from someone officially affiliated with the Silk Road track. Ideally, I would have made that post earlier but I am new to LJ (and also not affiliated with the Silk Road track in any official capacity.)

Hope to see you all at the show and drum circles!