Merrybellies Belly Dance
News & Events Archives
photo by Bob Edens
Merrybellies Belly Dance
News & Events Archives
photo by Bob Edens
Calendar Listing of 2007-2008 Events
Scroll down for details & photos!
June 8: Jillanna and Gems of the Oasis at East Meets West at Chattanooga Market
May 31: Underground Oasis: Morbid Cabaret (Graveyard Dollies; Chaotic Necrotica Suspension & Belly Dance Group; live music; special guest performances by Prentice Suspensions; The Flame Goddess (Atlanta); Mahsati Janan (Asheville); Amberetta (Chattanooga); and Charm (New Orleans). Barking Legs Theater, Chattanooga, TN
May 18: GIVE3 Benefit, Barking Legs Theater, Chattanooga, TN
May 16: performance at Bradley Health Care, Cleveland, TN
April 5: Molly Maguires Benefit at the LOCAL Performance Hall, Chattanooga, TN
March 29th: Workshop with Mahsati Janan (Asheville) & APRIL FOOLS DADA CABARET
March 21st & 22nd: FantaSciCon 2008 (Merrybellies sponsors Orion Slave Dancers
March 17th: Jillanna, Desiree' & Joanie with Victoria St. James at Chucks
February 23rd: Graveyard Dollies big debut show at ConNooga 2008 (photos at www.myspace.com/graveyarddollies and www.bobedens.com)
February 17th: Jillanna & troupe members perform at Images with Victoria St. James in the Miss Hamilton County pageant... and She Wins!
January 25th to 27th: ChattaCon 33
January 12th: Jillanna & Falling Waters dance at Cleveland Care & Rehab
2007
December 15th: Merrybellies Holiday Hafla & 2007 Student Awards, Old Green Eyes Art Gallery, Ringgold.
November 20th: Educational Belly Dance Show by Jillanna at Jewish Cultural Center (Noon), East Ridge, TN
November 17th: Merrybellies Gems of the Oasis 3rd Annual Student Show (7 pm); Merrybellies Underground Oasis Performance Art & Experimental Belly Dance Fusion Show (9:30 pm) at Barking Legs Theater, Chattanooga, TN
November 10th: Jillanna & Desert Sirens at GreenLife Grocery Grand Opening (2 pm), Chattanooga, TN
November 4: Jillanna (workshop, performance, henna) at Middle Eastern Day for Women at Jewish Cultural Center, East Ridge, TN
October 26 to 28: Gems of the Oasis & Jillanna at HallowCon 2007
October 6: Gems of the Oasis, Mermaids, & Jillanna at Grape Stomp 2007 (Georgia Winery, Ringgold)
September 23: Gems of the Oasis & Jillanna at Warner Park Zoo (Wedding)
July 6, 7 & 8: Merrybellies Summer Oasis, featuring Leyla Jouvana & Roland from Germany
June 10: Gems of the Oasis at East Meets West, Chattanooga Market
April 28: Gems of the Oasis at MoonHaven Studio 1st year anniversary hafla
March 30 to April 1: Merrybellies April Fools Dada Cabaret
April 7: Hunter Museum & ARC Multi-Cultural Fair at GPS (belly dance workshop with Jillanna)
March 15: Partnership for Families, Children, & Adults (belly dance workshop with Jillanna)
February 28: Figure 8 Workshop with Jilllanna at Madia's Studio, Chattanooga
(Events from 2005-2007 archived below)
Underground Oasis: Morbid Cabaret
fusion belly dance, suspension arts & live music
fire sword, fire fans, fire poi, double daggers, whips, vampires, zombies, the nightmare glove, suspensions & hook pulls, live music & more...
Saturday May 31, 2008
Barking Legs Theater
(Thanks for the many excellent food donations for Food Not Bombs!!)
For Photos and Video of the Show, please visit www.myspace.com/graveyarddollies
Graveyard Dollies
Merrybellies Fusion Belly Dance Troupe
Chaotic Necrotica
Belly Dance & Suspension Group of Northwest GA
Guest Performers:
Prentice Suspensions
The Flame Goddess of Atlanta
Silver Bow of Chattanooga
Mahsati Janan of Asheville, NC
Charm of New Orleans
Amberetta of Chattanooga
Live music
Workshops with
The Flame Goddess
Lee (of Atlanta)
Saturday May 31
Poi Spinning Workshop: Glow, Flag, Veil, & FIRE Poi
www.flamegoddess.com for more information about Lee
Lee spinning fire... After her performance in the Morbid Cabaret, we completely understand her title The Flame Goddess. She was unbelievable! So Amazing!!!
2008 DADA CABARET
More photos at www.bobedens.com or www.myspace.com/jillannababb
March 21st - 23rd, 2008
Comfort Inn and Suites
Chattanooga, TN
Merrybellies dancers performed as the Orion Slave Dancing Girls from Star Trek!
Performances Friday evening (with the Molly Maguires) and Saturday at 1pm (after lunch)
More photos here: www.myspace.com/jillannababb
February 22 to 24, 2008
Chattanooga Choo Choo
Midnight Saturday: Graveyard Dollies Show
Photos at www.bobedens.com and www.myspace.com/graveyarddollies
Video of the first few minutes ofJillanna's mermaids workshop
Workshops with Jillanna (adult belly dance, belly dance 101, and mermaids belly dance for children). We loved ConNooga!!!!! Can't wait 'til next year. We will be returning... Jillanna will teach workshops, and we will perform again! And have a party room of course!
Chattacon 33
A Tradition in Southern Fandom since 1975
January 25 to 27, 2008
Chattanooga Choo-choo
Belly Dancing by Jillanna, Amy, Middy, & Isis
Belly Dance 101 workshop with Jillanna
Merrybellies Holiday Halfa
Food~Feasting~Frivolity
Saturday, December 15th, 2007
7pm until Midnight
Old Green Eyes, Ringgold, GA
Dance performances by the Gems of the Oasis, Mermaids, and Graveyard Dollies; Techno-Elf Dance by Jillanna; Dancing for everyone; Drumming; Vegetarian Potluck Dinner, Costume Swap-n-Shop, and...
Merrybellies Belly Dance AWARDS!
Chattanooga Jewish Cultural Center
Tuesday, November 20th
Lunch at Noon; Dancing by Jillanna at 12:30
My educational dance performance included Saudi (also known as Khaleegy), Egyptian Raks Assaya (cane dance), Modern Egyptian, Turkish & Roma tambourine dance, Lebanese Debke, and a couple of lively drum solos, including the one I taught recently at the Jewish Cultural Center. The audience was great! The little pre-schoolers who got up and danced in the debke circle were enthusiastic and adorable.
Lunch was yummy, too!!
NOTE: I teach at the Jewish Cultural Center every Wednesday at 10:30 am. $5 drop-in! Learn Basic Belly Dance Technique, and stay for a great lunch with the Golden Agers ($6)! I love the JCC!!!
Gems of the Oasis
3rd Annual Student Show
Underground Oasis AfterShow,
& Workshops with GINA!
Saturday, November 17th, 2007
Click on the Picture of Gina for more information.
We had many illustrious guests! Very exciting show!!!
Thank-you to everyone who participated, and to Barking Legs Theater for being such a great venue. We also really appreciated the volunteers, friends, and family who made the event possible. Preston, David, Timothy, and Chris were especially helpful.
Please click on the picture of Gina for more info on our guests, and details about the weekend event.
Belly Dance by Jillanna & Desert Sirens
October 26 - 28
Chattanooga, TN
Gems of the Oasis & Jillanna
performances Friday with the Molly McGuires
and Saturday evening after 10 pm
Photos on www.bobedens.com
and picasaweb.google.com/kneebytr/HallowCon2007
Thanks again, Bob!!! You're an awesome photographer!!!!
Thanks, Kneebytr! You're awesome too. Its a blast to remember such a fun event through these photos....
Thanks to Dutch and the many volunteers, and fun guests at HallowCon. We especially loved the coffin Ride (thanks, ConNooga!) We made lots of new friends, and had a blast!
Georgia Winery 21st Annual
Grape Stomp
Saturday, October 6th, 2007
12 pm to 6 pm
Performances by Gems of the Oasis & Mermaids at 3 pm!
Event also features Live Music, Food, Grape Stomp contest, Wine Tasting, a Super Wine Sale, Facility Tours, and Face Painting for Children!
Leyla Jouvana & Roland
July 6, 7, & 8th 2007
East Meets West at Chattanooga Market
Belly dance by Gems of the Oasis, M'Alin, Alexandria, and M'Alin's student troupe!
June 10, 2007 at 1 pm
Moonhaven Studio 1st Year Anniversary Hafla
Saturday, April 28, 2007 7:30 pm
Open Studio, Workshops, Dancing, Henna (by Jillanna)
Belly Dancing by Gems of the Oasis
Hunter Museum of Art and ARC (Art Revolution in Creativity)
Multi-cultural Fair April 7, 2007
Jillanna taught a belly dance workshop as part of an event organized by Priya Boyington at GPS (Girls Preparatory School), Chattanooga, TN
The event also featured Indian and Greek dance workshops, art workshops, and delicious food!
APRIL FOOL'S WEEKEND: DADA CABARET
Friday, Saturday & Sunday March 30th - April 1st
Saturday Evening, March 31st ~ DADA CABARET DINNER THEATER
Art Opening, Art Games, Performances (Belly Dance & More), & Potluck Dinner. Surprises. Spontaneity & Chance. Creative Storming. Free Entry. WE HAD A BLAST!!! DADADADAAA...
Special: Debut of DESERT SIRENS, a new professional belly dance troupe!
Friday, Saturday, & Sunday Belly Dance & Art Workshops included:
Evil Zillians (zils with Jillanna)
Silk Veil Tie-Dye (with Lela)
Life Drawing: Belly Dancers in Costume (with Sandra Babb)
FREE Introduction to Belly Dance (with Jillanna) Sunday 1:30 to 2:30 (RSVP)
Vending by Originales by Faye
The Partnership for Families, Children, and Adults
March 15, 2007
Belly Dance workshop for some Awesome Girls!
The Figure 8 Workshop Wednesday, Feb. 28th
Jillanna taught sinuous variations of the figure 8 and a selection of near-figure 8 belly dance movements. Dancers explored the lemniscate head to toe, with graceful arm & hand expressions, torso and hip isolations, floor work, floor patterns & walks. We danced to the hypnotic music of the Egyptian taqsim, the Turkish slow chiftitelli, and Worldbeat fusion. Jillanna demontrated ways to sculpt the figure 8 with veil, cane, skirt, & sword, featuring classic eights, Bollywood eights, & eclectic eights. Participants learned a beautiful, mesmerizing dance, and took home choreography & technique notes.
Holiday Party
Saturday, Dec. 9th
6pm until 10pm
Old Green Eyes
Potluck, Costume Swap-n-Shop, Gems of the Oasis Review of the Year, & Belly Dance Party with Mini-Workshop for Beginners!
Henna at Madia's Studio Open House
Wine tasting, art, & more
(in conjunction with the Tanner Hill Gallery opening, in the historic Southern Saddlery Building)
Friday, December 8th
Gems of the Oasis 2nd Annual Student Show
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Barking Legs Theater, Chattanooga
Featuring the Gems and guest student troupes Bellabelly (Knoxville), Gypsy Dreams (Knoxville), Luna Mara & Nanda Devi (North Georgia), performances by Ballista Bellies, Gwynn & Trynn, and solos by Hellcat, Alexandria, Danika, Ahalia, and Jillanna. A joyous event celebrating a wonderful year! Jillanna's choreography (danced by the Gems) included a cane dance, two veil dances, a few drum solos, Arabic pop, and more. The other dancers brought tribal fusion, Bollywood/Arabic pop, Egyptian cabaret, Isis wings.... Ballista bellies brought the snakes! We loved dancing at Barking Legs, and crowded the backstage with over 30 dancers in gorgeous sparkling costumes.
Latin American Community Alliance 7th Annual Health and Cultural Fair 2006
Saturday, October 28
3 pm
Northwest Georgia Trade and Convention Center
Belly Dance by Jillanna
First Annual
Brainerd Arts Festival
Saturday, October 14, 2006
All Day Arts Event 11 am to 7 pm
Henna by Jillanna
Paintings by Jillanna and by her mother, Sandra Babb
More than 40 artists and 20 performances at the event
Plus the giant Mayfield Cow made an appearance
Belly Dancing by Gems of the Oasis & Jillanna at Melanie's Jazz Club, 4 pm!
More Photos at Chattanoogan.com!
September 30, 2006
11: 45 am Gems of the Oasis performance
A Middle Eastern Journey featuring dances from Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia...
11 am to 7:30 pm: Free Henna Body Art by Jillanna
Children's Activities
Coolidge Park, Chattanooga, TN
First Friday on Frazier (Chattanooga): Henna by Jillanna & Archana Brahmbhatt at Dharma & Deena's! Plus Belly Dance by Gems of the Oasis. It was a beautiful night... enjoyable to meet so many people, play with henna, and perform with lovely dancers! Sept. 1st and Nov. 3rd, 2006
Leyla Jouvana and Roland
August 11 - 13, 2006
Saturday Show 7:30 pm
Workshops, Performances, Middle Eastern Bazaar... A weekend with the Shimmy Queen!
To learn more about Leyla Jouvana and Roland, visit http://www.leyla-jouvana.de
Ballista Bellies at Loca Luna Leo Bash
(Opened and Closed the Show)
July 30th, 2006
upstairs at Buck Wild, Chattanooga, TN
Ballista Bellies
Uncanny Inspirado art opening.
Hellcat & Jillanna performed Egyptian Cabaret, Turkish Cabaret, and Sword & Snake Dances.
Date: Friday, July 21st.
Location: Chattanooga's Warehouse Row
"Over the years, Chattanooga has supported the visual arts by showcasing festivals and exhibits that display the best traditional artists in the region. These events are important to our community, but they do not show the amazing diversity of the arts. Uncanny
Inspirado embraces that diversity, offering a comfortable and enjoyable environment for the artist to display and sell their work. This also provides an inviting atmosphere for prospective collectors to purchase unique art that is normally sought after in larger cities." (Quoted from the Uncanny Inspirado web site)
More information about Ballista Bellies
July 28th Hafla at Madia's Studio
Featuring Gems of the Oasis, Yasmin II, Jillanna, & Persephone from Washington DC (pictured above)
Plus a dance party and henna!
We had a wonderful party. The audience was lovely and lively! Madia's Studio once again provided a perfect venue for the hafla.
East Meets West
June 4, 2006
Some pictures of a couple of designs I painted at the event, generously donated by a wonderful couple, Gia (the flowering hand) and Jimmy (the unconventional fish design):
Jimmy says that since he had that fish henna-'ed' on his hand he has been catching more fish!
May 13, 2006
Market Basket 2006: The Magic of Arabian Nights
Sponsored by The Partnership Associates (Partnership for Families, Children & Adults) and Kiwanis Club of Chattanooga
Benefit Dinner, Dance, and Auction at the Chattanooga Convention and Trade Center
Henna by Jillanna from 6 to 8 pm
Gems of the Oasis Performance 7 pm
Web link: www.partnershipfca.com
We had a wonderful time! The setting was creative and very Arabian Nights. Gems of the Oasis performed several dances, including a chiftitelli with floor work, veil dance, drum solo, arabic pop (Gia & Jillanna), and sword (Hellcat & Jillanna). The Arabian Horse, the special feature of the live auction, even made an appearance!
Mary's Belly Dance Show at Barking Legs
May 6, 2006
Mary's show was so much fun! Look at the beautiful colors, and the lovely smiles. Thanks, Mary, for the great time! And thank-you to Alexandria for the photographs.
Alexandria, Jillanna & Mary
National
Dance Week 2006,
April 21 - 30th: Merrybellies offered Free Belly Dance Classes;
Hafla & Vegetarian Potluck at the Oasis at Old Green
Eyes. We had a wonderful celebration, with delicious food
and dynamic belly dance performances by Gems of the Oasis and
Ballista Bellies... and by several beautiful little girls who
followed along and improvised adorably! Lulu and Hellcat
blew fire. Veils, canes, & swords were wielded with
grace and joy. The snakes made their special appearance,
too! We had a great crowd of over 50 guests!
Photo: Lulu with Regan (the snake)
Zanzibar Hafla, Chattanooga, TN
March 25, 2006
Ballista Bellies danced with snakes (photo of Jillanna with Regan & Hellcat with Vega)
Its a Small World: "Amuse" um '06
Creative Discovery Museum Annual Fundraiser
March 11, 2006 7 to 11 pm Creative Discovery Museum, Chattanooga, TN
Jillanna applied henna (mendhi) for more than four hours at this amazing Discovery Museum fundraiser. What a party! The museum was so festive and full of multicultural delights.
Middle Eastern Bazaar, Workshops, & Hafla
Regan peeks during Masmudi Snake...
February 11, 2006 Madia's Studio, Chattanooga
photo:Billy Hughes L to R: Alexandria, Gia, Jenny, Jillanna
Gia presenting the gift certificate from Madia's to Jillanna after the Show.
Look at those smiles! The entire show was a gift. Thanks, Beautiful Dancers!
Gems of the Oasis
First Annual Student Show
Friday, Dec. 16th, 2005
Gems of the Oasis Dancer Hellcat
at Loca Luna's Leo Bash,
where she belly danced last year.
Gathering 2005 June 25th Cleveland, GA
I led outdoor workshops for children and adults, plus danced in an evening performance. The weather was humid & hot. I brought my family and made friends, got sunburned, and ate s'mores.
2005 Atlanta Shimmy-a-thon
Saturday, May 14, 2005
Several Dancers Core Studio
133 Sycamore Street
Decatur, GA
See www.shimmyathon.com for pictures & more information and to learn about the winner of the Guinness Book of World Records Shimmy Record.
May 14th Jillanna joined a crowd of beautiful belly dancers at the shimmy-a-thon at Several Dancers Core Studio in Decatur, GA. She shimmied for about 30 minutes before stopping. She might have gone longer, but she was thinking of those who sponsored her for $1/minute.... : ) Thanks to all the people who donated to the Cystic Fibrosis Great Strides campaign by sponsoring Jillanna! The event was crowded and joyful, with henna art by a local artist, several vendors of pretty sparkly things, and many lovely dancers.
Claudia Conn's Open House Celebration for Debbie Schneider's graduation to CPM
On a gorgeous Spring day, Claudia invited her community of homebirthing mamas and families to her home for potluck, henna, playing & talking, and a little prenatal belly dance workshop! I was honored to be invited and do the henna & dance workshop! Thanks! That evening, I henna-ed Claudia's and Debbie's hands in a matching design (see henna page) in celebration of their partnership. Debbie was Claudia's apprentice; she had passed her NARM (North American Registry of Midwives) exam and become an official CPM (Certified Professional Midwife).
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