Kai’s First Hafli

I believe Kai enjoyed his first hafli. While he may have gotten a bit fussy between dancers, his eyes were glued to the stage when dancers came on. My son shows good taste in dancers – he enjoyed Phaedra immensely. He also had eyes for Xylinia (who was totally hot in assuit!) – and he was, of course, riveted to Karim Nagi. I particularly wanted him to see Karim, to see the mens' style of dance. Kai enjoys the music and he enjoys dancing with me, so I want him to know that there are options for him in this dance – it is not all ladies in bedlah.

In fact, he liked every dancer except me – he had to be taken screaming from the room when I danced, probably because I wasn't holding him anymore. Thanks Susi for keeping an eye on him while I danced! Thank goodness for simple costumes and simple pop songs. Needless to say I did not get as far as my fake hair and false eyelashes – I had to go for a more natural look! Overall, it was great to have him with me, to share with him my favorite thing in the whole world, and I think he loved being the center of attention. Just wait until he is old enough for his own galabeya and his own stick – I am sure he will be out there on the dance stage.

I won two things in the raffle! A private lesson with Najmat and one workshop that Za-Beth puts on this year! The raffle prizes were really great, ranging from 100$ towards a custom costume by Shadia (won by Lily), to various DVDs, hip scarves and jewelry. There was also quite a lot of variety in the vending – and I even got to see a friend from college, who ended up vending her candles there! I hope the event made lots of money for Haiti.

A nice weekend for bellydance for me, and wonderful to be able to share it with my son – plus to see the dance community in action, and so many friends. We really have such a good dance community here in Boston.