On a Magic Carpet Ride...

I went to a deliciously fun belly dancing/magic show/concert last weekend called Magick Carpet Ride. These sorts of events are rich in culture and different than the tired club-hopping scene. There's also something very satisfying about supporting the local arts.

All photos taken by gilani photography

The show featured my talented belly dancing teacher Adelaide and her sis, who have formed a group dubbed the Shimmy Sisters (cute!). Performing alongside was a middle-eastern flavored band called Danyavaad. Watching the show, I felt transported to gypsy's den, complete with snakes, swords and hypnotic colors. It was most definitely a hippie's dream!

Adelaide bravely dancing with a snake.

These girls make belly dancing seem easy peasy; in reality, I now know how hard belly dancing is after taking a few lessons. I am forever wowed by the art form of belly dancing, and hope I can perfect a few moves. Oh, and can we bring up the snakes? SNAKES + BELLY DANCING = ONE BAD ASS COMBO! 

Above: She's swallowing a sword...can you believe it??

Adelaide is a stellar acrobat!

Well, I'm off to perfect my belly dancing moves, but I'll leave you with a couple links:

Alizera Gilani is a new friend of mine that took the above beautiful photos. Here is his web site.

Below is a picture of the band plus the Shimmy Sisters, and here is their web site where you can see awesome videos of the belly dancing in action.

Enjoy!