what recycled boxes they use ! I called the lady and assured her there was nothing hazardous in the box and that I would come down immediately to retrieve it ! And that began my journey into the world of designing and creating my many costumes . That first one is the only one made of coins . All the rest I made with beaded fringe that I hand-beaded myself . Thousands of seed-beads and bugle-beads , one at a time , onto upholstery thread , attached to a very narrow grosgrain ribbon and then the strips of ribbon holding the strands of beads were added to the base foundations . A labor of love indeed and also of much pride and joy !
At the end of Spring , the teacher announced to our class that she would not continue teaching in the summertime . Oh No ! Another girl in the class and I were desperate to find classes . And our search paid off ! “ Adonna Studios ” in Cambridge , MA , offered classes Monday through Thursday evenings ! “ Adonna ”, Donna Agnew , with whom I am still in contact , was the owner of the studio . I signed up for classes every night … even took 2 classes on Thursdays !
Dorothea notes that the outline of the scarab was not consciously planned ! She would bead the “ middle ” strand 1st , then bead a strand on the left and then on the right . Repeat until desired width . It was only months after completing this costume that she “ saw ” the scarab - created with beads she purchased in Cairo on a 1984 trip .
Adonna and her teaching staff were excellent teachers and every one of them brought their unique style of dance to the classes . Adonna choreographed beautiful dances for us at the advanced student level which helped prepare us for our future in dance ! All were role models . Adonna soon invited me to join her performing troupe and that lead to even more learning experiences that could only be had by doing !
On Saturday evenings she hosted “ Café Adonna ” in her studio complex . She set up chairs in a big circle as well as thick cushions as seats . Guests brought their own refreshments . She had live musicians , two professional dancers and an advanced-student perform in costume with the musicians . By the end of July , she asked me if I would like to perform as the “ student-performer ” at the end of August . I was delighted of course ! And the remarkable “ universe-directed coincidence ” was that … that particular Saturday night , on my solo debut with live musicians , would be on my birthday !! You can imagine how that enhanced my excitement !
It was time to choose my professional dance name ! I recalled that once I had heard a musician say “ be careful if you choose an Arabic word for your dance name – you want to make sure you know what the word means . You do not want to be introduced as “ Miss Camel Dung ”!
After much thought and meditating about it , I decided to choose “ Dorothea ” as my professional dance name . My legal name was Dorothy . Eventually I had my legal name changed to Dorothea . ( And … this new name is linked to a story a bit further into this article !)
May 2021 � The Belly Dance Chronicles 45