News

Bayou Belly Fest is going to be held July 14-16, 2023 in Lafayette, LA. For 3 days workshops and vendors will be at Rock N Bowl, 905 Jefferson St, Lafayette, LA 70501. The Saturday night showcase will be at Wonderland Performing Arts, 905 Jefferson St, Lafayette, LA 70501. Details on classes and vendors will be announced once confirmed. If you want to participate behind the scenes, please email Events@louisianabda.org

We will need volunteers to help at the LABDA station between classes. Volunteers would be appreciated Friday morning during setup and Sunday afternoon during take down. 

Belly dance Roots (the only class on Friday. It is at 8pm) 

This class will focus on the old Turkish Belly dance that Christine learned from one of my first belly dance teachers, Rayah Blackstar. Lots of circles and figure 8’s throughout the body. Put aside the tiny, intricate Egyptian hip work, this style calls for big, juicy hip movements. Good for dancers of all levels. *Bring a hip scarf* 

The Village Choreography Part 1

Done in 2 parts, An original Maria Hamer choreography, music by Bal Anat to the song, Village. A high tempo piece chock full of shimmies, quick steps & super sass! Participants who learn this choreography are invited to perform it together at Bayou Belly 2023!!!

The Village Choreography Part 2

In the second class we will learn the rest of this high-energy, beautiful piece that is an absolute joy to dance! Finger Cymbals optional ;-) Snippet can be found here

Maria Hamers "Village" Fusion Evolution 22

https://youtu.be/HQRnbgPxOwY

Props & Balancing (featuring the fire pot!)

Ever balance 20 brass pots stacked one on top of the other upon your head? Well, we won’t be doing that in this class. We will be learning the basic mechanics of prop balancing as well as about a variety of props used in Rajasthani dance, like the fire pot! Learn how to make your own.

Smoke & Slither (Sunday morning class) 

Explore Taqsim style movements for improvisation that create muscular snakelike movements & stylizations. Drills, Body awareness & combos!

*Optional Cymbals for our finger cymbal players out there

Bayou Belly Festival 2022 has more than just workshops for you to enjoy. Friday night at 6pm, there is a Meet N Greet at Rock N Bowl. Have some and get to know your fellow dancers. 

Saturday night at 7-10pm, there will be a showcase at Cite De Arts, 109 Vine St, Lafayette, LA 70501. This location is a 10-minute walk from Rock N Bowl. Tickets are $15.00 per seat. They are available online at Bayou Belly Festival | Cite Des Arts 

We are looking forward to seeing you at these festivities. 

3 more classes were added to Friday July 15th. Please check out the new events. Stop by Rock-N-Bowl 12 noon - 5pm for check-in/ Registration. 

1:00 -2:45pm Fusion Parfait: It Has Layers - Kimberly Larkspur 

3:00 -4:45 pm Moonlight and Shadow: Fusion Choreography with Kimberly Larkspur

3:00 -4:45 pm A Program for Remembering How to Fly: FatChanceBellyDance®Style with the Fire Maiden Jerikaye

That evening, LABDA will host a Welcome party also at Rock-N-Bowl. 

Technical difficulties with the Bayou Belly Fest events have been reported on 3/25/22. The problem has been identified. They will all be resolved By Monday 3/28/22. Sorry for the inconvenience. 

To purchase multiple classes via the Events page:

Register for the event. When it asks if you want to Invoice or pay, Invoice will add it to your profile balance. Return to the Events page and choose other classes. When done, go to the person icon on the top right - View Profile. In the top left corner it will allow you to pay all pending invoices.

Refunds and transfer tickets?

No refunds. If a ticket needs to be transferred to a different participant, please email communications@labda.org with the subject line Transfer Ticket.

Do I need to print a ticket?

When you register, a profile will be created for you to update your information as needed. This will allow LABDA to have a list of participants for each event without you needing to print a ticket. Please bring an ID just in case. This profile can become a LABDA member if you go to the membership page or your profile page and pay for a 6 month or 1 year membership.

What do I need to do to perform in the Saturday night showcase?

If you are a member, then you must purchase 2 classes to qualify. Members get first consideration. If you are not a member, then you must purchase 3 classes to qualify. Spots are limited. Please email events@louisianabda.org for more information. 

Minors Allowed:

This is an all ages event. Minors must be accompanied by an adult at all times. The parents/legal guardian may have to sign a media release form.

Pandemic Safety measures:

All attendees must be correctly wearing a mask and/or stay 6 feet from other participants. Please keep our hands to yourself as much as possible. Hand Sanitizer will be available for everyone's use.

Please pick up after yourselves to keep areas clean. Limit 1 drink per dancer while in a class. Please do not eat in the classroom areas.

Media Release:

The Louisiana Belly Dance Association (LABDA) has permission to use all registered persons likeness (photograph, video and/or audio) to promote LABDA. The media may be used in print publications, presentations, websites, and social media. You also understand that no royalty, fee or other compensation shall become payable for such use.

Mark your calendars! Bayou Belly Festival will happen this year. It will be mainly at Rockin Bowl, Downtown Lafayette. Friday July 15th evening will be registration. We have 16 classes planned for the weekend of July 16th and 17th. There will be a show Saturday July 16th at Cite De Arts, Downtown Lafayette. 

LABDA would like to welcome our new Treasurer Lisa Vega! We have confidence that she will do well in our Leadership. 

LABDA is excited to welcome our new members. Notice that the membership fee you pay renews from the date you signed up. Email notices will be sent when it is time to renew.

We are very excited to have new members who participate in our association. As a member, you get  access to other members in this community. Thank you for setting up your membership profile so that we can get to know each other.

On our website, you will see Upcoming Events were you can find the who, when, where of upcoming gatherings. You will get to see these events before they are announced to the public. LABDA event tickets will be available to you before they are available to the public. You will also be invited to any LABDA private events and VIP areas.

LABDA members have multiple ways of being involved in our events: participating, volunteering, performing or selling from their booth. Members performing are considered first when scheduling the show. If you have an idea for an event, please email events@louisianabda.org so that we can make it happen.

LABDA members with a dance related business can advertise on our website by emailing communications@louisianabda.org Members who own a studio can let us know about your events for community support.

LABDA is very concerned for our sisters effected by Hurricane Ida. We hope that everyone was and remains safe. Even if you do not live an area with destruction, we all know people who do. Please be patient with displaced people in your area. We hope that rebuilding doesn't take very long. 

So we are going to postpone Karla Marie's workshops until further notice. The people who bought early bird tickets will be notified by our admin.