2014 PERFORMERS
~ Mira Betz ~
Mira Betz has been teaching and performing Traditional and Contemporary forms of Middle Eastern dance for 25 years. Her work has been instrumental in the emergence of a new style known all around the world as Tribal Fusion, a dance rooted in tradition while forging new bonds between world dance and individuality. Mira, known as a “teacher’s teacher”, empowers students to cultivate curiosity, find their own unique voice, and brings the notions of artistry and integrity to every class. She travels internationally continuing to spread her experience, knowledge and love for dance through her captivating performance and engaging teaching style. PHOTO BY: Yaniv Halfon
~ Kandroma and Mastema ~
Iris has appeared in years past as Eerie De Scent and duo Kandroma, using elements and light to tell stories of demons inside, outside and then the enlightment shared in partnership. She has performed over the years with fire, sideshow and dance before moving into her own expression in ritual.
https://www.facebook.com/Eeriedescent
Joining her on stage is Jeanelle Mastema. As an artist of visceral ritual performance, she has appeared around the world in collaboration with other visually provocative experimental projects such as Aesthetic Meat Front, The United Satanic Apache Front and The Omega Collective. Her performances push the comforts of her audience with vivid visuals, soundscapes and dark rituals she calls "Self Exorcisms" through ecstatic exploration, tapping into the shadows of human experience.
https://www.facebook.com/virgo.rising.art
~ DJ Melting Girl ~
Music should make you feel joy, passion or sorrow. With every song she spins DJ Meting Girl looks for the emotion in the song, the power in the lyrics and the way that perfect beat can make you dance every time you hear it. She has been a part of the San Francisco goth/industrial club scene for over 20 years. She is a resident DJ at Death Guild, the longest running weekly gothic/industrial club in the United States. In addition to her residency at Death Guild she is also the co-founder of Dark Shadows which brings San Francisco a dark place to gather and celebrate the gothic/industrial culture through music, dance, decor and aesthetic. Dark Shadows is a bi-monthly club night which focuses one room on Gothic music and one room on Industrial music. If that wasn't enough she also has also partnered with artist Daniel Skellington to create The Haunted Manor Boutique, a shop on Etsy, selling spooky art and decor for your haunted home. Everything DJ Melting Girl does is a reflection of the dark and spooky lifestyle she has loved since she was a child.
~ Ariellah & Deshret Dance Company ~
Ariellah is an international modern belly dance performer and instructor. She has an extensive dance background that includes strict classical ballet training for 12 years with the Royal Academy of Dance from London. She has studied and performed belly dance since 2001, commencing her training with Janine Ryle of DanseMahgreb and as a founding member of The Indigo with Rachel Brice. Most recently Ariellah began training in classical Indian Odissi dance, studying in India at the Shakti School of Dance. Her style infuses many genres of dance, all with a modern dark flavour that is uniquely her own. She is featured on the first of its kind "Gothic BellyDance" DVD and also released her first instructional DVD, with plans for volume two up and coming. She is also your host and the producer of ShadowDance...
~ Monastic ~
MONASTIC is nspired by the various mystical traditions from around the world; MONASTIC is a performance art that features Anthony's ethereal vocals and interactive rituals. For Shadowdance 2014, MONASTIC will present "RITE of RUINS", hymns for divine destruction.
~ Lady Fred ~
Lady Fred is an original San Francisco tribal belly dance pioneer & innovator exposing her heart & soul since 2000. She displays avant-garde theatrical vignettes based on echoes from the past, to thundering bass from the future. Inspired by the silent film era, Lady Fred shares her imagination through themed narratives transporting viewers to a place that is timeless. She also offers world class instruction in her own format (FTS: fusion tribal style) side-by-side with her knowledge in technique and performance enhancement with a fundamental emphasis in creativity, logic, artistic movement, and expression.
For more information visit: www.ladyfred.com
~ Shadow Circus Creature Theatre ~
Combining folklore, mythology, Lovecraftian monsters and pop-culture parody, Shadow Circus Creature Theatre has been one of San Francisco's most popular and outrageous puppetry troupes since its formation in 2000. Using life-sized latex and foam creatures Shadow Circus creates a world that is utterly fantastic, and yet hilariously similar to our own. Shadow Circus’s creations have been a regular part of the world- famous Edwardian Ball, their creatures are regular guests on local late night TV show ‘Creepy KOFY Movie Time’ and creator Dave Haaz-Baroque and his creatures were recently featured on the Science Channel’s “Oddities: San Francisco.”
~ Dusty Paik ~
Dusty Paik is a costumier and lifelong dancer hailing from the wilds of Los Angeles. She's been a painter, a wardrobe mistress, an actress, a retail slave, a special effects makeup artist, and an intermittently upright citizen (among other things). With her extensive background in Ballet and Modern Dance, as well as her side forays deep into the worlds of pop-locking, sideshow entertainment, and folkloric dance and music, Dusty brings a highly unique voice to the fusion dance community. She has had the great fortune of having either costumed or performed alongside some of the most interesting and hard-working dancers around, as well as having appeared on the Belly Dance SuperStars DVD, Tribal Fusions. She resides in Oakland with an industrial sewing machine named Slayer, a floppy muppet dog named Pastor, and a costuming outfit called Snake Church. http://www.snakechurch.com/
~ ELECTRIC VARDO ~
Electric Vardo began in 2005 as a Global Gypsy infused multi-faceted performing arts night in San Francisco, and has launched into a touring group bringing live music, dance and DJ culture together in its gypsy-inspired fashion as a travelling show. It is where Electronic Dance Music meets its tribal roots on stage as an interactive visual-aural-body-moving experience where the audience is involved as an extension of the stage onto the dancefloor. This year, DJ Amar is brings a multi-stimuli experience of dark fusion belly dance, aerial silks, fire breathing, flamenco and heavy bass featuring Bramani, Jenn Aguilar, Pixie Fordtears and Kari of UNMATA. Amar is amongst a handful of DJs whose taste cuts a path through an abundance of musical selections and leads dance floors into a hypnotic sway like snakes before the charmer. In this instance the muse is a masala that brews sounds from the Middle East and Balkans with rhythms of the Asian underground and electric Brazilian vibes. Whether its breaks, bhangra, dubstep, drum & bass or downtempo, the global nature of Amar.s sets bridges a multi-culti span from the world to the Bay Area. As a DJ and promoter, he has collaborated and shared the stage with some of the Bay Area.s & world.s most innovative Musicians, DJs and dancers including Dr. Israel, Maneesh the Twister, Ultra Gypsy, Sharon Kihara, Dub Gabriel, Bassnectar, Freq Nasty, Nitin Sawhney, Unmata, Zoe Jakes, DJ Dragonfly, Karsh Kale, Beats Antique, Rachel Brice and others. Producer and resident of the bay area's most eclectic Global Gypsy night ELECTRIC VARDO, Amar regularly performs at SF.s hottest venues with Nonstop Bhangra, Surya Dub, Worldly, Hookahdome, Opulent Temple & the Groove Garden plus other ongoing and special events & festivals in Europe, Canada and across the US - including the newly launched Underground Nomads with DJs Sep, Santero, Suresh, Dulce Vita and Cheb i Sabbah.
www.solunamar.com
www.electricvardo.com
www.suryadub.com
www.nonstopbhangra.com
www.undergroundnomads.com
~ DJ Owen ~
If you spend time at Gothic clubs, you have probably seen Owen around. He has been a staple in the American Gothic Scene for decades from coast to coast. Currently based in the San Francisco Bay Area, his unique way of bringing joy to a dancefloor can be experienced regularly at multiple clubs, including Dark Shadows, Batcave, and Requiem, just to name a few. A love of, and devotion to, music has manifested in many forms over Owen's lifetime. Aside form being a trained classical musician in his own right, Owen has spun professionally in such divergent musical genres as Swing, 80's, Indie, and Lounge. Even in the Goth/Industrial realm, he is unusually diverse, spinning anything from Ethereal, to Aggrotech & EBM, to Deathrock, to 80's & 90's Industrial, and much more. He simply has a passion for music, itself, and sharing the feeling of experiencing its transcendence with others. This is why he is so eager to take and play as many requests as possible from the crowd. A club is a place to feel good. The Gothic Scene is something truly special. It is more than a place to go out; it is a genuine community. This is what draws many people it be part of it and this is why many of those people continue to stay involved with it well after their peers in age have lost interest in going to clubs. When not behind the DJ tables, you will often find Owen loving this community. Chances are good he is probably dancing on the floor or conversing with everyone. His personal contributions include creating clubs and festivals, playing benefits whenever possible, and even constructing group trips and tours. When you see Owen around, say hello, make musical requests, and most of all, have a great time. After all, we're among friends and the joy of music. That's a good enough reason to celebrate any night!
~ Cindy Kaori ~
"all your life you live so close to the truth, it becomes a permanent blur in the corner of your eye - and when something nudges it into outline, it is like being ambushed by a grotesque." -tom stoppard, rosencrantz and guildenstern are dead. cindykaori is an aerialist and movement artist. off and on the ground, she explores the gorgeous and raw sensation of letting the heart open with animal intensity.
~ Lisa Hyde and The Dirty Foot Dames ~
Lisa Hyde presents The Dirty Foot Dames, an eclectic mix of the Bay Areas most engaging and versatile character dancers. Kari Unmata, Molly Mitchell, Kristen Wilson, Kimberly Mackoy, and Hunny Bunny weave a sizzling tale of reverence and salvation, culminating in a battle for power at it's most sinister.
~ Nagasita ~
NagaSita is a Temple Tribal dancer based in Portland Oregon. A lifelong dance devotee and performer, she spent her youth in Hawaii dancing Kahiko with the Hula Halau which gave her the perfect foundation for bellydance and an affinity for sacred interpretations through movement. Tribal bellydance became her true calling which she began practicing just after relocating to Portland Oregon and simultaneously dedicating herself to Kashmir Shaivism at the Rudrananda Ashram in 2002, where she learned ancient ritual practices from Tibet and India. She found the dance to be just as liberating as the spiritual practices of the east, and has continued on her tri-path as a yogi, performer and priestess ever since. As one of the pioneers of ritual performance in Tribal Bellydance today, NagaSita thrives in sharing her connection with the divine feminine and masculine through dance and by bringing people together in sacred ceremony with her own concoction of a ritual theatre improvisational structure known as the Apsara Format. With performance roots in the Serpentine lineage, Neo- Tribal fire performance, and Vaudeville NagaSita poured her heart into producing shows in Portland for 7 years. With her acclaimed notoriety as the founder of the Tribal Nouveau Temple Dance Troupe APSARA, co-producer of the Anahata Festival and world renowned Eastern Nouveau dance showcase Salon L'Orient, family member of the Wanderlust Circus and director of the dark theatre troupe Bogville, she has emerged as a force of nature in the Bohemian underground. She is currently engaged in artistic collaborations with Stellamara, Moria Chappell and her first dance sister from Serpentine - Aradia Sunseri, whom NagaSita is honored to birth a new chapter with in sacred ceremony through Auracle.
~ Diva Marisa ~
Diva Marisa is the voice of the Thunderdome and David Best's temples at Burning Man. She has collaborated with Francis Ford Coppola, Frederica von Stade and Chris Brubeck and works regularly with Verismo Opera and Velocity Circus. In 2011, she debuted her "opera and trapeze" act at the Crucible in Oakland. She is thrilled to join Mavi Clay in this performance at Shadowdance. Photo credit: Jules Cisek/popmonkey.
~ Mavi ~
Mavi is the blue Maven of Mayhem: a fusion belly dance and fire arts performer known for her compelling presence, dark aesthetic, and mastery of blades. She is a sought after international fusion artist, teaching and performing at festivals, cultural events, circuses, and anywhere there's mayhem to be had. An early student of classical egyptian and turkish belly dance, Mavi was drawn to tribal fusion’s stylistic strength and the thoughtful fusion of ancient and modern. She began performing professionally in 2002, and changed the face of sword performance in belly dance through her solo work and with the Tribal Fusion duo Romka. A featured performer on the Gothic Belly Dance Revelations DVD by World Dance New York, she has shared the stages with Peter Murphy, Chebb i Sabbah, Beats Antique, the Dresden Dolls, Android Lust, and Corvus Corax. She also toured as the featured dancer with the internationally acclaimed band Turku. Mavi also co-produces the monthly DCTribal Cafe in Washington DC and pays homage to her love of the speakeasy & vaudeville arts as director of the Moonshine Cabaret.
http://www.mavibellydance.com/
~ Katy Swenson ~
Katy Swenson is a Fusion Belly Dance Artist from Portland, Oregon. Her unique style has captured audiences from the bowels of the Portland Underground, to the bright lights of the Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco. Katy's trademarks include sinuous near-contortionistic movement, razor- sharp stomach isolations, captivating stage presence, and breathtaking sword play. She is also sought after for her couture belly dance costuming skills, stage makeup prowess, and her thorough, articulate teaching ability. Katy is ever-grateful to share her life passion, whether performing as a solo artist; teaching; sewing; or collaborating with her many talented friends within the belly dance, modern dance, circus, and musical community. Bold. Intuitive. Energetic. Pure Belly DecaDance ~ Katy Swenson
~ Elizabeth Zohar ~
Elizabeth Zohar is the forerunner in the Israeli Dark fusion scene. She's been spending many months in Europe and San franscisco, performing in some of Europe's darkest events while studying the craft of dance with Ariellah as well as with the Lady Fred, and many others. being a lifelong painter and mystic, Elizabeth sees her dance as both a ritual and a playground for the darkest reaches of her imagination. she has her own line of Dark fusion events and is currently teaching at her home studio next to tel aviv.
http://www.elizabethzohar.com/
~ Snake Church Belly Dance ~
Snake Church Belly Dance is directed by Dusty Paik, and performs very rarely. The cast has a rotating roster of world class performers, having been graced by the prodigious talents of April Rose, Elizabeth Strong, Aubre Hill, Cera Byer, Kami Liddle, Keri Langwell, Surreyya Hada, Sherri Wheatley, and Katy Swenson. This incarnation includes Katy Swenson, Pixie Fordtears, Cera Byer, and Dusty Paik with a special guest TBA. The piece they’ll be performing for you is called “The Emperor’s New Clothes”, which examines the frailty of the human condition. It features costuming collaborations by Dusty Paik and Medina Maitreya, as well as hand forged brass accoutrements by Holly Bobisuthi, and a backing track by Paige Lawrence.
~ Shureen ~
Shureen is a Bay Area Tribal Fusion performer who fell in love with the dark side of Tribal Bellydance after taking her first workshop with Ariellah 5 years ago and continues studying under the dark mistress even today. Shureen dips her dancing toes in the waters of darkness to feed her alter ego because dancing has been a part of her soul since she was just a wee young maiden. Darkness is what balances our light. She also dips her toes into the waters of ITS studying under Calamity Sam. During her hours in the light, she is a member of the Martinez based award winning tribal fusion troupe “Sister Sirens” as well as being 1/2 of the duet known as “Kuruvinda".
~ Kamille ~
Kamille continuously pushes toward unabashed fulfillment. Exploring passion and emotion, she uses music of all types to tap in to the audience's own memories to stir their hearts, and adds to it a deep knowledge of history and ethnic movement to excite their minds. This has lead her to become the fearless leader of RockaBelly and The Playthings here in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Master of Ceremonies
~ Loren Muzzy ~
A life-long singer and actor, Loren Muzzy (LorentheBlack) began narrating/emceeing the annual darkly bizarre Zahara's Carnival Noir in 2008-- first live, then green-screened into effects-altered video vignettes shown between the dancers. He appeared on stage in the production as well the following year, and has been singing in each performance from the season thereafter. He currently serves as a Haunt Actor aboard the USS NightMare (4th Season running) and has recently joined Band of Pirates as his original character creation, the Late Dr. Arlington Graves. This will mark his third sharing of the stage with Ariellah, a number held sacred and dear to his arts & charms.
https://www.facebook.com/Loren.the.Black
https://www.facebook.com/bandofpiratespirateband
VENDORS
~ Eyescream Jewelry~
Artist Ruby Smith creates intricate Artifacts of the Macabre and unique art totems & talisman. She crafts them under glowing moonlight as most of the world sleeps. Bone is etched with metal scribe, clay is pushed & carved with tool and hand, ancient techniques in modern alchemy are applied by antiquing and firing precious metals. Hand selected fossil fragments, stone, pearl, glass and vintage components are carefully encased in filigree & wire. One of a kind Nouveau industrial, vintage key pendants, scroll bats, skulls, headdresses, and other Dynamic jewelry to inspire your muse…Custom work upon request. You are Unique, Beautiful & Bold! Your adornments should reflect that as well.~X~ Eyescream has finally opened a brick & mortar shop located at 3816 Telegraph Ave. Oakland, Ca. 94609. Open Tues-Sat. Noon-5pm.
For more information, please visit: http://www.eyescreamjewelry.com/
~ Snake Church ~
You have somehow found yourself in the Snake Church....To your right, an altar boy fumes incense. To your left, a tent show revival's congregation is wrestling sidewinders and drinkin' firewater. In the middle at a battered wooden table she sits...Toiling, oblivious, industrious. Her hands fly over her newest piece...Is it yours? Borne of a deep and abiding love for antique textiles, carnival culture, old creaky music and rusty things, Snake Church is the brainchild of one Dusty Paik, costumier and performing monkey. Her work clings gently to the bodies of some of the loveliest dancers in the world, and she is honored by an invitation to display her offerings at ShadowDance 2013. Please see the following website links for more information:
http://www.snakechurch.com
http://www.etsy.com/shop/SnakeChurch
~ Medina Maitreya ~
Medina Maitreya fell in love with costume design at a very young age. Raised deep in the teeming jungles of the Hawaiian Islands, she began dressing her dolls in flower petals, leaves and moss. She’s been a professional makeup artist (with a diploma from The Makeup Designory in Special Effects and Creature Creation), a successful hairstylist, and after spending time in the design program at FIDM, enjoyed a three-year stint in Los Angeles designing for Lucent Dossier Vaudeville Cirque, creating countless costumes for their touring shows. After a relocation to the bay area, she furthered her fashion design education at CCSF. She’s costumed a myriad of world-renowned dancers and performers, including the Belly Dance Super Stars, Zoe Jakes, Kami Liddle, Colleena Shakti, Ariellah, Gina Bruno, Jill Parker, Elizabeth Strong, Sabrina Fox, March Fourth Marching Band, and many more. She currently resides in a former munitions factory in Oakland with her two cats Beezus and Bird, where she creates her one-of-a-kind costumes and works towards her Masters Degree in Art History.
~ Artwork by: Dusty Cox ~
Dusty Cox was born in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1974. His father was a Captain in the U.S. Airforce, which resulted in his family’s transfer to Japan, where they lived from 1976 to 1979. It’s likely that the Cox household, an apartment that his parents filled with Japanese products and works of art, provided Cox with the instincts to follow in his acrylic paintings. Other factors shaping his art are the City of San Francisco and his love for music. Cox received his Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Illustration from The Savannah College of Art and Design, in Georgia. Upon his graduation, in 1998, he received the cum Laude honor and The Outstanding Achievement in Illustration Award. Dusty has applied his art degree by designing Fillmore concert posters for the following musicians: D’ Angelo, Gary Numan, George Clinton & The P-Funk Allstars, Midnight Oil, and Les Claypool. Dusty believes that, if what you do enriches the world, it is art. This can apply to cooking, photography, architecture, gardening, dressing up, hospitality, or even to the way one treats others. Anyone can be an artist, in his opinion. His goal in fine art or freelance work is to contribute to order and beauty in a world that is, at times, unstable. He lives in San Francisco, California, and at the Death Guild almost every Monday night.
STAGE CREW
~ Little Boy Blue ~
After almost a lifetime of working as a disposable cigarette lighter repairman in Europe, Bruce now lives as a hobo in the United States, traveling from state to state, juggling rats, birds and insects for food, and sometimes he can be seen doing cartwheels behind hot dog vendors. During his off season, he enjoys needlepoint work and stage managing.
