On the evening of Friday, September 5^th, I had the great opportunity to dance Khaliji with the Hand of Fatima Dance Tribe at the Night of Riches Concert in Las Vegas.  It was part of the kick-off of workshops and concerts that were presented and produced by Samira and her hard working staff that puts on the Annual Bellydance Intensive weekend.  It’s rare that I actually take to the stage anymore.  I look at it as a gift I get for not being a working director.  I love nothing more than to sit in the audience and soak up the comments that are made about my dancers and my choreography.   But on this night, I had to work the stage and dance a style I adore, surrounded by the dancers I love so much.  It was also to entice the crowd to come to my workshop on Sunday.  It’s not the best class to take at 8 a.m. but I am sure Samira has a good reason that she always puts my physically strenuous classes on first. 

Sunday morning I roll out of bed at 6:45 a.m. to start my day.  The Intensive has a new location, The Palace Station Casino, and I don’t have a clue what room I am booked in or what type of sound equipment I will be supplied with.  I fly down the highway to get there, find parking easily right in front (probably because no one is awake at this hour), had to be escorted to the convention area after getting lost amongst the slot machines, and made it to my room just in time.  The sound guys were there (Amira’s husband and new daddy, Dennis) and showed me a very easy boombox to use.  With so many popular dancers teaching at the same time, I was pleasantly surprised to find my class sold out and the room almost full.  Had a handful of faces I knew and a very receptive group anxious to learn.  I really enjoyed myself and felt the participants did too.

The Khaliji Class

Khaliji dance is the dance of the Persian Gulf States and Saudi Arabia using the Khaliji rhythm. The women’s costume is called a thobe nashal – an oversized overdress – which is a very full, often highly embroidered caftan. The thobe nashal is used as both costume and prop. It is a wide dress in a brilliant color elaborately adorned, especially around the neckline. No hip scarf or belt is worn. Since the dress is free-flowing due to the lack of a belt, the dancer’s movement is focused on the upper body and footwork, and includes a lovely way to toss long hair from one shoulder to the other. The dance also features lots of spins, chest drops and tossing of unbound hair from side-to-side. The huge sleeves are at times held up like a hood to frame head slides or used coquettishly like a veil.

The Girls from Calgary

Later on that afternoon, I had a really special private class with a group of women on a Girl’s Weekend Getaway/Retreat to Las Vegas from Calgary, Canada.  They wrote asking for suggestions for a restaurant with good food and a bellydancer.  I sent them my suggestions which sparked much discussion back and forth.  I told them that the LV Bellydance Intensive was all weekend and they should include it if they were coming to town, there were many activities for them to take in.  Instead they wanted me to come to Mandalay Bay Casino, to The Hotel and give them a private class in their hotel room.  I went up and found that my bellydance class was a surprise activity to most of the group.  The initial reaction was met with a little intimidation which immediately melted away.  One girl had a bad headache.  I set up my boom box, poured a heap of belts onto the floor.  They each found one to wear and away we went.  Something really wonderful happened in that room.  Maybe it was just the great intimate connection women have when they are all having fun.  I have taught so many memorable classes this year but these two will stick out in my mind for months to come.  I have to shout out with a huge THANK YOU to all of the students who make my work meaningful. 

Yours in Dance,  ~Rossah

If you want to learn more about this annual event and their other Las Vegas offerings, visit:  www.bellydanceintensive.com

We learn by ‘doing’.  And, boy, have I been learning a lot recently!  I’m learning a lot because I’m DOING a lot.  In the past few weeks I’ve finished new music, I’ve learned to write, edit and format eBooks and I’ve learned to make videos and movies – and make it all available for instant download…for everyone’s convenience.  Now, with this first issue of ‘Tales from the Reed Patch!’, I’m learning how create, develop and maintain newsletters.  Most importantly, however, I’m getting very, very clear about my intention with all of this activity.

What I am doing is bringing all of my talents and faculties together to create a life of purpose, value and meaning… to myself and others.  I have gone way out on the ‘artist’s limb’, constantly pursuing new knowledge and skill, and the means to bring it to people.  I have continually paid the price for this quest.  It has cost me dearly in terms of relationships: relationships to people, money, ’status’ and even myself.  I finally realized that I am ‘half-way across the ocean’; it would take just as much time and resources to ‘go back’.  Thus, my only choice is to persevere.  Relentlessly and without wavering.  My success will be determined by how effectively I can serve others in any way that I can… by how useful I can be…

So, let’s explore that: How useful can I be to others?  What do I have to offer and would anybody really be interested? A quick glance at my history and ’skill set’ might be in order!  

I was apparently born kicking and screaming… surely indicative of a resistance to be back here (We’ll save that topic for another issue!).  I cannot clearly recall that event, but I do know that my earliest memory was of drawing on a pink piece of paper with a red marker.  I think I was drawing my sister in her ballerina tutu.  My entire childhood was centered around me being ‘the artist’ and I so often heard that I ‘had it made’ that I believe it created some very strong assumptions in me.  

As I began to shift into music as my main creative outlet, many people were less-than-happy.  I clearly remember my high school art teacher being appalled when I declined a very nice art scholarship for college.  She was not the only one.  My Muse had shifted and I faithfully followed.  At the time I had absolutely no clue how that decision would shape the decades to come. 

My musical pursuits began on the bass guitar and led me from rock and blues to jazz and fusion, and from electric to upright acoustic.  About the time I was getting into the flute I was also beginning to study religion, philosophy and mysticism.  That eventually led to yoga, Tai-chi, Sufism and the musics associated with them.  When I first heard the Ney flute of the Eastern mystics, I heard it as a call and a path – a sanction.  Ten years ago to the day as I write this, I sold everything I had and purchased a one-way ticket to Turkey to study with ‘the Masters’…

That fateful trip altered many, many things for me.  A ‘decision of irreversible consequence’, traveling overseas opened my eyes to intentions, assumptions and expectations that I had not realized before.  The utter self-reliance I had to muster up just to wander through five countries on my quest was one thing.  The sheer terror of realizing my complete vulnerability was another.  I remember making a $300 collect call to my mother from Ankara around 3:00 AM as several men appeared on the street from nowhere and, according to all of my hyper-alert instincts and observations, had positioned themselves in a tight triangle around me… not even two feet away.  

That is when a certain ’surrender’ began to settle over me.  A ’surrender’ that I still feel very close to… in my ‘inner world’.  That ’surrender’ is only offset by the commitments and obligations that I have made to others, mainly my wife, Missy.  These are the commitments that keep me from floating off into my own rarified Never-Neverland.  It is this connection to the everyday world that I decided was my ‘work’ in this life.  It’s very easy to be holy on the mountain.  It is easy to be the ascetic and hide from the demands, lessons and growth that only ordinary life can provide.  It is very easy to hide and call it any number of lofty names.  It’s still just hiding from Life.

After that… and a long tale of coming out from under my rock, getting into percussion and dance music, then even more ‘extroverted’ music… I emerge now with a very unique bag o’ tricks!  I am one of few people in the West who makes specialty reed flutes, I am very proficient on a variety of percussion, I am a teacher(and a damn good one) of these same instruments and I play music the majority of you have never heard of.  I am plugged into online marketing, have access to information, products and techniques that very few people outside of this industry are remotely aware of (creating unbelievable leverage in areas where it is ‘new’).  I still have all my original art talent (but I’ve learned my lesson – you won’t see it until it’s IP protected and ready to go) and I have more craft skills ranging from wood to leather work, knot-work to metal work .  And I’m a damn good cook.

So, here I am.  Turning 40 in less than a week.  Decades spent chasing the Muse.  I was asked awhile back when I would stop chasing ‘empty dreams’.  The answer is simple: they are not empty dreams.  For every time someone, even some of you reading this, has told me,”Go for it,” someone else, often the same person(s), has later said,”That’s stupid…”  Well, guys, I’m delighted to have ignored all of that, held my ground and currently be movingly rapidly forward….

Thus, I am going to reintroduce myself to you now and make myself painfully clear on a few points:

My name is Jay Kruse.  You undoubtedly know me as a musician, an artist, a craftsman, a teacher… and more recently an author, a recording artist and a business owner / budding entrepreneur.  Since moving to Las Vegas a little over three years ago, many things have shifted in me and I am not only launching everything that so many of you may have been waiting and hoping for, but I am also forging ahead into, for me, very new and unknown territories.  

All of this is of course terrifying.     

I turn 40 in just a few days.  For decades I have made choices that have been based on honoring my talents, passions and skills, and pursuing a lifestyle and livelihood built upon these gifts.  I made choices in my late teens and early 20’s that I am increasingly experiencing the consequences of each and every day.  I accept that – I have little choice in the matter…

But now there is a turning point and a shift.  After years of being in a new place, being exposed to new ideas and people, I am more determined than ever to see how deep this rabbit hole goes and take the necessary steps to create the life I want for myself.

Without apology, without remorse.  

In the past three years I have shared with you many of the things I have been exposed to since moving to Vegas.   This includes music, people, food… and other things that I have found to be very useful, beneficial and even prosperous.  

I have shared with you, via other personal e-mail addresses, new ventures and products that I have come to strongly believe in and even go into to business with.  And I have been met with a lot of resistance… 

I have been laughed at…

I have been told I am wasting my time

I have been called stupid….  by some of you reading this now.

I have been called an Amway Fag by one of you reading this now…

I have had a friends, who are reading this now, vehemently chastise me for bringing to their attention something I truly believe could help them… after moaning to me about how they are feeling less well as they age….

I have had people ridicule me for trying to kick my game up a notch – as if they needed me to remain who I was from a former time and circumstance or because my growing success might somehow force them to review their own choices.

I have had, and still have, people call me to complain about their careers and livelihood… yet mock me if I even begin to offer ideas that may be able to assist them…

I just launched my greatest undertaking yet: my business of ‘me’.  

 I finally have found the pieces I have been searching for: the tools, the techniques, the strategies, the tactics.. the knowledge, wisdom and support of a variety of mentors in several areas… and my balls.  

I am using everything at my disposal to build a business that includes everything I’m gifted with and believe in to give back to the world and offer my unique talents, goods and services.   From making, selling and performing with flutes and drums to keeping people informed about the latest developments with the stem cell enhancer you have all heard me talk about.   I will share info I think is valuable.  I will give stuff away. I will sprinkle secrets where I can…

So, if you are at the least curious, or want to keep tabs on me for any reason… if you’re into trippy music and instruments… if you’re remotely intrigued by the topic of stem cell research… if you’re interested in the possibilities of marketing online.. if you’re interested in yoga and how lost I think much of it has become… if you want to know what I REALLY think about religion, UFO’s and transsexuality … if you want information on entirely different ways of looking at your relationship to money and valuing yourself… then stay tuned.  Join me and let’s explore this freak-show we call Life.  The clock is ticking..!   

I hope this finds you well and I look forward to hearing from you!

Peace,

J

**********************************

Jay Kruse

“You get what you settle for.”

www.jaykruse.com

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Author with Rossah

In the lead up to this years conference there was one refrain that kept being circulated amongst the participants- “Rossah is coming… If you do nothing else, you have to take a class with her.” So I pre-registered for her sold out classes, and I was so glad I did.

It almost feels redundant to think of these words as a testimonial, because under Rossah’s tutelage the room where she introduced us to guedra literally became a testimony. She took her time to explain to us the weight of the rituals we were participating in, and by the time my first class with her was over some students had been moved to tears!  It was truly a beautiful experience- the perfect mix of a physical workout and spiritual expression.

I also took Tunisian jug dance with her, another class I would highly recommend. Rossah has a sincere love for this dance that radiates from her core. Her energy set the tone for the session in a way that was wonderfully encouraging for all of us.

Bellydance is such a deeply layered discipline… instructors are not merely teachers, but rather conveyors of sacred traditions. Rossah handles this trust that has been placed in her with the greatest of care. Please do yourself the favor of learning from this woman- it’s inspiring, instructive and a blast for all ages and all levels!

-Shani

NOTE FROM ROSSAH:  The photo of Shani with me at the top of the page was taken during the Tunisian Gourd class.  In all of my 35 years of attending bellydance events, this was one of THEE BEST I have ever attended.  I felt such a profound respect and supportive atmosphere resounding from the participants throughout the Festival which I have never seen so abundantly before.  It was well conducted and I can’t sing their praises loud enough.  For more about the amazing Dr. Sunyatta Amen and BOCA Soul-Yoga Fest, please visit:  http://www.gomamasita.com/

“I was very impressed with your style of teaching and the guedra itself. I would like to learn more extensively from you.  What you taught us that day was artistically profound because of the simplicity and tenderness of the movements. I have conducted guedra’s for my family since meeting you and am proud to say, they are empowering.  Peace and Love!”      Shahidah Bey

“Rossah, I really loved your class during the Bellydance Festival in Maryland. It’s so wonderful to learn from teachers such as yourself who have so much knowledge and patience! I had a lot of fun and you created a wonderful atmosphere that brought in the full essence of the festival. “       -Melissa

People write me all the time looking to find a class near them, where the next events are going to be in Las Vegas, or where to find dinner and a bellydancer.  I’ve written this for those looking for information. 

Class Locations

If you are visiting, new to town, or are looking to find a local class, send an email to subscribe_LVBellydancers@yahoogroups.com.  A moderator will approve you and you can locate classes in the calendar or in the database of teacher’s folders on the site. (Don’t forget the underscore between subscribe and LV)

Performance Locations:

 If you are looking for somewhere to enjoy BELLYDANCE in town:

Ali Baba’s-8826 S. Eastern Ave. Las Vegas, NV 89123, (702) 688-4182

Almaza-9890 S. Maryland Pkwy, Las Vegas, NV 89123, (702) 450-1030

Greek Village Café- 9500 S Eastern Ave, Henderson, NV 89052 (702)405-0065

Chandelier’s- 2980 St. Rose Parkway, Henderson, NV 89052 (702)456-8643

Khoury’s- 6115 S Fort Apache Rd, Las Vegas, NV 89148, (702) 671-0005

Layalina’s-6870 Spring Mtn. Rd. 702/227-6776

Hedary’s Mediterrean Grill-7365 W. Sahara 702/873-9041 

Habib’s- 4750 W. Sahara 702/870-0860

Olive-3850 E Sunset 702/451-8805 

Opa Greek Restaurant-2550 S. Rainbow 702/876-3737

The Marrakech Restaurant, 3900 Paradise Road, 702/737-5611
Dinner Reservations recommended.

If I’ve missed a location or have posted incorrect info, please let me know!