Second place!
Yes, I placed second in my first competition. It was a tiny stage, smaller than I was expecting. My music skipped in the middle and I had to hurry to catch up. There was no backstage, so instead of my dramatic entrance I had to stand off to the side in front of the audience waiting to go on.
Despite all these issues, I did have fun. I met some neat people and got to flirt with some well-known judges (Amy Sigil of Unmata, Una, some others). The girl that beat me seemed to be quite good; I don't begrudge the judging at all. I received an Egyptian statue that looks a little like my Noma with earrings. :)
And today I received my judge comments. Ahem:
"hair a bit distracting"
"would have liked to see some costuming into hair or arms"
"bring costuming up to head -- hair band?"
"nice costume. Accessories? Jewelry?"
"hair a little messy"
Well shit! If I'd known all I needed to be the world's most perfect belly dancer is a fucking headband, I would have skipped this and gone straight to Belly Dancer of the Universe! *laugh* But now I know for next year.
Seriously though, between you and me, I'm just a bit bummed. I mean, I never went into this to win, so take this with a grain of salt. But I came in second. It's great that I placed in my first competition, and I'm getting some name recognition out there, and I met some neat people and danced for some judges I really admire and I had fun. But on the other hand, this was a small competition in its first year. It was 30-40 miles away from me, and I was one of the contestants from furthest away. And I was in the novice category. So ultimately I couldn't even win a tiny regional competition in the noob category. I wish I hadn't thought of it that way -- it hurts a little bit, but it also makes me feel petty for even having the thought in the first place. And I was really looking forward to the judges' comments to know what I needed to work on for the future, but all they tell me is that I should do something with my hair? Come on.
Really though, it was fun, and now I've experienced the competition scene. I do think this has been good for me. I'm glad I got it out of the way before my foot surgery on July 23 (side note: I have to have foot surgery on July 23, which will take me out of dancing for about two months). After that it is ON!
First the headband, THEN THE UNIVERSE!
Yes, I placed second in my first competition. It was a tiny stage, smaller than I was expecting. My music skipped in the middle and I had to hurry to catch up. There was no backstage, so instead of my dramatic entrance I had to stand off to the side in front of the audience waiting to go on.
Despite all these issues, I did have fun. I met some neat people and got to flirt with some well-known judges (Amy Sigil of Unmata, Una, some others). The girl that beat me seemed to be quite good; I don't begrudge the judging at all. I received an Egyptian statue that looks a little like my Noma with earrings. :)
And today I received my judge comments. Ahem:
"hair a bit distracting"
"would have liked to see some costuming into hair or arms"
"bring costuming up to head -- hair band?"
"nice costume. Accessories? Jewelry?"
"hair a little messy"
Well shit! If I'd known all I needed to be the world's most perfect belly dancer is a fucking headband, I would have skipped this and gone straight to Belly Dancer of the Universe! *laugh* But now I know for next year.
Seriously though, between you and me, I'm just a bit bummed. I mean, I never went into this to win, so take this with a grain of salt. But I came in second. It's great that I placed in my first competition, and I'm getting some name recognition out there, and I met some neat people and danced for some judges I really admire and I had fun. But on the other hand, this was a small competition in its first year. It was 30-40 miles away from me, and I was one of the contestants from furthest away. And I was in the novice category. So ultimately I couldn't even win a tiny regional competition in the noob category. I wish I hadn't thought of it that way -- it hurts a little bit, but it also makes me feel petty for even having the thought in the first place. And I was really looking forward to the judges' comments to know what I needed to work on for the future, but all they tell me is that I should do something with my hair? Come on.
Really though, it was fun, and now I've experienced the competition scene. I do think this has been good for me. I'm glad I got it out of the way before my foot surgery on July 23 (side note: I have to have foot surgery on July 23, which will take me out of dancing for about two months). After that it is ON!
First the headband, THEN THE UNIVERSE!
Labels: belly dance
