We honor each other through tribute

Every dancer has people in their lives that they are so amazed that they have the privilege of dancing with. The ladies of TaKaNa are some of the very best dancers in New England . When I formed TaKaNa and asked them to dance with me I have to say I was as giddy as a child when each and every one of them said "yes"!! It all started with the first Metal show I roped Thalia into (Come on she said, it will be fun she said) and Thalia said YES. It was beyond fun and I saw another  side of her dance that awed me even more.  She is inspiring for everyone who sees her and is one of the most versatile dancers I know. 

Then Talise who, to my surprise, approached me at a show saying "We should dance together.".  So began a lifetime friendship with and amazing dancer and person.  All the while inside I was doing the "Happy Dance" to know I would be dancing with such an amazing dancer!!  When Thalia agreed to join us in TaKaNa it was a dream coming together for me. Go forward a few shows and I see this amazing Goddess in a skirt, Anathema Steele, dancing at a show. Totally out of my league I figure but hey , what have I got to lose... Soon she was the fourth and final member of TaKaNa . In my eyes, she was perfection, her dark mysterious twirling beauty, like a fine porcelain doll! I asked myself every day... How did I get to dance with this perfect group of dancers who were amazing beyond belief?... I do not have the answer, I may never have the answer... but, I will be forever grateful to these amazing dancers for seeing something in me that made them agree to dance with me. The group was amazing, totally outside everyone's comfort zone, as creative as it could be when it came to my thirst for theatrical and "outside the box" belly dance! Covid intervened and pulled us apart but I dream on day of dancing with each one of them again and rekindling the magic that was TaKaNa !!!   

My next tributes are to my sisters in Ammalilia Lotus, Ammalina and Dalia!! Ammalina, a dear friend, who I dragged to a show one day, she was totally unprepared but within hours we were on the stage together with a new duet! A combination of our names and inspiration from some Lotus Flowers I received that day. We both held the secret of wanting to dance together, and like the soap opera that dances around the words that need to be spoken, it seemed to take forever until... one day we finally did it.  She was the Mother to my Crone. Then several months later I met a student with a thirst to learn and dance. It was once again perfection, we had our Maiden! Dalia was the young innocent ( maybe not so innocent ) Maiden that completed our Triple Goddess. Once again the Blessing flowed into my dance life!  

PSYbel, my amazing students who allow me to watch their first clumsy steps in dance through to the time they blossom into the beautiful dance flowers they have become. They laugh at my mistakes...with me of course, without judging or expecting perfection from me, they put up with all my "I have a great idea!" moments and take things in stride. They share their creative energies with me and I am forever amazed at how much THEY teach me. They are a Blessing in my life that I will be forever grateful for!   

Lastly, my Husband, Dylan, videographer for the belly dance community  because of a wife that bugged him to get a video of her. Soon a friend and then another friend and so on and so on until he was doing video of every show. Branching into video for friends in  Flow Arts, Burlesque, Drag Kings and Drag Queens.... he became as much staple of the community as he was in my life. Of course the next step was a belly dancing wife who had a vision of a duet with her Flow Arts husband . Soon we were dragging him into so many of our shows.  

No dancer is an Island unto themselves, they have channels that flow from their souls that reach out and touch others souls in an intricate pattern of creation with the uniqueness of a snowflake or a spider web. I am so honored to have the opportunity to acknowledge all these special people in my dance life.  

All my love,

Kalilia

When contemplating a tribute page I tried to think of some of the really important people around belly dance in my life. As I looked through pictures and videos to make decisions I quickly realized one thing. I had photos and videos to look through. I have been incredibly blessed to have had photos taken by some of the best photographers in the New England area. I am not talking about just professional paid photo shoots, though they are amazing opportunities. I have had opportunities with the best such as Carrie Meyer and Jayna Lloyd to mention a couple. I am talking about the Professional Photographers who have spent endless hours at shows, taking thousands of photos  to find the few really great ones and then gifting those photographs to the dancers . Many of the photos on my page are taken by wonderful friends at shows, but just as many are taken by these Professional Photographers and gifted to me for use as I needed.   

Some of the names that quickly come to mind are Bruce Mount, Danyel Deboise Stapleton, Bill D'Agostino, Pam Ella  and James Lastowski. You may never realize how many pictures it takes for those ten good ones, you only see the great photos. None of us get to see the hours and hours of looking through photo after photo for just the right one. We might see them lurking around at shows, trying to stay out of the way, while they twist themselves in all shapes to get the perfect picture of us . Yes we thank them, not with money ( they won't take it ) , but with a kind word and a grateful smile. Imagine how bland this page would be without the amazing photographs, colors , and contrast that these trained eyes have  blessed me with, and so many other dancers with.  

So the next time you see a beautiful dancer in a photograph by all means tell her or him how awesome they look but be sure and send compliments to the photographer for the amazing job they have done in capturing  just the right moment !

All my appreciation for your talent and hard work,

Kalilia