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-------Some Vital Stats and Bellydance Deets-------
Name:
Sharon Moore
Nickname(s)?
"Shay" - given to me by my husband
How long have you been dancing?
Been dancing all my life! I was a gymnast and jazz dancer from when I was bout 7 or 8, and have taken just about every classical dance form at one time or another. Bellydancing since 1999.
What was your first bellydance class like?
It was a small class, only about five or six dancers a week, and it seemed like it was never the same students attending each week. My teacher was lovely and inspiring and seemed so exotic and cool and untouchable. It was in a basement studio with black Marley floors, and I remember that felt cozy in the winter but dark in the summer. I remember making myself a pair of black cotton pantaloons and wearing them every single week--it felt so fun just to put them on and go dance.
What other kinds of performing have you done in your life?
Again, I am a mixed bag. I was active in theater since I was little (community theater, wrote and starred in my own school plays in elementary school and middle school, etc), as well as involved with school choirs from 7th-11th grade. I still have fond memories of playing Frenchy in Grease and Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz in high school. I was a cheerleader and then on dance/drill in high school as well. I sang lead in a garage band for a couple years in college, and performed with the New Savoy Opera for a production of The Mikado as a chorus member and dancer. Those are my fave highlights. And these days in addition to bellydance, I also perform burlesque. Always a performer!
What is your favorite inFusion Tribal memory?
Looking across the stage at Tribal Quest NW and seeing all my sisters in one direction, and seeing Paulette and Gypsy Caravan in the other direction. That was a moment of crowning glory for me--to have all my beloved "family" on stage together!
What is your most embarrassing performance experience?
I admit that, sometimes, there seems to be some kind of alternate-reality stage-whore Sharon hiding deep within me. I met her when she once reared her head... We were a headlining act at a local bellydance competition, and I had a short solo in one part of our performance. I came shimmying forward and, dropping out of my body somehow, I saw myself as from above, gesturing to the audience to clap louder for me. I even did the whole, "I can't hear you!" cupping the hand to the ear thing. I literally was watching myself do this from somewhere outside myself, thinking, "What are you DOING?!" My troupies still tease me about that ego-maniacal Sharon today.
What is your favorite costume piece?
Being a costumer, this is a tough one. And it changes kind of seasonally. Right now I am in love with some hip scarves I made for myself from really pretty stretch fabrics, and my really wide, studded, faux leather belts I got from Target. I have to stop myself from wearing them all the time! My students have to watch my ass all night, so I try to mix it up for them. LOL
Name three dancers or troupes, past or present, who have inspired you in your dance journey.
It's hard to keep it to three!
Without a doubt, my biggest influence was and continues to be Gypsy Caravan and Paulette Rees-Denis. Paulette is my mentor and Dance Mamma.
One of my first dance teachers, Aleili, not only taught me a lot about staging and creativity, but was the way I met Renee and eventually created inFusion Tribal together!
And of course, FatChanceBellyDance continues to impress me with their professionalism, grace, and power.
What is your biggest struggle in your dance life?
Balance. It is easy to be consumed by the dance, but I have to keep other things in my life in focus, too. I have to pry myself away from my intense dance focus to make sure I don't burn out. It's like a drug sometimes--just the right amount is a salve to the soul. But too much of just about anything can be bad for you! So I have to keep an eye on how I am balancing my energies.
In what ways has bellydancing influenced your everyday life?
Completely and utterly. It is my life's passion, and most everything else revolves in some way around it.
My favorite influence was on my public speaking. I was always great at reciting or singing lines given to me, but speaking extemporaneously was often disastrous. Teaching dance has made me learn to speak freely and confidently in front of crowds.
What are you doing when you're not bellydancing?
I design web pages and create costumes as side-jobs. I love being crafty and creative--knitting, drawing, and self-teaching myself various artsy skills that change every week. I like watching movies, and playing video games --like Guitar Hero and *coughworldofwarcraftcough*-- and board games.
You're at a party. You're trying to briefly tell a fellow partygoer about tribal bellydance and why you do it. Go.
It's not the typical sequin-clad, flirty, Hollywoodized dance you think of when you hear bellydance. It's an American invention, actually--really funky and earthy, it's roots coming from bellydance, but blended with dances from India, Spain, and North Africa. We do group improvisation, so it looks choreographed, but it's actually being made up on the spot. Ya gotta see it, cuz it's impossible to explain! It's really exciting.
When you were little, what did you say you wanted to be when you grew up?
An author and an actress. Then I said maybe a doctor, but I think I said that mostly to try and impress my parents. But always always the plan was to be a performer. It worked out, I guess!
Look at your iTunes/iPod—what is your top three most played songs?
An old Sirrocco tune I don't know the name of is at the top, because it was my last solo piece. So it kinda can't count since I listened to it about a thousand times a day to rehearse. After that comes:
"Little L" by Jamiroquai
"Complicated Melody" by India Arie
"Silent House" by Crowded House
What's your favorite snack?
CHEEEESE! OH YES! CHEESE! Specifically a triple cream blue cheese from Germany called Montagnolo! On rosemary crackers. Dayum.
Do you have a favorite quote or personal maxim?
I actually love quotes, cuz 'm kind of a word-hound, so I have a new favorite all the time. But the universal knowledge that sustains me is that every trial in life teaches us something--strife and struggle molds us and creates us constantly, and is what makes joy so poignant when we find it.
"We could never learn to be brave and patient, if there were only joy in the world. ~ Helen Keller"
And the eternal question: chicken or the egg?
Often, the fun is in asking the questions, and not always in knowing the answers....
