Two women with Yorkton ties; Lindsay Perry and Krista Vandermeulen, recently attended the annual Las Vegas Bellydance Intensive and Festival which is held each fall in the Nevada city.
The event takes place over four days each and includes several hours of workshops, a festival, souk shopping, a ‘So You Think You Can Bellydance Contest’, and two evening ‘Pro Shows’.
This year, the ladies submitted a written application and an online video audition in hopes of being invited to perform on the Pro Show Stage.
In April, Vandermeulen and Perry learned that their audition was accepted; the ladies went straight to work with choreography and costumes in preparation for their performance Sept. 11.
“The Pro-Show is where the headliners and workshop leaders prove why they are professionals through their extraordinary performances,” Perry explained. “It is the pinnacle of the weekend; we needed our piece to meet the caliber of what we have seen at the Pro Show in the past. The pressure was really on.”
Vandermeulen said being part of the Pro Show was a step they wanted to take after experiencing the Las Vegas even for a few years.
“We simply attended for the first time in 2011, and with the sole purpose of learning new things from new people and being exposed to different styles,” she explained. “The festival attracts world renowned, famous dancers. It is humbling to see such a high calibre of dance from these people, to meet them, learn from them, and watch them perform first hand is incredible. It’s what keeps us going back year after year – it keeps us creative, it helps us continue to have fresh new ideas to share with the participants out our own studio.”
Performing in Las Vegas was another level of involvement though.
What was that experience like as dancers? LP
“Given that we have been dancing for 12 years, we have performed hundreds of times,” noted Perry. “But having light/sound checks, a proper make-up room, a green room stocked with refreshments, and professional photographers/videographers on site was a new side of the experience for us.
“The Isis Wings are a bellydance prop that have kind of become our hallmark; people ask to see them all the time. So we decided to share our Isis Wings dance piece in Vegas; it was received exceedingly well.”
Perry said it was the feedback which was most gratifying.
“The number one comment we got was how unique we are. We couldn’t believe it, but there were numerous people asking us if we were leading workshops in Vegas – they wanted to learn from us. It was such a thrill to hear the boom of the applause. I think it might have been the pinnacle of our dance careers. It was such a surreal, amazing moment for both of us.”
That the pair could share the experience made it even more special.
“Krista and I have been attached at the hip since early childhood,” said Perry. “We are kindred spirits, have always done things together; we are great business partners because my strengths are her weaknesses and vice versa. Our favourite way to dance is as a duet, solos are fun, group performances are fun, but our duets are just an awesome time.”
The connection the pair have has its roots in Yorkton.
“We both attended the Yorkton Regional High School; neither of us took part in after school programs — I was a waitress at Smitty’s and Lindsay worked at Wendy’s all through high school,” said Vandermeulen, adding they maintain a connection here. “All of our extended family was in very close proximity to Yorkton, like within a two-hour radius.”
The friendship continued after high school, eventually seeing the pair move to Alberta where they would go into business together.
“Immediately after high school (1999), I moved to Medicine Hat for the Visual Communications Degree Program. At the time, the MHC was one of the only post-secondary education options for people wanting a career in fine arts or graphic design,” said Vandermeulen. “Lindsay attended the U of S (University of Saskatchewan), between 2001-2003 then moved to Medicine Hat and achieved a Marketing Diploma in 2005.
“My high school sweetheart moved here to be with me. We were married in 2004. And Lindsay met her spouse here, married in 2007. Now, between our two families out here in Medicine Hat, we have four little boys (mine are 9 and 3, Lindsay’s are 6 and 4). We unintentionally put some deep roots here.”
While both have careers, they also operate a dance studio focused on bellydancing.
“Both of us have part time work. Krista is a graphic designer for a publication called ‘the Experts’. After trying the full-time-working-mom thing as a Marketing Manager for a condo developer, I decided to make a change after having my second child,” said Perry. “Now I am an Executive Administrative Assistant for physician with Alberta Health Services.
“We both also instruct morning and evening classes (aqua fitness through a contract our business has with the City of Medicine Hat and bellydance, out of our studio here in town.”
The duo has long held an interest in dance, if not initially bellydancing.
Perry, said while they had an interest “we never had the opportunity to take part in traditional styles like jazz or ballet. We just couldn’t make the time commitment outside of school all those years ago — aside from organ lessons.
“Instead, we were flag girls with the marching band. We were both part of the Yorkton Marching Band 100, and went to Pasadena for the Rose Bowl Parade. It was big news back in 1998.”
So how did they suddenly to take on learning to bellydance?
“Back in 2003, someone left a flyer on a restaurant table before I sat down … it was advertising beginner bellydance at a place called the ‘Dance Connection’, and I decided to drag Lindsay along to the first class. Who knew that it would be a life changing day?” said Vandermeulen.
“It wasn’t really hard, no,” agreed Perry. “Given that we were with each other learning the basics, and we both had a background in music and counting, it wasn’t a huge leap to start something new like bellydancing.”
And they were hooked from day one.
“We loved it,” said Vandermeulen. “We couldn’t get enough of it. We wanted to move on from the basic movements and into the choreography right away; we wanted the coins, the costumes, the make-up, the big hair.
“And a huge, huge part of the appeal is the bond you form with the people you dance with.”
Fortunately, it was not that difficult to grasp a basic understanding of the dance style.
“Anybody can do the basics - you don’t need previous dance experience, and it is completely empowering, not to mention the costumes are fantastically glittery,” said Vandermeulen.
In time the pair would buy the business renaming it Tone Fitness and Dance Ltd.
Of course not everything about bellydancing comes easily. Like any dance style it requires practice and discipline.
“When asked what the most challenging aspect of belly dancing was? Perry said that depends on perspective.
I think it depends on who you ask,” she said. “Many would say that it’s layering movements — a shimmy with a hip slide while doing snake arms and chest pops all at the same time, for example).
“But as an instructor observing my participants, I would mention that many women take a fair bit of time finding the confidence to lift their chin, project a proud powerful energy and really own what they are doing while performing.
“It all depends on why a person dances though. Some people do it for exercise, others do it for the camaraderie, others do it to have one thing for themselves, others do it because they enjoy performing.
“The challenge is different for people, depending on their purpose for dancing.”
Of course it’s another step to take dancing from a studio to a public stage, especially one like that in Las Vegas.
It’s one thing to dance in a class, but another to dance in public? How hard was that step to take?
“Yes, the dance environments made a huge difference, but in bellydance, there are usually a couple of different ways to perform publicly,” said Perry. “Being on a stage wasn’t too bad. We’ve all been on a stage for middle school Christmas concerts, etc.
But bellydancers often end up performing at the same level as the audience; say at a restaurant, amongst the diners.
“And those times, we are often freelancing, no choreographed movements, just dancing to the flow of random music.
“That was a tougher adjustment the first few times, but it’s something that we really enjoy doing now.”
Vandermeulen said she certainly remembers their first public dance.
“Our first time was on a stage at the public library here; it was a great first-time venue, it wasn’t too intimidating,” she said. “Our ‘costumes’ were very basic, broom skirts from Value Village, with a black tank top and a coin belt. A far cry from the Turkish or Egyptian beaded masterpieces we now wear, and make.”
And then there is the element of bellydancing and its obvious sensual connotations, something husbands, family and friends might have reactions to.
“We actually laugh about this,” said Perry. “For the hubbies, we are just part of the scenery now.
“But yes, there is that connotation.
“People don’t realize that bellydance was created by women for women, a big part of it was to help women prepare for child birth.
“Our western culture has sensualized it, and we are careful to keep our choreography and combinations classy. Medicine Hat is pretty used to seeing us around; our style is far more dramatic and theatrical than overtly sensual.”
So what’s next in terms of their dancing after the experiences of owning their own studio, and dancing in Vegas”
“At this point, I don’t know that we can top where we have been and what we have done in terms of performing,” said Perry.
“As far as learning goes, some day, when the kids are older and we have a bit more freedom, it would be great to attend a bellydance retreat; they occur around the world, but the one we are really interested in takes place in Switzerland.
“Locally, we have both branched out into designing new styles of bellydance. Krista does tremendous work in ‘Fusion’, a dark, gritty, intriguing side of bellydance, and I have created a style new to Medicine Hat that I named ‘Belly Blender’ a bright mixture of styles danced to more modern styled music.
“As long as we can keep generating interest and keep our creativity flowing, we will consider our careers in the dance-world a success.”
