Hello Autumn, Goodbye Nook Outside Open Mic

To see the entire set, click here.

There isn't a lot of independently sponsored outdoor entertainment in Kenosha. As far as I know, there is only one place that offers it up. Begun under Tammy's stewardship and continuing under the new owner Ricky, the Nooks outdoor open mic begins around the time the summer does and closes down when the autumn hits.

All of the shows - run by Chris and Rachel - are held on the sidewalk and next door to the Nook in front of Crystal's Mens Wear. All, the shows except the last. for that Sixth Avenue is closed off between 57th and 58th. For four hours, from 6 to 10, scads of local talent rotates on and off the stage. Musicians, poets, comedians - they all take their turns, each getting his or her 5 to 7 minutes of fame.

Rachel, Chris, Ricky - thanks a lot for the last two summers. We all love the outdoor experience. Sure, we'll be to the Nook next Monday indoors. But damn, you've got to miss music served al fresco on the avenue.

The Arabesque Open House...

 To see the entire set, click on this link!

Arabesque Studio, a wonderful belly dance center in Chicago, held an Open House last week. They were nice enough to allow me to photograph the event. I hope these shots do justice to the dancers and to Ms. Sonya Blacker, the owner of the studio.

Performers, I hope you enjoy the shots. These have been sized up a bit in case you wanted to download them and use them for screen savers, photos for cards or whatever other reason.

Enjoy and above all else, keep dancin!

Oy Vey! Hiptastic is finally up!

 

to link to the website click here

 

The link above will take you to the website. From there click the Hiptastic link. That will take you to the pictures. This time they are seperated into one gallery per dance act. All acts are identified by name.
 
None of the galleries have very many photos in them. This was intentional and in response to past suggestions that I pare things down, sacrificing quantity for quality. We'll see how this goes over.

May you enjoy the photos. There's a link on the top of every page making it easy to share them with people in Facebook, MySpace, and other web 2.0 sharing sites.

To the dancers, thanks for all your hard work your great performances. Nilaja, thanks for having me. I really enjoyed the opportunity to get all snaptastic with a gaggle of bellydancers gracing the lenses.