Usually, her sins are of a sexual nature -- Dina's costumes tend to show off enough skin to make the Sahar Okasha stuff look downright prudish (ironic, given the origins of that line...). But here I am, watching a Dina video, and, well, she pulls off both "sexy", "coqettish", "fairy", and "painful", all in the same look.
And you can look, if you DARE:
And
I confess, what really shook me up was the back. As painful as the
front was, I could take it...goodness knows, she's done worse...but
this:
takes "WTF, Dina?" to new levels, in my opinion.No, your eyes have not failed you. Those are, indeed, Gold Lamé Fairy Wings, Ladies and Gentlemen.
The horror...the horror...
I don't know if this is the future. I don't even know if the two friends I mention are, or ever will be, interested in making the future I mention happen. Yet I do think there is a way to make ATS, and all it's offshoots, more than just the "other side" of Raqs Shaqri, and that both are enriched when that occurs.
Anyway, what I wrote:
Herewith some video of musicians and dancers at the last Society for Creative Anachronism event I attended, A Day in the Middle East in Maryland:
Yes, my focus was to video the musicians -- they rarely get anything specific to them, and it's grand to have all that music available to dance to! Also, I was quite tuckered out by that point, so not only did I not dance, but many others were tuckered out by that point as well. In fact, you can hear many of them in the background...sorry about that. :(
And I'm going to disappoint them, by charging for classes. Understand -- as someone who's run classes at Pennsic for years now, there's few people who are a stronger booster of the ideals of SCA teaching. The tradition of giving selflessly to others so they might learn your trade is a powerful concept.
The issue I take with it, is simply that I wish to teach for a cadre of folks who want to be deeply, and passionately, involved in the dance. And to ensure this occurs, this takes charging a fee.
Seth Godin has the right of it, indeed:
My friend Joel dropped me a note and asked why I was asking people to post a deposit (to be returned at the end of the summer). It felt wrong to him. I wrote back,When I do a non profit seminar (they're always free), the number of people who say, "yes I'm coming" and the number of people who come is not the same.
So, if I have room for ten, do I do a seminar for eight, or do I book 12 seats and play airline seat manager for the day?
I have no doubt, none, that if it were free, at least one person wouldn't show.
That got me thinking about free music, free samples and other free interactions. They're different. Paying a dollar for a song isn't expensive to anyone who pays $3 for a cup of coffee. The dollar isn't about expense, it's about selection and choice and commitment.
There is no commitment, one way or the other, for free. If applying to college were free, the number of schools people would apply to would approach infinity--yet the cost of the application is trivial compared to the cost of tuition.
Free costs. If people aren't committing something -- energy, time, money -- they tend to stray. I can't ask for a deposit (not giving it back would do even more damage to my rep), so I'm simply going to charge a fair, non-undercutting fee. The nay-sayers will balk, yet I'll get the students, and the class, that will be awesome!
What say you? I know "don't teach for free" is the Conventional Wisdom, but do you find it to be true? Is there another approach you think might work better for me?
Looks like her exotic looks have put her in a "bellydance" outfit again:
Obviously, Mrs. Douglas is doomed to a lifetime of being typecast as "that bellydancer-looking chick". I have no clue how she'll break out of that shell. * Tall, strong, cute, smart. Mike D is a damned lucky man.
