ShimmySTL:The Surprising History of Bellydance in St. Louis
Thank you all for agreeing to work together on this show! We’re so proud to have this grant and this opportunity to present our art to the city of St. Louis!
On this page:
Important: Performer Notes
Tech: We have the theater from 5:30pm on the night of the show. Please arrive early if you can! Here’s the schedule for groups to have a little stage time for blocking:
| Lunar Fusion | 5:30-5:40 |
| Mystic Sands | 5:40-5:50 |
| Aalims | 5:50-6:00 |
| Tandava | 6:00-6:10 |
| Hipnotique Fan veils | 6:10-6:20 |
| Hipnotique (70s) | 6:20-6:30 |
Call time: 6:30 (if you’re not in one of the group numbers above)
Getting Ready: There’s a dressing room backstage that we’ll all share.
Box office opens at 5:30
Backstage: Lineup will be posted in the dressing room. Please be in the wings two numbers before your own. Snacks and food are allowed backstage.
No glitter! The venue hates sparkly fun. They will charge you a $300 fine if you leave glitter behind in the dressing room or onstage. They made no mention of sequins though!
Curtain call: Please come backstage during the final number for curtain call. An order will be posted and Lisa will be there to help guide everyone onstage — we’ll keep this moving fast!
Payment: The rate of pay will depend on ticket sales, but we will be sharing profits between all the acts. There will be more pay than we usually have for this kind of show, thanks to the grant from Regional Arts Commission!
Watching the show: We love community shows where we get to dance for each other! But professional staged shows are a different beast, with higher expenses and limited seating.
Unfortunately, we can’t provide seats in the audience for a cast this size and still cover our costs. Performers will need to remain backstage (although you may buy a ticket if you want a seat for the parts of the show you’re not in).
Video/Viewing Party: We have a professional videographer (thanks, grant funds!) When we get the final video, we’ll have a viewing party so we can all finally see the show!
Helper Habibis: The theater is providing box office & lighting people, but we’ll need help setting up before the show (arrive at 5:30) and cleaning up after. We appreciate your support! Closing the show: The show will end at 9:00, and we have to be out at 9:30! So hug your guests in the lobby QUICKLY after the show and the help clear out the dressing room, OR be packed up and ready to go when the show ends.
After party: There will be an afterparty at Small Batch ( a few blocks from the theater on Locust). You’re welcome to invite friends/audience members. Lisa has reserved the entire mezzanine for us. They only serve food until 10, so if you want food order right away. They’re also only open until 11, so this will be a brief gathering. :D. (no place nearby is open any later.)
The Venue
The .Zack is a black box theater.
We’ll be using only the front area of the stage (in front of the curtain in this photo – those boxes won’t be there!) in order to utilize the screen between numbers, so we’ll be performing on a wide but very narrow stage.
The performance area dimensions (between the columns) are 5’4″ deep by 15’8′ wide. The full width of the stage is 26′.
My best attempt to mark up the photo — I wish we had a good pic of the theater without all that junk in front of the stage!
It is possible to enter the audience by descending the stairs on stage left.
The primary entrance to the stage is stage left, however it’s possible to enter from either side.
The theater holds 200 people.
Creating your performance
This is a “modular” show, with an individual soloist or troupe responsible for each scene., but all the scenes need to come together to make a cohesive show.
I’ll share with you the background information we’ll be using to set the stage for your number, so you know what you’re bringing to life onstage.
Within that context, I trust you to develop your own scene in your personal style, as far as music choice, costume selection, choreo or improv, etc. However, I’ll ask you to communicate with me about your choices so I can be sure everything fits well together. I appreciate you getting your music selection to me as early as possible so I know how the timing works.
As far as content, we want to balance being true to the history with presenting a dance performance that is entertaining to our 2025 audience (and true to you as a performer).
We’d love to see a 100% authentic historic re-enactment, if that excites you. But you’re also welcome to do a more creative interpretation of the theme. I think the audience will appreciate both, and a balance of the two throughout the show will be fun!
Ideally, choose music that is 3-4 minutes in length and send it to lotuslauren@gmail.com ASAP, along with a full-body photo of you (or your group) ASAP
After Party!
Please plan on staying for an afterparty! We’re still working out exactly where it’ll be, but hopefully within walking distance of the theater.
I’m expecting this show to sell out, which means there probably won’t be room for the cast to watch the show. But the after party should be a blast. I’ll do my best to capture a video so you can all see the show later.
The Lineup
| Segment | Performer |
| 1904 World’s Fair | Lynn |
| Salomania | Ami Amore |
| Hoochie Coochie | Rose “Wardah” |
| Gaslight Square | Lauren Zehara |
| 70’s Dancers | Dance Hipnotique |
| Simone Prouty | Salwa |
| Simone’s 7th Veil | Aalims Bellydance |
| Somra El Nubia | Somra El Nubia |
| INTERMISSION | |
| Rennaissance Fair (sp?) | Mystic Sands Bellydance Fusion |
| 2000s Restaurant Scene | Stephanie of Belly Dace Mirage |
| Egyptian Style | Noelani |
| FCBD/American Tribal Style | Tandava BellyDance |
| Tribal Fusion | Lunar Fusion |
| Shaabi/mMahraganat | Amber Skye |
| Theatrical Belly Dance | Dance Hipnotíque |
| Curtain Call | Everyone |
Promotional Materials
Please feel free to share any of the links, graphics, or videos below! I also have paper flyers – let me know if you can help me circulate those!
Links to share
- Ticket link: https://www.metrotix.com/events/detail/shimmy-stl
- Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/984395183601778
- Event web page: https://dancehipnotique.com/shimmystl/
Promo video (on Youtube):
Social media graphics (download or copy and share!)
