| Gilded
Serpent presents...
Bellydance
in '70s Berkeley:
Cedar Sposato's Photo Archive
Linda
was my housemate at the time. I was living in
Berkeley, having graduated from the Syracuse
University Art School, state of New York, in
1967. The lure of California counter culture
pulled me to the West coast in 1968. I came
across the country listening to Credence Clearwater
Revival, Jim Morrison, and Inna Godda Davida
by Iron Butterfly. I was trying to get a job
in alternative television and ended up doing
boring drafting work in San Francisco; then
I finally moved to Berkeley.
In
1970, I came back from a trip back East to find
I had new housemates, Linda and Mark.
Luckily, we got along very well and soon were
living with lots of cats and dogs. It was a
very large household. Linda asked me to shoot
some photos of her for a portfolio so she could
get a job on a cruise line. This job never materialized
because the cruise boat people decided she was
too exotic looking for them! Eventually, she
moved to the East coast and I lost contact with
her.
Linda
was a member of Masha Archer's
troupe called, I think, The San Francisco
Classical Dance Company. The troupe had
a huge rehearsal space downstairs on Geary boulevard
in San Francisco. For a while, I was their troupe
photographer taking pictures of them on their
gigs. I had learned photography at the Berkeley
Adult School. These pictures where produced
in a darkroom I built myself in a garage.
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Cedar
poses with one of her favorite photos of an
unidentified dancer.
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| Poets
Coalition
Golden Gate Park in 1973 or '74
This is just an event with poetry reading.
Part of the entertainment was Masha's troupe.
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Masha, Tala,
Pepper/Alexandria behind and the
dancer is Linda,
Banner in back on lawn says "Poet's Coalition"..
Left
to right: Masha, Linda,Tala
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| Erotic
Art Museum Opening 1973
The
Erotic Art Museum was on Powell Street, near
the art museum, on the cable car track, going
up the hill past Union Square. Masha Archer's
troupe danced for opening of paintings by an
unknown artist.
My housemate, Linda, flew to Europe and then
to Morocco. She brought back suitcases full
of beautiful old jewelry and coins.
She drilled holes in the coins and
sewed them onto her costumes. |
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Tala
(Joanne) moved to Canada
and traveled with a carnival
Linda
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This
beautiful dancer had not been the troupe long
enough to be a soloist.
Masha
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Sproul
Plaza at University of California at Berkeley 1973.
Left
to right: Mark Weider, Hlemid, Rob
Colhn, Peter Frankle (behind on right)
he was ina blues’s band. Tala is
the dancer who is sitting playing zils, middle-
Alesandro Orousoff whose
mom was Italian and whose dad was from Afghanistan |
Tala
dances with the typical Turkish posture
and harem pants.
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| Tala
in front of Sproul Hall
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Tala |
A
dancer in a macrame belt.
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Miscellaneous
photos of Linda
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This
is house on channing way where we lived |
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Ready
for more?
3-22-07
The Photos of Susie Poulelis,
Sunday March 18, 2006, Rakkasah Festival, Richmond, California
Isabelle
shines at 9!
3-18-07
Circle Dance by Melina of
Daughters of Rhea
The
circle is a perfect, democratic & unending shape, the shape
of an energized community, the shape of this lovely round planet.
3-16-07
In Tribute: Rhonda/Baseema of Troupe
Ooh La La by Shabnam
There
were times she could barely walk due to a flare up of Lupus, but
she always came to rehearsal and gave a 110%--despite the pain
or trouble, she was going through that day. Rhonda soon became
the troupe mascot because of her courage and commitment. "If
Rhonda can do it, you can do it!" became our
motto. She was a great source of inspiration and motivation for
all members of Ooh La La.
3-14-07
Morgana's Animal Magnetism, Interview
with Morgana of Madrid by Surreyya
After
seeing Morgana’s Serpent Dance, where she embodies the personality
of the serpent, I was hooked. Any snake lovers or snake dancers
will have a special appreciation for this piece.
3-12-07
Islamic Architecture
by Michel Harris
Oil
wealth, along with social and political change, has threatened
Islamic culture and traditions. Therefore, many Muslim planners
and architects are reacting to this invasion of Western culture
by reasserting their Islamic heritage.
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