one week to go!

Surgery is next week.

I'm starting to feel a little rushed but am trying to keep it together and get things done.
My medical expenses fundraiser is creeping up bit by bit, but there's still far to go. Please share it with your friends, it's sure to help!
There are trades and incentives for donations - from books to videos to online coaching!

I am SO looking forward to having two working hips again!

Anthea Kawakib
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HERE WE GO AGAIN!

I've started on the road to a hip replacement, again.

But, under slightly different circumstances than before...

Four years ago at this time, I was a month out from surgery and enjoying life again! Hospital, doctor, physical therapy and other medical bills were coming in and we were paying them, no problem. 

How different things are now: unless we get crowdfunding to pay for this surgery, I'll be limping around forever. That's harsh. 

This hip, my left one, is going bad faster than the other one did; and I know I don't want to suffer like that again. I've started the process to get surgery in just a few weeks (in early June), so I can be fully recuperated before winter. I'm so looking forward to dancing again!!! 

So all I can focus on now is this crowdfunding project: Anthea's Hip
Please share this with your network and friends - you never know who can help!

In the last few years I've seen other artists crowdfund their artistic projects, like DVDs, books, even tours, and thought, "wow - I could've done that for my booklets, videos, and audio cds - why didn't I think of that!?" 
I would've never thought of that - but it DID inspire to start a project like that to help me pay for this operation; since our insurance is about as useful as my hip is now! If you want the gory details our crappy insurance, it's on that site above, and I'm posting updates there too.

If you have any suggestions, comments, or ideas, please let me know!

Project THR fundraiser

Anthea Kawakib
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rust never sleeps...

   Performing brings a dancer so many challenges to overcome: bad bosses, crappy performance spaces, listless audiences, costume malfunctions, the list goes on and on. Aging brings even more challenges to dancers who find themselves using equipment that's disintegrating. That sounds horrible but that's the reality of our material bodies.
   Adrenaline usually takes care of most aches and pains during a performance, but the same can't be said about rehearsing - that's where you usually feel it. Winter weather really brings out the aches and pains too, especially if you have arthritis as I do, so I find myself skimming through my own dance practise at times, or else I'll be too sore for teaching. I know my moves aren't the same when I'm trying to "not hurt", for instance I give my performance on New Year's Eve a rating of 7 on a scale of 1 - 10. The moves could've been bigger, but I was trying not to hurt. At least I'm out there dancing at age 57. I'm happy that I feel able to not only disclose my age now (something I wouldn't do while dancing in restaurants), but celebrate it. You don't get 20+ years of experience by magic, you get it by aging - so let's hear it for growing older!

"I'm 50 and I like to KICK!"* (Actually I'm almost 58)

This is where bellydance is certainly different from most other dance forms. You won't see any older ballerinas performing - but in bellydancing, we keep going.
And I know that if I DIDN'T keep bellydancing, it would be even worse for my body. When I feel the accumulated aches and pains of my dance career, that thought keeps me going. As the saying goes, "rust never sleeps". Besides, there's a certain powerful feeling you get from just "being real", isn't there? Instead of inwardly knowing you're being a fake - after all, so much of performing is "acting". I find it rather refreshing to represent the reality of aging instead of pretending nothing's changed. Let's dance!


*Sally O'Malley (thanks Molly Shannon! See Sally Kick!)

  Anthea / Kawakib
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