Adventures of a Tribal Country Girl #4
The Tattoo and Tribal Belly Dance Community
My Roadtrippin’ journeys this late summer have been outstanding, both on the road fairly close to home and also up and down the West Coast. There was a glamping trip with friends around Oregon and Washington, a bellydancing art festival in Portland, a didgeridoo festival near the central Oregon coast, and a rocking music festival in San Francisco. I found some great ink along the way.
We started at Indidjinous, a didgeridoo based wild weekend fest held on gorgeous land in the middle of nowhere off the coast, put on by the incredibly generously spirited fellow, Chad Butler, with his amazing tattooed head (done by the talented tattooist from Infinity Tattoo, in Portland, Miss Amanda Myers). I first met Chad about twenty years ago, when I was photographing him for a tattoo magazine. This year, he asked me to bring Gypsy Caravan, my bellydance troupe of musicians and dancers, to perform and teach a workshop, for the festival goers. I gathered together six dancers and my Gypsy C man, Jeff Rees, along with Keith Holt from Seattle and Chris Jacobsen from Portland, plus myself on percussion (besides joining the dancers with some hip-shaking, good moves!).
Keith’s wife, Siobhan, happens to be in a bellydance troupe in Seattle, and was camping alongside us. She has some amazing ink work. So off we went into the woods, camera in hand, to find a gorgeous waterfall we had been told about. Lucky me.
We bellydancers have the opportunity to get body art, to show with our costumes, jewelry and the swaying or shaking movements, and show them off, on a regular basis. In fact, I think I’m due for a bit more ink, as it’s been over three years since my last piece (sounds like confession, forgive me Father, for I have sinned!). Most people ask me which came first, tattoos or bellydancing? For me, it was the tattoos! It seems that great subcultures ultimately come together.
Soon after, Jeff and I were asked to perform at Art in the Pearl, with our friends Gypsy
Heart Tribal and the musicians of Ripe Fig Rhythms, in the Pearl district of Portland, home of an annual art festival that I’ve been dancing at for the past then years or so. This is an outstanding art show, with inspiring and amazingly talented artists. The rows of paintings, sculptures, textiles, etc. go on and on. And when you think you’ve seen it all and it can’t get any better, there are more artists and even greater art. And then there is the entertainment, with some lovely tattooed women (that would be us!).
Soon after that show, Jeff and I switched gears and got our guitars and keyboards and headed down to the fabulous city by the bay, our old home, San Francisco, to play some rock shows, with old band mates from the early ’80s. I had not seen some of these folks since then, so we had reunion parties, quick rehearsals, pulling out the old songs, and played two nights of shows at the Red Velvet Lounge and Slim’s. What a blast! And, of course, I was scoping everyone out for their body art and, hallelujah, it was everywhere!
Aleph and Kent from the band, Altar de Fey, are full up of ink and gorgeous, wow! The majority of Aleph’s ink is from Chris Conn, Freddy Corbin and Kahlil Ryntie. Kent Cate’s work is by Dan Higgs (dragon), Amsterdam’s Shopi (bat), Criss Conn (Man’s Ruin), Freddie Corbin (chest) and Filip Ley (Devil mask. His backpieve is by Ed Hardy and neck by Igor. Altar de Fey played on Saturday night at one of the festival venues, and blew everyone away, they sounded great. I was the lucky one, though, I got to photograph their art.
Jeff and performed that first night, in several incarnations, and both of us did a Gypsy Caravan medley, with rockin’ drummers, Greg Langston and Gil Ray,
Jeff then rocked the house ,with his early-style punk bank, No Alternative, then switching gears, yet again, to a Fade To Black incarnation, our band from early to mid ’80s. Stephan, the guitar player from the Defectors, although he played with
several bands, was able to show me much of his ink work, too. Now, I was having some fun… beautiful men, tattoos, music and, of course, I love being on stage, so the whole event was a bit of heaven, besides bringing a community of mucho talented and fabulous folks together, audience and performers alike.
On our way home, Jeff and I stopped off in Applegate Valley, for a night of peace and quiet (well, not quite), sleep and some fabulous wine tasting. Oh yeah, southern Oregon is happening, folks, let me tell you! And I will, next month, return with more fab tattoos, some wine delights and more travels, oh yea!
And I’m gearing up to travel to Milan, Italy, next week, to teach my dance classes, for two weeks, with the fabulous Cinzia (of the stupendous tribal dance group, Les Soeurs Tribales) and her man Miki, full of awesome art work. Lots more to come for you.
Many thanks and happy fall, to you all…
—Paulette Rees Denis
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