Oklahoma @ Stratford Festival

A colleague of mine, Irene, asked me: "...so, Emilia, have you been to Stratford?" I responded without turning my head away from my computer monitor: "You mean, Stratford-and-Avon...in England?" "Dah! Noooo....noooo! Our very own, Stratford, Ontario?" my colleague yelled as she smacked my keyboard as I was typing and talking to her at the same time! She is very motherly and, well, a bit of a pain but she is one of my good friends. Anyway, she said that her neighbour is unable to come to Stratford Festival and she was wondering if I would be interested to join her. I thought: "Oh man, a full day with her.." He he he! I asked how much the ticket is as my head quickly did a clockwise rotation back to my computer monitor!


Irene said that her neighbour paid $108.00 for it [**my cheap brain started making sounds like 'caching...caching...'] but Irene added that the neighbour is willing to give the ticket for free due to its last-minute notice. The neighbour, who is a senior citizen, is due for surgery and would therefore not be able to make it to the show. I said: "Naaahhh, I will pay for it." I insisted in paying half of the ticket, just to be fair, and darn - I am glad I did...
The sound that announced the start of the performance....The story: Oklahoma was changing fast and the first great influx of homesteaders was settling the land and the cowboys try to hold the openrange life they have come to enjoy including the love of their loves. Romance...action...comedy...lots of amazing dancers and singers!



We were like 3rd row from the front. Excellent seats! The stage is up close and personal (as supposed to the stage ambience at `Royal Alex`or even `Princess of Wales`...


Before and after the show, we had the opportunity to roam around downtown Stratford. Sun was blazing but not toasty hot...summer wind blowing on our face, it was perfect! The City of Stratford sells a bag of corn to people who wanted to feed the ducks and our group purchased three bags...

Lesson to learn from this duckie: "Be not afraid to swim alone and enjoy your own ripples..."
I like this photo...very Canadian!

"Reach for your dream (or food)" as what the mommy Swan below is doing!Photo of Mommy Swan and 3 babies! "C'mon kids, swim along all the way to the corn!"

We were wondering what kind of species this guy is? "Goose"? ....Nice make up job though...I am envious...

I think if I do not trim my hair soon, it will turn to this!

Thanks to Susan Cheng, a fellow Sultanette, who gave me the idea of this pose!
I was eyeing this Swan and thinking: "What a show off!" [...and I thought I am the only one! Bwa ha ha ha ha ha!]


I like more summer and I wish there is 48 hours in a day - but we do what we can...so lets go and Carpe Diem (seize the day!)

Till next time!

We create our own experience...

Every show brings new experience...different ambience...different delight. For me, there is no boring show...may it be in the middle of the Street like the 'Paint the Street' Festival in Islington or in the middle of Nathan Phillips Square early Winter Time (now, that is another story!). But one thing I really love are unconventional shots of people! I love it! Why? I think because it is natural, no inhibitions, no time to pose, just the real person!

Monica here saying 'Yeah, Man!'
Yael and Tamano San showing off their newly painted nails
C'Mon Tamano San and Tina RT, make up time!
Yael trying to sell the filing cabinet! Well, she is from Flight Centre selling flights so what can we expect?

Feelin' Cute Tamano!
Monika is trying to make a deal here with this guy: 'Are you signing up for bellydance class or what?"
Flying kisses for you from Tamano San!
'What the heck am I doin' here?' This is Emilia talking...
'I got to post this picture again!' Just love it!

I wish there is 48 hours in a day!

Why is it that there is only 24 hours in a day? So much fun stuff to do, so little time!



Like Susan and Yael here -- oh yes, they can't get enough talking about travelling and their next trip destination!






I actually left my wallet at home and in the absence of credit card, I decided to resort to waitressing to pay my bill (well, as supposed to dishwashing! dah!)












I can be a walking Lululemon advertisement sometimes...

I really love this LLL green top I got.
They said it is made of natural bamboo [**Emilia is thinking: 'Oh dear! Is this why I am feeling itchy now and prickly?"]


























Tina RT talking to hubby: 'Honey, Emilia and I are going to Lululemon first, okay?!"



Hubby thinking: "Your friend, Emilia, is a bad influence!'






































'Are you guys selling tea pot?"









'This danish pastry is reallly goooooood!"







'Ooopppss! Accident can happen, you know..."







..working on my humble balcony while digesting the sumptious brunch with the Sultanettes!




My mini-garden


















































'showing off my brand-new gardening equipment - well...from the dollar store, you know!'

Fun Day at The Toronto Zoo

All right...I will admit - I burned myself silly today but hey, it was a fun day at the Zoo! Most of all, not spending a dime adds to the extra fun! What can I say, I am cheap!

It is my Firm's annual summer picnic (free food, free entrance, free Zoomobile, free parking) and free sunshine for all employees and respective families!

Zebrina, the Zebra

Nice stripey costume [**Emilia thinking how she can have this design for her next Belly Dance costume...]

Apparently, this Ostrich is guarding an egg...but I cannot see it. Nice posing though. Ostrich must be thinking: "What do you humans want?"

Cheetahs looking at humans and wondering: "Aaaahh...Food...so close yet so far..."

Hippo here is really huuuuggggggee!
...well, so as the Elephants...but this one is still a baby.
...back to Mr. Hippo (or Mrs. Hippo - what do I know!) now cooling down after a gigantic meal of grass. Hippo is a herbivore, I heard.
Polar Bear is one of the main attractions at the Zoo!

Aaaahhh...refreshing...I am envious [*meanwhile, Emilia scratching her sunburned arm wishing she can dive into the water as well...]

...now, Bear showing off the diving skills...

Another interesting feature at the Zoo is the Waterside Show - a 30 minute interactive demonstration of tricks of featured animals.

A hawk..


There is a story behind this beautiful Serval Cat. According to the Zoo Keeper, the original owner, a Torontonian, tried to domesticate this Serval Cat but failed and left with no choice, the owner placed the cat to the care of the Toronto Humane Society, who, in turn, contacted the Toronto Zoo.

[**Emilia applying more 'after-sun lotion' to her red, itchy skin!]

Bye for now and blog with you again later...

OMG -- Not Another Hobby!

While travelling around Ireland and adoring the rolling hills of green separated by hedgerows while black headed sheeps, cows, lambs and horses basking in the sun, it was just a scenery to capture and one would wish that time will stand still...and then it suddenly dawned on me that everything is possible through photography! Needless to say, I am now a proud owner of "Digital Photography for Dummies" book!


Here are some of my amateur shots taken during the trip:




Taking a good picture of church mosaic, I find, is quite challenging. This was done without a flash and after a million attempts! Oh, the beauty of digital generation of cameras!


Perhaps for Big Ben, I need more light. It was a bit dreary that day...

Was I focusing on Armand or the Cliffs of Moher? Good question...

The Giant Causeway - so breathtaking!

13 Years Ago...in London

I am sleepless in Toronto and the battle of the jet lag has begun! When one cannot sleep, one starts thinking...and I am thinking about the last few days of my trip which was spent in London.

The trip to London was an add-on from the Ireland part. Armand and I thought that it would be nice to revisit the interesting life we had in the dark, cold, wet but historically-endowed City of London.







The pub where we had a pint after our wedding (civil) ceremony.



















Our flat - we lived on the 4th floor.













The Tube Station where our flat is located.
































The London Eye!





































View of Big Ben from the the London Eye












We also visited the huge British Museum! One needs 2 or 3 days to see the entire exhibit and we just focused on the Egyptian Exhibit. Having seen the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, I must say that the Egyptian exhibit at the British Museum is fairly well done. The relics were nicely glassed with proper explanation. Very educational indeed (as the British would say!)











closed up shot on hieroglyphics written on a sarcophagus

















Ramses the III or IV (maybe)










The very controversial "Rosetta Stone". This is the original. Apparently, what Egyptian museum has is a replica.





































The imposing facade of the British Museum












Going back to the Egyptian exhibit at the British Museum, I was overwhelmed by the about of mummies exhibited at the museum. I later felt like I was "mummied-out"!

































These are the "Royal Shabtis". The Shabtis are magical creatures placed in private tombs to carry out tasks for the deceased in the after life.





















Another coffin with amazing hieroglyphics written all over it.




























Two ancient temple posts with a gigantic Scarab in the background.











Another famous exhibit - the mummy of Cleopatra. According to the records, she died at the age of 17 years old.

Farewell Banquet - Irish Medieval Style

Our farewell banquet was held in Knappogue Castle which was erected in 1467 by a powerful clan called "the MacNamaras"

I was holding our welcome drink - "Mead" - it was so powerful that my head started spinning after a single gulp!


















The Butler and various Ladies of the Castle!

The musicians of the evening consist of a harpist, a fiddler and a flutist.










Our group photo taken with our excellent Irish Driver/Tour Guide, Michael (first row, right hand side with blue tie)











More party after! Live Irish musicians and more Guinness!

Celtic Royal - The Final Leg

Armand and I are currently in Ennis, a charming place with winding lanes. The town is also renowned for its painted shopfronts and folk music festivals. It has been a wonderful, educational trip. So far, one of my favourites is our day tour in Belfast. It was a very enlightening experience; however, I think, the trip to Belfast is a separate blog on its own.









Kylemore Abbey, a lakeside castle which is a romantic, Gothic Revival fantasy type of castle. It was built by Mitchell Henry as a present for his wife (geez, around 19th century!). The nuns now run the abbey as a girls' boarding and day school.



















Armand and I posing at the Grianan of Ailigh (west of the City of Londonderry). It is a circular stone structure, measuring 77 ft. in diameter and is believed to have been built as a pagan temple around the 5th century BC. Very windy on top of the structure!

The grave of W.B. Yeates, a famous Irish writer of wistful, melancholic poetry...

Sunset in Westport, a quaint coastal town.

I find it quite enjoyable to have longer daytime as it does not get dark in Ireland until 10:30 pm or 11 pm!

The breathtaking views of the Cliffs of Moher! It has a height of 200 m (650 ft) out of the sea and extending for 8 km (5 miles). The sheer rock face, with its layers of black shale and sandstone, provides sheltered ledges where sea birds nest!

Typical day in Dublin downtown road - a scooter, a double decker bus and a bicycle!

I miss my scooter when I saw this lovely female rider scooting around the city of Dublin!

Ha'Penny Bridge (originally named the Wellington Bridge) but now officially called the "Liffey Bridge". It opened in 1816, the bridge got its better known nickname from the halfpenny toll that was levied on it up until 1919.

Highlights of Ireland - first 4 days!

Hi! This is Emilia blogging from Ireland (except, this time, it is true - as supposed to blogging from my home PC!). Our group consists of 24 tourists, all from Ontario with one couple from Calgary. We are the youngest in the group (laugh) so you can just imagine their facial reaction when they saw me and Armand. The tour guide thought we have missed our Contiki group bus!













Giant's Causeway, one of Ireland's most famous attractions!









...strolling through the narrow, cobbled streets of Temple Bar where some of Dublin's best night spots, restaurants and unusual shops can be found
















Decorated windows!

- Guinness Storehouse: this 1904 listed building covers nearly four acres of floor space over the six floors built around a huge pint glass atrium.

Greetings from Ireland

Emilia is a teetotaller, no more - well, at least, for the duration of the Ireland Trip!

She is also thinking of staying in Dublin now that she found a job as a guard at Dublin Castle!

Going Tunisian at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre

"Hi! This is Emilia blogging from Tunisia." Oooopss, sorry - let me rewrite that.

"Hi! This is Emilia blogging from her home PC trying to recapture the moment when I went Tunisian at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre!"

Okay, that sounds better! As a huge fan of anything "Cabaret", going Tunisian is an interesting experience for me. I go astray once in awhile and Folklore dance is the path I tend to cross. When I was a member of Mayada's Banat El Sharq, a fun-filled Folklore troupe, I had an awesome, awesome time! This Tunisian Dance Duet is a reminder of those times....

It breaks the monotony of doing cabaret but hey, nice to try something different.

Here we go....



Buddies in Bad Times actually has a decent change room with lots of graffiti and posters on the wall! The room is trying to depict a run-down change room yet very artsy! The ambience makes me feel like a real dance artist, and yes, a struggling artist!







Katia, my duet partner, is the brain behind the Tunisian Dance. She approached me with her idea! She choreographed it, sewn the costume and provided me with the study materials. My contribution? I showed up at every performances (laugh!)

No - okay, I did contribute in some of the staging steps but it is miniscule compared to the time and energy Katia invested on this.












Some photos are not so clear to justify the good lighting and stage at Buddies Theatre but the kind dance artist to whom I have entrusted my camera did what she could!

The learning to balance this huge freaking jar on our head was a fun-tastic experience for me.

The drama starts...

My role is a Tunisian fortune teller predicting Katia's fortune.

[Wooooo....hokus....pokus...Emilia predicted that Katia will meet the love of her life and they will have a big family!]

Katia was overjoyed with my prediction of catching a dashing Tunisian man and a family of 4 kids that she started dancing!

Emilia showing her excitement by "zaghareeting" (Geez, is this a word?)

The props changed from "Jar" to "Handkerchief"

The End!

The lovely "Ioana" in the middle who did a solo Cabaret performance so as "Evyenia" (right side)

Overall? I enjoyed it. It is important to try different style of dance. It made me more aware of what kind of style I like the most; and that is, I am still a Cabaret Dancer at heart but hey, knowing me and my inability to sit still -- I will keep exploring different things and at the end of the day, I will go back to the dance that is closest to my heart.

A Good Sign of Summer

Armand and I were enjoying our breakfast and guess what we saw on our window - floating in the wide atmosphere of complete freedom! He immediately grabbed the camera and capture these moments of Mr. Peanut Guy who seem to know what life should really be on warm weather!

...and then there is another balloon in the background but Mr. Peanut Guy knows that he is a lot more cool and funkier in his yellow costume!

In the Memory of My Mother...

Mama when she was young.

I miss my Mom and there is no day when I do not think of her. When she passed on, my feeling was so difficult to explain. I was not in denial or anything like that but it was like "she-just-vanished-and-I-could-not-find-her" type of feeling.

I wonder why death has to be so final. I just wish that there is still some mode of communication. I wish I can send her an email or something and see how she is doing...

But I am sure she is happy with my Dad now and, most of all, she is now free from the pain brought by Diabetes.







Mama in one of my siblings' birthday gathering


















Armand and I visiting Manila after we got married.
















Fun times

My Parents-In-Law

My parents-in-law taken during their 50 Wedding Anniversary last month. They are nice people and have always treated me as their own. I care for them deeply!























The immediate family!



































Family shot including the relatives from Holland came to celebrate Mom and Dad's 50th Wedding anniversary!





















My mother-in-law was the one who made my first belly dance costume. She is an amazing seamstress!

Mom checking out my costume; Dad in the background and Ruben attended my first belly dance recital.

























Finished product of my my 1st belly dance costume!

Walking along the memory lane of my Abu Dhabi Days

...remembering my first ever belly dance performance in United Arab Emirates during the employees' holiday party.

...I had no formal training, never taken any belly dance classes except for the few moves I have learned from hanging around with my Middle Eastern colleagues!

The Many Faces of IBCC

....posing with Martine Werotte




















Mini-workshop with Nath Keo held at Hannan Sultan`s Danforth Studio













Mini-workshop with Ranya arranged by Dharlene Valeda of Haft Vadi in Kitchener.













....preparing for my Saturday open stage solo performance












Randa showing some of her amazing moves!






Tania and me taken during Randa Kamel`s workshop














The lovely Nervine Kerbes!

























Ana, Hannan Sultan and me!
- taken during the 1st day of Randa Kamel's workshop.










Roula Said and Dharlene Valeda
- Sunday Open Stage Performance

The Student Sultanettes Troupe at the International Belly Dance Conference

Yours truly after a full day of workshop!

The Sultanettes Student Troupe with its newest members!

Sneaking a shot with Randa Kamel

from Right: Yours Truly, Randa Kamel (Egyptian Star!), Alexandria, Monika and Abby)

Me and Tamano getting crazy again!

Susan: multi-tasking again! Reading and working and having fun!

















The lovely Tina preparing for the show!











Yael, new member of the Student Sultanettes troupe, honing her pedicure expertise!

Shots from Cassandra Gala in Ottawa

These photos were taken when I performed at a gala in Ottawa sponsored for Cassandra last year but I only found out the existence of these photos last month. Nevertheless, I love them!

The Sultanettes and "behind the scene" shots

The Sultanettes of Hannan Sultan Bellydance Studio













Lisa and I trying to look cool!

















Urrrggggggggh!












I do not know what I am doing so
I will just put this chair on my head!
















Lisa and Tina thinking:
"Should we pose or what?"











Makeup Artist Sultanettes Member: Lily
with Tamano and Alexandra

Royal Carribean Cruise 2005

Cavorting with Stingrays in Antiqua











This is Armand and me after a few drinks! ha ha ha!

Actually, this couple is one of the awesome evening performers at the Cruise!
















Swimming pools at Royal Caribbean - night shots!










Love those creative towels housekeeping staff at the cruise makes!












Armand enjoying the outdoor Jacuzzi at the Cruise









Dinner time! We did not like the dressing up part but hey, gotta do the formality!














Pouring rain in St. Lucia - better have my hair braided to pass the time!
















Hug time before going down to the cave! Yikes!











Foresting and Caving in Barbados





















Biking around St. Martin















Bike Ride Tour - St. Martin














St. Lucia

Dominican Republic January 2006

Finally got the courage to have my hair braided!












End Product!












Sosua Beach













Typical School Classroom











Dominican Dancers!












Vicki and I





















No! I did not do anything bad!





Sightseeing in Dominican

Piano Recitals

This is my piano; her name is Sonata


















One of my piano classmates, Katy























Piano Class Group Photo




















My Piano teacher, Margit

Piano Duet with my teacher, Margit

Banat El Sharq

Veronica and I after Mayada's Winter Showcase

















Banat El Sharq - Folklore Troupe of Mayada Belly Dance School



















St. Peter's Fair




















Saiidi Dance - Mayada Showcase

The Cane Dancers!

Egypt with Armand

Abu Simbel

























Colossi of Memnon






Temple of Nefertari











Sunset along the River Nile















8th Wonders of the World!


























Hieroglyphics in Hapshetsut Temple














Luxor Temple




















Karnak Temple




















Camel Ride!

Photos from my Turkey Trip

Village Trip and sharing dinner with the locals










Hadia Turkey Belly Dance Camp 2006














Daybreak view from Bodrum Hotel















View from Bodrum Hotel

















Ephesus with Tamara and Christine















Making of Turkish Crepe














Partying with Live Musicians,
Bodrum Dance Camp












Library of Celsus, Ephesus













Hiking at Sakklikent Gorge with Hadia














Grand Theater, Ephesus















Sakklikent Gorge


















Spice Market with Tamara and Kristina










Belly dancers in Mud Bath!


















Sema Yildiz and me

Hadia and Me posing in between dance classes

A little bit about me

My name is Emilia and I would like to connect with people of similar interest as mine, share some photos and all that wonderful stuff life brings!



...so blog with you soon