JamBallah NW 2019 After-Party Dinner Show – Sunday Aug. 4 at Pasha

Electric Vardo presents: A Taste of Underground Nomads – the JamBallah NW 2019 After-Party, 7pm on Sunday evening after the festival. Join us for dinner, drinks, dancing and hanging out.

In addition to a select few Featured Performances, we will have an improv set with DJ Amar spinning (See details below for instructions to join the improv. session) and open dancing.

PLEASE CALL THE RESTAURANT TO MAKE A DINNER RESERVATION: 503-244-2525

PERFORMANCES BY:
SHEA ALEXA
SHIVITI DANCE CO.
+ MORE TBA

+ MILLIE ROSE kicking of the Improv jam (details below).

MUSIC BY:
DJ Amar / Electric Vardo Events

IMPROV JAM, inspired by Eclectic Ensemble & Underground Nomads Hosted by Claudia Shimmies …
How this works:
Dancers sign up on arrival.
You will dance in your street clothes (costume not needed). Priority is give to dancers who did not perform in the JamBallah NW shows. We put your name in a hat. When the improv jam starts, Claudia will pull names out of a hat in random order. When your name is called, you’ll hop up on stage for 3 minutes. When the next dancers is called, you exit stage and they enter. This will all be to DJ Amar live mixing. You may enter or exit mid-song. You will not know what Amar will be playing, and Amar will not know who will be performing next.

ATS IMPROV JAM curated by Deanna Freeman.

PASHA RESTAURANT
7PM – 11PM-ish or later if you all wanna stay and party.
11830 Kerr Pkwy, Lake Oswego, OR 97035, USA
Located in Mountain Park Plaza
ALL AGES WELCOME

Please call the restaurant to make a dinner reservation at 503-244-2525

Since the restaurant is graciously opening on Sunday (when they are usually closed) especially for us, it will be very helpful if you do make a reservation so they can have a head count to staff and order food accordingly.

Entry is free, if you are having dinner. If you are not eating, we ask for a 2 drink minimum. Donations and tips are welcomed and appreciated.

Tentative schedule (subject to change. Will be finalized by August 2nd):
7pm arrive, music playing
8pm Performance set
8:30pm open dancing
9pm Improv jam (1st set)
9:30pm open dancing
10pm Improv jam (2nd set)
10:15pm open dancing

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JamBallah NW AfterParty Sunday Aug.13, 2017

Electric Vardo presents: A Taste of Underground Nomads, JamBallah NW AfterParty with DJ Amar & friends.

Time to party it up after a weekend full of awesome performances, shopping and workshops at JamBallah NW … with an eclectic dance party, live belly dance acts … and some special surprises and guests!

On Sunday evening, after the festival closes, we continue to rock on at the Kelly’s Olympian for a Bonus JamBallah NW Performance Showcase and global beats by DJ Amar and Portland’s own GlobalRuckus

Enjoy Exclusive performances Only featured at the AfterParty, followed by open dancing.

Performance lineup (8pm-9pm):

Crystal Silmi & RAKSARABI (Madrid, Spain / Santa Cruz / SF)

DANCE INSPIRED – Afghani Folk Dance featuring SITARA (Portland)

AURORA ROSA featuring Millie Rose & Tatyana (SF)

Megz Madrone

+ Surprise Guests

ATS IMPROV STAGE TAKEOVER curated by DeAnna Padrón Freeman

… And the woman who brings JamBallah NW to you, working her ass off all year and all weekend behind the scenes … ELISE MORRIS … Performing an Exclusive AfterParry set!

“A Taste of Underground Nomads” improv. performances featuring Underground Nomads residents and Special Guest Jamballah NW Attendees.

Doors 7:30pm
Show 8pm
Dance Party 9pm-late.
$15 DOOR | 21+
(Dance Party entry after performances / after 9pm $10)
Kelly’s Olympian
426 SW Washington St, Portland
13 minute walk /7 minute drive from the ART.

AFTER-PARTY TICKET

INFO. FOR ALL JAMBALLAH NW EVENTS AT
http://www.jamballahnw.com/

Electric Vardo March 2016 Newsletter

Springtime is my favorite time of year, and we are leaping forward into more awesome events. Winter hasn’t been too shabby at all. One more amazing event for the records – to add to my list of recommendations, is one that Sam and I got to teach at last month. Add Reigning Down on Oregon to your list of Awesome belly dance events to check out. The uniqueness of this event is in the environment and format. It’s not a “festival”, it is a Retreat. It is Dance Camp in the woods. Reigning Down on Oregon has been a hidden gem in the forest near Salem, Oregon.

Speaking of Hidden gems – one of the Newest events is quickly getting noticed, yet I keep finding people who don’t know about it. Last year, I attended the first Tribal Trove in San Diego, and put that on my list of events I want to go to every year within a couple of hours of being there. Sam and I are both teaching this year, and I will be shooting video again. They have an awesome new venue this year, closer to downtown.

Affordability is a primary factor for many dancers who are seeking out learning experiences. With that in mind, I highly recommend checking out these two events. Tribal Trove is right around the corner, and you can still sign up for classes. the Saturday night showcase is almost sold out (Seating is sold out, standing room tickets will be available at the door) and Sunday show seating will likely sell out soon too. Both nights have unique and stellar lineups. Check out tribaltrovesd.com for all of the current information and registration links. There are daytime performance as well.

Note that the Main Event is over the weekend, but the workshops will start Friday Evening. I will be teaching my music editing workshop on Friday Evening. Medina will also be teaching on Friday.

Fast forward to April, Sam and I head up to Seattle for another one of our very favorite events, Cues & Tattoos. As usual, I will be playing at and co-producing The Emerald Vardo Official Cues & Tattoos After Party, where Lady Ra and I rock the dancefloor beats on Saturday night. This year, All events will be At Seattle Center. Everything will be walkable. Calamity Sam will be teaching and I will be shooting video.

Electric Vardo February 2016 Newsletter

Ok, so I successfully got to kicking off 2016 with a new post and a few website tweaks.

Hello Beautiful people. I hope you have had a good start to your year. If you haven’t, I hope it starts shaping up for you nicely heading toward springtime. I’m still having a hard time remembering to write 2016 on things.

Yeah, that’s David Satori and me with Auberon last fall at the House of Tarot show in SF. I’m not quite sure how that happened!

I had the amazing opportunity to be a part of ATS Homecoming this year (a gathering of the global ATS community in January). I provided sound and lighting for the shows, sound for the workshops, and recorded video of the shows. It was an amazing event with awesome workshops, vendors, shows and more for 3 days. This was the 2nd Annual, and with the success of 2 years in a row, they are planning it again next year. Keep an eye out. Highly recommended.

ATS Homecoming 2015 students, instructors, hosts and crew.

As promised, I am back with a February newsletter with updates on upcoming events this month and a glimpse forward into the next couple of months. Sam and I have some pretty awesome things coming up, as do our Electric Vardo alumni partners and family.

Tuesdays at F8 – 1192 Fosom, SF – UNDERGROUND NOMADS – World Beats & Belly Dance
– See our weekly lineups at undergroundnomads.com –

We have rotating resident dancers and DJs each week. The nights kick off at 8pm with an hour of music, drink specials and Happy Hour Appetisers. We do one to two sets of dance performances, starting at around 9:30 (2nd set around 10). We will have 3-5 performances on any given night, sometimes more. On Special nights (for example, last week we celebrated our resident Millie’s birthday and had twice as many performances) we will have more performances. On quarterly 5th Tuesdays, Underground Nomads hosts 5th Tuesday benefits, raising funds for various charity organizations chosen by members of our crew, where we invite local vendors and usually showcase around 10 performances.
We ask for a $5 donation at the door (Sliding scale $5-20 on benefit and Special nights). Our next 5th Tuesday Benefit is on March 29th.

Underground Nomads DJ crew at How Weird Street Faire 2015. L-R: Jef Stott, Suresh, Amar, Santero (Dulce Vita on the decks)

Sun. 2/7 – SHADOWBOX – Zoe Jakes’ Coven Dance Co. & Sidecar Tommy at Elbo Room, SF
(Note that the Elbo Room has a newly extended lease and will be up and running for at least 2 more years – Yay!)
Performances by Zoe Jakes & Coven Dance Company. DJ set by Sidecar Tommy. 8pm. $15.50 advance . $20 door . 21+ . 647 Valencia Ave., SF

Fri. 2/12 – DR ISRAEL headlines Dub Mission‘s new 2nd Fridays at Elbo Room with MC Luv Fyah, DUB MISSION Sound System, DJ Sep, Maneesh the Twister
(Note that Dub Mission’s Legendary weekly Sunday has moved to a Monthly format on 2nd Fridays at Elbo Room). This is gonna be an amazing East Coast Meets West Coast night, with some heavy weight dub pioneers in the house.
dr Israel talks about Dub Mission.

Fri. 2/12 – BEATS ANTIQUE in Los Angeles
– Calamity Sam will be joining Beats Antique at Club Nokia –

Join Beats Antique, Lettuce, and Lafa Taylor on February 12, 2016 at Club NOKIA in Downtown LA for some great music, groovy vibes, and dancing all night long. This is an all ages show. Show starts at 8:00 PM. Tickets

Sat. 2/13 – ECLECTIC ENSEMBLE, Los Angeles
Amar & Sam are heading down to see their SoCal Family and joining their friends at their favorite lil house-party-hafla style event. This time around, we get to do it on a Saturday night. We have almost 20 performers signed up to perform. What happens at this event? Amar mixes the music live – on the fly – for tag team performances. The dancers don’t know what Amar is going to play for them, and Amar doesn’t know who’s going on next. Our MC pulls the dancers names out of a hat when it’s time to switch. We do 2 sets of performances, with music before, between and after. It’s just a whole lotta fun. Details at e2la.wordpress.com – Oh, and we stream live.
Doors at 8pm. Performance sets at 9 and 10pm. Music before, between and after. Bring a snack and beverage for our shared food’n’drink table. $10 requested donation. Donavon’s Studio Iqaat. 3515 Eagle Rock Blvd. Los Angeles, CA

2/20-21 – CALAMITY SAM HOT POT I.T.S. Level 1 Immersion – Weekend in Santa Cruz
Learn the UNMATA style Improvisational Tribal Style with Hot Pot certified instuctor Calamity Sam. Class times are Saturday 1-6pm and Sunday 1:30-5:30pm. Classes will be in Boulder Creek. $120 for 8 hours of training. To register, send your payment via PayPal to ChandalaShiva@gmail.com (include $3.00 paypal fee). Please clearly label your payment for the ITS Intensive. Hosted by Chandala Shiva.

Zoe Jakes, Calamity Sam & Pixie Fordtears, Beats Antique with Preservation Hall Jazz Band at The Fillmore, SF 2015

Calamity Sam teaches regular weekly classes in Oakland/Emeryville (East Bay) at Ellen Webb Studios on Monday Evenings. She also teaches Thursday classes (See her website for class schedules) at FCBD Studio in SF. Information on Calamity Sam’s Classes, workshops, performances and costuming – including her famous ‘Butt Covers’ – can be found at her blog site thecalamitysam.com

2/25-28 – REIGNING DOWN ON OREGON, Salem, OR
Amar will be teaching his music editing workshop and shooting video. Calamity Sam will be teaching a choreography workshop and the Debut SAMWICH workshop – a 4 hour session with Samantha Riggs & Calamity Sam. What?
You may have seen The Samwich Performances by Samantha Riggs and Calamity Sam at Cues & Tattoos or Tribal Fest in the last couple of years, but now they are teaching together. Both are teaching individual classes, AND The SAMWICH – a 4 hour class together, for the First time Ever, at Reigning Down on Oregon. We are looking forward to this Dance Retreat, out in the woods of Salem, Oregon, with awesome people, performances and cabin lodging. Come join us if you can. There are shows on Friday And Saturday nights.

1/30, 2/27 – NON STOP BHANGRA, Public Works, SF
Just coming off of the 2016 Kick Off with NSB’s 120th, preparations for Episode 121 are underway. Each month features Special Guests and our resident crew Jimmy Love, Nix, Pavit on dhol, Amar on visuals and performances (plus dance lesson) by Dholrhythms. NSB is SF’s longest running monthly Bhangra party with the most eclectic mix of artists and audience. (Note: Amar will be up in Oregon for this one. If you are in SF, don’t miss it). Check nonstopbhangra.com for the January and February lineup.

Also – Coming up in March and April (details in next month’s e-mailers):

3/18-20 – TRIBAL TROVE, San Diego, CA
– Amar & Sam will be teaching at Tribal Trove’s 2nd Annual festival.

4/1-3 – CUES & TATTOOS, Seattle, WA
– Amar will be co-hosting the Emerald Vardo AfterParty and shooting video at the shows. Sam will be teaching.

Registration is live for both events. Click on the titles for info.

MUSIC . MUSIC . MUSIC

Before I go, I would like to share an announcement of a newly released Digital Download – a Rare Recording of Classical North Indian Ragas on Bansuri by Master of the Bamboo Flute, G.S. Sachdev, with the legend on tabla, Zakir Hussain.
This recording is from a 1975 concert in Colorado, and is transferred from tape in its original fidelity. It is available on Bandcamp for download, and can be ordered on CD starting in March at gssachdev.com

On that note, I am still working on my own album. I have 2 full tracks down, and several more in the works. The first track is on my soundcloud page.

Once again, I must acknowledge that we couldn’t be doing what we love to do without you. Thank you for your continued support.

Amar . Solunamar

 

2016 Upcoming Events – January

Well here we go…

Wait, It’s 2016?

Sam and I have had a crazy (crazy good) year and website updates have fallen to the wayside. Coming off of a sweet lull in the tail end of 2015, we’re jumping into the new year with an awesome array of events that we are pretty excited about being a part of.

We’re gonna do our best to keep you updated in a more focused way this year. With all the social media clutter, it is really hard to concentrate and easy to forget about checking in directly with the people who support you. So … the plan forward is to (1) Post here regularly and (2) send out e-mails to our e-mail list. We are aiming to e-mail and post monthly-ish. No more. If you are on our e-mail list, you will get the info. there. You can always join by clicking on the e-mail list link in the menu above. If you’re not on the list, check in here. You can subscribe to get notified of updates. If you are on the facebooks and the tweeters and the instagrammies and tumblrs, you can follow us there. We DO have a New Facebook Group for Electric Vardo, if you wanna join. BUT – while things will get posted here and there, i’m gonna focus on e-mails and website – a central place you can come to for information on the following:
Electric Vardo events . Calamity Sam and DJ Amar’s whereabouts . Events we will be a part of . Tribal Tech Support . Electric Vardo Partner and Alumni events . Recommended events.

So …

Here we go with our first announcement of Events for 2016.

January:

1/12 – UNDERGROUND NOMADS – ATS HOMECOMING WELCOME Pre-Party
We are hosting a Special Edition of our Weekly World Beat & Belly Dance night with our 2nd Tuesday Residents DJ Amar, FatChanceBellyDance, Wendy Marlatt & May Yang, PLUS an ATS Jam with Amar mixing the beats for Homecoming Participants who wish to join the improv set.
Tuesday Jan 12 . 8pm – 12am . F8 – 1192 Folsom St., SF . $5
Check the weekly lineups at undergroundnomads.com

1/14-17 – ATS HOMECOMING
Amar will be DJing a Thursday evening Dance Party following the Welcome Reception. ATS Homecoming celebrates their 2nd year with a full week of workshops (Mon-Thu in SF at FCBD Studio, Fri-Sun near SFO). There will be performance shows on Friday and Saturday nights. Electric Vardo’s Tribal Tech Support will be providing Sound and Lighting. Amar will be shooting video for the shows. Calamity Sam will be vending, bringing her famous “Butt Covers” and other goodies.

1/30 – NON STOP BHANGRA
It’s the 2016 Kick Off with NSB’s 120th show featuring DJ Scorpio and resident crew Jimmy Love, Nix, Pavit on dhol, Amar on visuals and performances (plus dance lesson) by Dholrhythms. NSB is SF’s longest running monthly Bhangra party with the most eclectic mix of artists and audience.

RECOMMENDED EVENTS:

1/23 – STARDUST FOLLIES – Hosted by Kami Liddle & Gold Star Dance Co. Click on the title or image for details and tickets.

February, March, April
(details in next post later this month – Save the Dates):

2/7 – SHADOWBOX – Zoe Jakes & Coven Dance Co. at Elbo Room, SF

2/12 – Dub Mission Presents DR.ISRAEL, DJ SEP, MANEESH THE TWISTER – Dub Mission  is now 2nd Fridays in 2016. Elbo Room, SF

2/12 – BEATS ANTIQUE in Los Angeles
– Calamity Sam will be joining Beats Antique at Club Nokia.

2/13 – ECLECTIC ENSEMBLE, Los Angeles
– Amar & Sam are heading down to see their SoCal Family and joining their friends at their favorite lil house-party-hafla style event.

2/25-28 – REIGNING DOWN ON OREGON, Salem, OR
– Amar will be teaching his music editing workshop and shooting video. Calamity Sam will be teaching a choreography workshop and the Debut SAMWICH workshop – a 4 hour session with Samantha Riggs & Calamity Sam. What?

3/18-20 – TRIBAL TROVE, San Diego, CA
– Amar & Sam will be teaching at Tribal Trove’s 2nd Annual festival.

4/1-3 – CUES & TATTOOS, Seattle, WA
– Amar will be co-hosting the Emerald Vardo AfterParty and shooting video at the shows. Sam will be teaching.

I want to thank you for your support.

DJ Amar . Solunamar

 

 

Website Revisions in progress

Hang with us while we make some updates to the website. In the meantime, you can view our recent Electric Vardo newsletter (we have neglected to post our newsletters here regularly, but plan on getting better about that and having a central place for all Electric Vardo related stuff.

We have added links to connect to Underground Nomads, the Tribal Fest AfterParty and other related sites – including our upcoming Sundays at Somar in Oakland. We have a dropdown Events tab with links to the different related recurring events including the Cues & Tattoos Emerald Vardo AfterParty, Eclectic Ensemble and Taverna Nights.

Electric Vardo upcoming Events and News –
December Newsletter:

Happy New Year, Holidays, or whatever you celebrate!

Hello dear supporters. We are coming to the end of another year of growing and changing, and we have you to thank first and foremost for giving us the opportunity to express our creative sides and share our art with you.

As we wrap up the year and roll into the next one, we have a few fun shows coming up, and a 2015 that is already starting to fill up with great stuff. All the details are down below. Enjoy!

Thank you again for your support – Amar

Thursday, December 18th – 5:30pm-7pm: YERBA BUENA ALLIANCE HOLIDAY PARTY

Join the Yerba Buena Alliance in conjunction with Yerba Buena Third Thursdays for a holiday gathering at theMuseum of the African Diaspora as we celbrate the richness and vibrancy of the Yerba Buena neighborhood and give thanks for an amazing 2014 year.

World beats by DJ Amar of Underground Nomads and food, drink and merry!

Yerba Buena Third Thursdays is a monthly event showcasing the richness of art and culture in the Yerba Buena neighborhood. The Museum of the African Diaspora re opens after a several month remodel and we will have a chance to experience to the new exhibitions, program space and museum. This event is free and open to all. You can also see more on the MoAD website. 

Sunday, December 21st – 7pm: SALIMPOUR SCHOOL HOLIDAY PARTY

Live Music, Special Guest Dancers, Suhaila‘s Birthday Celebration! Amar will be DJing andCalamity Sam will be a guest performer. Details should be up soon on the Facebook event page.

Tuesday, December 30th, – 8pm: EVE of NYE – UNDERGROUND NOMADS 5TH TUESDAY BENEFIT WITH THE SISTERS OF PERPETUAL INDULGENCE.

Spend the EVE of New Year’s Eve with us for a fun evening supporting a great cause (Actually, 2 great causes. Funds raised will benefit both the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence And Circles of Empowerment).

Our performer lineup will feature JILL PARKER & Little Egypt plus residents Amberetta,Tatyana, Laila Astar and FatChanceBellyDance as well as new resident debut performances byNATHALIE TEDRICK and Lulu Stone. Also, performances by the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. Music by DJ AMAR & the Hookahdome’s DJ FERAL (Cheb i Sabbah tribute set).

The night will be a “Welcome Home Mable” Party with The Sisters, and a tribute to our co-founder and inspiration Cheb i Sabbah. We will start early this week, 8pm. $10-20 sliding scale donation. Presale Special: S20 ticket includes free champagne or drink coupon. Note: Venue is 21+. Bring ID for entry. Presale Tickets HERE.

See Below for Upcoming Weekly Tuesday lineups at Underground Nomads.

. . . Unmata / Hot Pot I.T.S. Classes in the Bay Area with Calamity Sam . . .

Monday evenings at Ellen Webb Studio in Emeryville (Level 1 and 2)
Tuesday afternoons at Zoe Jakes’ new COVEN Studio in Berkeley (Level 1)
New Sessions start in January. INFO. at thecalamitysam.com

Check out the newest Calamitous Butt Covers aka ITS Skirts by Calamty Sam on Etsy.

UNDERGROUND NOMADS
SUPPORT TEAM
UPCOMING EVENTS

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Support Underground Nomads
SF’s new weekly Global Bass Belly Dance Tuesdays at f8 1192 Folsom

We have started a fund for anyone wishing to support us from afar, so we can upgrade our live stream, keep the night growing and support our performers. If you are local, the best way to support us is to come to our shows. Other ways to help us out are to let more people know about our event. Remember, you can watch our live stream from anywhere in the world. We are working on improving the live stream so you can see the performances too. Any support is helpful, whether by donations or spreading the word. If you are not local to SF, do remember us when you visit.

Information about the fund is at our page on the Gofundme site.

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DEC. 9: Amar | FatChanceBellyDance, Azure, Wendy Marlatt, Jennifer Faust, May Yang

DEC. 16: Santero | Ayre Briar, Calamity Sam & Mother Lode, Angela, Chandala, Laura Elisabeth

DEC. 23: Holiday Edition | Rafael + Amar
Amberetta, Sadira, Millie Maddox, Isabel Perdomo | Resident Improv.

Dec. 30: EVE of NYE 5th Tuesday Benefit
A Special night on the Eve of NYE – Dec. 30, in honor of our co-founder Cheb i Sabbah and Celebrating the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence + a Welcome Home Mable Party with the Sisters. Details above. Info Here. Tickets.
–  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  –
UNDERGROUND NOMADS
Every Tuesday at F8 . 1192 Folsom, SF
9pm-1am. Performances usually at 10*
(Some night start early)
$5 cover most nights
($5-10+ sliding scale on Special Nights)
–  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  –
Honoring CHEB i SABBAH
Cheb i Sabbah’s life partner, Eloise, who cared for him unconditionally from the time he was diagnosed with cancer until his final days, has created a wonderful memorial group for Chebiji on facebook. You can share and browse stories, photos and more in this group. Cheb i Sabbah was a founding member, Honorary member and inspiration for the existence of Underground Nomads.

Underground Nomads is delighted to have new resident DJs Santero and Suresh, joining us in monthly rotation – bringing more of the global vibe to the dancefloor in Chebiji’s honor.

– Save the dates –
Upcoming further down the road

JANUARY 24-25, 2015
Amy Sigil in Vancouver, BC

Calamity Sam and Amar will be heading up to Vancouver for a show in conjunction with the workshops.

INFO.

MARCH 25-29, 2015
Cues & Tattoos, Seattle, WA

Calamity Sam will be teaching again, and Amar will be co-hosting The Emerald Vardo Cues & Tattoos Afterparty. Info, workshop registration and show tickets at cuesandtattoos.com

May12-17, 2015
Tribal Fest +
Electric Vardo Tribal Fest AfterParty

Tribal Fest registration is open.
Visit the new Tribal Fest site for details.
Tribal Fest AfterParty Tickets are on Sale.
Visit the Tribal Fest AfterParty Site for details.

ELECTRIC VARDO PARTNERS,
THINGS WE ARE CONNECTED TO,
THINGS WE RECOMMEND

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Help our friends out if you can:

Kami Liddle’s Gold Star Dance Co.
& Junk Parlor Tour+Album Kickstarter

Samira’s Army Cancer
Battle Fund on GoFundMe

Dangerous Beauties
Brava Theater Project Kickstarter
FUNDED. SHOW IN MARCH.

David Starfire Album Project
with Burmese Refugees Kickstarter
FUNDED.  ALBUM IN PROGRESS.

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Electric Vardo Partners & Alumni

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Dub Mission: Sundays at elbo Room, SF

DJ Sep & residents Maneesh the Twister, Vinnie Esparza and J. Boogie + Special Guests each week.
Weekly Calendar at dubmission.com.

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Founding members of Electric Vardo, Ultra Gypsy alumni Jill Parker, Rose Harden and Gibson Pearl teach classes and perform in the bay area. Click on each of their names for links to their websites. Rose teaches as part of Strange Brew, along with Zoe Jakes, Kami Liddle and Elizabeth Strong, Wednesdays at the FatChanceBellyDance studio. Jill teaches at ODC in SF and Spring Fall Studio in Berkeley.

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Electric Vardo Alumni partner, Frédérique / The Lady Fred is a worldwide avant-garde theatrically based belly dancer, artist, instructor, pioneer, and creator / director of both: Silent Sirens Theatre™, and the Black Heart Ballads™

Current Class Schedule (See The Lady Fred‘s website for updates
on classes, workshops and events):

Wednesdays: Improv Tribal Style
Level: Beginner 8:15pm – 9:45pm
East Bay Dance Center, Oakland

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Electric Vardo Alumni partner, Freyja aka Vanessa Naja, currently offers private and group pilates and belly dance classes in the East Bay, as part of her practice, Holistic Moving. Sam and Amar currently have regular sessions with her and Highly recommend Vanessa

Holistic Moving offers private and group Pilates and Belly Dance classes designed to your individual bodies needs.  Increase strength, flexibility and create graceful and balanced movement through instruction tailored to your needs.  Every body is different, Every body needs a unique program.  Classes are offered in North Oakland/Rockridge.

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Sam and Amar are offering design and promotion services to promoters, dancers, musicians, DJs and all in the creative arts business. Current clients include Zulu Tatoo & Zulu Lounge (flyers & brochures), Heather Shoopman (website), G.S. Sachdev (CD & DVD artwork, flyers, posters, business cards & website), BFLA (Flyers & Blog), Fusion Fest (flyers and promotion), Unmata (flyers), Tribal Fest (ads, flyers), Cues & Tattoos (flyers, program). Send us an e-mail for info.

Tribal Tech Support offers Proffesional HD Video, Sound and Lighting services for events. Email Tribal Tech Support for info.

Electric Vardo 2014 Catch-up newsletter

Electric Vardo

      . . . Upcoming events and news . . .

• Underground Nomads (Tuesdays – SF) > Streaming Live
• Eclectic Ensemble (2/21 – LA) > Streaming Live
• Massive Spectacular (3/6 – Las Vegas)
• Tribal Roots Revival (3/14 – SF) > Tix on Sale at Midnight
• Non Stop Bhangra – Delhi 2 Dublin (3/15 – SF)

Hello dear wonderful friends and supporters. I hope you have had a great start to your year. Things are kicking into high gear over here. I haven’t reached out to you in a couple of months, so I will say Happy New Year, to start off. I also want to always remember to thank you for your continued support.

Since I last checked in back in December, i’ve been working on some great things coming up, which will be detailed below. I had a great New Year’s Eve up Portland, where I played at The Beloved Festival’s Inspire Truth NYE event at the Portland Art Museum. Nagasita and members of The Dogon Lights joined me in a tribute set to Cheb i Sabbah. It was an emotional and beautiful experience, to say the least.

Underground Nomads – which many of you know we had started together with Cheb i Sabbah – has really been taking shape, thanks to a bunch of wonderful, amazing people who are part of the crew and come out to support. We closed out the year on our last Tuesday of the year with Maneesh the Twister and myself spinning and an Eclectic Ensemble style improv performance jam. It was our biggest night to date. We weren’t sure if anyone would come since it was Xmas Eve, but the place was packed till closing with a combination of people who weren’t celebrating the holiday and people who came after family festivities. It was a really fun night with great energy. Maneesh and I played till 2:15am. ( See Live Video Feed: Part 1 Part 2 ).

Speaking of Live Video Feeds, Yes, we stream live when we can. So far it has been the DJ sets, but we are working on setting up to stream the performances live as well for folks around the world to see us. We have started an Underground Nomads Support Team fund on GoFundMe, and would love any support you are able to help us out with. Click HERE for Info. and to donate, if you wish and are able to.

Of course, building this new weekly has been taking a lot of energy and time, which is well worth it. But that is just a part of what is going on in our amazing lives which You help to support.

Calamity Sam has been teaching Unmata/Hot Pot I.T.S. classes in the Bay Area and rehearsing like crazy with an amazing team of dancers performing together in Zoe Jakes’ House of Tarot project which will be debuted at Tribal Massive next month (See link above for info) and closing out the weekend at Tribal Fest in May. Following a performance with Unmata and Zoe at the sold out Beats Antique show at the Fillmore in SF, Sam has also joined The Bhoomi Project and will be performing with them at Beats Antique shows in SF (2/21 – Sold Out) and Sacramento (4/2).

Next up on the agenda, one of our favorite community belly dance nights in LA (We stream it live so you can watch if you are far away, but we encourage locals to come to the show)- Eclectic Ensemble. It is more of a house party that we share with the world, where I DJ, mixing live for tag-team improv performances. It is True Improv. The dancers have no idea what I am going to play for them and I have no idea who is going on next. It is a lot of fun for everyone involved – performers and audience alike.

One of the major things I am working on right now is a showcase highlighting San Francisco Tribal and Fusion Belly Dance and the music that has been a part of it, bringing together the pioneers who have taken the dance form to levels unimaginable by many. We are working on the details right now – but you will want to save the date if you are in SF. Some of you from out of town will be here for Rakkasah that weekend, and you will have 2 great late night events on this weekend.

Friday March 14th: Beat Church & Underground Nomads present
Tribal Roots Revival – A night of Global Bass, Tribal and Fusion Belly Dance. Celebrating the past, present and future of ATS, ITS, Tribal Fusion and all forms of Belly Dance.
Music by: HELM, Sidecar Tommy (Beats Antique), DJ Amar, Jef Stott, Kitty D & Beat Churchresidents + Special Guests TBA
Performances by: The Dancers of Hahbi’Ru, FatChanceBellyDance,
UNMATA with Calamity Sam, Jill Parker & The Foxglove Sweethearts and more TBA.
Tickets on sale at midnight Tonight / Monday morning.
– Limited Reserved seating by advance purchase only.
Friday March 14th. 9pm-3am . Performances at 10pm.
F8 . 1192 Folsom St. (@8th), San Francisco, CA
* Check the Facebook Event page for updates and complete lineup announcement later this week *

Saturday March 15th:
Non Stop Bhangra #101
St. Patty’s Day Bhangra Bash with Delhi 2 Dublin
Imagine a scene from a Bollywood movie smack in the middle of a thumping nightclub—swirling colors, the rhythm of pounding feet, and the relentless energy of brilliant beats-that’s Non Stop Bhangra.
Public Works . 161 Eire St. San Francisco, CA . 9pm-3am

If you’re still with me, there’s more below to see below with upcoming festivals and events, Underground Nomads weekly lineups and info. from the Electric Vardo Alumni crew. I will be back in March with updates – and try to keep it more concise.

Once Again, thank you for your support – Amar & Sam, Electric Vardo.

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UNDERGROUND NOMADS  .  SUPPORT TEAM  .  UPCOMING EVENTS

Support Underground Nomads
SF’s new weekly Global Bass Belly Dance Tuesdays at f8 1192 Folsom

We have started a fund for anyone wishing to support us from afar, so we can upgrade our live stream, keep the night growing and support our performers. If you are local, the best way to support us is to come to our shows. Other ways to help us out are to let more people know about our event. Remember, you can watch our live stream from anywhere in the world. We are working on improving the live stream so you can see the performances too. Any support is helpful, whether by donations or spreading the word. If you are not local to SF, do remember us when you visit.

Information about the fund is at our page on the Gofundme site.

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February 18: Drumspyder
Nagasita, Danielle Lottridge + Loud Zoo, Larissa Archer, Tatyana

February 25: SEIX, Dulce Vita
Kami Liddle Strange Brew Hafla
Kami Liddle + Students
Gold Star Dance Co.
* EARLY NIGHT * Performances 9:30PM *

March 4: DJ Dragonfly
Celebrating Mardi Gras . Fat Tuesday
Adara Dance Co., Chandala Shiva, Angela

March 11: DJ Amar
FatChanceBellyDance, Wendy Martlatt, Jodi Waseca

March 18: DJ Santero
Azure, Amberetta, Larissa Archer

March 25: Dulce Vita
Marci Ann, Millie Maddox, Jadeera
–  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  –
Underground Nomads Special Events in April and May:
–  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  –
April 29 (5th Tuesday):
Benefit Hafla for an Animal Rescue
(Details in next Mailer)

–  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  –
May 6: Goldrush Bellydance Hafla

–  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  –
UNDERGROUND NOMADS
Every Tuesday at F8 . 1192 Folsom, SF
9pm-1am. Performances usually at 10*
(Some night start early)
$5 ($5-10 sliding scale on Special Nights)

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THINGS WE ARE A PART OF / ARE PERFORMING AT

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Cues & Tattoos 2014, Seattle 3/26-30:
Registration and AfterParty Tickets on Sale

More info. below.

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4/20 Weekend Workshops with Unmata
and April Rose in Twin Falls, ID

5 Bad Ass Workshops. HipZotic Belly Dance showcase. Afterparty with DJ Amar.

Tribal Fest 2014 Registration

Tribal Fest AfterParty Tickets

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Calamity Sam will be joining Zoe Jakes and The Bhoomi Project on February 21st in SF (sold out) and Sacramento on April 2nd, and as part of The House of Tarot on March 6th in Las Vegas and May 18th at Tribal Fest.

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At the end of May, Amar and Sam will be heading down to the central California coast for the Thrive Instructor Competition and show. Amar will be DJing a pre-party on the beach on Friday night and Calamity Sam will be teaching on Sunday. The weekend, in addition to the Instructor Competition, will feature a show and workshops by Amy Sigil, Karin of Mandala, Carolena Nerriccio, Shanti Bardot, Firefly and Calamity Sam.

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Upcoming Events with Amar & Sam:

Late March, April, May

Cues & TattoosMarch 26-30, 2014 in Seattle

Amar and Sam will be teaching at Cues & Tattoos and co-hosting the EMERALD VARDO AfterParty featuring an exclusive lineup of dancers, More details to come soon. Workshop registration is now open. Amar is also offering Video services for the festival. Visit the Cues & Tattoos website for video order forms.

The Emerald Vardo 2014 Cues & Tattoos AfterParty will be featured as part of DJ Amar’s Cheb i Sabbah Tribute Tour, joined by Lady Ra and UNMATA.

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Electric Vardo Tribal Fest AfterParty
May 16-17, 2014, Sebastopol, CA

AfterParty tix are on sale, with Special Early Bird discounts and bonuses.

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ELECTRIC VARDO PARTNERS . THINGS WE ARE CONNECTED TO

Electric Vardo Partners & Alumni:

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Dub Mission: Sundays at elbo Room, SF

DJ Sep & residents Maneesh the Twister, Ludichris, Vinnie Esparza and J. Boogie + Special Guests each week.
Weekly Calendar at dubmission.com.

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Founding members of Electric Vardo,
Ultra Gypsy’s Jill Parker, Rose Harden and Gibson Pearl
teach classes and perform in the bay area.
Click on each of their names for links to their websites.
Rose teaches as part of Strange Brew, along with Zoe Jakes, Kami Liddle
and Elizabeth Strong, Wednesdays at the FatChanceBellyDance studio.
Jill teaches at ODC in SF and Spring Fall Studio in Berkeley.

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Electric Vardo Alumni partner, Frédérique / The Lady Fred is a worldwide avant-garde theatrically based belly dancer, artist, instructor, pioneer, and creator / director of both: Silent Sirens Theatre™, and the Black Heart Ballads™
Current Class Schedule (See The Lady Fred‘s website for
updates on classes, workshops and events):

Wednesdays: Improv Tribal Style
Level: Beginner 8:15pm – 9:45pm
East Bay Dance Center, Oakland

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Electric Vardo Alumni partner, Freyja aka Vanessa Naja, currently offers private and group pilates and belly dance classes in the East Bay, as part of her practice, Holistic Moving. Sam and Amar currently have regular sessions with her and Highly recommend Vanessa

Holistic Moving offers private and group Pilates and Belly Dance classes designed to your individual bodies needs.  Increase strength, flexibility and create graceful and balanced movement through instruction tailored to your needs.  Every body is different, Every body needs a unique program.  Classes are offered in North Oakland/Rockridge.

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Sam and Amar are offering design and promotion services to promoters, dancers, musicians, DJs and all in the creative arts business. Current clients include Zulu Tatoo & Zulu Lounge (flyers & brochures), Heather Shoopman (website), G.S. Sachdev (CD & DVD artwork, flyers, posters, business cards & website), BFLA (Flyers & Blog), Fusion Fest (flyers and promotion), Unmata (flyers), Tribal Fest (ads, flyers), Cues & Tattoos (flyers, program). Send us an e-mail for info.

Tribal Tech Support offers Proffesional HD Video, Sound and Lighting services for events. Email Tribal Tech Support for info.

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Other things connected to us . . .

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Music from Around the World – CDs and DVDs from DJ Amar’s store and personal collection at my Amazon Store.

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Classical Indian Music Albums and instructional video

by G.S. Sachdev – Visit gssachdev.com for details.

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Authentic loose-leaf chai made fresh to order from a traditional family recipe with a flavor reminiscent of the railway station chai-wallas in India. Available in Traditional Black or Naturally Caffeine Free Rooibos.

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Copyright © 2014 DJ Amar & Electric Vardo events, All rights reserved.

Sign up for Electric Vardo’s Approximately-monthly e-mail Newsletter.

March 14 – Save the Date: Tribal Roots Revival – Details on the way.

SAVE THE DATE!

A Tribute to Tribal Belly Dance and the music that supports it.

– A.T.S., I.T.S., Tribal Fusion and more.

Details on the way. Check the Facebook Page for updates.

An epic event is coming together – Hosted by Beat Church and Underground Nomads.

Music by:
HELM
SIDECAR TOMMY
DJ AMAR
JEF STOTT
KITTY D + Beat Church Residents & Special Guests TBA.

Performances by:
Hahbi’Ru
FatChanceBellyDance
UNMATA with Calamity Sam
Jill Parker & The Foxglove Sweethearts
And more to be announced … Hang tight and RSVP here. We will update you when we announce the full lineup.

This is both a night of performances in an intimiate venue with a selection of San Francisco’s Pioneers in the Global Belly Dance community AND a night on the dancefloor. 2 rooms with different music and performances.

There will be Limited Reserved Seating by advance purchase only.

Tickets on Sale at Midnight. Click HERE to order

$20 for 9pm entry.
$35 for Reserved Seating (limited, advance only).

Late night entry after 12am for the dancefloor will be $15. We go till 3am.

Doors 9pm.

Main Room:
Performances 10pm
– 2 sets with live music between sets
Dancefloor 12:00-3am.

Back Room:
Music and performances 12am-3am.

Electric Vardo December 2013 Update

Content from Monthly Electric Vardo E-mail Newsletter:

Thursday December 5 (Los Angeles, CA): Zulu Lounge
– A Vaudeville Holiday

DJ Amar and Calamity Sam return to their So-Cal residency joined by a smash-bangin lineup of LA’s top dancers, musicians and DJs. This night will showcase a wide range of dance performance styles, with dancefloor music spanning genres and cultures across the globe.

We are back at our wonderful home in Hollywood: The King King, for a holiday spectacular that you will not want to miss. Discover the magic and music of Zulu lounge with resident DJs Amar and Psychotropic rockin the dancefloor with a special ATS and ITS jam on stage leading you into the night after an evening chock full of amazing performances.

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A note from Electric Vardo:

Hello and thank you to all of our dear supporters who keep us creating. You are the ones who continue to make it happen.

We are coming out of a whirlwind of a month, with everything from Calamity Sam performing at the Fillmore with Unmata, Zoe and Beats Antique to saying goodbye to a music legend and friend who inspired and was a great influence in Amar’s career as a DJ and music producer – Cheb i Sabbah. We took opportunities to celebrate his life and continue to do so.

December kicks off a Tribute tour to Cheb i Sabbah with a PreParty for the Mystic Island Festival in Santa Cruz and a New Year’s Eve show in Portland. Inspire Truth on New Year’s Eve is an important event and honor for Amar, as he will be playing the set that Cheb i Sabbah was booked to play, as a tribute to him. Continuing into 2014, Amar will be visiting different cities in collaboration with local DJs and dancers who have been close to and influenced greatly by his music. 2014 tour dates will be announced in January.

Sam just wrapped up her Hot Pot I.T.S. sessions for 2013 and will be taking a short break until January … Ok, well, not really a break. While in LA for Zulu Lounge, she will be teaching a workshop in LA, hosted by BFLA. Following that, she will teach a couple of Fusion Belly Dance classes in Oakland before ITS resumes in 2014.

We hope you will join us at some of these events if you are local or if we make it to your town. Remember you can stream the Underground Nomads Tuesdays live from your home if you are far away from us.

Thank you for your support,
DJ Amar & Calamity Sam,
Electric Vardo

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Friday December 6 (Los Angeles, CA): BFLA Presents Calamity Sam
Calamitous Combos workshop

LA Belly Dancers: Thanks to Rodin, Shoop and BFLA …
She’s coming back to town! Don’t miss your chance to dance with THE Calamity Sam! Come learn a couple of her favorite combos, and stay after for some ITS jammin’.

Calamity Sam will also be teaching at Cues & Tattoos on Sunday March 30th and performing at the Instructor’s Showcase on Friday March 28th, 2014 in Seattle, WA, and at Fusion Fest in Boise later next summer (dates tba). Other workshops and events in the works. Visit thecalamitysam.com for Sam’s whereabouts and links to register for her workshops.

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Tuesdays at F8 – 1192 Folsom, SF (ongoing weekly) – Streaming Live
UNDERGROUND NOMADS

Underground Nomads continues in honor of our co-founder and resident Cheb i Sabbah. Rotating DJs and dance performances each week, showcasing different music genres with a global vibe. Resident DJs include DJ Sep, Dulce Vita and DJ Amar. Dance performances curated by Gina Grandi.

Underground Nomads Upcoming Weeks:

Dec. 10: Dulce Vita. Dancers FatChanceBellyDance, Amberetta, Millie Maddox, Wendy Martlatt

Dec. 17: DJ Sep. Dancers Angela Eckstrand, Calamity Sam, Amina Zareh, Laura Elizabeth

Dec. 24: DJ Amar. Holiday Open Stage with Guest Dancers performing improv to DJ Amar’s DJ set.

Jan. 05: Bob Duskis (Cheb i Sabbah Tribute Set) Dancers Millie Maddox,Bramani

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Saturday December 14th (Santa Cruz): Mystic Island Festival Pre-Party
DJ Amar, joined by Chandala Shiva, will be playing a midnight Cheb i Sabbah tribute set.

Heart Tribe Presents the Mystic Island Festival Pre Party in Santa Cruz. An Ode to Cheb i Sabbah with Dj Amar ft. Belly Dance performances by Chandala Shiva, Mama Crow, Truth Now, Cello Joe, Kundalani Dance Jams w/ Victory Sweet and Mystic Projection, Kundalini Session By Naomi Wilder, Sound Healing, Henna Body Art, Tea Lounge with Ron Jon Terlane.

This most exquisite evening will be a chance to buy discounted Tickets for Mystic Island Festival to be held on Maui Jan 30 through Feb 3. Featuring Yoga Work Shops and Music By Random Rab, Shimshai, The Human Experience, Chris Berry, Kaminanda, David Star Fire, and Many More.

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Tuesday December 31 / New Year’s Eve (Portland, OR): Inspire Truth

Cheb i Sabbah Tribute set by DJ Amar, joined by Nagasita.

DJ Amar is honored to play a set to represent, celebrate and honor Cheb i Sabbah‘s music, as he will be performing in his place during the timeslot that Chebiji was booked to play at this Beloved Festival’s New Year’s Eve event at the Portland Art Museum.

Amar will be joined by one of Chebiji’s favorite dancers in Portland, Nagasita. weaving the Outernational sounds from years past during their days spinning at Cheb i Sabbah’s legendary Nickies Tuesdays into the latest rhythms from nights they played together earlier this year at their new Underground Nomads Tuesday reincarnation.

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Bay Area UNMATA / Hot Pot I.T.S. classes with Calamity Sam

Calamity Sam is the Official Bay Area Hot Pot instructor, teaching level 1UNMATA I.T.S. in the East Bay. Level 2, and classes in SF coming soon.
Monday nights at Ellen Webb Studio in Emeryville, CA.
Level 1: 8:15-9:45pm. Level 2 coming soon.

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DJ Amar’s music store on Amazon . Calamity Sam’s Etsy Shop

DJ Amar’s Facebook Page .Electric Vardo Facebook Page

Side-Panel:

Sunday December 8
(San Francisco):
New Delhi Restaurant and
Compassionate Chefs Cafe
Bollywood Dance Party

Electric Vardo and Non Stop Bhangra have been a part of Compassionate Chefs Cafe with New Delhi Restaurant Chef and founder Ranjan Dey, since he started the organization a few years ago. CCC is a San Francisco-based non-profit organization with one goal: To help children locally and globally. We help the Tenderloin After School Program (TASP) and Gandhi Ashram in Ahmedabad, India to uplift the lives of young children in need of assistance. This project is to complete the full circle of the Ekatva journey. Our goal is to take 16 kids and five chaperons from TASP to visit the kids of Ekatva at the Gandhi Ashram in Ahmedabad, India in 2015-2016. Compassionate Chefs Cafe has already raised $20,000 towards this project. Our goal is to raise $60,000 this year. With your support and generous donation we will reach much closer to the goal. We are in constant touch with Nimo from Ekatva to help create an organic process to this journey. The main idea is to create a greater good objective of the spirit of Global citizenship through a dance-drama program. This will start locally first and grow into a city and state wide effort culminating into a trip to visit our brothers and sisters across the ocean in Gandhi Ashram. The essence of this project is following the foot steps of Ekatva with guidance from Nimo through Laura, the Program Director of Tenderloin After School Program. Sunday evening will include a feast at New Delhi Restaurant, 160 Ellis St. in San Francisco, with live entertainment featuring DJ Jimmy Love and Dholrhythms Dance Co. Click on the image above for more information about the event and CCC.

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Cues & Tattoos 2014, Seattle: Festival Registration and AfterParty Tickets on Sale

Tribal Fest 2014 Registration

Tribal Fest AfterParty Tickets

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Electric Vardo Partners & Alumni

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Dub Mission
Sundays at elbo Room, SF

DJ Sep & residents Maneesh the Twister, Ludichris, Vinnie Esparza and J. Boogie + Special Guests each week.
Weekly Calendar at dubmission.com.

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Founding members of Electric Vardo, Ultra Gypsy’s Jill Parker,Rose Harden and Gibson Pearlteach classes and perform in the bay area. Click on each of their names for links to their websites. Rose teaches as part of Strange Brew, along with Zoe Jakes, Kami Liddle and Elizabeth Strong, Wednesdays at the FatChanceBellyDance studio. Jill teaches at ODC in SF and Spring Fall Studio in Berkeley.

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Electric Vardo Alumni partner, Frédérique / The Lady Fred is a worldwide avant-garde theatrically based belly dancer, artist, instructor, pioneer, and creator / director of both: Silent Sirens Theatre™, and the Black Heart Ballads™

Current Class Schedule (See The Lady Fred‘s website for updates on classes, workshops and events):

Wednesdays: Improv Tribal Style
Level: Beginner 8:15pm – 9:45pm
East Bay Dance Center, Oakland

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Electric Vardo Alumni partner,Freyja aka Vanessa Naja, currently offers private and group pilates and belly dance classes in the East Bay, as part of her practice, Holistic Moving. Sam and Amar currently have regular sessions with her and Highly recommend Vanessa

Holistic Moving offers private and group Pilates and Belly Dance classes designed to your individual bodies needs.  Increase strength, flexibility and create graceful and balanced movement through instruction tailored to your needs.  Every body is different, Every body needs a unique program.  Classes are offered in North Oakland/Rockridge.

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Visit Calamity Sam’s Calamitous Costuming Etsy store for some awesome head pieces, necklaces and more – all made by her.

Sam and Amar are offering design and promotion services to promoters, dancers, musicians, DJs and all in the creative arts business. Current clients include Zulu Tatoo & Zulu Lounge (flyers & brochures), Heather Shoopman (website), G.S. Sachdev (CD & DVD artwork, flyers, posters, business cards & website), BFLA (Flyers & Blog), Fusion Fest (flyers and promotion), Unmata (flyers), Tribal Fest (ads, flyers), Cues & Tattoos (flyers, program). Send us an e-mail for info.

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Further down the road . . .

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Cues & Tattoos
March 26-30, 2014 in Seattle, WA

Amar and Sam will be teaching at Cues & Tattoos and co-hosting the EMERALD VARDO AfterParty featuring an exclusive lineup of dancers, More details to come soon. Workshop registration is now open. Amar is also offering Video services for the festival. Visit the Cues & Tattoos website for video order forms.

The Emerald Vardo 2014 Cues & Tattoos AfterParty will be featured as part of DJ Amar’s Cheb i Sabbah Tribute Tour, joined by Lady Ra and UNMATA.

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Electric Vardo Tribal Fest AfterParty
May 16-17, 2014, Sebastopol, CA
Tribal Fest 2014 registrations
and AfterParty Tix on sale now.

AfterParty tix are on sale, with Special Early Bird discounts and bonuses.
The Official Tribal Fest AfterParty by Electric Vardo will take place on Friday and Saturday May 16 & 17.

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Other things connected to us . . .

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Music from Around the World – CDs and DVDs from my store and personal collection at my Amazon Store.

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Classical Indian Music Albums and instructional video by G.S. Sachdev – Visit gssachdev.com for details.

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Authentic loose-leaf chai made fresh to order from a traditional family recipe with a flavor reminiscent of the railway station chai-wallas in India. Available in Traditional Black or Naturally Caffeine Free Rooibos.

Electric Vardo November newsletter – Part 1

A note from Amar:
Dear friends and supporters. You may have heard the news already of Dear Cheb i Sabbah’s passing a couple of days ago. He was an inspiration, friend and uncle to me. He was one of the key people who gave me the opportunities which brought my career to where it is today. I remember back in 2004 when I was a new DJ, he asked me to sub for him at his Tuesday night weekly at Nickie’s while he was travelling. That is a big part of what kickstarted it all for me.

He was diagnosed with stage  stomach cancer just a day after he played at the Tribal Fest Afterparty in May of 2011. The music and support of all of the people from around the world who stepped up to help him with his medical treatments that and filled the dancefloors that summer forward is what kept him going longer than the doctors ever believed possible (they gave him an estimate of just a few weeks to live). Following alternative treatment in germany and India, he strongly snapped back and continued travelling and rocking dancefloors. He was still coming out and DJing until just a few weeks ago. Holistic treatment kept him healthier for the time he was here than chemo ever would have. He chose the right thing so he could be present rather than slowly fade away. His message to all who love him is to send him off with meditations wishing him well on his journey into the next realm.

His partner during the last few years of his life, Eloise, who was by his side and took care of Cheb i Sabbah from beginning to end, shares this message: “Please take a moment to recite mantra for Chebiji’s liberation, for world peace, for true happiness for all sentient beings. “OM MANI PADME HUM” … It was my honor to care for him, to share life and love together. He is forever with me, he is my angel. OM MANI PADME HUM!”

Eloise is His angel, and is a permanent member of our family. Blessings go out to Eloise, to the rest of Chebiji’s family – including his close friends who he considered family just the same – and to his extended family of supporters who stood by his side from near and far.

This coming Tuesday, we will be honoring him at the new Tuesday weekly that we started in part as a way to keep his dream alive. Cheb i Sabbah, DJ Sep, Dulce Vita, Gina Grandi and myself launched Underground Nomads together as a new event to bring together the world music vibes that were created by Cheb i Sabbah’s legendary Tuesdays at Nickie’s, by the Thursday nights at El Rio back in the day with Ultra Gypsy, DJ Sep, myself, Soulsalaam and Jef Stott, the belly dance nights at Amira and other regular world music inspired events that we all used to go out to, perform at and enjoy. We are continuing and Growing our Underground Nomads nights in honor of Chebiji.

The streaming link is at the f8 website.

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Electric Vardo Event Recommendations, shows we support, shows we are involved in:

November 10 – 6pm-9pm: Dangerous Beauties at New Parish, Oakland.

Dangerous Beauties – the Long Strange Trip, A tribute to the Founding Mothers of the 60s and 70s. Evening show, doors at 6pm. Show ends at 9pm.

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November 10 – 9pm-2am: Dub Mission featuring Mad Professor.

An extra-special Dub Mission lands at the Elbo Room this Sunday with Mad Professor, Joe Ariwa, General Levy and DJ Sep. Resident DJs and Special Guests are presented every Sunday, with an extra-big bang on the long weekends. This Veteran’s day weekend is not exception. I highly recommend arriving early.

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Tuesday November 12th: UNDERGROUND NOMADS Tuesdays at F8.
Tribute to Cheb i Sabbah. Special Guest Mo Corleone (Ambient Mafia) JoinsDJ Amar with resident dancers FatChanceBellyDance and Masha, plus Special Guests Jade Itiene and Rasa Vitalia.
We will start the evening this Tuesday with a Meditation / Prayer Session for Chebiji from 8-9pm, with DJ sets and dance performances following. We will stream live, for those of you out of town who wish to join from home.

Underground Nomads Upcoming Weeks:
Nov. 12: DJ Amar, Mo Corleone. Dancers FatChanceBellyDance + more. 
– 8pm Meditation/gathering for Cheb i Sabbah before the show.
Nov. 19: DJ SEP. Dancers Heather Shoopman, Calamity Sam
Nov. 26: Dulce Vita, Dan Cantrell. Amar’s Birthday Party, Extended Lineup featuring The Lady Fred, Jodi Waseca, Verbatim, Tatyana, Jennifer faust, Millie Maddox (and some surprises, I hear 🙂

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Saturday November 16th (San Francisco): Non Stop Bhangra

Resident night with your Non Stop Bhangra crew: Your hosts DJ Jimmy Love and Dholrhythms. Residents Rav-E (DJ, Dhol), Pavit & Mehul (Dhol), Amar (Visuals), Odell Hussey (Photography). Non Stop Bhangra brings an eclectic bhangra vibe to Public Works in SF every month. This will be the last NSB of 2013. Come party with us before we take a month off to refresh for the new year leading up to NSB 100 and upward.

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Sunday November 17 (Nov. 16, featuring Unmata & Calamity Sam,
is sold out): Beats Antique at the Fillmore with Alam Khan.

Beats Antique: A Thousand Faces tour, 2 nights at the Fillmore. Saturday night is Sold Out. If you’re lucky enough to have tickets for Saturday, you will get to see UNMATA and Calamity Sam joining Zoe Jakes’s Special Guest performer crew. I hear they might be back on Sunday (but this is not confirmed). Tickets are still available for Sunday, when they will be joined by Alam Khan.

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Thursday December 5 (Los Angeles, CA): Zulu Lounge
– A Vaudeville Holiday

DJ Amar and Calamity Sam return to their So-Cal residency joined by a smash-bangin lineup of LA’s top dancers, musicians and DJs. This show will showcase a wide range of dance performance styles, with dancefloor music spanning genres and cultures across the globe. We are back at our wonderful home in Hollywood: The King King, for a holiday spectacular that you will not want to miss. Discover the magic and music of Zulu lounge with resident DJs Amar and Psychotropic rockin the dancefloor with a special ATS and ITS jam on stage leading you into the night after an evening chock full of amazing performances.

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Bay Area UNMATA / Hot Pot I.T.S. classes with Calamity Sam

Calamity Sam is the Official Bay Area Hot Pot instructor, teaching level 1 UNMATA I.T.S. in the East Bay. Level 2, and classes in SF coming soon.
Monday nights at Ellen Webb Studio in Emeryville, CA.
Level 1: 8:15-9:45pm.
Level 2 coming soon.

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DJ Amar’s music store on Amazon . Calamity Sam’s Etsy Shop

DJ Amar’s Facebook Page .Electric Vardo Facebook Page