[MR] Kind of Off Topic but Part of My Recruitment Effort!

[Tracey Duncan]

I was at Denny's Restaurant recently and a lady at the next table heard us 
talking about Midnight at the Oasis (middle eastern event).  She asked me about 
it and I, of course, was delighted to tell her!  I gave her one of my SCA cards 
as well.  She recently sent me an email and is very into belly dancing, which is 
NOT my area of expertise, although I enjoy it.  Can anyone help me answer her 
questions below?

hi, this is sonya, the austin bellydancer that eavesdropped on you at  denny's 
recently.  although my visit is done (and we had a lovely time) i  wanted to get 
in touch, try to learn a bit more about the scene in  raleigh.   i have a few 
questions, and there's no rush on the answers,  feel free to respond whenever 
you have free time...

is  ncbellydance.org the best way to find folks? ( i tried two events while  in 
town, both were no longer happening, just wondering how often the  events page 
is updated.  fyi, i do the updates to our calendar on  abda.org for all austin 
events.)  is ncbd.org run by one person, or is  it an organization with a board, 
and meetings, and stuff?  


what  ratio of tribal to raks sharqi would you say there is in raleigh?  many  
of  the pics i have seen make it seem like tribal is the smaller group.  if  so, 
where do tribal gals go to get their fix?  


are there strong  divisions between troupes/studios/teachers?  or does everyone 
tend to  get along and support eachothers events?  (we have a bit of both in  
austin, is why i ask.)

on average, how many weekend seminars  happen in or near raleigh each year?  is 
it common to drive to another  city for a workshop?

are there regularly scheduled ren faires in  the area? (we have 2 huge ones and 
half a dozen small ones all in  driving distance, here.) 


who would you say are the most  prominent leaders in your community?  for 
instance, anybody i should  look up on you tube to get a feel for the dancing in 
the raleigh area?  


anyway,  those are some of my thought directions, and although it will be a year  
or two before we come to raleigh, i'd like to get to know more, since i  really  
saw so little while we were there.  actually, meeting you gals in the  dennys 
was one of the highlights.  it was nice to just strike up a  conversation with 
friendly strangers, it was very like home.   thanks a  bunch for extending the 
shared hand of bellydance, it's cool to get to  talk to others about dance in a 
whole 'nother area of the country.  i  look forward to hearing about the city, 
and you !  sonya taft, of the  typsy gypsys, ausitn, tx


 Thank you, Merry Rose braintrust!


Lady Rosanella Vespucci  
Argent, a hummingbird rising to sinister vert between three roses gules within 
an orle purpure
Chatelaine, Barony of Windmasters' Hill
Pursuivant Herald-at-Large, Kingdom of Atlantia
Queen's Royal Bard, Kingdom of Atlantia
Deputy of Performing Arts, Kingdom of Atlantia