Business

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=200 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <A HREF="id8.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Front Page"><U>Front Page</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id10.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Editorial"><U>Editorial</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id9.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bellyworld"><U>Bellyworld</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id15.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Music"><U>Music</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="introduction_yoga.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Fitness"><U>Fitness</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id19.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Move of the Month"><U>Move of the Month</U></A></div> <div> Business</div> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><IMG SRC="1eb87590.png" border=0 width="135" height="89" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></FONT>  |     <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Navel Magazine"><U>home</U></A></div> <div> Business</div> <div> <B>Creating Tribal Fest</B></div> <div> <I>Interview by Eleyda Negrón</I></div> <bR> <div> <I><IMG SRC="1ecd6d30.jpg" border=0 width="214" height="211" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="15" VSPACE="0"></I><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >A couple of weeks ago, I made an interesting phone call to Maui, Hawaii.  On the other end of the line, a very fun and honest couple spent some quality time talking about the experience of producing the most important Tribal festival in the United States: Tribal Fest (TF).  Kajira Djoumahna and her husband Chuck “The DJ” shared their experiences about producing the first Festival founded to promote Tribal style belly dancing - now a major influence in other arts and 2007 Golden Belly Award winner at "Zaghareet! Magazine" for best event and producer.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> Back in 2000, Kajira noticed that the major festivals in belly dancing were mostly a stage for Cabaret and other traditional forms of belly dance. American Tribal Style belly dance, as well other Tribal Fusion styles didn't have an adequate forum.  Kajira thought it was about time for ATS and Tribal Fusion belly dance to have a stage to encourage these styles.  That year Kajira and her husband Chuck started planning the very first Tribal Fest, which took place in Sebastopol, California in 2001.  They have been producing this event for seven years now, and Tribal Fest 8 is already in the planning process.</div> <bR> <div> Tribal Fest is an event that Kajira describes that now “has a life of its own”.  Back in 2001 it was all Tribal Style.  Now, Tribal Fest is a rich mix of styles, not just in belly dancing, but other arts: Belly Dance, Bollywood, Fire Dance, Burlesque, Punjab, and more.  This is probably the festival with the widest selection of styles in a very friendly, welcoming environment.</div> <bR> <div> California can be easily claimed as the Mecca of belly dancing in USA, and probably in the New World.  Back in 2000, Chuck and Kajira were in California when they started the Tribal Fest odyssey.  After moving to Hawaii, they never changed the festival location.  Planning for them has been quite steady, using the same location and almost the same sources year after year.  Chuck; the IT person of this dynamic duo, explained that everything nowadays can be done via phone and email.</div> <bR> <div> Chuck and Kajira agreed that Tribal Fest is pretty much a non-stop project.  Tribal Fest 7 wasn't even finished when the theme for Tribal Fest 8 was already there.  Ideas for years come one after another - it is simply a continuous thing.  When it comes to budget, they explained that this event is quite an expensive one.  In summary, organizing Tribal Fest 2007 required around $10,000.  Costs have been rising in almost every single aspect, while Tribal Fest fees have stayed the same, which means a reduction in the revenue.  Chuck remembered that many times, after evaluating costs and how much effort is invested planning this event, they can not help but wonder if all that effort was worth it.  "Obviously, it is," they both exclaimed.  They recognize the influence this festival has in the community, and it also provides an incredible amount of high quality workshops and performances for a very reasonable price.  Even though most of the revenue generated is the main source to fund the event the following year, the personal satisfaction it provides to Kajira and Chuck is simply priceless.</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="1ed9cec0.jpg" border=0 width="412" height="236" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="15" VSPACE="0">The main things to coordinate for Tribal Fest are: location, teachers, food, and vendors.  They have been using the same resources as much as possible, which minimizes searching for things every year.  Picking a date can play a very important factor as well, and May sounds like the perfect month.  Kajira said that it is a wonderful season because it is spring time and there are usually not other festivals around that date. The couple moved to Hawaii before TF 6, and as Chuck explained it is not very difficult for them to coordinate it, even though it is easier to plan big events locally.  When it comes to coordination, Chuck in a joking manner said, “This is a 90%-10% thing: Kajira does 90%, I do 10%.”  Between chuckles Kajira denied that, but Chuck reaffirms that Kajira does most of the planning.  Chuck communicates with everybody through email and their “BSBD Tribe” at the website <I>http://</I><A HREF="http://www.tribe.net" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.tribe.net"><U><I>www.tribe.net</I></U></A><I> </I>while Kajira does things over the phone.  Kajira mentioned that she had the chance to keep a group of loyal volunteers that help her year after year at the event. Her troupe, BlackSheep BellyDance (BSBD), helps as much as they can as well.  She mentioned that it is difficult to find more volunteers; which we at Navel find a pity, considering that volunteers can enjoy several benefits for just offering a couple of hours helping.  Their daughter Noelle; who lives in Sacramento and is currently studying at Amy Sigil's Hot Pot Studio, helps them as well at TF.  </div> <bR> <div> One of the major things other producers sweat about is promotion, but Tribal Fest is mostly promoted by word of mouth.  Originally, they started with good old mail promotion, but nowadays their BSBD website and their “Tribe” are the main promotional sources.  They also published some announcement at "Zaghareet! Magazine".  </div> <bR> <div> The couple explained that scheduling and coordinating other events occur on a “First come, first served” basis.  Major events like TF and Maui Intensive, a week long workshop with different teachers, are planned throughout the year.  Classes, tours, and other small events are planned entirely by Kajira based on availability.  All this planning made us wonder how it affects this couple's life, but when you know them, you can figure out their relationship is strong.  The always helpful Chuck explained that they both do what they love: Kajira her belly dancing; Chuck his DJ'ing.  Kajira has a fascination with traveling, old buildings, and new places; while Chuck likes the local atmosphere and is not so inclined to traveling.  They work their business independently, and try to spend quality time together as much as they can, without limiting each other.  Of course, Chuck joked, he wouldn't mind somebody paying for his ticket to go somewhere overseas with his beloved wife.  </div> <bR> <div> Tribal Fest 8: “The year of Infinite Possibilities”, already promises to be an outstanding Festival for 2008.  The event to be celebrated in May 14-18 already has a stunning list of teachers that will probably grow even more, as the Sebastopol Community Center announced recently all their rooms will be dedicated to Tribal Fest during the whole week.  This is a work of love, which hopefully will continue for years to come, providing the highest quality in belly dancing talent.  </div> <bR> <div> We asked Chuck and Kajira what belly dance means to them. Chuck said: “Belly dance is something Kajira lives, breaths, and dies for, and I admire her for that.”  Kajira told us for her “Belly dancing is a transformation, a life changing experience to the world, and more than I have ever dreamt. It's my life.”</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.blacksheepbellydance.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.blacksheepbellydance.com/"><U><I>BlackSheep BellyDance Website</I></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://bsbd.tribe.net" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://bsbd.tribe.net"><U><I>BSBD Tribe at Tribe.net</I></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>