One
fall day last September I went to Silver City, New Mexico. Silver
City is in the southwest section of the state of New Mexico and has a
population of about 10,000. There are several different areas of the
Gila National Forest to the west, the north and east of the town with
mostly desert to the south. A lot of the land is devoted to ranching
and farming. You will find an assortment of college students in
Silver City since it is the home of Western New Mexico University. I
also have noticed that Silver City has become more and more of a town
consisting of retired people, as it is such a nice little town to
live in. It has a lot appeal to the tourist with its fascinating
cowboy and mining history in Silver City, plus there is the historic
town of Pinos Altos, and the Santa Rita Copper Mine. Be sure not to
miss the Big Ditch Park, the Silver City Museum, the magnificent Gila
River and Gila Cliff Dwellings, the City of Rocks, and Lake Roberts.
I had gone to the small western town to visit a friend and we decided
to attend a medieval European Renaissance Faire being held in Goff
Park. I certainly never expected something like this to be held in
Silver City. It was at the Faire that I met Macie, a
dancer and merchant.
Before
I met Macie I watched her and several other dancers as they performed
for the re-enactors of the King and Queen and their attendants.
Renaissance Faires are groups of people who do historical
reenactments of old England, even to speaking in ‘olde English’.
There were seven dancers doing a form of ethnic belly dancing.
Although they danced as a group you could tell each one had their own
style. Each dancer had a unique handmade costume. Several dancers had
two piece costumes reminding me of Egyptian or Arabian belly dancing
costumes. Some other dancers were dressed like gypsies; one costume
seemed Grecian while another was more suggestive of a European
peasant. It was Macie’s costume that really caught my eye, as well
as her dancing.
Her
dancing was very, very good to my inexperienced eye. I had never
really watched anyone belly dance before. I was amazed at how much
energy they put out. No wonder I have heard it can be such a good
exercise for loosing weight. The dancers had muscles in their bellies
that were akin to muscles I would have expected to see on someone who
worked out in a gym or did weight lifting. But then what would I know
about that either. The extraordinary, dazzling, and beautiful,
swirling, flowing dance went on and on. I would have fallen over from
exhaustion long before the music ended, but when they stopped the
dancers were just starting to breathe hard. And they all were still
smiling.
Now
I had a chance to take a good look at Macie’s costume. The top was
red, a true fire engine red. It was a satin bra-top with the addition
of long sleeves. It had lots of cleavage that looked great on Sarah.
I could have never worn something like that. In addition it had
several rows of lightweight chains with coins dangling off the
chains. They weren’t real coins, of course. The coins glinted,
wiggled, chimed, and jingled with every movement she made. The long
sleeves of her top were made of a soft, see-though, shimmery
material, also in red. She wore a low-wasted gypsy skirt in wide
bands of bright colors, which came to almost to her ankles. A yarn
belt that had tassels dangling around the edges set off the skirt.
Between the top and the low-draped skirt she was showing off her
well-muscled belly, which is the reason for the name belly dancing.
Later I was to learn that she usually wore wide-legged, harem pants
instead of gypsy skirts.
The
dancers left, and were replaced by a reenactment of a medieval battle
fought with swords – but without real swords, of course. Swords and
other weapons were replicas with lots of foam padding for safety. The
taped music was replaced by a group of drummers. After the sword
fight the King and Queen, and their court paraded around the park
stopping here and there to examine the wares of the approximately
thirty merchants that had booths set up like an old-fashioned,
European, oven-air market or fair. It seemed as if the whole town of
Silver City had turned out for the celebration. Imagine my surprise
when I saw Macie, the belly dancer, now playing the part of a
merchant. She was hawking her goods at one of the most attractive
booths at the fair. The booth looked like an Arabian barber tent.
Actually there were two tents. One with all the merchandise in it and
another we couldn’t see into as it had been used by the dancers as
a dressing room.
Macie played the Renaissance Fair role well, using the old European expressions while explaining what she was
selling to the make-believe Queen, who was examining a large
selection of jewelry, the chains with coins attached to them, and
other things that could be used to liven up dance costumes, or even
worn with normal everyday clothing. One thing that really caught the
Queens eye and other customers, as well as mine, was a display with a
wild array of colorful scarves gently blowing in the light breeze.
They ranged from a rainbow of expensive, hand-dyed, silk scarves to
reasonably priced scarves for any occasion. The Queen bought a scarf
and proceeded on.
I
stayed as I had to have one of those scarves, and I wanted a chance
to talk to Macie. I wanted to know why she did belly dancing and why
she sold things at Renaissance Faires.
We
had a very nice conversation. It turned out that Macie does dancing
and fairs because she really enjoys it. She says she loves to dance.
She got started dancing as a form of exercise, and has been doing it
for about twenty years now. She said it was much more enjoyable than
jogging or aerobics, or anything else that she had tried. Before
becoming a dancer and merchant Macie had been a musician I can
see how the music and dancing go together. Once in a while she
teaches a belly dancing class. She said that the dancing was mostly
for fun and enjoyment, but that it also helps relieve tension and
stress as well as being a good exercise.
To
my surprise there are lots of these different events in nearly all
states. I had heard of Civil War Reenactment’s, but not
reenactments at Renaissance Faires, SCA camps, and Amtgard events.
There are also events and reenactments at belly-dancing festivals,
mountain men rendezvous, Single Action Shooters events, and others to
numerous to mention. Sarah and other merchants also go to many arts
and crafts fairs, horse shows, and rock and gem shows.
Macie says her favorite events are camping trips to SCA events which are dedicated to reenacting 17th century European history, and where you sometimes have to be a member, as well as the Renaissance Faires, and the belly-dancing festivals. There is a big festival in Salt Lake City every year. All of her merchandise is concerned in one way or another with belly dancing, ethnic, or folk dancing. Most of what she sells is products and jewelry that dancers can add to their costumes. On occasion Macie makes complete costumes. One thing she always tries to have plenty of is her handmade, yarn tassel belts. She says they sell almost as fast as she can make them. She, also, keeps more period costumes of the 17th European time for those that want them.
Today
Macie has her dogs with her. She says that any
events that allow it or that last more than a day, she takes her
three German Shepherd dogs with her. Many of her events are camp-outs
for the re-enactors and lots of dogs go with their owners. Her dogs
are well trained to be friendly with customers and can be an
effective drawing card to get customers to look at her wares. I was able to pet all of her beautiful dogs.
The
day and the Renaissance Faire had come to a close, and I found myself
still hanging out near Macie’s booth, as she packed her consumer
goods and dismantled the tents.
Macie attends shows in the southwestern states. You might find her in
Texas, Arizona, Colorado, Utah, or California as well as New Mexico.
Look for her, watch her dance, buy a trinket, and say HI, if you get
a chance. You will be glad you did.
To
find out more about Silver City, New Mexico go to
www.silvercity.org
To
find out more about Renaissance Fairs go to
www.renaissance-faire.com
To
find out more about Amtgard go to htt://amtgard.com:8080/
To
find out more about SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism) go to
www.sca.org
To
find out more about Single Action Shooters Clubs go to
www.sassnet.com
To
find out more about mountain men rendezvous go to
www.rondylist.com
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