Comments on: Dance the Night Away Fundraiser

By: Halyma

Halyma — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 12:34:28 +0000

And we made it into SnapDowntownOttawa!
http://www.snapottawadowntown.com/index.php?option=com_sngevents&id=132950

By: Tracey Vibert

Tracey Vibert — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 21:19:40 +0000

Hey there, Thanks Brenna! I appreciate you taking the time to add your comments! It really helps folks realize how much effort goes into these shows, esepcially when someone else points it out!

T/H

By: Brenna Manders

Brenna Manders — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 21:02:36 +0000

Dear Halyma!
Well, I didn’t know what to expect with the “Dance the Night Away” format, altho none of Cathie’s parties has ever been less than fun, instructive, entertaining, glamourous, all the good values of the belly dancing mystique. But I have to say I was bowled over by the talent and variety of dancers performing FOR FREE last Saturday night (14. Nov.). It was a hugely successful production in terms of entertainment, and there was free-form dance for the rest of us (very few turned down that chance) with a great DJ providing the tunes, and a delicious meal on top of it all.
Cathie soldiers on in this often thankless and unsupported task of promoting belly dance events because she believes in community, in reinforcing people’s belief in themselves, in encouraging talent, in sharing
skills and artistry, and in “tikkun olam”, the Jewish concept of “repairing the world”—so all her concerts have a charitable goal too.
Ottawa and the belly dance community at large will suffer a huge loss if Cathie ever just tires of organizing these events and gives up doing it. We can all of us be supportive by volunteering a few hours to help her in the lead-up months and at the event itself. And a card of thanks or a supportive phone call/e-mail would never go amiss either. So hats/chapeaux off to you, Catharine Crerar, Ottawa’s very own belly dance superstar impresario!!!
Brenna Manders

By: Catharine Crerar

Catharine Crerar — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:28:32 +0000

As many of you who have followed our parties for the last 8 years, ours is a very special and cooperative community. I have received some emails from our out-of-town dancers that demonstrate this…and decided to send them along so all of us can have a well-deserved pat on the back. Maybe it takes someone from outside to show us how very special we are in our little ‘backwater’ of a city!!! From Lynette Harper of Victoria, BC….creative Turkish/Romaan performance.”I was so impressed by the high quality organization of your fundraiser, attention to detail (door prizes, raffle, fabulous food that I wish I had room for), …. It was a terrific opportunity to meet and observe Ottawa’s energetic and friendly bellydance community, and I was honoured to be a part of it. Thank you for inviting me.”
From Caliana Dance, Toronto…”Please convey how much we appreciated the opportunity!!! …. It is very important and it is great to make belly connections between different communities!! …. Awesome lady, awesome event and awesome reason to dance!

By: Halyma

Halyma — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:31:51 +0000

And this is a quick note from our lovely hostess for the evening:

‘Dancing through the Night’ was a big success! Thanks to all who attended, performed, volunteered, filmed, decorated and who made it such a good night. We had lots of hurdles to make this party work…new format, new DJ, new location, 2 stage shows this month, a surprise party for Denise (congrats on her 65th!!)…and the fears of H1N1.

Even so, enough of you came out and partied that we were able to make a small profit to be shared between our charities. We are especially grateful for the wonderful performances by our visiting dancers (Caliana’s troupe from Toronto, Nathalie Lebel from Sherbrooke, Donna Langois from North Bay, and Lynette Harper from Victoria, B.C.)

We hope to party again in mid-April and that you will all join in the fun. We will continue to bring in lots of great dancing, lots of interactive and open floor dancing, great prizes….and we will serve the food all night long so everyone gets a chance to sample the terrific mid-east flavours. (Corner Cafe Catering).

Special thanks to Tom of Darner Media for once again creating our wonderful DVDs. Another special thank you to Michele Roy for creating a wonderful ambiance in a very challenging room.

Thanks also to Starwood Hotels for their generous donations of gift certificates….and to all those other company’s who have given so generously. Our volunteers are fantastic too!

You are all much appreciated….come back again! Catharine
p.s. Tracey, I am still getting compliments on the lovely dress you made for me! Thanks.:-)