Djam at Je'Bon

For a fun girls night out, my friends Mimi and Ava and I like to go to our favorite place to watch bellydancing in New York: Djam at Je'Bon.  In the downstairs space of this East Village Asian restaurant, a group of musicians and dancers get together for an experimental presentation of bellydance and other related forms of movement.  Kaeshi Chai of Bellyqueen (pictured here) is the hostess and creator of this Wednesday night showcase that always delivers a new way of looking at this ever-changing and varied artform.  Practically every well-known bellydancer has graced this stage at some point in the past 3-years.  After each performance, I am always amazed at how styles, body types, costumes and make-up can be so different and unique.  The band Djinn, composed of five core players, really enliven with their beats and syncopations.  The intimate and informal format is perfectly balanced with a combination of food, music, dance with a dash of the unexpected.  Kaeshi, an incredible warrior-princess of a dancer herself, often has her student troupes perform so that the atmosphere is very amicable and familial.  In fact, we can all get up and dance together at the end to cap off the evening.

An Unknown Artist

To make ends meet, I often temp in corporate America, where life is so structured and detailed that I often find myself a little dazed and confused from all the minutia.  On occasion, I come across something that restores and enlightens.  How joyful are these moments!

In an office on Park Avenue, a work on paper stopped me in my tracks.  At first glance, it seems like a modest diagrammatic work on paper - minimal color range, rather light and sketchy.  Two pieces of watercolor paper glued together making one long piece.  On further inspection, a variety of marks come into play: geometric shapes, cross marks, hatching, smudging, scribbling and shading form a whimsical composition using a wide range of materials such as charcoal, graphite, colored pencil, paint and tape.  What an orchestral flow of multiligual versatility stopping at a moment of perfect balance.

I wanted to know more and inquired about this artist in the collection.  Yet, there was no name, no fame, no glory.  I salute this artist and all those like him/her who as unknown masters of their art, still make their marks on us.