A Series of Fortunate Events...

That’s what tends to occur when artists get together and are open and generous with each other, yes? Well, a few weeks ago, it happened.

Let me explain. I am a Congolese and Latin dancer, and a member of Mabina Danseuses, a NYC dance company. I also get to spend one day a week ogling all the pretty pieces at the D.Webb Designs studio. I’m sure you can see where this is going, but… read on.

The founder of Mabina, amazing dancer Eto’o Tsana, is often asked to be in music videos for various African artists, and this time, she asked me to be her second dancer. Yay me! The artist, Haitian musician Jimmy Labbe (super sweet guy), was shooting a music video for his upcoming new single “Mario”, and asked for choreography with an Afro-Caribbean feel and a Congolese edge to it. So off we went into rehearsal. Lots of fun, and very very sweaty, rehearsal. Whew!

Of course, on my weekly visit to D.Webb, Debbie and I caught up on our lives over morning coffee (because it’s Debbie, you know, so of course coffee), and as soon as she heard about the video, she immediately offered to loan us some pieces for wardrobe.

Yup. Debbie rocks. But you probably already know that.

So there I am, toddling off at the end of the day with a giant IKEA bag stuffed with potential wardrobe pieces that Eto’o and I dove into like kids playing dress-up. And we came up with some great combos! (Very creative, too, if I do say so…)

First up, for the indoor shoot, we paired the Purple Capri Harem Pants with the Black and White Tribal Wrap Top and then added some kick-ass black knee high boots. Werk! Check the video below (yeah, that’s me, just goofing off while they set up the shot. I didn’t even know Eto'o was filming me…).

For the outside, we wore the Tribal Arabesque Skirt topped with an African cowry shell belt. But what to do about a top?  Plain black might be boring, but hey, look at those pretty, shimmery red and gold arabesque skirts. Wrap, finagle, shift, wrangle, tuck, tuck, and tada! What was a skirt had become a top. I think they worked pretty well, yes?

Eto’o sure made it work in the video. Here she is doing a solo on the pier in Long Island City.

So that was it! A full day of dance in pretty costumes, traipsing all over Queens, New York, and ending with being treated to some great Caribbean food by Jimmy. Hugs given all around before we drove away, and now there is just the anticipation of what the finished video will look like. A damn good day…

I love being an artist, and I love our community, how we are supportive of each other in a city that increasingly less so... and knowing people like Eto’o Tsana and Debbie Despina Cartsos? Hmm. I guess that makes me a pretty lucky blogger.

Thanks for reading!

All the best from the D.Webb Designs family...

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