Green Party Fundraiser, Oct. 14, 2004
The Rogues threw their hats into the political ring Thursday when they were invited to play for the lovely belly dancers of Dragon Caravan, who had a gig playing for the local Baltimore Green Party under the banner of Carnival Verde, and what a carnival it was.
Rogues E.J., Jimmy and Randy, along with significant others Denise and Sharon, and Rogueys showed up for the shindig, I of course had begged and pleaded my way into the hearts of Barefoot Dragon and Dragon Caravan dancers Stacy, and Ruta, to be able to come along for the ride with Heather, and lo and behold, who would be walking by but Little Miss Jenesse and our Rogue Rat Alley who had come to the Inner Harbor for a little mid-day get away.
Heather and I dressed to the hilt and kilt to show off a little class action for our belly shaking friends, and since we were rubbing shoulders with the cream of Baltimore Green. The Rogues of course did what they do best and got everyone into their dancing shoes for Gravel Walk on the USS Constellation. It was an amazing sight to see, this old sailing ship with its weather worn and war torn decks covered in suits and Shiny-as-a-dime politicians getting down and getting groovy to the tunes of the fabulous trio of Rogues.
We can’t forget the ones who put it all together though, thanks to the Dancing Dragon bellydancers of the Dragon Caravan Production Company, Barefoot Dragon Studios, who we had come out to support and man-o-man did they perform.
Under the tutelage of Ruta, the girls were waxing and waning in an hypnotic sway, and thanks to their Dragon’s Breath concoction, which required firm countenance to drink, along with a bottle of wine and my ever-so-handy sporran flask, we were all doing a little waxing and waning even when we weren’t dancing.
The night was fantastic and exuberating and none of us wanted to see it end so with the suggestion of r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-Ruta, we followed the sway of kilts, drone and turbans to the James Joyce Irish Pub. Set to the sound of jingling coin belts and bells, our walk across the Inner Harbor was a rather eye fetching experience. Its just not that often you see a gaggle of beauty queens, tartans, turbans and bagpipers walking the streets together, but after all, the theme of the night was Carnival.
Now, just in case you ever find yourself in this situation, I want you to be prepared. I have said before in this article that giving beer to a belly dancer makes them dance like a white guy, but I must change my theorem in the case of the Tartaned, Turbaned, Tasseled and Tattooed variety at Barefoot Dragon Studios. When these girls partake of too much Dragon’s Breath and Guinness, they turn into John Travolta … Saturday Night Fever John Travolta. Actually, I should refine that to say that Redhead, the sorry-she’s-wed belly dancer Nan, dances like John Travolta when she has pounded Dragon’s Breath booze, chugged a bottle of wine, emptied my flask and gone for the Guinness at the Irish Pub. The rest, well, turn into dancing fools, and I mean that in the best way. Ruta puts the r-r-r-r-r-r back in belly dancing with a lithe body, gorgeous smile, tempting smile and …. oh yeah, I’m suppose to be talking about what a great dancer she is aren’t I?
The patrons at James Joyce got their money’s worth when Nan, along with the rest of Dragon’s Caravan, got up and got into the swing of things, dancing to Johnny Cash’s Ring of Fire as the talented live entertainer provided us with a drum track and guitar tunes from Irish jigs to a little rock-n-roll. Now, there were a few sights that baffled the mind, like Nan using Stacy as a stripper pole … yes, picture that one for a while … we all do … then there was the outstanding moment of Sharon and Heather getting jiggy, then in an unexpected moment that seemed to be recurring throughout the night, we ran into Katie, whom you will know from the Broesler School of Irish Dance. With Jimmy breaking out the pipes in the pub, Katie, who was the lead Irish dancer at last year’s Celtic Crossroads, kicked up her heels for a little reel. In the finest of moments we can’t forget about Stacy and Ruta pulling out their swords to replay their action from Carnival Verde and did a Persian sword dance, with sabers balanced across their heads and everything else underneath moving and grooving to pipe and drone.
Oh we of little rest. In just a few short hours we start all over again with Rogueys working the door to the Hack & Slash Christmas Musical being held at the Chesapeake Performing Arts Center in Brooklyn Park. With the close ties between these performers, I am sure we are going to see at least a few of the Rogues there, and who knows they may even make an appearance at our slumber party afterward, decked out in a theme of Nightmare before Christmas. See you there.
Lyn Bell