Gothic Culture: Dancing Take Two

The Opium Party is a new monthly event that takes place at Horus Lounge every second Sunday of the month. It is an event with gothic bellydancers, snake charmers, and burlesque noir.

Stella and I decided to attend this event to see a different side of the gothic culture. We had already danced and lip synced at Pyramid, so we decided to try something different but still in the scene. Upon arrival to Horus Lounge, we already noticed a few beautifully dressed goth ladies standing outside. Talking amongst ourselves off to the side for a bit, one of the tall ladies approached us and warmly greeted us, putting her arms around us. She asked if we were coming in and was delighted to hear that we were. Her name is Jeniviva and she actually hosts the party. She is a bellydancer, as well as a goth, and her aim with this event is to combine the two scenes/cultures so that they can be both be enjoyed and appreciated in a new way.


Upon entering, we received lovely cat stamps (designed after Jeniviva's cat!) and entered. The venue itself was small but the atmosphere was nice. There were a handful of people at the bar and sitting in the hookah areas, mostly goth although there were a few who were not. We took some seats off to the side to observe the atmosphere and see how people interacted. The music was spinning and soon enough there were dancers. Two of the dancers were close to us and we commented on how great she danced (the way she moved her hips was unbelievable..) and she was enthusiastic about our comment and explained that she was a dancer..as the night went on and more people danced, we worked up the nerve to join in among all the skilled dancers. Jennifer, the MC, and as we later learned, creater of Morbid Outlook magazine, was open and friendly, giving us tips on the scene, on fashion, and dancing when we told her we were new to the scene. Everyone was happy to have us dance and join in with them, even though it was clear we were very new at this. Everyone was receptive and welcoming, it was so nice to feel as if we were joining in and not interviewing! We danced and mingled until it was time to clear the floor for performances.

First us was Mya, doing a burlesque bellydance. The music was more rock than traditional bellydancing music, and her costume mixed gothic elements with traditional, making for a very unique but beautiful dance. After Mya came the next dancer, who did a beautiful graceful dance with fans and fabric, also combining traditional and non-traditional elements. After a DJ dance break, Mya returned to dance, but this time with a snake! This danced appeared more traditional in terms of music and movement, but became a very unique experience. After all the performances, everyone applauded, and the dancers joined the less skilled (like us! :) on the dancefloor, sharing, and smiling.




Below are a few videos of some of the dancers...enjoy!






After the performances, Jennifer (Mistress McCutchan) took up the DJ duties. Earlier in the night she was telling us about her online zine called Morbid Outlook (morbidoutlook.com) and gave us very informative tips and explanations and told her to check out the site (which is great!) The best part was that she offered all this herself without us asking or interrogating..she was just willing to help. Check out the website, it's very interesting!


(Sorrry for the incomplete post earlier - for some reason, only the video was showing up!)