Everyone at PURE LA extends a warm welcome and best wishes to PURE San Francisco, which is starting rehearsals this month!  For more information (and to refer your Bay Area friends!) visit the PURE locations website on the official PURE page.

The PURE LA forums are up at purela.org/forums

You will have to register to post, but it is a very quick process. This is a much more full-featured and reliable system than tribe, and I’d love it if we could carry out our online conversations there. Please check it out and see what you think about it! Thanks.

There are multiple forums for members and guests, so you do not have to be an official member of PURE LA to join our forum

Kaeshi Chai arranged to have the highlight video of the first PURE NYC procession put on YouTube.  Enjoy!

I’m happy to announce the first PURE LA rehearsal!

Rehearsals will be taking place on Thursday evenings from 8-9:30pm in West Hollywood beginning January 10.  (Please email pure@purela.org for exact location.)

Cost for January (4 rehearsals + administrative startup fee) is $15.  For newcomers interested in getting a feel for PURE, you can pay $5 at your first rehearsal and the remaining $10 at the second if you decide to participate (at which point you will receive the manual and CD.)

I would greatly appreciate an RSVP if you are coming so I can have enough manuals prepared.

Please come prepared to dance in the appropriate attire.  If you have a sky blue veil, please bring it along for the purpose of discussing costuming.  I will be placing a group order for veils to combine shipping costs the day after rehearsal (1/11) if you need to purchase one.  They are $25 + shipping and can be seen at http://silk-veils.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=NSV&Product_Code=22sky3yds

Hope to see you there! 

This is a copy of the materials that were passed out at orientation: 

We are delighted you are interested in joining the Los Angeles branch of PURE ~ Public Urban Ritual Experiment. PURE is a collective of dancers taking music and dance into the streets for the purpose of healing and peace. PURE’s goal is to affect positive change within ourselves, each other, within the audience, and the greater society. Our dance brings together ancient sacred world traditions including Middle Eastern, Chinese, Romani gypsy, Israeli folk, Flamenco, and Indian dance. 

PURE LA’s rehearsal will be conducted in an American Tribal Style format. Official choreography will be more eclectic, and our additional performance pieces will adhere to the improvisational ATS style. Dancers can elect to perform just the official PURE choreography or take part in the improvisational pieces as well. Dancers must regularly attend rehearsals and exhibit competency with the movements and choreography to be included in performances. 

Rehearsals will be weekly through September 2008. At that point, frequency may be subject to change. 

All dancers who show a genuine commitment will have a voice in how the branch operates. Opportunities will be available for extra responsibilities in the future, and dancers with special skills or resources will have the opportunity to contribute to the group as officers if they so desire. 

Full manuals will be handed out at the first rehearsal for a startup donation of $5, which includes a three-ring binder with all materials, including a CD of the music for the foundation choreography. Monthly dues will be in the neighborhood of $10, with a discount available for a full year paid at once. 

We will be announcing the date, time, and location of the first rehearsal very soon. If you’ve turned in your dancer information sheet, you will receive all updates and relevant information via email. Feel free to share this information with other dancers and invite them to the first rehearsal. We will be holding an orientation for musicians at a later date, as well. 

Useful information: 
Official PURE website: puredance.org 
Official PURE LA website: purela.org 
on Tribe: tribes.tribe.net/purela 
on myspace: myspace.com/purelosangeles 

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 PURE LA Expense List 

Administrative Start-up Fee: $5 (covers copies, binders, etc) 

Monthly dues: 
$5 donation per single rehearsal 

$10 donation per calendar month (regular attendance required for discount)

$100 donation for a year’s worth of rehearsals (any start date) 

Costume (estimated): 
Black skirt: $50-80 Black tights: $2-5 
Black bra-type top:
$10-25 Official PURE “sky blue” veil: $30 
– Total for entire costume: $92-140 (approx.) 

You are free to use your own jewelry, shoes, and accessories and any suitable costume pieces you may already own. Veils are “regulation” in PURE LA and must be identical to everyone else’s - we will place a bulk order in 2008 to get a discount.

Dancer Information Poll

PURE LA is pleased to announce we will be holding an informational orientation-type meeting for interested dancers on December 1, 2007 at 1:00pm.

The meeting will be held in Westwood Park in Los Angeles (1350 Sepulveda, between Santa Monica Blvd and Wilshire) and we will meet outside the main white building by the columns.

All intermediate- to professional-level bellydancers are invited to attend. This meeting will be purely informational and no commitment to PURE is required to attend. Come and learn more about what PURE ~ Public Urban Ritual Experiment is about and what being an active member would entail.

There is no cost for this meeting, though donations made to PURE LA are always welcome.