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Many of you have asked about my personal life. . . |
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What made mine and Titanya's parents put us into Polynesian and Middle Eastern
dance lessons? Are our parents dancers?
Did I go to college? What other kind of work do I do? |
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When I was a little girl I wanted to be a tortoise. You know, the pretty girls who
served drinks on airplanes. I could never remember the word, "stewardess" so to
me the most beautiful women on earth were the tortoises. Of course, I wasn't old
enough to be a tortoise, so the next best thing was to be a baby Dorothy Hamil. My
mom bought me the haircut, the little skating dress and she even put me into ice skating
lessons. I wanted to do
flips through the air but just kept falling on my face. I gave up. I wanted to be a
tortoise and Dorothy Hamil, but I knew absolutely that I would end up being an actress. |
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I would be on the big screen and no
one could tell me any different. It was my "calling" from a very early age and I
was in theatre at 6 years old. I had booked lots of commercials and some film by 20. That
was my passion. I had a bigger crush on acting than any boy I ever met. I WAS Scarlet
O'Hara, Marilyn Monroe and all three Charlie's Angels--at least inside my head. |
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| Other ideas of what I wanted to be
waxed and waned, but the one career I knew about was acting. The life path I never wanted
or really cared to know about was belly dancing. My sister, Titanya, was the harem
girl on Halloween-- not me. Belly dancing wasn't even a career; it was some
kind of made up, mystical dance out of the past--perfect for Halloween! Belly
dancers weren't real. To me belly dancers were aggressive women who lived in the
desert. Yuck. I hated heat and sandy places with no water (that would make anyone
aggressive). To me belly dancers had dark eyes, dark hair and gigantic bellies. I
was fair, with green eyes, and trying to stay thin as long as I can remember, so that
image didn't resonate with me at all. As for the music, forget it! |
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| My first real theatre job. "A Cry of
Players" at Palomar College in which I played Shakespeare's daughter. I'm 6 years old
and sitting with my dad (in hat) and the director, Buddy Ashbrook during rehearsal. |
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| Tanya and Mom celebrated Tanya's 3rd birthday early because Mom
knew I would be born on Tanya's birthday. I was Tanya's birthday present! |
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| I had heard some Middle Eastern music
in a marketplace on a trip to Fiji with my family when I was 8 years old and it hurt my
ears. To me it sounded like old, starving women crying. It wasn't pretty. We
were excited to be in Fiji because Titanya and I had been in Polynesian dance lessons
since before 5 years old. We loved the fun costumes and the beauty of the island
music. We started Polynesian dance lessons like a lot of children start any type of
lesson. In this case, we were living in Del Mar, California and Shelby Williams
brought her poi balls to "show and tell" in my kindergarten class. I told
mom about it and she suggested that I start lessons. Mom and dad both encouraged my
sister and I to stick with the lessons and be a part of all the "little girl"
shows. |
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How we yearned to be a part of the "big girl" shows. We did
hundreds of "ami's" hoping to be big girls. Well, all of those
"ami's" paid off. Of course, I didn't know they were paying off. I secretly wanted to be a ballerina. I loved tutu's! Mom and Dad
encouraged ballet too, but my plump hips and budding figure discouraged my dreams of
flying through the air like a lithe swan.
I didn't start belly dancing lessons when I was 12
because I wanted to. I started them because our house was falling apart!
next >> |
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Dondi and Tanya's Mutual Birthday
September 30th ~ Las Vegas |
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Family Album Page One ~
Family Album Page Two
~ Family
Album Page Three
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