Over the past few years, I've been dressing up as witches, pyrates, ren-fair, furries, and belly dancers.



The Pyrate charecter started in 2007 for Halloween, then came back again in 2009 due to my friend whom at times makes a partial Living as her Pyrate Character "Pirate Pebbs" and even creates her own costumes.



I got into garment making around 2007 because I liked some fashions from India like Indian Scarf dresses, and began making my own by 2008.

Around 2007-2008 I began taking up belly dancing little by little.

It all started when I saw a photo from this series: featured on Deviant Art.
I was mostly OPENLY into VIDEO, but I was in the closet about Photography since many of my artist friend shunned photography.
But, I followed, or "watched", several photographers on DA.

I was totally sparked by this, which eventually lead me to find a Canadian TV show on Fit TV channel called "Shimmy" which I found because I'd recently gotten back into Yoga, and watched a show called "Namaste".

If I had Cable TV during that time (which I often couldn't afford it) I would watch "Shimmy". I knew the exact times it was on, and even which times it was likely to switch it's programming and switch the air dates of various shows.
I knew all the moves, everything... and when I returned from a Trip in China before the Olympics, I had no Cable TV.

So, I would search for lessons on YouTube. After a while, basic things bored me... and I was more interested in Raqs Sharki & Cabaret belly dance, and even Tahitian dance.

But, since Tribal Belly dance was so popular on YouTube, and I didn't get it yet, I ignored most of it, until I couldn't get any searches without finding Rachel Brice. So,of course, I didn't "get-it" not her yet, and 1 day I just decided to search just videos of her, because everyone would just talk about her. Her dance company was "The Indigo", so I looked up videos of "The Indigo" and that's what changed me forever!

On 1 of the videos from her show at Tribal Fest, she preformed with Mardi Love to an old 1960 song "Tijuana Taxi", then after that Zoe came out to do her Solo! When I saw that Solo it changed my taste for ALL DANCE AND MUSIC!

I watched Zoe Jakes dance OVER & OVER!

And, eventually Zoe Jakes became my teacher in 2009.



Since my teacher made her own costumes, and was friends with many other artists, and dancers whom also did, I was also inspired to create my own. And, my friend Pebbles was also creating her own costumes and getting recognition for her efforts.




By that time in my life I'd been through a terrible amount of depression, and belly dance was the only cure. My depression was so severe that I couldn't draw, and for an artist it's VERY devastating. To just sit their at your sketch book, but even tho you are very skilled & accomplished, you can't draw anything good. You can;t get work, and you still have a massive student debt for animation/film/art school.... and worse! Everything you were trained in was now obsolete.

I'd had to dump a number of false friends, and open my eyes to the folks whom actually were my true friends, like Pebbles, and a number of others.

I watched several talented people, artists, just like me go through exactly the same things I did. But, many didn't end so well. Some died due to suicide or lack of health insurance, lack of nutrition. Some became addicts. Others just disappeared.

I used my hurt and my depression to channel my anger, and became politically active, and devoted my time to research. Weeding through the crazy nonsense and facts about what was going on in the world... Some misfortunes, a number of them, actually were eye-openers.

Then, at some point, all the social networking, and the whole ever changing Tribal Fusion brought me back to Pyrates again!

This year I went to Comic Con in Philadelphia:




The entire thing has gotten me into make-up which I'd always hated before... and because of all of that I got a new type of job in Banking in Philadelphia this year. (And Pebbles too, and my father n lil' brother's help.)

I began refining the character this year, with the help of my friend Pebbles.

The character's is: Marshall Kändiß
or Marshal Kandice

Sounds like "Can-Deess"