Snake Dance – Snakey Sue was photographed at her latest Snake Dance performance; dancing with Bou one of her Albino Burmese Pythons. Excuse the disheveled look there was no proper place to change and no mirror!! Reminders of many gigs in the past.
The videos of this performance and the Belly Dance that preceded it are now on you tube.
So pleased to be booked for snake dancing again.
There are many younger dancers working with snakes now and I miss dancing as much I used to ; I believe the Snake dance to be an older womans dance, a sensitivity to the needs of the snake are essential, as a younger dancer the ego is more apparent and there is a need to show off moves etc.
When I began snake dancing after having worked as a Belly Dancer for years, I realised that the ego was the first thing to go, people are far more interested in your snake than your dance moves or where did you learn to dance etc.
Those were the days before I began Snake Dancing I used to Belly dance sometimes 3 to 5 shows a night, driving to each Greek or Turkish restaurant in my costume with a cape for cover, sometimes there was a live band but as time went by we started to take recorded music – which was a shame as dancing to live music and was so much more fun. one busy Christmas I performed 8 shows throughout the day and evening, 3 shows were performed in London travelling by tube then back home to pick up the car and drive to the other 5 venues.
For this 30th birthday occasion I took Rosie one of my blonde pythons and for playtime after the dance I took Billie the Royal Python and two corn snakes – Jakey and Naji who have just begun to share an apartment and are becoming firm friends. I like to take a few extra snakes on a snake dance gig as so many people wish to hold the snake it gives her chance for a break when people are busy with other snakes.
The party was a great success and I enjoyed performing as much as the audience enjoyed my show.
Below are photos of myself dancing with Barbarella who has sadly passed away now.
Bou and Rosie the blondes (Rose is the one behind), Billie the Royal, Naji and Jakey the corn buddies.
Snakes for Hire: We take all type of bookings to run our educational presentations:
We have 65 snakes of varying sizes and breeds to take out for:
A few of the snakes are suitable dancing partners for Snakey Sue and she has many beautiful costumes for snake dancing and meet and greet.
All payments for events are used to finance the running of the Sanctuary and the events help to keep the snakes socialised and stimulated.
Taking snakes out to meet the public has its challenges; snakes cannot regulate their own temperatures and most people think that they like to be hot, but just like any animal or human no-one wants to be cooked in the heat!! Snakes need moderate warm temps to be in whilst working in fact a little cooler is better than hotter – heat kills more quickly than cold, between 20c and 27c is a reasonable temperature.
When we handle the snakes we warm them with our body heat, in fact childrens hands are often very hot and in the Summer months when we are at outside events we need to take water sprays and bath bowls to cool the snakes down and our best position to be is under trees. When the outside temps are below 18c we need to be indoors as even the snakes that come from North America will attempt to hide under our clothes to keep warm, pockets, hoods, hats are all great places to warm up. In the Winter months we put hot water bottles in their carry cases to keep them warm so often need a supply of warm water to top them up when we arrive and/or leave the venue.
It’s a shame we don’t get booked for more adult parties as snakes go down so well at them when we do, people just love chatting and chilling at parties with a friendly snake wrapped around them 🙂
Below are some photos of people having fun with snakes at an adults birthday party.
Snake Dancing at the Royal Tiger, Chelmsford. Snakey Sue took 4 snakes from the sanctuary Micky the Boa, Silke the Royal Python plus Rosetta Stone and Boudica for live snake encounters and a Snakey Sue Snake Danc, Micky the Boa was my dance partner for the evenin.
Sadly there was no-one available to video the dance performance but Snakey Sue took a few photos of customers holding Rosetta and Boudicca the two Albino Burmese Pythons.
As is often the case people were not wanting the snakes near them at the beginning of the evening as there were many nervous people, but as is always the case a few young people wanted to experience handling the snakes.
Eventually as the evening wore on (probably after a glass of wine) a couple of women decided to have a go and voila!
The next most common thing to happen when it’s time to go home every wants to start handling the snakes!
Here are the photos of people enjoying handling Rosie and Bou:
This photo was taken after the show which was performed at the work premises of the Birthday guy we were booked to create some fun for his 40th.
My snakey boys are enjoying a snakey snuggle after their performance.
I smudged the background of the photo because it was full of office chairs 🙂
Still keeping my figure!!
Snakey Sue with Nats and Moses 5yr old Boa Constrictors
Belly Dancing since 1974 and Snake Dancing since 1994 – Snakey Sue is going to present her first “Moving Serpent Workshop” the morning session will be educational and hands on, with the added element of intuitive communication with some of the 73 snakes that live in Snakey Sue’s Serpent Sanctuary.
Break for Lunch
The afternoon will consist of choosing a variety of snakes to move with and finding out what they can teach us – they create an obstruction of sorts because we have their feelings to think of first before we move, this can immensely improve your dance technique.
Snakes have been with the earth for a million years, they have more knowledge and sympathies of the earth that we could only dream of they are the perfect compliment to our earth dance.
The autumn equinox is a mysterious time. It marks an essential passage in the spiritual work that is often overlooked, misunderstood, and mistaken as dark and heretical, with that thought in mind and the knowledge of what many people feel, quite wrongly about snakes – this I a perfect weekend to start this project.
Please Inbox me for more info and eligibility – we have space for only 6 students.
£140 includes a keepsake photo with the snake of your choice.
Bring veggie dish to share, this because of peoples food intolerances.
We have a cat and two dogs so if you have allergies you may not wish to attend.
Snakey Sue’s first dancing companion Mamba the Indigo Snake