Vagadu: May 2008

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Over a month has passed since the Kara Maria Collection made its big debut.
And for those who couldn't make it, it was really an incredible show that virtually turned out how I envisioned it.

From the event decor, to the dancers, clothing, and food, everything was beautifully, creatively and artfully executed. Here I will thank everyone who contributed their energy to the show-- whether you brought the love in big, bold, fashion, or just chipped in a little detail, it all was needed to make the evening gel.

First off! Kara Maria, thank you for believing in what I do and being part of this crazy dream for the last 4 months. It has been a joy to explore your art and a reason to create clothing! You totally came through on bringing out at least 30 of some of your best paintings (minus the porn work ;-). Having so much of your art in one room was a spectacular sight and made our set designer's life a lot easier!!! I hope it was as good for you as it was for all of us to were constantly inspired by your art.

Now for the food! Chefrain you really did it man! From the Wizard of OZ contraption that ejected soup if you pushed a button....to herb infused oils hanging from the ceiling, to different fabulous creative vegetarian options that made everyones tummy sing! Furthermore you ignited their imaginations of how food could be prepared and served. We've done 3 show now, and this was the most creative work you have done thus far. You really came through to create food as art and it showed! I love you!!!

As for the fashion.... Monica Mark and all the U Dance Electra team you lit the night on fire! Having a troupe with so much energy and spunk lived up to all my dreams about having dancers replace models for the fashion show. Thank you for all the excitement and juice you added to the whole production. You've got the moves...and it shows!

John Arns you are the first musician to create an the original composition for the dance performance which furthered my vision of complete Karavision for the show. People really responded to the music and said it worked perfectly for the dance. Go John!

Alex Steinhouse your thrifty creativity was the perfect combination to dress our set! Thanks for coming in last minute and creating an atmosphere that reflected the artwork and created ambiance. I can't wait to see what you can do with a real budget and a little more time....watch out!

Joel Franquist thanks for doing the lighting and hanging all things from very high places. Most people would get dizzy but you work well from up on high!

Molly McEvoy like I said earlier....you are the best producer I know! Thanks for taking a chance on this project and making it your own vision too. You helped in so many ways, from having a husband who so generously built our stages, to getting donations from Rainbow, to allowing me to keep my sanity! Can't wait to work with you again :-)

Many thanks to our DJs, Ammon Haggerty and Doug Sands. The music was awesome, and you got the real VAGADU to really boogie down!

The make up and hair was provided by the Paul Mitchell Institute of Cosmology and Thomas Klann (who did my hair, check him out at Chakra Salon on Sutter in SF). They did a terrific job and made our dancers look like white trash meets David Bowie, meets Jem Barbie! That was just what I wanted!

Many, many thanks to my interns: Milan Delveccio, Alix Hadley, Sherry Hernando, Angela Lopez, Megan Quirolo and Cindy deLuzuriaga. You were a great team and it was my pleasure to work with you, I wish you all great success in your pursuits, you certainly have what it takes!

Beautiful photos which you will find in the link above were taken by the super duo of John Martin and Son, and Rachel Ortiz.

Video was taken by Joe Seif and Rick Takes, thanks so much for capturing the moment that took four months to create! Videos can be found on the Vagadu website.

Thanks to Elena Dvorochkin for the PR and outreach.

And last but not least lets thanks the volunteers who made the night go so well:
Ahna Fender, Julie Ross, Tim Lubic, Mark Bourbonnais, Jim Flemming, Jill Kunishima, Vagadu Varda, Dave Kim, Andi Clegg, Jocelin Tran, Ashley Burnett and many more, plus my ultimate teammate Andrew Hinman!

Stay tuned, much more to come...however for the next month or so the blogs may not be as regular, because even Vagadu needs a vacation once in a while!