Dance Yourself Happy!

Sequins in Shrewsbury and Hull this weekend!

2013-05-15T21:08:05+01:00

My favourite inflatable friend, Dick Rogers, and I are really excited to be taking Sequins on My Balcony to Shrewsbury and Hull this weekend, and catching up with Angela Ellis, Sandra Thompson and many other dancing friends. Lots of fun, laughter and dance in support of Just Because and local breast cancer charities. If you'd like to join us, here are the details:

18th May – The Priory School, Shrewsbury www.katsequins.weebly.com

19th May – Northern Academy for Performing Arts, Hull 07730 309429 www.saharadance.co.uk

Hope to see you there!

Thank you, Angelina Jolie for your courage and openness!

2013-05-14T15:19:35+01:00

Three cheers for Angelina Jolie, Sharon Osbourne, Michelle Heaton, Kylie and other high-profile figures for being open about the surgery they have had for breast cancer, whether to treat the condition or as a preventative measure. I really hope that their candour and honesty will encourage other women to get themselves checked out. Breast cancer affects women of all ages and backgrounds, but thankfully, with early diagnosis and medical advances, is becoming easier to treat and manage.

Angelina Jolie is a beautiful, strong, intelligent woman and still under 40. I hope her actions will offer encouragement to other younger women in a similar situation, or who have had to have mastectomies as part of their cancer treatment. It's such a tough decision to make, made, I imagine, even harder when you are in the public eye and are seen as the ultimate sex symbol.

Let's hope that Hollywood will continue to offer Jolie the kind of roles that have made her one of the world's most successful actresses. She's strong, sexy and intelligent - with or without breasts - and what a powerful message that would send out to the world.

Let Sequins on My Balcony add some Sparkle to your Spring/Summer!

2013-05-02T14:10:18+01:00

I am delighted to be teaming up with some wonderful teachers and performers to take Sequins out-and-about in May and June. Aided and abetted by my inflatable sidekick, Dick Rogers, we'll be travelling to Shrewsbury, Hull, Cheltenham and Halesworth, supporting local breast cancer charities and Just Because. We hope you can join us!

And for Londoners who haven't yet caught the show, I will be back at the wonderful Rosemary Branch for a couple of dates in June, in support of Cancerkin.

18th May – The Priory School, Shrewsbury www.katsequins.weebly.com

19th May – Northern Academy for Performing Arts, Hull 07730 309429 www.saharadance.co.uk

2^nd June – Parabola Arts Centre, Cheltenham 01242 707338 www.parabolaartscentre.co.uk

6^th & 9^th June – Rosemary Branch, Islington 020 7704 6665 www.rosemarybranch.co.uk

23^rd June – New Cut Arts Centre, Halesworth, Suffolk 0845 673 2123 www.zaharabellydance.co.uk

In the meantime, here's a clip to whet your appetite...

2013-02-21T14:35:10+00:00

Busy rehearsing for the next gig - An Evening of Dance, Drama & Comedy to Benefit The Mulberry Cancer Centre @ Watermans Arts Centre, Brentford. It's on Friday 15th March, 7.45pm and you can book your tickets at www.watermans.org.uk or on 020 8232 1010. I've joined forces with my good friend Sushma Mehta, director of Shamaa Dance Company, to put together a unique double bill; Sequins On My Balcony plus Musafir (The Traveller), a dazzling dance display including kathak, flamenco, bellydance and much more besides. The Mulberry Centre in Brentford offers a wonderful service for anyone affected by cancer, as I know from first-hand experience, so it's wonderful to be able to support them. Hope you can join us!

2013-01-24T22:00:07+00:00

Really excited at the prospect of coming to Newcastle to perform Sequins on My Balcony on Sunday 10th February. It's at Black Swan Theatre, 67 Westgate Road, Westgate Rd, Newcastle, NE1 1SG. Tickets £13.50/£12 are available from 'Newcastle Arts Centre', online at www.faridadance.com or tel: 0191 565 2920. And check out today's Newcastle Journal for more info: http://www.journallive.co.uk/lifestyle-news/great-north-fitness-revolution/great-north-fitness-revolution-news/2013/01/24/yvette-cowles-is-belly-dancing-to-health-and-happiness-61634-32664400/

SEQUINS ON MY BALCONY - the tour!

2012-12-20T00:13:34+00:00

Sequins on My Balcony is my new one woman show which offers a fresh perspective on breast cancer, body image, belly dance and sisterhood through a blend of dance, drama, clowning and lots and lots of sequins! Throughout 2013/14 I will be touring the UK, aided and abetted by my inflatable companion, Dick Rogers. A percentage of the profits from each performance will go to local breast cancer charities and Just Because, a charity formed by belly dancers which aims to raise awareness and detection of breast cancer in Egypt. Do come along - there are plenty of sequins to go round!

CONFIRMED TOUR DATES IN 2013. More details and dates to follow...

18th May – The Priory School, Shrewsbury www.katsequins.weebly.com

19th May – Northern Academy for Performing Arts, Hull 07730 309429 www.saharadance.co.uk

2^nd June – Parabola Arts Centre, Cheltenham 01242 707338 www.parabolaartscentre.co.uk

6^th & 9^th June – Rosemary Branch, Islington 020 7704 6665 www.rosemarybranch.co.uk

23^rd June – New Cut Arts Centre, Halesworth, Suffolk 0845 673 2123 www.zaharabellydance.co.uk

7^th September - Leeds

27^th September – Princes Hall, Clevedon

In the meantime, here's a clip to whet your appetite...

Written and performed by Yvette Cowles and directed by Peta Lily, the show has been described as 'more uplifting than a Wonderbra'! It takes the audience on a funny, touching and sometimes surreal journey beginning in France with her first sheepish shimmies, through medical mishaps, her mother’s misgivings and breast-free dating disasters to a life now spent pursuing her passion. It celebrates the gorgeousness of women, whatever their age, shape or size, and asks “can a woman with no breasts still believe in herself enough to continue to belly dance”?

Audience feedback:

‘Wonderfully entertaining, glamorous and hilarious.’

‘Moving and fabulously funny.’

‘Life affirming - I loved it!’

‘Delicious and delirious!’

‘I came out with a big smile on my face.’

In spite of two mastectomies, two courses of chemotherapy and one of radiotherapy, plus on-going bone treatment, Yvette feels more confident and happier with her body now than ever before. She believes that it was belly dance and the camaraderie of other dancers that helped her regain her health and zest for life. By telling her story in this show, Yvette hopes to change people’s perception of living with cancer - and perhaps their preconceived ideas of belly dance and belly dancers too!

2012-11-22T07:54:04+00:00

Where would a girl be without her Dick?

2012-11-22T07:52:57+00:00

Thank you to everyone who came to the first performance of Sequins on My Balcony on 11th November at the Rosemary Branch. I'm still rather dazed by how well it went, even with the unplanned moments of hilarity! I'll be posting a few pictures on this site, and on the facebook page Sequins on My Balcony.

SEQUINS ON MY BALCONY - only 2 weeks to go!

2012-10-27T21:52:31+01:00

Yvette Cowles

2012-10-27T21:44:09+01:00

Only 2 weeks until the first outing of my one woman show, Sequins on My Balcony! Still, it's at the Rosemary Branch in Islington, a lovely little theatre with a warm and friendly ambience. If you're interested in coming along, book your ticket now on 0207 704 6665. I would love to see you there!

Chastity Belt

2012-09-07T20:36:37+01:00

If anybody wants to see a hilarious one woman show by Peta Lily, fantastic mistress of the art and ace director (and God knows, she needs to be to knock my show into shape!) then come along to a performance at the Rosemary Branch in Islington on next Thurs, Fri or Sat (13th -15th). I'll be there on the Thursday with a gaggle of dancers. Entitled 'Chastity Belt', the show is all about sex and and women of a certain age. I promise you won't look at lemons in the same way again!

Sequins On My Balcony

2012-09-05T23:51:09+01:00

SEQUINS ON MY BALCONY is an uplifting and heart warming new one woman show about breasts, belly dance and beating the odds, written and performed by Yvette Cowles and directed by Peta Lily.

Yvette takes the audience on the funny, moving and sometimes surreal journey of how she fell in love with belly dance, which began when she had a scarf tied round her hips and attempted her first hesitant hip drops in France. The play includes hair-raising stories of hospital treatments, Yvette’s complex but touching relationship with her mother, the perils of breast-free dating, and how belly dance made her feel more of a woman than when she had a full pair of breasts.

The show includes luscious costumes, exquisite dance routines, moments of hilarity and touching vignettes. Not only does it highlight the often glossed over or ignored history of the art form via Napoleon, Flaubert, Hollywood and Mata Hari, but it offers a new perspective on breast cancer, body image, belly dance and sisterhood. Audiences will be charmed, informed, moved and impressed!

Hope this whets your appetite! First date to be confirmed very shortly.