My name is Roz and I am a multi-talented artist who has been performing in the public, private, and corporate realm of theatrical dance performance. Since 1998, I have been performing in various clubs, bars, venues, and the like for a variety of acts and music as entertainment for public, private, and corporate parties, events, picnics, birthday parties, weddings, graduations, bar/bat mitzvahs and other functions. While wearing sexy, flashy dance clothing and costumes fit to the theme, I enjoy working up the crowd during my act with smiles and body language and can even get them dancing! If you prefer audience participation and interaction, I have taught lessons during parties (including the basic group dances such as the electric slide and bellydancing) as well as being available as a dance partner for guests at parties working with a DJ at my side.
I have two main dance forms of focus:
SAMBA:
I am a professional samba dancer and I have been studying the art of Samba with various teachers since 1999. I have studied with many talented teachers who are wholly absorbed in the culture of Brazilian Samba dance, performance and costume. Some of my teachers include Doug Da Silva, Alex & Ivon of Birds of Paradise, Tania Santiago, Birds of Paradise, Energia do Samba, Samba Do Coraco, and Aquarella. I perform on a regular basis as a solo act as well as with groups. I have performed with Birds of Paradise, Energia do Samba, and SF School of Samba. I also dance with Brazilian bands Samba Da, Bat Makumba, and Mucho Axe for concerts and shows. I have danced several San Francisco venues such as Roccoploco, El Rio, San Francisco Supper Club and the Excelsior Club for several private and public events. My clients include TAM Airlines and The Marriott Hotel among others. Since the year 2000, I have performed samba for many festivals including the SF Carnaval, Castro Street Fair, How Weird Festival, Dios de Portugual, Love Parade, Folsom Street Fair, and the Gay Pride Parade.
Highlights of my career include a special appearance on the Kron 4 news for appearance and exclusive interviews, in the San Francisco Chronicle, and the Palo Alto News among other media coverage.
BELLYDANCE:
I am a professional bellydancer and I have been studying the art of Bellydance with various teachers since 1999. I have studied with many talented teachers who are wholly absorbed in the culture of Morroco's and Egypt's Tribal and Cabaret Bellydance, performance and costume. Some of my teachers include Philipe of Ultra Gypsy, Malia of Kristina of Ultra Gypsy, Suhalia Salimpour, and Fat Chance Bellydance. I perform on a regular basis as a solo act as well as with groups. I have performed with Morroco's and Egypt's Tribal and Cabaret Bellydance, performance and costume. Some of my teachers include Philipe of Ultra Gypsy, Malia of Kristina of Ultra Gypsy, Suhalia Salimpour, and Fat Chance Bellydance. I have danced at special bellydance festivals including The Half Moon Bay Flower Festival. I have danced at several San Francisco venues such as Marrakech, Pasha, Casablanca Cafe, Zagora, and the Excelsior Club for several private and public events. My clients include Aykut Events and Deborah Lynnes Productions among others. Some venues include The L'Argent Hotel, 12 Galaxies, and Medjool Nightclub in San Francisco. Since the year 2000, I have performed bellydance for many festivals including the SF Carnaval, Castro Street Fair, How Weird Festival, Dios de Portugual, Love Parade, Folsom Street Fair, and the Gay Pride Parade.
Highlights of my career include having my own bellydance show in Las Vegas at the Stratopshere's Hooka Lounge for 5 months in 2005.
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While my forte is in SAMBA and BELLYDANCE,
I have a background in the following dance styles:
Samba
Bellydance
Showgirl
Salsa
Hip Hop
Funk
Shadow Dancing
Burlesque
Tap
Hula
Afro-Haitian
Afro-Brazilian
West African
Rock
Jazz
R & B
Ballet
Modern
Swing
I am available to perform for all kinds of private, public, and corporate parties and events.
I am looking forward to shakin' it with you!
Stats:
Height: 5ft 3in
Weight: 105 lbs
Hair: Dirty Blonde
Eyes: Blue
Shoe: 6.5
Bust: 34B
Waist: 24
Hips: 36
Associations:
12 Galaxies
Alex and Ivon, Birds
Aquarella
Aykut Events
Bat Makumba
Birds of Paradise
Casablanca Café
Castro Street Fair
Deborah Lynnes Productions
Dios de Portugual
Doug Da Silva
El Rio
Energia do Samba
Fat Chance Bellydance
Folsom Street Fair
Gay Pride Parade
How Weird Festival
Kristina of Ultra Gypsy
Kron 4 news
L'Argent Hotel
Love Parade
Malia
Marriott Hotel
Medjool
Mucho Axe
Palo Alto News
Pasha
Philipe of Ultra Gypsy
Roccoploco
Samba Da
Samba Do Coraco
San Francisco Carnaval
San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco School of Samba
Stratopshere, Las Vegas
Suhalia Salimpour
Tania Santiago
Zagora
BOOKING Roz, the samba dancer:
Booking Roz is simple and easy. Please read below for party ideas, suggestions, information and how to contact Roz and let her know about your event(s)!
IDEAS/ITINERARY FOR A SAMBA DANCE SHOW FOR YOUR EVENT:
For a samba dance show for your event or party, I can work with the flow and celebration of your particular event and group, itinerary, atmosphere, feelings, and ideas and come up with a specific show for you. Samba is a very high-energy, happy performance! However, here is one sample idea for your event:
On one of my cds I have 10 songs.
1 song is a warm up samba jazz/bossa nova song to be played before the performance. Please put the cd in player and turn up the volume. Gather everyone in the room during this song. I dance to the 2nd song as a big intro.
5 songs are performance pieces. The first song is "Magalenha" by Sergio Mendes and the second song is "Fanfarra" by Sergio Mendes. The next 3 are non-vocal traditional Carnaval drumming songs. These 5 songs serve a total of 19 minutes
3 are more party-oriented with vocals by the band Sambada. I can then get people to dance with me for a total of 9 1/2 minutes.
1 song is a cool down samba jazz/bossa nova song after the performance.
I dance solo to 5 traditional and exciting songs for a total of 19 minutes.
Song 1: Warm up song. I will not be dancing.
Song 2: I dance to the first peformance song as a big intro. During that song, someone can go find a chair just so we can have it on hand.
Song 3: Before the third song starts (I can signal whoever has the chair or ask for a chair to be brought to the floor), someone can put the chair in the middle of the dance floor and the group can go grab the person of honor (or anyone the group would like to "embarrass") and sit them in the chair. I will be dancing to the song while I wait for you all do that. I can then do a chair dance around the person, if you wish! The chair idea isn't necessary.
Song 4 : Then when that song ends, the chair can be quickly removed so that I can continue with the 4th dance, which involves more traditional dance technique.
Songs 5 & 6: The 6th song is a fun song in which people will enjoy my precise dancing.
The last 3 songs are Audience Participation songs that people can clap and dance along to. We can bring the honorary person out if we want and put him/her in the middle of the dance floor. I can dance with him/her and bring out four/five other people. They can form a circle around the honorary person and hold hands and spin around him/her. We can form a conga line and dance around the room! There are so many creative things we can do, depending on the mood!
These are optional, depending on whether or not you or your audience would like a party atmosphere. Otherwise, I can just dance to the 5 performance songs as part of a solo show.
Songs 7, 8, 9: At the 7th song, I invite people to dance with me for as many songs as they can, depending on how energetic and enthusiastic the group is. We will dance to more contemporary samba inspired songs.
I can get people to come out one at a time to dance;
I could bring one person out and then another and another to get the dancing started;
I could choose a few people to teach lessons to and then leave them to dance for themselves while finding other people to bring out to the dance floor, or if they are a fun dancing group, I'll just get them to start dancing with me.
Song 10: Is a cool down song. I will not be dancing.
MUSIC SAMPLE:
I have the ability to dance to any kind of music, but here are some examples of the traditional songs that are related to the dance:
Samba- click on song #1 & 2: "Fanfarra (Cabua-Le-Le)" & "Magalenha." They are part of the beginning of my repertoire.
INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR EVENT:
Here is the information that I will need:
The party type.
The date.
The hours.
How long you would like me to dance for.
Your name, company name (if any), address, phone, fax, email, and website.
The contact person at the event .
The contact person's cell and number of the location in case I become lost en route.
The name of the location of the event.
The address of the location of the event.
The phone number of the location.
The directions to the location.
Any information on where I will be stationed/performing inside the location. I do prefer a dance floor. Grass, stones, pebbles, and sidewalks with cracks will not work. It must be an even surface without debris. Is there a dressing room? Please describe the layout.
Will there be a sound system or DJ on site? The music needs it to be LOUD
Any costume specifics/requests.
If there is sufficient parking in the area.
Do you have a budget? How did you find me? Will I be paid cash or check and when? By whom?
Any other information that I may need. (I.E. If this is a surprise, please inform me of how I should present myself upon arrival...should I call upon arrival and you can sneak me in to get prepared or should I just come in, Should I get the information on where your person of honor will be stationed in the party at the time of my surprise dancing, where I should dance, when I should dance, and when to give you the cd to play. We can work out timing of playing the cd upon my arrival).
PLEASE copy and paste the above questions into an email with the word "GIG" or "BOOKING" in the subject header when you contact me regarding your event. This will help us have better communication regarding your needs and, if a verbal agreement is agreed upon, these initial answers will be easier upon us when a contract is created for the event!
PAYMENT
CASH
Cash is preferred.
CHECKS
However, you may write out checks to: "Jennifer Rozwood."
PAYPAL/CREDIT CARDS
I also accept credit cards. Paypal accepts Visa, Mastercard & Discover Cards. You can pay me instantly by signing up with a PayPal account. It is an easy, step by step process that only takes about 5 minutes! Please email me at Roz@Rozwood.com if you choose this option and I'll send you an invoice.
Payment on all credit cards must be cleared 3 days prior to any event.
Click on the logo below to sign up for a PayPal account!
Note: There is a 5% fee on top of total bill for accepting money by pay pal.
CONTACT ROZ:
Jennifer "Roz" Rozwood
415.407.8006
Tips for Party Planners
The following suggestions will help you make sure things go smoothly when you hire a dancer. You'll get more for your money and your guests will have more fun.
Introductions: I'd love to meet you! Please introduce yourself when I arrive. If this is a surprise party and I am the surprise, please have your cell phone on you at the time I will be arriving so that we can arrange the sneak in route. Please bring me to the dressing room where I may lay my stuff down and get ready before the show. Make sure the room is clean and equipped with a mirror, light, a table, a chair, a rug, and a door that locks. A warm room is preferred.
Location: Please let the dancer know where exactly she will be performing, i.e. which room and the location of the room. Please make sure that there is a LOUD cd player or a DJ in the room. I will need a sufficient amount of space for dancing, maybe 10ft x 10ft with chairs encircling the area (not too tightly), though I do a lot of audience participation and will be weaving in and out of the audience and bring people up to dance in singles and as large groups. My aim is to get everyone up and dancing by the end of the show.
Time: If you are concerned about the artist starting on time, please ask her to arrive 30 minutes before the scheduled start time.
Communication: Please make sure someone is on hand to answer the door/phone when the dancer arrives. This assures the artist that they've found the right place. Also, if the dancer becomes lost en route, it is a good idea to have your phone handy. Please be on hand to answer the phone at the given arrival time, this saves the dancer from going overtime with preparation (it takes about 20 minutes to get changed) and starting the show on time.
Timing: Avoid scheduling a dancer's show time during dinner, swimming, or other situations that capture people's attention such as speeches or raffle drawings.
Parking: Dancers have lots of supplies. They need to have close, safe, and accessible parking. We would need to know where the parking is located. At house parties, we often block the driveway, since we will only be at the party for a brief amount of time.
Seating: During the first song, which is the intro/warm-up song on the cd, please situate seating so that there is a large amount of space for the dancer to dance in. Please have people sitting in chairs a circle around the dancer. This works best. You will have 5 minutes before I start dancing to the second songLighting: For an ambient mood, please turn down the lights and turn on any candles, mood lighting, or stage lighting, if possible.
Cover: For outdoor events, dancers need to be covered to protect them from the elements. Also, dancers are very prone to freezing in any sort of weather with a hint of chilliness to it (76 degrees and under), so if doors are open, please shut them during the show. This will keep the dancer's body warm and limber and prepared for the best performance.
Set up: Please check in with the dancer discreetly once before show time. The dancer will give you a cd when she is just about ready.
If you don't have a DJ:
The CD given will have a intro/warm up song in which you will put in the cd player and press play. Turn up the volume. You will have 5 minutes during that song in which you will have time to work the lighting and gather everyone into the dance room. Please make sure the volume is turned up high when the second song begins. Performances do not make the correct impact if the music is not loud. The dancer will come out for the second song to begin the show.
If you do have a DJ:
Give the DJ the cd. The DJ should make an announcement to gather everyone into the room and give everyone about 2 minutes to situate themselves. Adjustments can be made to lighting and seating at this time. Then the DJ should make an announcement of the dancer's appearance and put the cd in the player and turn up the volume.
Party Specialties: If the person of honor that the party is thrown for is highlighted, i.e. the birthday person or the boss, please let me know ahead of time the person's name and if you have a photo of them, please email it to me so I have an idea of who to spotlight, if necessary.
Water: Please have water on hand for the dancer, if possible. A bottle of water is best given before performance. At this time, payment may be received as well.
Security: In the event that need arises, we would like to ensure that security is on site if your event is public or of a large capacity. Also, if possible, security should walk the dancer to and from her vehicle for safety.
Overtime: If you would like the dancer to stay longer because of demand, timing, etc., please ask the dancer if it is possible. Please make payment arrangements at that time.
Paycheck: Although cash is preferred, please have the artist's cash/check by the time the artist arrives. Near the end of the party, entertainers have encountered hosts who are too busy socializing, cleaning, dictating orders, or sometimes, the host has left and is not to be found! Please have this check in an envelope with the artist's name on it. It is best to give it to the dancer prior to performance.
