12 months in 12 sentences for 2012

This time last year I was inspired to write a post reviewing 2011 in just 12 sentences.  I like the format and wanted do it again.  So here's my write up of 12 in 12 for 2012.  Wishing you a Happy New Year and I hope that 2013 brings you lots of shimmy and sparkle. 

In January, I started learning Awareness Through Movement and was a busy bee planning for Baladi Blues.  

February was a successful sell out NADA and Habiba Dance event in Edinburgh with the Baladi Blues Ensemble, and I had a wonderful time teaching and dancing with the band.  

Baladi solo by James Campbell

Daughters of Isis by James Campbell

Baladi Blues Ensemble by James Campbell

 

March was a mixed bag of teaching taster classes and a chance to be in the audience for a change.

In April, I experienced another joyous JoY and treated myself to some goodies from the Farida Dance souk. 

In May, I got a little bit hooked on my new pair of zills.

June brought Big Dance and an unusual gig.   

In July, I went to train in Dusseldorf in my first ever trip to the annual Hilal Dance Week with Suraya Hilal and Alessandro Bascioni.

Hilal Dance Week

In August, I managed to fit in a day of dancing Baladi with live music, in between London's main events.  

Olympic Park

I had an uneventful September, although managed to fit in a Classical veil workshop with Juliana.  

In October my ballet teacher had us pretending to be snowflakes. 

In November, I performed once again at Edinburgh's longest running Egyptian Dance event.

My December included more Hilal Dance in London with Suraya; and looking forward to exciting things to come in 2013, including some more live music and promising performing opportunities. 

Oh my eyes! - Stage make-up tips

Here is a review type post about a couple of my favourite products for getting that Arabic eyes look.

In my make up bag I've a few favourites from make up forever who do a great variety of professional make up, including waterproof, which I find works great for performaning.  To line my eyes, there are two products I really like, both from their Aqua range.

The first of these is the Aqua Eyes waterproof eyeliner pencil.  I've got this in shade 0L-Matte Black.  It's nice and smooth to apply, can be smudged easily for a nice effect, or built up to a harder line.  And once it's on, it stays exactly in place, all night, through performing, night driving, everything.  I find it a very versatile product, not only for stage, but also for teaching and everyday wear. If you find it hard to shape your eyeliner, a smudgeable one like this can be drawn on first for the outline shape, then for more drama draw over the top with liquid liner. 

The second product I rely on is Aqua Black Waterproof Creme Eyeshadow.  This is a pot of black boot polish looking colour.  It can be used as a base for smokey eyes stage look, but I like it as a matte eyeliner, applied to my upper lid with a small brush.

I make sure to brush it on really close to the top lashes, almost to the lash line, opening up the eyes so as not to leave any gaps.  This is the best way to disguise any mistakes or gaps from glueing on lashes - as long as the liner goes on first, then the lashes.  A nice angled eyeliner brush would make application pretty easy and help with winging out the liner, although I've been using a discarded lip brush which works okay.  I like this product better than other brand gel liners as it doesn't tend to gloop or clump, and once it's on it's not going to slide around or budge for anything.  It's also easy to wipe off the brush afterwards.  Lastly, the packaging is a compact plastic tub, good for squeezing into my make up bag, and there's no risk of dropping a heavy sphere of glass encased gel liner onto my foot...

Waterproof make up shouldn't be used in inside or waterline of my eyes.  The Aqua Black especially should also be applied extra carefully away from contact lenses, as it's got so much staying power, it'd stick to the lense too given half a chance.  

Finally, something that often comes up in dressing room chat is how stubborn it this kind of make up can be to take off at the end of the night.  My method is to always use a good quality waterproof eye make up remover.  There's quite a few brands that'll work, the trick is to look out for bottle that contains both water based and oil based solvent - you'll recognise this in a bottle which has two liquids inside, one floating on top of the other.  You need to shake to mix the two, put some on a cotton wool pad and then hold this to your eye a count of 10 - long enough for the liquid to soak into the make up.  Then a gentle wipe should take everything off with no rubbing.  I then finish the eye by turning the pad over and wiping clean with the reverse side.  It's quick, gentle and very easy.

Make up forever is a niche brand in the UK, although has a wider distribution in certain countries around the world.  In the UK there are currently two stockists that I know, the PAM store near Shepherds Bush in London (who also do mail order), and Guru in Fulham.

I'd love to know, what are your favourite make up products for stage?  

Kate's Baladi

Kate Deacon is a Scottish teacher of Raqs Sharqi style Egyptian Dance.  She runs several classes in the Borders and Lanarkshire.  She originally trained with my teacher Lorne McCall and I think she's a beautiful dancer.

Kate doesn't perform so often these days, but Susan Tonner of Katra and Twisted Tails posted this video of her dancing in Edinburgh a few weeks ago, in a special event featuring Carolena Nericcio of Fat Chance Belly Dance.  This is a lovely example of the Raqs Sharqi Society style of Baladi - simple, sweet and melodic; with patterns in space and geometric motifs. 

More dance from Morocco

I've added a couple of new clips of traditional Moroccan dance to my YouTube channel.  I filmed these during my trip to Marrakesh last year.  You can read my previous post for a collection of some of the other videos, including Berber dancing and an unexpected surprise during a beauty cooperative tour.

First of all here is the candle tray dance filmed at the beautiful Palais Chahramane restaurant.  I loved watching this dancer for her sense of spectacle without skill.  Possibly even an insight into what might have been the low class street entertainment of days gone by.



The second video is of fun and athletic Gnawa musicians and dancers.  This was part of a brilliant afternoon of entertainment aimed at Moroccan people rather than tourists, in an unlikely location - an outdoor restaurant, behind a service station on the road to Casablanca.  I have still have some unpublished video of the different acts that featured, so either watch this space or feel free to leave me a note if you would like to see more.

Keeping it all together

This is my new zills pouch.

It's sturdy, compact, and it's also my new bargain as it cost me just £1.50 from a textile/crafts store on Nicholson Street in Edinburgh.

How do you store your zills?

Big Dance Edinburgh and Bellydance Flashmob

I've had a fantastic dancey weekend.  I previously blogged about the Big Dance weekend of dance, in Edinburgh Saturday 30th June to Sunday 1st July, connected to the London 2012 festivities around the country.

After Saturday night's eventful gig, I felt spurred to head down to the National Museum of Scotland on Sunday to take part in the bellydance flashmob, organised by Elspeth Swishandhips, as part of Big Dance Edinburgh.  Months of careful and planning and organisation went into this and Elspeth even filmed and uploaded tutorials of all the choreography so that as many people as possible could take part. 

There were about 50 dancers, with Egyptian, ATS and Tribal Fusion styles all featuring.  With so many old and new faces, there was a fantastic buzz about the place and a huge crowd cheering us on - although I suspect not all of them were so unsuspecting.  Congratulations Elspeth, it was a fantastic event and thank you for all your hard work! And well done to all the dancers who took part!

Here we all are dancing in the Museum's spectacular surroundings (thanks to Norma for the photo): 

Big Dance events were taking place all over the city.  Here's my shot of Fife based ATS teacher Elaine giving a taster in the Museum, a bit later on:

And here's my shot of amazing double sword dancer Briar from Edinburgh troupe Twisted Tails under the shadow of Edinburgh castle.

At the end of the day, I even found myself chatting to someone in the crowd who felt inspired to start a new dance class.  Well how about that then for a successful way end to a weekend aimed at getting people dancing?

Here is Emma's video of the flashmob in all its glory:

Dancing down the farm

I had a gig with a difference on Saturday night.

A real first for me, teaching a taster hen party class in a farm shed.  The party was meant to be held in a gazebo outside - but the terrible rain at the weekend caused the roof to collapse - so the owners lent us these fine surroundings:

Where's the strangest place you've ever danced?

Resources for zills and sagat - doing it like the drummers do

Here is my second post about resources I've used for teaching myself zills.  My previous post talked about learning from online videos.  This time, some information about the stuff I've been doing to learn to play Arabic rhythms.  

A while back, I took some drumming workshops with the very talented Tim Garside.  Tim is an incredibly talented musician who plays many different percussion and musical Arabic instruments.  Tim teaches around London, and these classes were on offer at Raqs Sharqi Society events.  He's a great teacher with a mild manner and dry sense of humour.  Alongside the workshops, he gave us a couple of photocopies of handwritten notes on Egyptian rhythms.  This covered all the basics, each with a core rhythm - including Maqsoum, Saaidi, Masmoudi, Malfuf, Zaar and Fellahi - transcribed in simple form, and then followed by one or more additional versions with elaborations. 

I've been learning and practising all these rhythm variations straight off the handouts.  My current technique has followed on from this study and relies on using the same hands to play my zills as I would if I was drumming.  The general rule of this method is for my right hand to play all the "dums" and "taks", and then my left to play the filler "ka"s.  I also differentiate these groups of notes with different sounds.  For dums, I select an open ring sound, and for taks a slight muted tone.  I seem to remember drummer Chas Whitaker, suggesting this to a group of dancers once.  I also add in the left handed ka, again with a softer mute tone.  This interpretation is perhaps where I feel I'm on uncertain territory.  From the you tube videos and recordings so far, there seems to be quite a lot of variation in how the different sounds are expressed.  In their drills, Ansuya and Mahin played a consistent ring across all the notes.  However, I've seen and heard other dancers use more texture in their sounds including Artermis and Sophie Armoza.

I've also been drilling the same rhythms with a dampened zills tone, although trying to maintain some tonal differentiation between dum and tek.  I think the benefits of sticking to the drumming fingering (the term perhaps could better be described as handedness, although I'm not sure) is that my learning would transfer better, if I had the opportunity to learn more drumming.  

Consistent with this approach, I found a short series of YouTube darabuka tutorials from RexSoli.  He additionally covers the split hand technique, for playing faster rhythms like Malfuf (where dums are played with the dominant hand, and taks with the other hand).  This is easy to replicate on zills, and makes some rhythms a lot easier to play.  Here is Rex in action:

The approach of following the drummers' language for rhythms (what Artemis calls "drum speak" - including the dums, taks and kas - makes sense to my brain.  I found this easier than counting variations (e.g. 123- or 1-&-a-2-) or using "RLR" type transcriptions.  The consequences of this approach also means opening up countless resources that transcribe rhythms and their variants.  In fact, there are heaps of free online resources written in this format.  There are far too many to list here, although one favourite I really liked for quantity of information ease of use is the info on the website Khafif.

Zilling in the rain...

In response to my question about playing zills in the rain, I received this reply from "A fellow walking zill practiser who agrees that muffling interferes":

Living on the sixtieth parallel, rain, cold, walking, and zills have challenged me.  Foggy rain, I simply play as I walk.  Soaking rain, I wear a gortex hooded poncho over my warm-weather gear.  I do not know what brands of glove liners you have available, but should you run into the "numbing cold zill effect" then I recommend getting a second pair of zills and sizing the elastic to a pair of wind-breaker, water-proof glove liners to wear under your poncho.  Hope that this helps! 

Wow, I have to say it's really nice to know I'm not alone, and that there are even greater challenges for outdoor zillers than the Scottish weather.  When I started this practise regime about 6 weeks ago we were experiencing an unseasonal cold spell.  Indoors, I had my heating on.  Outdoors, after about 10 minutes my hands would start to feel bitter cold as the metal of the zills plunged with the outside temperature.

I love the idea of a second pair of zills sized to fit over glove liners. Although if I manage to achieve some sort of musical competency before the onset of this year's winter that would also eliminate this sort of hazard. 

Thank you, my fellow zills walker, I zaghareet you!  Enjoy the summery zills days while they last!

Dancing to the tune of London 2012

The excitement of the London 2012 Olympics came to Edinburgh today, with the Olympic torch relay.  Here is Scottish ice dancer John Kerr whizzing by, flame in hand. 

Another part of the year of Olympic celebrations, coming to Edinburgh, is Big Dance 2012.  Thousands of events are taking place across the UK, involving all kinds of dance styles and community groups.  And anyone can join in.

The Edinburgh Big Dance event takes place over the weekend Saturday 30th of June and Sunday 1st July.  There's all sorts of different things going on across the city and here are my top picks.

Firstly, my Ballet class at Dance Base are performing the "Ballet of the Trams" at the Grassmarket stage on the Saturday at 2.50pm.  The whole thing is choreographed to the "Trolley Song" from Meet me in St Louis.  And for all sorts of reasons, this all age, all ability group of ballerinas and ballerinos is almost guaranteed to put a smile on your face.

The second event is something very special indeed.  I can't say much more, but I do know that the event is being led by Elspeth SwishandHips and it is rumoured be taking place in central Edinburgh at lunchtime on Sunday 1st July.  I can't wait!

How are you celebrating the 2012 Olympics where you are?

If you hear me walking down the street...

The finger cymbal playing is coming along, thanks to my new practise regime. 

The zills I recently purchased are of the professional variety.  They are big and loud and the sound will cut through noisy bars and open air fetes.  But loud also has a downside, when practising for any sustained period of time. 

My "studio" at home is the kitchen in my tenement flat, breakfast table pushed to the side.  It's got a laminate floor and I try to tell myself this offers some kind of sound insulation for my poor neighbours.  Well they haven't yet complained... My poor ears, however, are ringing along with my fingers - they are now starting to suffer.

I needed to find a solution to my problem.  What's that I *struggle to* hear other dancers shout? Zill mufflers?  Baby socks?  I say no crochet.  I want to hear what I am doing, to work on the difference between dums and taks, clicks and claps. 

I had to think out of the apartment, and move my practise to the great outdoors.  Well, the streets of Edinburgh to be more precise.  So I've taken to walking home at night, zills in hand, through the old town, up the royal mile, across the meadows.  And it works.  I can practise my drills, rhythms, variations, slowing down, speeding up, tones, trills and tricks.  All the while, I am walking home to a constant beat, thinking about my tea, looking at the Edinburgh skyline, and browsing in shop windows.  And it's the same kind of brain multi-tasking skill, that I can then apply to my dancing. 

I do pass plenty of people every day.  But there are lots of other city noises all around, sometimes so much that even my zills are drowned out.  And no one's really exposed to the sound for more than a moment.  If anyone notices, I have mostly just been politely ignored. 

And the result?  Well, I think it's starting to work... In just a few weeks of practising a little bit every day, my fingers are getting used to playing.  And when I put on some music and start dancing zills in hand, I think I'm finally getting it!

Have you got a great practise trick for learning finger cymbals, zills or sagat?  I would love to hear it. 

In the meantime, here's a shot of that Edinburgh's skyline.  I hope this provides some nice distraction from playing the 200th repetition of Beledi rhythm.

Oh, by the way has anyone any advice for protecting zills from the rain...?

Resources for zills and sagat - some great online videos

Since getting my new zills at the end of April, I've stepped up the amount of practise I've been doing.  As I don't, unfortunately, have access to a teacher, I have had to find different ways to teach myself.  My learning so far has been through online videos, and from a variety of CD and other rhythm resources.  For anyone who might be in the same position, I thought I would share some of the things that have really helped.  I'll start with the online videos. 

Free videos

YouTube is as good a place to start as any, when looking for some top up online tuition.  A quick search for "zills" plus "lesson", "learn" etc. will throw up a range of clips of varying quality together with a few trailers for video resources that can be purchased.  I found this a good way to cover a few basics and find some interesting play along material too.  Some of the videos that are for sale also look good, although I haven't invested as yet.  Here are 2 teachers that recommend. 

Firstly, Anthea Kawakib, a master ziller from the States.  She has an online course on her YouTube channel with 7 classes, suitable for both students and teachers who want ideas for teaching zills in class.  This short course, felt like an opportunity to follow the classes I never had.  The best thing about them is that from the outset, playing at the same time as dancing and moving about is absolutely essential.  By stop starting the clips and doing the same lessons over and over, there are maybe a few hours worth of free training here. Here is an example of Anthea breaking the technique down into manageable doses, from her second lesson:

The second teacher is Mahin Sciacca, author of the "Daily Bellydance Quickies".  She has posted a huge amount of free online material on belly dance and body conditioning.  This includes over 40 great zills videos, again aimed at familiarization, practise, and getting you moving and playing at the same time.  It helps to already have some experience of zill playing beforehand though, as does having some familiarity with American names for basic Arabic rhythms.  Here is Mahin teaching a combination with zills to Leylet Hob:

Subscription videos

The other set of videos I found useful, were Ansuya's online classes.  Former bellydance superstar Ansuya is famous for performing high energy belly dance, zills always in hand.  Just when I needed it, I came across a tweet from Ansuya granting a 24 hour free trial of Ansuya Online.  This is a subscription service that offers 4 new videos every month, together with the previous few months worth in an archive.  There is a basics class, a workout, a choreography and an "entertainment" section featuring extras type titbits.  I followed I think 3 different zills classes from the archive.  Lessons were 40 minutes long and I found the teaching to be excellent, clear and precise.  Rhythms were broken down into small pieces, built up again, speeded up and combined with moves.  I got a lot out of the learning, which even stuck with me for several days afterwards.

Although I am very grateful for the trial, I found the American belly dance posture and style quite alien to my own Egyptian Dance training.  But I would still recommend this series to an experienced dancer who can't easily access classes/workshop, especially if you're already a fan or interested in learning a variety of different props in addition to zills.

Out with the sagat, in with the zills

I've been trying to learn to dance with sagat for years.  It is a rare an interesting sight to see a dancer on stage who is proficient in playing finger cymbals, and as a former musician this instrument has always had a certain appeal.  I have also been impressed whenever I had a teacher who used her sagat in class to provide instant music to accompany the moves, and I wanted to do that too.

One of my dance specialities is Sha'abi style folk dance from the South of Egypt.  This looks and sounds great when danced live with sagat, as exemplified by the Ghawazee tribes of Upper Egypt.  I even performed my own tribute to the Ghawazee dancers a couple of years back in Sarasvati Tribal's Gaslight Faeries show.

However, I found it difficult to make progress in learning this instrument.  Mine are the heavy one-holed proper Egyptian sagat, imported from Mohammed Ali Street in Cairo.  And although I love the sound, the one-holed design means that although they are fine when played sitting down, when I dance, they wobble.  I have tried every manner of things to stop this happening, different sizes and thickness of elastic, even using bra elastic, but nothing really helped.

I had to find another solution to my finger cymbal problem.  So I turned to a different instrument altogether, the zill...

Finger cymbals are an ancient percussion instrument, still played by dancers in the middle east today.  In Egypt they are called sagat, in Turkey they are called zills and the instrument exists under different names and sometimes slightly different forms all over the middle east and North Africa.  Zills have a higher pitched, more ringing sound than sagat.  The slightly different sound means that they are not entirely authentic to Egyptian dance, however they are a reasonable substitute.  And due to their popularity amongst Stateside bellydancers, good quality zills are easier to find.  The best ones also have 2 parallel slits, which you string with thick flat elastic, and they don't wobble!

I did some research and discovered Saroyan, one of the manufacturers of quality zills popular with US dancers (other brands include Turquoise and Zildjian).  And more importantly, I found a supplier in the UK, Aladdin's cave, who carries this brand.  So here are my new zills, they are professional quality Saroyan Arabesque II.

I'm quite pleased with them so far.  They are heavy and loud and more tuneful sounding than my sagat.  They stay on my fingers too which helps me to hold my hands in a nicer more open position while dancing.  And more importantly, this has given me motivation to start practising more regularly again.

Habiba Dance is on the Move!

Goodbye purple website.  We were together two and a half years, but sadly now we must part.

It's out with the old and in with the new at Habiba Dance HQ, as my new, even shinier website is being built as we speak.  I'm really excited about it and I can't wait for the big reveal, coming soon to a computer screen near you!

Contact me...

Meanwhile, my blog will be my home for a few short weeks, and if you do need to get in touch there are still lots of ways to contact me:

• through Facebook 
• by tweeting @habibadance 
• or email me: habibadance AT ymail.com

Oh yes, and it's business as usual on YouTube as well (now with over 60,000 video views). 

As part of the transition to the new site, I'm in the middle of working through a few techy type things.  This means that right now my www.habibadance.com domain is showing a 404 error when you tap it into your computer.

However, everything else remains business as usual.  If you want to browse through the content of my old website, you should still be able to have a nosey at it, it's just being held in stasis on the servers of my previous host.  If you want to enquire about teaching, performances or hire, please get in touch directly with me.  If you have already accepted a quote or received a contract, all arrangements remain in place - naturally - and you will still be able to get in touch direct using the email and phone number that you have.

And finally, please do come back here very soon, to read my latest news, and check on the launch date for unveiling my new site. 

Thank you for the music!

Thank you Northern Arabic Dance Association for last night's fantastic live music event in Edinburgh with the Baladi Blues Ensemble!

Thanks to your support: 8 people got to dance in the evening show; another 8 led the musicians in the workshop; 21 in total enjoyed a workshop with live musicians; 1 person had her first experience teaching a live music workshop; 10 people went to their very first bellydance class; and over 115 people enjoyed our party and performances to fantastic live Egyptian music from the Baladi Blues Ensemble!

For many that were there this was their first experience of hearing or dancing to live Arabic music, for others this was the first time they had ever seen Arabic dance or belly dance. For all of us, this was a very special occasion, with a beautiful warm atmosphere and a fantastic finale for a whole weekend of amazing events like this around the country.

Thank you to everyone at NADA, all of its members, committee, to Coordinator Anna Bisco, to Elspeth SwishandHips, all the volunteers and helpers, the staff at the David Lloyd Newhaven, and to the incredible Baladi Blues Ensemble - Guy Schalom, Sheik Taha, Ahmed El Saidi and Adam Warne!

Thank you to all of you for spreading the Baladi Love!

Baladi Blues Band - Live Arabic Music in Edinburgh

On Sunday 5th February 2012, I am hosting the Baladi Blues Ensemble, live in Edinburgh, for a day of Egyptian Dance.

Day of Dance Flyer

All the details, including bookings information, venue, directions and accommodation info are on my website.

The aim of this event is to bring live music and Egyptian Dance to communities that might not otherwise get the chance to experience it.  That’s why we have arranged a free taster workshop as part of the day.  And that’s also why we’ve kept the cost of participation very low – thanks to the generous sponsorship of NADA, the Northern Arabic Dance Association.

Baladi Blues Ensemble

The Baladi Blues Ensemble plays the urban Egyptian dance music known as Baladi. Skillful accordion and saxophone improvisations, energised by powerful Egyptian rhythms give the Baladi Blues Ensemble its distinctive sound. Their music reflects the sophisticated and fast paced, urban lifestyle of 1950’s Cairo - all offered with a charming and enigmatic stage presence.

Baladi Blues Ensemble

The group is led by renowned percussionist, Guy Schalom, and features legendary quarter-tone accordionist Sheik Taha (Mohamed Abdel Wahab, Ahmed Adaweya, Fifi Abdou, and Tahia Cariocca), saxophonist Ahmed El Saidi (Ali Hassan Kuban, Shams Hussein, Salamat) and master percussionist Hassan Reevis (Abdel Halim Hafez, Ahmed Adaweya).  The band also features frame drum wizard Adam Warne.

Venue 

The venue is the Forth View Suite at the David Lloyd Club, Edinburgh Newhaven Harbour, EH6 4LX.   Venue details, map, transport etc. information is available here.

Day

The day will feature:

• FREE Egyptian Belly Dance taster workshop (2:00pm till 3:00pm)
• Live music workshop for Dancers (3:15pm till 5:15pm)
• EVENING CONCERT and party with live music (starts 7:30pm)

Evening concert and party with the Baladi Blues Ensemble
Starts 7:30, cost: £5! (LAST FEW TICKETS)

This unmissable concert and party will feature authentic live music from the fabulous Baladi Blues Ensemble, along with dance performances and lots of time to boogie with the band!

A fantastic evening of live music, featuring performances from me, Lorne, Espeth, Kerimeh, Anna and Edinburgh's longest established Egyptian Dance troupe Daughters of Isis.

Tickets are selling very quickly for this event, advanced booking is advised. 

FREE Egyptian Belly Dance taster workshop for Beginners
2:00 till 3:00, cost: FREE

A fun, free, accessible dance workshop suitable for all ages and abilities.  This will be a fun filled introduction to Egyptian Dance for complete Beginners, brought to you by Dance Base's Elspeth SwishandHips.

To join the FREE workshop, either reserve your place in advance or simply turn up on the day, 

The Spirit of Baladi - Live music workshop for Dancers
3:00 till 5:00 (SOLD OUT)

I am teaching a workshop for dancers on "the Spirit of Baladi", accompanied by Baladi Blues band leader Guy Schalom on Egyptian Tabla and master accordion player Sheikh Taha - an opportunity to learn to connect with and dance to traditional Egyptian music, melody and rhythm, and to explore moving the soulful sound of Baladi accordion - played by one of the leading musicians of this incredible art form.  

Bookings

To book, go to bookings page on my website and follow the instructions.

For evening tickets, all reservations will only be held if secured by full payment (you can pay via PayPal) and the last date for Advanced Bookings and Payment is Friday 3rd February.

If any evening tickets remain after 3rd February than these will be sold on the day on a first come, first served basis.