Everyone Can Dance

Earlier this month, I thoroughly enjoyed watching an evening of ballet performances, at Edinburgh Ballet Circle’s annual showcase, at the St Bride’s Centre, Edinburgh. 

Edinburgh Ballet Circle

Edinburgh Ballet Circle is an entirely amateur ballet troupe, consisting of dancers who regularly attend one of the many adult ballet classes across the city.  This was set up in 2011 by director Jonathan Burnett and is the first entirely non-professional ballet company in Edinburgh for some 50 years.  I've been attending Jonathan's classes for a couple of years now and I went along to support some of the people from my class who were in the show. 

The production consisted of 3 ballets.  The first part was my favourite, Act 2 of The Nutcracker, featuring a fun circus themed twist together with some fine comedy touches.  I particularly loved the ‘sugar plum fairy tight rope dancers’, with brave tutu wearing amateur ballerinas, showing off pointe work skills.  There were also ‘chinese plate spinner dancers’ with their pirouette free for all.  And I can't omit to mention the small group of male ballerinos who appeared in almost every scene and were game for anything, even a tongue in cheek clown routine.  The second ballet was a dramatization of the Little Mermaid, with wistful and dramatic story telling, ably danced and very atmospheric.  The finale was the ‘Ballet of the Nuns’, a quirky show that lived up to its bizarre title.

Nuns in tutus

I absolutely loved the whole thing.  Overall, the night showcased everything I love about community dance, whatever the genre.  It’s fantastic to see dancers of every ability, age, shape and size giving it their all.  There was always something to look at, whether skill, drama and finesse, or smiles of joy coming from the corps de ballet for just being there. 

It really reminded me how great it is within the Egyptian Dance or Belly Dance community, to have performing opportunities for student dancers to express themselves, whether at a local hafla, festival or community show.  It is so important that these showcases continue, for dancers of every skill level to work hard for, enjoy, and share with friends and family. 

Top 10 Ways to Market Your Belly Dance Event

After successfully organising and hosting the sell-out NADA/Baladi Blues event in Edinburgh last year, I had some nice comments about my positive approach to the marketing of the event.  I'd never done anything quite like this before – an afternoon of workshops, followed by evening concert and party with musicians – but I had the advantage of drawing on some related experience from the non-dancing part of my world. 


Daughters of Isis by James Campbell

At the time, NADA's convenor asked me to pass on some marketing advice to their members, so I wrote them an article for their magazine. 

Here are my 'Top 10 Tips' for marketing your dance event, first published by NADA:

1. Find the people that matter.  Word of mouth can mean a lot in our world and personal approaches count.  Your fellow teachers, friends and students can make a huge difference and an event that brings the dance community together is one which people will want to support.
2. Identify all the reasons why people might be interested in coming to your event, they are your unique selling points.  For example, what’s different about your event?  Is there something special about the teacher that students will learn from?  Is there something that isn’t on offer elsewhere? 
3. Use a range of tools that are at your disposal.  There are lots of ways to tell people about your event.  Take advantage of the internet, Facebook, classes, posters, flyers and anything else that captures your imagination.  These tools are usually cheap and often free – although you do need to invest your time to make them work for you. 
4. Create a timeline or countdown to the event.  Along with all the other stuff that needs to get done like organising the venue, programme and selling tickets, think about when you need to advertise your event.  Time your mail outs and other updates to fit with your plan.  Too few messages and people might miss the event entirely or just not get round to booking.  Too many and people get annoyed, unsubscribe or simply hit the delete button. 
5. Don’t sound like a stuck record.  If you are updating people about an event, do it in an interesting way so that your potential audience don’t lose interest.  Think about what you are saying and pick out different themes and messages to make it engaging.   
6. Put in a bit of personality into your campaign.  This one’s harder to convey, but what matters here is a friendly approach that makes others want to join you.  It’s about showing it’s real people that are behind the organisation of the event.   
7. Be honest about participation levels and ticket sales, and when it’s really time to book.  This helps people to plan when to book and pay for each part of the event.  And helps the organisers respond quickly if the numbers don’t pick up when they should. 
8. If there is one part of the event that isn’t selling so well, target some extra effort.  We had only had a few early registrations for our free beginners’ belly dance workshop.  In response, we targeted some Facebook activity at this part of the day, specifically to engage with non-dancers. 
9. Make it easy for people to participate.  A few extra touches can help someone decide to commit to the event.  The first question is often “where is the event, and how do I get there?”  Provide helpful information like maps and transport information and use a dedicated webpage if you can.   
10. Finally, create something that people want to be part of.  No matter how much muscle or self belief you put behind your campaign, it’s never going to work unless people are interested in what you are doing.  Our creation was an easy sell thanks to NADA – an amazing opportunity to learn with, listen to and dance to authentic live Egyptian music.  Or in the words of the Baladi Blues Ensemble band leader Guy Schalom, “spread the Baladi love!”

What do you think about this advice? 

I'd love to know, how do you spread the word about your belly dance events?

Feldenkrais classes in Edinburgh

I talked a little in my previous post about how much I've got out of learning Feldenkrais and I thought it would be good to share some information on local classes, for anyone interested to learn more. 

There are currently 3 teachers of Feldenkrais that I know of who offer classes in Edinburgh.

Firstly, there is Jackie Adkins.  She is a teacher based in Moray, who comes to Edinburgh every month or so to teach a workshop.  Her next event is this weekend, 6th April, on the theme of 'Freeing the Shoulders' (see flyer).  Jackie also teaches workshops in Glasgow and regular classes in the North East in the Moray area (Forres).  I first started learning through Jackie's workshops and found them a great introduction to the method.  I also liked that she provided us with useful handouts and was great at signposting where to learn more.  To find out more, go to her website.   

My current teacher in Edinburgh is Merav Israel.  She teaches regular classes (Awareness Through Movement), offers one to one lessons (Functional Integration), and offers the occasional workshop.  I have gained a great deal from her classes, particularly the private sessions.  Merav has a gentle style of teaching and a rich empathy driven approach as a practitioner.  For details of her group classes, individual sessions, and next workshop - 4th May, on the topic of 'breathing' - visit her website. 

Another teacher based in Edinburgh is Jae Gruenke.  I have not had the opportunity to take her classes.  She teaches a weekly class and also practises privately.  Her strong interest is in working with runners and athletes and she previously ran a specialist practice in New York.  For more, visit her website. 

Have you tried Feldenkrais method?  Do you know of any other local teachers?  I'd love to hear from you. 

Discovering Feldenkrais

I started learning Feldenkrais method a little over a year ago.  I first heard of it when one of my Egyptian Dance teachers started the teacher training course and started a share a little of what she learned.

 

I first attended some workshops, then weekly classes and eventually moved on to private lessons.  Bit by bit, Feldenkrais lessons are starting to change the way I move, the way I think, and challenging my own assumptions about dance, bodywork and movement.

There are 2 ways in which Feldenkrais is taught.  The first is 'Awareness Through Movement'.  This is a group class, where the teacher talks the students through a series of movements, starting small and building up gradually into bigger things, helping the student to discover new possibilities.  The talking through, rather than 'watch and copy' is really important as it has the effect of stripping away any ideas of what a movement should 'look' like, leaving behind the opportunity to explore and observe, and allow real understanding and learning to take place.  There is play, there are 'a-ha' moments, there are new discoveries...

The second method is called Functional Integration.  These are one on one classes with a practitioner, as a kind of hands on physical therapy.  Classes focus on the individual needs of a student.  The movements are subtle, gentle and gradually bring the different components of the body together into an integrated whole.  

Here is a short video about Awareness Through Movement.  I particularly like this film because it beautifully illustrates a spiral, something which also appears in the movement vocabulary for my studies in Hilal Dance: 

Here is another clip, showing more of the class environment, interspersed with interviews with the students themselves:

To read more, find resources, or a teacher in your area you can try the Feldenkrais Guild UK or the International Feldenkrais Federation.


Main photo by Mary Beth Smith, from here.

More dancing with the Baladi Blues Ensemble

I want to share some good news about another fabulous event being organised by NADA with the Baladi Blues Ensemble.

It's on Saturday 16 February 2013 in Lancashire and the day features dance and music workshops, the NADA AGM, and a fabulous evening show with performances and a chance for everyone to boogie with the band.  The event features dance teacher Claire Novis (from the JWAAD belly dance school) and Guy Schalom - the fabulous tabla player and band leader - will also be teaching and of course leading the band.  Some of my all time favourite traditional Egyptian style musicians will be there including legendary accordion player Sheik Taha and the wonderful singer and oud player Abdel Salam Kheir.  There will also be lots of lovely guest dancers, and oh yes, I'll be performing too!

Guy Schalom by James Campbell

Claire Novis

Thanks to NADA's support, this event is amazing value for both NADA members and non-members alike.  And if you're not taking part in the workshop, you can still come along to enjoy the show.  Anyone who was at the NADA/Baladi Blues event I hosted in Edinburgh last year will know how great this group are.  And if you haven't heard them yet, what are you waiting for?

The event is taking place at the Ellel Village Hall, Galgate, Lancaster, LA2 0LQ.  The first workshop starts at 1:30pm and the evening show starts at 7:30pm (with doors from 7.00pm).  Oh, and for dancers staying for the whole day, you can even book a special 'dancer's tea'! 

For all the information, packages and bookings go to Desna Dances.

I hope to see you there, and for anyone coming along who also follows my blog please do come and say hello!

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 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?

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.

2011 - 12 months in 12 sentences

I've risen to the challenge to summarize my 2011 year in just 12 sentences, one per month. Thanks go to Claire (@StAndrewsLynx) for the inspiration to blog on the "12 in 12" theme. And to those reading this - Happy New Year!  I hope that 2012 brings good things to you, and everyone. 

In January, I found some mezze (I also survived my worst costume malfunction but quickly destroyed all evidence).

I had a Fifi February, dancing with melaya and white galabeya. 

In March, I fed my fabric shopping habit during a trip to Paris, and Walked the Walk with a little bit of Aziza. 

April was a JoY, and workshops with Eman Zaki had me dancing Samia style. 

Jewel of Yorkshire with Khaled Mahmoud and Eman Zaki

In May, I had a Dorothy moment in the wrong dancers holiday in Marrakesh; and later danced the Zarr with Suraya accompanied by drumming from the father and son El Minyawis.  

Marrakesh

In June, I taught and guest starred at the second Glasgow Festival of Arabic Dance. 

Dancing at GFAD, by Milla

July was the Raqs Sharqi Society fundraiser in London, and the Foundation for Community Dance summer school - where I completed their certificate in Age Inclusive Practice.

August brought injury, which caused me to miss my guest star spot at Planet Egypt in London.

September, I had a really good time watching other dancers while I gradually got my body moving again.

October had me up, dancing again and joining Beatrice Grognard's workshops as part of the Songe d'une nuit en Egypte weekend.

November brought a thankfully snow free drive home from Northern Lights at Newport on Tay.

December meant lots of hours planning the Baladi Blues live Egyptian music event in Edinburgh next year - on 5th February 2012 - and I even sold out the live music dancers workshop that I'll be teaching then. 

Baladi Blues day of dance

Breathing New Life into an Ancient Legend

Dream of an Egyptian Night (Songe d'une Nuit d'Egypte) is a contemporary dance show; which takes its inspiration from the Egypt of the pharaohs, and the goddess Hathor.

(c) Tarab of Egypt

The legend of the goddess Hathor has enabled Béatrice Grognard and her dancers to plunge into the dazzling artistic and intellectual richness of the Egypt of the pharaohs.  Thanks to its musical excerpts drawn from numerous Egyptian repertoires and to the projection of paintings, sculptures, objects and antique sites, Dream of an Egyptian Night aims to celebrate an art which spans two millennia.  The show combines both ancient Egyptian spirituality and sensual pleasure; reflecting Béatrice Grognard’s fifteen years of research and experience of creating performances.  

“A celebration of the powerful femininity of the sun which is a mysterious expression of the beauty of the world and the magic beyond…”

(c) Tarab of Egypt

When the show debuted in Brussels last year it drew critical acclaim and was even featured on Egyptian television’s “Good Morning Egypt” news programme (Sabah el kheir ya Masr) and the Belgian news on Télé Bruxelles.  Here is a short clip from the original show.


Songe d'une nuit d'Egypte - Tarab / Béatrice... by tarabofegypt

You can watch further clips of extracts from the original show (Songe d’une nuit d’Egypte) on the Tarab video channel on Daily Motion.

The exciting news is that thanks to Ellie Atkinson of Zahira Dance and Raqs Sharqi Dorset, and after playing to audiences in Belgium, France and Italy, this amazing show is coming to UK this autumn – to theatres in Bristol in October and Leeds in November! And more good news, both shows will be followed by 2 days of workshops.  Here are all the details.  

Bristol show
Friday 28 October 2011, doors at 7.30pm. 
Queen Elizabeth Hospital Theatre, Berkley Place, Clifton, Bristol, BS8 1JX. 
Tickets are £16.50 including booking fee
To reserve go to www.bristolticketshop.co.uk.

Bristol workshops
Dance Space at the Island (Bridewell St entrance), Bristol, BS1 2PY
Saturday 29 October, 11:30-16:00 - Baladi
Sunday 30 October, 9:30-14:00 - Sha’abi (the rural style from Upper Egypt)
Each workshop costs £45
Bookings can be made by contacting Ellie Atkinson.

Leeds show
Friday 18 November, doors at 7.30pm.
Northern Ballet Theatre, Quarry Hill, Leeds, Yorkshire LS2 7PA. 
Tickets are £16.00 including booking fee. 
To reserve go to www.northernballet.com. 

Leeds workshops
Northern Ballet at Quarry Hill, Leeds, Yorkshire, LS2 7PA
Saturday 19 November, 11:30-16:00 - Classical from the ottoman courts
Sunday 20 November, 9:30-14:00 - Sufi.
Each workshop costs £45
Bookings can be made by contacting Ellie Atkinson.

Béatrice is an inspirational and generous teacher of her own particular style of contemporary and theatrical Egyptian dance. I’m so excited by this that I’m even planning to travel from my home in Edinburgh to both Bristol and Leeds weekends so I can attend both workshop weekends and I’m even thinking of seeing the show twice.  I’m particularly excited by the Sufi style, I’ve only done this a handful of times before with Béatrice and it is an incredible experience, not to be missed. 

Béatrice Grognard is one of the foremost European teachers of contemporary Egyptian Dance.  I first discovered Béatrice Grognard when I started attending her classes when I worked in Brussels for a spell in 2006. Attending her classes twice a week was a wonderful escape from what was a very busy but exciting period in my life. And since returning to the UK, I have continued to train, attending Béatrice’s occasional UK workshops and participating in two of her study trips to Egypt to work with live musicians. 

At the end of last year, I attended an amazing weekend of workshops with Béatrice organised by Diane and Ellie of Raqs Sharqi Dorset.  The learning was deep and amazing.  The Baladi focused on the meeting between singer, musicians and dancer, melting together like hot chocolate into a single melody.  The Ghawazee class helped us to explore strength, femininity and most of all fun, working with signature moves like throwing hips, twists, dynamic movements, wide shimmies, and rhythmic footwork.  And the jewel in the crown of the workshop weekend was Sharqi, the modern and classical form of the dance, almost contemporary in its interpretation.  Béatrice opened our eyes to challenging all our assumptions about how to interpret the music, unpicking many years of learning the “correct” way to dance.

About Béatrice Grognard

(c) Tarab of Egypt

Béatrice Grognard divides her time between Europe, Cairo and Brussels where, in 1998, she founded the "Tarab”, School of Theatrical Dances of Egypt". She has dedicated the last 15 years to the study and research of Egyptian music and dance. Trained as an archaeologist, Béatrice has always had true passion about arts and dance. Since 1991, Béatrice has devoted herself exclusively to dance and choreography and, thanks to her tremendous enthusiasm, has dedicated herself to defending the beauty and the authenticity of traditional Egyptian dances. Her quest today is directly linked to her original interest in archaeology: to bring forward Egyptian dance and the music of the past, redefine their boundaries and breath new life into them with theatricality introduced on stage, therefore ensuring them new life and a future.  For more information about Béatrice, see www.tarabofegypt.com.

www.habibadance.com

An afternoon of Egyptian Dance

Last week, Juliana Brustik together with dance troupe Chic Shake Shock presented a Sunday afternoon of Egyptian Dance and fundraiser for the Raqs Sharqi Society. 

I regularly attended Juliana's workshops for a number of years and was previously a member of her Edinburgh performance group.  Chic Shake Shock I know as a London based dance group that has entertained audiences for 10 years in a variety of arts and community settings.  I have seen this lovely group dance and worked with several of their members at previous Society events and courses, so knew to expect a wonderful afternoon.  Fortunately I had the chance to join them as I was also already down in London, for the Raqs Sharqi Society CPD event for Associate teacher members, which ran the day before. 

Al Malikat

The result was a wonderful informal community showcase, bringing together dancers of all ages to showcase the different types of Egyptian Dance that form the Raqs Sharqi Society style.  Set within the naturally lit space of the back room of the Earl of Chatham pub in South East London, we had cosy respite from the rain beating down outside and a warm crowd of dancers, friends and family across the generations, providing a supportive atmosphere to dance, watch, and be entertained. 

The showcase opened with Juliana's performance group Al Malikat, performing a skillful Baladi choreography with veil to the tune Gozy.  The three young dancers dressed in eye catching block colours moved around the stage with beautiful patterns and shapes and proved a lovely opening to the show. 

Next up, Maggie and Rebecca from Chic Shake Shock in a break from the Society's form, performed a fun Reda style duet.  This was followed by Sara with her first ever solo, performing a gentle classical piece to Raqs El Gamal by Farid El Atrash.

Sara

 Continuing the classical theme were duet Maggie and Sue performing a floaty veil duet to Mohammed Abdel Wahab's Nebtedi Menin el Hekaya (When did the Story Start).  Then it was my turn to take to the stage with my crowd pleasing Baladi solo to Alla Warag El Foull (the Petals of Jasmine), which I have performed on a number of previous occasions.  Then dancer Caterina followed this with her performance of a cheeky stick dance. 

Maggie and Sue

Closing the first half were Pauline and Doreen with a mesmerizing Baladi accordion duet followed by drum solo.  This was easily my favourite performance of the day, with two amazing women enjoying dancing together with their own unique blend of musicality, chemistry and comic timing. 

Doreen and Pauline

The second half opened with a soulful solo from Pauline to a qanun piece by Imane Homsy, fusing together classical technique with her training in Hilal Dance.  Then Doreen returned, this time for a veil duet with dance partner Brenda.  By this point in the evening Doreen had also built up the biggest and loudest entourage of family, including her children and grandchildren to cheer her on.  Al Malikat then returned to the stage and performed a Baladi piece and drum solo.  After this was an incredibly poised and delicate classical performance by Carmen to Farid El Atrash's Zeina. 

Pauline

The penultimate act was a solo from Juliana Brustik.  Dressed in red with Baladi head veil, Juliana's dance was a sensitive and beautiful choreo-improvisation, using all parts of the dance floor, with soft shapes, different levels and poised arms.  This was then fittingly followed by fellow organisers Chic Shake Shock closing the show with a lively Shaabi group piece to Music of the Ghawazee. 

Juliana

I thoroughly enjoyed this colourful community showcase of Egyptian Dance and especially to see a whole afternoon dedicated to the Raqs Sharqi Society style.  Key choreographic themes for the afternoon were connections between duets and groups, fluidity, and use of floor space, shapes and body direction.  All the performers were also connected through their training, every one having at some point taken lessons with Juliana.  But still, every individual found their own style within this and each stamped their own personalities onto their performances.

www.habibadance.com

Dancing to Sun, Sea and Sarasvati

The wonderful Sarasvati girls held yet another fabulous event on Saturday night - their Sun, Sea and Sarasvati Hafla.  This was a fun night out with a seaside twist which raised almost £200 for the Marine Conservation Society.  This is a fantastic achievement, especially given numbers were slightly down after another dancer decided to organise a clashing hafla over in Edinburgh on the same night.  Well done girls!

The Hafla was hosted at La Bodega Tapas Bar, part of Dance With Attitude Studios in Glasgow.  It's a great venue for a party and the resident teachers Karen and Alexis even treated us to Tango and Salsa displays.  There were a number of marine inspired acts through the night and delivered in style, including Dance with Attitude's own belly dance teacher Lorri resplendent with mask and snorkel, a pirate dance by Kaz of Hafla Karimah and Stef from Sarasvati doing the dance of the jellyfish. 

Here's my dance from Saturday.  My performance didn't quite follow the theme, but I did select what I think is an appropriate "seaweed coloured" dress, by Hanan from Farida Dance for the occasion.



Here are some of the photos I took at the event.

Lorri

Stef

Sarasvati

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Arabic Dance belongs to Glasgow

I'm delighted that I am invited to teach at the 2nd Glasgow Festival of Arabic Dance on Saturday 18th June 2011.

Kay

The Festival, run by two local Glasgow Egyptian Belly Dance teachers, Sarah Pulman of Alchemy Egyptian Dance and Ann McLaughlin, features a day of exciting workshops from national and local teachers, topped off with an evening Hafla.

This year, I will be teaching a brand new workshop on the Secrets of Improvisation.  Here are all the details:

3.30-5.00pm
Costs £12
Open level
Break free from the confines of choreography, feel the music, and tap into your instincts to take command of the stage with improvisational freedom. This workshop will help you to connect with and dance to some traditional Arabic music, melody and rhythm that form part of every dancer’s repertoire. Using movements you already know, you will learn techniques to identify your own personal interpretation and breathe life and emotion into your performances.

I'll be teaching alongside Kay Taylor of Farida Dance, Laura Monteith of Sarasvati Tribal, Christine aka Her Royal Hellness Lucretia, Joannie Ward of Mirage and Imman Mussa of IMMEDA.

Workshops take place at the 411 White Studios, 62 Templeton on the Green, Glasgow G40 1DA.  

After the day of workshops, put on your sparklies and join us for the Hafla at 7.30pm, Woodside Halls, 60 Glenfarg St, Glasgow, Lanarkshire G20 7QU

I'll also be performing at the Hafla, together with the other teachers and other dancers and special guests - personally, I've got my fingers crossed that a certain very famous Arabian Horse called Dessie might make an appearance.

For bookings, full programme, biographies and everything else you need to know, visit: www.glasgowfad.com

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Profiting From Others

Recently, I was offered for sale a homemade CD from a local belly dancer.  It was a compilation featuring a variety of oriental music, sold in a plastic sleeve with a photo of the dancer, and with no track listing or other information. 

At £10 a CD, it's obviously a nice way of supplementing a dancer's income, particularly at workshops where eager students can clamber to purchase the track used in the class.  But this brings with it unfortunate consequences.

I can try to explain more about the implications of music piracy, but it's probably better to watch Beata Cifuentes, one of the victims of this type of crime, explaining for himself.  



If you want to understand more about how much of the heart and soul of an artist goes into producing original oriental music, I would also recommend reading Yasmina of Cairo's article in this months NADA magazine.

Finally, this is one of my favourite CDs:

This music was produced by Jennifer Carmen of Layali El Sharq music.  One of the tracks is a beautiful Baladi accordion progression, played by Sheikh Taha (for more about Sheikh Taha read the latest issue of Mosaic magazine). Last month, I watched an experienced professional performer dance a lovely rendition to this very piece.  I  approached the performer later that evening to speak to her about what is one of my favourite pieces of music.  But I quickly discovered that she wasn't even aware of where the music had come from, let alone know the name of the artist.  And she was far from understanding the story behind it (which you can read here). 

In the Arabic Dance world, performers are increasingly conscious of finding out exactly what style they are dancing to, ensuring that they understand the lyrics and are sensitive to the culture which the music comes from.  So why should so many of these same artists have no reservation about disrespecting the artistry and hard work that goes into producing the very recordings that they dance to?

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Gaslight Ghawazee

Here's a short clip of my performance at Gaslight Faeries last week, which I've just uploaded.  For more about my experience performing at Gaslight Faeries and my inspiration for my act L'Exposition Universelle, read my previous post. Thanks very much to Elaine for filming. 



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The Challenge of Glasgow by Gaslight

Saturday night I had the honour of making a guest appearance in Sarasvati Tribal's show the Gaslight Faeries at QMU, Glasgow University.

Gaslight Faeries was originally conceived for the Britannia Panopticon Music Hall - the oldest surviving music hall in the UK - as a show with a connected series of Fusion dance acts, each taking a little bit of inspiration from the era of the Panopticon itself (1857-1938).  The first performance of Gaslight in August packed out the tiny auditorium of the Panopticon in the Trongate, Glasgow, with many people turned away.   The show contained a mix of Tribal Fusion group and solo performances, with the addition of a sprinkling of comedy, burlesque and good old fashioned story telling that featured the Dragon Lady, Cleopatra, the Victorian Gent and Mata Hari amongst its characters.  

About 2 weeks before the Panopticon show premiered in August, Laura from Sarasvati got in touch to say that one of her guest stars had pulled out and ask whether I was willing step in.  The challenge was to create an act complete with music that would look and sound in keeping with the era that the music hall was open.  I accepted.  My first stop was Wendy Holyer of Wen-D Designs to set about creating a period costume.  We settled on the design for a purple silk Ghawazee coat and while Wendy slaved over the dress, I put together a Courtly Classical dance to Farid El Atrache's Kharamana.

Following the sell-out Panopticon show, the Sarasvati girls decided to do the show all over again and I was asked back for another guest slot.  With a little bit more time to prepare, I had the chance to rework my act.  As I've been learning and teaching a lot of rural Sha'abi style Egyptian Dance, this was the style that I had really wanted to showcase and I thought it would provide a real contrast to the rest of the show.  Also, whilst researching I found inspiration in a beautiful film from Serpentine video about the French World Fair in 1889 which described the first European appearance of the famous Ghawazee dancers.  I have studied Ghawazee dance accompanied by Sai'idi muscians during recent study trips to Egypt and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to present a dance and music tradition that goes back centuries, but is still performed (albeit rarely) in Egypt today. 

I settled on my act, "L'Exposition Universelle" (the world fair), to evoke a time when thousands flocked to Paris to visit La Rue du Caire and gain a glimpse of the most unusual dancing you have ever seen.  But there was one further addition I felt I needed to add to the authenticity of the interpretation, sagat.  Sagat, the "metal castanets" described in Serpentine's film are always used by the dancers from the Ghawazee tradition and this was a skill I've always wanted to learn.  So I took the chance to practice and attempt to master the coordination of percussive fingers combined with strong hips.  And, although I wasn't yet entirely proficient at both at the same time, I decided to go for it for my performance on Saturday, at least to try to give a taste of what it might have been like to watch this dance in reality. 

The result, well it wasn't perfect, but the performance went down well and contrasted with the rest of the show.  The Wen-D costume also worked well and characteristics of the dance, particularly the energy and strength in grounded movement were conveyed.  Here is a photo of the end result.

A big thank you goes to Laura and Sarasvati Tribal for inviting me as a guest performer.  It was really a pleasure to work with them.  Sarasvati Tribal is a group of 4 dancers from across Scotland, led by the talented troupe leader Laura Monteith, a well respected Glasgow based Tribal Fusion dancer, teacher and choreographer.  Gaslight Faeries is their second production, following Extraordinesque which debuted last year and played to audiences in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Peebles.

The photos are courtesy of Violet Shears.

Edinburgh Egyptian Dancers Annual Hafla, 21 November 2010

"Hafla" is the Arabic word for party. This fabulous dance event, will feature the best of local talent and further afield.

This is the longest running Egyptian Dance event in Scotland and it's organised by our very own Edinburgh Egyptian Dancers.

The Hafla is at Revolution, Chambers Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1HU.

Doors open at 7.30pm, show starts at 8.00pm and tickets cost £10 and are available on the door.

Here's a clip of Daughters of Isis (who run Edinburgh Egyptian Dancers) dancing at the EED Hafla at Revolution:


I'll be performing again this year, dancing both a solo and a group performance as a member of Juliana Brustik's performance group. 

Edinburgh Egyptian Dancers also arrange regular workshops with visiting Master Teacher Juliana Brustik:
Juliana will be guest staring at the Hafla and will also be running dance workshops in Edinburgh over the Saturday and Sunday of the weekend:
Saturday 20th November, 1.00-5.30pm
Sunday 21st November, 1.00-5.00pm
At Granton Parish Church, Boswall Parkway (corner of Boswall Parkway and Wardieburn Drive), Edinburgh

Hope to see you there!

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Autumn 2010 - new term of weekly classes in the Dances of Egypt

I'm really pleased to announce a new term of weekly classes in the Dances of Egypt at the Salisbury Centre, Edinburgh.  

You will discover a beautiful, earthy and expressive form of Egyptian Dance.  Raqs Sharqi, meaning “Dance of the East” is a blend of folk tradition and contemporary interpretation.   You will experience the broad variety of music and dance associated with this beautiful form, from the Sha’abi folk dances of the South of Egypt, to the Baladi of Cairo. 

Classes are Open level.  We welcome both Beginners with little or no dance experience and Improvers who already have experience or knowledge of either Egyptian Dance or styles of belly dance. 

Please wear clothes that allow you to move freely and if you want you can tie a scarf around your hips.  We also dance in bare feet, although soft soled dance shoes are OK.   

Here are all the details. 
Thursday nights 7:30-8:45pm
Classes start on 30 September and will run until 16 December
This is a 12 week term with no break
Cost is £72 (or £60 for concessions)
Open level
 
In a class we start with a warm up and then explore the technique and music associated with a particular style of Egyptian Dance.  We then use the technique we have learnt to dance together a short piece in this style.  We end each class with a cool down with some gentle stretching.  The length of each class is an hour and a quarter so that we have time to cover all of this.

I've had some really positive feedback about my classes and teaching style, and you can read some testimonials on my website. 

Bookings
To book, visit the Salisbury Centre website where you can pay using PayPal.
You can also make your booking by contacting the Salisbury Centre:
2 Salisbury Road, Edinburgh, EH16 5AB
Telephone: 0131 667 5438
email: office@salisburycentre.orgBookings should be open within the next few days. 

The Salisbury Centre
The Centre is the longest established holistic education centre in Edinburgh.  It is based in a Georgian House in the Southside of Edinburgh and set within beautiful organic gardens.   Here is the streetview.  The studio is in fact an amazing first floor drawing room, with a clean floor and beautiful views.  If you haven't been there before, I would thoroughly recommend going along to visit the Centre.  You can sit in the garden, help yourself to tea and coffee, and explore the range of things on offer including meditation, yoga, pottery, therapies and treatments, and a whole range of different classes and workshops.

Workshops

If you can't make the weekly classes, or if you are already at an Intermediate or Advanced level, then you might be interested in coming to the next Habiba Dance workshop.  The next workshop will be in the Sha'abi Rural Folkdance style on 23 October, from 1:30-3:30, also at the Salisbury Centre.

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Night of the Zar - the best of traditional Egyptian music

Makan, meaning the place in Arabic, is a small performance space in Downtown Cairo, by Saad Zaghloul metro, that holds regular concerts of live traditional music from the Egyptian Centre for Culture and Art (ECCA).  

The ECCA seeks to safeguard Egypt's rich musical heritage and oral tradition, researching, documenting, preserving, showcasing and celebrating some of the increasingly rare musical forms - both returning them to the Egyptian people and sharing with the world. 

One of the true highlights of my recent visit to Egypt, was a night at Makan to see the Mazaher ensemble, presenting the music of the Zar.  In its original form, the Zar is a healing ritual, one of the few, ancient healing ceremonies performed mainly by women for women. Zar is meant to pacify spirits and to harmonize the inner lives of the participants. A small circle of women gather with the aim of communicating, through music, song and energetic movements, with unseen entities or spirits.

Zar is a part of the underground culture and the practice of Zar in Egypt has nearly vanished.  In the whole of Egypt only around 25 people continue to practice this knowledge and this tradition.  The musicians of the Mazaher ensemble, Umm Sameh, Umm Hassan, Nour el Sabah are among the last remaining Zar practitioners in Egypt and they perform regularly at weekly musical evenings hosted by Makan.

This was a small, and intimate setting, with great acoustics and space for an audience of perhaps 60 people, made up of young and old alike, both Egyptian and foreign.  The show itself was an evening of stunning music with beautiful vocal melodies and energetic rhythms that could penetrate your entire being.  The lead singer had amazing charisma and with a glint in her eye she wove an interplay of gentle humour and deep emotion, which was both captivating and incredibly moving.

Here is a small clip that, although cannot possibly do the music justice, at least shows you something of the atmosphere of the place.  The song was one of the audience favourites - Banat el Madrassa. 

This second very short clip, shows two musical instruments featured in the Zar - the tamboura (a six-string lyre) and the manjour (a leather belt sewn with many goat hooves).

We helped ourselves to a cup of traditional tea during the interval and spoke to the Egyptian girl sitting next to us.  She had attended this concert for the first time only a week earlier, and already she had come back to hear more.  I now feel I need to plan my next trip to Egypt, so that I can do the same. 

Descriptions of the Zar ritual and Mazahar ensemble used in this blog entry are to be credited to the Egyptian Centre for Culture and Art.

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