DANCERS BACKSTAGE RITUALS: KARIM NAGI

 

Karim Nagi in a recent performance

Karim Nagi is a multi-talented musician, composer, folkloric dancer and deejay.  His performances are so high-energy and in the moment, and his connection to the music is so great, that he could probably   re-animate a room full of corpses. Born and raised in Egypt, he’s spent most of his life in America, though his global  travel schedule for teaching and performing is so hectic, I once heard him answer the question "Where do you live?" by saying:

  “In an airport!”

Karim in  the midst of a Saidi performance

Just in case you’re not familiar with his work, he’s released numerous instructional DVDs and a variety music CDs, both under his own name and as DJ Turbo Tabla. Since 1999, Karim has headed up the traditionally oriented Sharq Music Ensemble, and his Arab Dance Seminars routinely sell out months in advance.  He’s having one in New Mexico this November, but unless you’ve already secured your spot,  or if by come miraculous twist of fate someone drops out, there’s no way you’ll get in.

 His program Arabiqa educates   elementary school kids at over three hundred schools around the USA, but his educational efforts don’t stop there by any means.  In fact, his knowledge of his native Egyptian music dance and culture is so great, that he’s presented and lectured at many Ivy League universities, including Harvard, Princeton, MIT, Yale and many others.

We’ve performed together- in many places- for quite a few years, and in 2013, we also recorded a song “Heart Full Of Cairo” together- if you're interested in hearing it, you can find it on iTunes or Amazon.  Karim is  always a pleasure to work with because he’s so knowledgeable, and  a total perfectionist whose open to obsessive compulsive rehearsing and preparation.  But  he’s  also as much fun off stage as he is onstage… I once had the (dubious!) pleasure of hearing him  do an impromptu after-hours rendition of Ted Nugent’s hit “Cat Scratch Fever”, sung in a tongue-in-cheek Upper Egyptian Fellahin accent while he accompanied himself on the tabla !  In spite of-or maybe  because of incidents like this, I think he’s an absolute genius…though he’ll probably roll his eyes when he reads this. 

Karim & me  by Maharet Hughes

 Recently, he’s started a new four-hour-long workshop,  “Music Raqs”, which is a kind of “literacy program” for dancers who want to be able to better understand- and teach- oriental dance in a comprehensive way. In addition to music theory and technical info, he also goes into cultural and linguistic details that will no doubt be illuminating to dancers of any level, from absolute beginner to seasoned pro.  He’s putting on this workshop in Los Angeles this coming Sunday, October 26, and I’m very excited about it.

  Since Karim’s shows are so entertaining and high-energy, I thought he’d be a terrific candidate for my “Dancers Backstage Rituals” series.  So here’s what he has to say about his show preparation, in his own words:

“ I shine my boots. I iron my galabaya. I tape my assaya. I test my drum microphone. I stretch my legs and arms. I wrap the kufiya. I close the phone two hours prior. I recite the Quran's Surat al-Falak. I chose which sagat goes on which finger. ‎I do one hundred jumping jacks. I eat nothing for four  hours before. I watch most of the acts before me, to get an impression of the evening's overall message.

I choose a belt buckle. “

  I think he left  out one teensy thing though… the fact that he loves what he does so much, it can’t help but shine through in his performances!

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   SUNDAY OCT. 26, 2014: LOS ANGELES

 KARIM TEACHES MUSIC RAQS:

 4 HOUR WORKSHOP ON ARABIC MUSICAL LITERACY FOR DANCERS

Third Street Studio: 8558 W. 3rd St. Los Angeles California

 $50 before October 24: or $60 cash at the door

 Info  & registration here:

http://www.karimnagi.com/musicraqs/

VISIT KARIM’S WEBSITE HERE:

http://www.karimnagi.com/

DOWNLOAD “HEART FULL OF CAIRO” HERE:

http://www.amazon.com/Heart-Cairo-feat-Pleasant-Gehman/dp/B00BN074PU

BELLYLICIOUS RAKS

I leave for Cairo this Monday, and aside from teaching, performing and partying at Ahlan Wa Sahlan, I am so happy that I will be seeing a lot of my belly dance friends, both those travelling from the US and other countries, as well as my dancer gal-pals currently living in Cairo. One of the people I'm really looking forward to seeing is Aleya, who sort of came up in the Los Angeles belly dance world at the same time I did.
Aleya and I totally tore it up in Cairo last May, and we're planning on doing the same this year, but on an even larger scale...last year, when I went home, she stayed on, in hopes of fulfilling her dream of working as a belly dancer in Egypt!

But before she left the US for Egypt, she left a "calling card"- a great CD called "Bellylicious Raks"

This fabulous CD was a labor of love, conceived produced by Aleya. Angelenos may know her because she has been working in the LA area for years, both as a soloist and with her popular Negma Dance Company. Having spent quite a lot of time in both Egypt and Lebanon, and experiencing Arabic music played live, Aleya had gotten tired of much of the Western-influenced, over-synthesized, soul-free music on the market today, and so she brainstormed this project, with professional Oriental Dance performers in mind. As a result, this CD is textured with dynamic live percussion and beautiful, intricate kanoun and accordion playing. There’s a really gorgeous version of Om Kalthoum’s Oriental classic “Ya Msaharne” and great versions of “Zay El Hawa” and “Ganal Hawa”, which are timed perfectly for restaurant work, private parties or even competitions. One of my personal favorite tracks is the driving opening song, “Hassan”. Now for a shameless plug… Aleya allowed me to “Hassan” in my performance on the up-coming “By Dancers, For Dancers #5 “ performance DVD, which will be released by Michelle Joyce’s Cheeky Girls Productions this summer. Also, I have used one of the drum solos from this CD on my “Abs-Olutely Fabulous” DVD.

But back to the CD: all the musical arrangements are fabulous, done by acclaimed Lebanese percussionist Ziad Islambouli and keyboardist/ accordion player Fayez Deryan, and the whole thing is a great mix of traditional Middle Eastern favorites and new modern pieces.

Islambouli is somewhat of a legend in Los Angeles, having played at the upscale Byblos Nightclub for almost two decades. If you aren’t lucky enough to live in LA and haven’t had the privilege having seen him live, you maybe familiar with his recorded work on Suhaila Salimpour’s musical selections. He is a world-class percussionist, talented and powerful. This CD provides FOUR separate, innovative tabla solos, ranging in length from a minute to just over three minutes, so there is definitely something here for everybody! The drum solos and orchestrated tracks could be put together in a number of ways to make quite a few high-energy routines.

I highly recommend “Bellylicious Raks”- it’s a must for any working dancer and would be a wonderful addition to any performer’s collection….in fact, I can’t stop dancing to it, it’s one of my favorite CD’s!

Bellylicious Raks is available from:
www.aleyabellydance.com