DANCERS BACKSTAGE RITUALS, PART ONE: ZAHRA ZUHAIR AND DELILAH

Do you get backstage jitters or performance anxiety?

Even professionals who have been dancing for years sometimes get that sick feeling in the pit of their stomach- you know, the not-so-nice butterflies that feel more like deadly pterodactyls?

There’s not really any way to “cure” these backstage demons, but you can get them under control a bit!

Personally, before a show, I hide in the wings and take a few quiet moments for myself. I take some deep breaths and get centered, then I mentally focus on my performance, reminding myself not to give in to my on-stage adrenalin surges...yes, I still get them.

It also helps if I have ample time to put on my make-up. Even though I could technically apply my stage face in a dark car in ten minutes flat, it helps me to feel much more grounded if I can take my time, and perfect every little stroke of color. If I am out of town, I prefer to do my make-up in my hotel room, listening to The Weather Channel….I’m not sure why, but that is one of my “happy places”!

I also have a crazy superstition that I cannot be seen in my costume before a show- for some reason, I feel as though if the audience sees me in costume, my show won't go well! So I always make double-sure I have a cover-up with me. After the show, it doesn't matter, but before the show- NO WAY!

Then, when I get to the gig fully transformed into Princess Farhana, I can socialize a bit and not feel stressed out, and have ample time to warm up before dancing.

Pondering this subject, I thought it would be interesting- and helpful- to see what sort of practices, or rites, if you will, other dancers perform before going on stage.

So have asked many of my friends-most of whom are world-renowned professionals, to share their own personal backstage rituals. I will continue to post these every so often, for inspiration, or even just so you know what’s going through the head of these beautiful performers before they take the stage!

So…. For the first offering, here are some thoughts from two famous belly dancers who are among my biggest inspirations: ZAHRA ZUHAIR and DELILAH:


“Before a performance I have a beauty and pampering regime with facial scrubs and masks I make myself with yogurt, oatmeal, avacado, honey, and other natural ingredients.

Then I take a hot bath, and stretch.

When I travel, I can't do the homemade beauty ingredients (it's kind of silly to pack a blender and produce), so I have products I can easily travel with.

I'm a big opera fan, so while putting on my makeup, I have to listen to whatever my favorite aria is that day. I never skip my makeup-opera ritual, no mattter how rushed I am.

I love angels, and I have a lot of tiny angel pins that I pin inside my costumes for good luck. Certain angels go with certain costumes. I'm never without my angels.

Once I'm backstage at the performance, my main ritual is over. I usually keep my ear buds on, and listen to my performance music to stay centered, plus I'll try to stay warmed up, but that's about it.

Sometimes with hectic travel schedules there isn't much time for my entire centering ritual, but I always try to do as much of it as I can. "

--Zahra Zuhair



“Mirror, Mirror. . .

My false eye lashes are my talisman. When I put them on my dance character walks into my body like a voudoo loa. She empowers my dance by bringing me confidence, balance and endurance.
Along with the act of looking in the light up magnifying mirror and putting them on, I would also have psychic experiences. Like I'll see someone I haven't seen in years and they will walk in the club that night, or even plane crashes and money coming in the mail. Very strange and uncanny.
The ritual of looking in the mirror and into ones eyes night after night for so many years grew to become a very powerful transition period.”


--Delilah


For more info on Zahra, visit www.zahrazuhair.com

For more info on Delilah, visit www.visionarydance.com



Do YOU have a backstage ritual you'd like to share?

If so, feel free to post it here as a comment or email me: princessraqs(AT)gmail(DOT)com

IRATE OVER IRENE

As I write this, Hurricane Irene is still lingering over New England.

Millions are without power, there has been extensive flooding and some eleven reported deaths.

Like many people, my heart is with those who have experienced the worst of the storm.

But right now, a little selfishly, I might add... I am having my own personal hurricane drama.

I have just heard from my partner Yaz Taleb of King Of The Nile in Egypt that my new line of belly dance costumes cannot ship from Cairo today because, due to Hurricane Irene, the airports in New York are closed! We need our costumes for The Las Vegas Belly Dance Intensive, where we are debuting the line and holding three fashion shows, and time is of the essence!

If you would like to see some pictures of what is waiting in Cairo, please visit this page:

www.Facebook.com/PrincessFarhanaForKingOfTheNile

Please dancers, cross your fingers not just for the people of the East Coast, but for my costumes, stopped in transit!

INTRODUCING PRINCESS FARHANA FOR KING OF THE NILE: BELLY DANCE COSTUMES DESIGNED IN HOLLYWOOD...MADE IN EGYPT!

DRUM ROLL PLEASE….

I am so excited to make this announcement! I have a line of original belly dance costumes and class wear which will be available this fall-in just a few weeks, actually…. Princess Farhana For King Of The Nile will be making its world debut at The Las Vegas Belly Dance Intensive, September 8-12, 2011!

My partner Yaz Taleb and I are unbelieveably thrilled to be debuting our line at the LVBDI this year, and I can’t think of a better event for our coming-out party. During the festival, we will be hosting three fashion shows, and we’re also providing a custom-made costume as part of the grand prize for the first-place winner of the “So You Think You Can Belly Dance” competition.

You can find out about how all of this came to be in a few paragraphs, but first let me tell you about the costumes themselves!

Every piece of my costume line is hand made in Egypt, at the King Of The Nile atelier in Giza. King Of The Nile is well-known among belly dancers for their quality and service, and I am so proud to be working directly with the company’s president, Yaz Taleb, who is not only a great partner, but has taught me so much about the process of costume-making. My first collection will include five belly dance costumes, all vintage-inspired, which are based on my own original, self-made costumes. The different designs pull from the costuming of the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. I took elements and ideas from Edwardian-era Orientalist photo postcards and Turkish cigarette packs, as well as from some of the fabulous film costumes worn by Golden Age Egyptian favorites like Naima Akef, Samia Gamal and Tahiyya Carioca.

For Princess Farhana For King Of The Nile, I tried to blend that elegant retro feeling with some modern elements for a timeless look, something that couldn’t really be pinned down to any one time period or genre of belly dance. A couple of the costume designs would be considered be straight-up cabaret style, but some of them will be suitable for Vintage Orientale or even Dark Fusion- I wanted the collection to be diverse, and wearable for multiple purposes.


Each design I created will be done with a few color options, and made in a variety of sizes. One of the most frequently-heard laments about belly dance costumes which I’ve heard over the years is that it is extremely difficult to find pretty costuming for women who wear larger sizes…and I want women of all builds to be able to wear my costumes and feel lovely in them! The designs also will be available for custom order so perhaps, if you liked a certain style but wanted a different type of skirt, you wouldn’t just have to wish for it, you could have it. Like most belly dance costumes today, mine are primarily made of Lycra and chiffon, but they also feature heavy antique-looking lace, which I picked out myself, in Cairo and in the garment district of Los Angeles. And of course, they’ll all be decorated with large rhinestones and that wonderful hand-done Egyptian beadwork.

The Princess Farhana For King Of The Nile collection also includes chiffon hip scarves edged with crochet and beads or coins, with some really cute original (dare I say hip?) Designs-taken from my own sketches-, which are embroidered on them in metallic thread. Some are tricked out with gorgeous, drool-worthy metallic trim Yaz bought in Saudi Arabia. There are also some stretch velvet class wear sets with midriff tie-tops and matching hip scarves. Both pieces come with unique sequin decorations on them, and the hip scarves will have fringe and/or beads… believe me, though, they are nothing like what you have seen before!

I will be hosting fashion shows for the line at the Las Vegas Belly Dance Intensive, featuring dancers of all shapes and sizes as my models. Here is the show schedule:

Saturday, September 10: 12:28 PM in the Main Room

Sunday, September 11: 12:28 and 3:00pm, in the Main Room


So, maybe you’re wondering exactly how this all came about?

It started in a crazy way… but also in a very natural way. I have known Yaz for years, and used to model his costumes. In 2010, we were in frequently emailing each other, because I was going to Cairo for the Ahlan WA Sahlan Festival. I had promised to bring him some items that are not readily available in Egypt – mundane things like Levi jeans and taco shells, if you must know the truth.

During the course of our correspondence, Yaz asked me where my costumes came from, commenting that he thought many of them were unique. I replied that I got them everywhere…. some were new, some used, I wore Egyptian as well as Turkish stage wear, and of course that I designed and made a lot of my own costumes. Then Yaz requested that if he sent pictures of my costumes, would I please tell him where each one came from? Since we were already good friends, I said yes.

It turned out that the five pictures he sent to me were all my own designs… and so he offered me a partnership as a costume designer!

Over the years, many dancers, from cabaret to tribal to fusion and burlesque, have admired my costumes, and many asked if it would be possible for me to make costumes for them. Because of my hectic schedule, this was always impossible- it takes me weeks if not months to complete a costume for myself, so I had to decline. I have actually had women in line waiting for me to sell used costumes- some gals own three or four of my used self-made costumes and other dancers have requested dibbs on the option to buy one of my costumes the moment I first wore it!

I really would have loved to make costumes for people, but I love dancing too much to be able to devote the time to making stage wear for others. But in the back of my mind, I fantasized about it. I’d always wished I could have what they have in Egypt - a whole staff of people making my designs, and doing stonework and beading them…but of course, I never thought this would ever happen. Because I go to Egypt so frequently, I know all of the major costume designers, and naturally, I am a satisfied return customer. But I never, ever thought to approach any of them with the possibility of making my own costume line, because when you think about it, that would have been as ridiculous as if I approached Gucci or Prada and asking if I could design a line of clothes for them! However, when Yaz took the initiative and approached me, and I didn’t have to think twice about saying yes!

This whole process has been very hard work, but also extremely rewarding. Yaz and I began working on the designs right away, the moment I arrived in Cairo, in June of 2010. With my co-tour leader Zahra Zuhair, I was bringing 17 belly dancers on their first trip to Egypt. We were taking the gals sight-seeing all over Cairo, and I was also taking classes, teaching classes and performing at Ahlan Wa Sahlan… and then running over to Yaz’s atelier to work on the costume proto-types. I swear I didn’t sleep for two weeks! With jet lag thrown into the mix, it was utter insanity- but still, we somehow managed to get work done.

Later in 2010, Yaz came to Los Angeles and we worked on the line again, finalizing my sketches, measuring and photographing my existing costumes. But in LA, we didn’t have his staff to make up any prototypes, so what we could do was limited. Earlier this year, I tried to get to Egypt work with him again, but the Egyptian revolution and Osama Bin Laden’s capture and death got in our way- my family didn’t want me to travel to the Middle East during the unrest, and I didn’t blame them! Zahra and I cancelled our 2011 tour, but in the end, I decided I had to get to Cairo solo, not just to attend Ahlan Wa Sahlan, but because I really, REALLY wanted to finish my costume line! So, once again, during Ahlan WA Sahlan, Yaz and I worked together. Again, we got a lot done, but the learning curve has been steep for both of us!

There were a number of operational barriers Yaz and I both needed to surmount in the launching of this costume line. To begin with, I don’t speak Arabic fluently, and Yaz’s employees don’t speak English… like…at all! Every simple question regarding something minor like the length of a piece of fringe or the placement of a crystal became a grandiose game of charades, a flurry of sketches, or took three times as long to get answered, with Yaz acting as the interpreter.

One morning on our way to buy fabric at Khan Al Khalili, Yaz and I got stuck in a Muslim Brotherhood demonstration in Tahrir Square. Luckily, we were in his car and the demonstration wasn’t violent, but when Yaz requested that I take my scarf and cover my hair with as we slowly drove through the crowd, believe me, I complied immediately!

Another time, Yaz left the atelier to get us all some lunch. I was left alone with one of his beading ladies. Grabbing my camera to get some pictures of the work in progress, I pantomimed to her that I was going to take a picture. She immediately frowned and shook her finger at me as though I was a naughty child. I figured that maybe she was just modest and didn’t want to be in the picture, so I politely let it go.

When Yaz returned, she ran into his office and stayed for a lengthy amount of time. I could hear them having a discussion in Arabic behind the closed door. When they finally emerged from their conference, Yaz came out smiling broadly, took me aside and said in a low voice,

“ You are going laugh so hard at what she just told me… she said ‘ That lady is taking pictures of your designs and she is trying to steal them!’ She doesn’t believe that you are the designer!”

And between our trips to Cairo and Los Angeles, Yaz and I have been working together via the Internet, chatting, emailing, and sending sketches and photos back and forth. Thankfully, modern technology has made this possible, and we have been able to work together remarkably well this way, but this has been a steep learning curve for both of us. We both realized that we don’t know much about each other’s fortes. I know nothing about making costumes for other people- only for myself. The concept of sizing them proportionately, not to mention mass manufacturing them is something I never dreamed has, and had no idea how to go about doing. On Yaz’s part, he had no idea of my creative process-or how I thought up my designs or the way I chose which colors to use. He also didn’t have the advantage of getting input from Western dancers on what they liked- or didn’t like- about Egyptian costumes. We have both learned a lot from each other, and will continue to learn… and I also have to thank his wonderful wife Julie, and daughter Amerah profusely for all their help! Any time Yaz questioned a design choice I made, Julie and Amerah would come in as The Cool Girly Squad and set him straight on what women want!

I am planning on spending a lot more time in Cairo, and am already making designs for next year’s collection, which will include a lot of work in Assuit.

Princess Farhana For King Of The Nile is a dream come true for me, and it’s only fitting that the collection will be debuting at The Las Vegas Belly Dance Intensive, where last year, to the shock and delight of the crowd, I lived out another dream of mine- getting sawed in half onstage last year!

I hope you can make it to Las Vegas this September – LVBDI is a truly amazing festival, and of course, I want to play dress up with you and see you in my new creations!

Our "real" website will be live and operative in a few weeks, but the meantime, please visit my Princess Farhana For King Of The Nile Facebook page here: http://tinyurl.com/3pekbw4 and hit the “Like” button. I will love you for it!



For more information on The Las Vegas Belly Dance Intensive, please visit: http://www.bellydanceintensive.com/

PHOTOS:

Top; "Warda" by Princess Farhana For King Of The Nile bra

Middle: "Ghazal" by Princess Farhana For King Of The Nile

Bottom: A close-up of some royal bling-bling from "Malika" by Princess Farhana For King Of The Nile

COSTUME PORN...THE LATEST TRENDS IN EGYPTIAN BELLY DANCE WEAR

CAIRO BELLY DANCE FASHION TRENDS REPORT

Though certain looks are classic for belly dance costumes and never seem to go out of style, like voluminous chiffon skirts worn with a beautiful bedlah, many belly dance costume designs are downright trendy, and appear, peak and vanish just the way trends in street clothes do. Many costume designers have a signature look, and these designs get copied and knocked off just as quickly as Forever 21 churns out affordable designs replicated from the world of high fashion.

Back when the legendary Egyptian designer Madam Abla was alive, I remember seeing her costume collections when I first started dancing, and each year she had a specific look. One season she would feature rhinestone bows on every costume she made, another season it was seashells. Fringed shoulder epaulettes were standard one year, and the next it was skirts cut on the bias with sequin-trimmed shredded hems. It got to the point that I could spot a Madame Abla from a mile away…and also be able to tell which year the specific costume came from!

Below are some of the costuming trends I noticed in Cairo, this past July 2011:

PRINTS
Everything from color-blocked abstract prints to faux animal prints in Lycra as well as a lot of chiffon and silk floral prints were big this year, and used across the board.

JEWELTONES & CHUNKY CHINESE RHINESTONE BROOCHES
Though it’s not entirely clear who originated this trend, I myself think that Crazy Move (known in the USA as “Rising Stars”) can take the credit… if not for starting the trend, then at least for perpetrating it!

This year many designers featured sleek, jewel-toned Lycra costumes with no fringe whatsoever, but loaded down with Chinese rhinestone brooches in the shape of stars, flowers, hearts, and geometric designs. The use of these broaches was everywhere, to the point where there were costumes that were knockoffs of knock-offs!

CLEAR STRAPS
Like the Chinese broaches, clear vinyl straps were seen on costumes made by…everyone! When they initially appeared a few years ago, many dancers seemed on the fence about this trend, but it’s become a standard and is still growing.

ASYMMETRICAL CUPS
Bras featuring asymmetrical cups- such as one plain, and one scalloped or with cutouts, have been around for a while, and are still very, very popular. Many new costumes shown had one cup done plain, or embellished with rhinestone chain or beads just along the edge, while the other cup was fully covered with work, or draped with fabric. This trend shows no sign of going away; it’s only getting bigger.


BURLESQUE/SHOWGIRL ELEMENTS
Many Cairo designers are embracing a trend towards using burlesque and showgirl influenced elements on their designs, and I even saw some costumes that were seriously lingerie-like. Popular themes included sheer netting with overlays of lace, feathers splashed across bra cups and as hip accents, feather boas on hems and and tiny satin bows that would normally be seen on “intimate apparel”.

In the Ahlan Wa Sahlan Opening Gala, Dina wore a Sahar Okasha that was a bright tomato red, with huge red lace roses overlaid on the bra cups. The top of the skirt was a V-shaped ( panty shaped!) patch of black lace over the red lycra, complete with four garters dangling as though from a vintage garter belt!

But Sahar wasn’t alone in this trend: Hallah Moustapha made a custom costume that looked like a 1950’s merry widow, complete with strategically placed working zippers, and Eman Zaki showed a stunning dress with a lace-up front that looked very saloon-girlish.


GIANT PAILLETTE SEQUIN DISCS
These were spotted in 2010 being worn by Soraya Zaed, Egyptian Aziza and Dina, but this year, they are everywhere! Big, over-sized paillette sequin accents are ubiquitous on everything from hip scarves to Saidi dresses and full Oriental costumes. You can see Leila Farid raqqin’ the giant paillettes on the cover of her new CD, “Tarab” (great music, by the way!) or watch her in action here, looking like a gorgeous human disco ball:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYDKmCCUcWM

BELLA KNOCK-OFFS
A lot of lesser-known Cairo designers were doing knock-offs of Turkish designer Bella. Her signature elements such as princess sleeves, sequin-bordered chiffon leaves trailing down circle skirts and bra cups with racy cut-outs backed by mesh almost-but not quite- are being successfully translated onto Egyptian costumes. While Bella’s designs are light and airy, the Egyptian knock-offs are clunky and not quite there yet- for example, one designer tried to do Bella’s leaves, but instead of constructing them out of chiffon, so they floated, the leaves were made like heavy, dangling appliqués, and just dragged the costume down.


CHUNKY PLASTIC BEADED NECKLACES USED AS ACCENTS
Obviously inspired by Sahar Okasha’s chunky bead draping on her costumes for Dina, I saw a lot of costumes with big dangly geometric plastic beads being used as accents.

Theoretically, this might sound scary, but when you see it in real life, it’s actually very cute. A costume made entirely with chunky plastic beads would probably appear cheap, but when they are used judiciously, combined with higher-end embellishments like rhinestones, lots of beading and sequins, it’s fresh and pretty- see the above picture of Argentine dancer Magda Monti, now living and working in Cairo, wearing a bronze costume with over-sized white plastic bead accents. The beads move well in performance and add a touch of whimsy.


FRINGE
Though many minimalist designs with little or no fringe were still plentiful on off-the-rack costumes, quite a few pro dancers in Cairo were wearing costumes with fringe, in everything from small accents to lush amounts trimming their bedlah. Leila Farid appeared at the Ahlan Wa Sahlan closing gala in a dazzling costume made of material that resembled a Navajo blanket print in shades of vibrant navy and royal blue, white, orange and yellow, with pointed geometric fringe to match! I believe Hallah Moustapha made this, but I’m not 100% sure. It was stunning!


NEW WORK FROM OLD FAVORITES:

HANNAN MAHMOUD
Hannan’s costumes are well constructed, fit beautifully, and covered with intricate bead and sequin work. Her new baby son Ahmed apparently didn’t stop her from bringing out a new collection! This year she unleashed her wild side, showing costumes featuring metallic Lycra in two or more colors mixed with animal print or snakeskin lycra. Always up on worldwide dance community trends, Hannan also offered many tribal-inspired practice skirts, and tiny metallic mini-skirts meant to be worn over class-wear.

EMAN ZAKI
Always elegant and cut beautifully, Eman’s 2011 offerings include a line of dreamy romantic costumes done in floral prints made of real silk with Spanish-inspired ruffles around the hem & large fabric faux- flowers as accents on the hip and bust, armbands & wristbands.

HODA ZAKI
Like her sister Eman, Hoda’s costumes are classic and gorgeous. She also showed many floral prints. My favorite of this year’s “crop” was a cute yet soignée handkerchief-hem costumes featuring yellow and black daisies, with jeweled daisies and minimal black fringe decorating the bra and belt-line.

HALLAH MOUSTAPHA
An American designer, my friend Hallah is a former dancer who has been living and working in Cairo for years. She not only makes belly dance costumes, but also has a roaring business in the Middle East doing couture gowns that have been featured on television and in movies.

Hallah’s intricate and beautifully draped dance costumes have been seen on many Bellydance Superstars past and present, including Jillina, Sabah, Sonia, and Cairo-based dancers Leila Farid and Liza La Ziza. She used to only do custom work, but this year, Hallah has expanded into an affordable ready-to-wear line, featuring her trademark use of exotic Sari fabrics and her incredible draping and shaping. See-and order- her new work here: http://www.hallahmoustafa.com/#!readymade


RAQIA HASSAN
The atelier of Madame Raqia Hassan makes bright, affordable costumes that range from extremely pretty to…so quirky and crazy that you’d have to live in Cairo for wearing it to make any sense! This year, her costumes featured a lot of mirrors, metal chains, and the afore-mentioned plastic beads.

One innovation she introduced this year ( which, for once, nobody else was doing! ) was in her accessories, which come with every costume. She featured large, blinged out wrist, arm and leg pieces in terrific geometric shapes, and dotted with crystals, not unlike those worn by Samba dancers. They were truly amazing and very unique.

AZIZ
Aziz is one of the few costumers that still uses a lot of "old-school" beading, which encrusts the bras, belts and skirts of his costumes. This year, he showed a lot of animal print, including some cat-print costumes that had pom-poms of real mink hanging as embellishments. Not PETA friendly, but they were pretty cute!

MAMDOUH SALAMA
In my opinion, Mamdouh is hands-down the designer whose work is most original. He always thinks outside the box: his costumes are cute, playful, and very sexy... and even from far away, can be readily identified. He seems to take his cues from pop culture; a lot of his designs incorporate elements that look like American or European rock and roll club-wear, without losing their Oriental essence.

Some of his fashion foreword innovations- that are now being widely copied - are the use of handbag hardware (like metal snap-clasp hooks and D-rings for fasteners) over-sized prints, raw, un-hemmed metallic lace, scatter-work rhinestones, and extensive use of criss-crossed straps. This year, he featured detachable straps that wrapped up and down either or both leg- see photo- or dangling, embellished straps that started at the hip and attached at the ankle, like a glamorous, embellished leash! Aziza of Cairo wore two of his costumes in her Ahlan WA Salan Opening Gala show.

My only complaint about his work is that he uses acrylic rhinestones… which is ok for his smaller scatter-work, but just looks cheap on the bigger stones. My friend Aleya, an American dancer working in Cairo, assured me she’d already mentioned that to him. His costumes are already amazing, but if he used real stones as opposed to plastic, the worldwide dance community would be fighting each other for a chance to wear his stuff!

KING OF THE NILE
The Giza-based King Of The Nile has long been known for their intricate bead and sequin work, custom costumes and pretty hip scarves, as well as the fact that they actually ship their orders out on "Western Time"! This year, the King Of The Nile atelier has been hard at work on some new designs...stay tuned to find out more about them!


PHOTOS:
Dina At Ahlan Wa Sahlan Opening Gala on Nile Maxim, photo by Andre Elbing
Magda Monti of Cairo at The Ahlan Wa Sahlan 2011 Closing Gala, photo by Andre Elbing

An example of Mamdouh's crazy criss-cross leg straps

Aleya of Cairo in one of Mamdouh's fanciful designs, photo courtesy of aleyabellydance.com

FUN WITH KEY WORDS PART EIGHT

Key Words are the words or phrases people type into search engines that direct them to various websites. Aside from the obvious ones ( “belly dance”, “costumes”, “Egyptian Style” , etc.) I always get a kick at the random things people search that directs them to my blog!
Here are a few choice recent entries, appearing exactly as they were typed.



TURKISH MEN SMOKING IN FRONT OF CAFÉ

WHO GOT ALL OF PRINCESS DINA’S JEWELLRY AFTER HER DEATH

1940’S SHOWGIRL ABORIGINAL

KING DONG GRAVESTONE GOTHIC CANE

JOE JAKES AND RACHEL BRICE BOOTS

8 ARMS DANCE

WOMENS SCARAB CLITORIS G-STRIN

MY BATH TOWEL BELLY DANCE CLIP

PRINCESS LOCKED IN A BOX WITH SNAKES

WHERE CAN I FIND A BRA WHERE THE STRAPS CAN BE PULLED UP AND ADJUSTED LIKE THEY USED TO HAVE

DATELINE CAIRO: AHLAN WA SAHLAN 2011 PART TWO

As The Ahlan WA Sahlan Festival began, there was the usual flurry of activity on the Mena House grounds and in the hallways, with dancers running back and forth to the many classes offered and shopping in the festival’s costume souk. But the Mena House itself, one of Cairo’s grandest five-star hotels and originally a palace built in 1869, would have been virtually empty if not for the festival.

The Egyptian Revolution was still in the forefront of everyone’s mind as Ahlan WA Sahlan got rolling. Many Egyptians I spoke with were hopeful; some were a bit skeptical or adapting a “wait and see” attitude about the up-coming September elections and the country’s future. Nonetheless, whether in serious or more light-hearted opinions, Egypt’s volatile protests and current political climate were a constant source of speculation and conversation. Many locals and visitors were sporting I (HEART) Egypt T-shirts, and when I complimented costume designer Eman Zaki about her new hairdo, a dark mahogany bob, she smiled, ruffled her tresses and proclaimed jokingly,
“It’s my Revolution hairstyle- new Egypt, new hair!”

But on a more serious note, due to the unrest, many businesses had been closed for a month or more, and because of the curfews that had been enforced until the end of June, Cairo’s famous nightlife had been significantly reduced, resulting in an alarming situation for the citizens and ex-pats who made their living that way: the dancers and their dressers, hair stylists and drivers; costume designers and their tailors and beaders, musicians, nightclub managers, waiters, bar staff, lavatory attendants, cooks, cab drivers, and so on.

Though all the classes at Ahlan Wa Sahlan were significantly smaller this year, the Master classes were the most crowded- and rightly so- with instructors like Azza Sherrif, Yasmina Of Cairo, Leila Haddad, Nelly Fouad, Dandash, Leila Farid and Raqia Hassan and many more teaching. The lesser amount of festival attendees meant more one-on-one time with the instructors, and most of the students were thrilled with this arrangement. It also meant that there was a lot more time for talking shop with Egyptian and foreign dancers. Every night there were many tables full of dancers- both teachers and students- socializing at The Mena House’s Khan Al Khalili coffee shop.

The Teacher’s Night Show began with a fantastic, rowdy Saidi band, headed by Amr Abu Ziab, who had the whole Mena House ballroom rocking. As the band’s musicians, singers, Tannoura and Saidi dancers roved through the crowd, beckoning people to get up to dance, the entire place turned into a raucous, deliriously sweaty dance party. Normally staid instructors like Zaza Hassan were handed canes and obliged with twirling assaya dancing; there were rings of people holding hands doing line dances around the ballroom, and many audience members boogying on top of tables and chairs.

Later in the evening, Safaa Farid took the stage, and many teachers opted to dance to his band’s live music. Safaa’s band sounds just like his many CDs, produced by his wife, Leila of Cairo, and they played almost every night of the festival- it was a joy to hear them playing favorites like “Wahashtini”, “Esmaouni” and various Om Kalthoum and more contemporary popular songs.

Every night during the festival (as with past years) there were open dancing slots which attendees could sign up for as well as the popular “Queen Of Raks Sharqi” competition, which featured the Master Class instructors as a judging panel. The performers for both types of shows ranged from seasoned professionals to brand new students, all of whom had cheering sections from their various countries of origin. Some of the standout performers on these shows were Esmeralda Conrad from France, Said El Amir from Germany and his lovely troupe, Leyla Lanty, Yasmina Of Cairo, Aziza Abdul Ridha from Italy, and Anastasia Biservova, who won the competition dancing Om Kalthoum’s “Ansak” pleasing the crowd with her great technique and beautiful spins.

During the course of the festival, many dancers opted to skip a day or two of classes to go on expeditions to Egypt’s monuments and antiquities, or to Downtown Cairo for trips to the Khan Al Khalili bazaar and the nearby Folkloric Tannoura show. Again, most of Cairo’s sightseeing spots were uncharacteristically quiet, due to lack of tourism, so this was a prime opportunity to enjoy Egypt without teeming crowds. On my trips outside the festival, I noticed there were roadblocks set up around Tahrir Square, and one morning on my way to Khan Al Khalili, there was a very large Muslim Brotherhood rally going on, with a number of bearded men preaching -literally as well as figuratively- from a raised stage, in front of large banners.

The Ahlan Wa Sahlan staff was hyper-sensitive about dancer safety and security, and if any dancers ventured off without a pre-arranged tour, the staff made sure to note where they were going, when they planned to return, and that they had Ahlan Wa Sahlan contact numbers- just in case.

The end of the festival came too soon, and the Closing Gala was superb. It was held at The Mena House’s Abu Nawas Night club, an intimate space with great sightlines.
The show featured a number of stars from foreign countries, including Magda from Argentina, elegant Yael Zarca from France, and gorgeous Nelly from Greece, currently working in Dubai. Amir Thaleb thrilled the audience with his dynamic, balletic style, and 2009 Queen Of Raks Sharqi champion Daria Mitskevich showed off her winning non-stop spins and supple backbends, in a ridiculously awesome floofy-ruffle –skirted teal costume that was like, 90% pure bling. Very unique, it looked as though it was probably made by a Russian ballroom dance designer.

Headliners Leila Of Cairo and Jillina each wowed the audience. Their signature styles are so different- Leila is laid back and very Cairene, Jillina’s polished and jazzy. Both did multiple costume changes. Leila’s first costume-, which I think was a Hallah Moustapha, was amazing- it had a vibrant graphic print, which looked like a Navajo blanket, in navy blue, red, and orange, and long, zigzag fringe to match on the belt. Her folkloric section started with two male tahtib dancers and Saidi musicians, who were uniformly mesmerizing. For her Saidi number, Leila wore a slinky turquoise “balady dress” which looked more like a Juicy Couture beach creation than an actual costume! Jillina entered in a crazy costume, which had a black corset covering the entire midriff, with wings attached. At the conclusion of her opening piece, she the corset and the wings in one piece, and went straight into oriental. She also did an introspective, emotional rendition of Om Kalthoum’s classic “Baed Anak”, in a cream; bronze and green costume, which had a net leg covering that, was embroidered with beaded vines. Her finale, she began in an insane Tahitian costume, complete with a feathered headdress, and feathered skirt… and later shed half her costume (again!) morphing into a more Oriental drum solo.

Young up-and-coming singer Ahmed Elkteb ended the night. I had seen him singing the year before with Safaa’s band and he was really great… but I had to catch a plane in less than four hours, so I had to leave the show right as he stepped onto the stage.

As left Egypt, and, cliché as it may sound, watched the sun rising over the Nile, I heard there was going to be a large demonstration on Friday, July 8th. As I write this, that demonstration did take place and there have been more since then, in Cairo, Suez and other Egyptian cities. No one is certain of what the future holds for Egypt… but I was really so glad to have gone this year!

If you would like to keep up with the belly dance scene in Cairo as well as political events in Egypt, I recommend that you visit my dear friend Aleya’s blog. She is an American belly dancer living in Cairo, and is always on top of the dance scene… and she has also just published (with partner Rami Salem) a fantastic book of photos from the Revolution, titled “ 18 Days”. Find her blog- and a link to purchase the book here:
www.aleyabellydance.com


Photos:

Late Night dancer shop-talk at The Mena House, L to R: Leila Haddad, Zaza Hassan, Raksanna Princess, Fahtiem, Kim, and Angelika Nemeth

German Dancer Said Al Amir's Troupe onstage at the Mena House

Dancer's Night Out: Mohamed Shahin, Aleya, Princess And Jillina... as Ahlan Wa Sahlan audience members

I HEART EGYPT: Princess with Ahmad of Crazy Move Costumes

Daria Mitskevich onstage at The Mena House

DATELINE CAIRO: AHLAN WA SAHLAN 2011 PART ONE

I have just returned from Cairo, and to say that I am absolutely riddled with jet lag is an understatement. In spite of the fact that I’ve woken up all bright and cheery at 3:30 am the past two mornings and been overcome with the desire to pass out cold by noon, I will try to give you my impressions of The Ahlan WA Sahlan Festival and Cairo in general in Post Revolution Egypt.

To begin with, I felt that it was extremely important to go to Egypt this year. Earlier, during the Revolution, Zahra Zuhair and I had no choice but to cancel our Eternal Egypt Tour; we didn’t want to be responsible for bringing a group of people into a potentially dangerous situation in a foreign country. However, as soon as things calmed down, I knew I needed to go. On a personal level, as you may remember from my last post, I felt great sadness at the possibility that I might not be able to freely come and go to my beloved second home.

On a more general level, I felt it was vital to support The Ahlan WA Sahlan Festival, and in turn to support the Cairo-based dancers, musicians and costume designers (and their employees), who were all seriously impacted economically by the social unrest and the ensuing curfews. In a broader sense, I also wanted to support the economy of a country whose chief “export” is tourism. Being from Hollywood, California, I very clearly remember the lack of tourism- and economic impact that was felt because of it- in my city for over a year and a half after the Los Angeles Riots took place. LA was a ghost town, and suddenly we all sorely wished that all those tourists who had seemed so annoying as they ambled down The Walk of Fame blocking the sidewalk while taking pictures would come back!

Cairo itself was much quieter than usual; even the traffic seemed less insane. The amount of people at the monuments and antiquities was sparser than I’d ever seen it. There were a few demonstrations in Tahrir Square while I was there- a couple I only heard about on the news because I was in Giza, far away from Downtown Cairo where Tahrir Square is located, but I witnessed one myself one morning on my way to Khan Al Khalili. It wasn’t violent; it looked like Muslim Fundamentalists giving speeches to a sizeable crowd.

The Ahlan WA Sahlan Festival was very small this year, but that was to be expected; many preferred to sit this year out and see what would unfold. In previous years the attendees have topped 1,500 people; this year it was a few hundred. Everyone’s classes were significantly smaller… but though it might not have been as gratifying for the teachers, that actually made it much BETTER for the students. The list of teachers, was as always, impressive, including Egyptian stars like Dina, Aziza, Zaza Hassan, Magda and Atef Farag, Aza Sherrif, Dr. Mo Geddawi, Mohamed Shahin and Madame Raqia herself, to name just a few. The foreign teachers were also amazing- among many others were Leila Haddad, Aziza Abdul Ridha from Italy, Amir Thaleb, Said El Amir, Sue Jee Choi from Korea, and from Spain Rosadela and Munique Neith. Along with me, those from the USA included Fahtiem, Jillina, Angelika Nemeth and Raksanna. I give kudos to Raqia Hassan for remaining undaunted and going ahead with her plans. She is a brave, strong woman and the festival wound up being even greater than it has been in previous years, and believe me, last year seemed very hard to top! This year, possibly because of the general celebratory and hopeful feeling in the air, or maybe just because there was a smaller amount of people attending, the festival had a freewheeling, anything-goes type feeling.

To begin with, the Opening Gala was held on the elegant floating supper-club The Nile Maxim- Ahlan WA Sahlan had rented out the entire boat! This has never happened before, it was an amazing surprise. The show started on the dock with Saidi musicians and Tannoura dancers and all attendees were directed to the top deck for cocktails under the stars as the boat set sail. After dinner was served, the show inside featured super-stars Dina, Katia, Egyptian Aziza and Sorayya Zayed. Unlike years past, and possibly due to the afore-mentioned free-wheeling ambiance, video and still cameras were permitted inside the Opening Gala and there was such a casual feel that many people were actually sitting on the floor, watching the show, practically two feet away from Dina, videotaping her performance! The whole show had a very intimate feeling, and every dancer took the mic at some point in her show and sincerely thanked the audience members for coming and supporting the Festival and Egypt. Dina’s speech was particularly touching; her voice was choked with emotion. These heartfelt sentiments were something I heard echoed by almost every dancer or musician at every show during my entire stay, as well as said to my face by hotel employees, costume vendors, tour guides, shop-owners and even just people on the street who had absolutely nothing to gain by showing a complete stranger gratitude simply for visiting their country.

But back to the show… it was, of course, off the hook! The dancers’ various bands sounded terrific, and the volume was cranked up high. Katia started the evening off entering to her signature magencey (entrance piece), “Amar El Laily”. Her pastel costumes always seem belie her sheer power- she is an extremely strong dancer with dynamic movement and ridiculously deep backbends, which she drops into suddenly and effortlessly. Her Alexandrian dance was naughty, funny and adorable, ending with her in the arms of one of her male dancers.

Sorayya Zaed (with a new blonde page-boy hairdo) was adorable in a minimalist black and neon polka-dotted costume. Lithe and light on her feet, her Oriental opening was precise and nuanced, and later in the show she did a traditional Saidi which was full of feeling; bouncy and energetic but really passionate. In the many times I’ve seen her, I’d never seen her do Saidi and it was a joy to watch.

Dina closed the show, and was, as usual, smashing. Her first costume was just outrageous and risqué - even for her. It was tomato red, with giant red beaded flowers on each bra-cup, and a mermaid skirt with black lace panties sewn on the hips - and a black garter belt complete with red and black lace garters hanging as fringe! The crowd practically lost it when she did “Tahtil Shebak”.

Although I adore Dina, and in twenty years have never, ever seen her put on anything less than an incredible, high-energy live show, I have to say that my new favorite dancer is Egyptian Aziza.

I saw her for the first time last year at Ahlan WA Sahlan and was completely blown away.
During that 2010 show, Zahra Zuhair, seated next to me, kept saying over and over, almost robotically,
“Oh…. this is fabulous! Oh, how is anyone going to follow this?”

By the end of her set, we were both sitting dumbly with our mouths open.

But this year’s show was even better. Aziza has it all- the slow, gooey, laid back oriental sensuality and the languid almost lazy movements that almost seem to bend time. She also can pull up on command her piston-driven hips, turns on a dime, and has stage presence to burn. In short, she’s just fabulous. She opened with “Akdib Alek” in a turquoise and silver Mamdouh Salama costume, and moved through a set that was just breathtaking. Last year, Aziza appeared with a singer whose voice was so sublime that I got goosebumps and all my hair stood on end the moment she opened her mouth. The singer was blind and had to be led onto the stage...and I never found out who she was. This year, the singer appeared again, and was just as amazing. Cairo-based dancer Caroline Evanoff told me the singer's name was Nour....and that she is famous dancer Dandash's sister!

Aziza's show-stopper was her second to last number, which began with a male dancer dressed as a desert mystic, swinging an incense burner, wandering across the stage to a hypnotic mizmar. He was joined by four Sufi Dervishes, dressed traditionally in white skirts with satin over-vests, who whirled, as the music got increasingly more droning and trance-like. Aziza appeared in a simple white galabiyya with a bell-shaped hem, and danced among the Sufi dancers, who surrounded her as the music switched into a Zar beat, and a cleansing, healing ritual began. The tableaux became increasingly more intense, until Aziza started whipping her neck around, slowly at first and then....well, all I can say is that it looked like she didn't have a spine, her head was cranking around on her shoulders like those New Year's Eve noisemakers that whirl around in your hands...and it went on....and on...and ON. People in the audience were gasping and literally screaming, it was nuts!

Finally, Aziza collapsed on the floor in a mock faint…at which time her Dervishes lickety-split ripped off her white robe, revealing a fire engine red bedlah... as though the devil had won out this time! She jumped to her feet and immediately began a frenetic, high-energy drum solo, and just as quickly, her show was over.

The evening ended at almost 4:00 am, with many audience members clutching their high-heels in their hands as they staggered up the gangplank to the street- many of them passing out on the buses back to the Mena House.

After I got back to my hotel room, I turned on the television to come down from the high of the evening’s festivities, and while watching the news, learned there had been a large demonstration- with violence- in Tahrir Square. I emailed my family to let them know I was OK and sank into bed, excited for the festival’s first day of classes, including the one I was teaching. When I realized I was also performing the next night, the reality hit me that I would be getting-if I was lucky- four hours of sleep.


****

....TO BE CONTINUED!



Photos, top two:
Aziza in her Zar tableaux, with Sufi dancers
Aziza's Oriental magency

Photos, bottom two:
Princess with Cairo-based dancers Caroline Evanoff and Astyd Farah on The Nile Maxim
Katia's Oriental magency