Bellydance solo El Hob Kollu for the Guild of Oriental Dance at the Jawaahir Dance Company

Here I am performing "El Hob Kollu" at the 19th Annual Guild of Oriental Dance Show, titled "Midnight at the Oasis" at the Jawaahir Dance Company Space April 18, 2009.

Susan Austin photos of Jawaahir dance performance Sparkle

Susan Austin of Austin Images Photography took these photos of me and my fellow Jawaahir dance members recently (that's me in the first pic!) You can see many more on the Jawaahir Flickr page. And there is a short, fun documentary that was done about the making of this show, Sparkle.

Susan is a wonderful photographer—obviously!—in the Twin Cities area that we met through Twitter, where she is @SusanAustin.

Behind the scenes of a sold-out show: The rehearsal for "Sparkle"

Jawaahir's rehearsal for the sold-out "Sparkle" show (dance photos from the show are now up!) on 3-minute egg:

This show was a lot of fun to do! The Company members choreographed for each other this time, and the video offers a wonderful glimpse of our creative process.

One of the coolest people I know: Ethnomusicologist, Drummer, photographer and Fulbright recipient Nicole Lecorgne

My friend Nicole Lecorgne (at left) is one of the coolest people I know!

How we met

We first met about fifteen years ago when we both were fairly new to the Cassandra School in Minneapolis. (Nicole is originally from New Orleans.)

Nicole took dance classes and traded with Cassandra, drumming in exchange for her lessons. One day after Level 3 class, she suggested to me that we do a piece together in the upcoming Annual Guild Show. She said, “let’s ask Cassandra for a drum solo that’s simple enough that I could learn it and that you could dance to.” We did, and Cassandra suggested one for us, and we began rehearsing together.

We put together our piece, performed it (all of about 90 seconds of heart-stopping excitement!!!) I made myself a costume for the occasion: black and gold foil harem pants and a matching tietop-- over a leotard, with a hip wrap. (We’ve both come a long way since then.)

What an education—what a teacher!

While she was here she received a B.A. in World Music and Dance from the University of Minnesota. She got her Masters Degree in Ethnomusicology from Wesleyan University. Beyond her education and skills though, Nicole is a fantastic and dedicated teacher.

She has tons of experience in special education, classroom instruction and conducting workshops for both children and adults of all levels. She has given workshops and lecture demonstrations at William and Mary College, Brown and Harvard universities.

Minneapolis to San Francisco to New York

From here she moved to San Francisco to study with the amazing Susu Pampanim. Then she began to play with the Georges Lammam Ensemble. With the group, she returns to Minneapolis each year to play for Jawaahir Dance Company. After a few years, she decided to earn her Masters in Ethnomusicology and moved to Connecticut to go to Wellesley. After that, she moved to Queens, New York and made fairly frequent trips to the Arab World to study music and play.

She has been the Camp Drummer for Oasis Dance Camps for many years, playing in the States—and Morocco!

Drumming and photography

With the writer, Kay Hardy Campbell, Nicole traveled to Saudi Arabia as staff photographer for Aramco World Magazine. Nicole is a very fine photographer, too—her first degree was in visual art. Here's some proof from her site:

© Nicole LeCorgne

She started as a visual artist in New Orleans, became a puppet maker with In The Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theater in Minneapolis, switched to Arabic drumming in Minneapolis, which took her to San Francisco (and all over the Arab World) and circle back to photography.

Moving to Egypt on a Fulbright!

I haven't really done justice to Nicole in this short post, so if you really want to learn more about her you can read her bio or visit her percussion or photography sites. Nicole recently moved all her things to her mother’s home near Birmingham, AL—and from there is going to Egypt to live in Cairo for a year on a Fulbright.

I hope that I get to visit Nicole this year!! I love her very much—plus I really need some new costumes!!!

All images in this article ©Nicole LeCorgne

One of my favorite belly dance students turns 89 next week .. and he's a great GUY!

My newest, oldest private belly dance student, Nels, will be 89 on Aug 12!!! A Swedish immigrant, he decided he wanted to learn how to belly dance after seeing it on TV several times. (I wonder if he’s seeing Guild of Oriental Dance videos on cable access?)

Keeping the first meeting safe (and secret)

He suggested a coffee shop for our first meeting. I assume he wanted to be sure I was who I said I was—but I also realized he wanted to keep this temporarily a secret from his daughter, with whom he shares a duplex.

After our meeting at a Panera bread, he decided to break the news to his daughter, and we’d do our lessons at 10am (his best time of day for him) on either Saturdays or Sundays, depending on both our schedules, at his home.

I was a bit nervous at first about his health, and always keep a very close on him. While he a 45-minute lesson is about as long as he can take, otherwise, I started him off quite similarly to how I teach all beginners. Some loosening exercises, and into isolations. He actually struggles no more than most of my beginning students! We don’t have benefit of mirrors, so just as I do with other beginners I’ve taught without mirrors, sometimes I demonstrate for him both the right way, and the way he’s doing the movement differently.

While his balance isn’t perfect, we do Egyptian Basic slowly, and he does it just fine!

He has a great shimmy!

I guess he shimmied sometimes when he was ice dancing when he was much younger. He does it very well. He even used to coach ice dancing! I don’t try to get him to shimmy JUST his shoulders or JUST his hips as I would with a more typically-aged student (I guess I pick my battles as it were. ) It seems good just to get him to move! Last Saturday, I did get him to do his all-over shimmy while shifting his weight from foot to foot, but never picking up the feet entirely.

He’s a fun guy: The first 2 lessons he wore shorts and a golf shirt, and the coin hipwrap I sold him. The 3rd week he opened the door wearing the shorts and a sleeveless undershirt; he said he’d discovered he could see the movement better that way. (He has a small mirror.) The 4th week, he wore a pair of black, hiphugger, stretch, bellbottom pants with the undershirt. I said, “I see you’ve got yourself some dance pants” at which he burst out laughing and told me he’d gone to 10 stores to find them. And he has also turned out to be a real rabble-rouser! He wants to surprise some of his friends with a belly dance performance one day.

The recital approaches ... 

I suggested we have as a goal dancing in the Guild of Oriental Dance Recital (in April, I believe.) He loves the idea, saying, He’d like to do something else before he goes. (He ice-danced, and played the trumpet in a band in years past.) I told him he’d live to 130 because he’s always doing fun things that are good for his body, mind, and heart. He continually asks about costuming for the show, so the other day I suggested he get someone to sew him a sparkly shirt and a small turban; with the pants and coin wrap,  voila! He said the woman at the store where he found the pants sews a lot, and he thought he’d engage her to sew such a shirt.

He asked me to bring him some music, and I had Mr. L copy the practice CD I was using for his lessons. But he told me doesn’t like that one. The other day he revealed to me (every week he reveals something new!) that he has a recording of himself playing the Sheik of Araby with a drum machine backing him up. He loves this recording, and I said I thought people would be extremely charmed if he danced to his own recording in the Guild Show. So that seems to be the direction we are currently headed!

It's not the chest, it's the ribs ...

Every time we are doing isolations, and we do rib cage movement, he says “I don’t have much of a ‘shest.’” I always say we are not concerned with the chest, but the ribs!

He came to see the Friday night show during Cassandra’s Weeklong. Cassandra had Monique solo this time, she was FANTASTIC!!!!!!! And Nels loved her so the other day I told him she is dancing at Mairin’s Table in August. He’ll call the restaurant to find out when. He has also engaged me to dance at a party at his home in late August. (I strongly suspect he wishes to freak out the widows who will come to this gathering!)

Finally met his wonderful daughter

I met his daughter the 3rd time I went. We bonded pretty well, because she is the assistant mgr at East Side Co-op and I had recently read about their artists call for murals there. She seemed to be at first concerned about her dad’s latest crazy pursuit, but relaxed when I seemed like her kind of people. (Co-op shopper!)

All in all, one of my favorite students!

(Added to the DanceAdvantage teach-a-thon)

Whipgirl Tina on Late Night with Conan!

My good friend and great bellydancer Tina Nagy was recently on Conan with the Great Throwdini. She took private makeup training from me some years ago and said what I taught her worked great for Conan--their makeup person said she was good to go!



Tina also recently recorded a segment for Univision, and has been on America's Got Talent with Jerry Springer:




Tina has also started a blog called Empowered Vulnerability. Update: Tina was just mentioned in the March 17 issue of the New Yorker Magazine in an article about magic called "The Real Work."

My wonderful friend Susan Paul has passed.

Postscript: Rick asked us to put her video up on a website for him.

I attended the funeral for a friend and former dance student named Susan Paul. She was just 46, and died of liver cancer "of unknown primary origin." (She blogged about it here.) Her husband Rick asked us to put up the video from her service on a website. You can see her video on susanpaulzedra.com here.



What a woman!

A lawyer (yes, a lawyer named "Sue," nice aptonym) she was also a belly dancer who performed in many Guild of Oriental Dance shows, including one student piece I choreographed a few years ago. She was also an avid biker and made annual sojourns to Sturgis--you should see her bike!

She raised alpacas, llamas, and dogs on her hobby farm, and loved knitting so much she gave up her law practice and bought a yarn shop a couple of years ago.

It's very tough on everyone who knew this vibrant woman, but of course, most of all, for her husband Rick. My thoughts and prayers are with him.

I wrote a Rumi quote in the card to him:
"This is love: to fly toward a secret sky, to cause a hundred veils to fall each moment. First to let go of life. Finally, to take a step without feet."


At the luncheon following the funeral, I met a dancer who said, "aren't you the one that has the blog, 'Notes From Sarah?'" Shocked, I said yes, and she said, "You need to update it more often." Of course she's right--and now I am. Finally.

Jawaahir Dance Company: Library Performance.

Elena and Shari do an Egyptian Ghawazee piece, Risha a Tunisian pot dance, Zuleika an Egyptian Shamadan (Candelabra) dance, and Cassandra performs Raqs Al-Assaya (cane dance.)

Zambra Mora by Toha (my dance name) at the Burnsville International Festival

Didn't know this was out there---surprised to find video of myself on the web!

Here I am, in red, performing a Zambra Mora at the Burnsville International Festival. After that, Rebecca (in green) from Jawaahir Dance Company, performs an Algerian Nailyat number.

Great Jawaahir dance videos including Tunisian and Ghawazee

I'm delighted to share these latest videos with you! I'm even in one of them!

You will love this wonderful video of Cassandra. It's just too short, though!



Here's Jawaahir Dance Company doing a Tunisian pot dance, choreographed by Cassandra --(I'm in this in a dark blue melaya mostly to right of center.)



Jawaahir Dance Company doing a ghawazee piece, choreographed by Cassandra:



Let me know what you think -- Happy Summer!

The Decline of Belly Dancing in Egypt (with Dina!)

Here's another cool video about dancing in Egypt...great shots of Dina, including an interview!

Tito and Little Mimo

This is so cool--I just had to share it!

Bellydance news search from around the world!

I now have a link to belly dance in the news on my Mideastern dance site. Click bellydance news and enjoy! (And it changes all the time, 'cuz it's news.)

Also, over to the right here on my blog, and on my web site, I now have a search box that allows you to search the entire World Wide Web for ALL things related to belly dance, Raqs Sharqi, Middle Eastern Dance, Oriental Dance, etc. Just click in the box, type in your search terms, and it will ONLY give you results related to your search terms AND "belly dance."

Enjoy!

Dove's Campaign For Real Beauty: My entry

Dove's Campaign For Real Beauty had a GREAT idea--hold a contest for a commercial for their newest product, Dove Cream Oil Body Wash

I put in a video entry to the contest, but unfortunately, my husband and I had less than an hour to edit the video due to an unexpected trip and technical difficulties before the deadline came up.

But thanks for all your votes! We had a great time dancing with the girls at Caryn's academy in getting footage for the video. We wish we could have made them all stars!

Our rating placed us on a par with about 7th place in the finalists -- although due to judging, we didn't make the final cut. Hopefully our next project we will be able to devote more time to.

Baba says ... are you listening?

An interesting story began at one of my restaurant dance gigs ...

My music started and I came out on stage. I noticed a table of 4 to the left of the stage--3 women ranging from 35 or so to 55 or so, and a man about 60. They watched my show pretty attentively while they ate and enjoyed each other's company. When it came time for me to go around for tips, at their table they had a few questions.

One woman introduced everyone and did virtually all the talking. The man was from India while the women were different ethnicities--European- American (white), African-American, and European (don't remember from where.) The white American woman who did all the talking had a pleasant smile, and kept her eyes on the man as she talked to me. He continually grunted to get her attention and used sign language, which she interpreted.

"Baba says," (she began each sentence this way) "That is a very beautiful costume."
I smiled and addressed him, thinking perhaps he read lips. "Thank you," I said.

"Baba says, 'that looks like a very expensive costume.'"
"All nice costumes are expensive," I chuckled.

"Baba says, 'where did you get that costume?'"
"Actually, I got this one from a belly dance vendor who purchased it in Turkey. It's my only costume that I didn't have custom-made for myself in Turkey or Egypt. I'm glad you like it." (This is my one from Faye's Originales, out of Atlanta. She had brought it, and other wares, to vend in Minneapolis at the Cassandra School.)

"Baba says, 'how much did that costume cost?'"
"Oh, well, it was about $800."

"Baba says, 'it is very beautiful.'"
I thanked them both and began to move to another table. Another grunt from Baba.
"Baba says, 'would you be available for a party at our house?'"
I said, "yes, let me just finish up here and change, and I'll come back out and chat with you then."

Baba grunted his agreement, and I finished my finale and went back to the dressing room to change. I came back in regular clothes, with a business card for Baba. Excited grunting began.

"Baba says, 'we have a distinguished guest coming to visit from India next week. He is a goldsmith. You wouldn't believe the beautiful things he makes. Anyway, we are having a party to honor him, and we would like you to be the entertainment. Are you available on the 19th, and what would you charge?'"

I asked for more details, where the party was (it was in a far-flung northern exurb of Minneapolis) how long they would want me to dance (2 separate times, 2 costumes, 20 minutes each) and other details that affect my rate, and asked for $300.
They said no problem. They'd call me with the details during the week. The woman finished the conversation by giving me Baba's card, and said, "Baba has been silent by choice since 1961." The card said that, too. "Baba ______. Silent-By-Choice since 1961."

If you call those strange noise grunts silent.So he could hear! Okay, whatever. Different strokes.

A few days later, the European woman called to interpret for Baba, who grunted in the background. "Baba says, 'we would like you to come by and see our house and how we live, and if you like it, and decide which room would be best for you to dance in.' Grunt. 'We have a lot of art and things that we wouldn't want to be harmed.' Baba says, 'when can you come by to see our home?'"

I had a very busy week, their place was pretty far away, gas prices were ridiculous, and at the time I was driving a gas guzzler. And an extra trip there was really not necessary. Also, why would I care how they lived?

I said, "tell you what-- I'll come about an hour early on the 19th and take a look. You could see how much space I needed at Jerusalem's--that's a pretty small stage, after all. I'll dance wherever you want me to."

I heard grunting. I truly thought they were concerned about the best space for me to dance. I continued, "the main thing, for me, would be a preference that it not be on carpet. If you have an uncarpeted room, that's best, but if you don't it's no problem, anywhere is fine."

We finished the conversation saying, see you on the 19th. I decided, whatever was up with these folks, Dave would definitely be going with me as my roadie. It was hard to tell, with the "conversation" part of things being so different from what I am used to, whether there would be other things different than I might expect as well. Especially the "how we live" part. I don't mean to be judgmental, I just want it to work properly for dance with normal consideration for the dancer.

They called later and canceled the gig.

A Typical Gig Story

I've always wanted to blog my gigs, and it's high time I got started!

I'll begin with my very first night at Jerusalem's in Minneapolis...it was in January of 2000. I was standing in the kitchen in costume, warming up a bit, and keeping my eye on the clock. Jerusalem's shows are at 7:30 and 9 o'clock regardless of how full the restaurant is--let me just say this is a wonderful system! I could always tell my students exactly what time they could see dancers at any of several venues in the Twin Cities. Dancers could plan their acts, they knew when to be ready and when they could leave! More on that later.

So I'm standing there when a customer walked by me on his way back to his table from the men's room. He looked me up and down and said, "Are YOU the entertainment tonight?" (knowing I HAD to be--who else stands in the kitchen of a Middle Eastern restaurant in stage makeup and beau coups sparkles?) I nodded and he said, "OH BOY!!!"

That was my welcome, my first night at Jerusalem's.

He was a regular customer who I saw many times with his wife over the next 6 years. They were always attentive, and always tipped--'though never extravagantly. In fact, one night as I made my way around the tables, he said, "It's my birthday tonight! Know what that means?" I said, "It means you'll FINALLY get up and dance with me tonight?" He said, "No! It means I can tip you TWO dollars!!"

Sohair Zaki: an elegant brilliant Oriental dancer from some decades ago.
This appears to have been filmed sometime during the 1960s and 1970s, when a more burlesque and silly performance style prevailed in film.



Sohair Zaki's performance itself is classic and beautiful. You can read about Egyptian Cinema here. The two guys in the video appear to be Samir Ghanim and Ahmad al-Daif. Here's a link to the video on Metacafe (where they misspell her name).

Cool video about the NYC "belly dance" scene: