Ontario MEDance Calendar January 2014

Page 1


-1-|Page


Tahira.goddessemerging@gmail.com 905.333.1370

-2-|Page


Features

The Calendar 5 January

6 Quick Glance January Take a quick look into all of the wonderful Belly dance and music events happening in January!

8 February 9 March

10 MEZZA TIME 11 April Learn tips, tricks and great recipes to create an easy Middle Eastern Style Brunch for all 13 May of your shimmying Besties! 17 On Fire with Ala Nar We have a sit down with Joharah of Bellyup to discuss the rise of Ala Nar. 22 Musical interlude Take a moment out of your day to listen to our musical choice and video of the month! 24 Dance Adventure Saudi Arabian Style! What started as an invitation to a friend’s wedding quickly turned into an amazing dance journey for Anne of KitchenerWaterloo.

-3-|Page

14 June 20 July 21 August 23 September 28 October 29 November 31 December 32 OntariO Dancer’s Directory


Learn about BellyUp’s Ala Nar Ensemble on Page 17 -4-|Page


JANUARY SUN

MON

TUE

WED

THU

FRI

SAT

1

2

3

4

5 Master Workshops with Joharah

6

7

8 Nile's Free Trial Class

9

10

11 Nile's Free Trial Class

Move Your Belly - SBS Musical Immersion with George and Raymon

13

14 Nile's Free Trial Class

15

16

17 Dance Ontario

Nile's Free Trial Class Dance Ontario Cabaret 101

19 Intro to Iraqi Dance -SBS Dance Ontario

20

21

22

23

26

27

28

29

30

24 25 Arabian Auditions for Nights Earth Fundraiser Shakers, Allspice @ Arabesque

Ontario MEDance Calendar E: babylondanceandfitness@gmail.com P: 226-500-2094

issuu.com/babylonoriental

-5-|Page

31

2014


Quick Glance January 5th 8th 11th 12th 12th

Master Workshop Series with Joharah – Sundays Monthly Nile’s Academy of Middle Eastern Dance Grand Opening Free Class Series Nile’s Academy of Middle Eastern Dance Grand Opening Free Class Series Move Your Belly – Super Belly Sundays Goddess Emerging Dance Studio Presents Musical Immersion with George Sawa and Raymon Sarweh

14th 18th

Nile’s Academy of Middle Eastern Dance Grand Opening Free Class Series

18th 19th 19th

Nile’s Academy of Middle Eastern Dance Grand Opening Free Class Series

17th19th 24th

Egyptian Dance Company at Dance Ontario Weekend.

Cabaret 101 Performance at the Egyptian Academy

Intro to Iraqi Dance With Hiba – Super Belly Sundays Arabesque at Dance Ontario Weekend

Arabian Nights fundraiser

Auditions for Allspice, Earthshakers and Arabesque Academy Student Troupe -6-|Page

25th


SHIMMY TIME! HIP DROPS FOUNDED ON JANUARY 1, 2014 BY Hiba Al-Kinani PUBLISHER AND EDITOR IN CHIEF Hiba Al-Kinani CREATIVE CONTRIBUTORS Anne Vermeyden Joharah Kolishenco PUBLISHED BY Babylon Oriental

AD SALES AND DATES Submissions by the 25th of every month INQUIRIES AND SUBMISSIONS babylondanceandfitness@gmail.com OUR MAILING ADDRESS 66 Arrow Road #D, Guelph, ON, N1K1T4 WE LOVE HEARING FROM YOU! (226) 500-2094 VISIT US ON THE WEB

Issuu.com/babylonoriental Babylonltd.org ©BABYLON LTD. FREE ONLINE MAGAZINE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. COVER: ALA Nar Dance Ensemble of BellyUp Oakville PHOTOGRAPHER: Streeter Stevens Other Photos: Getty Images

-7-|Page

In this inaugural edition, I sit here reflecting on the past year of fabulous events like Raksfest in June and the awesome weeklong intensive with Raqia Hassan in October. What a fabulous amount of diversity and community feeling we have in Ontario! With this Calendar, my hope for the new year is an even greater sense of community, in our events, shows and dance friendships! I hope you will join me! As we come close to the close of 2013 and the dawn of 2014 I challenge you to find a new year’s resolution that allows you to experience dance in a new and more enlightened way! For myself, I plan to dance more, teach more, travel more, love more and laugh the whole way through it all! What are your New Year’s resolutions? I’m so honoured to be able to share some highlights from our community with a feature article on BellyUp Oakville’s Ala Nar Ensemble on Page 17. Once you’re read about Ala Nar’s inspiring story from their Artistic Director Joharah Kolishenco, be sure to check out page 24 for Anne’s dance journey to the heart of Saudi Arabia. Did you build up an appetite from these stories? Check out Page 10 for details on how to create your own Arab inspired Middle Eastern Brunch, while watching videos and music recommended on Page 22. Of course, as you browse through our first edition articles, take some time to plan out your dance year, with our full 12-month calendar highlighting all of the great events happening in Ontario for 2014. Do you have an upcoming event that you’d like listed? Please contact us! Finally, we at MEDance Ontario Calendar, encourage you to send us your stories, events and accounts of your dance lives, or to be added to our dancer’s directory, with submissions by the 25th of every month. Thank you for reading and please be sure to let us know what you think and what you’d like to see in future editions! Hugs and Shimmies, Hiba


FEBRUARY SUN

MON

TUE

WED

THU

FRI

SAT All About Egyptian Shimmies, Music Appreciation P1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8 Nath Keo Workshop Power and Precision

9 Dancenette Star Belly Dancer Competition

10

11

12

13

14

15

16 Shimmy Clinic - SBS

17

18

19

20

21

22 Egyptian Dance Co. Presents El Torath El Masry

Intro To Tribal Fusion - SBS Moonlight Mirage Show

24

25

26

27

28

Ontario MEDance Calendar E: babylondanceandfitness@gmail.com P: 226-500-2094

issuu.com/babylonoriental

-8-|Page

2014


MARCH SUN

MON

TUE

WED

THU

FRI

SAT Al Khaima Workshop and Show Dance to Live Music with Nada and Simon 8

2 Majlis with Yasmina Ramzy

3

4

5

6

7

9 Move Your Belly - SBS Dancenette

10

11

12

13

14

15 HHH Applications with Yasmina Ramzy

16 Intro to Isis Wings SBS

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29 SuperStar Sadie Weekend Intensive

Indo-Tribal Fusion SBS

30 SuperStar Sadie Weekend Intensive

31

Ontario MEDance Calendar E: babylondanceandfitness@gmail.com P: 226-500-2094

issuu.com/babylonoriental

-9-|Page

2014


hen you think of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean foods, some words that might come to mind are simple, healthy and delectable!

W

In the Middle East, a typical breakfast or brunch consists of an assortment of Mezza’s (finger foods, or what we would clarify as appetizers). So get together with your shimmy sisters (or brothers!), and enjoy a brunch fit for a sultan! Easy Hummus (Prep and Cooking time: 20 mins) makes 4 servings 1 540ml can of Garbanzo beans (chickpeas) drained ½ cup water 2 cloves garlic 2 tbsps fresh squeezed lemon juice 2 tbsp tahini paste 2 tbsps Olive Oil

- 10 - | P a g e

Optional salt, pepper, mint leaves or toasted pine nuts for garnish Put all ingredients into a food processor or blender, and mix until smooth. Garnish with a little bit more Olive oil and lemon juice to taste. You can be adventurous and add 1tsp cumin and a pinch of allspice for a more traditional feel. Also, add more garlic, roasted red peppers or sundried tomatoes to your puree to create a unique yet delicious hummus every time. Complete your Arabic Inspired Brunch with a few traditional side dishes: Sides Cheese plate- feta cheese, fried halloumi, Akawi, or tresse. Olive plate drizzled with olive oil Sliced tomatoes and cucumbers Mini Pickles or sliced pickled beats Fresh Pita bread Olive oil with Zaatar Honey


APRIL SUN

MON

TUE

WED

THU

FRI

SAT

1

2

3

4

5 Master Dance to Live Music P1

6 Dance to Live Music Om Kalthoum

7

8

9

10 Arabesque Presents Sawah

11 Arabesque Presents Sawah

12 Arabesque Presents Sawah

13 Intro To Veil, Ballet for Belly Dance Sawah 20

14

15

16

17

18

19

21

22

23

24

25 RAKS FEST

26 RAKS FEST

27 RAKS FEST

28

29

30

Ontario MEDance Calendar E: babylondanceandfitness@gmail.com P: 226-500-2094

issuu.com/babylonoriental

-1-|Page

2014

PLACE PHOTO HERE, OTHERWISE DELETE BOX


-2-|Page


MAY SUN

MON

TUE

WED

THU 1

FRI

SAT 2

3 Cabaret 101 Arabesque Spring Gala

Social Impact Lecture Goddess Emerging Gala

5

6

7

8 9 10 EDT EDT Follow Your Present Present Heart s Follow s Follow Dancenette Your Your Heart Heart

11 Follow Your Heart

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

Ontario MEDance Calendar E: babylondanceandfitness@gmail.com P: 226-500-2094

issuu.com/babylonoriental

-3-|Page

2014


JUNE SUN

MON

TUE

WED

THU

FRI

1

2

3

4

5

8 Dancenette Arabesque Pro Course

9 Pro Course

10 Pro Course

11 Pro Course

15 Pro Course

16 Pro Course

17 Pro Course

18 Pro Course

12 Al Khaima Show Pro Course 19

22 Master Pro Course

23 Master Pro Course

24 Master Pro Course

25 Master Pro Course

29

30

26 Master Pro Course

Ontario MEDance Calendar E: babylondanceandfitness@gmail.com P: 226-500-2094

issuu.com/babylonoriental

-4-|Page

SAT 6

7 Arabesque Pro Course

13 14 Pro Pro Course Course

20 Master Pro Course

Mohamed Shahin Returns to Toronto Master Pro Course

27 Egyptian Dance Academy Gala

28

2014


-5-|Page


-6-|Page


With Ala Nar of BellyUp Oakville

1. You are the Artistic Director of this dance company. Tell us a little bit about yourself. I [Joharah Kolishenco] have been a teacher of Egyptian dance as an art form for many years. I like straight up Raqs Sharqi and have trained extensively with almost every major Egyptian available in the dance form. I have had the great fortune to have had many of the major Egyptian teachers stay at my home and teach here at BellyUp. I have hosted Egyptian superstars from Raqia Hassan, Fifi Abdo, Khaled Mahmoud, Mohamed El Hosseny, Faten Salama, Mohamed Shahin, Ahmed Hussien to well recognized International dance artists as Nourhan Sharif (my

-7-|Page

mentor), Ranya Renee, and other popular stars of the Bellydance world AND I take all of their workshops in addition to private lessons when they are here. My focus has been on expanding the educational and artistic horizons for Egyptian dance within the Ontario dance community and beyond and providing my students with cutting edge Egyptian dance education. As founder of BellyUp BellyDance Studios in Oakville, Kitchener and now Mississauga, BellyUp is recognized as a premiere school for Egyptian Bellydance, producer and host of educational dance events, retailer of Sharifwear dancewear and importer of fine Egyptian costumes. I have also been a Master Teacher at the Nile Group Festival in Cairo, Egypt as well as at Ahlan Cairo Nights in Montreal, the International Bellydance Conference of Canada and Dare to Dream in Dallas, Texas. My ongoing journey is clearly focused on helping women access their inner power and find empowerment through this dance form. For myself, Bellydance is as much of a healing dance and an outlet for my own personal expression as it is an ethnic and cultural dance form that has been around for generations.


development and training as dancers. We are also excited to have just held auditions for BellyUp Kitchener’s new student troupe – seven new young ladies have been selected to represent the studio. We are very thrilled for them and they will begin their training this January.

2. What inspired you to begin a dance company? Starting a dance company was an obvious off-shoot for BellyUp as we grew as a dance school. The timing was right. My passion for dance movement, choreography and grooming performers needed an outlet and my Advanced level dancers were developing so well and showing such promise that, naturally, I wanted to showcase them and give them more and more opportunity to perform. Our current group has been together for well over 5 years. When BellyUp acquired the DownHips studio in Kitchener, we also offered opportunity to their student troupe to apprentice for Ala Nar and so far two of these dancers have amalgamated into our dance ensemble. Ala Nar is an inspiration for our other students with aspirations to perform one day. They are a group of very generous and talented young women who are full of personality and passion for the dance form and are still very much engaged in their own personal -8-|Page

3. What is your mandate as company and a choreographer?

a

My vision is to bring exciting Egyptian style Bellydance entertainment to our audiences wherever we perform. Our mandate is to always dance with dignity and integrity each and every time we perform so that we continue to elevate the dance form. We recognize that our dancing reflects a culture and is not just a “fantasy dance form”. The dance is not to be taken away from the culture that it comes from and we respect its roots deeply. My choreographies typically involve a high level of technique and musicality. They are choreographies that can be danced as beautifully solo as they can be performed as a group. Ala Nar is continually challenged, with each new choreography, to push their limits, build new skills and challenge them to go beyond. I recognize that music and styles change and so too must the dance itself which is why my choreographies always strive to remain fresh, dynamic and on the cutting edge of what


is evolving in the dance form in Egypt. 4. Who are your role models, or inspirations in dance? So many dancers have inspired me and continue to inspire my love of this dance and my desire to learn more and more. One of my favorite is Sohair Zaki for the clarity of her hip work. She had the best musicians available and was the first to dance to Oum Kalsoum. Another is Fifi Abdo for her ability to really entertain an audience. Even to this day she can hold the attention of an audience like no other dancer. Her repertoire of movement was not large but she pronounced every movement with sheer precision, with great musicality and with a smile; Mona el Said for her emotion and feeling when she danced. Raqia Hassan is by far the best trainer and choreographer alive today for Raqs Sharqi. Having recently spent a full week living and training with her she is the best in my opinion and has created most of the big name dance stars in Egypt (Dina, Randa, Soroya, Mona El Said and more). 5. What are some of the challenges or obstacles that have been in your path, and how did you overcome them?

Every business owner faces challenges and obstacles and there are many ongoing challenges in running a dance studio let alone a specialty Bellydance studio, plus teaching, performing, and hosting events and keeping up with your own dance training which is essential for every teacher. Teaching and sharing the dance and it’s culture is what I love to do most and what I’ll continue to do. I find it a shame that many students and teachers do not even know the names of the standard Arabic Rhythms and do not embrace a willingness or interest in integrating themselves into the Middle Eastern culture enough to learn and discover these aspects that will make them better educated and more passionate about the dance form. I will continue to drive that bandwagon and to emphasize to all students the importance of dancing with integrity and dignity as I mentioned earlier. Exhibiting questionable behaviour while performing in public lowers the standards for all of us who are working hard to elevate the dance form and we need to all remember that our dancing reflects a culture! 6. Where does your dance company perform? BellyUp’s “Ala Nar” Dance Ensemble performs throughout the local communities (Halton, Tri-Cities and GTA) at corporate, private and community events along. 7. Can you tell us a funny, scary, interesting story from one of your performances? Oh my, every performance has a story to tell. You’re going to have to wait for my book release.

-9-|Page

Joharah is the Owner, Founder and Artistic Director of BellyUp Oakville, Kitchener and Missisauga. www.bellyup.ca, info@bellyup.ca


JULY SUN

MON

TUE

WED 1

THU

FRI

2 3 4 Adv-Pro Adv-Pro Adv-Pro Summer Summer Summer Intensive Intensive Intensive

SAT Adv-Pro Summer Intensive Dance to Live Music P2

Adv-Pro Summer Intensive Layering with Melody

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

Ontario MEDance Calendar E: babylondanceandfitness@gmail.com P: 226-500-2094 - 10 - | P a g e

issuu.com/babylonoriental

2014


AUGUST SUN

MON

TUE

WED

THU

FRI 1

3

10 Arabesque Immersion

4

SAT 2

5

6

7

8

11 12 Arabesque Arabesque Immersion Immersion

13

14

9 Arabesque Immersion Khaleegy with Hiba at EDA 15 16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

Ontario MEDance Calendar E: babylondanceandfitness@gmail.com P: 226-500-2094

issuu.com/babylonoriental

- 11 - | P a g e

2014


Om Kalthoum is the mother of Orchestral Arabic Music. She is known for her diversity of voice and musicality, and many of the “Must Know” songs for belly dancer’s come from her. Please enjoy this full rendition of her famous “Fakarouni” here.

In this music video featuring the dancer, Elissar, we are transported into a modernist Orientalism, and while the video does not contain a vast array of traditional movements or full Oriental dance, it’s quite an entertaining video. View Here.

Do you have a recommendation for songs or dance videos? Let us know!

- 12 - | P a g e


SEPTEMBER SUN

MON

TUE

WED

THU 4

FRI

SAT

1

2

3

7

8

9

10

14 Layali Masriya Festival

15

16

11 12 13 Layali Layali Arabesque Masriya Masriya Fall Gala Festival Festival Layali Masriya Festival 17 18 19 20

21

22

23

24

28

29

30

25

Ontario MEDance Calendar E: babylondanceandfitness@gmail.com P: 226-500-2094

issuu.com/babylonoriental

- 13 - | P a g e

5

26

6

27

2014


Dance Adventures

By Anne Vermeyden permitted to drive in Saudi Arabia, and taking taxis could be problematic. We The Wedding o, my first experience of an Arab managed to get a company to drive us wedding took place in Saudi Arabia. around for the days we were there, but I was invited to the wedding of a the service was unreliable due to the very good friend’s cousin. To be honest, crush of people because of Hajj. It was I think the party I attended was not frustrating to witness. I think five or six technically the wedding. The true of us in the party had driver's licenses wedding, which had included the signing from other countries- but we were of the official documents, had taken unable to rent cars and drive ourselves. place earlier, along with the giving of the Although... it is not that I personally shebka (dowry of jewelry). This, second would ever want to drive in Saudi. The celebration, included the zeffah, or traffic is nuts. The biggest car always wedding procession, and copious wins, and rules of the road are more like amounts of dancing, food and general guidelines you can feel free to celebration. ignore.

S

Arriving in Jeddah When I arrived in Jeddah from Riyadh with my friend and her family, Things were a little bit crazy.1 The wedding was taking place only a few days before the beginning of Hajj.2 The airport was a zoo, and it was almost impossible to hire drivers. And yes, we needed drivers, since women are not 1

Riyadh is the capital of Saudi Arabia, and is generally known to be more conservative than 2 Jeddah, Hajj is the which Muslim is located pilgrimage on thetocoast Mecca, of the andRed it takes place on the eighth day of the month of Dhul Al-Hijjah in the Muslim calendar. It is the fifth pillar of Islam, and all Muslims are expected to undertake this pilgrimage at least once during their lifetimes, if possible. The main airport to access Mecca through is in Jeddah- and since millions of Muslims go on this pilgrimage every year (over 3 million in 2012), things can get a little busy.

- 14 - | P a g e

Hair and Makeup Before the wedding we went to get our hair and makeup done. The salon was gorgeous- clean, white, open. I was taken first to have my makeup done. In Saudi, the fashion many women like is to have very, shall we say, distinct eyebrows. It looks great on women with dark hair- but my blonde sparse eyebrows, after the makeup artist was finished with them, looked like a cartoon. I fought with the woman who did my makeup. She insisted she was an artist, and that my painted in eyebrows were beautiful. Due to our artistic differences, I ended up lightening them in the bathroom after. In general the makeup was darker than I am used to, but it was lovely. The makeup and hair of all of the women in the party was


exquisite. But, good hair can’t fix everything, and the car problem followed us to the salon. Since I was among the last of the group to be finished, we were stuck hailing a taxi to get back to the hotel to get dressed.

Taxis and Driving This is where I learned why it is not advisable for women to take taxis in Saudi. When we were trying to wave down a taxi (you can't call them, only hail them), like five random cars full of men slowed down or pulled over to try and offer us rides/cat call/flirt. When we finally got a taxi, men in cars around us were acting crazy- trying to talk to us, staring, pointing, flirting- they were going nuts. Some cars were purposefully following us, speeding around. In order to prevent an accident, me and the other girls in the car ended up covering our faces with our headscarves so that they would get the message we were not interested. I admit I thought it was pretty funny, although in the moment, it was a little scary... because of the distracted/erratic driving in a place where traffic is already so chaotic. I guess flirting in Saudi is done via cars...

- 15 - | P a g e

since men and women are not allowed to mix freely in public. Segregated Weddings Finally, we arrived at the wedding hall. There were only women in attendance at this wedding (men can have a separate wedding party- wedding celebrations like this in Saudi Arabia are segregated by gender). The male musicians were screened off in another room, with only the female singer and female musicians being in the hall with the guests. Our cell phones were confiscated upon entering the hall. We were given tickets to retrieve them after leaving, sort of like a coat check. We also checked in our abayat.3 Our phones were taken so that we could not take pictures or video (as we were not wearing abayat in the hall). It was the most glamorous wedding hall I have ever seen: gold foil wallpaper, massive crystal chandeliers, tables full of food and beautiful displays of chocolate and desserts. Servers darted around endlessly. Women were decked out in diamonds, gold, designer dresses and skyscraper heels. It was like the Oscars. There was a big raised red carpet runway down the middle of the hall, and a stage at the front where the bride and groom were to sit. The bride's side of the family was seated on the left side of the runway, and the groom's on the right. Zeffah 3

In Saudi Arabia women wear an abaya. An abaya is like a light black floor length coat worn over your normal clothing. In Riyadh all abayat must be predominantly black, but in Jeddah, where it is a little more liberal, dark brown, or more exciting patterns were permitted on women’s abayat. It was hard to get used to wearing a light coat in 40 degree weather… but it was useful in that you could leave the house in sweatpants and a pj-shirt and nobody would be the wiser.


Although we had checked our abayat, and spent the majority of the wedding without them, for a part of the zeffah some of us were required to put them back on again. When the groom entered, and any of the male relatives from either side of the wedding entered, non-related women covered up. Many even donned niqab.4 It was surreal and felt counterintuitive to my Canadian brain. These women, glittering in their beautiful gowns, made up so beautifully, were covering up for the height of the celebration. For the zeffah thousands of riyals were spent on pure Oud, a beautifully scented wood that was burned like incense along the path of the zeffah. My friend had warned me that we were in Saudi, and that the zeffah I know (the Egyptian one) from my belly dance studies here in Canada would likely not be played. But- it was my lucky day because the bride chose an Egyptian zeffah song with a rhythm and melody I had studied here in Canada. Everyone “zaghareeted” like crazy.5 Belly dancers here in Canada may think they can zaghareet... they can think again. The groom's zeffah song was Khaliji6. Both of them were stunning. The groom wore a traditional thobe and 4

Niqab is the covering that leaves only a woman’s eyes visible. 5 Zaghareet is called ululation in English. It is a high pitched trilling sound made with quick movements of the tongue. It sort of sounds like a rapid, high pitched yell of “la-la-la.” I was told it was used during celebrations, like weddings. 6 Khaliji means “of the Gulf” as in the Gulf Arab states.

- 16 - | P a g e

the bride a gorgeous, strapless white wedding gown.7 Dancing After sitting, the bride and groom cut the cake, and shared it with each other. During this time, many women were still wearing their abayat. Songs were still playing, and they were dancing. In Canada, in belly dance classes, I was under the impression that women in gulf weddings traditionally danced with beautiful embroidered and beaded thobe. This is not done any longer. Although some women danced for a little while with an abaya, or the headscarf from the abaya. The khaliji style dance we learn here is theatrical, and not the dance that people do in weddings. There was no hair tossing (if you had just spent 4 hours in a salon getting it perfected- would you toss it after? hah) and very, very few arm or hand movements. The majority of the dance was the simple rocking step and of course, done in heels- Unless you are me! I ditched my heels pretty early on into the night. How was I supposed to shimmy in heels? Sometimes the rocking step was done with one arm raised and waving, and a gentle head roll that naturally flowed out of the stepping movement. Some women who had a real feel for dance would also include intricate level changes that went along with the various rhythms in the different songs.

7

A thobe is like an ankle-length robe. The ones men wore in Saudi were white.


Egyptian Belly Dance After the men had left, and the abayat were put away, and the dancing took off. This is when I was given the chance to perform. My friend had discussed with her friend the bride earlier, and they had decided that two Egyptian songs would be played for me to perform to. Apparently, normally, in a Saudi wedding, all of the songs are Khaliji. It is only by request that any other style of song would be played. The two songs that were chosen were Saad el Soghayar's "El 3ynab" (The Grapes) and Shik, Shak, Shok. I put on a hip scarf on over my borrowed designer dress, and began to shake it Egyptian style. I was alone, about to dance on a runway in front of over 150 Arab women. My heart was pounding. But from my very first step my friend and her family were going crazy, clapping, waving and cheering. They made me feel so loved and supported- it was amazing. In a breath, I was in the moment, and I let the fun of these two songs take over my body. I performed both pieces, and circulated the room, dancing for the groom’s side, the bride’s side, and of course, the bride herself. Everyone went wild for the Egyptian dancing and music. One of my friend’s cousin described it like this- "It would be like as if a Saudi man, who grew up his whole life in the desert, came to Canada, put on a pair of skates, and then was an accomplished, amazing ice hockey player. You just don't expect it." It is funny, because here, in the belly dance community, it is widely known that many, many of the dancers who perform in the Middle East are from many different areas of the world. After my Egyptian belly dance performance I danced the night away with the rest of the wedding guests in the khaliji style. - 17 - | P a g e

Of course, I took on taqaseem during the rest of the night with Egyptian style and always got a wonderful response.8 I was told that belly dance is really an Egyptian thing, and that although most people love it, not everyone does it in Saudi.9 The dancing went over so well that some of my friend’s aunts were insisting I stop because I was sure to get the “devil eye” or “evil eye.”10 From what I understood, many of them really wanted to read the Qur’an over me to prevent this. If they had, I would not have known, there was so much Arabic flying around, and I was just happy when I caught the odd word here or there. We got home at around 4:30 am. I had danced for a good five hours. This was a wedding, Jeddah-style. Conclusion I had a wonderful time there. Everyone was incredibly generous and kind. I won’t deny that I suffered from immediate culture shock, but I was up for it. 10/10 would visit again. 100/10would dance there again! Anne is a Dance Enthusiast from KitchenerWaterloo.

8

Taqaseem is when one instrument does a solo improvised piece. 9 A random related story- I bought a few abayat at an abaya store. The woman selling them was confused, she was like, “you are wearing an abaya, and you are a visitor here, why do you need so many?” I told her they were for dance cover ups- like belly dancing. Her eyes lit up, and she gave a little shoulder shimmy and laughed. She understood and thought it was wonderful. Made me smile! 10 The evil eye is a look of jealousy or envy that is believed by some to result in sickness or injury.


OCTOBER SUN

MON

TUE

WED 1

THU

FRI

SAT

2

3 4 Karim Nagi Karim Nagi and and Nourhan Nourhan Sharif from Sharif NYC Workshops Workshops 9 10 11

5 Karim Nagi and Nourhan Sharif Worksho ps 12

6

7

8

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25 Dance to Live Music P3

26

27

28

29

30

31

Ontario MEDance Calendar - 18 - | P a g e E: babylondanceandfitness@gmail.com P: 226-500-2094 issuu.com/babylonoriental

2014


NOVEMBER SUN

MON

TUE

WED

THU

FRI

SAT 1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15 Music Appreciation P2

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

Ontario MEDance Calendar E: babylondanceandfitness@gmail.com P: 226-500-2094 - 19 - | P a g e Issuu.com/babylonoriental/docs/Ontario MEDanceCalendar

2014


- 20 - | P a g e


DECEMBER SUN

MON

TUE

WED

THU

FRI

SAT

1

2

3

4

5

6 Arabesque Winter Gala

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

Ontario MEDance Calendar E: babylondanceandfitness@gmail.com P: 226-500-2094

issuu.com/babylonoriental

- 21 - | P a g e

2014


OntariO Dancer’s DirectOry

Please ask us how you can be part of the Directory! Coming in February!

- 22 - | P a g e


Ontario MEDance Calendar Submit your events, articles, photos and stories by the 25th of every month! Ask us how you can be added to the Dancer’s Directory! Contact Us for Ad Rates and Submissions babylondanceandfitness@gmail.com Thank you for reading! - 23 - | P a g e


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.