Bellydance: Experiences

Bingeing on music

2009-11-11T08:34:00-06:00

The sagat and drum classes I took this weekend reminded me that it has been a long time since the last time I bought new music, and I am hungry for some new inspiration. Mostly, I'm craving some new contemporary Egyptian Pop, Classic-style orchestral Egyptian, and some debke music to play around with. (also, it's nice that Hollywood Music Center has such a great sale section)

So far, I have ordered:

Susu & the Cairo Cats - Dancing Drums - I have spoken to many dancers who love this CD, and I was long overdue to have it for my collection
Naif Agby & Orchestra - Dabke - National Dance of Lebanon - To feed the debke obsession I developed after this past weekend's workshop
Mohamed Iskandar - Al-Dabke - More debke-obsession-feeding.
Various Artists - Kanoun Around the World - I got this one kind of on a lark, it was $5, and I'm curious how a "Swedish Folk Dance" song sounds on the kanoun. (also, "Hava Nagila" on the Kanoun? Too unusual to pass up)
Salatin El Tarab Orchestra - Belly Dance With Hayat - The description on Holywood Music Center was, "Oud, Violin, Tabla, Kanoun and more" and I was sold, I love traditional instruments.
Setrak Sarkissian - Zikrayat Ranine, Vol. 16 - This one jumped out at me because it has several classics on it, in versions I don't think I already have.
Various Artists - Fairuziyat - Instrumental versions of classic Fairuz songs. I could listen to Fairuz all day long, but the instrumentals should be nice too.
Naif Agby & Orchestra - Bedouin Sahda - I was in the mood to add some extra Lebanese music to the mix.
Eddie "the Sheik" Kochak - Golden Hits - I don't care if he's cheesy or old-fashioned. I love his music! Plus, this CD has versions of both Zeina and Misirlou, and I always need new versions of the classics.
Samir Srour & Souher Zaki - Cairo Plus - I couldn't resist a compilation with Souhair Zaki's name on it. Especially since it contains a track marked "accordion solo", and I love accordions in oriental music.
Hamdi El-Khayyat - The Doom-Tek Project - The wide range of rhythms on this CD caught my eye, it seemed interesting for some diversity.
Hossam Ramzy - Ruby - This one has gotten some high praise on Bhuz, and I'm curious to hear what's inspiring everybody about it.
Saad - The Dance of My Heart - I seemed to have missed this one when it came out last year. I still listen to "Prince of Sha'abi" a lot, so I figured I'd enjoy picking up a little more of his stuff.
Khalil Abboud & Leyla Lanty - Golden Days, Enchanting Nights - I ordered Leyla Lanty's Arabic for dancers DVD, and tossed in her CD to get to free shipping on Amazon.
Also, I can't go to a workshop without buying a little something, so I came home with Everybody Yalla, a kind of Karim's "Greatest Hits". I have some of the songs on it already, but the rest of it is new to me.

I'm always open to suggestions, have any of you come across any great new CD's lately?

I sprained my brain in the drum class

2009-11-09T00:03:33-06:00

I am a complete and utter failure on the drum. I think in my head, "dum-dum-tek-tek", and what my hands actually do is flail in the vicinity of the drum. It was embarrassing. It got worse as the class went on because I got self-conscious, anxious, and flustered. and the more flustered i got, the worse my drumming got.

Despite my own shortcomings, I want to take more workshops with Karim. I learned so much this weekend!

I am sagat dyslexic

2009-11-08T12:40:23-06:00

I survived the finger cymbal workshop. I did not distinguish myself (in fact, my cymbal playing is pathetic) but I made it through without hurting myself or anyone else.

Andrea got a great picture of me and Karim, but I'm posting this one instead.

We have survived day #1

2009-11-07T16:19:22-06:00

Of course, I will be writing up my impressions of this workshop in the coming weeks, but in the mean time, I figured I'd give you all my first impressions:

- Karim is very, very funny.

- He is wearing a belt buckle shaped like a flying monkey from the Wizard of Oz.

- The workshop content is fantastic, and I am worn out from dancing.

- I want to dabke all the time.

I'm having a great time, I wish you all could be here with me.

We have pulled in to Carbondale

2009-11-06T21:30:31-06:00

And this hotel has the hugest headboards either of us have seen. Also, the wardrobe has a light in it.

Karim Nagi in Carbondale, IL - I'll be there

2009-11-05T20:30:05-06:00

I've been laying low on the dance front lately, but my good friend Andrea is getting me out into the dance world again!

Related to that, I have two important pieces of information to pass along:

I will be at the Karim Nagi workshop in Carbondale, IL this weekend (November 7-8, 2009 - Sponsored by Nile Breeze Dance Co) If you're reading this, and you'll be there, please come find me! On Saturday, I'll be wearing a black t-shirt with gold lettering, that says "Natalia" on the front, and has my website URL on the back. I plan to write up my workshop experience, so stay tuned! It has been a long time since my last workshop, so I am really looking forward to it!
Andrea, the wonderful friend who invited me to join her for the workshop this weekend, happens to be a costume importer, and goes to Egypt a couple of times a year to bring back fabulous costumes. Well, it just so happens that her website recently went live: Neenee's Imports. Take a look, I have bought some spectacularly beautiful pieces from her.

Hopefully, I will be seeing some of you this weekend, and stay tuned, you'll be seeing a little more of me around here.

I feel like a rock star

2009-01-27T10:10:00-06:00

Yesterday evening, I had my first experience being recognized. :)

I stopped by the library after work yesterday, and while waiting in line to check out my books, the woman behind me strikes up a conversation, and tells me how she found Egyptian-themed paper to create a scrapbook page from the library Cultural Connections show. It was then that I realized that she and her children had been in the audience at a show I had been a part of at the library, and she recognized me. I was memorable. I feel pretty awesome right now.

Is there a lipstick shortage in St Louis?

2009-01-26T16:29:11-06:00

The show Saturday night was fantastic, but I did notice something odd.

The stage at the Kirkwood community center is small, and the lights aren't nearly as big and bright as lights on a more formal theatrical stage. But even though they are smaller, these lights are closer to the dancer than the lights on a big stage, so the end result is the same: washed out makeup.

So why was it that several dancers Saturday night, all of whom had danced on that stage before and were familiar with the lights, wore daytime-shade colors of lipstick? Bright hollywood red lips go with every costume, and we are belly dancers, we shouldn't be afraid of dramatic makeup! But it was amazing to me how noticeable it was to see a beautiful dancer, in a beautiful costume, whose facial expressions looked vague and indistinct because they didn't seem to have much in the way of lips.

(I wore MAC Viva Glam I, which was recommended to me by Samira who is one of Dahlal's most often-used models. It's a little darker than the MAC Russian Red that I used to use, and I like the color better with my skin tone. I have visible lips in all of my pictures from that night.)

Not so oud-y anymore

2009-01-24T18:29:42-06:00

Aradia worked us much harder than I realized today! I felt good while we were in class and moving, but once I got home, I realized that choosing a song for tonight that involved shimmying for 4 minutes might be a bad choice considering how sore my legs already are. Oh well, it's a test of my performance skills, right?

Thankfully, my dress is heavily sequined, so even if my shimmies are fairly small, the stage lights reflecting off the sequins will make them visible.

Wish me luck!

Lunch break

2009-01-24T12:44:41-06:00

We're on lunch break, the first two hours of the workshop just flew by. Aradia is as sweet as can be, and she keeps the class moving really quickly. Also, I was reminded what great handouts she prepares.