Anarkali

Photo Series: "Persian Miniature vs. GDR Aesthetics" - excerpts

noreply@blogger.com (Isabella) — Sun, 24 May 2015 21:27:00 +0000

From my recent work with photographer Franziska Burkhardt a.k.a. Wald Füchsin.
This is a rather long post. Please feel encouraged to scroll down....

„PERSIAN MINIATURE vs. GDR“

Beauty as a reflection of the divine, the search for the light of Paradise and the perpetual oscillation between the joy of the here and now as well as the longing for dissolution in the infinite are characteristic of the poetic impetus of Persian art.

In order to underline this costumes and poses of Persian book illustration ("miniatures") were put into the surreal environments of industrial wasteland and GDR architecture.

The incongrousness between the model and the surroundings creates universal aesthetics beyond the alledged borders between Orient and Occident. The dancer tests and eventually transcends cultural, political and religious boundaries in the intuitive physical experience of dance.

From the 16 principles of urbanism, passed by the governement of the German Democratic Republic on July 27, 1950:

"Cities do no develop and exist 'per se'. Cities are predominantly build by the industry and for the industry."

The dancer, in contrast to the architecture, is not limited by space and time, but dissolves and re-creates it in the movement.

Architecture is history in itself, while the dancer is its thrown-into-existance equivalent. The myth of dance exists in its nature beyond history. Each conscious movement dwelling from emotion and artistic activity leads finally to a collision of history and myth, where art comes to existence and creativity and creation coincide.

"The growth of the city needs to be subordinated to the principle of utility and has to respect certain boundaries."

The city posseses space and spirit, and dance is spirit and space.

The city has a topography and a building which remains solidly in one place. It needs history and political change to wander around. The buildings, once firmly anchored in the GDR, have been transported by the stream of history, have changed their place in time and exist now in a different country.

The dancer, on the other side, takes her cultural and personal biography and unfolds it like a garden into the free areas and spaces, as if the Other did not exist.

"It is impossible to transform the city into a garden."

The materialist essence of Marxism understands culture as created and not as something which has developed. The creation of culture which denies nature and time has transformed into a garden of delights and mystical reveries. Like dance by itself grass breaks through the concrete and conquers Time and Truth. In this process the building is torn down and rebuilt by a dancer.

Music Picks: 33a - Kari Kris

noreply@blogger.com (Isabella) — Fri, 04 Jul 2014 15:17:00 +0000

My dearest readers may be puzzled both by the name of the band I chose for today and the title of the song, but please, follow me once again to the mythical land of Georgia...
33a is an Georgian folk rock band founded in Tbilisi in 1994. The musicians around Niaz Diasamidze combine Georgian folklore elements with pop and reggae and perform mainly in Georgian and French.
The name "33a" comes from the address — 33a, Paliashvili street, where the founder of the band Niaz lives.

I heard the song karis kris for the first time in a Georgian movie long before youtube made everything available I was fascinated by the modern interpretation of Galaktion Tabidze's poem "Whirles the Wind" ("Kari kris"). This poem is very melodic with many alliterations and its magical sound is rendered by the congenial translation by Innes Merabishvili, that I refer to here:

Whirls the Wind

Whirls the wind, whirls the wind, whirls the wind
And the leaves whirl from wind still to wind…
Rows of trees, lines of trees bend in arch,
Where art thou, where art thou, why so far?..
How it rains, how it snows, how it snows,
Where to find, where to find… Never know!
But pursued, but pursued by your eyes
All the time, everywhere, every time!..
Distant skies drizzle thoughts mixed with mist…
Whirls the wind, whirls the wind, whirls the wind!...

Enjoy!

Music picks: Hussain Al Jasmi: Boushret Kheir

noreply@blogger.com (Isabella) — Thu, 05 Jun 2014 16:41:00 +0000

Boushret Kheir mean "good omen". Good omen from Egypt? you may ask, if you follow the political and social struggles this country is going through at the moment. And the more you think about it the more you love this song. Because this is what is needed most in Egypt. Good news. People that stand together, dancing and laughing. People from all over Egypt, regardless of skin tone, political orientation and religion. Together. Dancing. Celebrating.
Hussain Al Jassmi is a singer from the United Arab Emirates. Lyrics with English translation here.

Music Picks: El Dey - Maria

noreply@blogger.com (Isabella) — Tue, 20 May 2014 17:37:00 +0000

Sun is shining today, summer feeling around, so my song you today is perfect for a summer night party at the beach.

El Dey (named after a part of Algeria's capital, the district "Hussein Dey") is a new band consisting of four really nice guys playing the guitar and singing since they went to college together. Their music is fresh and hilarious. A song bursting with optimism and the simple fun of doing something pleasant with some friends is a rare exception; the social, political and economic situation in Algerian is a desaster especially for young people.

The song Maria a mixture of Spanish and Algerian musical elements tells us the story you can easily understand from the video clip; a beautiful foreign girl comes around and the Algerian boy falls immediately in love with her; their story goes on via facebook, but he doesn't get the necessary visa to join her and she doesn't write anymore. As he is devastated his mother tells him to look at the beautiful girls from his quarter, and in fact he gets married and is happy.

This short tongue-in-cheek song tell a lot about the reality of young men in Algeria; dreams of going abroad and to leave the boredom of the own country ends when the family decides to get the lad married; in the end, what can a girl from abroad offer a girl from home doesn't have?

Read a short interview here.

Long time

noreply@blogger.com (Isabella) — Fri, 16 May 2014 13:16:00 +0000

Gosh, something has to happen to this blog! I realized that I did not post anything almost for a year now! Awwww, ok, I had a lot of work, finished my PhD thesis, took part in Helene Eriksen's dance project ANAR DANA, and so on. But enough with excuses. Now, let's go to work!
Ok, now two new projects I want to realize here, that will hopefully bring some movement to this sleeping blog.
ONE: As you all know my husband is from the beautiful country of Algeria, a land geographically not far from Europe, but very neglected from the rest of the western world. During our last trip I had the feeling that I could finally manage the language (after seven years of marriage it seems very late to me. But since my approach to languges is very academic, a language without a written base, with no dictionary to check was very difficult to grasp. With my notions of classical Arabic I had some clues, but it felt like being given a German grammar for somebody who wanted to learn Svedish), and finally have the impression that I could understand some of the things people are thinking and doing. At least a little bit better than before. So I will start a series of thoughts here in loose order, stay tuned!

Second, and this will defintely the fun part, I will share some of my oriental and folk music pickings, some old, some new, but worth to listen to (once again).

Have fun!

So, my picking for today is a cute, tongue-in-cheek modern interpretation of a very famous traditional Georgian folk song with beautiful dancing scenes with and without national costumes. The band's name is BANI, and I couldn't find out more than that, anyway, enjoy some fresh Georgian Popfolk!
BTW: The dance is called Lekuri, also known as Lezginka, a common dance in the whole Caucasian Area!

Joy of Dancing: Kazakh Folk Dance Kara Zhorga

noreply@blogger.com (Isabella) — Tue, 16 Jul 2013 20:03:00 +0000

Now that's great I spend every day a lot of time browsing through youtube and call it "research" ... My new love is a Kazakh folk dance called Kara Zhorga (Qara Jorğa - K'ara Zhorg'a - Қара Жорға). It has been nominated for inscription in 2013 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
One first example is a TV version featuring boys and girls in national garments:

From the description (read full text here):

... According to A.Ismailov “Kara-Zhorga is a dance that embodies a variety of nuances and techniques. It combines bellicosity and buffoonery, tender pace and mobility, speed and calm grace” [...] Kara-Zhorga dance reproduces a picture of a traditional horse competition called bayge. "... Traditionally village residents gather for a feast (called “toy” in Kazakh). Young and cheerful horsemen step out from the crowd and start dancing - bending their bodies slightly forward, harshly swinging with their whips and eagerly entering in rhythmic competition. Young horsemen move in circles, lines and diagonals, out run each other, demonstrating agility of a leap or an intricate hop. The dance imitates horserace – rhythmically sharp-cut hops from one foot to another and big leaps with curving of a body compose major dance technique. A sharp-cut, rough and springy folk tune of Kara-Zhorga dance and the movement that coincides with the horserace rhythm, gracefully merge into a single image of bold horsemen – called “zhigit” in Kazakh, who master equestrian skills with their finger tips” (Sarynova, 1976: 37).

National dress

Overall the dance shows the agility skills and cheerful enthusiasm of a horseman who fully masters the art of riding a horse. [...]

The first notes of Kara-Zhorga dance were taken by artist and choreographer Aubakir Ismailov in 1928 during the meeting with Akhtai Mamanov, chief of amateur-talent group based at Kazkomuna boarding school in Petropavlovsk (city in northern Kazakhstan). [...]

In the pictures are some contemporary national Kazakh costumes; how can you not love those oodles of fluffiness, ruffles and trumpet sleeves?

Performers in traditional Kazakhstan costume

Nowadays the dance is often performed at big social gatherings, celebration of festive events and even as a flashmob.

And some words about the spiritual meaning of the dance from the same document:

Researchers pay particular attention to initial sacral meaning of Kara-Zhorga, for the dance was mostly performed during “Shildekhana” ritual (feast in the name of newborn). Therefore Kara-Zhorga performance is closely linked with the time of child’s first initiation to the World, his/her acquaintance with the family and surrounding society. This period of human life along with the spiritual initiation and obsequies played most important role in nomadic culture.

Performing Kara-Zhorga for a newborn child aimed at introducing him/her with nomadic lifestyle, life on top of a horse. The tempo of the dance is sought to transmit the nomad’s main attitude to the reality of life; it sets up principal direction for future life of a newborn – meaning the way forward despite the obstacles, way of optimism and mobility. Moreover, performanc e of Kara-Zhorga bears purification and protective properties for both the child and the audience present. Appearing as a ritual and spiritual act, Kara-Zhorga gradually started to inherit characteristics of every day life. Owing to its deep semantic and symbolic meaning, Kara-Zhorga has been very popular among people over a long period of time, gradually acquiring new distinctive properties and styles.

Nowadays, Kara-Zhorga dance embodies the brightest features of Kazakh people and modern Kazakhstan, like – courage, vitality, musicality and mobility harmoniously intertwined with the scenery of beautiful and vast steppes.

The whole thing looks like lots of fun if danced in a group among friends. On a more artistic level Kazakh ethnic dance presents all the finesse of Oriental stage dances with opulent costumes, delicate hand movements and hazardous backbends, as featured it this video by the magical Uighur dancer Dilnar Abdullah:

Sayat Nova or Synesthetic Cinematography

noreply@blogger.com (Isabella) — Mon, 24 Jun 2013 21:05:00 +0000

Sofiko Chiaureli in Sayat Nova - The Colour of the Pomegranates (1968)

Almost impossible to describe is the nostalgic and aethereal feeling of the works of the Soviet Armenian cinematographer Sergei Parajanov (1924-1990). Archetypes of the collective memory of the Caucasus between Byzantine Icons, Persian poetry and early 20th century décadence, put together in dream-like sequences of exceptional beauty. The extremely slow movements of the characters are meticulously choregraphed into a almost mute dance, imbued in the deep sorrow of purple drops of pomegranate juice on ancient cloth.

Watch the entire movie in its full beauty here.
With these magic pictures in mind I am working when I prepare some Georgian dishes...
Eggplants in Nut Sauce
Cut 1 kg of eggplants into slices, leave them with some salt on the surface for 40 min in order to let them loose some water, fry in vegetable oil, put aside.
Cut in a mixer 1/2 onion, 3 garlic cloves, 200g of walnuts, 1 cup of fresh coriander leaves, 1/2 cup of flat-leaved parsley, 2 tablespoons of fresh dill, 2 tablespoons of white vinegar, salt, pepper and turmeric powder, eventually adding some water.
Coat the eggplant slices from both sides, fold in half, decortate with pomegranate seeds, serve with white bread.
Enjoy.

Get that Groove: Oum from Marocco

noreply@blogger.com (Isabella) — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 15:58:00 +0000

A star is born in the Maghreb! It had been years since we have been waiting for a great female singer from Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco, and from Morocco comes the new star, brand new and brilliant, A star is born in heaven Maghreb! It had been years since we were expecting a great female singer from Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco, and Morocco that is a real diamond happens to us, brand new and brilliant, unexpected multifaceted reflections - and not just a desert rose!

Umm does not sing only Moroccan music, or necessarily North African music, but like others before her, such as Charaï or Mamya Sophia she takes great pleasure in singing jazz in her Moroccan dialect, and in all kinds of rhythms or tunes - from Brazil, the Caribbean, India or even the Sahara nearby - all that pass through her head.

Morocco is surprisingly modern in some ways, and finally this modernity is expressed in music. There was the "women's liberation movement" in the '70s, and with this disc Oum signs the consecration of the "liberation movement of the song in the Maghreb," a region remained less affected by new experiences mixing music, as did countries like Lebanon or Turkey for example.

Umm insolently borrowed her name from "the star of the East" that was Oum Kalthoum by not suspecting anything! She also humbly placed herself in the footsteps of her grandmothers, great-grandmothers and all women singing songs in the evening in villages in Morocco and elsewhere in the Sahara and the Maghreb, women that she honors in her work, not as forgotten treasures, but as living treasures.

Magnificently accompanied great artists such as saxophonist Alain Debiossat, guitarist Patrick Guyanese Mary Magdalene, Cuban bassist Damian Nueva Cortes, or Jean-Luc Fillon oboe. Oum, (the Moroccan public knows already two albums), makes here a big entry on the international music scene. Listen only "Taragalte" ... Information about her upcoming concerts on Facebook ...

Translated and adapted from a French article by Nadia Khoury-Dagher, published here.
Picture credits here.
OUM, «Soul of Morocco», MDC/Distrib. Harmonia Mundi

«Taragalte» : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=297klwcKKmI

«Whowa» : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iD08xUDixgk

www.facebook.com/oum.officialpage

Tutorial: Serouel M'douar - Algerian Urban Costume

noreply@blogger.com (Isabella) — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 18:10:00 +0000

So this part of the costume, the pants, are really easy, but it took me ages to find that out, because I couldn't find any desriptions of the cut of these particular pants (serouel in Algerian) that I never happened to see with my own eyes - all I had were photographs.

The name - serouel m'douar - could have been a useful hint, if I had asked somebody. So the meaning of the name (m'douar means nothing else than "round") became clear to me after a couple of samples that I had tried to make. So here's the description.

You need upholstery fabric which is usually around 3 meters wide. Or you sew a piece which is at least twice as wide as the required length of your serouel (Does that make sense? Lenght: approx 1m; width 2-3m. It depends, how volouminous your serouel should look like and it depends of course on the characteristics of the fabric, stiif or soft, thick or thin).

Now fold your fabric twice.

Cut out a quarter of a circle, or, if your serouel, like in this case, is longer than wide then the waist is the broadest part and the pants become slimmer towards the ankles in a rounded shape. A small piece between the feet is alredy united.

If you unfold the fabric now you should have a

two semicircular pieces eventually connected on the rounded side.

Pleat the waist, or simply gather it (pleats look less bulky).

Se the side seams and leave generous holes where you feet should go (leave at least 40 cm between them, otherwise you will not be able to walk!)

Almost done. Waistband and hem at the feet are still missing, but the idea is clear.

Algerian Urban Costume Step 1: Research

noreply@blogger.com (Isabella) — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 08:55:00 +0000

It is one of the worst of my habits not to finish one project before starting the next one... so here I am again.

My fingers have been itching a long time for this and since the other dancing ladies have expressed their interest to work on Algerian Andalusian Dance I am heading to this adventure right now.

The costume-to-be should represent the festive attire of a high-class lady from Algier roughly in the middle of the 19th century in order to create a choreography on classical Algerian Andaloussi Music (explanation will follow...)

The fabulous book of Leyla Belkaid: Costumes d'Algerie, Edtions du Layeur, Paris 2003 offers deep historical explanations and many historical photographs related to this issue.

Below are a couple of variations of a late 19th- early 20th century style of indoor clothing.

The first part to explore were the trousers. This particular style is called "serouel m'douar" and is used also nowadays with a slightly different silhouette; as modern ladies want to look more slim they use less and more delicate fabric.

For the historical garments thick and heavy jaquard textiles have been used for the trousers, most probably silk. Nowadays you can use upholstery fabric which has similar characteristics and is relatively cheap.
And here you can see a modern serouel m'douar:

(picture credit: here.)

In the next post I will show you how to sew such a serouel.

Afghan Jewellery: or the Beauty of Archaic Art

noreply@blogger.com (Isabella) — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 15:41:00 +0000

There is something so alluring and feminine about Afghan Jewellery. Since discovered by the Hippie movement no festival and no Indian Summer can be imagined without it. The heavy and still elegant pieces can easily combined with any kind of western urban chic to unleash the gipsy princess within...

I am so happy thet I found the webshop of saneens where you can order all kind of Aghan jewellery, but also Antiques and traditional Afghan garments (there will be an extra post on these, stay tuned!).

I can only recomend this shop, they ship worldwide and really fast, plus they have a super friendly customer service in English .. just ask then anything!

Plus ... shhhh, this is our secret ;-) ... they offer a special discount for all Anarkali readers.

Use this coupon code at the ceckout to save 10% on you order!!

CI7622LNL3B6

Are you still here? What are you waiting for! Rush to www.saneens.com!

Pendant with metal tassels

Earrings with small bells and coloured glass beads

Adornment for braids, can als be used as rings

Tikka of forehead adornement

Lapislazuli bangle

Bracelets

Bracelets and headpiece

Picture credits: pictures 1, 3, 5, 6 from saneens.com

Putting Things into Order ...

noreply@blogger.com (Isabella) — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 09:38:00 +0000

... is not my favourite issue. But thinking of my two blogs I had to make a small correction. I have moved everything oriental dance related to Anarkali, which is also my dance nickname. So from now on you will find all my musings about costume making here. On Saffron Yellow I will put everything which is not dance related, my other crafting activities and the mummy related things. So if you are interested... just follow both of them!

On Reconstructing: What is "Authentic" in Ethnic Dance?

noreply@blogger.com (Isabella) — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 09:31:00 +0000

Now that the Kalbeliya costume is finally finished I have collected so many ideas in my head that I am working now not on one "historical" costume, but on two simultaneously.

(N.B.: Rereading this article I have the impression to have written an anti-tribal-fusion statement. I do not at all disrespect any kind of fusion work, on the contrary, it has it's own charm and is an artform in itself! But it has a totally different background than what I am trying to do in this moment.)

When I say "historical" costume this means that I do an accurate research on a specific region and a certain time period. Then I usually choose a whole outfit that I try to reproduce including accessoires like headpieces, shoes and jewellery. On this base I choose the matching music to form a dance out of that.
But when it comes to reconstruction there are a lot of different levels of historical accuracy to follow. How much must my work adhere to them?

Thinking of my next projects these are the questions I posed to myslf and also how to answer them for myself - regarding only my own work right now. I do not want to make any absolute judgements, I just want to clear my ideas in order to achieve a round and coherent outcome!

Modern version of a traditional Algerian costume - from a magazine of the famous Algerian Designer Samira Bezaouia Sadek

Can I mix pieces of different outfits?
The answer is difficult. As documentary material may be scarce I will be forced to invent something in any case. BUT - and this is crucial for me - I want to have a coherent work, this means, that if I borrow pieces (and, when it comes to dances, movements) from another, similar source, I want to make sure that the pieces will not loose their initial meaning by being put into an alien surrounding. This may sound really cryptic. I mean, that the pieces should match and should not be used out of their context regarding religion, social strata and regional peculiarity. So I would not combine, e.g. a peasant woman's apron with an urban headpiece.
Mixing signs of different religious or ethnic communities is not only a sign of a certain ignorance; it might even be regarded as an insult to a member of those. So be very careful with eclectic compositions and have always your audience in mind.
The gender aspect is also very important in non westernized societies. Although I see a certain shift in contemporary ethnic stage dance and costuming (e. g. in some of the new pieces of the sukhilshvilebi from Georgia) I'd rather leave those challenges of their own society to them. As an outsider I can never be sure what denotation it will create on the indigenous audience.
Whenever we approach and try to appropriate a different culture we should be very careful not to destroy the whole systems of meanings that holds it, otherwise we risk to act not only out of ignorance but in a colonialistic way.
This is what I mean by "authentic".

I know this sound sooo conservative! But where is my free artistic expression?! you may ask.

I find a lot of it even in this cautious approach. Some of the freedom comes simply out of material renouncement. I adore, for example, handloomed textiles, and love the very few scarfs that I own. But historical garments need a lot more fabric than our modern ones. And I would have to order them from India, and that is pricey. So, in this case I am very relaxed. I use modern, even synthetic, fabrics when I think they match the styling. I use my sewing machine, I use zippers, fabric glue, faux pearls, acrylic beads, glitter, and so on.
And I also adopt and combine modern crafting techniques which are completely non related to the historical background of a costume. So on a balkan style coat I will put not only the traditional gold work, but also holographic sequins and Japanese inspired Kanzashi flowers.

Random material for goldwork on an velvet coat

Last not least the music I like to use gives me the directions, how to incorporate modern techniques into an authentic dance costume and piece.

These are so far the limitations I put on myself for my work right now. And after that - I will probably make a completely crazy fusion thing! :-)

What is your opinion about all that? Please share!

Completed! The Kalbelia Adventure

noreply@blogger.com (Isabella) — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 09:29:00 +0000

I can't believe it. The Kalbelia costume is ready - after months of stitching and using up kilometers of trims. You can see the humble beginnings here.

But now step by step - if you plan to make a costume like this yourself. Actually this costume was not very expensive in materials - I used very simple things that you can even find in your stash. But it was probably the most time-consuming project I ever made.

You need for the skirt:

2 (!) 3-tiers circular cotton skirts

The skirt you can see in the first post is actually only the first half of what I made. Then I realized that the skirt had to be wider so that it swirls beautifully.

Lots (!) of trims and ribbons. Cheap satin ribbons are the best. I cannot name the exact amount I used, but I used at least 25m of each colour.

Eventually some repurposed fabric in bright colours - in this case for the blue stripes on the skirt and the yellow pieces on the shirt with the cut-out diamonds.

In my first post I explained how I cut out the diamonds - actually a second time I'd probably first cut the diamonds out and add the white rickrack trim with hand stitches first before stitching it on the skirt with the machine. But it works both ways.
The sequins have been glued on the skirt with fabric glue - you could sew them as well, of course, but I didn't want to spend much time.

Then you'll need an already existing cotton blouse. I added some more length with some more cloth - this is optional.
The microbeaded stripes were the most expensive parts of the costume. Maybe I'll try to make them myself one day, beadweaving shouldn't be that complicated. The patterns are simple and you can make those stripes using a beadloom or even without.
The veil is made of very simple synthetic organdy and I just I added a silver fringed trim and a green ribbon for contrast.
So this is the result of months of research, and of stitching. We are just waiting for the next performance!

Tutorial: Chinese Inspired Headpiece

noreply@blogger.com (Isabella) — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 09:27:00 +0000

The last dance I created was a chinese inspired ribbon dance - I made it for a dance show of my dear friend and colleague Claudina; she just launched her fabulous veil dance instuctional DVD (view the trailer here!) and so I decided to do something that could match the program.
So the dance and the costume were more or less ready, and I wanted to add some more 'bling' to the quite simple dress. I did some research how to make the base for the headpiece; it has to look somehow like this:

So cut out the plastic base and bond it together with masking tape. Sometimes you can even use a tennis cap turned upside down. As you will cover it with fabric later it doesn't matter if the masking tape is visible.
After that cut the fabric generously in the shape of the base and glue it on the surface. Then fold the fabric along the edges and glue the overlap on the back side. Keep the fabric in place with pins and let dry.

Now the most tricky part is done and you just have to glue or stitch the decoration on the base. The pieces dangeling from the temples are made of earrings with some red tassels. The golden lace balls are a part of christmas decoration. I made Kanzashi flowers with fabric scarps from the costume and added also some fabric orchids and severy jewellery pieces. I can only recommend the Kanzashi flower makers from Clover. They are cheap and so easy to use, you can't go wrong! Fabric yoyos are also very easy to make and look gorgeous in the ensemble.

A broad elastic strap holds the crown on the head. If you do backbends make sure that you secure it additionally with bobby pins.

Tutorial: Qawwali Caps

noreply@blogger.com (Isabella) — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 09:25:00 +0000

Ready to go - here are the six Qawwali Dance Caps for my dear friends from the Indo-German Dance Duo Srijan. It was not easy to create those caps from the scratch, so I will show you now the most important steps so that you can avoid the mistakes I made on the way!
First we had to choose a model for the cap.
The Qawwali cap for women is modelled on the shape of the taqiyah cap for men - a traditional (prayer) cap worn by observant muslims. There are different shapes with different names all over the muslim world, but they are variations of the small short rounded prototype.
We chose a model with an oval base and two points, with an ostrich feather.

So the most tricky thing was to find the exact basic shap. Since the center is oval i cannot give you any directions how to calculate the exact pattern. And probably it is more simple if you measure the circumference of your head ar the point you want to wear the capwith a paper strip and then to try to draw an oval shape that has the circumference of the same length like the strip.

I had to throw away the first set of ovals because I just drew them from my imagination and the caps were then way to small!
The second batch worked quite well.
Now you have the base.
You can line it and glue some other fabric remnant on the wrong side. Or you just leave it unlined, that depends on the fabric and on how stiff you want the cap to be (you can stiffen it later, too).

Then comes the most funny part: decorating!!
Grasp everything shiny and glittering you find in your stash or in the dollar store.
Earrings, feathers, ribbons. Exspecially around christmas you can find great metallic ribbons for almost no money.
Add hotfix stones (not in the picture) and GLUE!

I couldn't glue the metallic trim, so I had to sew it, but glueing will save you a lot of time.
Then the feathers: Unite a youple of them to a bunch and fix it with maskin tape. Make now a small pocket of the same tape, but inverse in order to insert the featers here. Hide the pocket behind a "jewel". You can also glue the feathers here right away, but I wanted them to be detachable. You never know how you will transport your cap, and after a performance maybe you just want to toss it into your suitcase.

Now add all the other decorations you want. Nip off superfluous rings from the metal pieces.
And glue!

For the final shape of the cap use some cheap, sticky hair spray. Spray abundantly on the inside of the cap and while wet, mould it into the right shape.
Finally add a thin elstic strap to secure the cap on your head, eventually use also some bobby pins.
Done!!

Kalbelia Costume I: Needs a Lot of Patience

noreply@blogger.com (Isabella) — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 09:23:00 +0000

For an upcoming workshop of Kalbelia dance I threw myself into sewing a costume.

The skirt is the central piece as the dance is full of whirling and spinning (see the first picture).

With a readymade dance skirt from Hongkong purchased from here, lots of ribbons from my stock and some fabric to recycle the adveture began:

The diamonds are cut out from the fabric and basted. A narrow white ribbon will cover the edges later.

Many many hours later: lots of greens and blues. Red, yellow and white will follow....

Archaic Beauty: A Kosovar Wedding in the Village of Donje Ljubinje

noreply@blogger.com (Isabella) — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 15:49:00 +0000

These pictures have been shown around the blogsphere quite a while but still I feel I have to share them - they look like from a fairy tale or another world.

Bosnian bride Senita Demirovic has her face painted on her wedding day for a traditional ceremony in the village of Donje Ljubinje, Kosovo.

Donje Ljubinje is situated in the Shar mountains that form the border between Kosovo and

Macedonia. The inhabitants call themselves 'Torbesh'.

Pictures by Valdrin Xhemaj. Credits: here.

If you want to be in a dream for a couple of minutes watch here:

A Winter Romance - Three gifts for Cinderella

noreply@blogger.com (Isabella) — Wed, 26 Dec 2012 17:57:00 +0000

Winter, snow, christmas. This almost perfect triad needs only a small addition, which in my opinion is the classical fairytale movie "Three Wishes for Cinderella" (Tři oříšky pro Popelku), a czech-german co-production from 1973.

This edition of the Grimms brothers fairytale is so appealing to me not only because we almost the same age, but I adore its freshness and the vivid characters.
A Cinderella that doesnt need to wait for her prince to find her, but a Cinderella that rides on horseback and shoots with the crossbow like a devil, outsmarts her stepmother with wit and charms, and still remains so lovely and captivating.

So this year I indulged again in Cinderellas beautiful and enchanting images that do not need any special effects to create some magic so modest that it could happen everyday.
So do not ever give in when life plays pranks on you sometimes. Do not loose faith and believe. Magic is everywhere for those who have not forgotten to be innocent like a child.

Watch Cinderella on youtube - unfortunately I couldnt find a proper English version. Here is one with an English voiceover.

However if you are lucky enough to understand some German do not miss this fanpage: http://3hfa.jimdo.com/

Picture credits: here and here.

eL Seed: Calligrafitti } Street Art Meets the Arab Revolution

noreply@blogger.com (Isabella) — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 11:08:00 +0000

Born and raised in France from Tunisian parents he always felt a strong connection to his arab-african roots. From here his decision to study Classical Arabis and then Arabic Calligraphy. He now infuses his culture into art, i.e. Arabic into Graffitti.

The Classical Arabic calligraphy has a lot in common with modern days grafitti - it plays with letters, distorts them in every way but still the message is at the center. With one very prominent difference: The authos in calligraphy steps behind his work which promulgates mostly quotations from the Quran.

eL Seed’s ‘Calligraffiti’ on Tunisia’s tallest minaret

"This “Calligraffiti” is the product of a double marginality, that of an oriental artist seeking a voice in the occidental world and that of street art struggling to legitimize its presence in the contemporary art scene. This duality enables the reconciliation of two supposedly opposing worlds and two supposedly clashing cultures. eL Seed no longer tags his name on walls, deciding instead to adopt a proverbial tradition in which the art, not the artist, is the sole focus."
Read more in interviews here and here.
Picture credits here and here.

Joy of Dancing: Bihu from Assam

noreply@blogger.com (Isabella) — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 10:44:00 +0000

picture credits: here.

The Rongali Bihu is the festival of the Assamese New Year which falls in mid-April. It also marks the arrival of Assamese New Year(around April 15). Through this festival, which stretches for several days, the Assamese people welcome the season of seed sowing and pray for a great harvest. During the festival Bihu dance is performed by both young men and young women. The dance is performed accompanied by Bihu folk music based on love theme which are generally dominated by men, though there are songs that are sung by women as well, Bihu dance is characterized by quick dance movements, swift hand steps and rhythmic swaying of the hips.The dance is performed on folk songs known as Bihu Songs. Pepa a flute made of buffalo horns), dhol (a drum), tala (a cymbal), gogona (a bamboo instrument) and toka (a bamboo clapper) are the instruments used in these songs. Different tribes have made slight variation in the dance and have named it after their tribe like Garo Bihu Dance, and Khasi Bihu Dance.
The movements of the Bihu dance draw from many traditions - Indo-Aryan, Austro-Asiatic and Sino-Burmese.

picture credit: here.

In the picture above girls are dancing with colourful straw hats called jaapi. Jaapi (Assamese: জাপি) is a traditional Assamese headgear or hat of Assam, India. Jaapi is made of tightly woven bamboo and/or cane and tokou paat (Trachycarpus martianus) a large palm leaf. Simpler hats are worn by the farmers for protection from the sun.

Gaamkharu is a traditional Assamese ornament used by female bihu dancers made of Silver.

The costume of the male dancers is called dhoti and gamocha. Women wear Chadar Mekhale, two pieces of fabric draped around the body. Usually it is made of one of the very appreciated Assamese silks or of cotton with woven geometrical patterns. Read an amazing article on the silk production in Sualkuchi here.

picture credit: here.

sources: here, here and here.

Pictures by Edgar Nolte.
I have tried to learn this dance, above you can se some snaps from a performance.

View some beautiful bihu songs and dance videos:

Afghanistan Everywhere: Grand Bazaar

noreply@blogger.com (Isabella) — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 07:49:00 +0000

Irresistible.
credits:
Photography by Begum Yetis
Styling by Dilara Fındıkoglu
Hair by Tayfun Kaydok
Makeup by Ufuk Celep
Model Kat Cordts @ Joy Models Istanbul

found via: theones2watch

So African, so Ethical, so Chic: Fabric Jewellery from Toubab Paris

noreply@blogger.com (Isabella) — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 18:10:00 +0000

Jewellery from Paris, made in Africa.
TOUBAB PARIS is the brainchild of Maud Villaret. Africa has alsways been a wonderful source of inspiratioon for her, where now the fabrics (wax) come from that she uses in her unique créations. All pieces are made by hand from local artisans in Burkina Faso. Her ethical approach coinvolves also centers for disabled workers in France as well as the association "Caravansérail Developpement" that offers help to socially and economically challenged immigrant women.
Have a look at the blog for the latest news!
Buy the products here.

Joy of Dancing: Anar Dana DVD Release

noreply@blogger.com (Isabella) — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 10:57:00 +0000

It arrived yesterday ... and I just had to flip through the beautiful dances of the DVD to soak in the beauty immediately... like a yummy variety of fruits on a silver tray there are traditional and little know dances from a large number of places between North Africa and India, either performed by the Anar Dana group or by Helene herself, in carefully handsewn costumes - a feast for every lover of authentic dances of the East!
Featuring dances from:
Baluchistan, Rajasthan, Algeria, Georgia, Armenia, Turkey, Iran, the West Sahara, Morocco and Kurdistan.
I have written in a previous post about my beloved teacher Helene Eriksen and I simply can not get enough of her art!
If you love traditional Eastern dancing don't miss this opportunity, you can order the DVD at: mail@helene-eriksen.de.

Joy of Dancing: Two Performances in One Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Isabella) — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 10:29:00 +0000

This weekend I was really lucky. I performed Saturday at the opening vernissage for the exhibition of the lovely paintings of Djamilia Hergenreder at the Frauenzentrum Weimar.

Djamilia is a wonderful painter and such a sweet person. On the pics you see me performing classical Persian dance from the Qajjar period. The little plates on the second picture are "played" with thimbles. Unfortunately my little daughter lost one of them somewhere playing, so I had to fabricate something with a ring and a rubber band to make a sound also with my right middle finger ;-) But it worked out well.

The second performance was with the "faires Frühstück", a breakfast with biological and fair traded goods to rise awareness for the circumstances of the production and trade of our daily food.

We were welcomed with fair traded roses, had a yummy biological buffet and a lot of other treats!

The main theme was "India" So I performed folklore dances from Gujarat, Rajasthan and Assam.

The whole morning we broadcasted live from the terrace - with lots of Indian music!!

The Radio Team on the terrace.

Bihu dance from Assam.

But performing on the flint (!!) was terrible... my feet still itch when I look at the pics!

But everything was so nice, we had such a supportive audience and this made me forget everything :-)