I am very happy to share my latest venture with you today.
A few months ago Kyria of the Netherlands contacted me (and several other dancers) to collaborate on a great project: We were asked to each send input for a set of free(!) printable affirmation cards for belly dancers, to help inspire and motivate in dance, dance practice, and life.
Using affirmations is a powerful and easy way to create 'positive input' for yourself, and it can have motivational effects that last throughout your day.
I used to write my affirmations down into my journal, to start my dance days 'right', but now I simply use the cards we've created physically by printing out the sheet, cutting out the individual affirmations and including them into my journal pages.
We've created a digital treasure hunt so you get to visit every dancer's page to see how they used the affirmation cards and download their PDF file. There are five sheets of affirmations waiting for you to get started!
Check out the other dancer's belly dance affirmation sheets and websites below, as well as Kyria's Blog for tips on how to create a beautiful 'card deck' out of them.
Kyria
Falling in love with the music and movements of belly dance is what
got Kyria started, inspiring her students by teaching belly dance is
what keeps her going. She is available for classes, workshops and
performances in the Utrecht area in The Netherlands. After teaching
weekly classes for over a decade she figured it was time to reach out to
dancers all over the world and offer resources to students, teachers
and performers on www.bellydanceresources.com. Her first Kickstarter
for Belly Dance Practice Dice will go live in February 2017.
Andalee is an Oriental dancer and instructor from Durham, North
Carolina, now based in Montpellier, France. Her dance style is based in
Egyptian belly dance and American Cabaret belly dance. Her mission is to
promote belly dance as a respected and valid performance art. She
teaches her students that belly dance is truly accessible to anyone by
exploring the different techniques and styles of belly dance. In 2013,
Andalee founded Belly Dance at Any Size after learning about
size-acceptance and Health at Every Size. The website is a resource for
building self-esteem and a positive body image for belly dancers.
Khalida is a multi-award winning professional belly dance performer
and instructor, born in Belgium and living in Germany. She currently
offers personal coaching, instructional dvd’s and workshops as well as
high-quality performances. In August 2017 she hosts the first Movespiration
congress in Wurselen, Germany. The goal of this weekend is to share her
biggest discoveries, learnings and inspirations of the past year(s) in
dance and movement in the form of a 2-day movement and dance intensive,
featuring guest classes/workshops from teachers from different movement
disciplines/arts, as well as personalized (belly)dance technique and movement guidance.
Mao Murakami is the founder of a DIY belly dance costume website, Sparkly Belly, where belly dancers can learn to sew and DIY their own costumes, even if they are new to sewing!
She turned her love of belly dance and costumes into one website,
empowering belly dancers with sewing and DIY skills, and help them feel beautiful and confident on stage. What’s belly dancing without sparkly costumes that celebrate your uniquely beautiful body?
Check out her free tutorials (65 of them and counting!) at SparklyBelly.com.
International performer, workshop instructor, and
choreographer, Zahra is world renowned for her knowledge, authenticity,
and dedication to the art of Middle Eastern dance. Raised in raqs sharqi
from a young age, Zahra is known for her musicality and classic,
elegant style. She is the artistic director of PoNaNa Dance Theatre
(loosely meaning a blend of many things) and has written and
choreographed productions intertwining Arabian tales and dance, since
1997. Los Angeles, California has been Zahra’s home base since 1984,
where she has been one of LA’s most esteemed teachers for many years.
Her always-evolving style keeps students, old and new, coming back for
more.
This is a post for background information, pictures, videos and links
to go with the 'Raqs Sharki 1-2-3: Time traveling with Egyptian Stars'
workshop series, a series I'll be teaching in the Netherlands (2016) and
Denmark (2017) in the near future.
Here you'll find part 1: Favourites of the Fourties/Fifties.
About the workshop series - Raqs Sharki 1-2-3 This workshop
series takes you on a journey in time with the great dancers of then and
now. It can be taught as one combined workshop or split up into 3
separate sessions of maximum 3 hours each.
Raqs sharki 1 – ‘Favourites of the fifties’ –
Contains combinations and techniques inspired by the legendary dancers
of Egypt like Samia Gamal, Naima Akef, Nadia Gamal and Taheya Carioca.
Raqs sharki 2 – ‘Stars of the seventies’ – Inspired by famous Egyptian dancers from the 60-80s like Suheir Zaki, Nagua Fouad and Fifi Abdo.
Raqs sharki 3 – ‘Modern legends’ – Contains informationa about, and techniques and combinations inspired by the famous dancers of this age
Part 1 - Favourites of the Fourties/Fifties Taheya Cariokka
TAHEYA CARIOKKA was born in 1915. She was discouraged from performing as a dancer by her family.
Due to family
differences that could not be settled with her father and brothers, she
moved to Cairo to stay with an old neighbour, Suad Mahasen, a night
club owner and an artist.
Tahiya had asked several times for employment
in Suad's nightclub but Suad refused to employ her due to the
disreputability of working at a night club. However, many of Suad's
associates and friends became acquainted with Tahiya through various
visits to Suad's home. They all advised Suad to add her to one of the
shows as a chorus girl but still she refused. Soon, Tahiya was mentioned
to Badia Masabni,
the owner of Casino Opera, one of the most prominent nightclubs of the
time.
Badia offered a position in her troupe to Tahiya. Tahiya accepted
and was given the stage name Tahiya Mohamed. She soon began gaining
popularity as a solo dancer and as she became more experienced she
learned a popular Samba dance from Brasil at the time called the
Karioka.
After that she became known as Tahiya Karioca. Tahiya began
starring in movies during what is dubbed as the Egyptian
film industry's "Golden Age".
She was a talented dancer, singer, and
actress. In 1972, the film “Watch out for Zouzou”, starring Soad Hosni with Tahiya performing the supporting role, was released to become the biggest box- office hit in Egyptian cinema to date.
(Source: Wikipedia)
Taheya performing different dance styles in a new year's celebration:
SAMIA GAMAL was born in 1924 as Zaynab Ibrahim Mahfuz in the small Egyptian town of Wana. Her family moved just months later to Cairo and settled near the Khan El-Khalili bazaar.
It was many years later that Samia Gamal met Badia Masabni, the founder of modern Oriental dance.
Badia offered Samia an invitation to join her dance company, which
Samia accepted. Badia Masabni gave her the stage name Samia Gamal, and
she began her dance career.
At first, she studied under Badia and Badia's star dancer at the time, Tahiya Karioka.
However she soon became a respected soloist and brought forth her own
style.
Samia Gamal incorporated techniques from ballet and Latin dance
into her solo performances. She was also the first to perform with
high-heeled shoes on stage. She starred in dozens of Egyptian films next
to the famous Farid Al Attrach.
NAIMA AKEF (October 1929 – 23 April 1966) was a famous Egyptianbelly dancer during the Egyptian cinema's golden age and starred in many films of the time. Naima Akef was born in Tanta on the Nile Delta.
Her parents were acrobats in the Akef Circus (run by Naima’s
grandfather), which was one of the best known circuses at the time.
She
started performing in the circus at the age of four, and quickly became
one of the most popular acts with her acrobatic skills. Her family was
based in the Bab el Khalq district of Cairo, but they traveled far and
wide in order to perform.
The circus disbanded when Naima was 14, but this was only the beginning
of her career. Her grandfather had many connections in the performance
world of Cairo and he introduced her to his friends. When Naima’s
parents divorced, she formed an acrobatic and clown act that performed
in many clubs throughout Cairo.
She then got the chance to work in Badia Masabni's
famous nightclub, where she became a star and was one of the very few
who danced and sang. Her time with Badeia, however, was short-lived, as
Badia favored her, which made the other performers jealous.
One day they
ganged up on her and attempted to beat her up, but she proved to be
stronger and more agile and won the fight. This caused her to be fired,
so she started performing elsewhere.
(Source: Wikipedia)
MAHMOUD REDA, born in 1930, is a pioneer of dance theater in Egypt. He is best known for co-founding the Reda Troupe.
He was the eighth of ten children and his father was the head librarian at Cairo University. His older brother Ali was a dancer and through his influence (and that of Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire films) Mahmoud became interested in dance.
Mahmoud Reda originally trained as a gymnast, representing Egypt in the 1952 Summer Olympics
in Helsinki. He attended Cairo University where he received a degree in
Political Economics.
However, his main interest was dance and he joined
an Argentinian dance troupe after graduating and toured Europe. While on tour in Paris he resolved to start his own dance troupe back
in Egypt, but due to lack of funds he had to work as an accountant for Royal Dutch Shell.
He joined the Heliolido Club in Cairo where he met Anglo-Egyptian baladi dancer Farida Fahmy who became his dancing partner. After the two performed in the Soviet Union in 1957 they decided to start a folk dancing troupe in Egypt with Ali Reda.
(source: Wikipedia)
As a soloist, choreographer and director, Mahmoud
Reda made four world tours to 58 countries with his troupe. He performed
on the world's most prestigious stages such as Carnegie Hall (New York,
USA), Royal Albert Hall (London, UK), Congress Hall (Berlin, Germany),
Stanislavsky & Gorky Theaters (Moscow, USSR), Olympia (Paris,
France) and the United Nations (New York & Geneva). The Reda Troupe
has performed for many world leaders and Heads of states.
Mahmoud
Reda draws from techniques of jazz, ballet, Hindu dance and folkloric
dance from the USSR. His work has shaped and influenced what is known
today as Oriental Dance (Raks Sharki). Many former troupe members
include master teachers Raqia Hassan, Momo Kadous, Mo Geddawi and Yousry
Sharif
Reda Troupe - Egyptian folklore (Halawet Samsnenah)
Mahmoud Reda and Farida Fahmy - Workshop in Hungary, 2009:
Bonus dancer: Katie Fotsaty
KATIE/Katy/Kitty Fotsaty was born in Alexandria in 1927 to Greek parents, and was famous for fusing Western style dancing with the Oriental style. She danced in nearly 50 films but left the country in 1960 in mysterious circumstances.
ZEINAT OLWY, whose stage name was Zurah, (1930-1988) was one of the leading belly dancers in Egypt in the middle of the twentieth century. She appeared in many movies from the Egyptian Golden Age of cinema. One of her most famous performances was in Henry Barakat's 1955 movie Ayyam wa layali - Days and Nights
(Source: Wikipedia)
Bonus Dancer 3: Nadia Gamal
NADIA GAMAL, born to a Greek father and an Italian mother as Maria Carydias in Alexandria, Egypt, first began dancing as a part of her mother's cabaret act which performed at the Casino Opera in Cairo.
Trained in piano as well as several kinds of dance such as ballet and tap, Gamal initially performed European folk dances
in her mother's act.
When she was 14, an ill dancer in her mother's
troupe gave her the opportunity to dance raqs sharqi in Lebanon, which
her father had forbidden her to do because of her youth. After this
debut, she became a popular dancer and went on to star in many Egyptian films.
She is often credited as the originator of the modern style of Lebanese raqs sharqi.
This is a post for background information, pictures, videos and links
to go with the 'Raqs Sharki 1-2-3: Time traveling with Egyptian Stars'
workshop series, a series I'll be teaching in the Netherlands (2016) and
Denmark (2017) in the near future.
Here you'll find Part 2: Stars of the Sixties/Seventies
About the workshop series - Raqs Sharki 1-2-3 This workshop
series takes you on a journey in time with the great dancers of then and
now. It can be taught as one combined workshop or split up into 3
separate sessions of maximum 3 hours each.
Raqs sharki 1 – ‘Favorites of the fifties’ –
Contains combinations and techniques inspired by the legendary dancers
of Egypt like Samia Gamal, Naima Akef, Nadia Gamal and Taheya Carioca.
Raqs sharki 2 – ‘Stars of the seventies’ – Inspired by famous
Egyptian dancers from the 60-80s like Suheir Zaki, Nagua Fouad and Fifi
Abdo.
Raqs sharki 3 – ‘Modern legends’ – Contains informationa about,
and techniques and combinations inspired by the famous dancers of this
age
NAGWA FOUAD was born in January 1939 in Cairo, Egypt as Awatif Mohamed Agami to an Egyptian father and a
Palestinian mother.
Nagwa performed at the Abdeen Casino where she met Ahmad Fouad Hassan
(her future husband for 6 years), a producer of stage
shows that later became a famous conductor.
He convinced her to perform
live at the most prestigious music and dance show in the 1960s called
“Adwa al-Madeena i.e. City Lights” which had featured such superstars as
Shadia, Abdul Haleem Haafez, Fayza Ahmad, and Sabaah.
In 1976, the famous composer Mohammed Abdel Wahab wrote an entire
musical piece exclusively for her belly dancing show titled “Aamar
Arba'tashar i.e. Full moon” it was her transition from traditional
oriental dance to a choreographed stage performances.
Her stage
performance to this special piece allowed her to change the way
belly-dancing was presented on stage, transforming it from traditional
oriental dance to more of a choreographed lavish spectacle adding more
dramatic elements to it than ever before.
Nagwa featured on many of the covers of the Ahmed Fouad Hassan
LP's/CD's.
(Sources: Wikipedia, Elcinema.com)
Nagwa dancing to 'Moghram Sababa' by Mohamed Roshdy
Nagwa performing in the movie 'Touha', directed by Hassan El-Seify, 1957
From the movie The Police Inspector 'Mufattish el mabahess', 1960
From Sab'el leil, directed by Hassan El-Seify, 1970
From 'Khamsa share' al-habaib', directed by El Sayed Bedeir, 1971
From 'No, You who Were my Beloved', by Helmy Rafl, 1976
Nagua dancing to 'Set El Hosen' - part 2
Nagua Drum Solo (my favorite!)
Soheir Zaki
SOHEIR ZAKI was born in Mansoura in 1944. In 1953, when she was nine years old, she and her family moved
to the Mediterranean city of Alexandria. Souhair Zaki fell in love
with music and dance and showed natural talent, teaching herself to
dance by listening to the radio.
Souhair Zaki was most inspired by
the dances of Tahia Carioca and Samia Gamal. By the age of eleven she
was being noticed at the birthday and wedding parties of friends and
family, and started dancing professionally in the Greek nightclubs in
Alexandria.
She is known for her elegant, natural style
and exquisite musicality, even to this day. The 'Soheir Zaki hips'
movement is named after her.
Music, such as “Shik Shak
Shok”, was specially created for her every 6 months, and it is said
she was the first dancer to perform to the music of Om Khalsoum (see a
video of Soheir performing to 'Leylet Hob' below)
Soheir in 'The River of Life', directed by Hassan Reda, 1965
Soheir dancing to 'Amal Hayati' in 'The foolish', 1966
Soheir dancing to Daret Al Ayam in 'Struggle With Death' , 1970
Soheir dancing to 'Leilet Hob'in 'Nights that Will Never Return', 1974
Soheir dancing to 'Aghadan Alqak'
Soheir performing in Wakr al-ashrar (1972)
Soheir dancing to 'Hassan Ya Kholy El Genena' in the film 'Two women', 1975
Soheir dancing to 'Shik Shak Shok', 1979
Fifi Abdo
FIFI ABDO was born in Cairo on April 26, 1953 and named Atiyat Abdul Fattah
Ibrahim. Her father is a policeman and she has 11 siblings, including
her famous brother Abdelraheem Abdul Fattah Ibrahim, who encouraged her
career.
When she was 12 years old she joined a baladi troupe and later found work as a model. She began to gain attention in the early 1970s when she became the main attraction at the Arizona.
Over the years she danced at many other venues such as Le Meridien, Mena House and the El Gezira Sheraton.
Her performances usually lasted around two hours and she received up to
$10,000 per performance.
In addition to dancing, her routines often
included circus tricks and even rapping. The Moroccan newspaper La Vie Eco
reported in 2004 shortly before her retirement that she possessed 5,000
costumes with the most expensive being valued at $40,000
In her acting career, she is known as the woman-empowering type where,
rarely in Egyptian culture and film, she beats up and overpowers men.
(Source: Wikipedia)
This is a post for background information, pictures, videos and links
to go with the 'Raqs Sharki 1-2-3: Time traveling with Egyptian Stars'
workshop series, a series I'll be teaching in the Netherlands (2016) and
Denmark (2017) in the near future.
I will start this blog with part 3 (Modern Legends), as the posts will be read in reverse order later on.
About the workshop series - Raqs Sharki 1-2-3 This workshop
series takes you on a journey in time with the great dancers of then and
now. It can be taught as one combined workshop or split up into 3
separate sessions of maximum 3 hours each.
Raqs sharki 1 – ‘Favorites of the fifties’ –
Contains combinations and techniques inspired by the legendary dancers
of Egypt like Samia Gamal, Naima Akef, Nadia Gamal and Taheya Carioca.
Raqs sharki 2 – ‘Stars of the seventies’ – Inspired by famous
Egyptian dancers from the 60-80s like Suheir Zaki, Nagua Fouad and Fifi
Abdo.
Raqs sharki 3 – ‘Modern legends’ – Contains informationa about,
and techniques and combinations inspired by the famous dancers of this
age
Egyptian stars that have inspired me over the years, and who have been inspired by the stars of the 40ies/50ies/60ies/70ies themselves.
Nesma Al-Andalus (ES)
NESMA lived in Cairo from 1993–1998, where she obtained her extensive knowledge of Oriental dance, Egyptian folklore, Arabic music, culture and traditions. During this time she performed as a soloist with her own orchestra in over 3,500 shows on the most prestigious
stages of Cairo. She broadened her artistic career in the National
Egyptian Folkloric Ballet, The Reda Troupe, becoming over the years one
of Mahmoud Reda’s closest collaborators.
Since 1998 she has danced and taught around the world. In Spain she founded her own school and a prestigious dance company, Al-Andalus Danza. She presented her shows in prestigious stages in Europe and at the Cairo Opera House, the Opera of Alexandria, and the Library of Alexandria in Egypt. Her early interest in creating shows inspired in the Spanish Moorish heritage made her a pioneer of Andalusian style dance.
Along with her dance company, Nesma has established a record company,
Nesma Music, presenting a great line of authentic music and videos, and a
major festival, Raks Madrid, which takes place yearly in July in the
grand city of Madrid.
Note: I've been lucky enough to have taken workshops with Nesma at different events over the years, and she is one of the most inspiring artists I have met. If you'd like to know more about Reda style, Andalusian dance, understanding Egyptian music and folklore, and/or working with live music and/or finding femininity and elegance in dance, I highly highly recommend her workshops, festival and formations. Also be sure to check out her music CDs, which have beautiful full-orchestra arrangements of known and new songs.
Randa Kamel (EG)
RANDA KAMEL was born in Mansoura, Egypt. When she was a kid, she had
many problems with her family because she used to dance in her friends
and neighbours weddings and in scholar festivals. In that traditionalist
city, her family disapproved her pleasure of dancing.
At the age of 15, she began studying egyptian folklore with the
famous group Reda. She took part of it during 7 years. Nevertheless, she
never attended to oriental dance courses, she always developed her own
style.
After studying to be a psychologist (which is a discipline that helps her
to be a dancer), Randa began her career as a professional dancer at the
age of 21, in Alexandria. She lived there fore two years.
Afterwards, she moved on to El Cairo and worked in restaurants and
cabarets during four months until she began to work in Meridien hotel.
There, she shared the stage during a week with the famous dancer Fifi
Abdou.
Randa danced as soloist in the hotel´s night show for two years, and
later she began to work in Nile Maxim, a luxury cruiser that sails
through the Nile river.
She likes working in El Cairo because she loves live music, but she
also likes traveling and teaching oriental dance. “When I dance abroad, I
feel as my country and my culture´s messenger”. She also tells us about
the belly dance prejudices in her country that: “In Egypt, we believe
that the oriental dance is a representation of the women’s beauty in
order to seduce men. But I don’t agree with this. This is a millenary
dance, and one of the most difficult ways of dancing. That’s why I don’t
dance in a seductive way”.
About her own style, Randa says that she puts together ballet steps,
the folklore style of Suheir Zaki or Samia Gamal and her own invention
steps.
For her: “dance must be energy and power, constant movement. I don’t
like soft movements. I like to show different expressions, feelings;
every single part of my body must move. I want that anyone that looks at
me, feels my movements. It’s the only way to catch the spectator’s
attention, to surprise them”.
Even if she enjoys dancing baladi and modern oriental, her favourite
music is Um Kulthum, because “everything in these songs is beautiful,
the music, the lyrics; there are so many feelings that they catch my
heart”
TITO SEIF is an internationally acclaimed male oriental dancer, instructor, choreographer and one of the world's top oriental artists. Born in Egypt in 1971, he started to dance at the age of 14 learning folklore and then oriental.
Within a very short period of time he became one of the biggest names in the Oriental Dance and a prominent, innovative and mesmerizing dancer worldwide. Tito has been dancing for 28 years and he has been teaching for 18 years.
A prominent, technically
proficient, innovative and mesmerizing belly dancer, he is recognized as a leader
in the belly dance world. Tito's talents as an entertainer and a gifted prolific
instructor are sought after all over the world. Source: AlAhram
