Baghdad Burning is the book.
Baghdad Burning:http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/
Warning: Heart wrenching, what's even worse is that it was never finished...
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Sunday, December 21, 2008
No Booze, No Belly Dancers
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/international/2008/12/18/mme.b.no.more.minibars.cnn
Friday, December 12, 2008
This is perfect!
Taken from shira.net
To All Students,
Regarding "Loyalty" to Your Teacher
By Amanda Niehaus
Dear students of this beautiful art form,
I am a teacher. I teach because I am passionate about this dance and I want others to share my passion.
I am not teaching because I require a fan club.
I am not teaching because I require devotees or because I need hero worship.
As your teacher, my job is to teach you; to inspire you to be your best. If I am a really good teacher, then I also will not be your only teacher. I will encourage you to study with other teachers who have skills and experience I lack. Because I am not the end-all, be-all of belly dance knowledge.
You as a student owe me nothing. You may thank me after class, you may credit me on your first performance dvd, you may remember me when you are touring with Jillina, but you do not owe me anything. (You paid for your class. I taught you. We are even.)
I am an emotionally-mature adult (for the most part.) I do not require your "loyalty" or allegiance. You do not have to take my classes just because I offer them, or just because I was your first teacher. You will not be "cheating on me" by taking classes with another instructor.
You should be taking my class because you enjoy it and are learning something. If you are no longer enjoying it or learning from it, then I would be the first to encourage you to find another, or a different, teacher. I want you to love this dance as much as I do.
Your job is to learn and practice, not to worry about my ego. I will not be "mad" at you for moving to a new level with your dance. You need to worry about YOU, and making yourself a better dancer. I will never resent you and I will only respect you for moving onward and upward.
Do what's right for you. I'll be fine, whether I'm dancing beside you or watching you from the audience. I promise.
Yours truly,
Your dance teacher
To All Students,
Regarding "Loyalty" to Your Teacher
By Amanda Niehaus
Dear students of this beautiful art form,
I am a teacher. I teach because I am passionate about this dance and I want others to share my passion.
I am not teaching because I require a fan club.
I am not teaching because I require devotees or because I need hero worship.
As your teacher, my job is to teach you; to inspire you to be your best. If I am a really good teacher, then I also will not be your only teacher. I will encourage you to study with other teachers who have skills and experience I lack. Because I am not the end-all, be-all of belly dance knowledge.
You as a student owe me nothing. You may thank me after class, you may credit me on your first performance dvd, you may remember me when you are touring with Jillina, but you do not owe me anything. (You paid for your class. I taught you. We are even.)
I am an emotionally-mature adult (for the most part.) I do not require your "loyalty" or allegiance. You do not have to take my classes just because I offer them, or just because I was your first teacher. You will not be "cheating on me" by taking classes with another instructor.
You should be taking my class because you enjoy it and are learning something. If you are no longer enjoying it or learning from it, then I would be the first to encourage you to find another, or a different, teacher. I want you to love this dance as much as I do.
Your job is to learn and practice, not to worry about my ego. I will not be "mad" at you for moving to a new level with your dance. You need to worry about YOU, and making yourself a better dancer. I will never resent you and I will only respect you for moving onward and upward.
Do what's right for you. I'll be fine, whether I'm dancing beside you or watching you from the audience. I promise.
Yours truly,
Your dance teacher
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Check out this Documentary on Lucy of Cairo
This is awesome!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zm6_SnARsI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zm6_SnARsI
Saturday, October 25, 2008
One of Boston's first dancers...
Born in Boston, recorded by Thomas Edison:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4u5o9zmANc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4u5o9zmANc
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Very, Very, VERY Disturbing!
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://ndn.newsweek.com/media/57/egypt-culture-wahibbi-IN03-wide-vertical.jpg&imgrefurl=http://breakingbuzz.blogspot.com/2008/06/abir-sabri-last-egyptian-belly-dancer.html&h=271&w=300&sz=16&hl=en&start=45&sig2=yIUoUYen8evvtl8u24YBXw&um=1&usg=__EQ1QXNh6lVkEaAhjpImbaTAdKO4=&tbnid=a4heFcrPWfKnoM:&tbnh=105&tbnw=116&ei=oab2SMaEI5TQecH_hIQO&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbelly%2Bdancer%2Bvt%26start%3D36%26ndsp%3D18%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1T4RNWN_enUS251US251%26sa%3DN
The Last Egyptian Belly Dancer
Rich Saudis are transforming Cairo's entertainment scene.
By Rod Nordland NEWSWEEK
From the magazine issue dated Jun 9, 2008
Abir Sabri, celebrated for her alabaster skin, ebony hair, pouting lips and full figure, used to star in racy Egyptian TV shows and movies. Then, at the peak of her career a few years ago, she disappeared—at least her face did. She began performing on Saudi-owned religious TV channels, with her face covered, chanting verses from the Qur'an. Conservative Saudi Arabian financiers promised her plenty of work, she says, as long as she cleaned up her act. "It's the Wahhabi investors," she says, referring to the strict form of Sunni Islam prevalent in Saudi Arabia. "Before, they invested in terrorism—and now they put their money in culture and the arts."
Egyptians deplore what they call the Saudization of their culture. Egypt has long dominated the performing arts from Morocco to Iraq, but now petrodollar-flush Saudi investors are buying up the contracts of singers and actors, reshaping the TV and film industries and setting a media agenda rooted more in strict Saudi values than in those of freewheeling Egypt. "As far as I'm concerned, this is the biggest problem in the Middle East right now," says mobile-phone billionaire Naquib Sawiris. "Egypt was always very liberal, very secular and very modern. Now ..." He gestures from the window of his 26th-floor Cairo office: "I'm looking at my country, and it's not my country any longer. I feel like an alien here."
At the Grand Hyatt Cairo, a mile upstream along the Nile, the five-star hotel's Saudi owner banned alcohol as of May 1 and ostentatiously ordered its $1.4 million inventory of booze flushed down the drains. "A hotel in Egypt without alcohol is like a beach without a sea," says Aly Mourad, chairman of Studio Masr, the country's oldest film outfit. He says Saudis—who don't even have movie theaters in their own country—now finance 95 percent of the films made in Egypt. "They say, here, you can have our money, but there are just a few little conditions." More than a few, actually; the 35 Rules, as moviemakers call them, go far beyond predictable bans against on-screen hugging, kissing or drinking. Even to show an empty bed is forbidden, lest it hint that someone might do something on it. Saudi-owned satellite channels are buying up Egyptian film libraries, heavily censoring some old movies while keeping others off the air entirely.
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Some Egyptians say the new prudishness isn't entirely the Saudis' fault. "Films are becoming more conservative because the whole society is becoming more conservative," says filmmaker Marianne Khoury, who says Saudi cash has been a lifeline to the 80-year-old industry. From a peak of more than 100 films yearly in the 1960s and '70s, Egyptian studios' output plunged to only a half dozen a year in the '90s. Thanks to Saudi investors, it's now about 40. "If they stopped, there would be no Egyptian films," says Khoury.
At least a few Egyptians say Saudi Arabia is the country that's ultimately going to change. "Egypt will be back to what it used to be," predicts the single-named Dina, one of Egypt's few remaining native-born belly dancers. And it was a Saudi production company that financed a 2006 drama that frankly discusses homosexuality, "The Yacoubian Building." Sawiris has launched a popular satellite-TV channel of his own, showing uncensored American movies. He's determined to win—but he's only one billionaire, and Saudi Arabia is swarming with them.
With Gameela Ismail in Cairo
© 2008
The Last Egyptian Belly Dancer
Rich Saudis are transforming Cairo's entertainment scene.
By Rod Nordland NEWSWEEK
From the magazine issue dated Jun 9, 2008
Abir Sabri, celebrated for her alabaster skin, ebony hair, pouting lips and full figure, used to star in racy Egyptian TV shows and movies. Then, at the peak of her career a few years ago, she disappeared—at least her face did. She began performing on Saudi-owned religious TV channels, with her face covered, chanting verses from the Qur'an. Conservative Saudi Arabian financiers promised her plenty of work, she says, as long as she cleaned up her act. "It's the Wahhabi investors," she says, referring to the strict form of Sunni Islam prevalent in Saudi Arabia. "Before, they invested in terrorism—and now they put their money in culture and the arts."
Egyptians deplore what they call the Saudization of their culture. Egypt has long dominated the performing arts from Morocco to Iraq, but now petrodollar-flush Saudi investors are buying up the contracts of singers and actors, reshaping the TV and film industries and setting a media agenda rooted more in strict Saudi values than in those of freewheeling Egypt. "As far as I'm concerned, this is the biggest problem in the Middle East right now," says mobile-phone billionaire Naquib Sawiris. "Egypt was always very liberal, very secular and very modern. Now ..." He gestures from the window of his 26th-floor Cairo office: "I'm looking at my country, and it's not my country any longer. I feel like an alien here."
At the Grand Hyatt Cairo, a mile upstream along the Nile, the five-star hotel's Saudi owner banned alcohol as of May 1 and ostentatiously ordered its $1.4 million inventory of booze flushed down the drains. "A hotel in Egypt without alcohol is like a beach without a sea," says Aly Mourad, chairman of Studio Masr, the country's oldest film outfit. He says Saudis—who don't even have movie theaters in their own country—now finance 95 percent of the films made in Egypt. "They say, here, you can have our money, but there are just a few little conditions." More than a few, actually; the 35 Rules, as moviemakers call them, go far beyond predictable bans against on-screen hugging, kissing or drinking. Even to show an empty bed is forbidden, lest it hint that someone might do something on it. Saudi-owned satellite channels are buying up Egyptian film libraries, heavily censoring some old movies while keeping others off the air entirely.
placeAd2(commercialNode,'bigbox',false,'')
Function IE_Detect (version)
'Do
On Error Resume Next
plugin = (IsObject(CreateObject("ShockwaveFlash.ShockwaveFlash." & version & "")))
If plugin = true Then
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End If
End Function
Some Egyptians say the new prudishness isn't entirely the Saudis' fault. "Films are becoming more conservative because the whole society is becoming more conservative," says filmmaker Marianne Khoury, who says Saudi cash has been a lifeline to the 80-year-old industry. From a peak of more than 100 films yearly in the 1960s and '70s, Egyptian studios' output plunged to only a half dozen a year in the '90s. Thanks to Saudi investors, it's now about 40. "If they stopped, there would be no Egyptian films," says Khoury.
At least a few Egyptians say Saudi Arabia is the country that's ultimately going to change. "Egypt will be back to what it used to be," predicts the single-named Dina, one of Egypt's few remaining native-born belly dancers. And it was a Saudi production company that financed a 2006 drama that frankly discusses homosexuality, "The Yacoubian Building." Sawiris has launched a popular satellite-TV channel of his own, showing uncensored American movies. He's determined to win—but he's only one billionaire, and Saudi Arabia is swarming with them.
With Gameela Ismail in Cairo
© 2008
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
And another...
Create your own dance!
Find a piece of music that moves you. Find the lyrics online. Find the "mood" of the music and use your body to interpret it. Let the music go in your ears and out your body.
Break the music down either by time signature, or by changes in the music. I suggest changes in the music because you will remember them better than counting "ok I have to do ____ 4 times"
Take a piece of paper and number each change in the music that pops out. Listen to the music and write in the number what the speed, tempo, and/or mood of that little part of the music. Then come back and find a movement that you feel fits well. You may find that you have gaps in a few places. It's ok-you can fill them in later! Just practice what you have and you will soon find movements to fill them in with!
Example:
Intro-
Start on stage or off stage? Standing up or sitting down? How much time do you want to leave before you enter or are you starting immediately?
Body-
Music Change 1 (0:50) Hip drops
Music Change 2 (1:21) Travelling step
Chorus (shimmies and snake arms)
etc. etc.
Ending-
Do you want to be on stage when the music ends? Does it end abrupt or does it fade out?
Things to add to your dance:
Remember, you don't have to do a million steps. A simple, elegant dance can have the same "wow" factor as a fast-paced performance.
Add emotion. Ham it up. Smile, frown, add a wink or eyebrow lift. Breathe body into your dance through your facial expressions,
Add speed variations to movements
Add size variations (small versus big hip circles, shimmies)
Add height variations (sink up/down, bring arms up while sinking down,etc.)
Add traveling steps (choo-choo's, hip lift walks, or even just walking!)
Add accents (hip pops, locks, etc.)
Add layers-you CAN do it!
Use your upper body & arms! We all tend to gravitate to just using our hips!
Have fun!
Find a piece of music that moves you. Find the lyrics online. Find the "mood" of the music and use your body to interpret it. Let the music go in your ears and out your body.
Break the music down either by time signature, or by changes in the music. I suggest changes in the music because you will remember them better than counting "ok I have to do ____ 4 times"
Take a piece of paper and number each change in the music that pops out. Listen to the music and write in the number what the speed, tempo, and/or mood of that little part of the music. Then come back and find a movement that you feel fits well. You may find that you have gaps in a few places. It's ok-you can fill them in later! Just practice what you have and you will soon find movements to fill them in with!
Example:
Intro-
Start on stage or off stage? Standing up or sitting down? How much time do you want to leave before you enter or are you starting immediately?
Body-
Music Change 1 (0:50) Hip drops
Music Change 2 (1:21) Travelling step
Chorus (shimmies and snake arms)
etc. etc.
Ending-
Do you want to be on stage when the music ends? Does it end abrupt or does it fade out?
Things to add to your dance:
Remember, you don't have to do a million steps. A simple, elegant dance can have the same "wow" factor as a fast-paced performance.
Add emotion. Ham it up. Smile, frown, add a wink or eyebrow lift. Breathe body into your dance through your facial expressions,
Add speed variations to movements
Add size variations (small versus big hip circles, shimmies)
Add height variations (sink up/down, bring arms up while sinking down,etc.)
Add traveling steps (choo-choo's, hip lift walks, or even just walking!)
Add accents (hip pops, locks, etc.)
Add layers-you CAN do it!
Use your upper body & arms! We all tend to gravitate to just using our hips!
Have fun!
Zilling...
Off a handout I made a while ago...
A simple "gallop:"
A gallop is a simple zill pattern.
Verbally: I - Can - Zill
Visually: Right - Left - Right
No problem, right?
I - Can - Zill - I - Can - Zill - I - Can - Real - l y - real -l y - zill!
Now practive moving and dancing with your zills, it is a lot easier to learn to dance and zill when you start moving from the beginning!
A simple "gallop:"
A gallop is a simple zill pattern.
Verbally: I - Can - Zill
Visually: Right - Left - Right
No problem, right?
I - Can - Zill - I - Can - Zill - I - Can - Real - l y - real -l y - zill!
Now practive moving and dancing with your zills, it is a lot easier to learn to dance and zill when you start moving from the beginning!
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Welcome!
As a 21st century Generation Y, I live on my laptop. However I never really had a place to share my BD findings. I'll try this out for a while and see if this works! Feedback welcome!
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