Fabulous Faten!

Here in Boston we were lucky to have Faten Salama come and teach us a portion of her Almassreya curriculum. We sure packed a lot into a single day: Nubian, Saidi, Ghawazee, Mohammed Ali street, Beledi, Melaya Leff, and Khaleegy!

It was nice that we spend a significant portion of time on Nubian, as not many people teach that. Not that I see much opportunity to perform Nubian, but it's always good to expand my education in Egyptian dance. Nubian uses a similar step to Khaleegy, and the music has a distinctive sound to the voice and the drumbeat. I could definitely see the African influence (well, being that Egypt is IN Africa, I suppose it's all African dance), with the chest and the posture. I feel like we don't see a lot of Nubian dance in the USA and it does make you wonder why this particular folkloric dance has been so neglected here. Because the Egyptian stars are doing it – Dina, Leila, Yasmina – they all do Nubian pieces in their sets. Often the CDs created by dancers contain a Nubian song, but to this day, I had never learned it. Again, I don't see myself performing it as it really seems geared towards group folklore and I don't have an opportunity for that, but it is great to expand one's mind.

I enjoyed learning some new cane moves, as well as a new look at some familiar ones. When we got to Mohammed Ali street (Awalim style), that's when I really got into it. I love the gumption of this style – it takes no prisoners! Of course, you could say the same for the Saidi style, in a different way – it is strong and proud and you never forget that the stick is first and foremost a weapon. We learned a bit – not enough – about the Ghawazee and their use of the cane vs. the Saidi style. You could say that about every topic - not enough! I wish we really had the three days that she normally uses, but then I never would have gotten to do it (family obligations and all).

Melaya leff was surprisingly difficult – just learning to manipulate it – get it wrapped quickly and unwrapped. Faten could go from a full melaya wrap to having it over her arms swinging it while she hip-dropped in less than 5 seconds. It is going to take a lot of practice. But I got some great tips on how to wear the melaya and hold it, that I hadn't gleaned from the melaya leff video I own (it's a Dr. Mo choreography). I would also like to know more about why melaya leff and eskandarany are so different – usually they are presented together – even in Egypt when I saw a folkloric show. I wish there had been more time to ask questions about that.

We also learned how to apply these movements to pop music. Most of the pop music today sounds just like our Brittney Spears and Katy Perry – I can hardly detect the Arabic music in this pop, with their 4/4 Western beats. The lyrics are in Arabic, but that's where it seems to end. So, I guess you could say I am not a fan of pop music. If I'm going to dance to pop music, it will be sha'abi. However, overall, the idea that these folkloric movements are the basis for dance – and appear in our dance – came home again and again. Steps I had learned in other choreographies were revealed to have folkloric roots and meanings.

The Joys of Live Music

My teachers would always tell me how superior live music was to recorded music. It took me time to come around to their way of thinking – live bands generally scared me – all that uncertainty. But that same uncertainty that can strike fear in one's heart can also bring wonderful little surprises. Not to mention – tarab – can only happen with live music.

Today was a perfect example. Za-Beth hired some wonderful musicians for the post-workshop in honor of Faten Salama. A number of them were musicians that had danced with her in the days of El-Morocco - the Legendary Udi Joe Kouyoumjian Enssemble. Joe played the oud, with Hago. Garo was the drummer and he did a great job tonight accompanying the music with great enthusiasm and fast fingers. John joined him on the Riqq. The violinist played soulfully – believe it was Harry Papazian, Garo's father. Hagop Garobedian skillfully played any tune we dancers requested on the keyboard, and sang. If I got any of these names wrong, it was because I had to remember them from the introductions!

We only had 5 minutes, so I requested Raks Leila, originally played for Samia Gamal, but made famous here by George Abdo's version. So it's an Arabic song that most bands around here are familiar with. And, as people learned, it's better to choose a song that the band knows how to play than a song they don't! I usually hesitate to request it because it can be easily confused with the Khaleegy song "Leyla Leyla". But I sang the melody and got my request.

The song and melody was exactly how I expected it, but the surprises came in the middle! I had asked for one taqsim, as Raks Leila customarily has a chiftetelli. I received not one, but two (and possibly three) taqsim breaks! I danced with the oud and I danced with the violin. And I think there was a time when the two instruments wound themselves together, along with the constant accompaniment of Garo's drumming. Having recently been working with Ranya Renee's Taqsim DVD, I felt incredibly lucky to have this chance to experience the taqsim with live musicians. My teacher, Amira Jamal, talks about when you stop thinking when you dance and all you do is feel – I can remember when in this performance I said to myself – "Oh, I'm just going to feel the bliss now – not worry about what I look like!"

The band did a wonderful job playing for everyone today. I love live band performances – even if you aren't thrilled by a particular dancer, you can still dig on the music. And if the dancer and the music are in sync, it's perfection. At the end, they gave us "one final song" that turned out to be a medley of the greatest hits of Arabic, Turkish, and Armenian music – from Mavi Mavi to Ya Mustapha, Ebaad ("Leyla Leyla") to a beautiful chiftetelli.

They announced that they play at Basha Café on Wednesdays and Shiraz in Watertown on Fridays. I hear the food at Shiraz is great, so I may have to make myself a date to go out for music and food!