Category Archives: Halyma

Two Great belly Dance Shows in Ottawa’s Byward Market

Halyma, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Ottawa Twestival pics by wtl.  Click on pic to see more!

 

Ottawa Twestival, originally uploaded by WTL-Ottawa.

This past week brought two completely different but equally important events to Ottawa’s Byward Market.

On Sunday, February 8th, Shakti Fusion presented the Dark Fusion Cabaret at the Mercury Lounge. The evening featured local tribal style dancers, raks gothique, and dark fusion performances.
This type of show brings “belly dance” into the community in an artful and creative style that can be appreciated by those who enjoy a darker flavour to their entertainment!

ATS or American Tribal style belly dance has been around in the US for a while now, and has been making great headway in Canada. It offers a different approach to belly dance that appeals to many dancers, be it in the costuming, the structure, the group dynamics and/ or the music.

Raks Gothique, and a variety of darker fusion styles also appeal to new dancers who are more interested in dancing in a belly dance style, yet to music that is less arabic in nature { although there are some amazing pieces that bridge the styles for sure!}

There are some fabulous photos taken of the show by Lainie Cambria, viewable here on her online gallery.

The second show that happened this week was presented at the Ottawa Twestival on Thursday evening at Suite 34. I am a member of the international online community/social media network,Twitter. In a very short time, one of the Canadian members, Amanda Rose, took it upon herself to start the ball rolling for a one day fundraiser to raise $1 million for the Charity: Water.

And it worked. In over 200 cities, all over the world, February 12th brought out many twitter members to their local Twestival events.

Online video podcasters got together to create a video to explain and promote the concept.

When I first heard about it, I realized that this might be a fun opportunity to bring the Belly Dancing For Fun Dancers out to play and asked the organizers if they thought this would be of interest. @bitpakkit and @sassymonkey { their Twitter ids} were my main contacts and they were very receptive to the idea! 

I contacted the ladies and we made our plans! We chose costumes and I mixed some classic cabaret tunes into a 15 minute track that allowed us to create an energetic and fun improvised dance show!

We had a blast bringing the awareness of cabaret style belly dance to a community of social media folk who, for the most part, have not actually had the opportunity to see belly dance in person before this!

I think we are already booked for next year!

Click on the main pic to take you to @WTL‘s flickr page to see more shots from the day!

Dancers’ Bazaar: Almost 10 years of shopping fun!

Halyma, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

 

Just a view of the hall...
Just a view of the hall...

The Dancers’ Bazaar has been an event that I have been organizing since June 1999. It began with 7 tables in the community centre that I teach at in the Byward market, expanding to two room, then moving to a larger, and larger hall for the first 5 years or so.

Since I cannot make costumes for everyone, and I knew of teachers who were importing and making pieces themselves, it made sense to bring us all together and let the students and pros see everything in one place!  And so it began.  I have seen many of my friends and colleagues give it a go in one form or another, from selling hip scarves to jewelry to cleaning out their closets!

It is one of those projects that I do because I see the benefit of it to our belly dance community. It helps me feel l can be a part of something larger, which is important when self employed in my cozy home studio during the day!

The events I organize are always done with the intention of creating a “win-win” [ I apologize for the cliche] situation, and I learn a lot through producing them. I won’t get into all of that right now, but maybe a future post will share my learning!

This time around, on February 22nd, we’ll have new vendors coming in from all over the area, as well as many of our favorite exhibitors. I am pleased that there are so many new faces to show their wares – and many non-belly dance products coming to light for our shopping pleasure!

Chocolate is a big thing these days at markets, and a new vendor will be coming with specialty chocolates. Hoping the kids who frequent the Bazaar will not get too much in their little hands!

This one will help me warm up a bit more to the development of my Eco-TAV line – sharing this concept with those in my main community face to face will help get the word out of their existence!

 

Eco-Tav Food Napkins and Pouches! Saving the planet, One Napkin at a Time!
Eco-Tav Food Napkins and Pouches! Saving the planet, One Napkin at a Time!

 

 

While I could rave on and on about how fabulous the  Dancers’ Bazaar is, I am thinking that you’ll just have to come see it yourself to enjoy the community atmosphere, social aspect, shopping frenzy and belly dance spirit in action!

Come join us for the afternoon! 260 McArthur, Doors open from 12 noon to 4 p.m.!img_4517img_4515img_4514img_4513

Dancers’ Newsletter Extra Features – Belly Surfing #2

Halyma, , , , , , , ,

Guest post!

Salutations from Renee D.

Last week I had mentioned the name Hossam Ramzy who was the friend and fellow performer of Samy El Bably. Hossam is by far the most recognized percussionist of the Middle East and he has written, performed and directed with the some of the world’s best musicians.

 

Serena and Hossam Ramzy
Serena and Hossam Ramzy

 

 

You might ask yourself, where has the illustrious musical master been lurking and if he’s so famous, why haven’t I heard his music? Astonishingly enough, he’s already been on your radio, in your DVD collection, in your CD collection, in your belly dance class or at a dance recital!

There is so much information about Hossam on the internet that it’s almost impossible to find a dead end. Interestingly, the paramount feature on Hossam’s website is dedicated to his wife Serena Ramzy, an outstanding belly dancer. You can watch her perform on Youtube below!

Here are a few websites to start your journey. Just click on the words to check them out!

Hossam’s Website

Hossam Ramzy on last.fm

 Audio clip on Youtube – not a video, but the music is great

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DolZVibZNak]

Visiting Celebrity to my Tuesday Class!

Halyma, , , , , , , ,

Holly, a lovely young woman, also known as “the Chosen One” has been making some major efforts to get of her comfort zone for the past three weeks.

As the winner of a contest being held by Ottawa’s Hot 89.9 fm, she has been meeting every challenge set before her in order to win a nice stack of cash at the end of it all.

At the beginning of this week, I received a call from Josie, one of the hosts of the Morning Hot Tub radio show, inquiring about coming out to my class through the Old Ottawa South Community centre.

Now, I don’t actually listen to Hot 89.9fm. I had no idea what was going on, but I am sure Josie thought I would have some clue about the contest so did not really explain too much about it. As far as I knew, it was a cool idea, and that Holly would come, try the class, and if she liked it perhaps she would sign up afterwards.

I have a policy of “First Class Free” to encourage people to try it, as they either like it and sign up right away, or at least head off knowing that they were given a generous chance to experience it.

On Monday, I got a second call asking if Holly could recruit some people to come out as well. I said , yeah, sure, it is a small class, so there is room for some extra people, no problem.

That evening, I had arrived early as usual, was all set up and then headed out to the ladies room since I did not see anyone yet looking like they were lost. Oh – they were in the hallway, getting a bit turned around! I yelled down and pointed them in the right direction while I dealt with my trip across the hall.

I got back into the gym where I teach the class a few minutes later, and they were chatting excitedly about Holly’s new hair style [ looked very nice], some of her other challenges, and life in general as the ladies she had brought were friends.

Jenny, the other co-host of the show, had come with her, and was taking photos of the group { hope to see those soon} and everyone was having a pretty relaxed time, but there seemed to be a bit of underlying tension or uncertainty.

Since none of the other students had arrived yet, I thought I should try to connect at least a bit and was curious about the contest, so I was able to get more info about the whole thing by asking a few questions and joining in the conversation a bit. Then I started taking pics of them, so that also helped them relax!

Eventually, the regulars arrived, the 4 newbies were sheathed in chiffon veils, and we started class.

My usual caveats of “knees bent, hips tucked”, and “if it hurts, stop” were issued, and off we went.

They did as well as anyone would at their first class, and some of the group were actually already dancers I think, so they caught on pretty quickly!

Overall, I think they had fun, and while they may not take it again, I think there was some new respect generated for this fabulous dance form!

Thanks for coming out to play ladies!

You can check out Holly’s own thoughts here!

Oh, and I was surprised at how many of my own students were, “Is that Holly?” “Is that The Chosen One?”  

I do live under a rock obviously!

Dancers’ Newsletter Extra Feature – Guest post 2

Halyma, , , ,

I am so gratefull to have received the first two of many more guest posts to come! Please welcome Aspa as she shares her journey into belly dance!

We Are All Dancers

By Aspa

I was never a woman who was comfortable with her body. As we know, there are a lot of social influences that affect women’s perceptions of their bodies. Being academically inclined, I had the additional challenge of always thinking of myself as a brain with legs. When I turned 40, my life changed drastically because of external circumstances I could not control. It was at this point that belly dancing came into my life.

There was so much change already, so much that was new. I think I had to challenge every limiting thought I had ever had about myself — including about my body and my relationship to it. My body was more than just a carrier for my brain, after all.

So I took a class. And to my amazement, I learned to move my hips — in front of other people no less! Flash forward in time, and I am showing my cousins how to do the camel at Christmas dinner!

When friends or colleagues ask me about belly dancing , I always tell them how important it has been to building my confidence and my self-esteem. I always tell them, too, how wonderful it is to see women of all ages and body types expressing themselves and their femininity through this form. More and more, too, I am growing to enjoy the sense of community I see — belly dancing brings together women from all walks of life to celebrate the beauty of movement and the strength to be found in that.

Ever being in the pursuit of knowledge (not everything in my life changed!), I have also come to appreciate learning about different cultures through belly dancing — it is truly cross-cultural. I have been fascinated by how belly dancing persists as a form not only across cultures but across time because it adapts to context. We can see this with the newer styles of belly dancing, which are very much adapted to contemporary times. This ability to adapt is what keeps belly dancing so alive and so vital as a form of expression.

I still consider myself a beginner belly dancer. But one thing I never say any more is that I am not a dancer. Because I am! I learned that I could be graceful and sensual in my movements, and that we are all dancers. The limiting thoughts I once had about my body are gone now. I have gone from “I can’t possibly do that” to “I can do that — with patience and with practice.” And a touch of bravery.

Belly dancing came into my life in a time of crisis. The crisis passed, but the dancing stayed, and for that, I am grateful. Through belly dancing, we honour our uniqueness and our strength, our ability to endure just as surely as the form itself has endured the centuries.

Aspa is a student of Zena’s at Dance with Alana Studios.

Dancers’ Newsletter Extra Feature – Guest post!

Halyma, , , , , , , ,
Please welcome Renee and her first contribution to the new Dancer’s Newsletter Extra Features!

Bellysurfing


Salutations from Renee D    

My journey with belly dancing began last year.  Every Friday a group of women meet at a local bead store.  We sit around and chat, admire each other’s work and talk about the world.  
 
In early April, one of our ladies was working on a marvellous belt that was pieced together with jump rings, coins and metal fishing lures. Gradually, one question lead into another and before you could say jackrabbit I was taking my first belly dance class. 
 
Apart from all the obvious elements that make belly dancing so spectacular, I quickly became aware of the music.  Unexpectedly, I discovered fresh tempos mingling together with age-old instruments that absolutely compelled my body to move.
 
I rapidly searched my CD collection to find this “new to me” sound. Fortunately, I did have some examples but I realized that I needed a broader variety and this is where I started my Bellysurfing.
 
I’ll begin this exposé with the late legendary Egyptian trumpeter Samy El Bably. Critiques describe his style “as woozy, sinuous and sometimes beguilingly sleepy.” According to the world famous percussionist and friend Hossam Ramzy, “He made this western style horn speak like a Nay flute mixed in with a singing violin with a mixture of an Armenian Duduk without the slightest change to the instrument itself.” Oddly enough, there is very little information on his life yet he was considered the Miles Davis of the Middle East.
 
As obscure as this musician is, you might be surprised to know that many of you are already dancing to his music!! Instructor Julie Tierney often plays the track Asrar El Ein from the Cairo Nights: Bellydance Bar CD, in her warm-ups.  Want to listen?  Just click to this link: http://www.maqam.com/store/p/1210-Cairo-Nights-Bellydance-Bar.html#Samples and select PREVIEW. Asrar El Ein is the first track but do have a snoop around the samples.  If you like what you hear, you can order this CD either on the internet with a reliable seller or place an order at Chapters.
  cairo-nights

 

 

 

“We don’t know who we are until we can see what we can do” -MARTHA GRIMES
  
Please feel welcome to add your own comments to this post – add to the discussion and offer your own thoughts!
  

 

 

 

 

DANCERS’ NEWSLETTER: EXTRA FEATURES!

Halyma, , ,

Cynthia’s party at Uncle Louis – a good time!

The opening act!
Isaden - The opening act!

I asked for folks to send me reviews, pics and comment about the Show on Saturday, January 17th and Uncle Louis’ Restaurant, organized by Cynthia/Civia. They have started to come in:
“Hi,

My girlfriend and I got there early and had front row seats for the dancing. We LOVED it! I put in a word to the waitress that I hope Uncle Louis does this again. Very inspiring and such variety.

Jane Spencer”

 

Relaxing in the back corner
Relaxing in the back corner

I had a great time last night myself, seeing all the new friends, and the old!  Great job Cynthia on this fun night out!

Halyma

The Afterglow…and a request for feedback!

Halyma, , ,

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqTHGaStpso]

Wednesday evening brought out a heck of a pile of belly dancers and their supporters.  We all descended upon the Bronson Centre in Ottawa and danced and cheered and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

I start the planning for the Ottawa Centre Class party-Holiday Edition in September.  At that point, I know my class schedule, and since I have been organizing these parties for a few years now, I have a pretty good idea of how things may go.

Unforeseen: OC Transpo Bus Strike hitting one week before the party!!!!

Damage: Somewhat affected the dancers lists for the student groups, and definitely affected attendance and last minute ticket sales for cheering fans.

While the ticket sales were in the 350 range, I know that not everyone who purchased a ticket was able to attend.  But the audience did it’s best to give lots of good energy to the dancers!

The flow was adjusted for this event as well.  More on that in a moment…

I am blessed with what I hope is a good rep for these parties, and thus am contacted by dancers directly who would like to perform.  It also might be the $5 ticket fee that everyone pays, but it makes it inexpensive for student dancers,frugalistas and families to come out and see what great fun and skills are found in our belly dance community.

Back to the flow:  with over 35 performances originally booked for the event, even with a 3-5 minute guideline for each performance, that’s a long show!  After asking the teachers what they thought, I had to make some choices and hope for the best. I organize, am responsible all the financial aspects of, and take most credit for the event; I could not do it without the support of my colleagues and friends who are also dancers/volunteers/teachers.

The choices involved imposing tighter time limits on the music choices and with only a few logical bending of the rule for combined classes, everyone seemed fine with the limits.  It also meant that I needed to deal with introductions of each group in a timely and efficient manner.  Dropping an official MC and choosing the “Voice from Beyond” method, I was able to share the task of simply announcing the group name before each performance without listing each of the sometimes up to 12 dancers who would be on stage at any one time!

If you were there, this is all pretty much: ‘Been there, saw that” and for you, I have more coming later in this post!

Back to the reflections…The dancers were all very organized and ready to go – AiWA!

There were a few on stage glitches, but this is a student show for the most part, so that is to be expected.  I have always tried to make my shows as welcoming and relaxing as possible for all dancers – from the first timers to the seasoned pros.  I would say, “Leave the judgements and egos at the door” – but really, I have never had to actually say that as people just seem to “get it”.

The Bronson Centre has a new sound and light system in place.  Dave, our sound technician for the evening, was fabulous!  This really nice, easy going and helpful guy made the evening so easy!!!!  Thanks Dave of Wall Sound!  Sorry I don’t remember his last name, but kudos will go out all over the place!

K was in charge of backstage as usual, Michele arrived with her gorgeous fabrics to decorate, and my new main helpers on the front lines were Katheryne, Cynthia, Rain and Chantal, along with Jocelyne helping once the show started!

Howard Sandler was our official photog for the evening and Darner Media shoots and edits the video for the performers!  

I am so grateful to all of these people for helping make the evening run smoothly, the dancers for taking the time to come out and share their talents with us, and the audience members for being so supportive as they watch the dancers develop their craft!

Three cheers for the Ottawa Belly Dance Community!!!! 

So, if you were there, and are therefore a part of the community, I am asking for some feedback.  Just a couple of questions and also if you have any further comments, you can submit them in the comments section!  Please note that i tried to create a poll but something is funky, so regular questions it is!

 And if you were not there but feel like voicing an opinion – go ahead!

1 – How was the “flow” of the evening for you?

a- Great – fast and fun!

b- Pretty good, but I felt I wanted to hear more about each group before they danced.

c-Good but still too long of an evening for me, I had to leave before things ended.

2-Did you get a sense that this would be/was a “community” event?

a- Yes, I had that sense when I decided to come, and that was why I came!

b- Sort of, though I had no real connection to the community other than a friend who was dancing in the show.

c-No, I did not really think of it as a community event.

3- Did you have fun?

a-yes

b-no { what?}

 

If you have thoughts you would like to share, please feel free!  

I do my best to make the evening run as smoothly as possible, and there are always new things for me to learn about audience perspective etc.

Thanks for reading! Pics will be up soon!

Halyma and the BDFF ladies at Mambo!

Halyma

Click on photo to go to my Flickr page and see more fun shots!

HPIM6925.JPG, originally uploaded by campdancer2000.

Once again we have been called upon to perform our sacred duty of educating the masses on the elegance and beauty of belly dance!

This time, we are part of a series of fashion shows raising money for the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation. These shows are happening at Mambo, in the Byward Market, and our last show will be next week on December 10th.

After that, the next week we are committed to a fabulous evening of belly dance at the Ottawa Centre Class Party – you can see us and more at that event!

Now back to this latest Mambo event…

We like to arrive early, in order to be ready to go when they need us.  We wait around down in the dressing room, trying to stay out of the way of the models!  Two amazing notes about this show: 

The clothes!

The food afterwards!

Details – > The clothes were on two racks, gorgeous fabrics, amazing designs and such fun!  Three Wild Women [and a second store that i cannot remember, but owned by the same people, so they’ll tell you,] are worth checking out.  I have no idea for pricing, but the stuff is jaw-droppingly beautiful.  I sew for my day job and make nice stuff myself, so yeah, I can voice an opinion!

And the food!  We have an arrangement to eat after we dance when we donate our time and energy to these shows.  The  meals that are being offered as part of the $40 ticket price to attend one of these events are phenomenal!  We don’t like to ask for anything in particular, so we just  sit, and food arrives in whatever way the owner feels works for her.

 OMG – we were brought 4 entrees.  So we asked for little plates so that we could share from each.  Salmon, beef, chicken and an odd combination of yummy dumplings, chicken salad and shrimp.  Everything was amazing – obvious that I am not vegan…  Sorry no pics – but you’ll have to believe me that it was wonderful.  I just kept raving afterwards, and figured I had better just post it and get it out of my system!

So, we had fun, thanks to Shade, Erika and Vashti for joining me!

And maybe I’ll see some of you next week at Mambo for a good cause!