Happy Birthday number_12! For your birthday I will take Dad's car for its emissions inspection, on the way home from the vet.

Monday I had a lesson with Zinnir. We worked more on her combinations. She strings them together in different ways and to different music. Someone like Sema Yildiz for example had a set choreo to a set song. We did the same moves to the same music. Each approach has its merit.

But it makes it challenging when Zinnir asks if I worked on the choreography. I have been working on her hard and fast barrel turns. My slow ones are looking much better and the fast ones are getting there. Her approach to dance is very hard and fast for the most part so it’s very interesting for me to hear the music through her ears.

We also worked more on the turns, kicks and slaps she does in her stylized Romani dance. I think maybe from the next lesson I’ll ask just to do Orientale. Her counting for 9/8 is a little bit hard for me to understand perhaps as a westerner. She counts 1-2-3-4 whereas I must count a very pronounced AND 4 or 5. I can now see that she does favour her left foot (as she told me in the first lesson). And so instead of doing a quick weight change she double hops on 1 foot for most of her footwork. Whereas someone like Reyhan only does the double hop when it involves lifting the leg in an upward sweep.


As this dance gets more in my body I’m becoming more aware of how I’d like to style it for my own stage presentation. I’d rather honor the way Reyhan has taught me Romani dance. And no matter the venue, even if it’s more orientale or staged present, her vision and version.
That said, I have a lesson with Reyhan today. I can’t tell you how much I look forward to learning with her. I feel like I’m plugging into an energy source. Gonul was talking the other day about great teachers and how they share everything and keep nothing for themselves. She said that dance was a gift and if you don’t share it then perhaps your conduit to inspiration may close. Reyhan is the embodiment of that. She gives everything. She shares everything.

Yesterday I finished reading A Thousand Splendid Suns (Thank you Mom for sending it. I loved it!) and the way Miriam feels waiting for her father Jalil is exactly how I feel waiting to start class with Reyhan.

This week I also have booked Zinnir on Wednesday and Princess Banu on Thursday and Monday. I’ll be studying her Classic Orientale and Dramatic Orientale. Nesrin Topkapi is sadly very busy. I’m hoping Sema Yildiz’s schedule will clear a little and I’ll be able to study with her more.

Last night our friends Abdallah of Tabla Kwaiesa and Yumiko of El Salaam studio dropped by our hotel for a visit. They were both just in Cairo. Abdallah was there studying for a year. And Yumiko was there buying costumes for 10 days. That’s why she’s here now. Unfortunately my budget won’t allow for any shopping but I’m going to meet her today and go with her. Wednesday night we’re all going to the Sufi show near Sirceki station.

Tags: turkey

Sunday we tried to make it out to see a Turkish basketball game. We took the ferry to Karakoy and found the stadium after some searching. A watch and an umbrella boy teamed up to help us and were totally ok with us not buying anything from them.
After finding the stadium we decided to grab a bite. In the less touristy areas it’s easier to find cheap eats. We had 2 lachmacuns (Turkish pizzas) and a cheese pide with 2 waters for about 9YTL. After that we went back to the stadium but the game was sold out. We’re going to try and go to another one later in the week.

We went for a walk in the park and watched the wind surfers for a bit. The amount of stray dogs and cats here still startles me at times. It’s strange to see the gangs of 7 dogs or 7 cats all hanging out together or a little scarier giving chase in the park. And I’m used to all the temple cats in Japan and strays in Korea.

My husband read that the best ice cream in Istanbul wasn’t far from us, so after our rest in the park we set out to find Ali Usta. It’s actually flavoured Turkish ice cream. And it was delish. We had chocolate and caramel.

Then we shopped in some of the local grocery stores. We found 2 serving cartons of hummus, acili ezme and haydari for 1.5 YTL. In a restaurant it’s 5-10YTL for a serving. We also bought some veggies and bread to go with it. My husband has been cooking in the communal kitchen to save us some money. We eat the free breakfast and then go out in the afternoon and come back and eat dinner in the hotel.

The first few times we went out we were spending a little more because we were eating at places with English menus. It’s worth the savings and increases the number of places you’re able to eat at to memorize the names of a few of your favourite dishes. Plus, it’s usually the smaller places that have better food!

Tags: turkey

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=31041009

( You are about to view content that may not be appropriate for minors. )

so I guess it is official. We are separated. This is mostly to preserve the date for myself.. well technically it was after that fight but I am now all moved out. still wondering how to feel.. lots of things mixing in my head.

I actually had to DELETE the Mail app. Yes, it seems extreme, but I have no intention of ever using the darn thing, and no matter what I did it wouldn't leave me alone!!

I suppose the Apple police will be by any day now to lock me up.

Having been to Egypt, now I am somewhat addicted to reading blogs of people who live in Egypt. One that I like is just called Living in Egypt, by a Canadian ex-pat, and a recent entry of hers says:


As someone whose favourite "news" shows are the Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report, I have also long been a fan of The Onion, a American satirical "news" source.... Recently a group of young Egyptian writers who are only known by their pseudonyms: Makarona (pasta), Ward Zeyada (extra fried onions), and Subar Lox (a term for a standard size for koshary) have started up an Egyptian version of The Onion. El-Koshary Today is named after an Egyptian dish that is a conglomeration of dark lentils, chickpeas, rice, and pasta topped with fried onions, a spicy tomato sauce and a garlic/vinegar sauce.

Okay, well, here's a thing to know... every Egyptian we met had an outrageous sense of humor. El Koshary Today is INCREDIBLY funny, the more so if you know a few things about current events there. But remember that story about an Onion article being taken at face value by the Chinese government? From the El Koshary home page:

"In case you haven't noticed, El Koshary Today is not a "real" news site. Our philosophy here is to use sarcasm and imagination to raise awareness of some of the serious (and not so serious) issues plaguing our nation. It is not intended to relay any factual information or credible circumstances, though where possible readers will find news links to the actual issues being satirized herein."

Anybody who writes a headline like USA TIRED OF WORLD DOMINATION, LEAVES PLANET gets my vote.

January
9th- I start my residency for the Layali showcase.
13th- I start my new classes in Aldershot.
17th- Hipnotic- Performing in the Cheese-Fest!

February
20th- Reading Haflah. I will be performing, of course, as will Mirage, and I hope my Guildford students too (I'm calling them Hawanem).
27th - Sponsoring/hosting a Tribal Workshop with Ellariaal teaching.

March
13th/14th- Teaching JWAAD Foundation Course.
20th- MY Haflah for Just Because. Mirage will perform, and I hope the Beginners (Ahlam) too.
27th/28th- Teaching JWAAD Diploma Course. Which means I won't be able to go to any of the Aziza workshops and probably not the Haflah either. A bit of a bummer, but there you go, you have to suffer for your Art.

April
17th/18th- Teaching & performing at JoY.

May
8th- it's World Bellydance Day, and I feel we ought to do something to celebrate it. I will ponder.
9th- Mirage dancing at Hipnotic.
15th- I shall be performing at Saqarah, and inch'Allah, so will Mirage.
22nd/23rd- Teaching the second weekend of the Foundation Course.

June
11th-13th- Bellydance Mania. Come Hell or high water, I will be there. And I've decided I will do the competition. I've told enough people I'm thinking about this, I can't back down now.

July
29th- Depending on when the Guildford term ends, I may be able to get to the July Planet Egypt.
There may be a Big Dance day.
But otherwise, zip. And the Layali residency should be finished by then.

August
6th-13th- Summer School
26th- Going to PE.

September
Nothing, but of course all the new classes start back.

October
Earlyish October- going to JoY. I don't know who is supposed to be headlining, but I trust Mandy to come up with the goods!
28th- performing at Planet Egypt.

November
13th/14th- Teaching JWAAD Diploma Course.

December
Looking decidedly empty now, but I'm sure it will fill up nearer the time!

Things that will be fitted in sometime/whenever
I will ask to perform at Saqarah again, maybe in October or December.
I *will* go to Cairo.
I will go to as many Saqarahs & Planet Egypts as I can.
I hope to get to Evil Spice's Summer Haflah, esp if she's got the Brothers of the Baladi back!
I want to try & run my Choreography Lab course.
I want to try & set up Summer workshops to keep students interested during the long summer months.
There's the possibility of Mirage doing a Charity Fete performance in the Summer.


Anyone else got anything good I should put in my diary?
Want me to dance at a Haflah? (I'm well-behaved, and I do wear nice costumes, and knickers).
Want me to teach a workshop?

Tags: meme

1. I am now incapable of clapping out the beat like most people do. I do it to the zill rhythm.

2. My husband's secret superpower is that he can apparently make bellydancers swoon because he can do a Turkish drop. Not a particularly *useful* superpower, but a darned amusing one.