the Gilded Serpent presents Amina

The Gilded Serpent presents...
Amina Goodyear

Amina began dancing professionally in 1966 at San Francisco's famous Bagdad Cabaret, where she was a principal nightly dancer for twenty years. Amina's teaching career began in 1971. Soon after, she founded The Aswan Dancers, the premiere Egyptian dance company. She also founded The Cairo Cats Band and co-founded The Arabian Knights Band. As a master teacher, Amina also teaches percussion and Arabic song translation, pointing out understanding the music and the meaning of the music is key to understanding the dance. She has played backup percussion for musicians such as Susu Pampanin, Reda Darwish, and George, Elias and Tony Lammam.

Amina continues to study, to teach and perform. She has five regular dance classes a week, bimonthly Drumming Workshops for Dancers, biweekly drum classes and weekly cabaret performance classes. She has troupe rehearsals twice a week and continues to dance with and choreograph The Aswan Dancers for their weekly appearance at an Egyptian club. As a favorite of the Arabic community, she always has a venue at Middle Eastern nightclubs where she dances and performs percusson with the Band while spotlighting her student dancers. Amina sings with Aswat, San Francisco's only Arabic choir specializing in classical Arabic music. In addition, she has a full schedule of private classes focusing on training dancers for professional performance.

In 1991, Amina created The Giza Club, an Arabic cultural organization that sponsors dancers and musicians, cultural lectures and performances. Giza Club members are worldwide and guide The Giza Academy of Music and Legends of Middle Eastern Dance Videos (The Giza Awards). Amina has produced two videos: the documentary "Hizz ya Wiz," and "Nadia in America," with the Egyptian star Nadia Hamdi.

With more than thirty-five years of Middle Eastern Dance experience, AMINA feels that she had just now reached her full teaching potential. In 1994, AMINA was inducted into the Middle Eastern Hall of Fame in New York, (AAMED).

Visit us at
www.giza.org
www.aswandancers.org

Articles by or about Amina on Gilded Serpent:
Dance Career Memoir, Reviews, Interviews and Other Articles
Dance Career Memoir

1-25-04 Chapter 1: One Ad Changed My Life by Amina Goodyear
I was very desperate and determined to get back to my old self.
3-24-04 Chapter 2: "I'd Rather Stay Home with my Kids" by Amina Goodyear
I asked her how to take it off, and she told me to figure it out when I was on stage. Then I heard - "Our "guest" dancer, Amina, all the way from upstairs!"
4-17-07 Chapter 3: A Marriage Made in North Beach by Amina Goodyear
The stage was alight with the flames of the candelabrum’s candles and the eerie glow of her costume. Fatma’s costumes were always comprised of material that glowed in the dark as her show began with no light—except for “black light”.
6-6-07 Chapter 4: Smokin' by Amina Goodyear
Now that I was legitimately part of the Bagdad family and on the payroll, Yousef told me that all the dancers had to split their tips 50/50 with the band. This meant that I was making less money than when I wasn’t getting paid at all.
6-30-07 Chapter 5: Listen to the Music by Amina Goodyear
Yousef wanted us to look exotic, like we were from the Middle East, so he made us stay downstairs, look available and wear sexy, skimpy pantaloon outfits or diaphanous caftans when we were not dancing.
8-15-07 Chapter 6: Bert, by Amina Goodyear
On my first Monday at the Casa Madrid, Bert came to support the place and me. Well, what he saw was equivalent to a San Francisco earthquake.
2-8-08 Chapter 7: Yousef – Black Lights and Veils by Amina Goodyear
It was kind of hard to compete with this kind of action when we kept our clothes on.

more coming soon!

Reviews of Products and Events

4-17-09 Two Dance CDS for Performance and Listening, "The Soul of Cairo" & "The Masters of Bellydance Music" review by Amina Goodyear
This family is dedicated to producing (and also finding) the latest and most popular bellydance music as well as reissuing classic albums in a remastered format with updated liner notes.
3-15-08 The Magic Sounds Studio of Cairo, 3 Albums reviewed and Compared by Amina Goodyear
CDs- Oriental Fantasy #12- Talisman, Nesma:Del Nilo al Guadalquivir (From the Nile to the Guadalquivir),Nesma, Memories of Cairo.
In a world where Egyptian dancers dance in the "less is more" tradition, the world of musicians seemed to be - more is better and lots more is best.
12-6-07 IBDC- Part 1 A Brand New Idea for Belly Dance: The Festival Idea in its Formative Years by Amina Goodyear
I’m speaking of a festival and its promoters that promised more than they were able to deliver.
1-7-08 IBDC Part 2:- A Gilded Serpent tale, Alex in Wonderland, by Amina Goodyear
Unfortunately, the event did not draw the amount of vendors he had expected and, I believe, because he himself had not yet made a reputation for himself as a credible festival producer, he did not get the numbers of the dancers he wished for. Belly dancers are special people and Alex personally did not understand their basic nature.
11-23-07 Danza Del Vientre by Devorah Korek Book Review by Gregory Burke Translation by Amina Goodyear
Book is in Spanish. Once in a while an object of desire comes along, which is deemed important by its obscurity. Such could be the case with this hardcover, difficult to acquire tabletop adornment from Devorah Korek, an American-born Belly Dance teacher living and thriving in Spain. additional Synopsis of the book
7-24-07 The Zar, Trance Music for Women, CD Review by Amina Goodyear
produced by Yasmin of Serpentine.org. “Once a spirit is called, it must be appeased. Then it will always be there.” And it will have to be periodically dealt with.
4-2-07 “In a Beirut Mood”: Jalilah's Raks Sharki 6, A Review by Amina Goodyear
I found the selections included make exciting listening. Each selection is a beautiful arrangement and a good mix. Best of all: each musical selection is useful and conducive for dance.
2-21-07 Veiled Visions: A Trip Down Memory Lane CD review by Amina Goodyear
The CD titled “Veiled Visions” is a re-release of music that was formerly produced on vinyl.
7-11-07 "Veiled Visions" How Belly Dance Music was First Brought to the United States by Ray Rashid, intro by Amina
One time he told me about a blind accordion player who sat and made lots of jokes while they rehearsed, that musician turned out to be Ammar el Sharie.

Interviews and Other Articles

6-11-09 Arabic Lessons, My Introduction to Shaabi, Part 1 by Amina Goodyear
She taught us that besides learning the words and their meanings, Egyptians do not stand still when singing. They dance around a bit and use their hands, body and eyes to gesture according to the songs.
5-17-09 Ahmed Adaweya My Introduction to Shaabi by Amina Goodyear
Where once he was known as a master plumber, he had now become a master of Saltana.
9-17-07 Changes: Egyptian Dance - Has it crossed the line? by Amina Goodyear
Both festivals, held in Giza were isolated and insulated from the people and the Cairo that I know and love.
2-13-07 Sunday Morning Panel Discussion at Carnival of Stars, November 11, 2007 Transcribed from video by Allyson. Panel members discussed Fusion in Belly Dance. Members included: Jihan Jamal, Shareen El Safy, Dahlena, Debbie Lammam, Amina Goodyear, and Edwina Nearing
12-10-05 Articulating the Collective Dream: The Giza Awards, and why the legacy-making process is important to you. by Amina Goodyear and Gregory Burke.
"We embrace change however roughly it appears. With video we feel secure in the knowledge that the legacy of the past will never abandon us."
11-16-01 Giza Club Lecture, Wacky Woman Traveler- Leyla Lanty
Hard work and familiarity pays off.
8-31-01 Make a Giza Club!
...She was to become our first Wacky Woman Traveler...
5-3-01 Fouad Marzouk, Interview by Amina Goodyear
I remember at first feeling intimidated dancing to one of Soheir Zaki's musicians.
8-12-00 Dancing on the Edge by Amina
I learned from the first evening chasing Fatma around the stage that in order to have a serious dance company in the Egyptian style, I had to seriously play with the appearance of disorder.
3-22-00 HOW TO START A MIDDLE EASTERN BAND or How The Arabian Knights Came About
We dreamed of a band that would play music to make us look good always.
12-99 Second Annual Giza Academy Awards by Amina Goodyear
The judges seldom agree the first time around. So begins a process of arguing the various merits of each video performance as it pertains to the category for which it is being considered, until finally a consensus is reached.
Salamat Valentine by Amina Goodyear of San Francisco, CA
Would my "Valentine" want to celebrate the day a day early or would he be mad that I would rather be at Salamat Sundays?
12-12-99 AT LONG LAST-HERE IT IS! North Beach Memories!
Please join us as we travel back in time to the North Beach district of San Francisco between the years 1957 through 1985. We'll read about a vibrant period of Middle Eastern Dance and Music Performance as presented in our interviews with musicians, dancers, and club owners who created this exciting history. Amina, Saida Asmar, Aziza, Dahlena, Fadil, Najia, Shamira, Taka, Vince

For more info, including Amina's exciting Video ,"Hizz Ya Wiz",
contact Amina at aminajune@aol.com

Our band plays every Sunday Night!
Call for more info: Amina (415) 282-7910