Gilded
Serpent presents...
Top Egyptian Dance
Star
Dina in LA
Sponsored by Little Egypt Productions
Report and photos by Catherine
Barros
On
May 14-16 of 2004, Nora, Dee Dee
& Ahmad Asad of Little Egypt presented
Dina of Cairo in a teaching workshop and show
at the Radisson Hotel at the Los Angeles Airport.
On Saturday,
Dina taught a choreography to Nancy
Ajram's popular song "Bedala Aleyk".
The whole class enthusiastically jumped in to learn the
choreography. The group of chiropractors next door didn't
appreciate our fun. They were made unwilling participants
because of the loud volume and numerous repetitions of the
song. A conflict was not anticipated by management with
the booking of these two very different events (who knew
that chiropractors were so uptight? -just kidding!). Consequently,
we were asked to move to another room midway through our
workshop. To make up for the inconvenience this caused,
sponsor DeeDee offered to send all the
Saturday participants a copy of the Nancy Ajram CD.
It was
a greatly appreciated offer.
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There was a raised stage in the very center of the room;
so we crowded around from all sides! Can you believe the
"Super Stars" that attended this workshop? Present
were: Jasmin Jahal, Angelika Nemeth,
Fahtiem, Jillina, and,
hidden behind Jillina, Shoshanna is lurking.
Off stage not show in this photo were others that you would
also recognise. In the late afternoon of the workshop, Dina
requested groups of dancers to come to the stage and perform
the choreography with her (sometimes without her if I remember
correctly). To avoid my turn on the stage I started wandering
about the area taking photos to share with you!
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On Sunday
we were back in our regularly scheduled, large ballroom,
that had a generous raised stage. Dina taught a different
choreography to Sherin's song, "Sabri
Aleel". As you can tell from the group photo on Sunday,
we were a happy group of dancers. We were just happy to
have the experience of dancing with Dina! |
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The
Saturday night show was eagerly anticipated by all
the workshop attendents. It was a full house and
Dina didn't disappoint anyone. |
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She
danced to some of her favorite pieces of music including
"Tahtil Shibek" and "Leyla Helwa",
while providing the audience with a visual treat
as she dashed back onto the stage with each new
costume brought for the show (a total of 4 changes
in all). |
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After
the show, we all tried to get our photo ops with
Dina, but mostly we all wanted to hang around and
talk about what a great show it had been. |
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Many
people stated as they left for the evening: "See
you in Miami!"
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Have
a comment? Send us a
letter!
Check the "Letters to the Editor"
for other possible viewpoints!
Ready
for more?
8-23-04
Smoking with Dina: a casual interview
with an Egyptian star in California by Alanna “Abir”
I
got to see Dina dance and be herself again and again.
3-11-04
Aida
Nour & Magdy El-Leisy in
Dallas, Texas, January
9-11, 2004, sponsored
by Little Egypt
8-12-04
The Photos & Poetry of
David Ludwig of the Middle Eastern Music and Dance Camp in
Mendocino in August 2003
there
is a time each year, when dancers and musicians gather, in a magic
forest, to reconnect , with their creative source...
8-8-04
Sirat Al-Ghawazi, Part
3 by Edwina Nearing
Begun
in the mid-1970's , the early sections of "Sirat Al-Ghawazi"
were first published under the title "The Mystery of the
Ghawazi." We are happy to be able to respond to the continued
demand for these articles by making them available to our readers
worldwide.
8-2-04 A Whole Latte' Shaking Going
On, Belly Dance Comics by Alexandria
"Ok,
I think we can stop now!"
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