Cassandra in Minneapolis

[jmdruadh]

She blew us away at the Arab Dance Seminar last weekend.

Her performance was. just. amazing. Absolutely everything she did was the exact perfect thing: exactly what it took to help you hear the music through her ears and feel exactly what she was feeling, without the slightest bit of "extra" to distract you from it.

I think her taqsim was one of the simplest I've ever seen, in the most wonderful way. It was like a Japanese flower arrangement: what she could do with just a few movements was more eloquent than what another dancer could do with many.

There was no hint of "look at me!" or "be impressed by all the things I'm layering!" in her performance. What she did took incredible precision and control, but you didn't realize it until afterward. While you were watching, all that you really noticed was how *exquisite* every moment was and how privileged you felt to just watch her raise her arms.

I have got a massive artistic crush.

If any of you are in the Minneapolis area, run run run to her dance school:
Jawaahir - Cassandra - Middle Eastern Dance Lessons - Belly Dance Classes

[Zumarrad]

Cassandra is the only dancer I have ever seen, so far, who made me forget to breathe. She is incredible.

My teacher had a massive artistic crush too, and she used to show us footage of Cassandra whenever possible. I could always see that she had flawless technique, but it wasn't till I saw her live that I realised what an extraordinary performer she is, too. She makes it all look so, so easy, and there's never an awkward angle. I've never seen a bad still shot of her in performance, and I have seen a lot of candids!

What I really like about her, apart from being, you know, flawless, is the droll sense of humour she can pull out mid-performance when she wants to. She is such a good dancer that she doesn't seem to get fazed by anything untoward. The first time I saw her there was a moth fluttering round the lightbulb right where she was dancing, and she did this tiny bit of business where she eventually grabbed it and sent it off.

[Asim]

I'm sort of a Cassandra grandpup -- my long-standing teacher, Zarifa, started studying with her many, many years ago (not long after Cassandra left SF for MN), and I'm told you can see a wee bit of her style in mine.
True story:

My teacher rounded us up to see Cassandra some years ago in Atlanta. We had rehearsed and rehearsed one of Cassandra's choreographies to perform at the show, and were pretty nervious about it to begin with. OK, some of us were terrified.
That meant, of course, that we found out just before the show that Cassandra was planning to do that very choreography.

...of course.

We went ahead -- what else to do! -- and Cassandra was gracious and effusive in her praise of our interpretations. And then she did hers, and it was...

...well. On of the things I've tried to learn, that Zarifa inparted to me, that was imparted unto her by Cassandra -- unconsciously, I think, but still -- was that sense of the dance coming out of you. You know what I mean, where the dance looks like it's just as natural as breathing?
Cassandra has that, and I agree with jmdruadh. She did that, that night, and made that coreography a living thing. Not magic, just damned hard work and lots of talent. We were good, but she was grace personified.
It was, in many ways, simplier that what we did. Less overt work. More nuance, the kind of thing that polish and confidence brings.
As stressed as we were by it, we were still able to enjoy and be wowed by the moment. And that's Cassandra, in a nutshell.

[badriya_al_ahmar]

What everybody else said! That taqsim in Boston was spellbinding. Rachid Halihal's violin was gorgeous enough to make you forget to breath in the first place, and then combined with Cassandra--there are no words. I would jump to take classes with her again in an instant!

[Souzan]

Can't wait until January when I have four days with Cassandra and Habiba at Oasis Dance Camp South. She is so inspiring and I could watch her all day. I studied with her at Dance Camp two years ago and was so in awe of her.

Souzan

[Dahabiya]

I looooved that night!! Cassandra was amazing and the musicians were excellent. It is probably one of the best performances to live music I have seen because the dancer and the musicians did such a great job and had a lot of chemistry among them. I thank all of them for the amazing experience.

[Anjela]

There is nothing I could say that could come close to describing how amazing Cassandra is! Maybe someday I'll be good enough to "level up" and take regular classes with her, but until then, I just swoon whenever I am lucky enough to see her perform.

I saw her dance at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival this year, and I snapped about 15 photos of her. With any other dancer, you might catch maybe one good photo for every 10 or 20 you take; the rest will all catch awkward arms, weird facial expressions, or strange poses. But every photo of Cassandra revealed poetry in motion.



One time I saw her dance, she discarded her zills on the floor and one went rolling off upstage. She made a joke of it and worked it into her dance flawlessly. Another time, there was a feather left of the stage from the previous dancers' costumes. She worked it into her taxim--picking up the feather, and blowing it out of her hand and watching as it floated to the ground. It looked so effortless, you'd swear she'd planned it. Of course, you could say that about most anything she does... :)

For anyone who is interested in visiting us in the Twin Cities, she hosts a weeklong intensive that I've heard wonderful things about.
Belly Dance and Middle Eastern Dance Event Details

She has a few video clips on YouTube... I watch them when I want to feel inspired.
YouTube - CassandraSchool's Channel

[Adishakti]

Love, love, love Cassandra!

Just a little plug incase anyone's interested? I have her coming to Kingston Ontario May 29 & 30 to teach Oriental & Ghawazee. Caroline Labrie will be teaching Saidi as well.

More info as it develops on my website Egyptian Belly Dance & Folklore with Adishakti - Kingston, Ontario

So excited!