Thread: The highly celebrated knife and fork dance..

... , demonstrated here by an expert at about 2:00:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8bSMVUqwvk
I think Azima handles it well. I might have freaked and run, thinking the woman wanted a piece of me .... literally!

BTW, Azima is an excellent Atlanta area dancer who puts on a great full show when not having to deal with the constant distractions of this type of gig. It's my understanding she's also been a professional ballerina and Brazilian style dancer.

Oh my. Many an audience member has taken it upon themselves to get up and dance with me whether I invited them to or not, but no one has ever clutched cutlery in their fists while doing so.

I agree with you, Azima handled it with poise and professionalism. Nicely done!

What a pro - she didn't even twitch!

That lady looked like she was going for the lead in the next Friday the 13th movie. How totally weird.

OMG! I would have freaked out!

I wonder if this is some sort of ethnic dance gone wrong?? Like a dance normally done with daggers? Boy, it looked strange, and Azima should be commended on keeping her cool.

The woman's antics are really quite amusing! I think it's funny as h#$% once you get over the shock and see there's no real danger! It's a tough one to get out of, but you can see Azima quickly encouraging the kids to dance to change the focus. Smart move.

ROTFLMAO!!!!!!! That is a keeper, that clip!

Now that's enthusiasm!

Natalie

Wow, what a great set. Interesting to see what others do in various situations...not just the knife and fork (substitute zills?) but the older gentleman on her like white on rice later in the video. See, I would have been laughing, but she kept her nice face throughout. Lesson learned. :)

Too funny!

That was just awesome. WTF!?

Azima had several hurdles to overcome at this gig and she handled each with grace.

I had Raman Noodle coming out of my mouth when the old lady come out with the utensils and the old man was wanting some of Azima. What a fun clip.

Originally Posted by s1dur1_sab1tu

but the older gentleman on her like white on rice later in the video. See, I would have been laughing, but she kept her nice face throughout. Lesson learned. :)

Yes, she had to keep dealing with that lech didn't she? Not only is that kind of guy annoying because he never sits down, but when no matter how much you back up he keeps closing in .... yuck!

Ha ha!! One other thing that cracked me up was the camera turning away from the dancer to pan over the buffet! Well, the dancer's fine but let's see what we've got to eat!! Reminded me of a video I saw of ahlan wa sahlan in which the camera constantly turns to look at the audience. Drives me nuts!

Originally Posted by baseena

Ha ha!! One other thing that cracked me up was the camera turning away from the dancer to pan over the buffet! Well, the dancer's fine but let's see what we've got to eat!!

..l;, , that cracked me up too!

I was thinking this would be a great clip to show students that are getting ready to move into the big, bad world of professional dance. A sort of, "This is what to expect and how to handle it" instructional vid.

Wow, just when I thought I'd seen everything on stage; this was completely strange and a bit bizarre - the utensil waving women didn't look drunk, she looked like she was really trying to dance and kept on making definite hand and arm gestures with the knife and fork. Azima handled it extremely well! It was freaky and a little bitty scary - not one person in the restaurant did anything about this "utensil" dance either! Where was the maitre d', I wants to know? Where was this woman's family/friends/keeper? Geez, the only thing that I went through that compared to this is some guy in restaurant who when I asked him up to dance, took my veil from around his waist (I had put it there while teaching him shimmies) and when my back was turned for a SECOND, he tossed it over my head and started choking me! Restaurant owner was there INSTANTLY, and dragged this guy out to loud applause from audience of people enjoying dinner show - was very bizarre and scarym, I could not believe how badly I'd misjudged this guy - he was obviously drunk. I was able to quickly go into my finale drum solo, audience started clapping in time to live music and that was that. However, just goes to prove that you just NEVER know about people and have to be prepared for about anything. I had been performing in clubs/restaurants for about five years and still didn't see this coming!
Yes, Azima's clip should be required viewing for all "professional wannabe" dancers!

Originally Posted by baseena

Ha ha!! One other thing that cracked me up was the camera turning away from the dancer to pan over the buffet! Well, the dancer's fine but let's see what we've got to eat!! Reminded me of a video I saw of ahlan wa sahlan in which the camera constantly turns to look at the audience. Drives me nuts!

I hate that! I ended up in an Ahlan wa Sahlan video. I was exhausted (it was about 2 in the morning, and I had been up early to go to Arabic class) and looked it. I didn't even know I had made the video until a friend asked why I had a beer but no one else did! (It took me 20 minutes, and a lot of Arabic, to convince the waiters to bring me one...)

Nisima - that is so scary! Sounds like you handled it very well. This thread has been an eye opener...lots of crazy punters out there.

Originally Posted by baseena

Ha ha!! One other thing that cracked me up was the camera turning away from the dancer to pan over the buffet! Well, the dancer's fine but let's see what we've got to eat!! Reminded me of a video I saw of ahlan wa sahlan in which the camera constantly turns to look at the audience. Drives me nuts!

Yes, that was hilarious, the camera zoomed straight back in on her shimmying butt again afterwards!

I was a bit alarmed by the guy with the baby throwing dollars right in her face near the beginning, but that was the least of it.
What a pro, for remaining so composed and dancing beautifully through that ordeal. ..l;,

Im off to start a new thread about scary/crazy patron/customer/audience member stories.....

Okay, I am going to ask what might be a silly question here, but please bear with me as I've never done restaurant work: how in the world do you get the tips up off the floor when you are done dancing? I've seen the "shower the dancer with money" thing before, but I always wondered how that was handled.

a thousand years ago, i danced at a hye resturant, with the pete dorian band
when they would play, shalako, a solo dance,a man would get up with 2 dinner knives,and dance a "gonna kill turks" dance.
the clip was nice , made me remember.hell, ill be 57 monday...it is good to know you can remember!
z

"Okay, I am going to ask what might be a silly question here, but please bear with me as I've never done restaurant work: how in the world do you get the tips up off the floor when you are done dancing? I've seen the "shower the dancer with money" thing before, but I always wondered how that was handled"
i make friends with 1 wait person, busser eyc.
i tip them to pick up my tips.(not all m e peoples do money showers, in fresno a dancer would get fired if they do not accept tips in their costume, it insults the ethnic community )

Originally Posted by BabsGrrrl

Okay, I am going to ask what might be a silly question here, but please bear with me as I've never done restaurant work: how in the world do you get the tips up off the floor when you are done dancing? I've seen the "shower the dancer with money" thing before, but I always wondered how that was handled.

Amirah and Sahira ask/force their good friends to crawl around and under the tables collecting the dollars at Athar in Elmhurst. I've seen it.

And next time I'm keeping a few $$ for myself. ..l;,

Where I've danced, either a friend/troupemate of the dancer picks up the bills or a member of the waitstaff does it.

A venue employee (or relative of the hiring party) should pick up your money for you.
The Egyptian folkloric dances in which the men are holding out their thumbs- those were originally knife dances- maybe she's from "over there".
In Sharm el sheikh (the troupe) I think they guys do that in the Iskandaria malaya piece. I'll have to pay attention today.

I never crawl around picking up tips. I *always* ask the waitstaff to do it, and they usually do it without me asking.