Thread: Bosnian Client - Any Suggestions?

I just got a booking for a Full Set for a 50th birthday party. The client told me the she and her husband, as well as most of the guests, are Bosnian immigrants. She said that they are very familiar with Belly Dancing, so I was wondering if anyone had any insights into what BD is like over there?

Also, are there any ME songs you could recommend that might have some Balkan influence in them? I have a passing familiarity with the musical style, since a many of the Tribal/TF dancers in my area have performed to Balkan music (and I like Gogol Bordello ). I doubt I could pull of a whole Balkan song, but I thought it would be a nice touch if I could give a nod to the audience's heritage somewhere.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

yes, i def. recommend songs with balkan influences/mediterranean beats (if that makes sense?). make sure if there are lyrics tho that u get translation and make sure that the songs don't sound too greek cuz then they might think u're confusing the cultures lol

i've never met a bd-er over there and only know 1 other yugo/bosnian girl besides me that belly dances, and she's in a troupe with me. since i haven't been back to my coutnry in over 3 years i can't tell u what they think of it over there from first hand experience but we do have our own folk dances and music so ur best bet would be to go with something similar to that. i'll pm u if i can think of a song in bosnian that would be good for bd as well...the thing is we copy a lot of turkish beats in our pop songs but i don't think that would be of too much interest to a 50 year old lol

I am not sure there is a defined bdance tradition among Bosnians per se. The Bosnians I used to interact with really enjoyed Turkish pop a lot (think Tarkan). Sorry, don't know if this is hugely helpful!

I've got a fair amount of classic Turkish songs - would they be familiar, you think, with something like Tu Mavra Matia Sou?

Originally Posted by laura 2

I've got a fair amount of classic Turkish songs - would they be familiar, you think, with something like Tu Mavra Matia Sou?

I don't know, sorry... Hopefully Zana can shed some light. The Bosnians I used to hang around with were twenty-somethings and so they were mostly into pop.

gotcha!

i can rummage through some music and youtube videos tonight if u're not in a hurry. u can feel free to send me clips of what u think might work and i can give ya feedback on it?
or you can try contacting _Iris_ who is actually in Serbia but you can see what the general bd scene is over there in Belgrade cuz it shouldn't be THAT much different than, say Sarajevo

Originally Posted by zfejzic

i can rummage through some music and youtube videos tonight if u're not in a hurry. u can feel free to send me clips of what u think might work and i can give ya feedback on it?

No, no hurry - the gig is not until May 9th, so I've got some time. Thank you so much!

Okay, so I was talking to my teacher about this gig today, and as it turns out she used to perform regularly at a Bosnian restaurant! She highly recommended this song, and said the customers would go nuts when it came on. And hey, there's a belly dancer in the video!

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVIDw5o4ls0]YouTube - Milos Bojanic - A ona igra - ÄŒigra[/ame]

The client requested veil for a prop (I give them a choice of veil, cane or sword with the Full Set), and one of the songs I was considering was Lama Bada. My teacher had a version of the song by Tony Hanna and the Yugoslavian Gipsy Brass Band that she lent me. You can hear a clip of it as Track #16 here: [ame=http://www.amazon.com/Rough-Guide-Arabic-Cafe/dp/B00175G70E]Amazon.com: The Rough Guide to Arabic Cafe: Various Artists: Music[/ame]

What do you think - a good idea to put them both in?

I think so... get them up to dance with you for one of the songs.

Originally Posted by gretchendances

I think so... get them up to dance with you for one of the songs.

My plan was to use Cigra for the audience participation song. It's so fun!

already replied to ur pm but in case anyone else runs into a similar situation: both are appropriate to use :)
have fun!

Zana, I can't thank you enough for your help! I'm really looking forward to this weekend's gig!

no prob. ooh forgot to tell u tho since it is a b-day party...

sretan rodjendan=happy birthday (dj='j' like in 'jam')

enjoy! :)

There is a website with Balkan line dances (you have to google for these words, it's among the first to come up), which has song samples, song titles and line dance notes for different Balkan regions. That could make a nice audience participation project.

I had the gig last night and it went great! I've had a terrible cold all week and woke up yesterday morning with a 102 degree fever, but I managed to pull it all together with the help of Advil and copious amounts of cold medicine, and the show went on.

Cigra was a huge, huge hit! They were all singing the words, dancing with me, and a couple of guys even brought out a vodka bottle and started doing shots while dancing around!

The party guests did not tip me directly, but the client added a very nice tip to the balance she owed me. I then proceeded to go home and collapse on the couch.

Thanks so much to everyone who offered advice, both on the thread and in PMs. You guys are the best!

yay! glad u had fun! now rest and get better!