Thread: need ghawazee info

yipes!

leila haddad is coming to seattle to do a music and dance concert with the ghawazee musicians of luxor. the performance will be part of the university of washington's world dance series - a very prestigious stage for bellydance! the nonprofit dance group I'm with is going to host her for a workshop the day after the concert. long story short, I emailed somebody at the UW to try to find studio space, and have ended up volunteering my group to give the pre-show talk at the concert (the heavy hitters I suggested - helene eriksen and tamallyn dallal, along with our local mother of folk dance mish mish are all unavailable). did I say yipes?

so, before I go blindly hitting up google, can anybody suggest any great websites for information on ghawazee dance, music, costuming, etc? thanks in advance!!!

I don't have website but wondering when this is, is it open to the public? I'd come over for it. Thanks.

Edited to add, did you check Morocco's? Welcome to Morocco's Meanderings

Originally Posted by jaziri

I don't have website but wondering when this is, is it open to the public? I'd come over for it. Thanks.

Edited to add, did you check Morocco's? Welcome to Morocco's Meanderings

haven't checked anything yet - wanted to wait for the wize bhuzzers first. :)

and of course! - here is the link:
UW World Series : Artists
the date is saturday march 15th; the workshop will be sunday the 16th (still finalizing studio space, but it should run from noon-3pm - info on the workshop will be at Promoting excellence in Middle East-inspired Dance and Music )
definitely open to the public! the lecture will be a half hour before the concert. (wow. I'm so excited to be able to share our dance with a crowd of 100-200 arts junkies eager to learn something new! and, I'm freaked out at the same time!)

Habiba in Philly (who's an *amazing* lady all around) has a number of articles, including on the Ghawazee, online.

I second Habiba! Her Ghawazee workshop which I've taken is amazing and her knowledge is incredible of this dance form!
The Habiba Studio

Here's a couple other sources you might find helpful:

Aisha Ali - Belly Dance with Aisha Ali
Jasmin Jahal - The Ghawazee of Egypt
BellyDance.org - Ghawazee and ghazeeyeh, dancers of egypt
BDancer.com - Origins of Oriental Dance: Pt 2b - Ancient Egypt/Medieval Egypt & Ghawazee

I'm sure there are more and I'd love to hear what other people know too!

Have a wonderful time! I'm sure you'll do great and let us know how it goes!

The Gilded Serpent web site has a whole series of articles by Edwina Nearing on the Ghawazee. Edwina is personal friends with the Banat Maazin.

Who is the band? The Musicians of the Nile?

I'm very confused that a "Ghawazee" show would feature Leila Haddad. She's a good dancer, but she's from Tunisia, very far away from Egypt. Why not Khairiyya Maazin? She actually IS Ghawazee.

Habiba's website also has some articles on the Ghawazee.

The Habiba Studio

Nikki

Originally Posted by *Shira*

The Gilded Serpent web site has a whole series of articles by Edwina Nearing on the Ghawazee. Edwina is personal friends with the Banat Maazin.

Who is the band? The Musicians of the Nile?

I'm very confused that a "Ghawazee" show would feature Leila Haddad. She's a good dancer, but she's from Tunisia, very far away from Egypt. Why not Khairiyya Maazin? She actually IS Ghawazee.

I would imagine Khariyya Maazin does all right without travelling or may not want to. I know Penny Walters is running a trip to Luxor that incldes a class with her.(I hope to go as I coincide with her holiday)
AND when you watch the Maazins dancing, there is not exactly a lot of steps to play with if you are thinking of a more theatrical presentation of Ghawazee dancing.( as we are)
I have been to modern Ghawazee with Khaled Mahmoud(British/Egyptian) and "based in the past" workshop with Maria D'Silva(British). I have no reason to think I didn't get excellent tuition. They have both studied the style/tradition.
When all is said and done if you are looking for what may have been done historically you are hoping what is passed down is justso. Leila Haddad seems to me to be eminently suited to teach Ghawazee style. Let's face it , if we all rely on trying to get hold of someone we see as a real Ghawazee, it's not going to be easy. ..g.:

thank you all so much!!!

i have an email in to leila - I have a feeling she may be presenting other folkloric dances and not just ghawazee. this concert is geared toward a world music and dance audience, not bellydancers, so she may build the show with that in mind.

Alexandria and the Near Eastern Dance company of Berkeley Ca. have been doing Ghawazee forever. They have performed at Rakasah forever. Many of the troupe have visited the Banat Mazan in Luxor.
Amina and the Aswan Dancers of San Francisco is another excellent source for all things Ghawazee. Both she and Alexandria are exceptional resources for history, performance and all things Egyptian folkloric.