Hello all! Happy new year!

Gee! It's been a while since I "Bhuzzed". My husband & I have finally settled down in Lovely Lodi, NJ (near NYC) & now that my job is also settled down, IT IS TIME FOR US TO START OUR TROUPE.

The troupe will focus on folkloric dances of Tunisia, Morocco, & Khaleeg. We will also perform some Egyptian style cabaret. Our mission is to promote the wonderful and less listened to music of North Africa, Iraq, and Khaleeg. With North African dance, the shimmies and the accents are a little different, so the dancer would need to be able to shift gears from one rhythm format to another. We will dance folkloric and raks sharqui to the music of Saliha and Ali Riahi, who were great singers before the period of Om Kalthoum. We will also dance folkloric Tunisian (in traditional as well as modern melias). We will also dance to Algerian Rai music, Moroccan shaabi and music of Ben Khayat, and mwoshahat rhythms (9, 10, 13, 16, 21 count rhythms). And there's more to dancing Khaleegy than tossing hair!!

We are holding dance auditions on Sat afternoons at our place. Any bellydance background is recommended. African (any region of Africa), Khaleegy syles also recommended, but not required. Must be able to accept feedback and work well with others in troupe dynamics. The audition (last ~ 11/2 hours) will comprise of:
1) performing to you own music so we can see your style
2) I will then teach some common Tunisian, Khaleegy, and/or Moroccan moves and drum rhythms for ~ 30-40 minutes
3) Finishing off with the improv to live drumming using what you just learned so we could see what you learned and how you start into the rhythm.

(For those of you who took West African dance, this is the usual format in a dance class: learn the technique, then use & apply it). This is a long-term commitment, so once you feel that you would be interested in learning more about the dance styles and are able to work with us, then dancers will become my apprentice. I will be holding 2 hour classes where you are required to attend 2 times a month. You will not pay for the classes. Your time & dedication is payment enough. Once we start to have paid shows, then you will be reimbursed.

We are also looking for musicians to perform as part of our ensemble. I also envsion our dancers to be able to dance and play drums or castenets too, but that will be for next year (god-willing)

We will be participating in Dance Parade 2009 in NYC as one of our 2009events kick-off.

For more info, or if you would like to audition, please contact us at nbahri_rhythms@hotmail.com


Thank you!..g.: