Thread: DC next week?

It looks as if I will be in D.C. next week - probably Wednesday late to I hope some time Saturday evening. I'll play accompanying spouse, we will stay at the Omni Shoreham, at Calvert and Conneticut Ave. - very nice location. It's not certain yet whether I will have our car available to me or not - I hope I will.

I am trying to get a private with Artemis - anything else going on? I am looking for seeing great dancing (cabaret-style - I'd love to tip a fellow Bhuzzer!), live music, and do some shopping - fabrics, trim, rhinestones, costumes, all kinds of bellydancer toys ;-) I know there is Cleo's Bazaar, but it does not list a retail location.

Cleopatra's Closet doesn't have a bricks-and-mortar location right now. I'm sure some of our local pros will chime in with show info...

Latifa

I hate to be nagging (really!) - but is there really nothing I should know about? I've been googling around for about two hours, and much to my frustration, not much luck in my quest. I'd very much appreciate all advice for July 24 to 26, and possibly late on the 23rd.

I'm sure there are lots of great local restaurant shows that, as Latifa mentioned, the dancers up there will tell you about. (I'm about an hour south.) But I do have this info:

Dancer, The Unusual Store, is hosting Amaya on Fri. - Sun. Dancer The Unusual Store Clinton Maryland
(They also have some trims and fabrics.)

G-Street Fabrics GStreetFabrics.com

The Belly Dance Store (you would need a car to get there, and contact for an appt. and to make sure they're back from Egypt) The Belly Dance Store

Steffib....you're just missing me by a day!! Okay, so here's the scoop I've gotten from my post with the same question. Artemis is in Hawaii, don't know when she returns. Faten Salama teaches private lessons in DC. So does Laurel Victoria Gray, and so does Samira Shuruk here on Bhuz. Also, google "Joy of Motion" dance studio--lots of drop-in opportunities. I was told that Marakkesh Palace is a good place to eat. No info on shopping, though....

if you go to:

cleoscloset.com

and click on the "Dancing in DC" link, it lists several venues with belly dancing. Some have dancing every night, some from wed-sun, some, just fri-sat, some just sat, but if you wanted to you could take in a show every night, potentially 2 or more shows in a weekend night. If you want the Arabic nightclub experience, check out the late shows at Alf Leyla, Fairouz or Casablanca. Wherever you go, be sure and call first and be clear you want to see the dancer, some places will cancel their dancer if they don't get a great turnout.

I don't think Stars's Thursday show is on Cleo's list:

* Stars Bistro & Bar || Singing Servers || A Restaurant With Style *

Also, it is a good idea to look for a specific dancer you are interested in seeing and contacting them to see where they are working this weekend. A couple of my favorite dancers who work every weekend are Samira Shuruk and Damiena

Belly Dance DC, VA, MD. See Samira Shuruk

Damiena, Egyptian Cabaret

But there are several other dancers in the area you might be interested in seeing (I don't know who is working where these days though). WAMEDA is one place to get started in finding people: WAMEDA, Inc. and there is google as well.

Have fun!

Oh yeah, the belly dance store is back from Egypt and is unpacking loads of boxes. Now would be the perfect time to go there.

Hi Steffi!
Marrakesh Palace has dancers scheduled every night- they're located right near Dupont Circle on P st- so easy to get to even if you only have Metro access. As mentioned- ALWAYS call a restaurant to double check time and ask who is dancing AND to make sure there IS dancing.
Marrakesh (on New York ave) last I knew had very nice girls with mostly video learning experience dancing - so it depends on what you looking for. We have a wide variety in this area.
Yasmina is fantastic- great audience interaction that often times has the crowd in stitches. I believe she still dances at Fairuz in Falls Church- a tiny little shisha cafe. I don't know where else she is these days and she doesn't have a website to check.
Fort Myers Officers club (Arlington area) has a show every Thursday 7pm- open to the public (have to show your id to enter the gate, which is called the Hatfield Gate). This Thursday it's myself and Suzanne.
Friday (25th) Damiena is at Taste of Morocco in Silver Spring (metro accessible). Great food there! Show at 8pm.
If you're still around late Saturday, midnight in Chantilly I'm at Alf Laylah Wa Laylah. They've got a live band and usually have great debke lines going. :)
There are shows in Baltimore as well- but as you might not have a car, I hesitate to even mention them.

...Cleos Closet is great for accessories, videos, music, some costumes and practice wear. Contact Nimeera to make an appointment as mentioned above.
The Belly Dance Store is the local Mecca for full on cabaret costumes. As Shems said, make an appointment- Shahrzad is back from Egypt with TONS of stuff.

Thanks a million for all advice!

I'm inclined to go to Amaya's workshops during the day (and get in some shopping - I urgently need wide sequin trim in colors JoAnn doesn't have), go back to my hotel, take a swim, and then check out the shows in the evening. Given that we don't have an active restaurant bellydance scene in the 'Burgh, I am dying to see GOOD dancing!

Ah, can't wait! If Bhuzzers see a happy, stupidly grinning German in DC this weekend, chances are, it's me ;-)

Hope you had a great time, Steffi! I didn't see any grinning Germans in town that week, but I did keep my eyes open for one in particular. ..g.:

Samira, does Suzanne have a website? I've been hearing from friends in the area who think she's me, and I'd like to point them in the right direction. Our names aren't that close and I'm sure we look very different, so it should be fairly easy to avoid confusion. Thanks.

Suzana
Middle Eastern Bellydance by Suzana