Shamadan - where to buy the best

[testadmin]

One of my students and I are interested in learning how to balance and dance with the Shamadan. Is there anyone out there who can point us in the direction of where to purchase one that isn't too heavy and one that is best to learn with? It seems a lot of vendors are out of them too, for some reason. Also, if anyone knows an instructor in Orange County who can help teach us.

Any help I can get would be greatly appreciated!

[testadmin]

Not Dahlal or Scheherezade. They sell the "standard" Egyptian Shemadan that just isn't the greatest quality wise.

Shira has a folding one that I "think" is of better quality, I'm sure she'll chime in shortly.

I ended up making my own from a "real" candelabrum. Its a real looker, and is high quality - but it took 1.2 forevers to make!

If you *DO* end up buying one of the Egyptian ones, tear out the uber-cheap foam padding in the crown and replace it with Dr. Scholl's "Mole Foam", available at most drugstores in the foot care section. Not to be confused with "Mole Skin" - Mole Foam is Mole skin over a super heavy duty foam. Works GREAT as Shemadan crown padding...

-Zorba
"The Veiled Male"
http://www.doubleveil.net

[testadmin]

Has anyone here ever had one of these German ones?

From here: http://www.malu-tanz.de/leuchter.html

or straight to the visuals here: http://www.malu-tanz.de/leuchter4.html

I've been drooling over these for years but I live on the wrong hemisphere!!!

Are they are great as they look??? Please please tell me!!!

jilyan

[testadmin]

got mine from a place in ontario ca...diamond pyramid????

[testadmin]

Wow, I've never seen those before! They do look similar to the one pictured on the cover of Horacio's "Schamadan" video. I really like that 3 tier, 13 candle brass jobbie at the bottom. I bet the double tiered, 17 candle one really lights up the night!

I'd like to be able to say "They're German. They're well made and very lightweight." - 'cause that's what they look like to me! But in actuality, I haven't a clue. Maybe Meissoun knows?

I get frustrated every time this topic comes up - the typical Egyptian ones are junk; they look like they're made with hand tools in a dirt floored hut, and they probably are! But I haven't anything better to recommend...

-Zorba
"The Veiled Male"
http://www.doubleveil.net

[testadmin]

I would suggest to buy the best shamadan from Little Egypt in TX. Its the same one Aida Nour used when she did the shamadan dance there for one of the seminars.

Don't buy it from Dahlal. I have one from Dahlal and they are crap and junk!

Audrena sells shamadan, but in my opinion her service is so bad and she is such an insulting person (to me) that I wouldn't recommend buying them from her.

Emil at Diamond Pyramid in southern california sells shamadans at good prices.

[testadmin]

yeah, diamond pyramid...it does not come with any type of padding.so i did not have to tear it up, before i put the mole stuff on.i did remove the center 2 arms.i sae it done on youtube, and being 5'1", that was the ticket, plus squeezing the crown into an oval, like my head, not a circle like a basketball.
cz
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[testadmin]

My folding shamadan came from Layali Yasmine, Sahra Kent's company. It's good quality. I don't know whether she still sells them.

[testadmin]

I have emailed Sahra K. on and off for years about her shamadans...she has never had them in stock, but it could be my timing. :(

I have one of the three-tiered ones from Scheherezade and am happy with it, though. And I believe she generally always has them available, or at least the two tiered ones (which--for the original poster--are obviously a bit lighter). As Zamora said above, you will need to pad and reshape it it yourself.

Side note: Just the mere thought of balancing candelabras makes me giddy. My non-dancing friends (and probably some of my dancing ones now that I think about it...) think it is the most ridiculous thing in the world, but in a good way. I love raqs.

[testadmin]

It definitely *does* get the audience's attention, doesn't it?

-Zorba
"The Veiled Male"
http://www.doubleveil.net

[testadmin]

Thank you. I would have never known about the quality. The Shira has from Sahra Kent looks great, but I believe she is all out of them. As for making my own, that's just not possible with my time limitations. (Pretty busy already) But that is a great thought!!!

[testadmin]

Since I'm in So. Cal, I'm going to check out Diamond Pyramid. He's local and so the shipping wouldn't be much. Thanks for the info.

[testadmin]

the diamond p guy assambeled it too!

[testadmin]

Does the diamond pyramid guy have a website? An e-mail address?

[testadmin]

What's wrong with the ones from Dahlal?? Do they fall apart faster??Are they just uglier because of the padding?? More uncomfortable??
Doesn't it hurt your head without the padding??

Please share some pictures of the good ones. The German website is not working.

[testadmin]

Silly question-how do you deal with the dripping wax? Do you ever get any on you?

[testadmin]

They're made in a third world country, and look like it. Probably in a dirt floored hut with a hammer and pliers. Not a "old world craftsmanship" item.

Nothing, and I mean NOTHING is straight on them. The nuts are obviously hand made and no two are the same size. The candle holders are not straight in relation to each other or anything else.

Yes, most of this can be fixed - Dahlal even cautions purchasers on this - but it isn't easy to tweak things so they look right and you still end up with a third rate prop - if you didn't break something in the process. I've been fighting with mine since I got it - it still doesn't look all that great, and one of the arms broke off. I built a new one from scratch using a "real" candelabrum - it looks REALLY cool, but it weighs a ton and took forever to make. I'm still thinking about getting new "arms" made for my Egyptian one, that would solve most of its problems.

As for the padding, its third rate too, looks like the crap that it is, and is ineffective for the 15 minutes that it lasts. That's why I tell people to tear it out and replace it with "Mole Foam". The Mole Foam is first rate stuff, makes the crown comfortable, isn't visible from any distance, and wears VERY well.

I don't blame Dahlal, Scheherezade, or anyone else for selling these things - they are seemingly the only model that is made in large enough numbers to satisfy demand. No-one seems to import the nice ones that are made in Germany - and it'd probably cost a bloody fortune to do so. My wife thinks I should go into the Shemadan business, I'm not so sure...

-Zorba
"The Veiled Male"
http://www.doubleveil.net

[testadmin]

This is one area where the Egyptian ones have got it right - they have HUGE Bobesches (drip cups) on them. My adapted "real" candelabrum only had small Bobesches on it - totally ineffective - so I added large, cut crystal ones I found on eBay.

With good sized Bobesches and decent dance isolations, you will get little to no wax on you. Without, you'll look like you have a major wax fetish - and that was one of the more polite "observations" made after I did two back to back performances sans Bobesches!


-Zorba
"The Veiled Male"
http://www.doubleveil.net
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[testadmin]

Thanks Zorba, that was very helpful. I just got one from Egypt of the Dahlal kind, now I need to get some mole foam.

[testadmin]

Any drugstore should have it. Make sure everything is good and tight, but don't over-do it as the nuts could strip and or crack.

Have fun decorating it - I like lotsa crystals and beads hanging off of mine. The crown can be decorated nicely with some wide ribbon in a pattern you like.

-Zorba
"The Veiled Male"
http://www.doubleveil.net