Princess Madiha

[habibiyaeini]

http://www.princessmadiha.com/index.html

I stumbled across this website and was wondering if anyone knows anything about this dancer. i was reading through and she sounds interesting. I am tempted to buy her video. Does anyone already have this video? What do you think?

Thanks

[Iceland]

wow, she looks very good. I want her videos to check it out.
Are you going to buy her videos?

[Aziza_UAE]

This is a name from the dim past. I remember her adverts being in some of the very first "Habibis" I bought. Maybe some of the US Bhuzzers will know more.

[DeborahDances]

Princess Madiha teaches in my area of Michigan. I've never taken classes from her, last time I checked she taught very small classes out of her house and there was a waiting list. My teacher took from her for a few years a long time ago.

She does a yearly benefit for St. Jude with a workshop and gala show. This past year my car was smashed just before I was going to register so I couldn't afford to go. Hopefully things will work out better this year and I'll be able to go check it out.

[Zamira]

I remember reading her Elegant Dancer dvd is the one in which the actual instructional footage was lost somehow, but she was able to produce the video by having someone verbally explain each move in the choreography over stills of her, and there is video footage of her demonstrating the move. She appears to be a great dancer, and maybe the choreography is fantastic, but for me, I wouldn't want to pay $60 for a "salvaged" instructional video.

[Zamira]

Here's a link to the description I found on tribe.net

http://tribes.tribe.net/raqselsharqi...a-88e80dc6a434

[lizajuk]

I don't wish to sound picky and this is, I know irrelevent but what's with the princess bit some dancers effect. Are they princesses or just in the "Jewish" sense ( my mate, Faith of that persuasion always refers to spoilt gals in that way)?

Maybe it's just me, a republican living in a monarchy, that doesn't get it!

[habibiyaeini]

Originally Posted by lizajuk

I don't wish to sound picky and this is, I know irrelevent but what's with the princess bit some dancers effect. Are they princesses or just in the "Jewish" sense ( my mate, Faith of that persuasion always refers to spoilt gals in that way)?

Maybe it's just me, a republican living in a monarchy, that doesn't get it!

It says this on the website

"Let's go back to the beginning. Born in the Druze Mountains of Syria, Madiha's mother was of the Awabdi family, originally a royal family in Syria. In the 1800s, the Atrish and Awabdi families were engaged in a deadly power struggle. When Madiha's grandfather, Halil Awabdi, the reigning prince, lost his life in that struggle, the family lost all their power and wealth. Her mother later married into a farming family. In memory of their heritage, both she and Madiha are entitled to retain the title of "Princess"."

[lizajuk]

Ah.. a Druze princess... yeh...she's en..TITLE...D then.
What about Princess Farhana ?
Still a republican but a romantic........ Lizajuk.

[Zamira]

Yeah, I'm with you Lizajuk. I don't exactly understand the whole princess thing. I'm in the US, where we don't have real princesses, so it reminds me of a character from a Disney movie. Oh well, some people think the whole idea of making up a dance name is weird, so to each their own, I guess.

[mlowsley]

I have been one of her students and I have looked at the entire NEW video. This video is pretty good for an advanced dancer. I would not recommend it to a beginner. (She is planning on creating a beginner video.)

She is a real princess from the Syrian royal family. She and her sisters are the last generation allowed to use the title. She is also one of the warmest women you would ever care to meet. She genuinely cares about her students and wants them to become greate dancers.

Mind you, she holds no punches. In the Metro Detroit area her classes are considered the toughest you can take. She is a master of every type of shimmy possible. In all honesty, I've seen all sorts of dancers and no one compares to her these days.

Right now I am not studying with her, but, as a disclaimer, I have to say I did do her web site for her. (I'm thinking of redoing it in Wordpress to make updates easier.)

Pax,

Melissa

[Michelle75]

Having the name "princess" is no different to me than dancers who choose the name "Amira" which translates to "princess". I personally, don't think it's a big deal, unless, they try to live up to the name and act like a royal pain in the you know what!! Smiles!

[gotraqs]

Hey, everyone, I was just looking through some of my Habibis last night, and I found a full, long article about Madiha. Interesting reading. :) She seems to have lived the real dance life. The article was in the 20th anniversary edition, if I am remembering correctly. Really interesting article on Jamila Salimpour as well.

Anyway, funny thing I keep noticing, is that of all these people who I have seen around over the last 10 years, many of them have been around for a long time, whereas I just thought they were fairly new to the scene. Princess Farhana, for example. She is in a lot of the early 90's issues. I don't know that she was "Princess" back then. I have seen her called just "Pleasant Gehman- Farhana."

Anyway, I am having oodles of fun reading. Lots of really interesting scholarly articles in the older Habibis. :)

[bllydnc101]

I have been a student of hers for 2 years, she teaches 3 nights a week and I take her classes 3 nights a week and trust me if she ever taught more I would go more. I have done her St. Jude's concert twice, she is an amazing woman and the most incredible dancer. I have never seen anyone shimmy the way she does, she has legs of steel.
She is a legend in every sense of the word. She is all about the music and the way it makes you feel, when she teaches a routine there is no counting involved and usually we don't repeat it the same way because she says we may not feel the same way the next time. There are sooo many wonderful things I can say about this lady, I feel blessed to be able to have her as a teacher.