Well here I am dancing with my shaabi pal Saad-do I want to go back to Cairo-YES PLEASE!!!!!there are several more embarassing pics of me and the man where i am simpering at him horribly-grow up girl!!!Love this guy!!
On Valentines Day we went to see Dina.She was on good form and did a great show. As I've seen her many times I took a seat at the end of the table so the photos are not as good of her. I know some people don't like her but I do-i don't want to dance like her but i enjoy her shows. She is fabulous live. I think she did about 5 lightening quick costume changes. i didn't get photo's of them all. Dina in silver
Dins doing the Nubian Dance in a gorgeous dress. I loved this outfit
After Dina we had Saad El Sogheer and the dancing fellas-what a bus load!!!They were great.It was such a party
Saw Randa on the Nile Maxim.She was fabulous and dynamic.Loved the show. She looked gorgeous too
Here she is in her valentine costume-it had hearts on it.Its by Eman
another Eman-with coins and assuit fabric
Gold mini skirt costume by Eman
As usual I felt a mixture of inspiration and depression.Inspried because she is so fabulous and depressed because I know I have so much to learn and will never be that good- sigh!! perhaps I will have absorbed some of her talent by watching her-hope so.
Saw the American dancer Leila on the Nile Maxim. I enjoyed her, nice show,she looked perfect, had a bit of a sense of fun about her-all very nice.For me, no extra magic though I'm trying analayze why.She did nothing wrong and yet... can't really put my finger on it.She danced beautifully=perhaps i like a little less beauty and more personality-no, I'm really not sure.Anyway I did enjoy the show. Here she is in her 3 costumes. Costume I, light blue looKs like an Eman to me
Didn't care for this one much, was a white flippy mini skirt with matching cycling shorts underneath Last costume was a purple Eman frock
Really enjoyed my time in Cairo and returned weighed down with costumes. Absolute dream come true for me-as i've always wanted to do the costume thing but since I had the opportunity to do it I have been too big-and now I'm not. The total costume haul was 1 Mme Hekmet- white dress with cut outs and no fringe, 1 Hanan lime green and black dress its my fave style like a 2 piece joined in the middle(plus a fab galabea in black and gold), a beautiful classical style fushia full costume from Pharonics (being sent on), an amazing black and gold Eman 2 piece with an extra shrug she made for me and 2 dresses from Mahmouds-one pink dress with see through bits and another dress like a 2 piece joined in the middle and loads of fringing. I was so pleased to be able to go to the costumiers and try things on-it really made me feel like my old self-not like that fat stranger who kept pretending she was me.Definately well on the way back to recovery and practically back to looking like me again. Probably because I was feeling so good I missed no opportunity to dance and was up and dancing at every opportunity-got the offer of a wedding next week-bit too far to travel I think and at the seedy night club one of the guys in the audience tipped the dancer to get me up to dance again after he'd seen me dance before-flattering to me, a bit annoying for her but then she did get paid for my dancing. We saw the whole range of dancers from poor to medium to fabulous.And the absolute best bit for me was seeing Saad El Sogheer (of El Enab fame) who was on after Dina who did a great show with about 50 dancing guys of all shapes and sizes who came down into audience and generally got people up and dancing and made it like a party. AND I DANCED WITH HIM-SWOON. Not that he's very fanciable close to- looks either older than i thought he would be or he's had a hard life!!!! But he is my absolute favourite shaabi singer. Made me smile that a shaabi singer should be top of the bill at the most expensive nightclub in town. i hope someone got a picture of us dancing though i'm probably simpering at him in an an embarassing fshion!! I enjoyed the week so much I'm almost afraid to go back in case its not as good another time. Er I did say almost I'll be back!!!!
Got the shoes.They aint pretty but are so comfy and light and flexible-just the thing! the dog survived the night-surprisingly.So he's still doddering around the house. I haven't slept because i was fretting about getting up and finding him dead.
looking forward to Khaleegi workshop with Vashti tomorrow-meeting her off the train this afternoon.We'll be able to have a good chat and catch up with news .I'm hoping shes going to do some Turkish Spoons stuff tomorrow too.I've wanted to do that for ages.I've got my camera all ready and photos are going to be taken, am not going to do my usual trick of taking my camera with me and forgetting I've got it-I'm also going to try videoing a bit on my phone.
I've also decided to do a happy photo gallery on the website called "Who's that with C....... "(protecting my annonimousness!!!!) So I'm going to make sure I get my photo took with everyone. Am determined to get a good photo took with Dina in Cairo this time-last time I looked awful and surprisingly so did she!!!
Looking forward to going to Cairo in a fortnight. K has asked me what I want to do- Costume shopping-I'd like to visit Pharonics and Aida Nour possibly Raqia as well as Hanan (for galabeas she never has owt else to fit) and Eman (so she can put the chiffon in that skirt) and dancers I'd like to see Nancy and someone else I've not seen before. of course no doubt I shall spend an hour or 3 at Mahmouds.
Randa on the Nile Maxim was brilliant .Shes dancing so well and looks absolutely gorgeous.The only thing is the boat is not the best venue for her.Shes better in a nightclub where she can really shine.She seems to be very busy these days.She dances at the Marriot and Mena House too. I saw her years ago on the boat and it is almost as if she's outgrown that sort of venue-in my view she needs somewhere like the Semiramis that Dina dances.She is my absolute favourite dancer then we went off to the Parisianna to see Lucy-completely different kind of venue-cabaret down Pyramid Road.We met up with kay and her group-not the sort of place to go in small numbers.Lucy did the usual kind of show some dancing, singing, bit of Khaleegi and did the usual get the funny foreigners up on stage to show them how its done routine.i enjoyed it she puts on a show.Shes's the last of the "old guard" still dancing and worth seeing for that.She looks very good too.She was never my favourite dancer but she has something. The last night we were back on the Nile Maxim to see Asmahan.Now this lady knows about putting on a show.Wonderful entrance-she was dressed as Isis and carried in on a throne by two guys. nice use of wings in confined space-yay! will copy that-plenty of working the audience. A comedy element in her drum solo with her mad drummer.Although I don't enjoy her actual dancing as much as I do Randa's I must admit her show worked much better in that environment. Certainly had a week on contrasts.I must say i did enjoy everyone I saw even Hannadi and Nelly.Though i would not go see Hannadi again.We wanted to catch Nancy an up and coming dancer and Lorna a British dance dancing on the Nile Pharon but ran out of time -next time.I expect I might just go to cairo again one day.Oops forgot going in February!!!
First of all I had the most fabiest (! if its not a word it should be) time.We stopped at the Pyramisa very convenient-nice place-no hassle-great.We got a suite unintentionally I think the desk guy just liked the look of us os something.Anyway it was great. Anyway this post is about some of the dancers we saw.I was determined to see some old faves and some new ones and we did. First was Hannadi at the Cairo Sheraton,Casablanca restaurant. a place so dark you can't read the menu!!.Well I would have to say not the best dancer ever. Clearly slavishly copies Dinas moves without the panache.Came on without even a smile and every now and then got a bit fed up and went to talk to her drummer.At the end of her show she lost her temper with someone in the wings,cut the singer of in the middle of her song brought the other singer on for quick applause and stormed off. As I said to Mandy perhaps she had a bus to catch!! Very odd. Glad I've seen her would not go again.
Thursday night is the big night out and the night to see Dina at the Semiramis. I always like to see Dina-she puts on a good show and she was well on form and had some nice costumes except for the red one which would have been nice but the top was too worrying to be comfortable. After Dina was a singer called Essam who had a hit with the song Romeo.Not the best singer ever but a great show.We had Ahmed Adaweia in the audience and he sang Bint El Sultan-thats twice thats happened when I've been to see Dina.Carol Samahla who sang the song of the trip-there is always one song I hear everywhere this time it was Akdeb Alek (originall sung by Warda and recently Fadel Shaker).Also lots of other famous entertainers in the audience.Don't know if that what made Essam pull out the stops but we had a great show with Nubian Dancers,Stilt walkers and two man horse trotting round the audience. A great night
Friday night and off to the Marriot hotel to see Nelly another new dancer.She looks very young-not really experienced enough to hold the show.Her first set had a lot of nice moves and showed promise after that she lost it and just went round and round the edge of the dance floor-for about 20 minutes!!!.Her last number was ok and she ended by throwing herself in the splits.Not hopeless though I'd be interested to see her again in 5 years.
Back from Cairo-fab fab FAB time.Weighed down with 4 costumes and 2 wonderful Emans to come at the weekend.Am shattered but HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY!!! More to come on this-but going to bed tired now!!
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