WEDNESDAYCairo, Egypt
December 2007
WEDNESDAY
Wednesday was the second day of the big feast. No one was out this morning as I
watched from the deck of the flat. During the feast, all those who can afford to
buy a cow or lamb for those who cannot afford to do so. In front of every
butcher shop was a stream of blood running into the street. I'm by no means
squeamish but those who are may have had a difficult time with this picture.
Cows and lambs were tied to street signs and in the back of pickup trucks while
their buddies hung by the thousands in Cairo. People walked around in rubber
boots and white jump suits (I kept seeing the scientists in E.T.) covered in
blood from head to toe. I've never seen anything like it!
The highlight of the day was the Egyptian
museum. I had been looking forward to
visiting the museum since I was a kid. The museum is two very large floors full
of artifacts of many years of Egyptology. The detail of work into every single
piece of stone, wood, and gold was amazing to see in person. I never realized
how precise Egyptians could work metals into beautiful objects so early in
history. Unfortunately no
photography was allowed in the museum, but trust me it's worth a visit (if you
have a student I.D card, bring it and you get half off admission prices-this
includes almost all historic sites). You could spend an entire day in the museum
and still not see everything. If I could do it again, I would go more than once.
There is just so much stuff to see it's hard to appreciate it all in one visit.
You have to pay extra for the mummy room, but I am more than happy to make my
contribution to preserving the artifacts and mummies. The mummy room had about a
dozen fully-preserved kings and queens of the past. I never realized how well
the mummification process worked. Many of the mummies still had hair,
fingernails, and even wrinkles in their skin. It was absolutely amazing. I felt
bad for the people under the glass; I would personally hate to be awakened after
thousands of years of peace to be thrown in a glass chamber for millions to peer
into.
Next stop was the Mohammed Ali palace. Because of the holiday, we were the only
ones there. It was actually nice not to have to work your way through the crowd
like at the Egyptian Museum and on the streets. Three guides walked around with me.
The palace was a beautiful Greek and Italian inspired palace. The entire place
was made of marble and each room had
large painted murals from floor to wall,
gold custom Victorian furniture (extra wide and short because Mohammed was well,
plump and short.), and a huge square white marble pool in the center/court of
the palace. The guides said he had 3 or 4 wives and about 100+ women. The
pool was square and had a landing in the center for musicians and entertainers. I guess they used
to take a small boat/float to the center and play for his guests who were wading
in the blue water.
There were plenty of other palaces stuffed in between the busy crowded streets,
but were closed for the holidays. I didn't mind though and took pictures from
the outside.
My guide brought me to a very large garden/park (I forgot the name of it). Inside
there were street vendors with cotton candy, cheeseburgers, drinks, pretzels and
other carnival-type
goodies. There were balloons, train rides, café/restaurant
tents, and live music. We sat by a tent and drank tea and soda. The DJ
behind us was playing music really loud and a crowd
was around the stand. A boy
in his teens in a yellow shirt was dancing really well. He could have been the
next famous male belly dancer like Tarik or Jim Boz. However I think he was just
showing off for his girlfriend.
We took a train ride around the park. It was such a gorgeous day and everyone
was in the park enjoying it playing football, frisbee, or just relaxing. As
soon as I got on the mini train, a group of teens instantly spotted me and
invited me to sit with them. They asked me the usual questions-where I was from,
did I speak Arabic, etc. It was nice to talk to others outside the
touristy areas.
Ahmed invited me to join his family with their feast. It was a lot of fun even
though I didn't understand much of what they were saying. They watched football
(soccer) while the kids received new clothes and tons of fresh new Egyptian
pounds. I had the best food-one was like a sausage but instead filled
with flavorful rice. It was so nice of them to invite me into their home, they
didn't have to but they were so hospitable and treated me like part of the
family.
After visiting with their family, Karem took me to the largest mall in Middle East. I believe it was called Star City or something similar. There were eight floors of shops. The clothes were very fancy-think designers such as Dior, Calvin Klein, etc. The prices weren't actually not that bad compared to in America, but still too much for me. They even had a mock Khan El Kahili Market on one-half of the floors. The food courts were stuff with places like Cinnabun, Starbucks, etc. etc.
I went into the Virgin Mobile
Music Store and bought 5 or 6 cds. They had a lot of American music, and I
almost bought a couple boxed sets of the Simpsons seasons but I remembered how
tight my suitcases were already. The music was organized by
Egyptian, Lebanese,
Turkish, and American-then by pop, rock, classic, etc. I bought cds from Elissa,
Warda, Oum Kalthoum, and a few others. I think the total was $18 for 4 cds.
The mall even had a department store-something I hadn't seen in Cairo (no Wal-Marts
and amazingly, everyone somehow survives!). The department store was called Spinney's and had a large variety of items.
Imported goods were expensive-I think I spent $16 U.S. dollars on a box of Nutri-Grain
bars, mini snickers, and a bottle of Dove shampoo.
By now I've been in Egypt for a few
days. Most of the time felt like I was just in a large city in America. They're
not behind the times like many people have asked me since I've been home. They're attached to their cell phones just like us (if not more), watch T.V.,
and listen to a lot of the same music.
We went to T.G.I. Fridays around 11 or 12 pm. The restaurant was actually a tent
in a garden by the Nile. Inside the tent was beautifully decorated-including
mini rivers and covered bridges.
THURSDAY
Thursday morning we made a trip to the Citadel. The entire site was very busy as this
day of the feast everyone visits the city of the dead (which is a very large
cemetery, but has become a home for the homeless in the recent times), donates money/buys food for
the poor, and then visits the Citadel. The Citadel isn't just a Mosque like I
thought. It is actually a center including a police and military museum,
beautiful views, an old palace (forgot who's) and gorgeous views.
AND I even saw it Rain in Egypt! It rained hard for maybe 2 or 3 minutes…
My next lesson was with Outi, a wonderful Finnish woman living and dancing in
Cairo. She is an extremely warm person I met on Bhuz.com. I feel like I really got a
lot out of her class. She had watched a video I had put up on Bhuz for
constructive criticism and gave me many pointers based on it. It was nice to
have someone see me dance and teach technique based on what I needed rather than
another choreography. She told me I am too soft and need stronger movements,
bigger shimmies (do you see the trend starting…), and other smaller
technique-tuning items. At this point in the week, my feet were covered in
blisters from walking so much and my body was so sore. This made me very angry
as I felt I couldn't really show what I could do technique-wise as my body was
not cooperating.
Outi gave me some great pointers on how to keep my posture while dancing. I tend
to keep my football shoulders up towards my ears and she helped me control this
by using my back muscles-something completely new to me. I loved it. She also
helped with my floppy turns-by forcing me to tuck my center towards my back,
spin on
the tips of my toes, and push my upper body weight slightly forward. I think she was
also the one who noticed something about my arms and commented. I am
double-jointed in both of my elbows and it is slightly funny looking to keep my
arms out normally. I really enjoyed Outi and wish I had more time with her. I
bought her cd-which is awesome and recommend it to everyone.
The next lesson of the day was Leila-an American dancing in Cairo. I met Leila
through my teacher a few years ago and definitely wanted to take lessons with
her. Leila was very helpful in the fact of pointing out the differences between
American Cabaret and even what is taught as "Egyptian" style in America and what
is actually done in Egypt. For example, in America we tend to start the movement
on the first count but it actually doesn't happen until the second. In Egypt,
many people have already completed the movement on the first count. Also, there
is a weight difference. Think of doing a traveling camel to the left. Which foot
is in front? Most of us would do it with our left foot in front. In Egypt, they
would put their weighted left foot behind. These are just minute little things,
but they all help with fine-tuning. 
Leila also showed me a travelling movement that I had seen many people
do-especially Randa Kamel. (I was supposed to take lessons with Randa, but she
had forgotten it was the holiday and wasn't able to. Bummer!!!). I had the basic
movement, but again it was a simple weight change difference that actually made
the movement. And my gosh was it a lot harder to break weight change habits than
I expected! Even with the simplest movement I was accidentally switching back to
what I had known and having to start all over again. Leila wasn't dancing at any
of the clubs due to the Holidays but she invited me to a private party at the
Sheraton the following night. I was very excited to be part of her entourage.
After many many hours of dancing and racking my brain, I decided to test out KFC
in Cairo. I can't eat much fast food in America because it makes me sick.
However Karem and I were talking about the differences in fast food between
America and Egypt and he swore the KFC was
nothing like in America. He was
right. It was the best KFC I've ever tasted. Everything is made fresh on the
spot and the chicken isn't some genetically-modified gunk. The chicken tasted
just like homemade fried crispy chicken. However they don't have biscuits or
mash potatoes-just fries.
We went to the famous musical instrument street- Mohammed Ali street. I went into a
tiny corner store full of ouds. The gentleman didn't speak a word of English. I
bought a pair of heavy zills for 25 pounds and a really nice aluminum doumbek
with a spare head and bag for 70 pounds (yes that's $12.68 U.S Dollars). I took
his card if anyone needs anything-the drum was just so cheap I couldn't pass it
up.
We headed to an Internet Café so I could check my email. Internet Cafes are
everywhere in Cairo. Some are really nice; others the keys are very sticky and
dial-up. I hadn't been able to get a hold of my parents or boyfriend so email
was the only way. There is a seven-hour time difference from the East Coast to
Egypt and for some reason my cell phone would use a 100 minute/pound card in
about 15 minutes calling and leaving messages for everyone.
FRIDAY
Friday was my last class with Raqia Hassan. It was much better as she didn't
have a lot of guests and spent more time with me. Plus I also think I had gotten
used to learning for 4 hours a day and my mind/body was finally catching up. We
got through the rest of Gamil Gamil-all six minutes. Although it was not
perfected, I had it enough so that I can remember the movements and work on it
here in the States. She again told me to work on larger shimmies and stretching
out my knees/calf's so I could straighten them more. I bought a ton of her music
from Ahlan Wa Salan, Wash Ya Wash, and other dancer's compilations she had
produced.
After Raqia, I did the usual visit to the Khan El Khaili, ate Egyptian pancakes,
and bought more costumes from a store that hadn't been set up before. The
gentleman literally let me into the
shop, closed the door, and let me try on
costumes by myself for hours. It was like a modelling run-way from heaven.
I went and met Leila at the Sheraton for her private party. The party was
actually outside on the top of the Sheraton. It was a chilly night out and the
hotel was looking for some heaters to put on the marble floors so Leila wouldn't
freeze. The private corporate party was for an
Indian company. Before Leila's
set, they had a motivational presentation going on in which every person chanted
yes while walking across coals. There was about 100-150 people in the group.
Leila's orchestra (her husband was the singer) set up and began. The band was
quite large and fully equipped, even with Tatib (Stick) Saidi Dancers. Leila did
two costume changes
and an amazing show. She really is a great person and I was
very thankful for the VIP treatment.
I went to the Sheraton Hotel to see Soroya, a beautiful Brazilian dancer. The
restaurant was on
the 26th floor of the hotel and again it was a $250 LE/Pound
minimum. The show started around midnight. I loved her; she was so passionate in
her movements and facial expressions. She is definitely now on my top
dancers list.
She changed costumes three times, one of them very risqué. There is one thing with I didn't like about Cairo-the costumes. I loved all of the dancers, but I felt like all the cutouts, mini skirts, and super push-up tops distracted people from watching their true talent. Even buying costumes was difficult because of this.
After Soroya's set, the show continued until 3am. Two different groups came out
and sang and wow were they talented. One guy looked like an Arab John Travolta.
I met two women from Jordan and sat with them during the show. They were a lot
of fun and were really into the music.
On a side note: In my own personal opinion Egyptian Belly Dance has been broken into three types/stages: Folkloric, Oriental, and Modern. Has anyone else noticed this? I think this would be an interesting conversation topic.
SATURDAY
Last day in Cairo, I couldn't believe it. I understand why people come and stay
for long periods of time. With each day I was enjoying myself more and more. I
had learned so much in a short period of time. At first I was very nervous
coming because I am not the best dancer. However, I realized you don't want to
come when you have learned everything. Why? Because you will have to learn it
all over again and it is hard to break bad habits once you've started. Plus I
think you can learn a lot more faster being completely absorbed into the
culture. So yes I felt like it was my first day learning the dance, but now I
feel like I can be a stronger dancer. You just have to come with an open heart,
willingness to be broken down and take criticism nonstop, an ice pack, and lots
of ibuprofen.
My last teacher was Yasmina, an English woman. She was very helpful again as we
took basic movements and made them stronger. She showed me some
straight-knee/leg movements, twists, travelling steps, and sharper movements.
She worked hard with me on building energy and keeping strong arms. Her son was
so cute because he wanted to see some snow. I told him that it was 4 degrees at
home and we had 40 inches of snow-his eyes lit right up. She also showed me
these beautiful albums full of photos of dancers who have come to Egypt that she
has taken pictures of. Next time I go I am definitely doing something like that.
She also has a new DVD out about her journey as a dancer moving to the Cairo
dance scene.
I met Outi to go shopping at the Cairo mall. She showed me a couple places that
had nice stuff really cheap. If I had brought another suitcase, I would have had
an entire new wardrobe. After we sat and chatted over mango and chocolate ice
cream. We talked about differences in habits
in Egypt versus American and
Finland. For example, we both couldn't get over the fact that Egyptians eat
their food and then drink something. I can't eat food without a drink at hand.
At first I just thought it was a funny coincidence that everywhere I went it
took so long to bring out tea or cola after they brought my food. It never came
to me until she pointed it out that they actually meant to do it that way.
My last lesson was with Magda. We refined both choreographies and chatted a bit
about the Reda troupe and I asked her about how she defined oriental, folkloric,
etc. They will be in New England in February and will definitely see them then.
I just can't get over Reda style. It's like a breathe as you dance and seems
calming to me.
The very last thing I did in Cairo was finally visit a bakery. Let me tell you I
am so glad I didn't go to one sooner. The bread, cookies, cakes-oh my! I was bad
and considered this my going away dinner celebration. I spent the rest of the
night eating sweets and trying to pack. I used every nook and cranny available
in my luggage. My drum was full of Wings of Isis, the Shisha was packed with
dresses, and my carry-on was full of fringe and some costumes to help avoid the
weight limits on luggage. I felt like I was dragging around a young kid in my
carry-on switching planes. At the airport, I had to open all of my bags for a
bunch of giggly security guards.
It took me a few days to assimilate into Cairo culture, but now that I've been
I'm addicted. I would jump on a plane and go back in a heartbeat. This blog is just a
taster of what I experienced, you really need to go at least once.
For all my pictures, visit: http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d139/twinstatemiddleeasterndance/Egypt/
Link of a place I found some great costumes (will add more if I find they have
websites)
http://www.oriental-dancer.com/index.htm
As to the costumes I bought-you will just have to see them in action :)
Here's a nice little cheat sheet on what I've
seen/experienced with the dance culture in Egypt:
*There are no such things as vibration, glute, or thigh shimmy. Everything is
driven from the knees and slight weight changes here and there are what makes
their shimmies look different.
*Sharp and/or fast movements/turns are used a lot
*Dancers tend to start on one rather than two
*Inward movements are used more than outward.
*Big gooey movements
*Not every movement is flat or straight across. Hip circles for example, can
have a slight angle. You can leave the vertical and horizontal axis
*Knees are much more straight and movements are done with straight knees more
often than bent
*They do flip their hands over a lot more than I expected (yes!) and arm
movements tend to signal strong musical movements