Tracey's Bristol Hafla - Dec 7

See the UK Bellydancer of the Year perform the award-winning choreography at her hafla in Bristol on Thursday 7 December.

Tracey Pye will be appearing under the guise of her alter ego Amunet for the full nine minute version of Dalaa El Banat.

Also featuring stage performances by Jacqui Jamal, live drumming by Chas Whitaker and friends, and Tracey's beginners and improvers in the Amunet Oriental Dance Troupe.

There's also a bazaar and free dancing - bring your own food and drink.

The hafla takes place at the Sea Mills Community Hall, Sunny Hill, Sea Mills, Bristol from 7.30 till 10.3pm.

Tickets are £5 - children welcome.

For details contact Tracey on 0117 968 3499 or 07974 172848 or see her website at www.amunetorientaldance.co.uk

El Tanbura on Tour

Dance the night away to live Egyptian music at The Point in Cardiff Bay on Wednesday 21 February 2007*.

El Tanbura are a group of sufis, philosophers, ship workers, dancers & musicians from the Port Said region of Egypt.

Join the band on their first ever visit to Wales - tickets £7.50 in advance or £8 on the door.

They're also performing at St George's in Bristol the following night, Thursday 22 February.

For full tour details see www.eltanbura.com

(*Note - we've corrected the date of the Cardiff gig which previous correspondence erroneously stated was taking place on Wednesday 23rd February.)

Aliya Burch Egyptian Workshops

Look out for a series of workshops in Cardiff in the New Year - all led by Aliya Burch except for February 3:

Saturday 27 January - 'Fellahin (Sha'abi)'
Learn the dance of the rural communities of Southern Egypt. Shaabi is wild, earthy and open and the celebration dance at rural Egyptian weddings and parties. All levels of dancers welcome.
2 till 5pm - £18

Saturday 3 February - Goddess Workshop: Brigid
With tutor Hannah Corr - Brigid is the old Celtic Goddess of creativity & healing and represents the coming of Spring. Learn a beautiful candle dance which uses Pharaonic style bellydance.
11 till 3pm - £20

Saturday 17 February - 'Beledi'
The backstreet dance of Cairo! It means 'of the country' and is an urbanised folk dance which is earthy, sensual and strong. Please bring a large headscarf.
12 till 3pm - £18

Saturday 10 March - 'Classical (Sharqi)'
Sharqi is the descendant of the courtly dances of 10th & 11th Centuries and also the artistic 'Awalim' dancers of the 1800s. It is smooth, soft & expressive. Please wear a full circular skirt.
12 till 3pm - £18

All these workshops are taking place at Cathays Methodist Hall, Crwys Road, Cardiff.

To make a booking, email hannah @ arabesq.co.uk

Rachel's Hafla for Farm Africa

Rachel Jones and her students invite you to join them for a fundraising Christmas Hafla in aid of Farm Africa.

It's taking place on Friday 8 December, 7pm till late at New Panteg RFC, New Inn, Pontypool.

Come and do some Camels for Camels, Shimmies for Sheep, Goats a Go-go and Hip Drops for Donkeys - there's a bar, charity raffle, solo performances and freestyle dancing.

Admission by ticket only - £6 including buffet - call Rachel on 01495 757144.

Goddess Workshop: Kali

Postponed from October, the last of Hannah's Goddess Workshops will now take place on Saturday 2 December.

Kali is the fearsome Hindu Goddess of destruction who represents change and the dissolution of the old and unwanted. She helps clear away the clutter in life so we can bring in the new.

Come meet your inner destroyer! Expect American Tribal & some elements of Indian dance in this workshop. Costumes are to be black & red and scary!

It takes place at Cathays Methodist Hall, Crwys Road, Cardiff, from 2 till 5pm - places are still available at £15.

Contact Hannah on 029 20 300237 or email hannah @ arabesq.co.uk

Seeking Mohammed Addabani

It may be a long shot, but I'm trying to track down a former BBC colleague of mine, a Moroccan guy called Mohammed Addabani.

He's a singer and guitarist and I'm hoping he'll come along and perform at my Middle Eastern event in Cardiff's Cafe Jazz - A Night in Tunisia - on Thursday 30 November.

I think he's changed his mobile number as I'm getting no reply from the number I've got for him.

If you know Mohammed, can you ask him to give Andy a call on 07970 343841 or email andy @ arabesq.co.uk

You can read about him and hear some of his music on the BBC South East Wales website.

In fact I'm keen to hear from any solo artists or duos interested in performing some Middle Eastern music on the night.

And if anyone's got a darbuka or tambourine, we may even round off the night with a mass percussion jam.

Tracey takes top prize

Our friend Tracey Pye from Bristol won the UK’s first ever belly dance competition at the Place Studios, London, on Saturday 4 November.

She's pictured above with runners-up Angela Wooi from Kent (left) and Michaella from London (right).

Tracey, who has performed under the name Amunet at many events in south Wales, won £100 in cash but more importantly the prestigious title UK National Belly Dancer 2006.

The competition was judged in a pre-set format to allow for all the different regional styles within the dance and so the marking system was divided into sections; 20% technique, 20% Choreography, 20% Feeling, 20% understanding the music, 10% originality (X factor), and style/ presentation 10%.

The competition was organized and judged by well-known British-based Egyptian dancer Shafeek Ibrahim whose concerns over standards in the dance led to the launching of the event.

In fact the competition happened on the same day that The Times newspaper gave a scathing review of London restaurant Pascha, claiming the belly dancers there looked "like prostitutes".

Shafeek said, "It's a sad fact that belly dance is still reviewed liked this. People still don’t take this dance seriously.

"I'm glad that the competition showed what wonderful dancers we have here ... I would like other people to respect belly dance the same way they do ballet, jazz, contemporary, salsa, break-dance etc."

Tracey was delighted to win the competition having trained extremely hard for three years including a trip to Cairo to learn from the top dancers there.

She took up the dance in a bid to re-build her body after having her two children.

Tracey was delighted with her victory, which included full marks for originality.

"When I dance I feel wonderful and want to share that feeling with my audience," she said.

"I think that all women should try this dance out because it is a great way to keep fit and healthy, physically, spiritually and emotionally. Through dance we can express and share our joys and sorrows."

Tracey teaches and performs in the Bristol area - for more details see her website at www.amunetorientaldance.co.uk

Classes in Chepstow

Helin invites you to keep fit gently with her beginners classes every Tuesday night in Chepstow.

She teaches bellydance and Central Asian traditional dance - you may have seen her students performing at the recent Dances of the Sun and Halloween events in Newport.

Classes take place at Chepstow Senior Citizens Centre in Cormeilles Square near the arch from 7 till 9pm - cost £4.50.

For more details contact Helin on 07840 858489 or email heli.belli @ btinternet.com

Shafeek Workshop reviewed

Sue Lloyd looks back on Shafeek's visit to Cardiff:

"On Saturday 28 October I played host to Shafeek Ibrahim, a male bellydancer and teacher from Cairo, now living in East London.

"I had previously attended a Shafeek workshop hosted by Tracey Pye in Bristol and I found Shafeek to be a breath of fresh air.

"He is young, fun, agile and energetic. His choreography was challenging but not impossible. The music was up beat and he put us all at ease. I couldnt wait to get him to Wales.

"I am so glad I booked him when I did. He is one of the rising bellydance stars in the UK today and in demand all over Europe. He will be teaching and performing at Fantasia in December, when no doubt we will catch up with all the gossip!

"Those of you who came to the workshop were probably not sure what to expect. I'm sure many of you were pleasantly surprised, especially if you had never met a male bellydancer before.

"A firm and committed teacher, he wasnt so much strict as encouraging! And we were all enchanted by his charm and his cheerful manner!! He is a very talented dancer and moves so gracefully and with such precision.

"He taught us a choreography to a Nancy Ajram number. It was one that I had choreographed for my improvers earlier this year and that we had danced to at my Hafla in September; so it was very interesting to see how he had interpreted the music.

"Although I asked him to aim it at beginners, the choreography was still a challenge to the more experienced among us, as choreographies often are.

"We learnt some new sequences that we could take away with us and use in our own routines; something that is always valuable.

"The two hours just flew by and we had a lovely group photo session before we left (to appear on Arabesq site soon!)

"I'd like to thank all of you who suppported me and Shafeek and attended the workshop. It's hard work and often nerve racking as you try to fill all the places and hope to break even on expenses!!!

"I hope to be getting Shafeek back in 2007 and I promise that if you come along you will not be disappointed.

"Keep watching www.arabesq.co.uk for news of up-an-coming workshops, planned for 2007."

Harem Scarem - photos and review

Hope everyone had a great time at Shirl's Halloween Hafla at the Rogerstone and Bassaleg Social Club near Newport.

Wendy Hughes a.k.a. Zerhile of the wonderful wings enjoyed it immensely:

"Shirley's Harem Scarem II The Legacy, was a fabulous nite. Everyone had gone to so much trouble with their costumes and choice of music and dance routines.

"Everyone was fab - it's difficult to choose one above the other, but Stephanie was fantastic, Shirley absolutely wonderful, Safeena brilliant and all the group dances were superb.

"I don't know how we can top that off next year. I went home completely 'danced out', as DJ Andy excelled himself with the choice of music for the freestyle.

"The venue was good and looked amazing. Congratulations to Shirley and her team, she puts such a lot of effort and energy into anything she does. Well done!"

Thanks to Liz Perkins for the pics which you can see in our latest Arabesq photo gallery - if you have any more, email them to andy @ arabesq.co.uk

Meanwhile Shirley wants to add her response: "Hi everyone, I just wanted to say thankyou to all who contributed and attended Harem Scarem 2, Halloween Hafla.

"The event was a great success, the dancers were fantastic, the audience fun and enthusiastic and we raised £191 for charity.

"I'd also like to thank those of you who have posted in photographs - I don't have any so it has been really nice to see yours.

"Due to the demand for tickets and performance slots at this years event, next years promises to be bigger and better. I have booked Burleigh Hall, it has superb lighting and sound and a large stage for performances.

"If you think you would like to take part in Harem Scarem next year, please email your address and telephone number to me at justpooka @ yahoo.co.uk - I am currently compiling a mailing list so I can send you all information and booking forms promptly and simultaneously next year."