I recently had the incredible opportunity to travel and share my love of belly dance with an international audience. During the summer of 2006, I was hired to travel to Bali, Indonesia; Tasmania, Australia; Taipei, Taiwan; and Cairo, Egypt to teach and perform Egyptian and Tribal Style dance. What an adventure! It was an experience in itself to visit each of these beautiful and totally unique countries... and on top of that to be a part of the spread of this incredible art form to the far-reaches of the planet. The entire journey was one of wonder, joy, and plenty of introspection (amazing what those 10+ hour flights alone will do to your brain!) I felt an immediate bond with all of my students - my global sisters in dance. I would like to take this opportunity to share with you some photos and thoughts from my trip, and to thank those who shared the dance with me. click on the photos for larger image
Sahira and Zymirrah Urban Gypsy	June 27 , 2006: Fourth stop: CAIRO, EGYPT (JUNE 27 - JULY3) Egypt - the birthplace of Oriental dance and one of the oldest civilizations on the planet. The dance we all known and love was created there, and the biggest stars perform there today. A land full of contradiction - of pyramids, camels, and culture - Egypt is also home to the largest Middle Eastern dance festival in the world - Ahlan Wa Sahlan - produced by the fabulous Raqia Hassan. Hundreds of dancers from all over the world converge here each year to study with the masters of the dance, soak in the local culture, and collect incredible belly dance treasures at even more incredible prices. To travel there, to have the opportunity to experience the dance in its land of origin is beyond inspiring. But to be asked to attend and teach your particular brand of dance to the world? Priceless. In April of 2006 Urban Gypsy of Houston, Texas received the invitation from Madame Hassan herself to travel to Cairo and teach improvisational tribal style belly dance at this year's festival. Always on top of the latest and greatest trends, Raqia had heard of the tribal phenomenon and wanted to have it represented at her festival. As it is not a form currently represented in Egypt, Raqia asked her long-time friends Dee Dee and Ahmed of Little Egypt for suggestions for instructors. Urban Gypsy's name and recent DVD were passed on to Raqia and the deal was made. We would be traveling to Cairo to teach two improvisational tribal style classes at the festival. To say we were excited would be a phenomenal understatement. With less than 45 days until the festival, we began preparing immediately.
Mena House	The view of the Pyramids from the Hotel	Opening Ceremonies
The last few days before our flight, the full realization of the adventure ahead finally became apparent to us, and our brains began reeling with questions: Would everyone understand what we were doing? Would Egypt like tribal belly dance? How do you teach to a room full of dancers who don't even speak your language, let alone know what a "cue" is? But dance, as you know, is the universal language. And although dozens of countries, languages, dance styles and preferences were represented at the festival it became quickly apparent that our tribal style would be welcomed with open arms. We were given the opportunity to dance the second night of the festival, before either of our classes took place, in order for people to experience what we do. The room was packed and we certainly had everyone's rapt attention. The bright house lights allowed us to see nearly every face in the gigantic ballroom that night - it was a moment that will never be forgotten. We began with an intensely slow, snaky duet - the same music we used for the debut of our troupe years earlier back home. When the music shifted and the drums sped up, the clapping began - we looked out to wide, eager eyes and smiles all around. We were a hit! Afterwards, the question on so many people's lips was: "What was that? What kind of dance is it that you do? I have never seen anything so beautiful!" To those who could understand, we explained our style of tribal dance - the earthy and grounded energy, the connection between dancers, the improvisational aspect of cues and leader changes. Registration for our classes more than doubled the next day.		Tribal Comes to Cairo
Sahira and the Prince of Luxor	Pyramids at Night	Whirling Dervishes
Shisha!	With the performance behind us we could focus on the true reason for our trip - the teaching. We had both taken many workshops with non-English speaking Egyptian instructors throughout our career, and from their example decided that surely we could just shout "hop!" point to our hips, and begin dancing, right? This method worked well enough for the technique portions of the class. We were able to sign-language our way through the posture and attitude of tribal style - the bent knees, lifted chest, strong arms and elbows, etc. We then began teaching some basic tribal combinations, being sure to take extra time demonstrating the cues several times in the hopes that our students would understand that is what we do to indicate which movement is coming next. They all followed the movements beautifully. Then we broke the class up into groups of two so they could practice the lead and follow of the dance - and mass confusion ensued! The few English-speaking students were able to practice these concepts a bit, though most of the rest of the class congregated around us to ask questions and take photos! In the end we broke the class into two large groups and led them in an improvisational dance ourselves. We're not sure how many countries were represented that day, but we wouldn't be surprised if we had set some sort of record.
The next few days were spent in belly dance heaven! Six+ hour long dance shows every night, vendors of every shape and description, and so many incredible classes to be had! Once the closing ceremonies were finished, we were joined by my husband for some sightseeing around town. We started with the pyramids - we had been looking at them every day for over a week, and now we finally had the chance to go inside. After climbing nearly 200 feet into the center of the Great Pyramid we found ourselves alone in the tomb of the King. The air was thick and clammy and the history of the place was just overwhelming. It's impossible to explain - I highly encourage you to go there yourself someday. Our personal tour guide and Egyptologist was a wealth of knowledge and he gave us the scoop on these marvelous ruins. Then it was time for... CAMELS! We had to! :) After the camel ride (they didn't spit once!) we walked down to the Sphinx and the headed to a papyrus shop to see how the papyrus is process and made.		CAMELS!
We spent a day on the water in Alexandria, and a day surrounded by mummies and artifacts as far as the eye could see in the Cairo Museum. We ate more Kashari than three people ever should, and visited the Khan El Khalili way more times then we intended. What an adventure!
Urban Gypsy representin' Karavan Studios	They're really big!	Sahira performs with Asmahan's band (and her clowns!)

THIRD STOP: TAIPEI, TAIWAN

SECOND STOP: TASMANIA, AUSTRALIA

FIRST STOP: BALI, INDONESIA