Dance Links
Near Eastern Music and Dance
Links:
My Teachers (with whom I have
studied at some length, in chronological order):
Alexandra King (Santa Barbara, CA)
Ansuya (Miami, FL)
Judeen (Santa Ynez, CA)
Dunia
(San Jose, CA)
John Compton and Rita "Rebaba" Alderucci (San Francisco, CA)
Malia de Felice (Half Moon Bay, CA)
-
Workshop Goddesses (teachers
from whom I take workshops whenever possible):
- Elizabeth "Artemis"
Mourat (Silver Springs, MD)
- Eva Cernik (Denver, CO)
- Helene Eriksen
(Seattle, WA and Gottingen, Germany)
- Robyn Friend (Los Angeles, CA)
- Laurel Victoria
Gray (Arlington?, VA)
Aziza (Montreal, Canada)
- Suzanna del
Vecchio (Denver, CO)
- Aziza Sa'id (Los
Angeles, CA)
- Fahtiem (Los
Angeles, CA)
- Dalia Carella
(NYC, NY)
- Leila Haddad
(Paris, France)
- Cassandra (Minneapolis, Minnesota)
Dancers - Friends and Favorites:
Amaya (Santa Fe, NM)
Azura (San Jose, CA)
Baraka (Palo Alto, CA)
Elizabeth Strong (San Francisco, CA)
Hala (Santa Clara, CA)
Kajira Djoumahna (Hawaii)
Janette (Monterey, CA)
Jizan (San Jose, CA)
Khajulah (San Jose,
CA)
Miranda (LA area, CA)
Rachel Brice (San Francisco, CA)
Rebekah (Santa Cruz,CA)
Saundra
Sarrouf (San Luis Obispo, CA)
Stasha
(San Francisco/Berkeley, CA)
Yolanda
(Palo Alto, CA)
Dance Troupes (troupes with
which I have danced and personal favorites):
Seher (Santa Barbara, CA) - folkloric, Oriental, and classical dance under direction
of Alexandra King; dancers for the UCSB Middle East Ensemble
Hahbi 'Ru (San Francisco, CA) - Middle Eastern folkloric dance troupe, best known from Northern CA Renaissance
Faires, with LIVE music!
Yöre Folk Dance
Ensemble Stanford, CA) - Turkish folk dance ensemble which keeps growing in fame -- now performing internationally!
Arkadash (San Jose, CA)
- Turkish folk dance ensemble
Danse Maghreb
(San Francisco, CA) - Algerian berber dances; frequent performances
with Algerian musician Moh Alileche
Aywah
(Bay Area, CA) - Katarina Burda's folkloric troupe (on extended
hiatus at this time...)
Ultra Gypsy (Oakland, CA) - among the most
interesting of the American Tribal Style troupes, under innovative
direction of Jill Parker
Ballet Afsaneh (Berkeley, CA) - an exquisitely beautiful troupe,
directed by Sharlyn Sawyer, performing Persian and Central Asian
dance
Neri
Senti (LA Area, CA) - directed by Miranda, noted for their virtuosity,
sheer daring, and humor
Mavi Dance (Boston, MA) - a fascinating modern take on traditional folk dance from
Turkey, the Balkans, the Caucasus region, and Central Asia
Shuvani
(Berkeley, CA) - excellent and well-performed fusion of dancing from along
the Roma ("Gypsy") Trail
Naach Duniya (Bay Area, CA) - an up-and-coming Bollywood dance troupe I've had much fun dancing with since 2006
Musicians (personal friends
and favorites) :
UCSB Middle East Ensemble (Santa Barbara,
CA) - a 60+ member scholarly ensemble that tours through California
and the US; musicians under the direction of Dr. Scott Marcus, dancers
under the direction of Alexandra King
Tobias Roberson (Oakland, CA) - "Boy Wonder" drummer
of ever-growing talent and fame
Eliot Bates (Berkeley, CA) - a superb oud player,
talented composer (of Middle Eastern and other genres), and PhD ethnomusicologist
Peter Jacques
(San Francisco, CA) - extremely talented clarinetist, playing Turkish,
Klezmer, Greek, Balkan....
Jonathan
Kessler (Boulder Creek, CA) - drummer, basist, philosopher, and all-around
great guy
Farabi
(CA) - a great band with a diverse repetoire; now disbanded, but
their CDs are still available from their website (and well worth it!, IMHO)
Souhail Kaspar (Los Angeles, CA) - THE master
drummer and master dumbek teacher on the West Coast
Nejad
(Campbell, CA) - Persian master musician - ney, daf, violin, santur...you
name it, he plays everything as a master; offers classes in
Campbell
Near Eastern Dance and Music Info and Resources:
MECDA
- perhaps the premier organization for Middle Eastern dancers
in the US, based in LA but with chapters elsewhere (including SF
Bay Area, of which I am a member); organizes Cairo Carnivale each June
in Glendale
SF/Bay Area
MECDA - tireless organizers of many excellent haflas, shows, and
workshops in the Bay Area
ME Dance Resource Guide - lots of information,
well-organized (but no longer maintained, so some info may be
out of date)
Shira.net - fabulous compendium of a
lot of information
Bhuz.com - great place to locate dancers, teachers,
and events through a good search engine; discussion boards and
a store as well
Lennie
Clark's Arabic Song Translations - a great resouce for
Arabic song lyrics translated
Gilded Serpent - on-line magazine with good articles,
interviews, and, everything archived (as far as I can tell)
Habibi Magazine - an excellent magazine on
MEMD, with scholarly articles and event reviews
Arabesque
Dance Project - a resource for Dance Ethnography and Dance
Ethnology, with a huge link list
Belly Dance Classes - a huge resource listing of Bellydance classes from around the world
also see Amanda's links for Venues Offering Middle Eastern Dance, Music, and/or Cuisine
Events: (for more events,
see the Calendar page)
Rakkasah (Richmond, CA) - (March) the big
Mama of all the dance festivals and an annual tradition for me
since 1994
Cairo Carnivale (Glendale, CA) - (June) once small
and sweet, now this So-Cal festival rivals the other CA festivals
in size and intensity
Carnival of Stars
(Richmond, CA) - (August) another great festival, always with an
excellent line-up of performers - and a twist: comic authors and
costume competition (think ComicCon)
Middle Eastern Music and Dance Camp
(Mendocino, CA) - (August) complete immersion among the best
ME musicians and dancers in the world...that plus the rustic
redwood camp create a week of absolute Paradise!
Desert Dance Festival (San Jose, CA) - (Sept.)
Dunia and Nile Spice put on a great event and a great show each
September
Vendors:
Adira Dance and Costume
(San Jose, CA) - the delighteful Adira offers belly dance apparel and
accessories (and Ren Faire and Square Dance garb), with monthly dance
events through the warm months
Lunatic Fringe
(Sunnyvale, CA) - bellydancing essentials from Paloma, plus quarterly dance
shows and a dance studio
Artemis Imports - something of everything,
including clothing, books, CDs, and videos
SilkSpirit
(Marin, CA) - gorgeous, hand-painted silk veils by artist, musician, and dancer
David Ludwig
Sugar Petals (East Bay, CA) - great selection of body
stockings, unitards, belt forms, and lots of decorative sequin appliques
Turquoise International (Los Angeles, CA) - costumes, beaded
fringe, and tours to Egypt
Saroyan Mastercrafts (Los Angeles, CA) - finger cymbals, balanced
scimitars and a couple really great CDs
Esau's Belly Dance Boutique (Santa Ynez, CA) - costumes,
clothing, and music direct from Turkey and Egypt
WE3BELLYDANCE - simple costume pieces (skirts,
tops, scarves) at reasonable prices; mostly through eBay and on-line
Ganesha Bazaar - pretty costuming pieces
(skirts, tops, veils) made from Indian fabrics
Scheherezade
Imports (VA) - Lucy Smith's comprehensive bellydance emporium, and sponsor
of annual tours of Egypt
Audrena's International Bazaar (Illinois)- carries Pharonics of Egypt costumes, lovely scarves, and
lots of CDs
Masala Imports
(Santa Cruz, CA) - belly dance supply store
Aruba's Oasis Sandals (Santa Cruz. CA) - comfy sandals in a wide range of colors, made by a truly wonderful person and dancer
Photographers and Videographers:
Carl Sermon/Reel Sound and Light Productions (Los Gatos, CA) - Photography and Audio/Video Engineering
Michael Baxter (Bay Area, CA) - Photography
Peter Evangel - Videography and DVD Authoring
Vintage Ballroom
Dance Links:
Friday Night
Waltz - 1st Friday of every month in Palo Alto (3rd Friday in
East Bay), a casual and comfortable place to dance and learn
PEERS - a monthly gathering with a theme,
for dancers who also like to play dress up -- although costumes
are always "admired but not required"; some of the best costume-watching
in the Bay Area
Gaskell Ball - fine live music by the Brassworks
and finely-dressed dancers; an elegant affair every two months
in Oakland
Dickens Christmas Fair - by the same folks
who produce the Heart of the Forest Faire, but set in Dicken's
Victorian London
Fezziwigs - at the Dickens Faire, Fezziwigs
Warehouse is the place to dance between Thanksgiving and
Christmas
Stanford Ballroom Dance Club
Danse Libre - a vintage ballroom performance group
showcasing dances from the mid-19th to early-20th Centuries, producing
an excellent show about once per year
Other Dance and Music
Links:
San Francisco Ballet (SF, CA)
Ballet West (Salt Lake City, UT)
Smuin Ballets/SF (SF, CA)
Cal Performances (Berkeley, CA) - Cal-Berkeley
oftens sponsors some of the best dance companies from around the
world
Stanford Lively Arts (Stanford, CA)
World Arts West - sponsor of annual San
Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival
SF World
Music Festival
Ashkenaz (Berkeley, CA) - world music and
dance community center; a large variety of cultures are represented
and a large floor
Discount Dance Supply - great prices and
selection of dance shoes and attire
This page last updated August 15, 2010.
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