Translating Najwan Darwish: PEN World Voices Fest

Najwan Darwish photo from:
ArabLit.wordpress.com

Last Friday, I went to an event at PEN World Voices at the Public Theatre that featured Palestinian poet Najwan Darwish and two of his translators.  Issues that came up, how do you translate such culturally bound terms as "tea boy," lover vs. mistress, bathroom clogs, and eviction?  M. Lynx Qualey posted my write up on Arabic Literature (in English) as well as a great write up of a more comprehensive event, "All That is Left to You," which featured a panel of Palestinian writers moderated by Elias Khoury.

Spring Dance Classes End: Practice! Recommendations for Studying

Photo: Paul B. Good "Practice Wherever You Are"

I can't believe how quickly the semester went this year!  As promised on the last day of classes, here are suggested resources for studying on you own this summer.  Keep in mind that finding the local belly dance community, wherever you may be, can be a great way to meet others and to stay active and disciplined in your practice.

Technique videos I recommend:
My friend Ranya offers several DVDs focusing on Egyptian style technique with an emphasis on musical sensitivity.  I highly recommend the Baladi DVD though the also offers studies in Taqasim and Oriental.

Deliliah of Seattle (VisionaryDance.com) offers many videos, some of which I followed regularly in the 90s.  I have memories of many hours spent in my Florence Street apartment in Somerville, MA, watching and following her Workshop videos (coin tricks and belly rolls!) into the early hours of the morning.  Both her technique and performance videos are instructive and inspirational for all levels.

Finally, Dunya offers her brand of Sufi Dancemeditation videos, which were a fundamental part of my learning and integrating dance into my practice of life.

Local teachers in NYC abound!  If you're in the city, check out: Kaeshi Chai and Bellyqueen, Jehan Kamal, Neon, Nourhan Sharif, Dalia Carella, Anahid Sofian, all of whom have had a direct influence on my own dance.

In the meantime, you can trawl through the many offerings on Youtube or see my page of performances I've found throughout my years of running this blog.  I've found many clips by searching for Randa Kamal, Fifi Abdo, Rachel Brice, and any of the dancers I've posted previously on my resource page.  There is no shortage of available material!

I've had a great semester and hope you have too.

On Arab Female Superheroes: Wonderwoman

Photo and graphic from the site: Barrelhouse Magazine.

Editor Susan Muaddi Darraj's thoughtful essay on "Superheroes and Superpowers" an introduction to Barrelhouse Magazine's online issue reminisces about Wonder Woman and her mistaking Wonder Woman for being Arab when she was a young girl watching the television series.  Darraj states in her comments: she could pass for an Arab woman, with that black hair and that attitude. And those eyebrows! Or maybe it was just because there were no Arab heroes on television when I was growing up  (there still aren’t.) and I really longed for one. 

I suppose there are many reasons why children, who often feel powerless and often have a more certain belief in the moral rights and wrongs, end up being so drawn to superheroes.  Reading Darraj's essay brought to mind a show I grew up watching: Isis.  She didn't have Wonder Woman's bullet proof wrist cuffs, but she did have hair down to her waist and a snake crown, and I remember distinctly her l call: "Oh Zephyr winds which blow on high....lift me now that I may fly!" I remember being drawn into the story, which was wildly "orientalish" if there ever was an example.  Oddly, this Youtube clip for the "Shazam/Isis! Hour of Power!" (sudden and intense flashbacks of sitting in the TV room with the red shag carpet even as I write this) begins with a 70s-style love call to respect all people and all languages. Sad that her presentation sounds so naive and sincere to the modern ear.

(And thank you again, Barrelhouse Mag for printing my story in the first online issue: Heroes for Parties: 59 Bucks.)

"Heroes for Parties" in Barrelhouse Magazine

I am honored to have my work featured in Barrelhouse Magazine's first online issue dedicated to Superheroes edited by Susan Muaddi Duaj.  I've been reading and watching this magazine grow for years.  The editors are tasteful (even when claiming not to be) and humorous and literary at once.

The story included, "Heroes for Parties: 59 Bucks" is fiction, of course, though it's drawn from a friend's experience in Boston, a musician doing stunt work for his uncle's entertainment business, spiced up for effect.  Please read and comment on the site if you can!

Writers on Dance: Lytton Strachey on General Gordon

General Gordon's Last Stand from Wikipedia

I'm taking a class on Biography as Genre right now at the Grad Center and came across a belly dance scene in Lytton Strachey's beautifully written Eminent Victorians.  The last section, "The End of General Gordon," dissects the career of  Charles George Gordon whose military career ended in southern Egypt.  In this short scene, Strachey mocks the self-righteous morality of the Victorian era (calling him a "Christian hero") and the cold eye cast by this lonely, fame-driven, "eminently unromantic" colonialist who hated more than anything "the flesh."   This scene takes place in 1874 when Gordon returns to the Sudan:

"On his way up the Nile, he was received in state at Khartoum by the Egyptian Governor-General of the Sudan, his immediate official superior.  The function ended in a prolonged banquet, followed by a mixed ballet of soldiers and completely naked young women, who danced in a circle, beat time with their feet, and accompanied their gestures with a curious sound of clucking.  At last the Austrian Consul, overcome by the exhilaration of the scene, flung himself in a frenzy among the dancers; the Governor General, shouting with delight, seemed about to follow suit, when Gordon abruptly left the room, and the party broke up in confusion."

Gordon, unable to see beyond the lens of his own judgments, ends up miscalculating both the forces against him and his own mortality.  He died in a standoff in the Sudan (romanticized in the painting above, the cover of "Emminent Victorians").

Happy Spring Break: Classes Resume April 5

Spring Break!  We had our makeup session for the snow storm on March 15.  D Quarter classes resume Friday, April 5 and run through May 4.  Because our last class focused on Shimmies, I'm attaching a video of Randa Kamal who is known for her amazing shimmies.  If you Google "Randa Kamal" and shimmy, you will have no problem finding more information on her shimmies and even a Randa Kamal  shimmy discussion at the belly dance social website www.tribes.net.  This website, along with www.bhuz.com, are good resources to be aware of you are interested in furthering your dance on your own!

Two (Free!) Orientalish-Related Events at NYU

Photo: Khcheich by Bassem Fayed
from the NYU AbuDhabi event site.  
Information: click here

Two (free!) events happening this week at NYU Abu Dhabi for those interested in Middle Eastern music and literature.  First, this Friday at 8 p.m., a classical music concert "Music of Lebanon and Rahbani Brothers" with Lebanese vocalist Rima Khcheich.  In class throughout the years at NYU, I've used Fairouz's music and the Rahbani Brothers.  Come here this beautiful repertoire live with Khcheich and the Al-Bustan takht ensemble.
March 22: 8 p.m.
NYU Kimmel Center
Eisner and Lubin Auditorium
Free.

Second, on Monday, March 25, a talk with Egyptian writer, director, and performance artist Dalia Basiouny.  According to the press release, Basiouny's “Solitaire”: ". . . documents, dramatically and visually, some of the experiences of Arab Americans post 9/11, and the impact of these events on the Arab World. It also records the early phase of January 25th Revolution in Tahrir Square through the eyes of an Egyptian woman who changes and creates change in her journey to shape her identity and find peace." Basiouny will speak with playwright Catherine Filloux at this free event curated by Tisch School of the Arts.
March 25, 6-7:30 p.m.
NYU Abu Dhabi
19 Washington Square, 
New York, NY

Both events are free, but registration is recommended at the NYU Abu Dhabi website.