Cairo, the 30th July, 2009

"Ufffff.........Joana at the great

"NILE MAXIM"!!!"

Taking a deep breath, after holding it for so long...It has been an incredible ride, so far...and I've only just started.

New contract. New orchestra and dancers, new place, new audience (plus the one that is already following me from the "Pharaohs" -where I used to work - to "Nile Maxim").

Nothing was given to me in a platter.I had to earn each and every show I made and I won the first row of challenges.

Me and my team were supposed to be working just - to start - for four days in a row and then take a place and give the chance to another dancer. We ended up doing the last 17 (!!!) days with no day off. We stopped because I am clearly exhausted. I begged for a break (how strange of me to do so...).

The best of all is that these unexpected last 17 days of shows in a row were purely and 100% audience required with no publicity made except for the "word of mouth" that ensured the news of my transference to "Nile Maxim" was publicly known. Thanks God!

I had no time to breath, until now...I feel like I've been diving in the deepest zone of a huge ocean and only now, as I'm writing this posting, I can see the sun and breath fresh air.

There were several couples, singles, whole families coming to see me perform two, three, four times during these last crazy two weeks. Every night we thought we were headed for a day or two off and we were informed we were REQUIRED at work the following day. What a marvellous thing to experience. The taste of a victorious challenge.

There was no time for rehearsals because we worked every day and the orchestra made so many mistakes that I proclaimed that NO show would be done without a rehearsal before going on stage. Therefore, rehearsals were held before EVERY show we presented and new songs/coreographies/concepts/cloths were arranged during the day in order to present variety to the repeating guests who were dear enough to make me feel ADORED and INSPIRED.

As I've said so many times, there's not a better inspiration than appreciation. When your talent and efforts are recognized and appreciated, you earn extra energy to do better, always better...I'm IN for the ride!!! No evil eye will be enough to detain me, may God help me!

Nagle, the Angel!

My assistant was my life saver during these two weeks of constant work, rehearsals and eternal preparations.

I once loved a man who cooked for me. I would say "Feed me, baby!" and he would. He could as well have given me a diamond ring and it wouldn't feel so great as the food he lovingly prepared for me. That was a labour of love and I knew it. It was love in the shape of the food he prepared for me. I was aware of that.

Nagle reminds me of that. She came everyday with a new dish, egyptian food, egyptian style. She made sure I always had my tea with mint in my backstage room. She performed the ancient ritual of the "halawa" on all my body (she LOVES doing it and gets giggling and euphoric at the sight of me, naked) and arranged all my dance cloths.

She even brought an old walkman and showed me a great lot of songs for me to perform.

She rubbed my muscles with mint oil and dressed me. She resembled a mother way too much and I felt caressed and spoilt.

She's supposed to be what they call "lapissa" (someone who dresses and undresses the dancer before, during and after the show) but she ended up being so much more than that.

Being used to do virtually EVERYTHING by myself and not being used to someone taking care of me, I feel -suddenly - pleased to recognize an artist NEEDS an assistant. It sounds a tad arrogant and pretentious to say this but it's true. If you're not minding every single detail around your work - which is supposed to be DANCING - you end up with more energy and mental space for the art itself. If there's someone feeding you with tenderness, making sure your favourite tea is on the table with no need of a previous request, your heart is warm and your mind relaxed, assured that basic needs are being taken care of and so you're free to dedicate yourself to "higher matters". If that person who takes care of you even dares to bring you home made popcorn - still warm -to make you relax, you surely have no excuse to make a bad job on stage.

Now I am just breathing in and out, trying to recenter myself and disconnect from the world. Just for one day...recovering energy to restart the creative machine and fly away.

Did I mention how happy I feel?!