Cairo, the 28th July, 2010

Late night with my orchestra...

One of the best things about performing in Egypt is the relation I end up having with my orchestra.
In some kind of strange way, they are my headache, my ground, my family, my troupe, my men...so it was not surprising that we ended up, after performing at a WONDERFUL wedding in a 5 Star Hotel of Cairo, eating together in a baladi restaurant of
Al Haram street.

At 4.30h in the morning we were still ordering food, laughing, talking about different famous dancers many of my musicians have worked with, sharing experiences, ideas, dreams and eating molokheya, mahshi and so many other egyptian dishes that make my day/or nigght! whenever I am really hungry!

The curious thing is to observe their surprise and even embarassement to sit at the same table as me and watch me while I dig into a plate of molokheya with full gusto. They see me as queen, not as one of them and these moments we share turns that system upside down.

As far as I am concerned, I wouldn't exhange these moments for anything...
I LOVE performing. The stage is where I am the happiest. It has always been like this.
But, sometimes, real life can be also so much fun and enriching and that includes simple moments like these...