Cairo, the 27th January, 2011

Travelling...away from madness for a few days...

Today:

7.30h a.m. - Ashtanga Yoga class (OUTCH!)

Practicing this kind of yoga is not for the sissies or lazy people so...there I was this early morning putting myself beyond my own apparent limitations and breathing, breathing, breathing...

10.00h a.m. - Moccha cafe at local caffeteria to restore some energy level (not the right way to do it, I know...just let it be!)

11.00h a.m. - I heard the news about Cairo's situation. It doesn't sound good...Violence never took anyone anywhere, really (or did it???) and I hope all will be o.kk very soon and the BEST choice can be made for this country which I learnt to love as my own, despite all its faults.

The thing is, I complain and everything but I DO LOVE EGYPT and all I wish for it (for US) is the best. This country deserves to grow and know the prosperity it once knew in its glorious past.

12.00h p.,m- Here I go...away from Cairo with old and new friends (really need to know NEW interesting people so I will hopefully do it this weekend)!

It has been a long time since I took a few days off from working matters. Well deserved retreat.

Conclusion:

Dear Blog followers, I will be out of this cybernetic sphere for a week.

No posts, no follow-ups. Until then, keep yourselves always brave and happy!

Cairo, the 26th January, 2011

Me, going away from Cairo...
Just taking time off to heal the wounds, lick them and erase what's not GOOD from the past.

Letting it all go...


Taking a GRATITUDE vote towards all that was great and simply forgetting and letting go of all disappointments, sad experiences with people I used to love and the REALITY that not everyone has the same courage, character strenght, honesty, kindness in their hearts as I wish they would. Accepting other people's weakness and ugly spots as they are cause that's the deepest, most difficult and truthful way of loving them while letting them go out from our lives.

Compassion for other people's ugliness (and for ours) is just a sign that we might be REALLY loving them.

While running away from Cairo, I am also LEARNING on the way...

Cairo, the 26th January, 2011

Egypt political struggles.

The last few days in Cairo were politically agitated with violent street demonstrations, alert news of new public gatherings and a violent answer from the national police.
This blog is not a political site and I am the least diplomatic person on earth (after my beloved mum who wins the FIRST PRIZE on extreme honesty and total lack of diplomatic skills) so I will keep this comment to a minimum and will not go into details.

Here we go:
It's only NATURAL and URGENT that egyptians revolt against the corrupt system they are living in. This is a country where the common people don't have any honest chance to make a GOOD LIFE QUALITY for themselves and everybody is really tired of poverty, no human rights or a CHANCE to even DREAM about a better life.

I LOVE EGYPT, despite all the horrific things/people I've seen around here but, as I started to KNOW this country's reality and the reasons why PEOPLE act the way they do, I experimented a new kind of compassion for corruption, lies, general laziness and absence of produtivity.
It all comes down to a simple base: If there's no compensation for HARD HONEST WORK, TALENT and SKILLS, then no one will think it's worth to BE GOOD and do their BEST.

If only pimps, professional thieves, rich people with loads of money, connections and power and dishonest individuals GET THE JOB, GET the VALUE, GET the APPRECIATION then the message this reality gives to everyone is simply: BE an ASSHOLE and you'll be compensated!

I am as tired as any egyptian. I work and live in this country for 4 years non-stop. I work with egyptians and for egyptians and I see their immense potential. If only there was a political system that compensates people's TALENTS and ABILITIES, instead of killing it...

More manifestations will be expected for today.
Hoping for a MIRACLE.

Cairo, the 26th January, 2011

What if...

You knew you the World was gonna end TOMORROW?!

What would you do?
Which people would you run to just for a hug, for a deep moment of love making, for a simple and heartfelt: I LOVE YOU, for a glimpse of their eyes on your eyes?

What if...

You knew the World was gonna end within a few hours?

Who would you meet to say: " I am sorry...", who would you passionately kiss, who would you hold tight and never let go?

What if...

You knew the World was gonna end within an hour?

What would you do FIRST?
Who would you run to FIRST?
To whom would you honestly sware eternal LOVE?

(Say the answer to these questions to yourself NOW and you will know WHAT you should do NOW and WHOM you should run to

right NOW).

Don't wait till the world is over.
Or this day.

Love can't wait.

Neither does the WORLD.

Or LIFE.

SilkRoadProjects Venice Oriental DanceI Convention

Check this GORGEOUS promotional video of the event I am honoured to be part of.
So happy to perform and teach at this event.
Will wait for you at this amazing FESTIVAL!

Cairo, the 25th January, 2011

Going to Italy (VENICE ORIENTAL DANCE CONVENTION - THE WAY OF ONENESS)

The 18,19,20th March 2011

It's my honour and pleausure to announce that I will be performing and teaching at this incredible event in one of the most fascinating cities in the world: VENICE!

What else could I ask for? I feel so inspired by this event...and I know you will all have a GREAT time there with me and some other amazing artists who will bring WORLD DANCES into the magestic, enigmatic city of VENICE...

Here are some links to check all the infos and PARTICIPATE:

http://www.silkroadprojects.com/

www.facebook.com/pages/silk-road-projects/223066186599?v=wall

http://www.youtube.com/user/silkroadprojects

Cairo, the 25th January, 2011

To be a Bad Girl...

Studying hard to be a BAD girl.

Remember, dear friends:

"Good girls go to heaven.

Bad girls go everywhere."

So true...;))

Cairo, the 25th January, 2011

Egyptian wedding delights (more of it)!

Oh, sometimes you just have to let go of your own standards and expectations and rise to the occasion by letting it be what it's meant to be.

The egyptian wedding industry was always odd to me and the more I know of it, the less I understand it.

First of all, it all comes down to "having the right contacts" and knowing/paying people under the table to sell your product (Yourself, in this case, or your SHOW). As I never had anyone (no managers/pimps/rich husbands,etc) to do that marketing business for me, all the gigs I get come directly from costumers who have seen me perform or heard about me in a very positive way so they take the risk and hire me for their wedding.

Second, the typical wedding shows end up being a really f....up party where the dancer's job is to make everyone dance and yell with joy, not so much to show her talent and ART.

I really struggle with this aspect of the work as I consider myself an artist and cannot understand why would someone pay ME to do a job that any funny, good humoured, jumpy egyptian dancer could do much more easily and cheaper.

I DO get the point: you are at a wedding so people want to celebrate and do wild things coming from happiness. It's only natural that no one wants to quietly sit at their tables, chew some wedding cake and look attentively to the ARTIST on stage but it's still hard for me to get into the system of being hired as an ARTIST and ending up being a Jumpy-Funny-Entertainer whose function is to make everyone else dance, yell and threw jokes at the bride and groom.

It wasn't at all surprising then when I performed at a wedding last night and all I could do (for an whole hour) was to push people away from my orchestra and my own "bedleh" which some of them were trying to grab (egyptians can be quite crazy and TOUCHY after a few drinks).

Everybody was enjoying it.

Well, everybody EXCEPT me. I didn't think it was funny AT ALL. As well as my musicians who get very protective and upset in these circumnstances.

I just slipped away from the stage from under someone's arms and disappeared into oblivion.

Supposing no one even noticed I was gone...I might have as well been just a piece of dust on the stage because no one seemed to care I disappeared. All they saw was jumping, grabbing, yelling and going crazy over the music. They were really enjoying themselves which is great for a wedding party.

The problem is I WAS NOT ENJOYING IT.

Well, not everybody has fun at the same party...;) And some weddings are a real JOY to be a part of (as a working DANCER) and some are just episodes of accidental landing on a rave party you were not invited to.:(

Welcome to Egypt and the REAL life of an Oriental Dancer (sorry, folks! I like to tell it as IT IS, opposed to most dancer's accounts of glamorous, pink lives in Cairo that they never - actually - had!).

Yes, there are incredible things about this whole adventure but, most of the times, it's all about perseverance, hard work, discipline, brains and stamina to deal with a LOT of shit and the faith of a Saint worshipper to keep on DOING your best when everything around you is rocky, full of obstacles and shut doors).

Going with the flow...struggling against the tide will only get you drowned from exhaustion.

:)Keeping FAITH HIGH!

Cairo, the 25th January, 2011

Something my yoga teacher just happened to say...

"Where there is breathing, there is intelligence."

Did she hear it in India, where she has studied Yoga? Did it come from some interesting reading or from her own insight?

It doesn't really matter.There I was in a deep "downward facing dog", travelling inside myself and this simple phrase came into the room like the call of an angel. I just had to catch it.

And I did.

And it stayed with me. Until now.

So true...where there is breathing, there is intelligence.

Cairo, the 24th January, 2011

No words left...
only ME...

Cairo, the 24th January, 2011

Pearls of Beauty and Wisdom...

Arriving from everywhere, really!

I guess it's true what the ancients say: "When the student is ready, the teacher appears."

Here are some of the pearls I caught today on my path:

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world."

Mahatma Ghandi

"In every corner of my soul there is an altar to a different god."

Psoas

"No matter how much darkness there is in the world, it can never put out the light of a single candle."

(Told by my friend and teacher Suzanna, my beloved "potty guru" -

"By the way, love you, sweetie!")

Cairo, the 24th January, 2011

Interview to the newspaper "Sout el Omma" (journalist: Nevine Nour)

It was a pleasure to give this interview to the lovely journalist Nevine Nour.

As far as she explained to me, the newspaper which published this interview is a very well respected one ("Sout el Omma" ) and will reach lots of people who know very little about Oriental Dance.

I really enjoyed talking about my LOVE for this Art and some of the adventures that took me where I am right now...how wonderful it is to speak about your biggest passions!!!

You can check a piece of the entire interview (written in arabic) following this link:

www.soutelomma.org/NewsDetails.aspx?NID=7844

Cairo, the 24th January, 2011

It's all a matter of perspective!

Achieving whatever you wish for in the Art's circle in Egypt (without selling your soul and BODY to the devil) is a so called MISSION IMPOSSIBLE.

I am still on my way to be an exception to this rule. THE exception, with God's help!
No pointing fingers at other people's actions but always concentrating on DOING MY BEST. Focusing on myself and my own growth, instead
of focusing on other's mistakes (it's really a waste of time, isn't it?).

So the BATTLES ARE ON...Meanwhile, here's what you should follow:

1. My new shows in Cairo. Changing, creating, innovating ALL the TIME.

"Change" is my middle name!

If you're in Cairo and wish to attend one of my shows, just email me to: dancemagica@gmail.com and I will let you my dancing schedule details for the dates you require.

2. Next Oriental Dance Workshops in Portugal, Spain and Italy (more details will follow).

3. BRAND NEW WEBSITE (my own) arriving soon at his cybernetic world. Loads of goodies for Oriental Dance Lovers and a bit of my artistic ID over there.

Hope you will all enjoy it!

Cairo, the 23rd January, 2011

Images that speak for 100000 words...

Cairo, the 23rd January, 2011

Trust

In myself and my intuition.

In my own POWER to ACT and move forward when all the easy escapes seem to direct to procrastination.

In other people's good heart, intentions and acts.

In LOVE.

Again.

(Breathing and reebooting.)

Cairo, the 23rd January, 2011

I always laugh at...

The recurrent theories about women which divide them between the respectable Wives and the whore Lovers. In Egypt and all Middle East, there is a common sense opinion which says Women cannot be FREE and Honest at the same time. If they're free, educated, fun, sexy, beautiful and independent (not surviving from a man's/owner hand) they MUST BE total whores.

If she's quiet, invisible, obedient and self-sacrificing then she becomes somebody's wife and forgets about herself and who she really is.

Ah! They also say Women are not strong or intelligent enough to defend themselves from the predators: MEN.

Even egyptian/arabic women tend to assume this is true: Women are defenseless and need a man to protect them from other men because they don't know how and when to say NO when approached by strangers with a penis.

From the day they are born to the day they die, Women seem to need a male guardian, protector, owner. First is their father, then their brother (if there's any) and, finally, their husband. The pet goes from one hand to the other, always grateful, helpless and stupid...

Cairo, the 23rd January, 2011

...............................................................

"The three graces"

by Botticelli

Pure poetry...

Inspirational Series...PART (who cares?)

"To get something you've never had,

you've got to do something you've never done"

So I heard...

Cairo, the 23rd January, 2011

Giving back - INSPIRATIONS (III)

Today I feel like GIVING back all of the wonderful surprises the Universe has been offering me.

No importance here is being given to the pain and disappointments.

The LIFE of an ARTIST is made of forgotten tears (from which we learnt our biggest lessons) and constantly remembered JOYS (from which we take a daily re

ason to live, smile and look out for tomorrow and...TODAY!)

Cairo, the 23rd January, 2011

Giving back (INSPIRATION) - PART II

Cairo, the 23rd January, 2011



Giving back!

Here are a series of incredible images/messages I found out and wish to share with all of you.
As you INSPIRE ME, I hope to INSPIRE YOU TOO.
Just giving it back, really...

Yesterday night's shows were a riot!
And, for a moment of absolute clarity when my eyes were closed and I just listened to the audience's applauses, I REALIZED - again - that ALL DREAMS CAN COME TRUE if you are BRAVE enough to take responsability over your own life and MAKE THE FIRST STEP towards the things you want to BE, DO, ENJOY.

But, truly, YOU HAVE TO MAKE IT HAPPEN! God helps the ones who help themselves.:)

Cairo, the 23rd January, 2011

Only human...

Unrealistic expectations with my hair, nails and all the girlie stuff that needs to be put on all the time for girls like me who are on stage on a daily basis.

I never quite got why my hair always look like a lion fur after a fight (no matter how hard I TRY to keep it neat and presentable) and why my manicures are a disaster (I can't wait for the nail polish to dry, EVER!).

Well, I may as well conclude I am not a girlie girl, then...

I surrender to being the wild amazon who doesn't fit in the cupboards of femininity!

I surrender..................

Cairo, the 23rd January, 2011

So true

...

Cairo, the 23rd January, 2011

To all those who INSPIRE me every day...

My gratitude, hug and appreciation to the various individuals (whom I call my disguised "angels") who inspire me and push me forward on a daily basis.

As a professional dancer and as well as a person, I need those bits of LIGHT and FIRE. They come in diverse shapes and forms. They may be a stranger smiling at me with true tenderness in the street, a TANGO dance partner who makes me fly in his arms while dancing one of my favourite songs, a friend who sends me a poem or calls me just to say "I miss you", the lips of a lover covering my face with kisses, a bunch of birds in the sky heading for Spring time, a sweet cat that runs towards me to purr in my ear, a loving letter from Portugal, etc,etc,etc...

Oh, yes! We can count the constant "put downs" around us but it's surely better to count the PUSH UPS that surrounds us all the time. And having the ability to catch their drift on the spot is also essencial. How good is a beautiful tempest if you cannot enjoy the RAIN?!

Cairo, the 23rd January,
2011




Dear Woody
(he knows what he's talking about!)

Cairo, the 23rd January, 2011

If they say you can't...

I am used to closed doors, big fat NO's and loads of people who think I cannot DO whatever I dream to do. Even when I have proved myself in my career over and over again, the stigma that permeates WOMEN in the Middle East (and, may I say, still around the world) puts too little faith on my ability to accomplish whatever I wish for without the "help/bed" of a powerful man.

Particularly in Egypt, I am daily facing on my skin this depreciative image about women.

If you add to that the fact that I will not prostrate myself or lick the boots of any man in order to be supported in my dreams, the game gets even tougher.

Add to that the fact of being considered beautiful and NOT USING that beauty in my advantage or for my own profit. A beautiful woman who doesn't use it for her own gain is not considered HONEST and RESPECTABLE around here but...STUPID!

Living in Egypt, by myself, as a professional Oriental Dancer is TRULY mind blowing, "everything" blowing, really...

But after all I've seen and lived around here, I still laugh at those who think I CANNOT DO WHATEVER I DREAM OF simply because I am a woman and due to my stupidity (why wouldn't I go out with the "right rich guys" and let them use/exhibit me as their beef of the month in exchange for career opportunities?!).

To those who think and say "You can't do it" there's only one diplomatic, extremely poetic answer:

"FUCK YOU!"

(and this is the classic answer of an also classical stupid woman who doesn't know how to answer better than this...yeah, I guess that's ME!)