My

favorite Dancing moments.

Never underestimating the immense pleasure, victory and privilege on performing in Cairo with my own orchestra. That has been a WONDERFUL dream come true and a source of constant learning, inspiration and willingness to grow further and further.Yet, my favourite DANCING moments are nothing less than private, unexpected and not directly connected with the Sucess others associate with me.

Here are some of them:

*The private dances all the men I loved offered me. Curious to observe that only two of them were, actually, Dancers like me. The rest was not but they managed to enchant me - and make me laugh so hard, in some cases - by dancing for me. Ever more curious than that is the fact that I, the Dancer, never danced for any one of them.

*A tribal african dance class I took in New York, some years ago. I was taken by the hand of an afro-american friend of mine, Brooklyn girl, and all I can say is: it kicked my ass so damn fine...

Wow! Africans have a stamina, physical strenght and vigour most caucasians - like me - do not possess. I had the confirmation of this fact during the class.

This was an undergroud studio for tribal dances - God bless New York and its incredible cultural diversity -and I give myself some credit. It took a lot of guts - and no sense of ridiculous - to introduce myself into a class of african dances that defied the law of gravity to a never seen extent. I almost got killed during that class, if it wasnt´t for my sense of humour and the coolness of the participants, all african and black as the beautiful night.

I jumped, I twirled in the air, I was the clumsy monkey of the room, I sweat and went close to fainting many times but the excitement kept me going. No doubt I did nothing but BIG TIME bullshit on that class but, by all Gods and Goddesses, did I have fun!

***My first Tango dance happened in Madrid (Spain), where I lived for an year studying in the Acting Conservatoire. I was heading for an Oriental Dance workshop as I passed through a studio where an argentinian dancer was practicing. Without further questions or "why", he pulled me into the room, told me to close my eyes and let him lead me. Adventurous and curious as I am, I did what he requested from me. What a treat! The whole dance was performed with my eyes closed and no step was on the wrong place, no heart beat on the wrong note, no mistake, no rocks on the path. When the song reached an end, I was ready to fly to Mars with this man. Never saw him again and, yet, never forgot him.

*Me and my dearest friend and teacher Mahmoud Reda (founder of the "Reda Troupe" and fairly called the "Father of Egyptian Folclore") dancing under the rain in Brighton. After my performance, me and Mahmoud were supposed to return to our hotel but decided not to wait for the car ride. We just went into the streets of Brighton - deserted by that time of the night - and danced oour way to the hotel, hands joined, laughing our hearts out and...yes...under the rain. It was an instant classic directly competing with Gene Kelly scene on "Dancing in the rain."

*Performing for peasant - "fellahin" - women and children in a village by the Nile close to Luxor, Upper Egypt. It was one of my studying trips to Egypt that lead me to this place, thanks to the kindness and risky sense of fun of a tour guide who wanted to present me to his family.

The village women gathered at his home to watch me dance for them, not before they fed me and covered me in hugs and kisses. I usually do not do Oriental Dance outside of my work. This was an exception. A room was closed to this effect. Men were out of the equation.

A tape recorder from the time of ex- president Nasser was on with Om Kolthoum and I did my own private show. It all ended with old ladies crying and hugging me and a gorgeous, emotional procession of women who didn´t want to let me go.

***Sure there were many other Dance experiences I cherish. I have been blessed with more of them than I can count but, for some reason I don´t need to understand, these are the ones which my emotional memory retains.

More will come...