The 1st International Bellydance Congress

    Having only left Paris at 5pm on Friday the 28th of September, I was expecting to miss the first afternoon of workshops and also the first half of Horacio and Beata's new show but thanks to a flawless train service, I managed to arrive at Bognor Regis to sit and watch the second half !  Actually I arrived during the interval and had an opportunity to kiss and hug all my friends and meet some new people I only knew on BD forums. The atmosphere was really friendly and you could feel  excitment and thrill. I managed to sit at the front and watch Horacio, Beata and their special guests...I really enjoyed their stage presence , their professionalism and their exquisite taste for costumes (Horacio's assyut kimono sleeve galabeyya and Beata's empire green little number were ace!) They also had a good sense of humour . My only complaint would be that it's a little too perfect and I'd like them to go a bit wild in their dance.
    After the show, we had the choice to bop to live Arabic music or Electro-World with Tim and Hamid Mantu from Trans-Global Underground. Although the atmosphere was good, you could feel that people were getting tired after a long day of working and/or travelling (some of them came from Korea, Canada, all over Europe and the UK of course) and by 2am, most of our people were in bed. When I say "our" people, it's because the premises  also welcomed people who came for other interests , mainly partying until dawn and getting drunk...so I didn't really get to sleep that first night and found it very hard to get up and get ready for Jim Boz's workshop at 9am !!! But I made it and discovered a fantastic charismatic American instructor who is very demanding but often cracks jokes so that people relax and enjoy working hard. I stayed for 2 hours and found some of his drills very helpful, I also got an idea of his technique and his teaching style. Then I decided to go to the souk where Irene and Edwin Wood (2 of the organisers of the event and the managers of Aladdin's Cave) were waiting for me to try the Saroyan zills they had received from America...what a treat !!! Obviously they sold out as people start at last to understand that zills are proper  musical instruments and not just a toy ! After a wander which made me spend money on CDs, DVDs, tops, posters and a 2-piece costume , I sneaked in the Reds Theatre to watch the end of Horacio's Sultry Oriental Rumba class. He taught the choreography he normally performs with a veil and people seemed to have got the jist of it as it wasn't technically difficult...it's just a question of getting used to the Rumba rhythm!
    I then got ready to teach my Isis Wings to Les Baxter's Music class which I had taught in Paris last Spring. Truly, I was only expecting 5 people or so since "big names" (Randa Kamal, Raqia Hassan, Beata Cifuentes, and Frederique David teaching Urban Tribal) were teaching at the same time...To my surprise, more tha 30 turned up and the roo, was full of lovely butterflies !!! The camera crew who was only supposed to film for 5 minutes stayed more than an hour, the girls did well and got through the dance well in time to practice it entirely several times.
    When I spoke to Irene (Aladdin's Cave) later on, she said that an hour before the workshop, she 'd seen many people buying wings and was starting to wonder if the room I was would be big enough !!!
After my workshop, I watch the end of Frederique's : she's a fantastic teacher (and performer) with an irreproachable technique and most of all, she's great fun ! I highly recommend her as an  alternative to the big Tribal-Fusion names !!!
    I then got back to my roo, to get ready for the evening show in which I was going to perform a new number on an Arabic-Psychadelic remix of the Avengers' theme. I called it "Emma Peel in Cairo" so that there would still be an element of surprise !
    As I was only performing in the second half, I sat through the first half and really really enjoyed it ! The theme of the Saturday Night Show was East meets West and we saw a wide range of styles from R&B Saidi to Bollywood, Pop to African-Oriental Fusion with double veil, Tribal,  and the exceptional participation of Kismet doing her  unique performance of the Seven Veils Dance.
    Then came the second part with (I heard) a fantastic fusion with Fire choreographed by Josephine Wise, myself, Frederique doing Urban Fusion, Jim Boz who made the audiance go crazy, the Cowgirls from Canada and Fahtiem who was particularly subdued compared to all the acts beforehand !!!
    I had such  a great fun backstage as well as on stage, my homemade PVC costume did the trick and I got some really positive feedback (well obviously you only get the negative comments later on by word of mouth !!!).
    I think the audience was thrilled by the whole show and I heard comments such as "the best bellydance show I've ever seen",  "It was so good that it could be put on in the West End ", "Exciting, Surprising, innovative..."
    I was so high after the show that I decided to perform again with the DJ and did a sassy lap dance number on an oriental remix of "My Humps" by the Black Eye Peas playing the sagats. I was then followed by Akasha who did a Gothic number and Christine and Jo Wise who improvised an Oriental Zombie Dance (only seen in the UK so far !!!) At that point I think nobody wanted to go to bed. I finally did at 2.30am and dozed until 8am (still loads of people partying until 6am) and then got ready  for Randa's workshop teaching a lively choreography. I got enough to work on for the next 3 months and decided to leave  before the end to go to Jim Boz's 70s style with Sagat. I picked the choreography in a wink and had fun playing the zills but I found it really basic and didn't learn anything new.
    The I rushd to my dance studion to teach Turkish Jazz Fusion. Again I was expecting 5 people and ended up with  more than 20 (I don't think they knew what to expect but must have thought it would be as wild as my Avengers' number !!!). Well, actually it was more experimental with jazz steps and an unusual time signature (5/4) but a well-know melody (Take Five) which I thought would help the students. Again I was pleased to see that most of the girls got it right and I also had some positive feedback  and  some more travelling and teaching to come.
    While I was teaching, the Professional Solos Congress Competition was held and I was pleased to hear that Salwa from Belgium who I had met at the first Night of the Tribes Festival won the first prize (Yeah ! Well Done !!!)
    I was so knackered after that I decided to have a rest and then get ready for the last evening : an oriental show followed by Natacha Atlas and Trans-Global Underground.
    What a night...
    The show included solos and group dances finishing with the one and only Randa Kamal. The audiance was really going mad and I felt it was Christmas before Christmas...She's absolutely amazing, she's musical, she's a drama queen, she's fun, generous...I could watch her for hours.
I also enjoyed Jo Wise's solo (what a performer !), Samasem's refined style (she looks like a mermaid) and Khaled Mahmoud who I have never seen performing so well...the audience went beserk with his shimmy section.
    Then came Natacha. I have to say that she was in  great form and she also really enjoyed herself because of the audience being so responsive and her band (the best she's ever had since the old times when she used to tour with TGU) She danced and laughed and sang really well. Although she had a cold, it didn't show and if the crew hadn't thrown the band off stage (It was 1am and they wanted to go to bed) I think she would have sung for another hour !
    After the gig, she received some fans in her dressing room and then we spent some time chatting and  saying how good the show was. She also said that she saw Randa Kamal on stage and thought she was really good and also appreciated the audience's enthusiasm.
    We all went to bed and I left the next morning, my head full of music and dance.
    I can't wait for the next one, same time next year but definitely not the same place !!!