Sophie's Dancelog

What a ride! I passed the auditions for the Taglit Contest that is going to be held on January 22nd at the Oriental Dance Festival in Eilat.

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Contestants Lineup

Striking a pose

Have you heard of Boogie Balagan yet? No? Shame on you! Those guys will boogie you away! I was lucky to perform with them last weekend and I had a blast!

The photos below were generously provided by Ido Shor.

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The summer has started and school is over. We had an amazing end-of-the-year concert, with performances so inspiring that they brought tears to my eyes. After the concert many of us headed straight to Ben Yehuda St., the pedestrian mall in the center of Jerusalem. We set ourselves up smack in the middle of the street and the party began! Imagine a bunch of percussionists (on darbukas, djembes, def and riqq), and a bunch of people on melodic instruments boisterously playing their hearts out with the rest of the students dancing wildly in front of them! Pretty quick we had a huge crowd surrounding us, some people joined the dancers, some were “helping out” the musicians. I played sagat and danced and being in the midst of this crazy wild-spirited circus was one of the most liberating experiences I’ve ever had. I felt so lucky being surrounded by so many talented and giving people. Can’t wait to see what next semester brings!

I’m co-producing this event with Sagit Elmaliach , the director of the Belly Dance Center in Jerusalem. We are very excited to host Bella Fuegas , Elana Brutman and KC Van De Merkt for a weekend of workshops and a show.

Bella Fuegas , KC Van De Merkt and Elana Brutman , began performing as a duet in 2004. They debuted as poi dancers and swiftly evolved into alluring hoop artists gracing the stage in multiple cities across the nation. As their ability to convey emotion through movement paralleled their polished skill level, they attained a level of uniqueness audiences rarely witnessed. To round the edge of their performance, they embarked on a study of Tribal belly dance which provided them with an opportunity to teach their art to students of an entirely new sub-culture. Today, KC and Elana entwine the arresting essence of fire dance with the ancient practice of belly dance, paving the way for a new perspective on two distinct art forms.

A glimpse at the ghawazee coat making

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These are a few excerpts from the Belly Dance Center Purim Party in Jerusalem. I’m dancing to Aziza, an all-times favorite dance tune composed by Mohamed Abdel Wahab.