http://www.bellysophie.com/index.php Sharing experiences of an Oriental music and dance student Sun, 10 Aug 2008 06:28:49 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en 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. http://www.bellysophie.com/index.php/2008/07/10/with-boogie-balagan-levontine-7-tel-aviv/ 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 ... http://www.bellysophie.com/index.php/2008/07/09/summer-break/ 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 ... http://www.bellysophie.com/index.php/2008/06/15/american-tribal-style-tribal-fusion-in-israel/ http://www.bellysophie.com/index.php/2008/05/30/finger-cymbals-sagat-solo-2/ A glimpse at the ghawazee coat making Basic Pattern - Front and Back Constructing your basic pattern from scratch takes a lot of time. Once you are done don't cut it out but transfer it to another paper or plastic. Pattern Cutouts Use transparent plastic to transfer your basic pattern. It's ... http://www.bellysophie.com/index.php/2008/05/29/making-a-ghawazee-coat/ 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. [youtube XGMh4254gMA] http://www.bellysophie.com/index.php/2008/04/09/dancing-to-aziza/ [youtube cM8RwCGNSNY] http://www.bellysophie.com/index.php/2008/03/31/fooling-around-with-98/ Elad Gabai who teaches us piyutim at the Oriental Music Center sings "Yaarat Dvash" accompanying himself on a qanun. We just studied this piyut two days ago. What a pleasure! [youtube bYVL_hURO2s] Lyrics, explanations and various renditions can be found here (mostly Hebrew). Enjoy! http://www.bellysophie.com/index.php/2007/11/28/yaarat-dvash/ This month I've started studying at the Center and so far I enjoy it immensely. Suddenly I find myself amongst people that share my passion and it's a very gratifying feeling. The atmosphere in the center is very casual and relaxing, and the students are curious, eager to learn and ... http://www.bellysophie.com/index.php/2007/11/07/studying-in-the-center-of-the-middle-eastern-classical-music/ On Friday afternoon after the class I headed straight to Bella's shop at Şişli Bella is known for her high-end dance costumes and for this reason bargaining there is futile. Credit cards are also useless in her shop, because she accepts only cash! For 3 days in a row I ... http://www.bellysophie.com/index.php/2007/09/08/istanbul-take-iii-bella-pera-museum-siya-siyabend/