Working with Turkish Bands Dancers , who travel the world and have the opportunity to work with live bands to create ongoing cabaret shows , appreciate the challenge created by the reality of not speaking the local language . They say music is a universal language ; yes , it is – but you must have some foundational knowledge .
Fortunately , I had worked with Suleyman Feldthouse of the Sirocco band in Santa Cruz , CA ( USA ), who learned Turkish music as a teenager . Suleyman ’ s father was a staff member at the U . S . Embassy in Istanbul , and Suleyman learned Turkish music and even toured Europe with a Turkish band . Thus , it was fortuitous that I knew Turkish songs , rhythms , and musical styling . I found I could communicate best with the several different bands I worked with by “ humming tunes of favorite Turkish songs and agreeing upon tempo and rhythms by playing finger cymbals .” Thank goodness for my knowledge of Turkish songs and memory of rhythms ( of course today dancers would just play a sample from their iPod or cell phone music directories .)
A favorite aspect of my shows was the uniquely different fast-paced Turkish drum solos with lots of syncopation . There are no structured drum riffs like the Hagalla pattern in Arabic percussion . Each Turkish percussionist takes great pride in creating their own personalized , detailed riff patterns with syncopation and speedy drum rolls for extremely exciting and challenging drum sets .
The drummers playing “ drum kits ” and other drummers playing doumbeq would feature our “ drum duets .” I would start a rhythmic pattern with my zils , and the drummers would respond – in the “ Call and Answer ” pattern typical of Middle Eastern music – then we would switch , and I would react and dance to the drumming riff patterns and rhythms of the doumbeq and drum kit . This is why I teach drum solos as really drum duets . Dancers need to respond to the rhythmic patterns as they dance – drummers love it when you do .
Surviving Cold Dressing Rooms in the Basement Logistics of where to dress , when to perform , staying warm , and getting ready to perform , are simple when you know
Ma * Shuqa performing with Faruk band
and speak the language . In Germany , the dressing space for dancers and singers was always in cold basements . To stay warm and flexible , I solved the severe temperature problem by keeping my legs and feet warm with my hairdryer blowing under my skirts . I would also blow dry my long hair between shows .
Scheduling my 45-minute shows was made possible by having a beautiful ring watch with an analog face – I could check the time as I danced and signal the band . Timing is everything in German-Turkish restaurants , and with my schedule working three restaurants nightly , it was great to have a watch handy during a performance . However , even though I had scheduled performance times - for some reason , very often , I found myself locked in the dressing room and would be late for my show . Quite often , the lever handle style popular in Europe would frequently fall off in my hand , and the door could only be opened from the outside . A funny story now , but anxiety creating a problematic situation at the time . When I didn ’ t show up on stage , a waiter was sent to rescue me and find me for my next show . Logistics were crucial for being able to perform at three different restaurants each night – carefully timing my shows and having my taxi driver ready to chauffeur me to the next restaurant .
Cultural differences in German versus Turkish audiences There was quite a contrast in audience response and participation due to cultural differences between German and Turkish audiences . The German audiences were polite
October 2020 � The Belly Dance Chronicles 27