David Martin ’ s House Party . I also started doing Cinderella and Little Mermaid for children ’ s parties . Then I expanded into doing “ walk arounds ” as different characters for corporate events . Now that I was branching out , I enlisted Aziza ’ s help . At first , she was hesitant . Some of my requests were unusual . The first costume she made for me was the Snow Queen . It is a white and gold WOW costume that I still wear today . She would make the costumes and I would embellish them with bling and make wings , head dresses and all the accessories . We were a good team .
If I got a call for the Queen of Mardi Gras , she made me a costume . How about San Francisco Sandra ? A Masquerade ball costume ? Leprechaun ? Pirate ? Many of her costumes were featured in the band . What should I wear when I do Face Painting ? How about overalls ? I have 12 different pairs of overalls with different themes . Her work was outstanding . I probably have over 40-50 different costumes outside of belly dancing that she custom made for me . She was creative , imaginative and always threw in whimsy and fun . Aziza was my costumer for more than 25 years .
Aziza took a lot of joy in making her one of a kind creations . It was our teamwork that made people smile and light up when I ’ d walk in to work . When she had to cut back on projects because of her health , it left a big hole in my life . I was forced to buy costumes off the rack and fix them up myself . The magic was gone . I would send her photos from work with the comments people made about her costumes . They live on with their “ made by Aziza ” tags inside reminding me of the special wonderful friend that I will love forever . I couldn ’ t have done it without her . I am grateful for her friendship , her support and her willingness to say yes to my wacky requests .
We love you Aziza ! Your legacy lives on ! Thank you for everything .
From Malika Aziza was a special friend of mine since the 1970s . Our love of Belly Dancing brought us together . We were both judges for The Belly Dancer of the Year contest year after year in the 70s and 80s . Aziza was the most creative and talented costume designer and seamstress I ’ ve ever known .
Her costumes are legendary and I was lucky to own several . In fact , I saved my favorite one of her ’ s to this day as a memento .
Aziza and Malika
She was also kind enough to design and make a costume for me to wear to dance in Egypt . It needed to be light weight and was perfect and a hit .
The last time I saw her a year or a little more ago , my husband , Jack , and I met her and Markie halfway between our homes in Sacramento . We spent the afternoon enjoying Dim Sum at their favorite restaurant .... and laughing a lot .
Sweet , strong , talented , humble , with a terrific sense of humor ....... that was Aziza .
And bold enough to rock her bright pink hair !
From Theresea Jade I began dancing in 1976 and met Aziza - she had been dancing since the 1960s . Aziza had an agent and traveled to nightclubs as a cabaret dancer . She married and transitioned into costumes as her ( then ) husband did not like her lifestyle so much . She did continue dancing at renne fairs , and developed her own troupe with Lauralee .
She always danced to live music . She “ semi-retired ” in the 1980s , only taking the gigs that she really wanted , while focusing on her costume designs . She continued dancing into the 1990s , driving as far as Utah , and we performed at El Morracco in Pleasant Hill . Aziza was also a judge for the Belly Dancer of the Year pageant .
Aziza was my psychic advisor and helped me with many troubles over the years . We drove to Southern California for a steampunk conference to sell at a booth , and enjoyed our road trip . Aziza liked to sew period costumes , and I was her model .
56 The Belly Dance Chronicles � October 2020