After Susu’s second drum class, I stayed on for a riq
class and realized that maybe I was more help to Susu by
staying out of her way. At dinner I finally got to help her.
This was by being pushed to the front of the line because
of her handicap and then putting hers and my dinner
dishes in the same tray. After dinner we went down to
the concert hall and were treated to a Jazzy Armenian
concert featuring Jim Grippo on kanun, Souren Baronian
on sax, clarinet and Dduduk, Paul Ohanesian on oud and
Rowan Storm on darabouka. Following this, we went
up the hill to the Cabaret Hall and Georges Lammam
led the Arabic night playing his violin with Khader
Keileh on keyboard, Afif Taian on oud, Susu Pampanin
on tabla, Faisal Zeidan on riq and Sandy Hollister and
me playing duf. We played for and were treated to many
beautiful dancers. And I then started to realize that these
dancers, just like the ones at the Portland music camp,
were very musical. So while I was home ranting about
the international famous run-on sentence dancers and
workshop teachers who seemed to have no regard to the
sentimentality of the music, here at camp we had dancers
– some well known and others not so well known – who
were actually listening to and responding to the music.
What did this tell me? That there is a light at the end of
the tunnel. We just need to find dancers who are interested
in the music and not just in perfecting the kinesiology of
the movements. And where else can we find that but at
Mid East-Camps that feature Music?
The Music is the Magic that makes the Dance Magical.
AMINA GOODYEAR
Amina Goodyear is a dancer, dance teacher and percussionist specializing
in Egyptian style. She founded the Aswan Dancers, the Giza Club and The
Cairo Cats Band. www.aswandancers.org
She co-founded The Arabian Knights Band and The Giza Academy
with the Giza Awards and Film Festivals. She currently performs
with The Georges Lammam Band, The Pasha Band, Khalil Aboud and
Company, and Aswat. Her Middle Eastern dance career began in 1966 at
San Francisco’s Bagdad Cabaret where she performed nightly for twenty
years. When it closed, she continued dancing at other venues while also
teaching and performing both dance and percussion. Today she teaches
7 classes a week plus privates and workshops. She no longer performs
nightly, however she still performs at festivals and in local venues.
Day Trip with Kelly
August 7-9, 2015
The Dance Spot
122 Commerce Centre Dr.
Huntersville, NC
Road Trip 2016 with Sadie
March 12-13, 2016
Charles Mack Citizen Center
215 N. Main Street
Mooresville, NC
www.pyramidroad.com
October 2015
The Belly Dance Chronicles
37