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BellyPalooza

Belly Dance Magic 2007:
an Evening with the Daughters of Rhea and Friends




Devra Johari's 9 foot puppet dances at Belly Dance Magic 2007

Giant Puppet Pre-show

Nina Amaya and Devra Johari present their giant Turkish alter egos, dancing for your delight! Papier mache and silk combine in a larger-than-life performance to welcome you to the show.



Pharaonic Style Belly Dance Choreography - Melina and Piper

Pho Pharaonic                                      Melina & Piper

A stylized ‘channel-your-inner-ancient priestess’ duet inspired by Egyptian hieroglyphs, back by popular demand! Choreographed by Melina.





Naimah performs an acrobatic Tribal style belly dance at Belly Dance Magic 2007

Hypnotize the Senses                                  Naimah

Ancient Egyptian bass-relief carvings and drawings on papyrus indicate that acrobatic dancers were popular entertainers both in the Pharaoh’s courts and with the general public.  Naimah blends this ancient art with modern Tribal stylings for a hypnotic effect.



Artemis performs a traditional Turkish Romany dance at the Baltimore Museum of Art for Belly Dance Magic 2007

Turkish Romany Fusion                              Artemis

This dance includes the dynamic and legendary Romany (Gypsy) skirt and hand gestures, along with the finger cymbal percussion and dramatic floorwork that the dancers were famous for in the Ottoman era.




Yasmin delights the audience at the Baltimore Museum of Art with her flirty cane dance

Sagat & Cane                                              Yasmin

Sagat, or Zills as the Ottomans called them, are as old as the dance itself. By 1000 BC dancers were tying tiny cymbals made of brass to their fingers. Cane dancing is thought to have evolved as a flirty and joyful parody of the Taktib, an Egyptian martial art that uses a staff for self defense.



Melina lights up the BMA stage with her improvised gypsy style belly dance

Danse du Ventre Melina

Melina lights up the stage with her unique manouche (circus gypsy) style. Melina’s uninhibited dance, formed as a child in circus rings and in the shadow of the acropolis at the shimmering hip of her mother Rhea, is fun-loving, globally informed, Greco-Turkish, proto-Tribal, modern Bohemian fusion.

Click image at left for photos, click HERE for YouTube footage!

The Daughters of Rhea beginning group perform Piper's Tambourine choreography

Tambourine Dance                                       DoR Troupe

Performed by the Daughters of Rhea beginning group, this lively folkloric style number was choreographed by Piper in 2005.




Issam Houshan and Sidqi play for Kostana at Belly Dance Magic 2007
photo by Elaine Forzano

Drum Solo                                                  Issam & Kostana

Issam & Kostana perform a live drum solo based on Issam’s "Tabel Ya Issam" CD with Sidqi on back-up percussion.




Piper's veil dancing delights the audience at the Baltimore Museum of Art

Classic Cabaret                                      Piper

Classic Cabaret belly dance is a Mediterranean blend of folk and professional dance styles from the Middle East and North Africa, done with a western flair for presentation and style. Precise hipwork and fluid body movements are emphasized in this beautiful and lyrical art form.



Lisa Zahiya's contemporary belly dance fusion at Belly Dance Magic 2007

Double Doom Drum                              Lisa Zahiya

Tribal Fusion is an evolving performance art form in which the dancer combines traditional belly dance moves with other dance styles. Lisa Zahiya takes a modern twist with this piece which combines doumbek with the stylizations of a beatboxer.




Sacha Alexandre Pavlata performs his amazing Cloud Swing at the Baltimore Museum of Art

Cloud Swing                                                  Sacha

Sacha Pavlata is famous throughout the international circus world for his astonishing aerial cloud swing act.  We are privileged to have him perform with us tonight.




Melina performs a breath taking belly dance while balancing a sword on the tip of a dagger

Sword/Dagger                                               Melina

Inspired by the spectacular “point to point” circus sword acts of Europe, Melina takes the balancing of a sword to new heights, by balancing it on the tip of a dagger gripped in her jaws!




The Baltimore Daughters of Rhea Dance Ensemble perform "in the music" at Belly Dance Magic 2007

“in the music”                                         DoR Ensemble

Piper’s latest choreography, done in Classic Cabaret style. Performed by the Baltimore Daughters of Rhea Dance Ensemble: Cheryl, Zaira al Zahara, Bastet, Amelia, Rowena, Stephaine, Sara Beth, and Leyla al Fahada.



Melina performs a daring combination of Silks, Lyra, and belly dance on air

Gypsy Lyra                                                    Melina

Combining dance and aerial tricks on revolving lyra (aerial hoop) and scarlet silks, Melina flexes creative muscle far above the earth.




Piper and the Daughters of Rhea Dance Ensemble perform Stray Cat Strut - it's fun, it's sassy, meow!

Stray Cat Strut                                         DoR Ensemble

It’s sassy, it’s fun, meow!

Performed by the Baltimore Daughters of Rhea Dance Ensemble: Cheryl, Rowena, Piper, Stephanie, and Naomi.





Goblet Dance                                                            Deniz             

Charismatic master of the slow tsiftetelli, what Deniz can do on goblets, few can do on their feet alone!  Done in the classic cabaret style, this nightclub routine is adapted for stage.




Turkish Oriental Dance                                Artemis






Classic Oriental                                            Yasmin

This entrance piece, or mergenci, is what most traditional cabaret performances begin with, a complicated composition that introduces a dancer to the audience and shows off her interpretational skills.




Rhea with Telesma  

Instigator of revolutions, innovator of style and form, Belly Dance pioneer, legend in her own time, master of the exciting Greco-Turkish style!  Rhea's dynamic dancing blends principles of ancient Greek dance with modern Turkish Cabaret.




The Daughters of Rhea make their own music, playing and dancing at the same time

Sibek

Rhea, Piper, Melina, and the Baltimore Daughters of Rhea dance to their own music!  Choreographed by Rhea, staged by Piper.  Ensemble Cast with Christy Guenther on accordion, Eric Lofhjelm on tabla, and Sidqi on frame drum.



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