BellyRing

Raqstravaganza: The Preparations

2012-02-16T13:41:00.008+02:00

It has been quite some time since our last proper blog post, but you’ll soon see why we have been so scarce.

When I took over Lara’s studio in July 2010, I told all my “new” students that we are going to rock the Boland with a spectacular show. I went out searching for venues and decided that the Libertas Theatre in Stellenbosch was the perfect start for a first show (Klein Libertas today- Broadway tomorrow! ;-) The venue was booked and we discussed what we wanted to do for the show at length… and NOW…it’s less than 6 weeks away!

Pulling a show together that fully encapsulates the beautiful vision I have in my head is not an easy endeavour, which I learned when putting together last year’s Hafla. I have a tremendous amount of respect for people who organise these type of events regularly!

The excitement is building, the nerves are growing and we still have all our costumes to finish!
We’re scrambling around trying to finalize and polish our choreographies, but all in all it is going to be amazing and loaded with surprises!

Raqstravaganza Poster
And now I present the much anticipated “poster”. Thanks to my student Roxanne and her brother Nick Frost- I think they’ve done an excellent job in capturing the essence of what I wanted to achieve with the poster. Roxanne has awarded herself the title, Creative Dictator of the poster- and I am sure Nick will agree! ;-)

Guest Dancers
I am thrilled and honoured to announce my favourite dancers from Cape Town, who will be performing at the show:

Natasha

One of my teachers and the lady responsible for me teaching now. Was it not for her encouragement and insistence that I attend Hadia’s Teachers Training course, I’d most probably still be a student and working in the corporate world!

Tanaya

My best friend in the belly dance world. We share the same passion and love for true Egyptian-style dancing. We share knowledge and encourage one another to stick to our passion.

Marissa

- one of my favourite Tribal Dancers! In my opinion, I believe SOMA to be the best Tribal Studio in SA- if not the continent!

Surika

Such an authentic dancer! Watching Surika dance transports me back to the East.

Feminine Divine

Tenille is well-known and loved in belly dance circles. Unfortunately she won’t be able to dance that night, but we are very excited to have her fantastic performance troupe with us!

Costume Update

Not to give too much away; but I had to google and phone and search for props and accessories for the costumes and the stage. The goal was to keep the costs low and just as I was starting to give up hope, a muse would come visit me and lead me down a different and better path- and so, bit by bit, everything started falling into place.

My one costume has been sewn but I’ll most probably finish sewing the last bead the night before the show! Another of my costumes is in the process of being made and that one I’m contracting out for beading, as there is only so much beading one can take before they start tearing out their own hair (and even sometimes their husbands!) Then we still have 27 group costumes to be made… yes you heard me correctly- Twenty. Seven. The material was only bought last week, and we have less than 6 weeks to go! Pushing it? Yes, I think so too. Am I being a bit over ambitious? Me? Never!

Costumes aside, we’re still in the process of learning 2 choreographies. Those of you who know me will most probably have a puzzled look on your faces, and be thinking that at this stage of the game, my girls would normally know their dance back to front, as drill sergeant JK would have made them do it over and over again! But, I have loads of faith in my girls, and I believe (pray) we’ll all be ready to deliver the standard of performance that we are known to do.

Now I’m off to class, drill cap on…….

See you at the show!

Book NOW !!! Don’t snooze and lose out!

Farewell 2011!

2012-01-04T10:19:00.000+02:00

The BellyRing has had a very interesting, fun-filled and busy 2011.

Just a short update on the happenings since our last blog on Syncopate 2...

The BellyRing troupe performed at the Asmahaan Festival in Rondebosch on the 10th September and the International Oriental Dance Festival in the Waterfront on the 29th and 30th October.
We performed our Bollywood number on both these days. We also took part in a Guinness World Record attempt for the most belly dancers performing a choreography together. Unfortunately we did not make the Guinness World Record, but we did manage to make a new South African Record!

Then I was honoured to be invited to perform at Tenille's Daughters of the Full Moon Show in Cape Town on the 10th November, followed by our studio end-of-year dinner at Maria's, a lovely Greek restaurant in Gardens.

We ended our year with the troupe performing at the Bright Street Festival in Somerset West, an annual charity event which was held on the 2nd December.

We look forward to lots more exciting events in 2012- watch this space!

Syncopate - The Gathering II

2011-09-21T23:21:00.000+02:00

As told by Jamilah

So after months and months of waiting, finally 2nd September came, and we were off to Johannesburg on our first dancing trip as a troupe- to the Synopate festival organised by Ava of Akasha! That Friday, we all met at the airport and checked in, once again waiting for Roxanne who had just made check-in by the skin of her teeth! (but then, what is new? ;-)

We landed at Lanseria around 10pm and my folks came to collect us gaggle of giggling bellydancers and took us back to their home. Upon arriving at their place we climbed into our sexiest (ahem) sleep things and opened a bottle of wine. One thing you can say about the BellyRing- we definitely have our priorities straight!

Of course after a glass or two of wine, we became bolder, louder and maybe, a bit naughtier. I don’t think anything could’ve prepared my poor mother for us lot! I don’t think they’ll never be the same after this weekend!

Come 01h45 that morning and several bottles of wine later, someone had the inspired idea to see if, for some reason, our big belly dancer hair could defy gravity. And although we love big hair (and Leiro, I'm talking to you especially here!) trust us on this one- it is just not possible! Sillyness aside, we had a great time gossiping, laughing and most importantly getting to know eachother...we bonded and became friends and not just fellow dancers.

After many false starts thanks to incessant giggling, we finally fell into a comfortable sleep. Well...everyone except for myself and Rox who had the air mattress. It was FREEZING and as we weren’t too familiar with each other yet (cause trust me, after the weekend was over no topic was off limits any longer!), we refrained from cuddling to keep warm.The next morning we decided it was neccessary to organize a proper mattress, so we had to deflate the air-mattress, and of course, Theonette took advantage of the opportunity to capture our best side, and we became the butt (hehe) of all jokes that weekend!

I whipped us up some bacon & eggs, toasted homemade bread and juice. A bunch of sleep-deprived belly dancers couldn’t ask for more to build-up their strength for a day of dance, and everyone ate their fair share (except maybe for Rox and Monica, who out-ate us all! ;-)

And then it was time to get serious, so we practiced our dances in mom’s lounge before we started the lengthy getting-stage-ready process. For those who don't know the hours of time it takes, let me give you a brief run down: enough make-up to make you look like a transvestive from a distance of less than 10 meters, eyelashes long enough to cause a south-easter if you happen to blink, big hair (Pam Anderson eat your heart out) and enough body glitter and cosmetic jewels to light up Cape Town in a black-out. And trust me, this transformation takes time!

We met up with some of the other girls in the group at Syncopate as they were staying with their family and most of our family members and friends from Gauteng went to the show on Saturday to support.

I must say, we did Somerset West and our people proud! It was a fantastic day with great performances, and we finally got to meet some of the JHB-based dancers in person, that we only up till then knew from their Facebook profile pictures!

On a high after the show thanks to the congratulations from all around, we were off on our 'girls night out'! We were dropped off at Monte Casino and took a walk looking for a restaurant to relieve us of our hunger pains! We ended up in a lovely Portuguese Restaurant, at last ! This took more time than expected as the troupe drama queens, Leiro and Rox- and yes, myself included!- had to be photographed at every little point of interest!

We had a marvelous meal at the restaurant and big surprise, the girls gave me a present to say thanks for everything! I love shawls!

After the obligatory evening drama of Leiro's "camera being stolen" (which she actually left in the toilet- couldn't have been the wine to blame?!) we were off to Billy the B.U.M.S- about half a kilometer from Monte Casino. We did not have any idea how to get there, and after asking for directions we hit the road. Yes, can you believe it? We teetered along in high heels, through the streets of Gauteng at almost midnight! We most definitely had a guardian angel looking over us- thinking back now- it was quite a stupid thing to do! (but one of the many that weekend!)

We arrived there at 24h30 with only an hour and a half to dance as I arranged with a reputable taxi company to collect us at 02h00.After struggling to get a drink at the bar (it was jam packed and to top it all off, some woman in leather hotpants insisted on dancing on the bar, right where we were trying to order- much to our delight!) we at last got ourselves something to quench the thirst after The Great Trek in Stillettos.

We found ourselves a nice little secluded spot to sit and and to dance. Well, it didnt stay secluded for long as the men obviously did not know what hit them with these beautiful belly dance divas on the dance floor! Whenever approached we just pretented to be more"interested in eachother" if you get our drift, although this backfired when a few of them took out their cellphones to take pictures of us cuddling eachother!

Two o’clock arrived quickly and off we went with our taxi driver, Jack. Once we were almost home, Rox, cheeky as ever and with her usual brilliant timing, piped up,“Thank you Jack for not being an axe murderer”(clearly watched Taxi Driver one too many times!) as he turned down a dark, deserted road. Her “Oops, I spoke too soon!” had us all in stitches and I suspect poor Jack was rather glad to be rid of us!

We tried to be as quiet as we possibly could, so as not to wake Annemari, who was very ill. As I put out the light, I was blinded by the sudden darkness, so I crawled onto the bed, thinking that it was bigger than it was, and as I laid my head to rest, a thunder explode through the walls as my head collided with the brick. Well, Annemari could forget about sleeping, as everyone was folded double with laughter. If I had known it was going to be so entertaining to them, I would’ve have done it sooner! No wonder I mess up my steps sometimes, must be one too many bumps on the head!

Sunday morning was very relaxed. We watched a belly dance documentary and enjoyed some pasta for brunch. Some of us sat next to the pool in our bra’s and with our hair in curlers (so glam!) to try get a bit of a tan, because the weather was gorgeous up in JHB.

We each packed up our own suitcases (except for Rox, whose suitcase I had to pack for her as she had, up till then, lived 26 years without knowing how to pack one) and when the time came we went with all our bags to the Syncopate venue for the last performances.

We had to start off jamming with the drummers, and then the show started. I must admit, the energy and atmosphere on Sunday was not as great as Saturday, but this may have had something to do with the fact that we were sad to be going home soon. After our second performance we had enough time to change and have a quick glass of wine when my folks came to collect us to take us off to the airport.

After checking in and Leiro flirting outrageously with the guy at the check-in counter, we went hunting for a restaurant to have out last supper in Gauteng. Of course, being a bit tipsy we were all in a very upbeat mood when we boarded the plane. The BellyRing girls went through the plane like a whirlwind leaving everyone’s hair dishelved and I think some off them were not too appreciative of our festive mood!

We arrived back at Cape Town International at 22h50 and after our goodbyes we went our separate ways back home, to real life and a glitter and hairspray-free reality.We bid eachother farewell in such away that other people must have thought it was probably the last time we would see each other, but we know it was just because we were saying goodbye to the most awesome and memorable girls weekend EVER!

But there will be another one in our near future...

First stop Gauteng...next stop Cairo!

Our First Haffla

2011-08-28T18:17:00.000+02:00

Venue changed at last minute...

As told by Jamilah

Earlier this year, we planned to have our first Haffla as a fundraiser to sponsor 10 of us to go to Joburg to perform at Syncopate show in September. With the expenses for our costumes plus the air tickets, you can well imagine the desperate need for funds!

With the venue pre-booked, all we needed to do was work on our dances for the show!

Roxanne and her brother Nick did a fantastic job designing the Haffla poster while I was abroad and of course getting word out in advance to the belly dance community.

Well, since placing my foot back on SA soil, I have been running around non-stop trying to get everything ready. First and foremost was to invite my friends and fellow dancers from studio’s in and around Cape Town to come and perform. I don’t think words can describe how fortunate I felt that most of them accepted to come all the way to Somerset West and entertain us with what they do best! To me, it was the event of the year thanks to them!

Then of course settling payment on the venue was next. Unfortunately a few “surprises” came up which led me to search for a new venue 2½ weeks before the show! Thanks to Divine Intervention, I found an even more perfect venue!

If you have ever organized an event, I’m sure you can relate to the stress and sleepless nights that go with planning a smooth and problem-free event.

But, after not sleeping and hardly eating for 2 weeks, the evening arrived….

As I was also responsible for the catering, I arrived a bit later than planned. I wanted the food on the tables and champagne poured and on my arrival I already had people in the hall seated, no-one at the ticket door etc. You can imagine the rush! Of course I only got out of the shower an half-an-hour earlier, tried to do some make-up and apply those darn false lashes! Well I think the first impression of me for people who have never met me before must have been quite a shock, as I was still with curlers in the hair!

A few of my students, with special mention going to Leiro Joubert, did an amazing job in helping me set up the venue.

I’m happy to say the show started on time and went according to plan, except for the speaker that decided to not work half way through our first performance. Luckily, Natasha my former teacher of Plumstead, lent a hand with the speaker to allow the show to go on, as I frantically tried to get hold of the sound guy to come out and fix it all.

The end of the Beginners performance- and they did really well! I had such good feedback afterwards about their performance. Unfortunately, Chris my male student, was nowhere to be seen as the photographer did not move around much with the result that many of the performers on stage were not captured. Pity.

Second performance of the evening: Alex of Maya in Somerset West, doing her solo.

Feminine Divine Feminine Divine doing a beautiful piece with veils, veil fan and sword.

The fourth performance of the evening was Nadia doing a beautiful Saiidi/Assaya (Cane)
The photographer neglected to take a photo of her here...sorry bella!

My former teacher and good friend Natasha, performing her drum solo

My best friend Tanaya with her girls

Roxanne, troupe member of BellyRing doing a beautiful Turkish solo that brought out her personality for all to see! Well done Rox!

My Intermediate group doing a Mahmoud Reda choreography. They all did so well and I’m especially proud of Hetta, (Black and Red) who’s 74! So inspiring!

Jacinta and the girls from Palace of the Winds, bringing their vibrant colors to our stage.

The BellyRing performance troupe ended the first part of the show with a modern Egyptian piece followed by a very dynamic drum solo. Unfortunately we have no photo’s of this performance.

Afterwards the ladies almost killed each other in the mad dash to the the dessert table, thanks to the talented Isabelle who made the most amazing and delicious patisserie, and my daughters who made the dark chocolates. After the lucky draw with some really wonderful prizes for the audience, we continued with the rest of the show.

First up was local studio Maya doing a great UV veil dance.

Maya doing UV veil

Then I did my solo...I wanted it to be more of an educational performance as opposed to a "wow", as we hardly see any classical Egyptian on stage these days. I wasn’t entirely happy with my performance, but then who ever is?

Me doing my solo

Third up was Natasha, bringing so much personality to stage with her Gypsy piece.

Tanaya doing her solo, you should see this costume in real life! Breathtaking!

The Feminine Divine girls doing a tribal-inspired dance

Nadia doing her solo- at least this time the photographer did not forget to take a photo!

Surika doing an Egyptian piece- her style is so authentic!

Jaie doing classical to Oum Kalthoum

Only half of us performing our Bollywood dance for the first time. The rest of the costumes were still being made for our performance trip to Gauteng. We tested our costumes and had to send a few back to have some amendments made.

The Bollywood seemed to be the most popular dance of the evening which is great as it means I did something right! Yes, I know I’m basking a bit in my glory! ;-)

The feedback from everyone was extremely positive and I am really pleased that our first Haffla went so well.

Now it is back to finishing up the Bollywood costumes and then we’re on the plane to Gauteng!

We'll be sure to let you know all the juicy details as soon as we are back! (well, most of them at least! We do have a girls night out planned after all ;-)

Bye for now...see you at Syncopate!

Casablanca Nights

2011-06-23T17:41:00.000+02:00

The BellyRing performance troupe was very happy to have been invited by Anita from Moondance Studio to perform at her production, “Casablanca Nights”, a few weekends ago. The show was to be a dinner-dance affair with yummy Mediterranean cuisine, and best of all, proceeds from the show were to go to Kiva.

We had all agreed to meet at a local petrol station at a set time and drive in convoy to the venue, located somewhere along the West Coast. Roxanne and Leiro arrived together at the meeting point 15 minutes late (with Leiro shouldering no blame whatsoever and resolutely pointing her finger at a sheepish Roxanne who was attempting to hide behind her hair) but luckily we still made it in time to the show. We even managed to have a quick glass of champagne beforehand, which had been snuck…ahem…brought into the venue by our considerate teacher Jamilah!

Popping the bubbly!

We were sad to be missing one dancer; our beautiful resident blonde, Renate, is in Germany for a few weeks. But never fear Renate darling- we all made sure to have a glass of champagne for you too! (Contrary to what you may read in this blog, the BellyRing girls are not, in fact, a bunch of raging alcoholics- we just firmly believe that a glass of pre-show bubbly lubricates the joints and improves technique! ;-)

We chatted with our dressing room neighbours- Tanaya’s dance studio- whilst posing for photographs, exchanging lipstick and oohing and aahing over each other’s costumes….you know- the usual.

Annemari, Juanie, Jamilah, Roxanne, Monica, Leiro

BellyRing and Tanaya's studio

We were lucky enough to be able to watch the first half of the show with our other halves, who had come along to support their ladies, and saw some lovely performances by Anita and her troupe, Tanaya and her girls, and Kalila belly dance studio. We then headed back stage to touch up our make-up and prepare for our performance.

Anita- Moondance Studio

Our performance went well- all of us are perfectionists in our troupe so we are never 100% satisfied- but over all we were happy with it and believe the audience was too!

Shortly after our dance we went back on stage for the grand finale- and just like that it was all over! We headed back to the dressing room to change into our (less pretty but definitely warmer) clothes. We decided that a little after-show celebration was called for, so a group of us headed out to Cubana where we continued the festivities into the wee hours!

Mmmm…a bevy of belly dancers partying away on the dance floor? Think it must have been the other patrons’ lucky night!

Thank you Anita for having us, and we look forward to dancing with you again!

♪ We are going on a summer holiday! ♫♪

2011-06-22T09:56:00.000+02:00

By Jamilah

I am off to Europe for the Winter/ Summer, depending from which side of the hemisphere you want to look at it!

I am really looking forward to the break. I haven’t had a holiday for 2 years and am in desperate need of one. I usually look up belly dance teachers in the country I’m going to, but this time I am going to indulge myself with absolutely no dancing! I am going to sample every beer Belgium has to offer (about 300) stuff my body with waffles and whipped cream- not to mention the famous Belgian chocolate! Most importantly I am going to use this opportunity to spend time with my family, as they have been deprived of quality time with me due to the hectic lifestyle I lead.

Of course I can’t switch off completely and will take my Mp3 with me to work on some new choreographies that I am hoping to showcase in our show next year. Seeing that our flight is rather long I might start on the plane...just in case I get stuck in a café every day!

My classes will continue as usual. Roxanne will teach my Beginners classes and the Intermediate and Performance groups will continue with their dances in a group practise. The students are going to love Rox- I think by the time I return I will have to win them over again with lots of Belgian chocolate! ;-)

I am looking forward to saying goodbye to the cold, wet winter that lies ahead for everyone, but I am going to miss my girls very, very much !

Until I return....bye for now!

Now...where have I put that bikini?!

IBDD 2011

2011-05-24T10:17:00.000+02:00

As told by Jamilah

After weeks of stressing about getting the costumes done in time for the International Belly Dance Day (IBDD), I was still busy with mine the night before the big day! However I was not the only troupe member ready to tear her hair out- Leiro was busy with her body stocking “nightmare” that kept her battling the forces until 23h30- almost Cinderella pumpkin time! Luckily for us we managed to get done and catch a bit of restful sleep before the big day, at least.

We did our own hair and make-up at home and left at 10am from a central point to drive in convoy to the venue. One of our troupe members, Roxanne, couldn’t join us at this year’s IBDD which she was very disappointed about. The troupe is just never the same without one of its members and we had to adapt our dance slightly as it is choreographed around each member. Luckily we’re professional and could manage this adaptation with grace! Never the less, we missed having her with us! (Although it was nice to have my full troupe there on time- Roxanne is not known for her punctuality- hehe!)

It was marvelous to see all the old faces again- wow, being in Somerset West really does make you feel a bit cut off from the rest of the world. After all the pleasantries we maneuvered our way backstage to get dressed into our beautiful new troupe costumes- the same gorgeous shade of purple as our logo!

As it was quite a cool and overcast day we were not anxious to get rid of the boots and jerseys we had on and change into our elegant, but rather skimpy costumes! Juanie forgot the bottle of “Dutch Courage” in the car, so we didn’t even have that to help warm us up and calm the nerves!

Trying to remain calm by reassuring the girls

Monica looking way too cool!

Renate looking very chuffed with her Mehndi...little did she know...!

After being barefoot for 5 minutes, our feet were pitch black from the floors of the changing rooms! Imagine these beautiful divas on stage in their brand spanking new costumes accessorized with these dirty feet...definitely not the glamorous picture we were aiming for!

After some titivating we were finally stage-ready: dressed, hair and make-up touched-up and ready for action! Unfortunately though there was a bit of a wait- our toes had no feeling in them by the time our turn to perform came up!

Photo by Paul Gilowey

Photo by Alexandra Graham

It is always great being on stage, apart from the nerves beforehand. The performance went really well, but our music quality went a bit off at the end of our drum solo which caused us not to hear our cue to do our final turn. Luckily with lots of practice and good old muscle memory we managed to pull it off without any serious blunders. Judging by the audience reaction during our performance as well as the applause received at the end, it DID go very well indeed! We received amazing feedback from everyone after our performance, which is very inspiring for budding new artists like ourselves, and we are grateful to everyone who took the time to come and say “Well Done!”

We would also like to thank all the photographers for the beautiful shots of our troupe, and to Alexander Graham, who took some amazing action shots whilst we were on stage.

The event was well organized again this year, but I did feel that there were a bit less spectators than the previous two years. There were also less food stalls than usual (which I especially noticed as in the rush that morning I only had time to munch on half a protein bar- so I was in desperate need of food by the time our performance was over!)

Never-the-less, there were loads of stalls that would delight every belly dancer and any lady that loves shiny, sparkly and exotic-looking foreign things!

Of course, a day in the life of us dancing divas is never complete without a little drama. One of our troupe members, Renate, had a black Henna Mehndi Tattoo done, which looked beautiful! Little did she know that her skin was a little sensitive and that it would cause an allergic reaction! Now she has an arm that is full of blisters and an ointment to treat it which cost her 10x more than the tattoo itself! Ouch!

Renate's Mehndi tattoo

After the performance, we all got together to have some photos taken of our new troupe costume.

Missed having Roxanne there to help me balance out all the blonde!

Monica

Jamilah

Juanie

Renate

Annemari

Leiro

A BIG thank you to Leiro who sewed the skirts and for taking that responsibility off my shoulders! I know I would not have been able to do it without you!

And lastly, a big thanks to all my girls for your dedication, enthusiasm and HARD work! Thanks for all the hours of practice and loads of smiles! Without you this would not be possible!

Now off to see the seamstress for the next “secret new costume”! ;-)

YAY!!!

IBDD...Preparations

2011-05-11T09:45:00.000+02:00

We at the BellyRing are extremely excited to be performing at this year’s International Belly Dance Day, held on the 14^th May in Constantia, Cape Town. The event is hosted by the Feminine Divine and includes performances from many local studios, workshops, live music, stalls and much more. This will be our first time performing at the festival as the BellyRing Performance Troupe and we are extremely excited- with a slight case of healthy nerves too!

It will also be the first time we wear our new troupe costume which we have been working on forever…or at least it seems that way with all the beading! Our teacher Jamilah and fellow classmate Leiro (also known as Madame Erotica) have been kind enough to do all of the hard work for us- and what a lot of work it was- skirts to sew, bra’s to cover, sequins to embellish…but it was absolutely worth it, as the costumes look amazing and we cannot wait to show them off!

We have been working hard at the studio on polishing our choreography for Saturday. Much sweat and sore muscles have been generated in the process but it is looking great- even if we do say so ourselves! The entire performance troupe (except Roxanne, who is unable to attend this year and has consequently developed a chronic case of FOMO- ‘Fear of Missing Out’!), led by our principal Jamilah, will be dancing and we are so looking forward to it- and to see all of our sisters-in-dance perform too!

We are also working on an awesome new choreography (with a FANTASTIC costume to go with it), which we will not be performing…yet. Our new choreography is...shhhhh! Top secret :) Guess you will have to watch this space for further details on our Mystery Choreography, in the not-too-far-off future!

Before we sign off- make sure you diarise the 13^th August now- the date of our studio Haffla! We will keep you posted with more details to follow soon!

And so the holidays have come and gone……..

2011-03-15T16:43:00.000+02:00

and before you know it, it's March already!

The BellyRing has moved from the i.move Studio to the Amanda Peacefull Dance Company studio in the same centre- the Helderberg Village Walk in Somerset West.

Although Jeanne van der Merwe at i.move will be sorely missed, we feel that moving to a studio with mirrors will help us monitor our progress, and we are looking forward to a long and happy relationship with Amanda Peacefull.

We are also excited to announce that there are some new classes this year:

Tuesdays

A new Beginners class in the morning from 09h00-10h00

A new Beginners class in the evening from 18h30-19h30 at Sarene’s Social Club in the Strand.

Wednesdays

Intermediate group in the morning from 09h00-10h00

Performance troupe in the evening from 18h30-19h30

Thursdays

Beginners class in the evening from 18h30-19h30

The BellyRing does not currently offer classes for children.

Please do not hesitate to contact Jamilah if you have any queries: bellyring@telkomsa.net

We look forward to seeing you there!

BellyRing Year End Ladies Night Out

2011-03-02T14:43:00.000+02:00

As told by Jamilah

After an exciting year of hard work, performances and a lot of fun, we ended our year with a much-anticipated ladies night out in December.

What a tiring year 2010 was!

Seeing that most of us had already been to Mesopotamia and Al Diwan, we thought it was a good idea to try Anatoli’s in Greenpoint. I usually prefer to go to a place where we can enjoy supper and watch some belly dancing, as often this is the first time that some of my students see a “real life” belly dance performance!

I contacted Anatoli’s to book only to find out that they had cancelled their belly dance performances for the remainder of December- which seemed a little strange as it was the “festive season” after all! Although I did my best to convince them to have their resident dancer perform for our visit, they would not be swayed, and we opted to have dinner at Mesopotamia in Long Street instead.

So that Saturday night, we jumped in our respective cars and headed to Cape Town!

There was a fairly large group of us- most of our studio dancers and assorted friends and family members- and everyone was in a celebratory mood, so of course we started off by ordering some wine all around :)

When booking, we were told that in order to make a reservation we had to take the set menu- either the 3-course or 2-course option.

Although we found this a little annoying (varying budgets/appetites etc) most of us ended up choosing the 3-course option and we must compliment the chef- the food was excellent! Kurdish cuisine at it’s best.

Unfortunately we cannot be as complimentary about the belly dancing, which seemed to be less about dancing and more about crowd interaction/involvement…in fact, some of us were wondering if the enthusiastic gentlemen who had tied a coin belt around his waist was the belly dancer, judging by how much time he spent on the dance floor!

Bill time was a bit of a nightmare as we were charged the full set menu cost for the one cancellation we had, and a few of us were charged for the full three courses- even though we had chosen the 2-course option.

This left a bit of a sour taste in our mouths after what was, otherwise, a great evening.

So this year we want to do something a little different...

Any recommendations on where we can go next?

BellyRing perform at the Bright Street Summer Festival

2010-12-21T11:04:00.000+02:00

On the 7th December this year, iamlovechild, a Multimedia umbrella company comprising of a group of fresh young talent, hosted the event of the season- the annual Imibala Bright Street Summer Festival!

iamlovechild promised to pull out all the stops in terms of entertainment and the festival looked to be a night to remember (or forget, depending on your idea of a good time ;-)

The event was jam packed with exciting happenings; live music, good food, crazy characters….and you guessed it….belly dancers ;-) The BellyRing Performance Troupe were approached by the show’s organisers to put on a performance for the festival attendees- and all for a good cause- the proceeds raised from the festival would go to the Imibala Sponsor a Child Programme. They organisers promised us a big, lively and enthusiastic audience.

SOLD ;-)

On the night, our troupe assembled at the i.move studio where we generally procrastinated as us diva’s do- applying and re-applying lipgloss, pinning costumes and taking photos. You know- all the important things.

The BellyRing Performance Troupe

We then headed down to the festival where we encountered the first minor catastrophe of the evening- the 4mx8m stage we were promised had deteriorated into… a tar road. Yep. There was, in fact, a stage, but due to a misunderstanding somewhere along the line, by the time we got there it was crammed with music equipment for the bands. Not ideal, but what can you do?

But, like the true pro’s we are, we did not let that dampen our spirits and launched into our performance with gusto. Roxanne opened the stage with her solo: a dramatic veil intro, followed by a fast and cheeky drum solo- much to the crowd’s delight. However, whilst performing, the 2nd (and thankfully last!) catastrophe of the evening occurred- she lost one of her earrings! (gasp, horror) Fortunately though, she laughed it off and kept dancing!

Roxanne performing her solo (photo by Gerhard De Kock)

She was then joined on stage by the BellyRing troupe and we all performed Oriental Lament- a Saidi-inspired number choreographed by our much-loved former teacher- Lara. Oriental Lament is a high energy piece and a lot of fun to perform- which I think was evident from our grinning faces!

The BellyRing performing Oriental Lament

Jamilah then took to the stage for her stunning solo which received a warm response from the crowd- we even heard some encouraging zagareets and yips! (thank you belly dancers! ;-)

We ended our performance with Sagat wa el Tabla- a beautiful, Modern Egyptian piece, finishing with an exciting drum solo, choreographed by Jamilah. And then suddenly, it was all over, and with black feet (the tar was definitely NOT the ideal dance floor!), sweaty bellies and happy faces we left the street…stage.

The BellyRing performing Sagat wa el Tabla (the actual "sagat" are still to be added!)

Needless to say, despite a few minor mishaps we were extremely happy with our performance, and well done to the organisers for a wonderful festival- I think we can safely say it was a huge success!

And the best part of all? Close to R30 000 was raised for charity :)

A great party, friends and family, the spirit of giving and just generally being merry… isn’t that what Christmas is all about?!

The parade (photo by Amy-Lyn Eveleigh)

Photo by Amy-Lyn Eveleigh

Photo by Gerhard De Kock

The International Oriental Dance Festival 2010

2010-11-17T14:55:00.000+02:00

As told by Jamilah

And so the much anticipated annual International Oriental Dance Festival had arrived!

On Wednesday the 27th October, a dinner was held at Mesopotamia to welcome the international and local dancers. The festival’s Gala Evening was then held at the gorgeous Bay Hotel in Camps Bay the following evening and Friday 29th and Saturday 30th were the workshop days with the international dancers. On Saturday and Sunday the fringe program was held at the V&A Waterfront- a weekend jam-packed with belly dance performances from amateur through to professional levels.

Gala Evening at the Bay Hotel
On Thursday 28th October, the BellyRing went on an “educational class outing” to watch the Gala Show.

All of the performances were spectacular, and the international dancers this year were phenomenal. All of the girls agreed that the fabulous Pablo Acosta was one male belly dancer they wouldn’t mind taking a class with!

It was a fabulous night and the ladies all enjoyed having a glass (or several!) of wine and watching the performances together.

(All of us divas were very eager to be on the stage rather than in front of it)

Fringe Programme
This year’s fringe programme was held at the V&A Waterfront where festival goers could watch world-class dancers for free! Amateur and professional dancers performed at the Ampitheatre and in the Red Tent and there were many stalls selling delectable belly goodies.

Maya Gaorry performing at the Ampitheatre

Workshops with the International Dancers
We were very fortunate to have excellent international dancers visiting us this year. Every single workshop was brilliant and worth every cent of our hard-earned money. We left the workshops with new knowledge and the inspiration to grow in this beautiful art form.

Pablo Acosta - Argentina
Thalia and I attended Pablo’s workshop. Although Pablo was not able to speak a word of English, he more than made up for it with his expressive moves and body language, and his translator did a good job of filling in the gaps! Dance is a universal language after all ;-) His workshop incorporated a fast and dynamic choreography in the legendary “Pablo Acosta Oriental Style”. Even though we did not learn the entire choreography due to time constraints, we definitely both took home something from the workshop (knowledge- in case you were thinking of something else! ;-) Pablo is an amazing dancer with unrivalled charisma and left both Thalia and myself with just a little bit of crush!

Jamilah, Pablo and Thalia

Maya Gaorry - Italy
Maya held a zills workshop earlier that morning but had to stand in for the Meleya Pop workshop as well (due to an unfortunate death in the family of Magdy & Abir, the Cairo duo originally intended to hold the workshop). I attended this workshop alone. It was great to learn technique from a true Egyptian-style dancer – my “forte”. Everything from the history through to the costuming (wearing the Meleya) and Meleya Lef technique was covered. Maya is an incredible teacher and a performer with endless knowledge, and I felt honored to have done a workshop with her.

Maya and Jamilah

Paola Blanton – Brazil
Paola stood in for Abir & Magdy, who were also originally intended to hold the Sha’abi workshop. Both myself and Roxy attended this workshop. We learnt a sassy, cheeky Sha’abi choreography with the feisty, fabulous Paola (who Roxy developed another one of her “girl crushes” on!) I then stayed on to do the Four Elements workshop with Paola, which was an absolute eye opener! Paola is phenomenal! The workshop definitely improved me as a dancer and gave me the inspiration and knowledge to pursue my dreams and be the best that I can be.

Jamilah, Paola and Roxy

So we at the BellyRing are very confused at the moment! I was planning a group trip to Egypt, but it seems that Argentina, Italy and Brazil will see us first!

Technique Workshop with Akasha hosted by The BellyRing

2010-10-14T15:04:00.000+02:00

Akasha recently returned from Canada, after completing the last level of Hadia’s Teacher Training, an intensive professional workshop.

Akasha is now certified to the top level of Hadia's Oriental Dance Syllabus as both teacher and dancing professional. This is not only a tremendous honour and privilege, but also comes with the implied responsibility to share this knowledge with others here, in South Africa.

Hadia's body-friendly techniques and style of movement has allowed her to still be nimbly dancing, flexible in movement and pain-free after more than 30 years in the performance industry. She believes in being well-informed and knowledgeable about the dance and its origins. She believes in the advantage of knowing our bodies and how the muscle groups work to produce the moves we make, and she believes in maintaining personal and professional integrity above all else.

Akasha now brings the benefits of various international workshops to your doorstep! The BellyRing are proud to be hosting Akasha's Technique Workshop at the i.move Studio in Somerset West.

You are cordially invited to share in a taster-workshop, to feel the effect of this essential part of your dance technique training. More workshops will follow in the new year, that will build on what you learn now.... All levels of dancer welcome- from Beginner to Professional and Teaching levels.

Cost: R200 per workshop
When: Saturday 6th November
Time: 10am – 2pm (there will be a one hour break for lunch)
Where: i.move Studio, Helderberg Village Walk, Somerset West
Duration: 3 hours
Level: All
Contact Jamilah to book: bellyring@telkomsa.net

Details: The secret of impeccable and effortless dance is a solid foundation of clean, clear and precise technique. Let Hadia’s revolutionary “Body Logic” technique work for you too! Akasha will lead and guide dancers through the technical nuances of oriental dance- effortless shimmies, beautifully expressive arms, flowing body movement and transitions, elegant eighths and delicious rotations and circles are only some of the movements that will be covered.

~Remember that everything you learn helps to shape you as a dancer, and true to the spirit of Middle Eastern dance, to learn from various teachers, is to find the true beat of your own body~

BellyRing Performance Troupe Photoshoot: The Photos

2010-10-04T13:16:00.000+02:00

And here they are ladies and gents- the pics from our recent photoshoot!

All photos and editing done by Jesse Beth Pearse and Nick Frost

Jamilah rocking the veil

Jamilah- studio principal

Sword balancing

Roxanne

Harem goddess

Juanie

Mysterious Monica

Luscious Leiro- else known as Madame Erotica!

Jeanne with cane

Always smiling

Renate and the zills

Raqs al Sayf

Roxanne and Jamilah

The BellyRing Performance Troupe

Such divas!

Behind the Scenes of The BellyRing Photoshoot

2010-09-21T10:38:00.000+02:00

And so, a few weekends ago, we had the much anticipated photoshoot of the new BellyRing performance troupe!

The shoot was scheduled to start at 10am on Saturday, but Jamilah and Leiro arrived early to “set the scene”. Drapes were hung, rugs were thrown, swords and tambourines were positioned, and voila! The i.move studio was transformed into an exotic harem!

"The scene"

Roxanne had promised to arrive at 9.30am to help with the setup. However, she typically underestimated the amount of time of faffing and prep it would take to get camera-ready and she arrived just after 10am in her usual harassed flurry, muttering apologies, with her brother and his girlfriend in tow. We were just grateful that it wasn’t 10.30am ;-)

Rox’s brother Nick and his girlfriend Jesse were our photographers for the shoot (in addition to doubling as Roxanne’s assorted props carriers and assistants- as all aspiring diva’s need an entourage!) They were absolute stars, having to put up with a gaggle of giggling drama queens, who constantly demanded that our cellulite be airbrushed out, our double chins removed and our boobs made bigger. You see, they were partly appointed due to their photographic talent, and partly for their flair for Photoshop ;)

Jamilah had made us a yummy-looking plate of snacks and of course, there was also a little dutch courage: 2 tempting bottles of JC Le Roux.

Monica and Roxanne (the self-confessed alcoholics of the troupe) decided that 2 bottles were far too little to buoy up 7 nervous ladies, so they set off to the liquor store around the corner to stock up. This process was repeated in turn by the rest of the girls several times throughout the morning.

The damage

Upon their return, the girls got busy with hair and make-up. Everyone had brought with a costume to wear. However, this plan seemed to fly out of the window when we spotted...The Rail. "The Rail" warrants uppercase as it wasn’t just any rail- it was hung full of Jamilah’s most exquisite costumes. Any plans we had to wear our own outfits were swiftly abandoned and we had a field day playing dress-up!

Hair and make-up

Getting camera-ready

"The Rail"

Ooh la la...Christmas!

The girls looked beautiful in their respective costumes and after make-up and hair had been titivated with sufficiently, it was time to shoot. Our resident drama queen Roxanne was first up, and after she had broken the proverbial ice the rest of the ladies nervously took to the set while the rest of us shouted encouragement from the sidelines and suggested poses- some useful, many ridiculous.

Roxanne, Juanie, Renate, Monica

Roxanne & Leiro

After a while (and several classes of champagne later) we all began to loosen up and that’s when the fun really started. Jamilah was playing some awesome music which really set the scene, and we went about dancing around, knocking drinks over, and just generally having a wonderful time. Then we all did a costume change and took a few “action shots” of us dancing with veils, fan veils, or playing the tambourine or zills (well that one was just Renate- the rest of us- bar Jamilah, are all a bit wary of these confounded clangers!)

The shoot definitely ran smoother after a couple of these!

Spontaneous dancing

Our blonde bomshell Monica giving the brunette look a bash!

Nothing stronger than tobacco...promise!

After about three hours and several bottles of sparkling wine later, we finished off with a few fun group shots of the entire troupe. It was an awesome day, and we all of us had a blast. Stay tuned for Part 2…the actual photos from the shoot!

Who is the BellyRing?

2010-09-14T16:04:00.000+02:00

Our story...

The BellyRing Egyptian Oriental Dance Studio, founded by Jamilah, holds weekly Belly Dance classes at the i.move Studio, located in the Helderberg Village Walk, Somerset West.

Jamilah is an Egyptian Oriental Dance instructor and professional performer.
Jamilah trained locally as well as in Egypt, Belgium and Turkey, and completed her Certified Middle Eastern Teachers Training Level 1 and 2 with the internationally accredited Canadian instructor, HADIA. She continues to attend workshops when the opportunity arises and travels often to study with world renowned dancers. She specializes in Classical Egyptian, Modern Egyptian, American Cabaret and Egyptian Folklore.

The BellyRing Egyptian Oriental Dance Studio is proud to teach a diversity of ladies from the Helderberg and surrounding areas from all walks of life; irrespective of shape, size or age. Everyone is catered for with classes ranging from Beginners through to Advanced, and up to Professional Performance level.

This is to be the blog of the BellyRing studio. Here we will share exciting events, our coming and goings, and whatever tickles our fancy! Hope you enjoy the journey with us!

Jamilah