Getting started
When I took the decision to become a professional dancer, I had a very clear image in my head as to how,
where and when I would like to perform and I also was under the mistaken impression that it was all that simple!!!
Whilst training, I was living in Queensway, London (heavily populated Arabic community) and was fortunate enough to live a few doors away from a very good Arabic music store. I bought countless music tapes and videos from this store which became an invaluable and essential asset to my training. The videos consisted of some of the greatest Oriental dancers of all time including Fifi Abdou, Armany, Dina, Nagwa Fa'aad, Mona Saiid, Bushra, Sahira Zaki, Gamal Twins, Samira and many many more amazing dancers from the 40s and 50's right through to modern day.
I believe that studying these videos was a crucial part in my development as a dancer. Apart from obviously studying the moves in great detail, I was able to see what was expected of a cabaret dancer. I understood there were huge differences in what was expected of a dancer from country to country. Had I not studied these videos before embarking on a career in the Middle East, I would not have understood anything of saiidi dancing, khaleegy dancing, tabla solo and all the other ingredients which make up a typical show of an Oriental dancer.
Naturally, as I had studied these videos in great detail, I believed that this is what every Oriental Dancer does or should perform during a typical show. I would often curse the TV screen as it was very frustrating not knowing how the moves were being done. I did not realise at the time just how beneficial this was to be to me in the future. It was from studying these videos that I learned how to break down the individual moves in step by minute step which is crucial in becoming a first class teacher. Of course I didn't know back then how this was essential for my teaching career.
The videos were very glamorous and always showed the dancer in a beautiful location, or impressive concert commanding respect, admiration and love from the audience. That's what I wanted and I wasn't settling for anything else (hmmm!). It was indeed a very far cry from the local Greek Taverna paying £15 per night with, of course, a wad of notes unceremoniously shuvved down your bra (if you were lucky that is), accompanied by cries of "get him" as you desperately try in vain to uphold the true and artistic essence of the dance and dream of the day you won't have to "get him", whatever that means.
I decided the above was not to my liking and the only way I could truly enjoy my career as a dancer was to be taken a little more seriously for all my hard work. To be honest, I scorned the tipping scene and all it involved and swore I would not be a part of it.
Of course I was then faced with the dilemma of how does an absolute novice, having never performed before, suddenly start getting contracts from the Middle East. I had trained very hard and had some good moves and was willing to work even harder to get better, but I was terrified of performing and had no idea of how to relate to an audience. There were only one or two establishments in London where the shows were performed like those in the Middle East and, in any case, I was not yet ready for them.
I realised that the only way I was to become experienced as a performer was to dance at the Greek and Turkish Tavernas which of course I swore I would never do!!! I then asked my mum if it was ok (ahhh!) and she said go for it. I then took myself around all the Greek and Turkish restaurants in London and didn't seem to mind the tipping strangely enough!!!
Ah but was I still upholding the virtues of this great and noble art? Not really, but I was making a few bob and oh boy was I happy!
For about a year to 18 months, I had learned how to perform in front of an audience in London and I decided it was high time I get back to what I'd started. Naturally my movements were improving all the time from the experience and I wasn't quite so terrified anymore.
I then began performing in a very well known Arabic restaurant in London where the full show (saiidi, khaleegy, tabla solo) and a good basic knowledge of past and present music were essential. There was no tipping in this place, indeed it was forbidden to go around the tables. If customers wanted to tip you, they threw money at you or sent someone up to the dance floor to give the money to you. (I could live with that).
My khaleegy was non existent at this stage and twizzling my saiidi stick was a bit hit and miss (customers definitely needed to get out of the way as I dropped it more often than not and swiped quite a number of heads, including my own). But it was all good training I told myself.
Its a funny old business - one night I would go home with a pile of cash and be on an absolute high remembering the cries of "more, more" and rapturous applause from the audience. The next night I'd be in floods of tears hardly earned a bean and, worst of all, knowing the audience and or restaurant manager just hated my dancing. After I calmed down, I told myself it was all good training but that was also after I had threatened to quit for the umpteenth time! Thank goodness I never did.
I contacted a fellow dancer in London (Liza who is incidentally now performing in Egypt), whom I knew often worked in the Middle East. I asked her how do I get started and she kindly gave me the name and number of a very big and well known Agent in Lebanon.
To cut a long story short I got on a plane and arrived in Dubai for my nerve wracking audition. I passed and was signed up for three years. Alleluia