What would Andrea do?

Jerusalem is a beautiful city with some pretty amazing historical sites. It has very high spiritual significance for Christians, Muslims, and Jews. The hotel I stayed in was conveniently located across the street from the Old City which is enclosed by an ancient wall. Inside the Old City there is a Muslim Quarter, Jewish Quarter, Christian Quarter, and Armenian Quarter. The rest of Jerusalem is pretty much Jewish. Much of the cultural flavor of Jerusalem is provided by the Orthodox Jews that live in Jerusalem. You can easily spot them by the large black hats, long beards, tassels on the corners of their shirts, and overgrown sideburns. Not the most flattering or chic ensemble, but I suppose that fashion isn't the point.

I loved wandering through the zig-zaggy streets of the Old City. Religious monuments come crawling out of the woodwork! My first day in Jerusalem, I had coffee in Pontius Pilate's home. (It's now a souvenir shop.) I played Jesus, walking along Via Dolorosa and stopping at the stations of the cross. I walked into the Chapel of the Flagellation, where Jesus was tormented by gassy Roman soldiers. I visited the Tomb of the Virgin Mary, where a I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Let me explain: everyone in the Mediterranean/North African/Middle Eastern area of the world thinks I'm Egyptian! I know I look the part and I don't blame them for making the assumption. In fact I think it's fun to make people guess where I'm from and I enjoy the looks of incredulousness when I tell them my ethnic background! But at the Tomb of the Virgin Mary the priest named my ethnicity and the city I live in on the first guess! It must have been Divine Intervention. I might have said one sentence to him ("Do I have to take my shoes off?") and on my way out of the church he said "You are Mexican. From San Francisco." Then he handed me an autographed poster of the the Mary.

I continued up the Mount of Olives and gazed at the view of Old City from the outside, crowned by the golden dome of Al Aqsa mosque.

Coming up for air

What a whirlwind last few days I've had! Is it really the 7th of July already?? Since my last post I've been on the go with Yun assisting her with her film and experiencing lots of new things. Here is what the last few days has been like:
Long bus ride, quick shower, go out and shoot, brief nap, hit the gay clubs, crash at 4 a.m. and repeat several times! It's been intense and I will try to encapsulate the highlights.

Gay clubs always have the best music!
Amman is tres tres different from Cairo. Much less crowded but also there is not much happening there in terms of sights, nightlife, things to do in general. Interestingly, the downtown area of Amman is the less modern section of Amman. We stayed outside of the downtown area, where there are big hotels, Burger Kings, and the gay bar RGB is located. Yun's friend and one of the subjects of her film, Boody, took us there on Friday and it was so much fun! They played Arabic tunes as well as American dance tunes and I danced my little heart out for hours! I represented California on the floor and made quite a splash. RGB proved to me that the gay clubs always have the best music and are the most fun! Yun and I were the last ones on the dance floor when it finally closed at 4:30 a.m. I felt like shouting "California in the hizzouse!" We loved RGB so much that we went back there the next day. However, because it was Friday it was pretty dead. That didn't stop us from staying there until it closed anyway.

After two nights in Jordan we had to take the most direct bus route to Tel Aviv to catch a Butch/Femme party there. The most direct route by bus entails a long stop at the Israel/Jordan boreder and a pit stop in Jerusalem! The whole ride should only take 2 1/2-3 hours but the delays at the Jordanian/Israeli border stretch the journey several hours more! Entering Israel at the area which is part of the Palestinian territory is a hassle. Even more of a hassle for Palestinians! We ended up waiting and waiting hours to get through each little check. But if you are a male with an Arabic sounding name, even if you have a passport from another country, you are pulled aside and questioned and may be strip searched. This happened to a young man we met, incidentally from San Francisco, who is American born but has an Arabic name. Even though he was pulled aside and interrogated and had to wait for his baggage, we all ended up outside the border at the same time! Once we were finally out of the customs area, we had to wait in the blistering heat for a shuttle to Jerusalem. I hosed myself off in my hotel, then hopped on the sherute to Tel Aviv.

Ooh ee ooh ah ah ching chang walla walla bing bang
Tel Aviv is the most gay friendly city in the Middle East. It's gay scene is much more lively and open than Cairo, Jerusalem, and Amman. It's much easier to be out in Tel Aviv! We met up with Samira, another character of Yun's film, who took us to the butch/femme party. "Did you go as a butch or a femme?" you may ask. Hmmm... a femme as a half-assed butch? I just wore my cute jeans and a cute top and called it a day. This club did not have good music! It started with a show which left me thoroughly unimpressed, then opened the dance floor with Elvis, and ended with some bizarre American doo wop. There were a few good tunes in between but if it weren't for the yummy cherry beer they served, I may not have stayed. I'm sure I was the only heterosexual woman there, as I was the only one with any fashion sense and grooming. I felt like a sore thumb...a stylish sore thumb among a handful of frumpy fingers. The after party, however, was off the hook! We went to a ginormous club called FansionCafe which was located right on the beach! That's were the more fashionable lesbians were. The music was much better, as was the dancing, but I mainly enjoyed sitting on the roof patio and gazing at the Mediterranean Sea. Yun and I tried absinthe for the first time, but I didn't notice any special effects. For the third night in a row, we stayed out past 4:00 a.m. Do we know how to have a good time or what?

The next day I got to spend a little bit of time on the beach in Tel Aviv. The waters are so clean and blue and warm! It was very very hot and humid so the brief dip in the Mediterranean was a very refreshing treat. Then it was back to Jerusalem to climb the ramparts of the Old City's wall to film the sunset! Walking around the perimeter of the Old City from up on the wall is not to be missed if you are ever in Jerusalem! Got some amazing pictures from up there! Yun and I shared a dinner on the wall over looking Mount Olive and Al Aqsa, then she set up the camera while I shot production stills. Even though we were working, it was a nice peaceful break after all of the busing and clubbing we had been doing.

Gotta go now and meet Yun for some night shots of Jerusalem! Then later we're checking out a drag show after dinner. Inshaallah I'll upload some photos and write about Ramallah when I get back. That is, unless we end up dancing until 4 a.m.!

Filming on site

Hey peeps! Just wanted to let you know that in a few minutes I'll be going to Jordan to do help Yun with filming one last story. I'll not be bringing my computer with me so I won't be able to blog until I get back to Jerusalem on the 5th. I'll leave you with a couple of photos to hold you over. The first one was my last night in Cairo, fanning the meat at an awesome lamb kebab and kofta restaurant called Rifai which Morad and family took me to. The second one was taken on Mount Olive in Jerusalem. the last one is the Damascus Gate of the Old City in Jerusalem. Wish I could write more! Till then, hugs!

Wrapping things up in Cairo: 1

I spent two weeks in Cairo and didn't have a chance to write about everything I did in detail. I ask myself "What the hell was I doing that kept me so busy I couldn't blog more often?" So here's the rest of the story:

Dance

In my past trips to Cairo, I've gone to as many 5-star shows as I could! This time, I focused on seeing more homegrown Egyptian dance since that is what my training has been lacking and that is what I could afford. As a result I experienced a totally different feeling of dance and got to learn even more about Egyptian local culture. And I got it all on video! Since Cairo is the center of music and dance for the Arab world, it's not hard to find music pulsing locals dancing around you anywhere and at unexpected times! First, there was the night felucca on the Nile with Yun and Alex. Our small group of passengers danced our hearts out on that little boat! Men, women, children, Alex, Yun, and I shimmied up a storm in the middle of the Nile! I got some amazing footage of several of the passengers and they were really good. Just random people on the boat! Another time I encountered a wedding party on the Corniche outside of TGIFriday's in Giza. There was a band and the bride and groom were dancing right on the edge of the Nile. How romantic is that? The men in their suits, the women in their fancy dresses were hopping and dancing singing! I also came as a guest to Yasmina's cousin's engagement party in an alley in Giza. The music was so loud my ears rang for days, but I had a blast dancing under the colorful lights to the DJ and drummer. At this wedding the drummer played western style drums along with the Arabic music. I got footage of me dancing with the aroosa (bride), Amani, Morad, Yasmina, Merna, and the other guests. By the time we left the whole alley was bumpin'! Let's not forget the zar. The dancing may have involved less repertoire and more trancing, but it was still a form of cultural dance. And the music was good! Another form I hadn't experienced much of in Cairo is just regular club dancing. Alex took me to Coma on Ahram Road and I was delighted to see a lit up disco dance floor, just like in Saturday Night Fever! The DJ started with lame house music but when the crowd grew, he played Arabic and American pop tunes. I loved that juxtaposition, it's just what I play at home. I also like flavoring my club moves with belly dance and vice versa. I danced until 3 a.m. that night! Finally, on my last night in Cairo I went to Khan Al Khalili with my Egyptian family and we were treated to an impromptu khaleegy music set by live musicians in front of Egyptian Pancakes.

You may wonder if there are people who dance on the street for money, like buskers in San Francisco. The answer is no. Though music and dance are an integral part of Egyptian culture, it is haraam to make money as a dancer. (I could go more into that at a later time.)

I feel as if these experiences have deepened my feeling for Egyptian dance and music greatly. They are an important part of my growth as a dancer.

Attention dancers! You want to read this!

My stay in Cairo has coincided with the world famous Ahlan Wa Sahlan dance festival. It’s run by the (self-proclaimed) queen of Raqs Sharqi in Egypt, Raqia Hassan. It lasts a week and there are lots of workshops by a wide variety of dance teachers and attracts dancers from all over the world! It’s huge! I attended the festival in 2004 and participated in some of the crowded and overpriced classes. It was that experience that led me to return to Cairo in 2005 and 2006 to take private dance lessons from the same people who teach in the mahragaan (festival). The festival is a good experience and I’m glad I did it once but I did not feel the need to take any of the workshops this time. However, I did score a ticket to the opening gala! For a passionate yet budget-minded dancer like me, it is the best deal for seeing the stars of raqs sharqi in Cairo! For less than $100 I got to see Soraya, Randa, and Dina perform with their full bands in one night!!
Soraya opened the show. She is just so cute and a damn good dancer too. Petite yet powerful, you can tell she works out because she has no body fat. She is known for her drum solos and this one certainly did not disappoint. This year she even picked up a drum and played a bit with her band. I could do without all of her lip synching, though. It’s great that she knows the words to her songs, but half of the time I felt like I was watching the Egyptian version of “Puttin’ on the Lips” instead of a dance show. But I’m just being very nit picky about her show. Other than that it’s a great show and her costumes are fabulous.

Randa was second. Her fame is growing wildly as she has been developing her own style. She is a master technician of the movements, a real artist, and leads her band well. I was happy to see Randa dance with a cane, too, though she didn’t use it much. She would deliver a powerful performance, hit it out of the park with her strong shimmies, and really command the stage with her presence, and when it’s over she’d become humble pie with her meek and appreciative bow. I love that! I was seated with Eman Zaki who had designed 2 of the 4 costumes Randa performed in at the opening gala, so my table was especially raucous and enthusiastic during her show. With Eman’s designs, Randa’s costumes have improved a lot! In the past her costumes had been, frankly, ill-fitting and unflattering. But Eman is a master of making designs that will enhance the dancer’s body type. (Most of my costumes have been designed by Eman Zaki and I think they look fabulous!) I felt so cool after Randa’s performance when she gave a big shout out to Eman and the spotlight shone on our table. It was like I finally got to sit with the popular people!

Dina went on last. I hadn’t seen her live since the Ahlan Wa Sahlan opening gala in 2004 and I had heard that her dance had really grown and improved. She is the mama of the modern style that most of the dancing stars emulate. That means that both Soraya and Randa have been strongly influenced by her. In the past I’d have called either one of them Dina-light, but each has come into her own dance expression. Still, Dina would have to really win the audience over with something new or it would look like the same style three times in a row. And it did! Dina is certainly a master of what she does, but by the time she went on I felt like I had seen the same moves and moods already. Plus Dina’s repertoire these days seems very limited. She performed in 4 different costumes and yet I felt as if each of her routines was the same as the one before it. One of her costumes looked like her intestines had exploded out of her bum and onto her bra. Yeah, it was bizarre. Though her style has truly influenced all modern day ra’aasahs (dancers) including myself, her shows never really moved me.

I’m so glad I got to see these three big influential dancers LIVE on my trip! The costumes, the music, the production value give me inspiration to be my best! Listening to a 22-piece Arabic band play the songs and music that I love so much is treat. That’s what dancers in the U.S. would love to experience—dancing with a full band and being able to direct it just like the dancers do in Egypt. I could tell them where to put some strong teks for my accents, let the qanun taqsim linger longer, play an extra bridge here, let the melody take over there, speed up or slow down the tempo. That would be awesome! In the Bay Area, you’re lucky to dance to a keyboardist who may or may not know the songs you ask for. Sigh…

Anyway, I had a great time! I saw some other Bay Area dancers there, re-connected with Mohamad Shahen, said hi to Jillina and Hala, and shared a seat with Karim Nagi. I also had my photo taken with Nagwa Fouad, Mo Gedawi, and Randa by the hired paparazzi. Unfortunately because of AWS's strict no-camera policy, I couldnt record any of it on my own camera. You'll have to take my word for it!

I'm more of a princess than I thought

I'm in Jerusalem now, and I've found I have time for some silly blogging (read previous post). It's late night/early morning of course. 3:12 a.m. to be exact. I spent 16 hours traveling from Cairo to Jerusalem, slept most of the way in the buses, and now I'm wide awake! The rides themselves were uneventful, just long. First I had to pick up a bus from Cairo to the border town of Taba. I didn't miss any interesting scenery during the 6-hour jaunt: each time I opened my eyes all I saw was desert and electricity lines. We had a brief break at a small rest stop in, literally, the middle of nowhere. I went to the bathroom, knowing full well that it would be awful but thinking it couldn't be worse than holding the urge for 4 more hours. I may have been wrong....That bathroom probably hadn't been cleaned since 2003. I had to wade through the floor get to a toilet that wasn't completely covered in excrement. There was no paper of course and there was a pile of surprises in the corner of the stall. I think I'll have to through the shoes I was wearing away and no way was I going to order food from that restaurant!

The next leg consisted of me walking out of Egypt and into Israel. The Egyptian border patrol was a bit lackadaisical. Scanned my bags for contraband, asked a few questions, shook my hand, and said come again! Once officially out of Egypt, I lingered a wee bit to view the Red Sea! It's acutally blue, by the way. (I wonder what that area in between the two borders is called? Israegypt? Egyprael?) Then I entered the Israeli side. They went through each bag and asked me the same questions a dozen times: Why did I come at this time? How long was I in Cairo? Who do I know in Cairo and what do they do? How did I meet my friends in Cairo? Where were my parents born? Where am I staying in Jerusalem? What am I doing in Israel? Then I spent half of my week's allowance getting a cab to the bus station, a bus to Tel Aviv, another bus to Jerusalem, and yet another cab form the bus station in Jerusalem to the hotel. All of that was not very interesting or scenic either. Tel Aviv looks like any modern city except for the signs are Hebrew. Then we drove into Jerusalem and there was a totally different feel. It was already past 12:00 a.m. by then so there wasn't much to see. I did notice that 95% of the people who were out and about were orhodox Jewish men in black suits with the long side burn curls and the tassles on the hems of their shirts! All I could think of was, "Oh boy, this city is going to be an interesting city!"

Tomorrow I'll wander through the old city which is conveniently located across the street from the hotel. Actually, I'll probably get lost in the old city, knowing me. Then I'll meet up with Yun and Robin at the hotel at 4:00 p.m. Oy vey I must get some sleep now so I can have a couple of hours of touring around tomorrow. Nighty night!

Burning Man vs. Cairo

Being in Cairo reminds me of Burning Man. I just can't help but make comparisons between these two very different places. When I sat and thought about it, I was able to list why:

1. They are both deserts! Obvious!


2. Both of these towns really come to life at night. Cairenes and Burners know that the best time to play is when the sun goes down and the temperature drops! Amani and Merna spend the better half of the day hibernating from the heat, just like Disco Dave in Snowball in Hell's small dome. In Cairo I'll eat dinner with Murad and his family, including 6-year old Merna, after 10 pm., then we'll join other familes for tea and shisha in an outdoor ahwa until the wee hours. At Burning Man, the colorful lights and dance clubs blare at night, rousing all the freaks from hibernation! We don't roll back to camp until the light of dawn starts peeking over the horizon.


3. I become nocturnal in Cairo and at Burning Man. I haven't woken up before 12:00 p.m. since I left San Francisco! Bedtime for me here is 3 or 4 a.m.! I follow the exact same sleep pattern at Burning Man!


4. If you do find yourself awake during the hot afternoon, maybe because you had some strong coffee or you're too sweaty to sleep comfortably, you prime directive is to seek shade and cooler temperatures. At Burning Man this comes in the form of a well-designed dome. In Cairo this comes in the form of an air-conditioned restaurant, shop, or museum.


5. Late night/early morning noises can keep you awake. At Burning Man, you might hear the stereo system of a large art car booming outside your tent while trying to sleep. Same thing in Cairo, except substitute a mosque for the art car and the muezzin shouting "Allaaaaahu akhbar!" for the stereo system.


6. Both cities are rather dusty. You get used to feeling a layer of dust all over you and seeing it coating the surfaces inside your home, be it a tent or downtown flat.


7. The public loos are never what you want them to be. At Burning Man, the porta potties are a crap shoot. You may or may not find it dry and clean, there may or may not be paper. In Cairo, they are all just crappy. It's as if there's some sort of nationwide boycott of public restroom maintainence. Rarely is there paper, and often you don't even get a seat. When in Cairo or Burning Man, you have to be sure to carry tissues and hand sanitizer.

See what I mean? They are so similar! The only difference being that at Burning Man I get to show off my hot pants.