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I had a great class with Amira Jamal last night. In the summer, rather than focusing on teaching steps her focus is on using steps in improv and learning to feel/interpret the music in a culturally appropriate style. We've been doing all beledi music, so lots of big heavy movements ("beledi means business," as she said) and cane. 2004 seems to be the year of cane for me--I can swing that baby around in circles. The second part of class consisted of people being asked to improv in front of everybody to random music choice, and I was picked out to do some cane. I wasn't great, but I wasn't bad either, and got very useful feedback. I think that's one of the best parts of Amira Jamal's classes, her astute and gently delivered feedback.

I did learn for myself though that if you are going to do a backbend while doing a round-the-body figure 8 with the cane, you really have to commit to it fully and think about what you are doing, otherwise you will whack your left elbow and right shin with the cane. Ow. At least I didn't drop it.

After class I went home and learned that British Queer Eye guys don't have as much personality as American ones. Maybe it was a cultural thing on my part, but they just didn't seem like distinct personalities. I think perhaps the BBC might be ambivalent about the whole concept and didn't want to push its gayness, even though that's really the premise of the show. Plus they were driving a station wagon. I know the rest of the world quite sensibly doens't belong to the SUV cult, but still, a station wagon? That is just not fabulous. Surely they could have found a nice limo somewhere.

Turbo Tabla, July 19

I'm going to this fabulous event featuring the wonderful drumming of Karim and other musicians and dancers at Passim on July 19--there's a link to buy tickets here, if anyone else is interested. I can't say enough good things about Karim!

From the Turbo Tabla website:

TURBO TABLA is a performance that combines the spontaneity of a live drummer with the stylistic intensity of a DJ. The best description would be "Arabic Techno". Karim, a classically trained Egyptian percussionist, performs on his feet with an amplified Tabla (goblet drum) that employs many of the effects and sounds of an electric guitar. Karim dances, spins, jumps and entertains while executing the most rapid and grooveworthy hand percussion possible. The accompaniments are always the remixes and recreations of traditional Arabic and World music, with techno and hip hop beats, created by Karim with his own music studio. Karim is an accomplished performer of traditional Arabic music with the highest calibre of authenticity. It is this classical expertise that allows Karim to make modern Oriental music and Arabic Techno.

Karim's Turbo Tabla recordings feature talented musicians and singers. Each performer is among the strongest in their category, and gifted in their field. The songs are bolstered with heavy basslines, dancefloor grooves and immaginative arrangements. The newest CD Bellydance Overdrive is realeased by Mondo Melodia/Ark21 (Hakim, Said Mrad, Cheb Khaled, Simon Shaheen), a company founded by famed music impresario Miles Copeland, and distributed by Universal Records.