!!!!!!!!!!!!

[alonewiththemoon]

I just got this from Sabrina, concerning belly dancing at the Middle East:

Dear Dancers,

I regretfully must inform you all that, effective immediately, due to the economic situation, the management has decided to discontinue belly dancing as we have had it on Sunday and Wednesday evenings and will be replacing the entertainment on those nights with other kinds, of which it seems not yet certain of what that will be.

This is my last and saddest email to you from this yahoo group, which I am now dismantling.

Thank you for being your beautiful dancing selves!

Warmly,
Sabrina

Words cannot express how awful this is. The Middle East was synonymous with continuity in the dance scene in Boston. We all had our occasional complaints and issues, but it felt like bedrock nonetheless. And I don't know where beginning dancers will get their restaurant experience. How much could the nights have cost them? Why not cut back to just one night, why cut both?

Fuck. Guess I don't have to keep working on my set for this Sunday...
.

Comments

[suzycat.livejournal.com]

If you're prepared to dance to recorded music, not that much; you need a room, something to sit on, a sound system and a laptop. BYO food and drink... or you might even be able to find a licenced venue with food that you could take over on a quiet night, or even better, its function room.

[alonewiththemoon]

Problem here is that rooms are expensive, even ugly ones with linoleum floors and no amenities. We have assorted haflas and workshops shows on a pretty regular basis; what people, especially new dancers, want is the restaurant performing experience. But there are indeed some plans percolating.