Giza Club Events

2007 Giza Summer Film Festival
Saturday, 7 pm, July 14 -
THE HIDDEN HALF (Iranian) (108 min)
"Khorso is sent from the president's office on a fact-finding mssion to Shiraz. His orders are to investigate the complaints of a female political prisoner, awaiting execution. Khosro's wife, being of the same generation as the prisoner, decides to do something about her situation.
In order to help her, Fereshteh writes of her own participation in the revolution, of which her husband is unaware.
In his hotel room in Shiraz, Khosro begins reading his wife's memoirs the night before he is to vistit the prisoner."
Excerpts from FORBIDDEN ART- produced by Shahrzad (Giza Academy Award winning dance film - 2003, ± 30 min.)
THE ROMANY TRAIL- (rereleased dvd - 2002, approx. 60 min)
Takes you on a search for the "lost" gypsy tribes of Egypt, etc.

Sunday, 2pm July 15
VIVA LALDJERIE Algeria, (110 min)
"Algiers, the winter of 2003: Three women have been living in a hotel in the centre of town since the violence started. The daughter has chosen a modern, emancipated life for herself by working for a photographer, taking a generous married lover and spending seamy weekends in nightclubs. Her faithful friend, prostitutes herself under the thumb of a powerful and "kind" protector. Meanwhile the mother bides time, torn between fear and nostalgia."
ZRAREET!!- American, 2007 (1/2 hr)
In this charming take on a home movie, American-born Muslim filmmaker Khadijah Chadly and her husband Yassir return to his native Morocco for a family wedding.

Saturday 7 pm, July 21
SABAH Canada, (90 min)
"Sabah is an unmarried 40-year-old woman of Syrian birth who lives in Toronto with her traditional and sometimes overbearing, but loving Muslim family. When Sabah falls hard to a nice Canadian guy she meets at a local swimming pool, she has no choice but to hide him from her family as she attemps to live up to their expectations."
WEST BANK STORY American, 2007 (1/2 hour)
A take on West Side Story, a musical, a Palestinian/Israeli love story.

© Dahlena

Sunday, April 29, 2007-Workshop with the legendary and incomparable Dahlena Dahlena taught "Nebtedi Menien el Hikaya" and "Fi Youm wa Leila" as well as drum solo. Dahlena performed at PeñaPachamama with The Georges Lammam Ensemble that evening. More about Dahlena at www.dahlena.com.

Saturday and Sunday February 17-18, 2007- Amina's Giza Academy Awards of Video and Film Fest
This was Amina's 10th year of honoring our fellow dancers and dance videomakers.
There were panel discussions of dance history and trends, as well as the role of new media including the internet and Youtube. The classic article "The Art of Videotaping Dance" was referenced as well. The two days of screenings included a retrospective of past years as well as the new winners. Live music and dancing followed.
Visit www.aswandancers.org to see a list of the winners.

Saturday, December 2, 2006 10:00 AM-12:00 PM
Andalusian Dance Workshop with Amel Tafsout
Born in Algeria, Amel Tafsout is a senior language lecturer, a dance anthropologist,story teller, singer and accomplished and well- respected dancer. She taught a very special master class on Andalusian scarf dance.

Sunday, October 1, 2006 3:00-6:00 PM
"A Day in Giza": Arabic baby talk round table, assisted by native Falestiniya speaker Michael and special guest Edwina Nearing, as well as lots of gesticulating. Oud/bass/violin maestro Hussein Dixon entertained us during the second half with Iraqi music.

Sunday, August 27, 2006-2:00 PM.
Shukran Astryd! Wacky Woman Traveler Astryd deMichele gave a workshop and subsequent talk at Dance Mission about her experiences during her most recent stint performing and studying in Egypt.
After the talk, some of us moved on to the the St. Nicholas Church Food Festival in Diamond Heights where the Aswan Dancers performed. Astryd also performed later that night at Peña Pachamama to the music of the Lammams , along with Yosifah, Amina, and others. It was the launch of Georges Lammam's new CD and his birthday.

Sunday, August 6, 2006 3:00-6:00 PM
The Wacky Women Travelers deconstructed Egypt.
Zelina, Maribel, Leyla Lanty, Sharifa, Debbie Lammam, and Amina, all freshlyly returned from Cairo, led the discussions.
They shared their experiences at the two large dance conventions, the Nile Group Festival and the Ahlan Wa Sahlan Festival (some 800 attendees this year?).

Friday, May 12, 2006 at 3:30 PM.
We watched footage of Cairo: entertainers in a tent at a moulid, a zar ceremoney, an acrobat, and a wedding. More spirited discussion on the state of Middle Eastern dance. Debbie Lammam introduced us to two books, both available at Amazon.com
Belly Dance: Orientalism, Transnationalism, and Harem Fantasy
Choreographic Politics: State Folk Dance Companies, Representation, and Power
Further discussion on these books later to allow more of us time to acquire and read them.

Saturday, March 11, 2006 at 3:30 PM.
Movies from the archives and reports about the Tonya and Atlantis event and the Aida Nour and Magdy El Leisy weekend.

Wacky Women Traveller Laura in Egypt-Saturday, January 21, 2006.
5:00 to 8:00 PM.
Wacky Women Traveller Laura told of her off-the-beaten path experiences in Egypt.

Video Fest 2006- Friday, January 6, 2006
Selections from the archives including Arabic movies, documentaries, dance performance and other dance videos.

Amina's Ninth Annual Giza Academy Awards Show -Saturday, December 3, 2005
Amina's GAMAL Academy Awards show, a showcase for excellence in Middle Eastern dance film and video. This year they also premiered the video "The Bellydancers of Cairo" by Natasha Senkovich. See Amina's site for the winners.

Giza Club Film Premier -Friday July 22, 2005
The documentary "A Bellydancer's Journey" (2005) was screened and there was a Q and A session with the filmmaker, Michael Saliba.

Wacky Woman Traveler Naz Takes Us to Iran -Saturday July 9, 2005
We started our summer film festival with films from and about Iran with a running commentary by Naz. Films included the cinema verité-styleTen, and The Most Beautiful Girl in the World starring the young Jamileh, the famous Iranian dancer now in exile in Los Angeles.

Wacky Woman Traveler Linda Mahboula visits Egypt-Saturday May 14, 2005
Wacky Woman Traveler Linda Mahboula shares her experience in Egypt with her Algerian husband. She was the tour guide! Extra added attractions: Special showing of DVDs she bought in the Middle East. A great mix of Algerian Rai and Egyptian dancing.

Film: "Wedding in Galilee"-Saturday April 23, 2005
"In one of the first films made in Israel to present an Arab perspective, Michel Khleifi's WEDDING IN GALILEE provides a complex portrait of Palestinian society and commentary on life under military occupation. When a Palestinian village elder requests permission to hold a traditional wedding for his son, the military commander in charge of the occupying force requires that the Israeli military governor and his staff be guests of honor at the ceremony. The ensuing preparations detail traditional Palestinian life and customs, including a moving sequence in which attendants prepare the bride for the ceremony. Despite the impending celebration, tensions bubble under the surface, and Khleifi deftly examines the conflict and its impact on individual lives."

Also shown- made available from the archives of Edwina Nearing aka Aqaba Eddy: "The National Folklore Ensemble of Iraq at the Jerash Festival".

Hussein Dixon

Giza Cabaret - April 2, 2005. An evening of potluck, music and dance with Hussein Dixon on oud and vocals, and Amina and Linda on percussion. If anybody has pictures of this Giza Cabaret they'd like to share, send them to the webmistress, please.

Dance Superstar Jillina Photo courtesy & © Jillina

Workshop with Jillina and Issam -Saturday, March 26, 2005 Belly dance Superstar Jillina taught an exciting drum solo workshop with drummer Issam Houshan. They were in town for the San Francisco premier of the film The American Bellydancer.

Debate and Discussion on "State of the Dance" Part II-Sunday, March 6, 2005
"Authentic Middle Eastern Dance Or Arrogant Orientalism--Where Does Bellydance in the West Fit In?"
Continuation of a discussion started January 30 about the state of the dance, authenticism, and our place as Westerners in interpreting it. The role of contests and pageants was discussed as well as the need for honest criticism.
Also a film about Nagwa Fouad was screened.

Khallee Balek min Zouzou Souad Hosni, Hussein Fahmi, Tahia Carioca(seated). Image courtesy Al Ahram

Friday Flicks at Giza-Khallee Balek min Zouzou- Friday, February 11, 2005 at 7pm "Watch out for Zouzou". (theme: Clean cut Egyptian college girl works as a Mohamed Ali dancer in the evenings. She is "found out".) We also watched some vintage Tahia Carioca clips. Here's some links about the movie: Profile of Nadia Shoukri, the film editor, who discusses her experiences with the break-neck editing schedule and director Hassan El-Imam's vision of dancers. Profile of Hussein Fahmi, the actor who plays the university professor. A graduate of UCLA, he is now president of the Cairo International Film Festival. The Belly Dance Museum's bio of lead actress Souad Hosni, the embodyment the golden age of Egyptian cinema. Married at least four times, she was once linked with Abdel Halim Hafez. She died tragically in a fall from the sixth floor of a London building in 2001 and left behind a substantial body of work. Read Al Ahram's take on her achievements and the role a public life could have played in its end and a tribute from one of her directors. A poster from the film at the Belly Dance Museum. Profile of supporting actress and raks sharqi legend Tahia Carioca. She was married 14 times!

The Cairo experience by Monica - Saturday October 2, 2004- 3:30-@7:00 PM
Monica, fresh from an intensive course of Arabic study in Cairo, shared her stories and video with us. We learned how to survive a cab ride, and heard the lyrics to the new Ruby song. Videos included Moustapha Omar, Ricko, Marwa, and Ruby as well as a unique wedding dancer and Fifi Abdo. See Monica's postcard about her travels with a link to her trip blog and photos in our POSTCARDS section.

©Astryd deMichele

Astryd deMichele from Oregon in workshop and show-Sunday, August 29, 2004. Astryd was recently back from Cairo, Egypt and months of extensive studying and dancing with Raqia Hassan and others (including being featured in Raqia's next teaching video). Astryd gave a great workshop and performed in both shows at the TropiGala.

©Rhea

Yassou Rhea!-Workshop and lecture-Sunday, August 1, 2004. Rhea from Athens, Greece did a Giza Club talk on her life living abroad as a working (and self-supporting) dancer. Rhea, originally from the SF Bay Area, moved to Greece decades ago to follow her dream and dance in Greece. She is still living that dream and had much to share with us. Rhea also taught a 2 hour workshop in Amina's studio after the Giza talk. Visit the Daughters of Rhea web site to learn more about Rhea. A show at TropiGala featured Rhea, Amina and other dancers with DJ Raffy.

Giza Film Festival Double feature -Saturday September 11, 2004 3:30-@7:30 PM
Pre-feature dance shorts of Tunisian dance at the Jerash Festival.
The Silences of the Palace Directed by Moufida Tlatli
Growing up in the palace at a time when femal servants are expected to be sexually available to the men they serve. Tunisia in the sunset years of its last monarchs, the Beys, is the setting for this drama of memory and motherhood, of political and sexual power.

A Voice like Egypt Directed by Michael Goldman
A documentary about Um Kulthoum.
"My father was uneasy.The idea that his daughter should sing in front of men he didn't know, was difficult for him to accept, but my singing helped support the family. So he dressed me in boy's clothes, and I sang this way for several years. I realized now that he wanted to convince himself, and the audience too, that the singer was a young boy, not a young woman."
from Umm Kulthum, A Voice like Egypt

Giza Film Festival -Saturday July 31, 2004 3:30-@7:30 PM
We screened Adrift on the Nile from the book by Naguib Mahfouz.
Hedonistic hashish users reap the harvest of their alienation in this film set on a party houseboat on the Nile on the eve of the 1967 war.
Linda gave a short talk on the life of Nobel prize winner Naguib Mahfouz and his novels. Leyla Lanty described meeting Mahfouz in Cairo at a philosophers gathering. Following the Mahfouz film was the 22-minute-long Cairo as Seen by Chahine, Youssef Chahine's documentary tribute to his city.

Giza Film Festival -Saturday July 17, 2004 3:30-@7:30 PM
Cinematic account of the life of Badia Masabny. For background material read Roberta Dougherty's article on the great Badia's place in Egyptian identity as expressed in the print media of the era.
There is a brief bio about Badia at Abdul Hazim's Belly Dance Museum.

Class with Shareen El Safy-June 27, 2004
Shareen El Safy, American doyenne of Egyptian-style dance, visited us after her popular week-long retreat.

Workshop with Superstar Jillina -Sunday, January 25, 2004
Superstar dancer Jillina taught a workshop at Dance Mission in San Francisco. She later performed to a standing room crowd at TropiGala.

Folkloric Costume Show-and-Tell-Sunday, May 18, 2003-3:30 PM.
Discussion and display of folkloric costumes from Giza collections. Also sharing of Middle Eastern folklore books, including Reveal and Conceal: Dress in Contemporary Egypt by Andrea B. Rugh (may be ordered from Syracuse University Press-published 1986).

Iraqi folklore-Saturday, April 19, 2003-3:30 PM.
Screening of videos of different folklore dance presentations from all over the Middle East, including several on Iraqi dance.

© Giza Club

The Armenians-Saturday, March 29, 2003. 3:30 PM. Aida Loussararian, who grew up in Egypt, talked about Armenian history and her experiences as a child of Armenian immigrants. She showed the documentary "The Armenians", narrated by Olympia Dukakis, and taught us two Armenian folk dances.

© Masumi Matsumoto

Saturday March 22, 2003 Giza Cabaret with special guest Masumi Matsumoto from Japan Masumi (aka Nenuphar) brought her four-piece band, "Nuufambaru", (violin, oud, bass, and drum) all the way from Tokyo! We were packed to the rafters. We hope they can come back next year, too.

February 22, 2003-Topics included Lila Abu-Lughod's ongoing research on "The Melodramas of Nationhood: the Management of Religion and the Magic of Stars in Egyptian Television." Abu-Lughod, professor at Colunbia University, author of Veiled Sentiments: Honor and Poetry in a Bedouin Society, and editor of Remaking Women: Feminism and Modernity in the Middle East , has been researching Egyptian serial television for years. She recently gave a talk at the Center for Middle Eastern studies. The Giza members who attended discussed some of her findings. We also talked about Edward Said's book "Orientalism", and read his article about Taheyya Carioca. We concluded the afternoon with video clips of Carioca.

January 2003-
Video review and talk.

October 31, 2002-
Halloween costume party at TropiGala Kazablanka Thursday.

July meeting - July 21, 2002, 3:00-6:00 PM. As hoped, the Hatshepsut Roast honoring Giza founding member Linda Grondahl upon her retirement from 35 years of teaching got waaaaaaay out of hand. The purple potluck was devoured, balloons were popped, T-shirts were shredded and there was much furniture and fruit abuse. The lovely Latifa was especially lucky to get off with such a light sentence after her treatment of that poor red chair. Even the Linda dance-alike contest was out of control until a safety pin was found. Special thanks to Giza guests, percussionists Reda Darwish and Nabil Gheith and towel-boy Ken Keep, who supported the "retired" Linda for the mother of all mahboula drum solos. View the photos of the event in the Giza Gallery. Photo © & courtesy L. Grondahl.

June meeting - June 9, 2002, 12:00-1:00 PM. Jacques El Asmar tantalized us at brunch with stories of his childhood in Lebanon. His grandma lived next door to Lebanese dance immortal Nadia Gamal and of course the precocious prince soaked up all the music and dance such a situation offered. Afterwards, his modest Majesty taught a dynamic choreography to Egyptian music. The following Thursday at Tropi-Gala, the Aswans, including Shara and Cora Lammam, joined Jacques and the Arabian Knights for a show. "From Veiled to Unveiled" featured traditional and modern dancers covered and uncovered with colorful costumes and veils, melayas and thobes. Photo of Jacques at Giza Awards courtesy and © Susan Detwiler.

May meeting-May 18, 2002.
Review of Egyptian dance pioneer Mahmoud Reda's work. Videos of Reda movies. In anticipation of Reda's July visit and workshop, sponsored by Giza member Hala. Discussion of Giza charities.

April meeting-April 20, 2002, Saturday- 3 PM.
Regular Giza video get-together.

April event-April 19, 2002, Friday-from 8 PM.
Evening focusing on "The Music of Iraq". Iraqi music stands out from other musical genres in the Middle East. Linda and Amina filled in for Munaf and Hussein, the two resident Iraqi members of The Arabian Knights Band (who had to cancel at the last minute) and presented an evening of discussion and music.

March and April-(March 3 and April 7, 2002, 12:00-1:00 PM).
Dahlena double header. Dahlena inspired us with talks about her incredible dance career. The subsequent workshops covered how to dance to drum solos and a modern pop song choreography.

February Meeting-February 23, 2002. Video viewing.

Giza Cabaret-January 26, 2002-6:00 to 12:00 PM.
The first cabaret of 2002 was a roaring success! Thanks to all the great dancers and to the members of the Arabian Knights Band, who took time off their regular jobs to come and play for us. Dance slots filled up really quickly, so sign up to dance next time if you want to be sure to get a slot.
Select thumbnail photo for larger images of Giza cabaret. Photos courtesy and © Wendy.

Audience

Band

Cathy G.

Cathy L.

Harmony

Nadia

Ruth

Shirley

Anisa

Susan

Wendy

January Meeting-January 19, 2002-3:00-6:00 PM.
Video marathon! GAMAL award winning videos sampled and discussed.

December Meeting-December 8, 2001-from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM. Brunch with Shareen El Safy Egyptian dance scholar and journalist Shareen discussed living and working in Egypt. Shareen also taught an Egyptian dance workshop at Amina's studio to the well known song Alf Leila wa Leila. The movements in her choreography incorporated the classic steps of the Golden Age of Middle Eastern dance unique to Naima Akef and Samia Gamal and those of Dina's and Lebanese Amani's repertoire. Select thumbnail photo of Shareen to visit her site. Photo courtesy and © Shareen.

GAMAL Awards -December 8, 2001 (Amina's Academy Awards for excellence in dance film) evening gala and show. Viewing of the award winners and dance show, including Amina, Shara, the Aswan Dancers and Jacques El Asmar. Visit the Aswan Dancers site to see a list of past and present winners. Select thumbnail photo for larger image of Aswans a lá dalla. Photo courtesy and © Susan Detwiler.

Film Festival November Program-November 3, 2001-3:00-6:00 pm
Potluck-Indian, Moroccan, or Egyptian snacks.

Courtesans of Bombay	(1983)-Merchant Ivory documentary with interviews and how the girls are trained to dance.
The Bride Market of Imilchil	(1988)-Moroccan girls gather at a shrine and choose husbands.
Hidden Faces	(1990)-women's issues in Egypt - includes interview with Nawal El Saadawi.

Amina's Halloween Giza Cabaret-Friday evening, October 26, 2001, 8:00 pm
Halloween and Day-of-the-Dead-themed dance showcase and potluck party.

October Meeting-October 20, 2001-2:30-5:30 pm Wacky Woman Travelers welcomed Tina O'Neill. Tina, who has been traveling to Egypt for many years, discussed her experiences on a private archaelogical tour there. Fantastic pictures of Philae, Saqqara, Luxor, Karnak, and more. Visit Tina's dance site at www.dancewithtina.com. Select thumbnail photo for larger image of Tina. Photo courtesy and © Tina.

Film Festival September Program-September 29, 2001
Hob fi Karnak ("Love in Karnak") starring Farida Fahmy, Mahmoud Reda and the Reda Dance Troupe of Egypt. Also a documentary of the Reda Troupe filmed at the Cairo Balloon Theater in July of 1988. Also portions of the second annual (June 2001) Ahlan Wa Sahlan Festival show in Cairo produced by Raqia Hassan and featuring dancers Randa, Bedia (of Los Angeles), Sohair, and Nour (from Russia). There were lots of guests, including members of the Aswat Arabic choir and dance star Dahlena from Chicago. Those of us lucky enough to adjourn afterwards to the Tahneen party in San Mateo enjoyed seeing her dance to their live music.

September Meeting-September 15, 2001 Leyla Lanty presented "Globalization of Baladi" based on a paper by Dalia Mostafa of the American University of Cairo. Viewing of non-native dancers in Egypt. Visit Leyla's dance and music site at www.geocities.com/leylalanty. Select thumbnail photo for larger image of Leyla. Photo courtesy and © Leyla.

August Meeting-August 18, 2001
Video screening of the ISIS Festival. Held in San Francisco on February 1, 1976, the ISIS Festival was THE showcase for San Franciso belly dance of that era. We also screened a short documentary by Gordon Inkeles made around that time featuring two young student dancers and a wonderful segment of Amina dancing live. Plotting and planning for future events, discussion about dues (now $25.00), plus lots of reminiscing on the part of Giza geezers. We've been doing this for ten years!

Amina's Giza Cabaret-August 3, 2001
Dynamite dancing from Amina, Hala, Michelle, Zakiyya, Zelina, Cora, Judi, Nadia, Shanna and others. Also Shar Hashimoto Mundy and her band.
Select thumbnails to see Giza Cabaret dancers. Photos courtesy and © Stephanie Bond.

Amina

Cora

Hala

Judi

Latifa

Michelle

Zakiyya

Zelina

July 2001 Meeting-More Wacky Women Travelers
Our own Cairo maven, Lois-Leyla, shared her experiences in Cairo at Raqia Hassan's Ahlan Wa Sahlan dance festival. She also had tons o' fun hanging out with the musical El Artiste family and their associates, whom she worked with when she produced her Khalil Aboud CD. Check out Amina's article in the Gilded Serpent magazine.