Chica
Japan

Day 1.

The first Amani Oriental Dance Festival was held in Lebanon during June 2005 and attracted dancers from many countries including amongst others Sweden , South Africa , USA , Italy , Spain , Mexico , Colombia , Denmark , Holland and 16 participants from Japan .

The Openin g Reception on the first evening was held at Caesar Palace Theatre with Amani as the host in a princess-like Lebanese traditional costume. E ach master class teacher presented a show as an introduction to his/her workshop, these included Oriental, folkloric, modern ballet, Indian, and many more.

Attendance at this wide range of 14 workshops cost only US$405. At this price I decided to challenge the limit of my strength and stamina by purchasing an all-class ticket. Such a good deal would not be available in Japan . So I asked myself “Why not make the most of this opportunity?”

Not only were the dancers on stage a sight for sore eyes but also the participants, who responded by dressing in fabulous and glamorous costumes attracting the attention of many TV and magazine reporters.

Day 2.

After stuffing myself with breakfast at the buffet, I went straight to Caesar Palace Theatre to take the first class. The Historical Sword Dance workshop by Amani turned all into coquettish yet spontaneous courtesans challenging the sultan to win his favour. This was different from what we often see as a sword dance with a sword being balanced on various parts of the body while dancing. This choreography made us jump wildly around swinging the sword.

Although almost all the Festival participants attended this class, the size of the class did not feel excessive. We were all under the watchful eyes of Amani as she devoted herself to teaching us the choreography and she was always ready to respond to our requests for her to dance here or there or turn around or repeat a movement again and again.

The class was supplied with swords by Amani's Team and we were all given the piece of music used on a CD.

Samira Haddad, who dances in Amani's shows, conducted the next two workshops, which were a veil dance and a cane dance. Each class's objective was to learn the full choreography. My limited capacity for memorizing choreography soon made me give up and I changed my objective to learning variations in the use of the props. I wondered how the others could memorize so many movements and in the correct order while I was finding that sometimes I trapped myself in my veil .

The next session by the choreographer of the Rajana Veda Lebanese Dance Group, Mounir Haddad, was unfortunately delayed. We were all relaxing in the theatre chatting or taking a nap, when Vida, a soloist of the company literally ran into the theatre and started a workshop, like a storm. It consisted of a theatrical group dance of Lebanese folkloric and a dance in the theatrical Oriental style.

Her brisk and businesslike teaching woke us all up and we all danced with intensity till the time for the next workshop came. I really appreciated her coaching skill that led us at a fast pace through the session.

Her demonstration was fascinating; she was cool! An introduction CD of Rajana Veda and a VCD of a sta ge performance were given to each of us as a bonus.

Following this COOL session, came an extra HOT workshop of Debkeh by Sami Khoury. After a short introduction and a demonstration of a few variations in steps, he ignited us with his power and made us dance Debkeh for a whole hour, in a trance. It was something similar to getting high in an aerobics class.

At the end of the class, he demonstrated Oriental dance, as a preview of his next workshop. How was it possible for such an athletic man to move with such grace ? It made us squeal with delight! I was sure that the word would get around about him and that his next workshop would be full of participants.

Afte r a refreshing show er and an enjoyable dinner on the terrace with the cool breeze off the Mediterranean Sea gently caressing us, we went back to Caesar Palace Theatre, where the preliminary event in the dance competition was being held. It was not designed to eliminate the contestants, but to examine the appropriateness of what they had prepared. Amani was insistent that no matter what the style of dance the music should be Oriental as well as appropriate. (The style of dance had to be Oriental of course. Dancing something else was out of the question.)

About a quarter of the Festival's participants danced in this preliminary event.

Day Three was an excursion day. Having finished an early breakfast, we got on the tour bus to start the tour at 8 AM.

Amani in a bright orange fitness suit joined us on the bus to accompany us on the tour. As soon as the bus left, the lady guide started giving us some general information about Lebanon . For instance, did you know that Lebanon means white and that the country name came from the sight of mountains covered with snow? Did you know that Lebanese children are given lessons in both Arabic and French from kindergarten age and they start to study a third language, usually English in middle school? Did you know that the ancient Lebanese invented terraced fields?

The guide turned us into instant experts on Lebanon .

The bus route passed many fashionable buildings on our journey through Beirut . The style was somewhat reminiscent of some European cities. Leaving Beirut behind we started to climb the hills of Shouf. Up in the hills was the historical town of Deir El Qamar , oh what a sight, brilliant yellow stone buildings with orange roofs, which contrasted with the green trees in the strong highland sunlight. This town was once the capital of Lebanon until the beginning of 18 th century. The city has preserved its original appearance. I would have liked to explore the ancient winding cobbled alleyways but unfortunately we didn't have enough time. We looked around an enclosed public market place, called Caesarea , where we took group pictures, and then we got back on the bus to continue the tour.

A professional photographer was accompanying us to take photographs at each stop. It reminded me of school trips!

The next stop was at Beiteddine, a masterpiece of Lebanese architecture. You would need a whole day to explore this big palace, which consists of numerous rooms, museums, galleries, reception halls and magnificent gardens. There was a luxurious room, in which the king used to meet VIPs. Although photography and entry is forbidden, being a VIP, Amani was granted special permission to enter the room and we were allowed to take pictures from the entrance area as she danced on the marble floor. This was a rare privilege and we all took photographs to record the event.

If you research Lebanon in Japan , you certainly will come across a phrase “the same size as Gifu Prefecture ” in almost every document. Gifu is a mountainous prefecture in Japan with a rather small population of two million. In the courtyard of Beiteddine, a huge crane was hoisting steel members to build up a temporary stage for the upcoming Beiteddine Festival. What caught my eye was the big sign in familiar characters on the boom. There in large letters was its former owner's name and address “..,Co., Gifu Prefecture ” BINGO!

After appreciating the beauty of the splendidly decorated room s, the Hammam (baths), a garden and the mosaic museum, we rejoined the bus and set off towards the Bekaa.

On the way to Ksara, we made a short stop, for a light meal at a small grocery store, with a snack counter . This is probably not in any guidebooks but a place of definite interest for Oriental dancers. It was Badia Masabni's store. (I failed to find out whether it once belonged to her or if her family was running it.) She was a pioneer in Oriental dance who opened Casino Opera in Cairo , trained Samia Gamal, Tahiya Carioca and so on, and established the nightclub style that is now so popular all over the world. Looking at the sepia pictures of Badia displayed on the walls, our thoughts returned to those olden days.

Here we had a light snack consisting of a long roll of thin Lebanese bread with fresh Lebanese cheese spread that would keep my hunger at bay until the late lunch.

“Visiting an Arab county” often evokes in people's mind a stereotyped image of traveling on a camel across a burning desert. Ksara Winery is a great example to help change such an illusion, with its abundance of green trees and fresh highland air. After tasting, red, white and rose wine, we enjoyed walking through the wine cave that had b een dug into the rock during Roman times. Products of Ksara winery are exported all over the world. Get a bottle from a local distributor and experience the fine taste. You will love it!

The bus carried us to today's high point , the World Heritage site of Baalbeck. But an additional surprise awaited us before stepping into the Roman treasury, we sat down to a lunch of traditional Lebanese cuisine at a restaurant that overlooked Baalbeck. It was already time for an early dinner rather than late lunch. I thought I was ready to eat up anything served; however I was wrong. By the time I had finished sampling each item of mezze, a wide selection of small portions of dips, pickles, salads and nibbles covering the entire table, my stomach was already full. But still the waiters were adding different items to the table . When my stomach was full to bursting a huge mountain of rice topped with grilled meat arrived! Silly me. That was when I remembered that mezze was a starter to be followed by the main course. My father, who had experienced hunger during World War II, always told me never to waste food. I tackled the mountain of meat and rice but had to give up as my stomach couldn't take any more. It seemed it was unrealistic to adhere to the moral taught to me by my father. Sipping strong Arabic coffee as a digestive, with the fine grounds settled in the bottom quarter of the cup, we finished the big meal with fresh cherries and crispy apricots.

While Baalbeck was already flourishing in the Hellenic Era, the preserved temples we saw were built in the Roman Era. Bacchus' Temple is one of the best-preserved temples in the Roman world; you can see almost the complete structure except its roof. As well as the overall size of the temple being huge, each stone that formed the structure was huge also. In spite of my familiarity with the logic of arch structures, looking up at those huge stones that formed the top of arch about 20m above my head, made me feel dizzy. Those stones are just laid with no steel to connect them together! As a former architect from a country of earthquakes, I was a little scared.

It is always romantic to walk among ancient ruins at sunset , no matter whether it is to educate yourself with a tour guide's lecture or to let your imagination take you back to ancient times. I'd like to come to the Baalbeck Festival someday. What a luxury it is to hold such a big arts festival in this magnificent World Heritage site!

The sun set soon after we left Baalbeck, and most of us fell asleep on the bus. It was already after 8 PM when we arrived back at the hotel. “The same size as Gifu prefecture” may sound small but you cannot underestimate it. One day was not enough to tour Lebanon . According to the guidebooks, there are still many other places of interest in Lebanon that are of World Heritage site class.

I was exhausted from the whole day trip, but after much consideration I decided to follow my motto “make the most of opportunities”. I went out near midnight with new friends to a restaurant to enjoy a live show of traditional music and Oriental dance. Night life in Lebanon is quite late; the dance show started at 1:30 AM. According to one in the party who had been there several times, the restaurant was popular among rich Saudi people and they could be recognized by their casual dress while Lebanese are in business suits. Their reaction to Khaleegy (the gulf region music) and their non-alcoholic drinks instead of alcohol ones, might be other signs of a Saudi. After the dance show, we had fun dancing to live music together with other customers. I didn't regret the outing even though I was totally worn-out when I returned to the hotel after 4AM.

Day 4.

Last night was a long one and with only 3 hours sleep I was afraid that I would miss my breakfast and the first class. But my desire to take part in Amani's workshop ensured that I awoke in time and was ready for the start at 9:00am. The workshop was to learn the choreography of the title track of her latest album “Amani el Omr”, the very same dance she danced in the promotional video clip. But this was not a clip; it was the full version. As a slow learner, I didn't expect to be able to memorize the full choreography, but others were very eager and some even took private or group lessons later from Amani to master it fully. Being so tired I was too lazy to join in!

The second class was conducted by an authority on modern ballet, Madam Georgette Gebara. It started with a lecture showing her dances on video. Being exhausted from the previous night's outing, I felt relieved with this start but soon she put us all on the stage to practice modern ballet. I had a hard time trying unfamiliar movements, such as rolling on the floor or raising a leg high. Modern ballet was quite a tough exercise to do after the previous night's fun. I even got some bruises on my body. According to Georgette, “You should be pleased with the pain and the bruises because they are something you got by your own endeavor.” This idea hadn't occurred to me, certainly not for my bruises.

After the lunch break was the eagerly awaited Oriental dance workshop by sexy Sami. Tiredness could never be a reason for me to miss his class. This session subtitled “Expressions of inner feeling” was not aimed at teaching us choreography or certain movements, but it was his challenge to us to express the hidden passion within us and to make it dominate our bodies and movements, which are essential to Oriental dance. “Girls! It's feeling! Feeling is most important!!” shouted Sami repeatedly. After we started dancing to the music, following his demonstration of some of the movements, he visited each of us in turn while we were dancing. He danced so close, within kissing distance; it was as if he was trying to provoke us. It was fascinating to see how everyone's dance changed once Sami had danced so close and with so much feeling. He cast a spell on us and turned the modest dancer into a passionate one. Same as in the Debke workshop, he made us dance in a trance for the whole of session, dramatically changing our dance style in only 90 minutes. Sami was great!

A theatre director, Gerald Avedissian taught the fourth class of the day. He made each of us perform our own dance with particular emphasis on our entrance on to the stage and gave us hints on how to improve it, to make it more impressive and make to the audience more aware of us. Being a leading theatre director, each of the comments he made was to the point and altered the appearance of each one's dance effectively with just a few subtle changes. The class was very profitable, full of practical ideas and tips. Learning choreography can be done with a video, however such interactive session can be experienced only with a live teacher, which I think is the raison d'etre for attending such a workshop.

Today's final session was again with Amani, where we learnt the difference between Baladi, Saiidi and Fallahy in respect of rhythm, background culture and style. We practiced the typical movements of each dance to understand the difference between them. While the difference between this group of dances and Oriental dance is widely understood, Baladi, Saiidi and Fallahy are often confused. Amani had chosen the theme of her class well as she was able to address our lack of knowledge in this area of dance. Pictures taken in this workshop proved how serious we had been. Everybody was dancing with a pen in one hand and a notebook in the other. You might believe me if I told the session was called the “notebook dance”.

By the time the final session finished, just before 8 PM, I was almost collapsing. Dancing all day after 3 hour sleep had drained me. The previous night's fun came at a high cost. Perhaps I should have been pleased with my tiredness after all it was achieved as a result of my own decision, as Georgette taught me.

I had another nightclub on my list, but tonight I had no energy left for such things. I decided, instead to have a dinner at a Lebanese restaurant adjoining the hotel. A band was playing traditional music and anybody was welcome to dance on the stage that night. Some showed up in full costume and danced to the live music. I'm sure it will end up being one of the greatest memories of their lives that they danced in a restaurant, in Lebanon , for a local audience.

Day 5.

Time passes so quickly when you are enjoying yourself and so all too soon the last day of the Festival arrived. For the first time, I skipped two workshops that morning to visit Jbeil ( Byblos ) with a local friend. The classes I missed were of Indian dances, Bollywood and Bharata Natyam, by Natasha Devalia. I heard later from those who attended both classes that they had been great, which made me regret a little my decision to miss them.

Well, my morning walk in one of the oldest cities in the world, which was only a 15-minute drive away, was also great. We strolled to the port, visited one shop after another in the old souk, which had a distinctly medieval atmosphere, and I also enjoyed CD hunting in the streets around the old souk..

Although I wanted to enjoy Jbeil more, I came back to the hotel by 11 AM as scheduled, to attend Baalbeck Bedouin dance workshop by François Rahmeh, an ex-leading dancer with Caracalla Dance Company. Francois was a quiet and gentle character, but the Bedouin dance he taught was fast and vigorous. Each beat had a movement and there was no break in between. One hour before, I was indulging myself in relaxing time in Jbeil; now I again found myself panting from dancing.

After lunch break was another class by François, Andalusia Oriental Dance Workshop. Different from the Bedouin dance, the dance taught in this class consisted of slow movements. He first taught us the first part of choreography counting eight, with no music. After repeating it several times, we tried dancing to the music only to find it very difficult since the rhythm was 10! However, François was dancing with no problem, gracefully. It seemed he was actually not counting 8 or 10 repeatedly; he was dancing the whole dance as one sequence. It confused us quite a bit but somehow we followed him and finished the last workshop of the Festival.

I spent the evening again in Jbeil with some friends, and came back before 9 PM to Caesar Palace Theatre for the climax of the Festival, the last night party with a competition to select the Sultana de la Dans. Everybody showed up to the party in evening wear, even more gorgeously attired than for the opening reception. I deeply regretted that I had brought only casual clothes. Lesson learnt; party dress is a necessary item to attend the Festival. Same as for the opening party, the press flocked in to report the event, which again astonished us. Later, in a restaurant, somebody told me that he had seen us practicing dance on TV, which proved even the workshops had been really broadcast. It made me self-conscious.

It was not a private finale for the Festival participants but a big public event that welcomed many local guests. Amani's opening speech was made both in Arabic and English, and the rest of the announcements were mainly in Arabic. Our Lebanese dinner was typical, too many dishes were brought so that our tables couldn't accommodate them all. I'm not exaggerating; in the end, the waiters had to put plates on the edges of other plates making a second layer.

It seemed that quite a few dancers declined to dance again after the preliminary event, only nine or so danced on the stage that night. Most of the dancers were at instructor level; each dance was of a high quality and was most enjoyable. The judges consisted of the teachers of the workshops, and a few others. (I found among them a familiar face from Qatar Airways. Thank you for the special discount for us!)

After each competitor presented one or two dances in turn, a male pop singer with a sweet smile came on the stage and sang a few songs. I learnt later he was very popular in Lebanon , when I saw him on MTV the next day, but I was not aware of that at the time. A female pop singer followed. After she entertained us with her songs, the three selected finalists came back on the stage all together, and competed by dancing impromptu, to music from one of Amani's CDs. Nobody knew what had been planned; I bet those three were in a panic when they learnt what they had to do. However, as expected of finalists, they proudly danced to the end of the long piece of music in front of the large audience.

The music changed, and four men carried a carriage on to the stage, on their shoulders, with Amani wearing a gorgeous brides costume. A show by her and her troupe started. It consisted of the dances from “Amani Around the World”, familiar through the DVD released last year. The dynamic drum solo that can be viewed on her home page for 30 seconds was of course part of the show but it was the full version. What luxury, watching Amani perform live right in front of me, with a superb Lebanese dinner, which no one could finish! It was worth coming all the way with 14-hour flights just for this.

At last it was time for the results of the final. Amani presented a certificate to all the Festival participants one by one, and while we were all still on the stage, the winners of the competition were announced. The third place went to: a dancer of grace, and my roommate, Lena Astrid from Denmark ! In second place: a truly adorable dancer: Hiromi Kuroyama, or Huleya her stage name, from Japan ! And the Sultana de la Dans of 2005 was awarded to Suran Negishi from Japan , who attracted the audience with her wild and energetic dancing!

I assume this result was more or less a surprise to all, since Japan is not well known in the Oriental dance world. Actually, it was a surprise even to me since I had thought that our country still lagged behind the western countries in Oriental dancing although it has become more popular in recent years. The prizes were for the dancers' personal skills, of course, it was not a comment on the average level of all Japanese dancers. Yet, I believe their success and also the eagerness we showed in the workshops made the others recognize that Oriental dancing was developing even in this far-east country.

Following the presentation of trophies amid many tears of joy, a prize of music was awarded to the Sultana de la Dans . (Was she given some music dedicated to her? I was cheering over the announcements along with others on the stage and so I missed what they said about the prize.) A huge cake with the Festival poster printed on it was brought to the stage. In a shower of flashlights from the press, we put a knife into the cake, which was the climax of the finale and signaled its end.

The party was over, but we were not ready for the night to end. Back at the tables, we were all busy exchanging contacts and having pictures taken with our new friends and with Amani and the other teachers. Looking over at the waiters cleaning the tables, I wondered where the huge amount of left over food would go. I felt bad that I had wasted food again!

After midnight, I went out to Beirut with other Japanese dancers to celebrate Suran and Huleya's success. Monot Street was crowded with young Lebanese out for fun. We settled in a nightclub with live Arabic pop music. Our group of Asian women caught everyone's attention and local boys soon surrounded us. “Boys, I may be closer to your mother's age.” I thought but I washed such thoughts away with some beer and enjoyed the last night of the Festival dancing till dawn.

Later I was informed that an interview with Suran, the competition winner had been published in a major Arab magazine, Alchabaka . I'm curious to read it, but I need to study Arabic first, which would take many years. The Festival was reported in many other magazines such as al Mawad, Nora, Alwan, Nadine Aljaras,.. etc .

**************

So far, I've been reporting my daily activities at the Festival. Now I'd like to review the Festival overall and write down some of my thoughts.

This was the first time the Festival was held, so it is not possible to compare it with previous ones, but being the first one meant that there was a steep learning curve for the organisers. Their inexperience showed in some aspects of the organization, which was from time to time confusing. Let me give you an example. For the last night party we were told that the cost of the tickets for the dinner would be US$ 35 per ticket. When Amani found out on the day before the party that no tickets had been sold she was surprised and thought that the cost of the tickets was the problem. She immediately offered to pay US$10 towards each ticket to make sure that everybody would attend the final party . To avoid any misunderstanding I translated what she said into Japanese for my party right away. When they realised what she had said and how sincere Amani had been in her plea, all the dancers wanted to buy a ticket at the full price. The problem was that it was not clear as to when and where we were to buy the tickets. The staff then wouldn't accept the full price because Amani had said she would pay US$ 10 towards the cost. I finally explained to the staff that we wanted to buy tickets all along and that we insisted on paying the full price. In the end everything was sorted out to everybody's satisfaction, but perhaps clearer advertising of all the events would have helped to reduce these misunderstandings.

I'm sure that the lessons learnt from this year will make the process much smoother next time. The checking in and out caused some confusion, with several changes and language problem. Written requests in a form would make life much simpler. Such forms should be submitted to the Festival desk or a postbox prepared at the reception desk. A notice board should be available to advertise all tasks, such as payments and applications, with their deadlines, and any changes and additional information.

However what that party-ticket-incident showed me also was that this wasn't an event to make money, it was designed to allow everybody to enjoy the experience of taking part in and enjoying the classes, tours and parties that had been organised. I was enormously impressed by the commitment and energy they all put in to making the Festival a great success. In particular the sight of Amani running around to make sure things happened showed her desire to help all the dancers to experience the deep soul of Oriental dance and find out what they may have missed as different and new Oriental and folkloric styles emerge. She also wanted to share with us her beautiful country of Lebanon . Amani wasn't just a figurehead; she was there for everybody and was the heart and soul of the Festival.

Being the first year of the Festival the numbers attending was moderate, which had several advantages. I got to know many of the other participants really well. Seeing a lot of each other at all the classes enabled us to form a closeness, which might not have been possible in a larger class. Even in Amani's classes, which were the most popular, were conducted on a semi personal basis, where she had time to talk to us as a group and individually. For me the fact that I wasn't buried in a crowd was the most appealing part of the classes. I felt as though I was special and not one of many.

These five days were wonderful. I was shown the authentic world of Oriental dance and introduced to so many new ideas and new dances. I now have a deeper understanding of the background of the dances and can hopefully express myself better and maybe even release more of my latent passion to make my performances more exciting and inventive Now that I understand better the origins of Oriental dance I feel that I can, with more confidence, create my own dance in a true Oriental style. I have also wonderful memories of a beautiful country and its long history. Amani has promised to organise another Festival, which I sure will be even greater than this one.

Finally, I'd like to thank Amani, Ali, Patricia, Nour and Samira for all the hard works, all the workshop teachers for bringing us to a new realm, Regency Palace Hotel staff for great hospitality, the tour guide for precious education, and all the participants for friendships. (And Thank you Hare for helping me in writing this report.)