Site last updated
19 April 2008
Past Productions...
Arabian Kaleidoscope
21st & 22nd July - Egyptian Nights Belly Dance Show and Party 8.00pm
Hanham Folk Centre, High Street, Hanham, Bristol, BS15 3EJ
The following DVD of the show can be used as a learning resource for different
styles of Belly Dance and as inspiration for show production and is available
from Anna price £15.
Arabian Dreams
| On this page: | Scene Synopsis | Cast List |
| Over
the past 12 months, under Anna's direction, students from
the Egyptian Nights dance school have been working with
the theme of Arabian Dreams to produce the show. The show
includes performances from beginners and more experienced
dancers, who have all worked extremely hard to develop
their dancing and build their confidence to perform. The
show has drawn inspiration from many sources, Anna, the
students and great Egyptian dancers including Jacqui
Jamal, Khaled Mohammed & Yasmina Ramsey to name just
a few. The dances have been woven into one show and are presented as one night's dreamy sleep, seen through the eyes of Amira. Her love of ancient Egypt draws her back time and again to the image reproduced on the show poster (see above), of Queen Cleopatra and her slave girl. As she tries to discover the tale of how this image came to be, her sleepy mind begins to blur the edges of sleep and reality and draws her on a journey back in time. These are our Arabian Dreams. |
| Scene Synopsis |
| Act 1 - Sweet Dreams |
| 1 | Amira visits the temple |
| 2 | Amira sleeps and dreams of beautiful
dancers and is drawn further and further into her dreams. Music - 2001 Nights |
| 3 | Amira is the object of curiosity in the
village market. Music - El Taboul Aly Reda |
| 4 | Amira's sleepy mind crosses continents and
fuses Egyptian dance steps with modern music. Music - Toxic by Brittany Spears |
| 5 | The fusion continues as Amira dreams of
women, jewelled with coins wearing their wealth about
their bodies, to keep it safe n the desert, but what are
they dancing to? Music - Shakira - Eyes Like Yours |
| 6 | Back in Egypt Amira's dreamy mind sees a
traditional stick dance with a cheeky twist. Music - Si Abdo |
| 7 | Amira dreams of ancient harems and a rich sultan rewarding his favourite. The younger girls seem to be learning a few things about how to handle the SUltan. An old theme still used by Hollywood today, however our dance celebrates the traditional not the Hollywood ideal of beauty! |
| 8 | Lost in the desert, Amira stumbles across
a blossom of desert roses. Music - Desert Rose by Sting |
| 9 | The
call of a drum won't be denied Amira dreams of dancing a
tabla solo. Music - Oriental Fantasy vol 2 |
| 10 | Mira
admires the goddess Bastet from ancient Egypt. She was
the goddess of women, protection and cats who were
thought to be lucky. Music - The Belly dancer's waltz |
| 11 | Amira
joins a group of dancers, is she dancing or dreaming,
asleep or awake? Music - Under the Window, Oriental Fantasy |
| 12 | Amira
is welcomed into the home of a womam who lives in the
Khaliji or gulf region. She dances in a big dress woven
with gold, showing off her wealth and hospitality. Music - Khaliji |
| Act 2- Nightmares |
| 1 | Part 1 - Amira explores the statues in a
deserted temple or is it? Part 2 - Cleopatra commands her snakes who cast a spell over Amira. Music - Immortal Egypt |
| 2 | Amira confronts her fears with a sword,
but just who or what is she fighting? Music - an old unknown recording! |
| 3 | Amira's demons follow her into the desert.
Can she escape them? Music - Arabesque 2 |
| 4 | Amira escapes one nightmare only to be
caught in another. Music - Omar Farouk |
| 5 | Amira'a journey takes her back to the 1950s
when dances were often performed with an element of
emotional lament. Music - Tamra Henna |
| 6 | The wild women of the desert return and
their dancing builds ip into a frenzied zaar as they try
to exorcise Amira's demons. Music - Disturb |
| 7 | Cleopatra has been disturbed by the wild
dancing is this the end for Amira or was it all a dream? Music - Omar Farouk |
| Cast List | |||
| Amira | Caroline Murphy and Gaye Hobbs | ||
| Cleopatra | Anna Povey | ||
| Storyteller | Kerry Ross | ||
| Stoke Gifford | |||
| Stephanie Herbert | Evie Herbert | Catherine Oates | Molly Collins |
| Melissa Hardwell | Carolyn Rakes | Sue Smithers | Dawn Christie |
| Kerry Ross | Sue Scotland | Karen Weadon | Julie Goodfield |
| Cathryn O'Malley | Saara Habil | ||
| Yate | |||
| Liz Newman | Karen Stagg | Karen Stallabrass | Kirsty Hutch |
| Jess Nicholls | Meg Randall | Irene Skuse | Sally Joseph |
| Pauline Marshall | Carol Parton | Linda Woodford | Ruth Churley |
| Teressa Whately | Joy Whitlock | Caroline Mayo | Jeam Churchill |
| Joanne Richards | Erin Cacacle | Wendy Collins | |
| Production Crew | |
| Anna's Costumes | Mdm Khatan, Mdm Abla & Mdm Mahmoud |
| Student Costumes | Ruth Churley, Stephanie Herbert & Gaye Hobbs |
| Set Design | Pauline Marshall |
| Programme cover and poster design | Teresa Whately |
| Sound | Andy Chandler |
| Lighting | Theatre Staff |
| Backstage | Angela Matthews and Kaye Fairbanks |
| Front of House | Kaye Fairbanks and dancers |
| Funding | South Glos Council small grants fund |
| Director/Producer | Anna Povey |
| Caroline Murphy Caroline first discovered Egyptian dance in her home 'town' of Essex, where she performed regularly in a local troupe. Since then she has been dancing for over 10 years. Music is the main passion of Caroline's life and inspires both her work at GWR radio and her dancing. |
|
| Gaye Hobbs In spite of being a Hobbit, Gaye is very nimble on her feet and has studied and participated in Middle Eastern Dance for almost 10 years. Origiinally Gaye trained as a Turkish dancer and more recently took up the Egyptian style. She enjoys choreography, but really comes alive with her own freestyle. |