What do you dance with

[Lydia]

Like most of us i geuss,veils, shamadan ,asaya,drum,zills, but and this one is special Daniella the eagle, you can see her posing with me on my frontpage from my website..she is very special and people just adore her.....Have a great day Lydia

[Oksana]

Has anyone had any experience with double daggers? I know there is not much of balancing there going on. I am more interested in martial arts tricks you can do with those, but I can barely find anything about that on the Net.

[Madeline]

Thanks for the information, Zorba! I’ll keep Artemis Imports in mind if I need a new cane (or two! ). Do you know what material Nadia’s cane is made out of? Most bamboo canes are slightly too heavy for my taste.

Jamil, thanks for listing the differences between Lebanese and Egyptian style cane dancing. I’ve always wanted to know that!

[Persephone]

Has anyone had any experience with double daggers? I know there is not much of balancing there going on. I am more interested in martial arts tricks you can do with those, but I can barely find anything about that on the Net.

Ya Meena in DC does double daggers, and did them as well with her group Martiya Possession. You can see them on the Gothic Bellydance DVD.

I'm pretty good with a veil and decent with sword (although my sword is awful quality and I should get a better one). I don't like sword dance in theory because it doesn't have a meaning or history that interests me, but when I had to learn it for a group choreo I discovered that I really enjoy doing it. I like veil and would like to spend more time figuring out stuff to do with it -- since it's not authentic I feel like there's no excuse to not be innovative. I do try to make my veil pieces a little bit closer to tradition by using it as an intro, even if I extend it for longer than an Egyptian dancer would.

It has been a long time since I've worked seriously with finger cymbals, and I really need to get back into it because I think they're fantastic when used correctly. I am also very interested in learning cane... I'm so excited that my studio is having an assaya workshop this month!

[Oksana]

Persephone, thanks for the answer!

My instructor Rozana does cane, and she actually releases Raqs Assaya instructional DVD in March or April. I learned one dance, and I think it is pretty awesome, though kinda tricky balancing-wise.

[Zorba]

Do you know what material Nadia’s cane is made out of? Most bamboo canes are slightly too heavy for my taste.

Possibly Balsa wood, but I'm not sure. Its VERY light, somewhat flexible, yet quite strong. Artemis tells me that this type of cane is "no longer made".

-Zorba
"The Veiled Male"
Zorba, "The Veiled Male"

[gwinity]

Wings are FUN. I know it's fantasy and non-traditional, but they're so much FUN to dance with!

[adiemus]

I'm about to start cane!! Yay! I love my veil, and my zills, but NOT the sword (it just looks like I'm suicidal or homicidal! )

[Sapphira]

I dance with a veil, isis wings and candles.

Does anyone know where I can buy a Shamedan (Candelabra Headdress)?

[Wulpsie]

I love to dance with my veils (Rectangular 3 m length, full cicle, half circle doubles) Love my Isis wings, Like dancing with the cane except when u have to start jumping around (I am quite big). Zills are fun. So are tambourines..Starting to work on the sword.. hubby is buying me one for Christmas. Still love to dance as well without a prop depends on the mood :-)