Joana Saahirah´s World Blog
A Collection of Articles, Videos, and Freebies on Egyptian Dance, Self-Discovery & Empowerment
What makes a Good* Dancer?
Here´s a tricky question because there are many definitions of what makes a good dancer.
As in any other subject, all I can do is offer you my own perspective:
*A good dancer is – above all – a generous being. She/he does not dance to gain applauses, affection and praise but to GIVE, SERVE, SHARE and ADD something to the audience and the world.
*A good dancer lives in a fine line between self-confidence and the essential insecurity that makes her/him want to improve, study,...
What is Tarab
Most of us live and dance on the surface. I the shallowest waters. Away from the veil - we don´t see the veil, don´t know there´s something beyond it.
That´s not bad. Or good. It is what it is.
I, on the other hand, and a bunch of beautiful aliens I´m privileged to know, prefer to live and dance in the deepest waters. We´re Neptunian, unafraid of the dark, eager to savor the magic in our mouths, bodies, and souls.
We, the strange bunch, are aware of...
What is (Egyptian) Oriental Dance?
The so called “Egyptian” Oriental dance style has often been talked about, chased and even taught without a clear understanding of what it really means.
As I assisted the Master Mahmoud Reda (search for “Reda Troupe”) on his choreographic and teaching work, I met a lot of dancers who popped out of every corner of the world in order to study with him, yet not knowing exactly what he was teaching. Was it Egyptian dance? Oriental? Folklore? What, exactly?
I often ended up...
What I learned from Egyptians (for life and for dance)?
In 8 years of Life and Career in Egypt there are trucks of Knowledge, Lessons learnt and Treasures gathered. They will not fit in a website post but here I leave “just” a hint of the Magic*
What have I learned from Egyptians?
*Life wise and Dance wise – both internally connected.
I can honestly say I recovered the Roots and Essence of Egyptian Dance from the experience of having a life and daily performing ritual in Egypt. It has not been an easy school. It has actually been...
New Dance, New World My Vision of Egyptian Dance
As I started to teach Egyptian Dances all over the world – to dancers from different nationalities, cultural backgrounds and creeds – I realized that passing on the treasures I gathered during my life and career in Egypt was not only a question of DANCE, TECHNIQUE, TIPS but also the development of several skills that make a GREAT DANCER.
I watched myself – as well as the students – and allowed all kinds of wisdom to pass through me and guide me only to find out...
How to be a Confident (Oriental) Dancer
An Oriental Dancer has to deal with the regular pressure thrown at women; she/he also has to rise above an annoying array of prejudices, myths and moronic peculiar expectations that have followed Egyptian Dance around throughout the centuries.
The problem about self-confidence is that it´s erroneously taken as VANITY when it´s exactly its opposite. A woman – dancer or not – who claims to have confidence in herself is instantaneously labeled as a bitch. No wonder...
Hips don´t lie – Introduction to Baladi
I am a “baladi” kind of girl – that´s clear to anyone who knows me.
Mahmoud Reda – my dearest teacher and friend, also the Father of Egyptian Folklore – told me many times: “you are a sophisticated fellaha (Egyptian peasant), ya Joana” to express the fact that simplicity and down to earth attitudes are the clay of what I´m made of. Snobs and arrogant ass”%&#$%&s are not my cup of tea, thank you very much.
Part of being a...
Dance Who You Are
Oh, she had to get it out of her system. – She commented, after reading my first published book (“The Secrets of Egypt – Dance, Life & Beyond”, now on its 2nd edition).
-She makes it all too personal. – Others add.
-I don´t get it. Why doesn´t she do it like everybody else and quit that strange mania of “being special”? – I listened to this one (in astonishment, I admit) on several occasions, under several disguises.
The critics...
Creating the Dance & the Life YOU deserve
In order to receive, you have to believe YOU DESERVE IT.
This is true for your Dance Path and true for your Life.
Sometimes, wisdom arrives softly but, mostly, it shows up, unannounced, as a thunder.
The realization that FULFILMENT is possible ONLY when we believe we deserve it hit me like a punch from a mad, brutal, professional boxeur.
What better way to open Joana Saahirah´s World Blog than with a bang that can wake you up for good?
Between my early start in Portugal, my career...
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