Wednesday 22 June 2011

Leith's Awesome Hafla!!!

What an amazing night! My first Leith Festival event, A Bit of Cairo on Duke Street, was a success! The Parlour Bar turned out to be a great venue with very helpful staff. And Leithers turned out to be a brilliant audience.

So, hours before the event, two of the performers pulled out - I guess it's not a real hafla without last-minute stress! By 7.30pm I was very nervous but as the bar started to fill and the atmosphere began to build, I calmed down a bit. There were dancers, bellydance students with their friends and families, and a good number of people who'd come along after seeing the listing in the Leith Festival programme. There were also a few slightly perplexed locals. But it was a really good mix, in total about 60 people, and the atmosphere was just amazing!

When I was performing, the speakers tripped and my (already too quiet) music disappeared entirely. I was gutted because I was really enjoying myself and the audience response was so good. But everybody was already clapping along, so I got them to keep it up and danced to the rhythm of the clapping instead, until the [sterling] bar staff got the music on again. Not every audience would have managed it, but this was a hell of a crowd!

We had nine performances, a lovely variety of dancers and styles - and because our dancefloor was the bar area, and we couldn't dance while customers were being served, nine performances was just the right number for a two-hour show. As it was a free event, everybody had a few quid available for raffle tickets, with a bottle of Baileys and a term of classes as prizes - and £100 was raised for Just Because.

I am really chuffed with how the night went, and would love to do it again next year! A big thank you to you if you came along, and especially to the performers and The Parlour.

Tuesday 7 June 2011

A Bit of Cairo on Duke Street!

In the last few years I've looked at the brochure for Leith Festival and been disappointed there's been no bellydancing events.

Last year I was lucky enough to see the Twisted Tails and my own wonderful performance group the Helwa Hurdies performing at the opening of the Leith Festival, along with students of Leith teachers Shelley Dance and Hilary Thacker, which was much better.

This year I decided something else had to be done, so next week you are invited to A Bit of Cairo on Duke Street: Leith Bellydance Hafla!

The venue is The Parlour Bar on Duke Street, a smashing, friendly pub which serves smashing tea, coffee and cupcakes, as well as the usual shandy-business (they call it "boozy goodness"), plus Monster Munch (all flavours). During the day they regularly entertain smaller customers with boxes of Lego and colouring-in. This is not the smelly old man's pub of its previous incarnation! The Parlour also hosts Open Mic nights so they know how to treat performers.

If you would like to come along and enjoy the performances, it's free entry, just hitch up and get yourself a comfy seat (there are settees as well as bar stools). If you'd like to dance, let me know and I'll add you to the programme. Just watch you don't catch your veil on the popcorn wagon! Oh, and the changing facilities are a wee bit scarce, but the atmosphere will make up for it. Come on out for a fun, schoolnight hafla and enjoy the Leith Festival ambiance!