The Arab Quarter talk music, dance and more .........

Thank you Melanie and Chalf for agreeing to talk to us. So, to start us off Melanie please tell us how The Arab Quarterly came about?
One of my past teachers passed on some advice she had been given, which was, "If you can't find work, make your own!" At the time there were not many opportunities to experience and dance to authentic live Arabic music - so The Arab Quarterly was set up to help showcase the work of myself, Chalf Hassan and The Arab Quarter Band.

In putting on shows we knew we needed to have guest dancers in our programme to bring the necessary variety to The Arab Quarterly, and recently we have extended that to group dancing, both our own groups and invited groups.

It must require a big investment and a strong belief in your vision to bring The Arab Quarterly into being?
Yes, it requires a lot of investment, not just financially, but it also needs a lot of courage to see such a concept through, as well as a lot of time, training and energy to make it all happen.  Building an audience that can support live music shows on a formal stage also takes time.  

However, it has become a source of deep pleasure to see other dancers in the community be enabled to have an experience which is truly unique and very rare.  Dancers return to our stage and through this challenging experience, they learn and grow.  

The Arab Quarter is very grateful to all those dancers who have shared this experience with us, contributed hugely in their own individual way and we would like to say a big thank you to them. 

So yes, it does serve the community and if we observe the bigger picture in life, this is part of the driving force behind this highly privileged event.  

I remain personally indebted to Chalf Hassan and The Arab Quarter Band for their patience, trust, perseverance and many other qualities, alongside their very special music making.

Chalf, you want to add something?
Yes, The Arab Quarterly is a result of hard work and insisting to reach a goal.  Thanks go to Melanie for spending days and nights of hard work.  It is requiring more hard work than ever before!  It is all due to the crisis in the dancing market, and the need to come out with the best, and be perfect, making sure that we only deliver the best of belly dance performing and teaching while respecting the originality of the oriental music and art.  Of course, for that, all thanks go to our Arab Quarter Band of stars!

You spoke about a goal.  What, exactly, is the goal?
Our goal is to give the correct picture of oriental belly dancing and also insuring the survival of the live music, which is the jewel of the oriental dance. 

Creating an event like The Arab Quarterly takes exceptional patronage.  So whilst it is desirable for the survival of Arab music making in London for example, which in a sense does hang on a thread in these recessive times, and desirable for dancers to have this very authentic  experience, it remains an opportunity which is somewhat very much out of the ordinary. 

Dancing with The Arab Quarter Band enables the dancer to explore his/her emotional range in a far more vibrant and literally “alive” setting; it enables the oriental dancer to explore the wonderful art of improvisation in dance which is a key feature of oriental dance in its authentic form;  it allows a different kind of aural connection to the music whereby the different qualities of each instrument are more apparent, and often in “rawer” form than CD; being that the band may improvise, it sets up a unique situation whereby the dancer and musicians may draw from each other and create in that moment on stage, and with their audience.  This creates a totally different experience artistically in that the dancers’ connections are with the band and their music, his/her interpretation and the audience:  and such is not built on a handful of performances by anyone!  It takes time to build such a unique artistic response, much practice, much training, much getting to know the band and their repertoire, and so on and so forth! 

Is it important that shows on stage with live music continue to exist?  Is it keeping some element of the dance alive? 

Yes, I think it helps keep the authenticity of the oriental dance in that dancers are encouraged to respond from their heart, to be heart led, and this strikes at the core of oriental dance, especially in its improvisatory form.  The Western approach has a tendency to be more thought out, to prioritise technical aspects of the dance over interpretation (e.g,. I have plenty of dancers asking me to teach technique; it is very rare that I hear anyone asking for classes on interpretation).  Dancing with live music draws greatly on our “feeling”, our interpretative response, and in that way it is very seductive to the senses, and it is this element which moves our audiences most of all, this element which helps draw out and develop artists.  

It is paramount that The Arab Quarterly survives if the dance community at large wishes to have the experiences outlined above.   It would be unlikely that anything comparable would be set up in its place currently if it did not exist owing to what it takes on many levels to stage such shows. 

These shows bring our musicians together, giving them a chance to play all their well loved songs and lesser known ones.  Our musicians rely on practising and getting performance work in order to keep their art alive. 

 
There is no sheet music and at rehearsal and in performance, they feed off each other in the unique way that is peculiar to the Arab music making tradition.  It is extremely special and without such shows our musicians would have less call to come together and their music making become rarer, especially in these recessive times.  Musicians, like dancers, need to practice, need to rehearse together and need to perform their precious art form!  

 In spite of the urgency of the need to build an audience to 

ensure the survival of The Arab Quarterly, it has to be seen as a process which takes time and not some kind of right of passage.  Audiences take time to build.  And our precious audiences are what makes this possible in part.   Our audiences at The Arab Quarterly are definitely building and we have some wonderful regulars who are always there!  We thank them all wholeheartedly.

Finally, can you give us some tips for dancing to live music at The Arab Quarterly? 
 
1. Relax and enjoy!
2. Have the confidence to lose yourself in the music emotionally!
3. Let the connection between the audience, the band and their music and what you are dancing come with time and with naturalness and honesty.
4. Know your songs very well and practise improvising!
5. Enjoy getting to know members of the band socially at rehearsal – those odd moments of laughing, or during a break, and relaxing together are part of the bond that carries us to the stage where we all need to feel we are a “family”.

Thank you very much Melanie and Chalf.  
We wish  you every success with The Arab Quarterly!
Enjoyed this interview?
Check out more about The Arab Quarter here.
(photos by Manni)

The Next Arab Quarterly Show is on Monday 9th of September
We will be there! Will you?
DON'T MISS IT:
Islington Assembly Hall, London, 7.30pm

Exclusive offer for Zameena readers on the Arab Quater's Chalf Hassan CD! 

YOU HAVE GOT TO HAVE THIS CD! 
REMEMBER: 
Only £9.99 
with promotion code 
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ARE YOU IN GLOUCESTER? or the surrounding area?
Then I'd love to meet you - I will be teaching two fantastic workshops - so come along!
 CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO