Copy
For a better read view this email in your browser

Welcome to December's edition of Zameena!
(Zameena, by Zara Zouk, aims to share empowerment, knowledge and LOVE, of bellydance) 

We are wishing all of our a readers a
 
WONDERFUL HOLIDAY SEASON!

Have an amazing Christmas and if you are working on New Year's Eve we wish you a successful night,
hope you get to all your gigs on time and that the tips flow! 


We are honored this month to welcome American Dancer Ahava (in picture above). She will be sharing her experiences of being a Black Bellydancer and how we, as a community, can IMPROVE by reducing racism. 

Zara's Zouk helps you get ready for your NYE gigs

In Music Corner we talk PROPER SHAABI and a song taking over the streets of Egypt

In Info Spot I (Zara) share some personal news and also some very important advice that I hope you will take the time out to read. 

WE ALSO ANNOUNCE NEXT YEAR'S RESIDENT WRITER and our competition winner. 

So, cuddle up with a cup of cocoa next to the Christmas tree and let's go!! 

Dancing While Black

Addressing racism and lack of inclusivity in the dance community

By Ahava

On October 24th 2019, I was scrolling through my social media platforms and - I saw it - a screenshot of a “famous” dancer in blackface with a caption that read:

“All my life I wanted to be BLACK. I’m sure in my past life I was a black ass strong lady fighting for the rights!!”

I immediately responded tagging her, stating that her post was egregious, inappropriate and racist.
Soon after, my post went viral and a very necessary and uncomfortable conversation ensued.
For me throughout this ordeal the most hurtful statements came from those in support of the “famous” dancer stating that:

she had a “good heart”,

she “didn’t need to apologize”,

“black dancers are jealous of her success”,

and “it was all a misunderstanding.”

Some of these statements came from dancers whom I’ve supported over the years.

What was also hurtful was those dancers and instructors who chose not to speak up or show support to either myself or any of the other women of colour who were speaking out against racist gestures and statements from other dancers.

If anything, it showed me who I should support in the future and who needed to be cut off completely - the cut off list was long - unfortunately.  
The amount of dismissive statements towards me and other black dancers made me feel incredibly small. I felt as if my many years of hard work and accomplishments were all for nothing.

My name is Ahava. I’m a professional oriental dance artist based in the San Francisco Bay Area. I have been dancing for nearly 19 years (15 years professionally) and have travelled throughout the world performing and teaching. In 2005 I sat at my mother’s dining room table and created a pros and cons list for reasons to enter a local competition.
I had been dancing in restaurants for nearly a year and felt as if my dancing had become stagnant; I wanted a challenge.
One of the pros, and main reasoning for me entering this competition, was representation. I couldn’t identify any dancers who looked like me who were dancing professionally or competing. I knew I wasn’t the only black dancer in the community but I figured if I was going to take this step I needed to represent the fact that there are black belly dancers.

Over the years I’ve met some of the most talented black dancers at various events where I was either teaching or performing. Slowly I started to see that we are out there and we are dancing in our communities but for some reason, all of us are not able to push through this invisible glass ceiling that has been allotted to us.

There are some that have pushed through, dancers such as Ebony Qualls, Lotus Niraja, Khadijah, Thelma Rose, Rachid Raqs, and Tariq Sultan to name a few.

As amazing as these men and women are at their art, there are still countless others who have either not been given a chance to shine, or have been discouraged from continuing to dance.
Ahava Performing at Rakkasah West - Enjoy!

There is a lack of diversity and inclusion that is advertised and practiced in our community.

When I began dancing professionally at the age of 19 I was the only black dancer on the roster at many of the local establishments. There was a part of me that took pride in that, but there was also a part of me that was curious to why I was the “only one.” It wasn’t until years later when I learned that many black professional  dancers don’t even get the chance to audition for their local restaurants or clubs due to racial biases from the owner.
Take a second to imagine how discouraging that must feel.
You invest so much of yourself in something that you love and you want to express it, as your peers so often do, only to get turned away because of the color of your skin.


I will say that my experiences working in restaurants have not all been great. I’ve been cursed out of establishments, denied payment because they didn’t like my dancing, and criticized because of my weight in comparison to other non-Black dancers.
I was not built to break.
I took those experiences and continued to create a space for myself because I knew my worth and my talent could stand on their own.

I am proud of my career thus far mainly because I’ve kept my artistic integrity intact.

All of my success has been based on many years of hard work and word of mouth. I have found in recent years that only goes so far.
About 10 years ago I attempted several times to promote myself internationally by asking many festival organizers and producers if they would consider sponsoring me for upcoming events. I found luck in London at the Fantasia Festival (which was a good time). However, I’ve found it hard to breakthrough into that market 
if you’re not competing, travelling with students, or have a viral video on social media. 
One would think that if you’re organizing an event, especially an international festival, the organizer(s) would reach out to a diverse group of professional dancers to garner more attendance to their event. In a perfect world that would be the logic, but if individuals have their own biases against people of colour that is going to reflect in their events no matter how hard they try to cover it up.
This isn’t a plea for acceptance.

It’s more, speaking up to inform others that there is a problem in our dance community, and everyone is not treated equally.

Is there racism in the dance community?

The answer is:

 YES 

What can we do about it?

Here are some ideas:
Dear sponsors and festival organizers:
 
~Invest in diversifying your lineup of instructors and performers. Not specifically with dance genres, but more in terms of women and men of colour. When you show others inclusivity people feel welcomed to invest in your event.
 
~Advertise accordingly.


Dear dancers who identify as Caucasian or other:
 
~Listen to the dancers in your community who are experiencing racism.
 
~If you see something, say something. If you are dancing and/or involved with an event where someone makes asinine comments about dancers of colour let it be known.
 
~No gaslighting. Our experiences are real.
 
~Check your privilege and biases.
 
 

Dear dancers who identify as black:
 
~Bet on yourself.
 
~Invest in yourself and your dancing.
 
~Upload your videos to social media platforms, share your experiences, dance at that hafla,
dance in that competition, teach that class!
 
~Be visible.
 
It is my hope that these conversations continue to happen and that we, as a community, continue to make space for everyone based on sheer talent, and not the colour of their skin.

Thank you dear Zameena readers for being here

Yours
Ahava 
Ahava  Performing in New York - Enjoy! 
A great big THANK YOU  AHAVA for sharing your personal experiences
with all of us here at Zameena - truly honoured.
It made for an insightful read and reminded us (we, all of us, need that sometimes) of what we can do to be more aware and fair - thanks again! 
About Ahava
 Ahava is a multi-award-winning performer, choreographer, and producer based in the San Francisco Bay Area.

She is a sought-after instructor who has travelled the world teaching and performing for over a decade. Ahava is known for her subtle Egyptian style, musicality, and vivid expression.  She is a producer of local dance events and is the artistic director of the Ahava Dance Company. 
Ahava has a total of six competition titles including the 2006 Queen of RaqsSharki and the 2008 Belly Dancer of the Year.
Since retiring from the competition circuit, Ahava has become an in-demand performance and competition coach. Throughout the years, she has trained award winning soloists, duos/trios, and troupes.
In addition to her titles, Ahava has also been a featured dancer in many instructional and performance DVDs that have been distributed around the world and will soon launch her much anticipated online instruction series.

For more information about Ahava please visit her
website 
 
Ahava has also got a BRILLIANT, MENAT Dancegeeks, lecture on being a black bellydancer. We are SO LUCKY that Ahava and Angelica Jordan have agreed to make it available FREE until Jan 1st
This is seriously an opportunity not to be missed
We encourage you to check it out: 
Enjoyed this article? Then share the bellydance love: 
Share Share
Tweet Tweet
Forward Forward
If reading from an external link then why not subscribe to Zameena - it's FREE
Enjoyed this article? Why not check out these past Zameen issues which have also featured inspirational Black Belly Dancers! Know of an inspirational Black dancer you want us to do a feature on? Or are you a Black bellydancer wanting to write for us? (about anything bellydance related) then LET US KNOW we love suggestions.
      
NEW YEAR'S EVE IS ON ITS WAY
This is one of the busiest times of the year for bellydancers, and here at Zara's Zouk we are on hand to make sure you look AMAZING for those NYE gigs with professional costumes and props to make your audiance go, WOW

Get a show stopping costume for as little as £130
How about a show stopping prop: Shamadan £79.99
Zara's Zouk: Your Body, Your Rules, Your Online Bellydance Shop
www.ZarasZouk.com

If you don't see what you are looking for online, we have much more in stock so give us a call/text on 0785 402 3948 or email us and we will do our best to help. In London? You can always arrange a visit too! 

Did you know that Zara's Zouk now goes LIVE on Facebook on Mondays at 7.30pm (UK time)?
Join Sandra for: tips, sales, a fun competition and a giggle! 


Happy New Year to all our customers! 
Info Spot
Important Bellydance Announcement
by Zara Dance
photo by Evie

Hey all, so I am taking over the Info Spot this month to give what I think is a very important announcement for us as a community and I will also share some advice which I really hope you read and have a think about.

A Warning To Other Dancers

So, if you read my articles in NADA magazine, you will know that a previous manager I worked with, OVER a year and a half ago, in Egypt, Ramy Abdo, became very violently abusive with me and I found myself in quite a difficult situation. Luckily I managed to get myself out of the situation relatively fast. Unfortunately, I am not the only dancer this has happened to. He has made somewhat of a sport of it.

Though I met Ramy in person in Cairo, his general method is to contact dancers (nearly every dancer in the world) on Facebook or social media and charm them into coming to Cairo (via their own finances) to work, promising them lots of (illegal - you need a dance licence to work in Egypt) work playing on their want to fulfill their dance dreams. And yes, he does have a lot of work and contacts in Cairo (who sadly work with him despite knowing his reputation) and he CAN get you amazing work. I worked over 10 months with him without a single problem, and learnt a lot. But despite all this, it came to light that he is violent and aggressive. You can fast find yourself in a very difficult situation working illegally, far from home with a dangerous man, alone. RAMY ABDO IS A DANGEROUS MAN. This is my main message of this article. And since the last time I saw him, OVER A YEAR AGO, he has become more and more and more violent with dancers. This increase has, I feel, been mostly due to the lack of consequences - the problem has snowballed!

 I want to warn dancers about him. Spread the word: don’t work with him; he is a predator within our community; AND HE IS NOT THE FIRST. Let’s stand as one against him.

Continuous Harassment
Unfortunately, he didn’t like the fact that I picked myself up from the whole situation and have come back STRONGER THAN EVER and continue to work in Cairo!
As a result he has been harassing me regularly; sending me abusive messages, death threats, spreading rumors, telling people not to work with me, telling them we are married, that I am a prostitute, that I still work with him and unfortunately blackmailing me that he will inform my Egyptian family that I am here "dancing" in Cairo. Some of it I find laughable, but a lot is worrying. I am a dancer. People know where my shows are. Think about that for a moment: Imagine how it is, living always slightly worried, that a dangerous man may, at any point do something/anything to you!  

This constant harassment, combined with the fact that since I stopped working with Ramy I have seen that he has gone out of control and the number of his victims increases on a daily basis, led me to the conclusion that I needed to take legal action. He gets away with a lot because most of the dancers he works with are foreign, and unlike me are dancing illegally. Therefore, going to the authorities puts them in danger of arrest. So, I did this not just for my own sake but FOR THE SAKE OF THE COMMUNITY. I felt I had a responsibility to do something, so despite being worried he may tell my Egyptian family as a result, or that I may aggravate him even more, or that I may be ignored by the authorities I took legal action in Cairo.


A Small Victory
I AM HAPPY TO ANNOUNCE after, what for me has been, a stressful few months, I HAVE AN OFFICIAL RESTRAINING ORDER  AGAINST RAMY.
Oh yes! Which is why, now, I feel a LOT more comfortable about writing this article. He still does things on social media to annoy me such as post my videos – I can't stop him doing that - but overall I feel a lot safer. I know deep down he was shaken and scared by this action. 

I hope this restraining order, though only for me, will make all dancers SLIGHTLY safer. Make him tread more carefully. It can't stop him from doing anything to any other woman, so you still need to be careful, but it is a start, a message that he can't get away with everything! It will bring him down from feeling invincible and hopefully stop this rampage he has been on......I hope! 

Just a side note – I want to highlight just how amazing the Egyptian police have been in my case. Don’t get me wrong; it wasn’t a picnic BUT considering the circumstances they were very good.  I was worried about approaching them as a dancer.  I filed the case with my Egyptian identity NOT as a  British Citizen so I had no Westerners' privileges in the case. They were actually very practical and efficient about the whole situation. I gave them the evidence of abusive and threatening texts that he had sent me and that was it. The texts were enough. Those alone meant he had acted illegally. It was all dealt with. I know friends in UK who have had abuse cases, far worse than mine, that were nowhere near as efficiently dealt with so I am relieved. Ramy was given a talking to by police officers, sent to court and made to sign an agreement to no longer harass me.

A Horrible Response From Some of
The Community

I did want to share this news on Facebook but I am choosing to do it here. Unfortunately, despite putting myself through all this, risking my safety and being shamed in front of my family, for yes myself but also largely for the belly dance community, a community I support to the best of my ability, I have found them, in GENERAL, not the most supportive or sensitive of recipients. On the contrary, individual dancers have been my ROCKS - a lot of my personal friends, who have been with me all the way through all this, are dancers themselves plus of course my AMAZING MUM.

A few days ago Ramy posted a video of me, to annoy me. I wrote a Facebook post outing him. The response I had from some other dancers horrified and upset me DEEPLY. I took down my post. So, just in case any other dancer, in the future, wants to come out about Ramy, OR ANYBODY ELSE, abusing women in our dance community, I would like to offer some advice/tips so they are met with a better, more understanding response than I was! 

How We Can Better Help Dancers in Similar Situations
Here are my TIPS ON HOW TO HELP ANYONE WHO MAY BE OUTING AN ABUSIVE PERSON IN OUR COMMUNITY or anyone you may know who has escaped a difficult situation with a predator/abuser.
  1. DON’T VICTIM BLAME OR PRESSURE THEM TO COME OUT
First of all don’t force anyone to say anything about their situation. Some women may not want to come out and tell the community – TRUST ME after everything that has happened to me I DON’T BLAME THEM. They may still be in direct danger. They may be being blackmailed. They may be physiologically traumatized. LEAVE THEM ALONE. A woman who has been through any traumatic situation – in or outside of bellydance, does not owe anybody anything. The most important thing IS HER SAFETY and mental health - speaking out can easily jeopardise both! It may not be safe for them to do a Facebook post. GUESS WHAT predators Facebook stalk and they need very little to justify, in their heads, attacking former victims.

Other dancers outed Ramy in bellydance groups. I support this.  However, in some of the comments other women were shamed for saying nothing, I knew I was one of the women they were talking about: “I don’t know why some dancers that work with him have said nothing” - my response: WOW!! Here I am trying to get through this and STILL IN DANGER.
It's all so easy for those (SOME HAD NEVER EVEN WORKED WITH RAMY), sitting in safety behind their computer, in a different country, with no Egyptian/Arab family to face, not still in the same industry, to put up these comments.

THE IRONY: is that at the same time as they were shaming me, I had done my best to safely inform the bellydance community.  I worte an article in NADA, I answered messages/questions from any dancer who asked about Ramy, and was in the process of filing a restraining order. All the time knowing Ramy, and dancers working with him, were watching Facebook. I am glad I said nothing because a dancer with whom he had worked commented and another DANCER (yes a fellow bellydancer) screen shot it and sent it to Ramy. As a result the dancer suffered a lot of online abuse from him for speaking out. Luckily she lives in America BUT what if she, like me, lived and worked in Cairo, going to gigs everyday which EVERYONE KNOWS ABOUT?!
 
You can encourage dancers to come out but DON’T force them AND DON’T SHAME THEM IF THEY DON’T. You know nothing of their situation… which leads me to my next point.
  1.  DO NOT ASSUME YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENED
Gosh, the amount of people who think they know everything about the situation! Ironically they are usually (again) sitting on the couch a million miles away from Cairo – A COUCH EXPERT. Let me tell you something, EVEN AFTER READING THIS ARTICLE, you don’t know even 10% of my story and you know even less about the other dancers he has worked with. You don’t know what the dancer is going through or what she was going through at the time when this happened. You don’t know what pretences they came on – YOU KNOW NOTHING. I know, thinking you know everything, brings YOU comfort to the situation, but it doesn’t help the victims. This is not your story - it is theirs.
 
Jump to NO CONCLUSIONS – how about instead you create a safe, non judgmental environment, where dancers/victims feel safe enough to share their stories or not share - because that is ok too.
  1. DON’T SAY I TOLD YOU SO OR THAT YOU COULD TELL!
The most horrible belittling responses (to my Facebook post) that I received from dancers were comments such as, “Oh I am so glad you saw the light”, “ I knew he was bad – I told you so.” Thank you for PATRONIZING me whilst I am putting myself on the line.

Why do that? Do you get some sick ego boost from saying, "I TOLD YOU SO"? Well, well done to you. Someone who actually knows nothing of the situation, being so all powerfully knowing. Even if you did tell someone something do you really need to establish that now? Seriously, you yourself must have some issues if you take pride in saying, "I told you so" to somebody who has recently escaped abuse. 

Also, the damage you are doing goes beyond upsetting me. If another dancer OR ANYONE in a difficult situation: rape victims, or those in an abusive relationship: see you making such insensitive comments that imply the victim is naive - STUPID - how do you think that affects the likelyhood of them standing up against their abuser or coming out? Your comments affect ALL WOMEN! 
 
Several girls contacted me about working with Ramy and despite my advice went ahead anyway. When you give advice the person is not obliged to take it. When they came back to me and said something had happened, my response was: "Are you ok? Are you safe? Do you need help? Is there anything I can do?" NOT, "I told you so!"

I don’t even think they are stupid for going ahead. Maybe they contacted other dancers and they said he was ok (which he probablly was to them). Or their friend went and was ok. I don't know, but what I do know is something like this could easily happen to ANY OF US – yes even you.

Do you know in the UK TWO WOMEN EVERY WEEK ARE KILLED BY AN ABUSIVE PARTNER/FORMER PARTNER. Abusers are more common than you think and you can easily fall victim to one. They are not only found in our industry. In the same way most people are only ever 3 pay cheques away from being homeless. Life is not simple. It can take a turn at any moment and you find yourself in a hard situation.

When you find a woman in a situation like this TURN TO EMPATHY not I TOLD YOU SO! 
 
Nearly as bad as these, "told you so" comments, for the same reasons, were instinct comments such as: “He contacted me but I KNEW he was bad -  my instincts told me”  Well THANKS, I must be lacking in instincts. I actually sarcastically responded to one of these comments saying exactly that. You know what she told me? "DON’T WORRY YOU WILL LIVE AND LEARN FROM THIS"  What? Learn to be PSYCHIC?  If I reflect on the time I met Ramy, even now, I wouldn't have done anything differently. I couldn't have known. 

I took down my post: It seems everyone’s instincts are so good. No need for me to tell anyone about him! Why risk my safety for this ridicule?!

…….and please readers don’t patronize me further with: “They only meant well with their comments”: You are talking about commenting on a post from a victim of trauma/abuse - I said clearly he was violent. STOP AND THINK ABOUT EVERY COMMENT YOU MAKE. We are not discussing cat pictures. We're talking about women's lives: consider every word you type and how it is worded. GUESS WHAT? YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE TO LEAVE A COMMENT. Feel free to keep your comments in your head. Click the heart emoji and show some compassion instead! 
 
  1. DON’T ACCUSE THEM OF TELLING LIES
This is really one of the worst things. Here I am telling you about the horrible situation I went through and you say I am a liar. THANKS!  In the past we have had an abusive, male teacher in the London Bellydance Community: the biggest thing that shocked me was that bellydancers were accusing other women of being liars when they were brave enough to come out. Some nasty people are still claiming those dancers were telling lies, even now. SHAME ON THEM. Seriously, all these women are telling you something and you are ACCUSING THEM OF TELLING LIES! This is truly horrifying. The last thing that a victim wants to hear, when going through such an awful situation, is that they are a liar. Why are you so inclined to trust a man but not a fellow bellydancer – a woman?

When women contacted me asking advice about working with Ramy: my response was always along the same lines; I don’t recommend you work with him. I no longer do, be careful. Good luck with whatever you choose to do. Please don't tell Ramy you talked to me.

When Ramy puts up a post of me dancing, to annoy and harass me, I would receive accusing posts: “You said you don’t work with him anymore, I chose not to come to Egypt because of you” – WOW thanks! I put myself in danger informing you and then you accuse me of telling lies. Why would I lie? You assume I might be jealous or think I don’t want you coming to Egypt because you are competition??? You would assume all of this of me, as a fellow woman, before you assume that the man is actually the one telling lies?

Wondering why I didn't just change my phone number if he is harassing me?
I DID!! Another DANCER gave him my new number. She thought I was telling lies and exaggerating about him. She thought it was harmless giving him my new number, after all he just wanted to talk to me about work!
I am not angry with her (she is as much a victim as me - we dancers are all his to make a joke of) I am just so disappointed she thought I was a liar and that doubt, about another dancer, can be SOOOO easily exploited by these types of predatory abusers! 

It is what makes our bellydance community such a REGULAR target to predators!

We would ALL be better off if we thought of each other as ALIES not competition! This is for EVERYTHING belly dance, not just this, support each other, trust each other and look after each other. One of the most horrible things that can happen to a dancer in a difficult situation is to feel they are alone and have got no one to turn to because other dancers are competition and judgmental! It shouldn’t be this way

Lets end all this.

Moving On
Anyway, I hope you find this article useful and thank you to all the LOVELY dancers that DID/ARE supporting me through this - You know who you are!
And thank you too for all the supportive comments and messages I have received. They genuinely help.
Please know I am ok, I REGRET NOTHING: I don't feel sorry for myself in anyway, actually quite the opposite, 
I am genuinely feeling the happiest I have in my life. The situation taught me self-compassion and that has made me stronger than ever. Yes, I was a victim of THIS situation but I am not a victim by definition. Don't define me by all this - define HIM - this is a VERY SMALL chapter of my dance story: trust me. If I'm honest on a personal level I AM BORED of the whole thing. It's dragging on and I'm over it. 
I'm working on soooo many more interesting, amazing projects. Did you see I produced my own Majency and I have had a song written about me AND I MADE MUSIC VIDEOS FOR BOTH? (links bellow); I run Zameena THIS brilliant bellydance e-zine, which is growing in popularity everyday; I have a new YouTube series coming out soon in ARABIC; I dance basically everyday to live music on the Nile; I am teaching at Dandash's Festival this summer in Cairo; I am hosting some of the BIGGEST dancers in the world in London for workshops and so so so much more.
This is what I want to be defined by. I have to pinch myself sometimes: I LOVE MY LIFE AND MY JOB. If you want to help or support ME in anyway, then support the dancer I am now, support my projects, share my videos, visit me in Cairo and come to my shows ❤️❤️❤️❤️
 
Love and Shimmies, Zara 
 
If you are going to share this article I ask you do so in a way that doesn't draw attention from Ramy to it ... if that is possible
________________________________________________
follow Zara:
Facebook
Instagram
YouTube
Website
My Magencey, Have a watch, I co-produced this peice of music! BOOM ! 
Check out this song that was written for me - Just in case you don't know my name - it's Zara - you'll know it by the end of the song lol. 
Music Corner
By Zara Dance
 Shaabi is a style of Egyptian music that originated in the late 1960s and early 1970s created by disillusioned, working class youths as a rebellion. Singers would distributed their songs on cassettes as national recording studios, radio and TV would not touch them because of the content. 

Fast forward to now and the essence of shaabi is still alive even though some shaabi songs, like those by Mahmood El Lithey, have become mainstream.

This mahraghan (a post Arab Spring style of shabbi) hit: "Mamootish", "I Didn't Die" is sung by the duo  "Team El Sarok" "Missile/Firework Team". The duo have had many hits and this one is the same, going viral across Egypt: playing everywhere on the streets of Cairo. And the best thing is, it is all done through YouTube! Just like the cassettes of the past, this is music which is being made on the streets of Cairo in little, local studios,  bypassing the need for mainstream media approval. The shaabi youth are doing it for themselves - even making their own music videos - I LOVE THIS MUSIC VIDEO. This video hasn't featured on any of the big music channels or through big recording names.
It is just on their own YouTube channel. 

How are they making their money? Through YouTube views! And with the number of views they are getting, they are definitely making a good turnover - who needs big recording companies to make their millions? 

Want to find out more about the history of shabbi? Then check out this VERY OLD Zameena issue from deep in the archives
(You'll laugh to see the old versions of Zameena - but the article still holds true) 

SAD BREAKING NEWS: just as I was finishing editing this Zameena  I learnt that the legendary, Egyptian, shaabi singer, Shaaban Abdel Rahim, had passed away, aged 62. May he RIP. In his honour I will be writing about him in the next edition of NADA .  Till  then check out one of his less controversial songs:


"Habatl El Sagayer" - "I will give up cigarettes"

 
Christmas Bonus Song
 
You know I can never resist giving you an extra song! Well, this week I am sharing a song that I LOVE TO USE AT CHRISTMAS TIME!
It is: Jingle Bells Arabic Version By Sassine Abi Khalil.

YES........

A VERSION OF JINGLE BELLS YOU CAN BELLYDANCE TO!
Click the bells and ENJOY!! 
A great song to start off your Christmas gigs. 
Up and coming Zara's Zouk events and where you can find Sandra with the Zara's Zouk stall, also events where you can see Zara Dance perform.  
Shahrazad is coming to London and tickets are nearly sold out - get yours here - we would also like to confirm that the Venue has now been booked:
The American Musical Theater Academy E9 5LH
Save the dates Cassandra Fox is coming to the UK. London tickets go on sale in January and will be launched in next month's Zameena
There has never been a better time to visit Cairo, with it being in TripAdvisors top 5 cities to visit and the all new museum opening. So, why not combine it with a bit of bellydancing? Zara will be teaching and performing at Dandash's Festival in Cairo. It is a lovely festival with a great family feel, I really recommend you to come. 

019 SNOWFLAKE SPECTACULAR
Reading
Saturday, December 7th 1-5pm (Doors open 12.30pm)


Always Fun!
 Zara's Zouk
will be there! How about you?
DUM TAK FESTIVAL
BELFAST
3rd 4th 5th April 2020
 
Zara's Zouk

will be there - do come 
Workshops with: 
Dr Mo Gedawwi
Dalida Galy
Munique Neith
Ivana Cleopatra
Stacey McPartlin

Nawarra
Katya
Ciara

Ola ... and ...  
Sara Sarinha!
Interested in Entering a Competition?
Tonya & Atlantis would love to hear from you!
Support Tonya and Atlantis who are good friends of Zameena!
All Info on Website and FaceBook Page
 Read Tonya's last Zameena  article here
THE WINNER of last month's competition was Claire R. from the  Isle of Wight. Her name was pulled from the pot on our FBLIVE,  CONGRATULATIONS!
 
Claire correctly guessed the name of next year's resident writer:
Serena Ramzy!!
The necklace set is on its way to Claire
Thank you to everyone who took part


We look forward to Serena's first article in February - Yaaaay! 
We are excited for 2020 with lots of new ideas!
   
Till then we wish you 
A VERY MERRY
CHRISTMAS

and a 
HAPPY & PEACEFUL
NEW YEAR

Love and Shimmies 
from

xx Zara
and Sandra xx
the mother-daughter team behind Zara's Zouk and Zameena 
❤️❤️❤️
 
PS. Check out every issue of Zameena from 2019! 
It has been an AMAZING year! We hope you have enjoyed every Zameena!
THANK YOU again to the wonderful Ahava for being our guest writer this month and we send THANKS to
all our writers this year 
❤️  Every one was great!  ❤️
Click on the cover to read:
Share Share
Tweet Tweet
Forward Forward
Copyright © 2019 Zara's Zouk, All rights reserved.


Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp