Ya Raqs was one of a number of dance groups invited to take part in the Chester Dance Festival in October. We performed a number of dances in traditional styles such as Saaidi, Ghawazee and Nubian, and followed these with more contemporary ones, including a drum solo and a Modern Oriental routine.
Ghawazee dance
Nubian dance
Afterwards, Aisha led a "have-a-go" session where members of the audience were encouraged to try a few of the moves for themselves. Although we had brought some extra hipscarves with us to allow the participants to get into the mood, demand greatly exceeded supply, so the belts of our dresses were pressed into service to ensure that no-one was left out.
The "have-a-go" session
The event was a great success, and there are plans to repeat it next year.
For our last outdoor dance event of the year, we joined Deva Victrix at a Roman Day at Alvaston Hall Hotel. Guests could try their hand at activities such as archery and slingshot, and watch demonstrations of Roman life such as cooking and of course, dancing. After each set of dances we held a short workshop.
The East Anglian Medieval Fayre was our first foray into the world of the Medievalists. It meant travelling to March in Cambridgeshire, but it was a scenic trip over and the weather was fabulous. This was the case on the Saturday as well; in fact it turned out to be one of the hottest days of the year. It was slightly misty and damp when we arrived at the site early on the Saturday morning, but we were met with a very warm welcome and an offer of hot drinks from the Knights of Honour, which was greatly appreciated. The Knights then generously offered us hot water for drinks throughout the weekend. Any time one of us wandered over to their encampment a shout of “squire” went out and a young man would run to fetch the kettle… a girl could get rather used to that!
Our Bedouin Tent attracted some curious glances as we began to erect it. We are still getting used to it, and to be honest it was a little bit saggy in parts and slightly askew. However once all the trimming was complete it looked the part.
On the Saturday we performed outside our tent and it was lovely to get some of our audience involved too, (some definitely had potential). The people we talked to were keen to know a little bit more about the travelling women following the Medieval camp.
Some of the Medieval traders' stalls
Throughout the day there were displays by the various groups, from Vikings through to Knights and Crusaders. In some cases whole families were involved, which was lovely to see. We watched the squires practising combat and later on some of the more experienced knights putting each other through their paces in the small arena. Meroe was in her element when the falconer asked her to help fly the large birds of prey in the afternoon. Meroe and friend
Later on, Horses Through History treated us to a demonstration and we all cheered on our favourite horsemen; they were incredibly skilful and exciting to watch. Mish Mish was delighted when the Welsh rider won the competition at the end. (The way she talked you'd think she had been riding the horse!) Mish Mish's Welsh knight
On the Sunday the weather changed and we got a taste of the winds coming off the Fens. We spent some time tightening ropes and hammering in wooden tent pegs to keep the tent upright. Thank you to the kind man who came around to help secure our tent at one point.
We were quite nervous of performing so far from home and with people we did not know, but all of us in Ya Raqs would like to thank everyone for making us feel very welcome and appreciated. It was a fun and educational weekend for us, and we are all looking forward to the next event.
For two days the grounds of Beeston Castle were turned into a Roman encampment, complete with an arena. After the mixed weather of our last few events, we had two days of brilliant sunshine, and the event was well attended. Throughout both days there were various events such as combat demonstrations and an opportunity for children to join the Roman army and fight off marauding Celts (otherwise known as their fathers). The Roman camp
The arena
Each day Ya Raqs perfomed several dances in the arena, along with a workshop and a have-a-go session. We also held more informal dance sessions by our tent, where children could also 'Dress Like An Egyptian' in scaled down dance costumes. Both days ended with a gladiator tournament, along with a final dance by Meroe, who performed a mesmerizing sword dance for the Emperor.
Many of the photographs of Ya Raqs at outdoor events include our tent in the background. Originally a scout tent, it had seen many years of service by the time it was very generously given to us by Deva Victrix in spring 2008. It had been in storage for a while, but after a thorough cleaning, and mending a few holes and tears, it was ready to be used again. Once Meroehad painted on the Eye of Horus (cunningly covering up the words "Liverpool 14th Scout Troop") and added the coloured streamers, the transformation was complete.
Noor, Meroe and Hebba mending holes
Hebba, Phoenece and Aisha with the decorated tent
Sadly, despite our best efforts, time was taking its toll, and the downpour at the Roman Games in Chester was the final straw. One of the main panels split, and while we were able to patch it up for the day, we knew that a replacement would be needed. We were all sad to see the old tent go, but Meroe and Kebi came up trumps: finding a Touareg-style tent for us.
The new tent made its first appearance at the Gladiators and Warriors event at BeestonCastle, and surpassed all our expectations. It gives us space to sit and eat, whilst also providing a separate area for storage and changing, thus allowing us to be entirely self-sufficient at any event we attend.
I guess it would have been too much to hope that the weather this year at Chadkirk would be as glorious as it had been last year – but it tried, and Saturday’s sunshine certainly brought out the crowds.Ya Raqs had been invited back, by popular demand, and were once again accompanied by the boys from Deva Victrix. The girls performed no fewer than four sets, as well as a mini workshop – all of which went down really well with the crowd. The new Tunisian set proved to be a particular hit. The day absolutely flew by and when we were not dancing we were talking to the public and other stall holders and even managed to find time to have one of Chadkirk’s famous strawberry scones! Meroe leads the workshop
Tunisian dance Sunday’s weather was not so good and there was an awful moment when the whole day looked in serious danger of being cancelled. The arena on the lawn, which had been set aside for the performers, was rather soggy by midday and we were beginning to think that we should have brought along some sparkly wellington boots to dance in! But the gods were clearly smiling on us and a solution soon presented itself. We were to perform inside the chapel itself – so we felt it only right and proper that we should have another of those strawberry scones to celebrate! Tameri, Meroe, Banafrit and Aziza dancing in Chadkirk Chapel Despite being a slightly soggier day, Sunday was great fun too and a surprising number of visitors braved the elements to come and see us dance our Ghawazee and Fellahi sets. At one stage we even got one or two Romans to join in – truly a sight to behold!Another great event in a fantastic venue – if you’ve never been to the festival before you really should go – so watch this space and try and join us there again next year.
