Chester Dance Festival

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.

Alvaston Hall

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.