Mish-Mish, Noor, Phoenece and Meroe. Thanks to Phillip McHugh for the photograph.
Wednesday, 31 August 2011
Arab Arts at the World Museum
As part of the Liverpool Arabic Arts Festival 2011, the World Museum Liverpool invited Meroe to hold drop-in Arabic dance workshops on 2nd and 3rd July. On the Saturday Mish-Mish, Noor and Phoenece joined her to give a short performance in the museum's main foyer.
Mish-Mish, Noor, Phoenece and Meroe. Thanks to Phillip McHugh for the photograph.
Mish-Mish, Noor, Phoenece and Meroe. Thanks to Phillip McHugh for the photograph.
Tullie House Museum, Carlisle
On 25 June Ya Raqs joined Legio VIII Augusta and our own Deva Romans in Luguvalium (Carlisle) to celebrate the opening of Tullie House Museum’s new Roman Frontier Gallery.
The Emperor Domitian himself travelled to this northern corner of his empire for the event, although he did arrive by the distinctly un-Roman means of a train! He was met at the station by an honour guard of Roman soldiers, along with Meroe and Kebi, who had swapped their dancing clothes for Roman costumes, and were employed scattering flower petals in his path.
Kebi, Domitian and Meroe
As well as the gallery opening, Carlisle was also marking Armed Forces Day, with a number of displays in the main square. In the morning The Royal Signals (Northern) Band led a parade from Tullie House to the city centre, where Domitian addressed the waiting crowd. Then it was back to the museum, where the gardens had been transformed into a Roman encampment for the day, with stalls, storytelling, and the chance to try some Roman crafts.
Outside the museum
The parade - soldiers old and new
We performed a short set in the museum, before taking the opportunity to look round the new gallery. As well as a number of interactive exhibits, the gallery has a wide range of well-displayed objects, both from the museum's own collection and some on loan from the British Museum. We all agreed that it was well worth a visit.
In the afternoon we processed back to the main square for the gladiator show. Each gladiator wore a different colour, and visitors to the museum had had the opportunity to read about the gladiators beforehand, choose who to support, and collect a sticker or balloon in the colour of their favourite. This certainly made for a colourful event.
Leonidas (in yellow) and his supporters
The day ended with a flag-lowering ceremony in the city centre, and a final procession of cadets, service and ex-service personnel from the Old Town Hall Square to Carlisle Castle for a sunset ceremony.
Finally, our thanks to Robin Brown of Legio VIII Augusta for looking after us so well, and to Chris Lee for kindly giving permission to use his photographs of the day.
The Emperor Domitian himself travelled to this northern corner of his empire for the event, although he did arrive by the distinctly un-Roman means of a train! He was met at the station by an honour guard of Roman soldiers, along with Meroe and Kebi, who had swapped their dancing clothes for Roman costumes, and were employed scattering flower petals in his path.
Kebi, Domitian and Meroe
As well as the gallery opening, Carlisle was also marking Armed Forces Day, with a number of displays in the main square. In the morning The Royal Signals (Northern) Band led a parade from Tullie House to the city centre, where Domitian addressed the waiting crowd. Then it was back to the museum, where the gardens had been transformed into a Roman encampment for the day, with stalls, storytelling, and the chance to try some Roman crafts.
Outside the museum
The parade - soldiers old and new
We performed a short set in the museum, before taking the opportunity to look round the new gallery. As well as a number of interactive exhibits, the gallery has a wide range of well-displayed objects, both from the museum's own collection and some on loan from the British Museum. We all agreed that it was well worth a visit.
In the afternoon we processed back to the main square for the gladiator show. Each gladiator wore a different colour, and visitors to the museum had had the opportunity to read about the gladiators beforehand, choose who to support, and collect a sticker or balloon in the colour of their favourite. This certainly made for a colourful event.
Leonidas (in yellow) and his supporters
The day ended with a flag-lowering ceremony in the city centre, and a final procession of cadets, service and ex-service personnel from the Old Town Hall Square to Carlisle Castle for a sunset ceremony.
Finally, our thanks to Robin Brown of Legio VIII Augusta for looking after us so well, and to Chris Lee for kindly giving permission to use his photographs of the day.
Saturday, 27 August 2011
This Was Deva, posted by Meroe
If you were not in Chester (Deva) for the weekend of 4th and 5th June then you missed what was easily the biggest Roman re-enactment event in the country this year. Soldiers, Gladiators, Celtic tribes, Roman Cavalry, Caesar, potters, blacksmiths, surgeons, apothecaries, druids; everything from the Roman world, and last but by no means least, the musicians and dancers from the Roman Empire. This was amazing. This was Deva.
Members of the Roman Cavalry
Our first day was baking hot – real Egyptian weather – but thankfully the second day was a lot cooler, and much nicer for dancing. For this event a new dance group had been formed, called Maysoon, drawing from dance classes in Chester. This gave us a “supa-troupe” of 14 dancers for the weekend. We were joined by the amazing Mazaj (Chas Whitaker and Maren Leung); the equally amazing Adam Warne, and the beautiful as well as amazing Nawarra.
Maren, Adam and Chas
Nawarra performs a stick dance
There were two centres for all the fun this weekend – the Amphitheatre and Grosvenor Park. All of the music and dance elements, as well as some of the smaller, more intimate performances, were held in Grosvenor Park.
On the Friday before the event, the park was gradually transformed into a little piece of ancient Rome, with streets of period market stalls with traders selling a wide range of things from hand-made glass beads, to games, furs, pottery and food. You could visit an apothecary, a Roman beauty parlour or get your hob-nail boots repaired at the blacksmith. At one end of this newly formed Roman town were the military tents of the various legions that had descended on Deva. And at the other end; the Celtic Tribes and Iron Age groups and the local druids, but right in the heart of town were the dancers and musicians.
The Roman potter's stall
Phoenece and Tameri play a Roman game
Ya Raqs and Maysoon performed two sets during the course of both Saturday and Sunday, in between music from Chas, Maren and Adam, and more dancing from Nawarra. There were workshops and mini-me dress-up, as well as a chance to get your foot or hand hennaed. Whenever the central arena was being used by some of the other performers, we busked our way round the Roman town, just as the musicians and dancers would have done in Roman times.
Around mid-day, half of the performers joined the other re-enactors, almost 350 of them, as they marched through the streets of Deva in a procession that was estimated to be a quarter of a mile long. There was certainly no doubt that the Romans were back in town.
The procession
At the end of each day was the stunning gladiator show in the amphitheatre. I’m not entirely sure that everyone who sat in the arena this weekend really appreciated that they were actually sitting on remains of a real Roman amphitheatre that would have been witness to many spectacles such as the one we were re-enacting. Members of Ya Raqs took part in the show by providing the Deva gladiators with dancers for the Dance of Death; where the veils they dance with represent the souls of the gladiators. There may have been 4,500 people in that audience but you could have heard a pin drop!
On the Sunday, the gladiator show ended with all of the performers; Romans, Celts, gladiators, dancers and musicians gathering in the amphitheatre - a truly impressive sight.
The finale (thanks to Sharon'Dorito Baskerville for the photo)
If you were not able to get to Deva (Chester) this year, then you really, really, should try and come in 2012.
We’d like to thank Chas Whitaker, Maren Leung, Adam Warne, Nawarra, and the Maysoon girls for helping us make this event such a success. But we’d particularly like to thank Paul Harston from Roman Tours for inviting us to be part of such an amazing event.
This WAS Deva and we will be back in 2012 – will you?
Members of the Roman Cavalry
Our first day was baking hot – real Egyptian weather – but thankfully the second day was a lot cooler, and much nicer for dancing. For this event a new dance group had been formed, called Maysoon, drawing from dance classes in Chester. This gave us a “supa-troupe” of 14 dancers for the weekend. We were joined by the amazing Mazaj (Chas Whitaker and Maren Leung); the equally amazing Adam Warne, and the beautiful as well as amazing Nawarra.
Maren, Adam and Chas
Nawarra performs a stick dance
There were two centres for all the fun this weekend – the Amphitheatre and Grosvenor Park. All of the music and dance elements, as well as some of the smaller, more intimate performances, were held in Grosvenor Park.
On the Friday before the event, the park was gradually transformed into a little piece of ancient Rome, with streets of period market stalls with traders selling a wide range of things from hand-made glass beads, to games, furs, pottery and food. You could visit an apothecary, a Roman beauty parlour or get your hob-nail boots repaired at the blacksmith. At one end of this newly formed Roman town were the military tents of the various legions that had descended on Deva. And at the other end; the Celtic Tribes and Iron Age groups and the local druids, but right in the heart of town were the dancers and musicians.
The Roman potter's stall
Phoenece and Tameri play a Roman game
Ya Raqs and Maysoon performed two sets during the course of both Saturday and Sunday, in between music from Chas, Maren and Adam, and more dancing from Nawarra. There were workshops and mini-me dress-up, as well as a chance to get your foot or hand hennaed. Whenever the central arena was being used by some of the other performers, we busked our way round the Roman town, just as the musicians and dancers would have done in Roman times.
Around mid-day, half of the performers joined the other re-enactors, almost 350 of them, as they marched through the streets of Deva in a procession that was estimated to be a quarter of a mile long. There was certainly no doubt that the Romans were back in town.
The procession
At the end of each day was the stunning gladiator show in the amphitheatre. I’m not entirely sure that everyone who sat in the arena this weekend really appreciated that they were actually sitting on remains of a real Roman amphitheatre that would have been witness to many spectacles such as the one we were re-enacting. Members of Ya Raqs took part in the show by providing the Deva gladiators with dancers for the Dance of Death; where the veils they dance with represent the souls of the gladiators. There may have been 4,500 people in that audience but you could have heard a pin drop!
On the Sunday, the gladiator show ended with all of the performers; Romans, Celts, gladiators, dancers and musicians gathering in the amphitheatre - a truly impressive sight.
The finale (thanks to Sharon'Dorito Baskerville for the photo)
If you were not able to get to Deva (Chester) this year, then you really, really, should try and come in 2012.
We’d like to thank Chas Whitaker, Maren Leung, Adam Warne, Nawarra, and the Maysoon girls for helping us make this event such a success. But we’d particularly like to thank Paul Harston from Roman Tours for inviting us to be part of such an amazing event.
This WAS Deva and we will be back in 2012 – will you?
Thursday, 18 August 2011
Marbury and Brook Street
Mid-May saw Ya Raqs and Deva Victrix invited to Marbury Merry Days, a traditional country fair in the village of Marbury, in the Meres district of Cheshire. Sadly, the weather was not kind, and a stiff breeze blowing off the Big Mere meant that at one point some of us were dancing an impromptu set while still wearing our capes!. All was not lost, however, as we were able to take our portable PA system over to the craft and tea tents, and perform for the visitors and stallholders indoors.
The "cape" dance, and the Big Mere
At the end of the month we joined Irish dancers, Roman soldiers and a Chinese dragon at the first Brook Street Carnival, in Chester. The carnival was organized by the Brook Street Traders and Residents Association to bring the community together and show off the variety of the area. Click here to see a clip of one of our performances.
Outside the cafe
In a small way, we made a lasting impression on Brook Street. At the time of the carnival, plans were in place for the creation of a large mural on the gable end of one of the properties on Brook Place, opposite the cafe. The mural depicts buildings and events in Brook Street, both past and present, and if you look at the various design stages, you can see that a dancer in a distinctive red and black costume makes her appearance after the first draft, just behind the black car.
Can't quite make her out? Here's some photographs.
Part of the completed mural
Close-up of the dancer
The "cape" dance, and the Big Mere
At the end of the month we joined Irish dancers, Roman soldiers and a Chinese dragon at the first Brook Street Carnival, in Chester. The carnival was organized by the Brook Street Traders and Residents Association to bring the community together and show off the variety of the area. Click here to see a clip of one of our performances.
Outside the cafe
In a small way, we made a lasting impression on Brook Street. At the time of the carnival, plans were in place for the creation of a large mural on the gable end of one of the properties on Brook Place, opposite the cafe. The mural depicts buildings and events in Brook Street, both past and present, and if you look at the various design stages, you can see that a dancer in a distinctive red and black costume makes her appearance after the first draft, just behind the black car.
Can't quite make her out? Here's some photographs.
Part of the completed mural
Close-up of the dancer
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