Ya Raqs

Saturnalia

2012-01-06T23:20:00.002Z

Last month we again joined Roman Tours and Deva Victrix for the annual Saturnalia parade through Chester. After 2010's bitterly cold parade along icy streets, 2011 was relatively mild, and when we danced we felt almost warm!

Meroe, Kebi, Aisha and Noor

Middlewich Roman Festival, posted by Kebi

2012-01-06T22:58:00.003Z

September saw our first trip to the Middlewich Roman Festival, held at Harbutts Field,the site of a Roman fort. The crowd were lovely and friendly, even if the weather was rather mixed. We did get to dance indoors though, which was great, and the audience were very appreciative. The mini me was a big hit as always. As you can see, we did a Tunisian set as well as a Bedouin and Ghawazee one, so a final airing for our costumes to end the season. It was wonderful, there were some traders there as well. I bought a bracelet and new drinking cup. Watch out 2012, here we come!

Tunisian, Ghawazee and Bedouin costumes on display

Why we do what we do?, posted by Meroe

2011-09-13T21:33:00.003+01:00

Over the course of the past twelve months a number of people have asked us why we do what we do? What have we got to do with the Romans? These are both very good questions, so as we’ve got a bit of a quiet spell coming up, I thought it would be a good idea to post a response.

When we are in Roman-mode, Ya Raqs are all about trying to represent the music and dance from the Roman Empire; doing our best to give a flavour of the very cosmopolitan world that was the Roman Empire. Roman dancing would have been very different to what we think of as dance today. It was often much more acrobatic and would be closer to what we would consider gymnastics than to dancing. But the Romans were clearly aware of the more colourful and exotic dancers that inhabited parts of their empire. In 30 BC the Roman writer and poet Martial says that dancers from the Nile were sent to Rome and in 60 BC the Romans imported dancers from Syria into Rome.

From AD 206 there is a wonderful account from Egypt of a contract from "Year 14 of Lucius Septimius Severus Pius Pertinax and Marcus Aurelius Antonius Pius, Augusti, and Publicus Septimus Geta Caesar Augustus”. This contract is with a dancer called Isadora and states that “I wish to engage you with two other castanet dancers to perform at the festival at my house for six days beginning with the 24th of the month of Pauni [May 26-June 24] according to the old calendar, you receive as pay 36 drachmas for each day and for the entire period four artabas of barley and 20 pairs of bread loaves and whatsoever garments or gold ornaments you may bring down, we will guard these safely; and we will furnish you with two donkeys when you come down to us and a like number when you go back to the city.” - so pretty much pay plus travel expenses, which is what we would expect today.

Examples like this are rare and the reality is that these musicians and dancers would have been from the lower levels of society and therefore their names and their stories do not always survive into the written record. There are, however, some tantalising pieces of evidence that help to link us as dancers, not only to the Roman period in Britannia, but more specifically to the Leg XX in Deva.

The Roman army drew its soldiers from all over the Roman Empire, but each legion tended to contain a large number of recruits from a single province of the empire. A sizeable proportion of the Twentieth Legion – which is the legion based in Deva (Chester) – are thought to have come from Syria. We know that Syrian dancers were particularly favoured among the Romans. There is no evidence to suggest that dancers from Syria actually made up part of the camp followers in Deva, but what is almost certain is that some of the soldiers based there would have been familiar with the music and dance of Syria – their home country.

So is there any evidence of North African dancers in Britannia – well the answer is we are not sure but there could have been. In York there are the remains of the “Ivory Bangle lady”, which gives us our second piece of tantalising evidence. Her remains were discovered in 1901 in York (Roman Eboracum). Her grave dates back to the second half of the 4th century and she was buried with jet and elephant ivory bangles (hence the name) and blue glass beads. Analyses of her remains have concluded that she originated from North Africa, possibly even Morocco or Tunisia. There is no suggestion that she was a dancer, in fact it is probably more likely that she was from a much higher social class than a mere dancing girl. But what is interesting is that even as far north as Eboracum there were people from North Africa and, just like the Syrian soldiers in Deva, the Ivory Bangle Lady would almost certainly have been familiar with the music and dance from her country of origin.

Ya Raqs aren’t pretending to be Roman dancers, but what we are doing is giving a flavour of the diverse range of music and dance from part of the Roman Empire – in particular Egypt, North Africa and what is now the Middle East. The music we dance to draws on rhythms that would have been familiar to the people from parts of the Roman Empire; the instruments that those rhythms are played on would also have been familiar; and the dance moves are, on the whole, as old as time, handed down through the generations and depicted on tomb scenes, and pottery, from the period.

As for the costumes – well that is the subject of a whole new discussion and something that we should perhaps come back to another time.

The Romans are Coming, posted by Meroe

2011-09-13T20:55:00.006+01:00

The weekend of the 3rd and 4th September saw us back in Roman mode on the original site of the fort of Danum (otherwise known as Doncaster) as part of the St Ledger Festival with Deva Victrix Leg. XX v.v. and the Leg. VIII AVG.

The weekend was a bit mixed – sunny Saturday, soggy Sunday – but despite having a range of weather conditions thrown at us, we all had a great weekend and were very well looked after by Doncaster council and the Premier Inn.

Danum certainly has a lot of enthusiastic mini-dancers; from the moment the awning had been put up on the Saturday there was a steady stream of children wanting to dress up and learn to dance. When they weren’t dancing they were having temporary tattoos. They certainly kept Phoenece and Tameri busy all day.

Phoenece with two new recruits

In between junior dance sessions we did manage some dancing of our own. In the afternoon Meroe and Tameri joined in with the procession of the gladiators through town, leaving Phoenece, Kebi and Mish Mish, to literally “hold the fort” until we all got back for the Gladiator Show.

Meroe and Tameri with the gladiators

Unfortunately the gods that watch over all things relating to “sound systems” were clearly having an off day, and so we could not perform the Dance of Death at the gladiator show as we’d planned, but in true Ya Raqs spirit we managed to improvise.

Meroe

Sunday, was slightly more soggy and to be honest was not quite the middle eastern weather we’re used to, but it did not dampen the spirits. Despite the weather the crowds turned out again and we had a steady flow of mini-dancers all day long.

It was a great weekend on an amazing site. Everyone made us very welcome and the all-you-can-eat breakfast at the Premier Inn certainly set us up for the day.

Northwich Medieval Festival, posted by Noor

2011-09-05T23:05:00.004+01:00

After the summer's Roman events, a change of period for us, as we took part in the Northwich Medieval Festival on 13-14 August, in the town's Verdin Park. We set up our tent opposite the arena, between a stall selling delicious local produce, and another selling jewellery - we visited both several times over the weekend.

On the Saturday, we performed a couple of short sets in various spots around the town. Of course, the delicious free samples being offered by Giulio's Italian restaurant didn't influence our choice of location at all!

Caught in the act!

The weekend included something we always enjoy - the chance to dance to live music. As well as songs from the medieval period, Squeake's Noyse performed a number of dance tunes, and we took these as our cue to join in.

Dancing with Squeake's Noyse

Meroe's have-a-go workshops proved very popular on both days, and on the Sunday she was joined by some people who clanked even more than a dancer in a heavy coin belt - three of the knights, who took a break from practising their fighting skills to try something new.

Meroe's new pupils

As if performing, busking with Squeake's Noyse, and trying to teach men in plate armour how to shimmy weren't enough, we also found time to offer visitors to the festival two more activities; children's dressing up, and henna tattoos. Our basket of skirts, scarves and all things sparkly proved a big draw, and once suitably dressed, our junior dancers were shown some simple moves by Phoenece and Tameri. Meanwhile older children and adults could have a henna tattoo done. We only use natural brown henna, not black, and only for over-12s. For younger children we offer temporary tattoos in a variety of colours.

Dressing up with Phoenece

Meroe does a henna tattoo (photo courtesy of Matt Eagles)

There was so much to do and see that both days flew by, and before we knew it, we were packing up the tent at the end of a very enjoyable weekend.

Arab Arts at the World Museum

2011-08-31T23:15:00.004+01:00

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.

Tullie House Museum, Carlisle

2011-08-31T23:06:00.005+01:00

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.

This Was Deva, posted by Meroe

2011-08-27T21:06:00.005+01:00

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?

Marbury and Brook Street

2011-08-18T19:23:00.006+01:00

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

Fund Raiser in Bramhall, posted by Meroe

2011-07-24T21:13:00.002+01:00

Wednesday 18th May saw the girls at St Michael’s Church Hall in Bramhall, near Stockport, to dance at a fundraiser for the Gambian Schools Trust.

I decided to take the “scenic” route partly due to the fact that my in-built satnav was on the blink and for the first time in a long time, I got horrendously lost. But somehow I managed to fall through the door in time to get changed and ready for the first set.

We’d been invited to dance at St Michael’s by Olive Roskilly, who had seen us perform at the Chadkirk festival in 2010. The aim of the evening was to help raise money for a Gambian Schools charity.

Our first set was folk based and was very well received by the audience. They were quieter than many of the audiences we’ve danced for but there was a lot of toe tapping and plenty of applause when we’d finished.

After the break we decided to go for a more glamorous look and had the chance to wear our sparkly dresses. Were the audience getting used to us, or was the wine that was served during the interval starting to hit the spot? I guess we’ll never know, but whichever it was the audience were definitely livelier in the second half. Not only were they clapping along to the music, but we even managed to get a few of them up to join in.

It was a fantastic evening and our thanks go to Olive and her colleagues at St Michael’s not only for inviting us to join them, but for looking after us so well while we were there – lots of very nice tea and biscuits in the interval. With a little bit of help from us St Michael’s was able to raise £250 for the Gambian Schools Trust – well done.

Claire House update, posted by Noor

2011-06-13T21:30:00.003+01:00

As we finished tidying up at the Ellesmere Port Royal British Legion late on Saturday night (or was it early on Sunday morning by then?), I was sure of two things; everyone had had a good night, and we had made a lot of money for a great cause. The dance and gladiator shows were enjoyed by both the audience and the other performers, and there had been lots of opportunities to tempt people into donating even more. The raffle proved very popular (the fact that one of the prizes was a giant chocolate hamper may have had something to do with this!), and the cake stall was emptied by the end of the evening. The bazaar gave local dancers the opportunity to sell items which they no longer used, with a percentage going to Claire House, and of course to buy new things as well. Once the show was over there was a chance for everyone to dance to a mixture of Arabic and western music, and members of Meroe's dance class, which takes place at the venue on Thursday evenings, took to the floor with a "flash mob" performance.

Meroe (in white) and her class

All this, along with a generous donation from Tameri's workplace, gave us a grand total of £585.20.

I'd like to say a massive thank you to everyone involved; the rest of the Ya Raqs girls for all their help, Deva Victrix for supporting us, Caroline Afifi and Caroline Thorpe for coming to perform, Elaine for her delicious cakes, and the staff at the British Legion who helped the night go so well, and of course, everyone who came along to the evening.

Claire House Fundraiser, posted by Pheonice

2011-06-13T20:17:00.002+01:00

……and a good time was had by all,

The show began with an introduction by the Roman Emperor himself, who then presented the dancers. Ya Raqs performed several routines, including tradition Bedouin and Egyptian dances and a solo by Meroe, and we had guest appearances by Caroline Afifi, who performed a modern Egyptian piece, and Caroline Thorpe, a cheeky stick dance. As I danced, I was pleased to see a lot of the audience, both men and women, were dressed in attire suiting the theme of the night, and they were really getting into the swing of things.

Ya Raqs

Meroe

During the interval, a delicious buffet, supplied by Sue Powell-Green, was enjoyed; I didn`t know vegetarian food could be so varied and tasty. There was plenty of retail therapy from the bazaar, where the girls picked up lots of glitzy bargains, also a cake stand brimming with delicious homemade cakes, provided by Elaine Chapman, which were snapped up.

The second half of the show began with `The dance of death`, a poignant veil routine by Ya Raqs, followed by fighting by gladiators of Deva Victix; this went down really well with the audience, who enthusiastically cheered on their favourites.

The Dance of Death

After the fighting, there was dancing for everyone who wanted to join in. Some of the girls from the audience were wearing their recent purchases from the bazaar, while others were back at the bazaar looking for more bargains.

Many thanks to Noor for arranging the night.

Lancaster, posted by Hebba

2011-05-08T22:52:00.004+01:00

I was excited when I started my journey to Lancaster on Saturday the 9th April. Why?

Well this was our first performance of the season and I hadn't seen any of the Roman soldiers since Saturnalia. It was a warm sunny day, although some of the others from the warmer parts of the Roman empire might disagree. But the sun was out and everyone was ready to process from the castle to the museum in the centre of the town. There were horns, sagat, drums, and of course us making lots of noise as we followed the marching Romans. A lot of people came and followed us, some even joined in! Outside the museum in the town square we set up camp. It was brilliant as there were so many people waiting to see what was going to happen next.....

As usual when the Romans are about we had to stand quietly as they worshipped the various Gods and showed off their prowess with their military might, big swords etcetera. Ya Raqs then danced, including in our performance some new routines which we had been practising over the winter months, which went very well. We could have married off a couple of the dancers as there were some very keen potential husbands. The audience at Lancaster was very appreciative which always raises our spirits and performance.

Tameri, Hebba, Phoenece, Mish Mish, Kebi and Aisha

We were even fed by the people at the museum, I don't think they were told if they feed us we will just keep coming back... But thank you so much, the food was lovely.

As the sun was lowering in the sky, the Romans marched back to the castle, with us following. It was a lovely day for so many reasons.

Sirocco

2011-04-17T21:45:00.005+01:00

Several members of Ya Raqs recently attended the Sirocco dance festival in Frome, Somerset.

Sirocco is a weekend-long dance fusion festival, which celebrates the meeting of East and West in dance and music. The event kicked off with a theatre show on the Friday evening, with performances by the weekend's teachers. Then there were two days of workshops, and a party on the Saturday night.

Pheonice, Meroe, Noor, Kebi and Amisi at the party

Between us we attended a range of workshops; including Baladi, Ghawazee and Zambra Mora dance styles, creating choreographies and dancing with a stick.

We also met up with our friend Nawarra, who organised our trip to Morocco last year, and who was teaching Khaleegee and Moroccan Shaabi workshops.

Amisi, Meroe, Kebi, Nawarra, Pheonice and Noor

Last but by no means least, several of us took a number of workshops with Karim Nagi, on his first teaching trip to the UK. His workshops covered a huge amount on the different rhythms and types of melodies used in Middle Eastern music, and we felt that they helped us a lot in understanding the music that we dance to.

Amisi, Kebi, Meroe, Pheonice and Noor with Karim

All in all a great weekend, and many thanks to Kebi for driving us all the way there and back.

Claire House fundraising event - details

2011-03-03T23:32:00.001Z

Claire House fundraising event - Saturday 30 April

2011-02-09T22:26:00.001Z

Ya Raqs are holding a Roman/Egyptian evening for Claire House Children's Hospice on Saturday 30 April, in Ellesmere Port. There will be dancers and gladiators, a raffle, a buffet, and a disco to end. We may even have a visit from the Emperor himself! Watch this space for more information.

Claire House – for Michael, posted by Meroe

2011-01-30T17:01:00.003Z

Although not on our official “events list” this year, Ya Raqs did take part in a fundraiser for Claire House on Sunday 28th November, and we feel this should certainly be included in our round-up for the year. This was a particularly poignant event for the Ya Raqs girls, as the son of one of our number finally lost his battle against cancer, literally just a few days before this event.

I have to say that of all the events we have taken part in this year, the Claire House event has to have been the coldest – I think temperatures got down to minus 7 at one stage! Most of us had lost all the feeling in our feet quite early on as temperatures began to plummet – it is perhaps just as well that we were not dancing, although some dancing might have helped to warm us up. We were there to help meet and greet all those who had came along to support Claire House and the incredible work that they do. The afternoon came to a close with a firework display and a round of carols – although I have to say that the singing was a bit on the poor side. So, come on folks, you have got twelve months to practise your “Deck the Halls” so let’s see if we can do better next year! A big thank you to Ciggie from Roman Tours, who invited us along to the event, and to the staff at Claire House, who kept us supplied with plenty of hot chocolate to help ward off the effects of hypothermia!

A very cold Meroe, and friend

St. Wilfrid’s Medieval Fair, posted by Meroe

2011-01-13T14:38:00.003Z

2010 marked a very special event in Stockport’s history - 750 years of Stockport Market. Stockport is one of the oldest markets in the country and, unlike many others, is still trading on its original site. Events were held throughout the year, with the finale being a recreation of St Wilfrid’s Medieval Fair on 23 and 24 October - and Ya Raqs were invited to join in the celebrations.

Ya Raqs’ first set, of four, was in Warren Street, to a rather small but appreciative crowd of Stockport shoppers. As the afternoon progressed the streets around the covered market slowly began to fill with jugglers, musicians, knights and even a smoke-breathing dragon. It certainly made a change from the gladiators and legionaries that we are usually surrounded by.

Phoenece, Kebi, Tameri and Aisha dancing in front of the Market Hall

Our second set followed hot on the heels of the Bed of Nails Show in the main arena. There was then a short break until our final set, which gave us a chance to join in a Medieval Dance workshop given by the ladies from the Plantagenet Society. The whole event culminated in a procession and an incredible fire and light show, which included some very impressive fire juggling.

Kebi, Phoenece, Meroe and Tameri in the Plantagenet Society workshop

For you history buffs out there – this was the eve of St. Crispin’s Day and the Battle of Agincourt! It certainly was a super event and our thanks go to Sam Tavernor and all her colleagues at Stockport City Council for not only inviting us to join in with their celebrations also for looking after us so well.

Ya Raqs girls finished the day off in style – as if a super fire show and medieval knights were not enough - by having an incredible meal at amazing Persian restaurant in the town called Rayhoon. If you are ever in Stockport with time to spare you should go – believe us, your tastebuds will thank you!

Summer 2010, posted by Kebi and Noor

2010-10-16T00:33:00.008+01:00

It has been a while since we posted anything, mainly because we have been so busy. After the huge event that was the Roman Festival in Chester, we went on to perform at the Family Day at the Liverpool Arabic Arts Festival. We danced in the garden of the Bluecoat to a very warm and appreciative audience. The festival is the only one of its kind in the UK, and attracts attention from local, national and international media. We even featured briefly in a piece about the Family Day on BBC Arabic TV! Look out for us at about at about 2 minutes 27 seconds into the clip.

Banafrit and Tameri at the Family Day

After that came the Chadkirk Festival, one of our favourites; and not just because of the wonderful cream teas! This year we set up camp with the Romans just down the lane from the Chapel grounds, and processed up to the main site to perform. Some of the girls also went to visit the well dressing, at St Chad's Well.

Processing (noisily) to the main site

St Chad's Well

Dancing at Chadkirk

The History Alive!! living history festival at Bersham outside Wrexham was a first for us. Dancing in a field is not unusual for us but in amongst vintage cars and old tractors, now that was unusual. Thanks to Ian Woodward for letting us use his photos of the event, you can see more of his pictures here.

Kebi

Meroe, plus some of the vintage vehicles in the background!

The English Heritage Gladiators and Warriors event at Beeston Castle was as well-attended as ever, with over 900 people in the two days. The feedback was very positive . The families loved the gladiator show and the opportunity for the children to dress as either a Roman soldier or a middle Eastern dancer and to join in. I think we hennaed or tattooed half the children of Cheshire.

Wigan didn’t know what had hit it when the Romans invaded. There were Romans all over the place, and we took over the Market Square. The weather was kind up to a point and only rained for the last hour we were there.

Hebba and Banafrit shelter from the rain

We have one more big event scheduled for this year, St Wilfrid’s Medieval Fair in Stockport, which will be a nice way to end the season.

Next year will I hope be even bigger and better. The Roman Festival in Chester on 4-5 June is shaping up to be the biggest in Europe. So watch out for more info in the spring.

Chester Roman Festival, posted by Kebi

2010-07-27T22:53:00.003+01:00

The Roman Festival was the inaugural event of Chestival; a new month long festival to be held in July in Chester. Ya Raqs were proud to be part of a wonderful, event packed and brilliantly run weekend. A march through the city, of the largest number of Roman soldiers seen in Chester for hundreds of years, started off each day; with us bringing up the rear and making as much noise as possible. There then followed a hectic fun filled day of dancing to live musicians and talking to hundreds of people.

Meroe dances with the musicians

The highlight of each day was the Gladiator show in the amphitheatre, with an audience of a couple of thousand people. The girls performed the moving Dance of the Dead, and then performed again at the interval to a very warm reception.

On the Sunday, the Race for Life ran through Grosvenor Park where the main camp was situated. The soldiers gave the woman a Guard of Honour, and Tameri danced and cheered the whole time the women passed through. She might as well have run the race for the amount of enthusiasm she showed!

Aziza, Kebi and Tameri in the procession

It is estimated 7,500 people saw the event. As it was such a success we will be back next year, even bigger and better!

Postcards from Marrakesh - 2

2010-05-03T21:57:00.007+01:00

To:

Ya Raqs
Grande Bretagne

It is quite difficult to pick just one highlight from our trip, particularly when there were so many, but the one that I think will stay with me the longest is the workshop we had with the Berber women. What amazing women they were, particular the main dancer. We had seen them both dancing in the Palais Chahramane restaurant the night before when they had pulled us all up to dance with them. The main dancer was only in her late 30s and yet she had been through so much in her life all in pursuit of her love of dance. What she shared with us on the morning of the workshop was so much more than just her knowledge of Berber dance, and her skill as a dancer – it was part of herself. Despite being divorced by her husband, who disapproved of her dance, and shunned not only by her family but by her entire village, she was determined to do what she does best – dance. It is very difficult for us in the western world to appreciate the stigma that is attached to this dance that we do, but all of a sudden it was very real when we heard this woman’s story. It wasn’t as if she was exposing any part of her body; dancing in a nightclub in a skimpy two-piece costume, or flirting with members of the audience – she was just a folk dancer, but that was enough!

Through a mixture of Berber, Arabic and French she was able to show, and explain, a range of Berber dance moves – all of which were very different to the Egyptian style we are used to. Despite the language barrier we managed to communicate the great warmth and pleasure that we all shared in the dance – there was a lot of laughter. Half way through the class we took a break and were told about the Mawaal – we didn’t understand the words, but the passion and the emotion that came pouring out as she sang needed no explanation – we were all moved to tears; it was incredible.

The workshop ended with the chance to buy her own Berber dance costume. I agonised for a very long time but decided that this was a chance of a lifetime. These were real Berber dancers with a real story to tell. Every coin on the hip belt had been lovingly sewn on by the dancer herself. What I was buying was not just a costume, but a piece of living history. The cynics among you may say, “Oh it was just a sale, that she was after”, but no it was so much more than that. When I agreed to take the costume she hugged me to the point where I thought she would crack my ribs and despite the fact there was no common language between us, we were able to communicate our mutual appreciation, understanding and love of the dance and all that it meant to each other. What an incredibly emotional moment – I didn’t think it was possible to top it, but she did. Just as we were about to leave she came up to me and held out her hands – she was holding the head-dress that went with the costume – the only word she said to me was “gift”.

It may sound dramatic to say it, but I truly believe that this was not just a highlight of our Moroccan trip, but for me a highlight of my dance career so far. We were lucky enough to meet many amazing women during our time in Morocco but this particular Berber dancer is in a class all her own. I don’t know if we will ever meet again but I would like to think that our paths will cross again some day.

Meroe

Meroe and Berber dancers at the restaurant

Dance workshop - the dancer singing the Mawaal

Postcards from Marrakesh - 1

2010-05-02T22:40:00.004+01:00

To:

Ya Raqs
Grande Bretagne

Marrakesh: even the name conjurers up exotic images, and the city did not disappoint. The sounds, smells and colours will stay with me forever. Even our arrival made an impression: walking down a dark quiet alley was a bit scary. Then bending to get through the door into a dark hallway and then around the corner into a piece of heaven was amazing. Riad el Faran was all you could hope for. A central atrium, lit with candles with a central pool and the rooms leading off. All the bedrooms were large and beautiful. The upstairs sitting area quickly became a favourite hang out, and the roof terrace wonderful for breakfast and sun bathing.

It didn't take too long to get our bearings. However I would not recommend walking through a souk with eight women if you are in a hurry. By the end of the week we were all expert hagglers, or else we turned Aisha or Hebba loose on the shopkeepers. I am sure one or two were in tears when the ladies left their shops!

The central square has to be experienced to be believed. No matter what time of day or night you visit there is the sound of drums and music. There are snake charmers, belly dancers, orange stalls and fruit sellers. It is fabulous.

We did so much it would take too long to write it all down. For me the highlights were meeting the Berber women. The way the light went on behind their eyes when they realised how much we appreciated their dancing was priceless. The wonderful smell of spices, the colours, the dancing and the laughter are things I will always remember.

Kebi

Lancaster, posted by Meroe

2010-04-21T20:37:00.004+01:00

Ya Raqs finally started their 2010 season of events on Easter Saturday with a super day out in Lancaster. Over the winter the girls had clearly been praying to all the right gods because, despite the weather forecast, the sun shone on the dancers for both their sets.

The girls teamed up with Deva Victrix again to take part in a tubilustrium. In ancient times, this usually took place in March marking the start of the campaign season and was the ceremony to make the army fit for war. The trumpets sounded just as in Roman times and rose petals were scattered before the marching column (courtesy of Kebi and myself who doubled as Roman flower girls). The procession, wound its way down from the castle to the museum remembering not only the soldiers from almost 2000 years ago, but also those men and women of the armed forces who put their lives on the line for us every day in order to maintain our peace and security.

Meroe and Kebi lead the procession

As soon as the procession arrived at the museum we went in to our first set – it was so nice to have an enthusiastic audience. The dancers and the Romans then moved in to the museum and were on hand to speak to members of the public. The girls set themselves up just inside the main door and did some impromptu performances to try and encourage people to dance with them. I have to say that the people of Lancaster were a bit shy – we could only persuade one or two youngsters to dance with us – maybe next time we can encourage a few more people to join in.

All too soon it was our final set of the day. The sun came out again, right on cue, and we were able to dance in the market place in front of the museum. Our second set included a chance for the audience to join in. Then, it was all over; time certainly flies when you are having fun.

After a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday, for our Centurion Gittus, we processed back up to the castle, marking the end of our day. Thanks to all those in Lancaster who came out to support us – as always the people of Lancaster made us feel very welcome – and a special thank you to the staff at the museum who, once again, looked after us so well.

Chester Roman Festival

2010-04-05T21:42:00.003+01:00

The Chester Roman Festival starts on the evening of Friday 11 June with this event

Trip to Morocco

2010-04-03T22:54:00.003+01:00

Several members of Ya Raqs recently went on a dance holiday to Marrakesh, to learn about Moroccan music, dance and culture. More details coming soon. Thanks to Nawarra for organising a fantastic trip for us.

Heroes and Kings

2010-01-27T20:23:00.005Z

On Friday 30 April Ya Raqs will be performing at the John Rylands Library in Manchester. Click on the pictures below for more details.

Saturnalia

2010-01-04T22:51:00.004Z

Once again Ya Raqs joined Roman Tours and Deva Victrix on the Saturnalia parade though Chester, on a cold (but thankfully snow-free) evening before Christmas. This year the parade concluded in the Grosvenor Museum; where members of the public who had followed the parade from the city centre could look round the Roman exhibits, thaw out with the hot drinks on offer, and watch dancing in the Stones Gallery .

In the Stones Gallery

Meroe

Chester Dance Festival

2009-11-18T22:22:00.004Z

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

2009-11-18T22:19:00.001Z

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.

East Anglian Medieval Fayre, posted by Hebba and Kebi

2009-09-29T22:50:00.005+01:00

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.

Roman Camp at Beeston Castle

2009-09-19T22:55:00.004+01:00

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.

Gladiators and Warriors

2009-08-12T22:12:00.005+01:00

Once again Ya Raqs joined Deva Victrix and Deva Sempres at this two day event at Beeston Castle in Cheshire. Pictures and more details coming soon.

Goodbye to an old friend

2009-08-12T21:53:00.004+01:00

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 Meroe had 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 Beeston Castle, 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.

Our new Touareg tent

Chadkirk Festival, posted by Meroe

2009-07-31T23:53:00.004+01:00

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.

Roman Games, posted by Kebi

2009-07-27T22:59:00.010+01:00

Music, Dance and Death !

A rather catchy title I thought and it really was a good description of the weekend. It was the first time I had seen a real arena games in the wonderful Amphitheatre at Deva (Chester to you Britons). What made it even more exciting was the presence of the Emperor Domitian. The girls were so excited and nervous to be performing for the Emperor!

The build up to the main event went on all day with dancing around the tent by Ya Raqs and demonstrations of war engines in the arena by the Roman soldiers. Our own Deva Victrix were joined by Deva Sempres, Legio VIII Augusta and the Irish detachment of Legio XX, just to remind the locals of the power of the army.

Then it was time for the show to begin. As a warm up two local Celtic criminals were thrown in and made to fight for their freedom, not that any was forthcoming for them as the bear that was added for good measure saw off both of them! Then a guard threw a child in! I thought that was going a bit far, but praise the Goddess the child tamed the bear. It was a wonder to behold.

My heart then swelled with pride to watch Meroe, Mish-Mish, Noor and Aziza dance to honour the gladiators about to fight for the entertainment of the emperor. The huge crowd hushed as the girls all dressed in white, with flowing silk scarves danced in the Roman style. The girls tied the colours to the arm of each gladiator, and the dance ended with a poignant last glance over their shoulders at the men about to die.

Noor and Meroe

Meroe, Mish-Mish, Aziza and Noor

I am not sure I can describe the actual fighting. All I will say is that the locals are very bloodthirsty and demanded many deaths. As the fighters rested, Ya Raqs danced in the middle of the amphitheatre in the Tunisian style. The day ended with a parade of the victors and I think the emperor was pleased.

The next day the Gods were not so kind and it rained, and rained and rained! The weather did stay dry long enough to hold the traditional march through the fortress and to show off the army’s new recruits. Some did seem rather young to me. I believe some parents from St Werburgh’s and St Columba’s RC Primary school, are hoping for a long and prosperous career for their children, or maybe they just want a bit of peace in the house. Anyway the children marched like professional soldiers. Their parents and teachers should be proud.

Kebi waits (and waits) for the rain to stop

Unfortunately the dreadful weather then closed in and meant most of the day was spent trying to stay dry. The archaeologists had an enormous tent which helped. They seemed to have a busy time explaining life in Deva to interested locals and tourists.

A high point was being able to surprise Meroe with a birthday celebration. Everyone sang and gave her a birthday cake. She was quite overwhelmed. It was lovely to watch her dance with the fantastic musicians Mazaj (Chas Whitaker and Maren Leug).

Meroe dances for the Emperor Domitian

All in all I think a wonderful time was had by all.

Kebi.

Ya Raqs Race for Life

2009-07-05T18:02:00.005+01:00

Several members of Ya Raqs swapped their usual red hip scarves for pink or gold ones to take part in the Wirral Race for Life to raise funds for cancer research.

The 5k race took place in Birkenhead Park and began with a mass warm-up, where we followed instructions such as "shake your hips" with enthusiasm.

Banafrit, Hebba, Mish-Mish and Phoenece warm up

The 4,500 women taking part were then split into groups of 'runners', 'joggers' etc. We headed straight for the 'walkers' section.

Noor, Hebba, Mish-Mish, Banafrit, Kebi and Phoenece stay close to the banner marking the walkers' section

The weather forecast predicted a mixed day, and this turned out to be entirely accurate. We started in bright sunshine, but by the 3k mark a few drops of rain had started to fall, and by 4k the rain was torrential. Soaked through but undaunted, we completed the final stretch singing, "Singing in the Rain", accompanied by Mish-Mish playing sagat, and even managed to shimmy over the finishing line.

Shimmying to the finishing line

We did it!

Between the camel and the elephant

2009-06-26T23:09:00.004+01:00

Ya Raqs were invited to take part in Chester's Midsummer Watch parade. This is one of Britain's oldest festivals. It was first held in 1498, and included a family of giants and a collection of fantastic beasts, among them a unicorn, an elephant, a camel and a dragon.

The original parade was organised by the city guilds and was performed regularly until the 1660s, when it died out. It was revived in the 1980s and has now grown to include new characters, made and carried by school and community groups in the city, as well as retaining the original ones.

We found ourselves between the camel and the elephant, which seemed somehow appropriate.

Our role was to process, rather than dance, but we managed to have the occasional impromptu performance when the opportunity arose.

Our instructions were to make a lot of noise, so we arrived well equipped with riqs (tambourines) and sagat (finger cymbals) that we used to good effect, along with the odd zaghareet (a loud Middle Eastern yodelling sound).

Wrexham and Minerva's Shrine, posted by Hebba

2009-06-12T23:02:00.010+01:00

MessageWhat a day we had at Wrecsam (Wrexham). The boys had caught a Celt who was causing a lot of trouble so during our walk around the town centre, Gittus tried to sell him to the people of Wrecsam. No interest whatsoever and in their displeasure Marcus handed the Celt to Mish Mish (a fellow dancer) who set about him, hitting, scratching and dragging him along the ground with rope. I felt quite sorry for the slave and shouted at Mish Mish to stop. When we got back to camp, the Roman legionaries decided to get some sword practice in and they armed the Celt, then many soldiers took a turn at fighting him. The Celt showed no fear and some skill, so he is now being trained to be a gladiator.

It was very warm at Wrecsam and the Master of the villa we were staying at asked Meroe if she and the others would dance; we did so and he seemed pleased with us and I must admit I really enjoyed performing with my friends. I think we all danced well because later on in the afternoon we were asked to dance again, which we did. We then went into the crowd to get the people watching to dance with us. The Master of the villa ran off; so did the brave Deva Victrix legionaries. Men! I liked Wrecsam and I would like to visit there again.

Hebba (on right) dancing at Wrecsam

The next day we travelled to Minerva's Shrine. We walked through Deva (Chester) and many people followed us down to Edgar's Field where the Shrine to Minerva is. Minerva must have been smiling down on us because it was another warm beautiful day. We were able to pitch our tent and I think it looked lovely with the coloured ribbons and hangings.

We danced for the legionaries and for those people who were curious to see what we were doing; again, it was good to dance with the group. Meroe danced on her own; she is quite skilful. The legionaries take the worship at Minerva very seriously and they always encourage us to worship with them and move away from our own Gods. (As if.)

Lancaster Roman funeral, posted by Kebi

2009-05-06T22:39:00.008+01:00

Once again the many talents of Ya Raqs were in demand, this time in Lancaster playing mourners at a Roman Funeral. Why? In 2005 a unique grave marker was discovered in Lancaster. It shows a Cavalryman mounted on his horse, his sword in one hand and the severed head of a barbarian in the other. The marker is almost 6 ft tall and the carving is remarkably well-preserved. It is thought to date from around 100AD. The carving on the stone reads

'To the shades of the dead. Insus son of Vodullus, citizen of the Treveri, cavalryman of the ala Augusta, troop of Victor, curator. Domitia his heir had this set up'.

So a rather blustery morning just before Easter found Mish Mish, Meroe, Hebba and Kebi lining up behind a "corpse" and some very loud Roman soldiers from Deva Victrix, outside Lancaster castle. We processed down through the town with alternate chanting from the soldiers and wailing from us girls.

The procession gathered more and more followers as we made our way through the Saturday market until we arrived at Lancaster museum. For us in the procession it was made even more real when we remembered we were honouring a real person, a man named Insus from the Treveri tribe in Germany.

A large number of people followed us into the museum and we went to view the memorial stone in its new exhibition. The rest of the day was spent answering questions on life in Roman Britain. The museum staff were very friendly and provided a lovely lunch.

Things were much lighter on the way back to the castle where no mourning was necessary but a very surprised Centurio was treated to a rendition of Happy Birthday to You. The people of Lancaster seemed really interested in what we were doing and some even followed us back to the castle taking pictures all the time.

A wonderful day was had by all.

See a video of the procession here

Io Saturnalia!

2009-02-04T20:24:00.008Z

In December, Chester's Roman Legion, Deva Victrix, invited the city to "Celebrate Christmas the Roman Way". Saturnalia was the Roman festival to celebrate the god Saturn, and took place in late December. During Saturnalia, slaves and masters swapped roles, and a Lord of Misrule was appointed to preside over the celebrations. We donned thick capes and our warmest costumes to accompany Deva Victrix as they paraded through Chester accompanied by the Emperor, the Lord of Misrule and an effigy of Saturn.

The Emperor, soldiers carrying Saturn, and the Lord of Misrule

Watching the Lord of Misrule

Deva Victrix in Chester

After the procession there was a Saturnalia party, where we danced for the Emperor. Entertainment for such an important guest required extra dancers, and Ya Raqs were joined by 'The Balouza Babes', some of whom seemed unusually butch and hairy for dancers. Don't call us, girls; we'll call you!
Veil dance

The Balouza Babes

World Museum Liverpool

2008-12-14T16:31:00.006Z

We were invited to perform at the private view of the new Ancient Egypt gallery at World Museum Liverpool on Thursday 4 December. This took place in the evening, with the new gallery opening to the public the next day.

The gallery is on the second floor, but we danced in the museum's main foyer, beneath the pterodactyl skeleton suspended from the ceiling! As if this wasn't enough, we also got to share a changing room with one of the mini Superlambananas created for the Liverpool 08 European Capital of Culture.

Over the course of the evening we danced two sets. The first set used traditional music, costumes and dances while the second was more modern. After the second set we invited audience members to join in, and demonstrated some basic moves.

Image courtesy of National Museums Liverpool

Once we had danced, we had a chance to visit the new gallery. It looked amazing, and our only regret was that there wasn't time to look around properly. You can follow the links from the museum blog here to find out more.

The sun always(?) shines – a review of the year

2008-11-25T22:12:00.013Z

2008 wasn't the best of summers; at times it seemed as though it never stopped raining. However looking back at the photographs from some of the events Ya Raqs attended over the year, we had a surprising number of good days, some days which were at least dry, and one very wet day!

Our year started with the Festival of Minerva in May. Chester has the only rock cut Roman shrine remaining in situ in the UK and Deva Victrix, Chester's Roman legion, hold an annual festival at the site. This was also the first time we used our tent, which over the summer became our home from home.
Meroe

In June we were invited to the Welwyn Festival Roman Day, held at the Roman baths on the outskirts of Welwyn. This event included displays of Roman and Celtic daily life, recreated by Colchester Roman Society and Celtic Harmony. Military might was provided by Legion XIIII and II Augusta Legion.
This was the first Roman event we had attended without Chester's 20th Legion. However it was also the first event at which we offered temporary and henna tattoos, and as Mish-mish had found the emblem of the original Legion XX in Chester museum we were able to demonstrate that we remained firmly Deva girls!

The sun shone, and it was a beautiful day. There were lots of things to see and do, but Noor managed to find some time to make a few repairs to the tent (with help from Hebba!)

July saw us back in Chester, performing at the Roman amphitheatre as part National Archaeology Weekend

Phoenece, Noor and Aisha

Meroe's sword dance, with Kebi drumming

Later that month we danced at the Chadkirk festival, again in brilliant sunshine.

So far we had had dull days and sunny days and a few showers, but nothing serious.
August was when our luck with the weather finally ran out. We accompanied Deva Victrix on a weekend event at Beeston Castle, an English Heritage site in Cheshire. On the Saturday we managed to get the tent up in the dry, but then the heavens opened.

The day looked like being a complete washout. However the English Heritage staff kindly rearranged their (indoor) display area to make some room, we made some quick adjustments to choreographies to adapt to the smaller space, and we were able to perform for the hardy souls who had braved the atrocious weather to come out.
Sunday couldn't have been a greater contrast. The sun shone again, and we were able to perform outdoors.

waiting to start

Aziza, Aisha, Mish-mish and Kebi

Kebi and Meroe

Hebba, Aisha, Phoenece, Aziza, Kebi, Meroe,
Noor and Mish-mish

Our final outdoor event of the summer was the Harlow show in August.

Phoenece, Mish-mish, Aisha, Hebba and Aziza resist the temptation of ice cream!

We have one more outdoor event this year, the Saturnalia parade in Chester on the evening of Thursday 18 December. More details will be posted nearer the time.

Festival of the Ancestors, posted by Meroe

2008-11-05T22:03:00.002Z

Ya Raqs embarked on a slightly more sombre event on 2nd November by supporting Chester’s very own Deva Victrix in the Festival of the Ancestors. It was arguably one of the coldest events we’ve taken part in this year and all I can say is thank goodness for thermal underwear – not terribly authentic, but what the eye doesn’t see………!

Meroe, Hebba, Kebi and Mishmish traded their usual dance costumes to become official mourners at the re-enactment of a Roman funeral – that of a poor dead gladiator called Pisces Phalanges. Although his name brought smiles to those who had worked out what his name meant, the sentiment of the event was authentic and was approached with the professionalism for which Deva Victrix is famous. For our part, Ya Raqs provided not only the professional mourners but also the dancers who were bought in to entertain the family and friends after the funeral – as would have been the norm in Roman times.

Our funeral procession left the Grosvenor Museum at 2pm and soulfully wound its way through the streets of Chester, finally making its way back to the museum. Each member of Deva Victrix has taken on the name of a real Roman who lived and died in Chester and one by one they made offering to their namesakes in the Stones Gallery –as with many ancient religions, the Romans believed that by speaking the name of the dead they were restored to life.

The mood then lightened as we changed from our mourning outfits to our dance costumes to celebrate the lives of the ancestors that we had just honoured. At 3:30pm, the procession left the museum and headed down to the Groves by the river where there was an opportunity for everyone to set free candle lights on the River Dee in remembrance of their own lost loved ones. In the dusk of that cold November evening, it was truly magical to watch our little lights of remembrance making their way downstream.

As with all good funerals, there was a party to bring possibly one of our chilliest events this year to a close.

The British Museum, more pictures

2008-10-01T20:05:00.002+01:00

When we were dancing we were aware that there were lots of people taking photographs, and we wondered how these had turned out. Happily we've been able to see a few of them, and here they are. Many thanks to Mike Franklin for permission to include this link to his photos.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikefranklin/2865326736/in/photostream/

The British Museum part 3, posted by Noor

2008-09-25T22:56:00.005+01:00

Standing on the steps of the British Museum with Aziza, I was starting to get worried. The minutes were ticking by, and there was no sign of the others. Fortunately just as the word "duet" was mentioned, they appeared.

Not all of the members of Ya Raqs have been able to come to the last few events we have attended, so it was great to get everyone together for this one. However even with all ten of us there, the Great Court is such a huge space that I thought we might be completely lost in it. Somehow when we came to dance, the area formed by the arc of the audience was just right.

After each performance there was a workshop, where Meroe taught some basic steps and then brought them all together in a simple dance. Judging from the enthusiastic (if not very Roman) conga which wound round our corner of the Great Court, our audience really enjoyed the opportunity to have a go themselves.

When I'm not dancing, I am one of the costume makers for the group, and I have not long finished our red and yellow Ghawazee coats. I was thrilled to see how good they looked when we danced, with the white sleeves and the scarlet skirts swirling around us.
Here are some photographs of the day:

The British Museum part 2, posted by Hebba

2008-09-21T23:15:00.003+01:00

As we waited at the station for the train into London my nerves began to kick in. I think some of the others were nervous too because when you get more than seven women together you expect some noise and we were awfully quiet. I have not been in London for several years and it took me a little while to get used to the volume of people in a hurry to get to their destination immediately. I had a big bag over my shoulder and I definitely clipped a few heads (by accident) with my bag as I turned to get my bearings a few times. Sorry London folk.

I have never been to the British Museum, what a fantastic place. Apparently it's like an iceberg, it has so much more in storage underground. I like the thought of that. Inside the building it was incredibly light, I think that was due to the huge glass dome and the beautiful white stone from floor to ceiling, which I assume was a lot of marble, then there was the noise. So many voices talking quietly in so many different languages, all milling around the great court, brilliant. We were taken downstairs by a really kind person called Babs who was there to look after us for the day. We all got changed and went upstairs into "The Great Court", then milled around saying hello to the other re-enactors and to people wandering around, until it was time for us to perform. Words cannot come close to how scared and excited I was. In one of the dances, I had to dance with three other women with a stick balanced on my head and I did it. I thought I was going to explode with sheer joy, (how sad is that?) and the audience were so lovely they smiled clapped cheered us on and then asked lots of questions about what our lives might have been like as dancing girls following the Roman cohort around. We then spent a good few hours wandering around the British Museum adding colour and having our pictures taken by tourists and visitors. After a quick costume change into our Ghawazee coats we had our pictures taken outside in the sun by the Hadrian's Wall display and on the steps of the British Museum. I tend to take a really bad photo, I am either talking, pulling faces or have my eyes closed, so I hope there is at least a couple that have turned out okay with me looking relatively normal.

Before the second set, people were sitting down a good ten minutes before we were due to start, word had got round the dancing girls were in town. I thought the first crowd was big the second crowd was massive. People were holding cameras in the air to take photos, the audience seemed ten deep, people were standing behind us and watching us from the stairs it was incredible. We danced our best ever. We were in time, smiling; it was perfect. I felt so proud dancing with my friends. Then it was all over. We danced our last dance, took our bows and then answered more questions from interested people. I felt so happy that we had done it and sad that it was all over. We stayed in costume for another hour, then, when the Museum was closing, we went downstairs and got changed back into our twenty-first century clothes.

This has to date been one of the coolest things I have ever done.

British Museum, part 1

2008-09-16T22:51:00.003+01:00

Wow! We had a fantastic time performing at the Roman world day held at the British Museum on 13 September. The day explored the art, culture and everyday life of the Roman Empire, and was part of the Hadrian: Empire and Conflict exhibition. Details and pictures coming soon, watch this space!

Henna Tattoos

2008-09-09T20:50:00.008+01:00

This summer, as well as dancing, we have been able to offer henna tattoos to visitors at the events we have attended. The tattoos are drawn on to the skin, and then left to dry. Once dry, the henna will drop off or can be brushed off, leaving the skin beneath stained brown. The tattoo will then fade over a couple of weeks.
Note: We only use natural henna with no additives.
These are some of our designs

Harlow Show - 31 August

2008-09-07T23:06:00.020+01:00

We have seen lot of rain at our last few events, but it stayed dry for most of the day (although when it finally rained, it was a downpour). Only Pheonece, Hebba, Mish-Mish, Aisha and Aziza made it down to Harlow, but they saw off competition from the World Wrestling Federation(!) to entertain the crowds.

The Story So Far

2008-08-26T22:45:00.012+01:00

Ya Raqs was formed in 2006 from two Arabic dance classes in Chester and the Wirral. Our intention was to concentrate on traditional Arabic dance, rather than more modern and 'belly dance' styles. Over time, our repertoire has expanded to include North African dance as well. Our first public performance was at the Liverpool Arabic Arts Festival Family Day at Sefton Palm House in July 2006. Chester is a Roman city and still has many Roman remains, including an amphitheatre. The city's Roman history is brought to life by Roman Tours, who stage events throughout the year. It is known that the Romans employed Middle Eastern dancers to entertain the troops, although there is no record of any coming to Britain. In 2007 we were invited to perform at a number of Roman Tours' events, including National Archaeology Weekend, the Chester Roman Festival and a torchlight parade for Saturnalia, the midwinter festival.

In March this year we were invited to dance at the 2nd British Egyptology Conference, held at the University of Liverpool. For this we swapped our traditional costumes for something a little more glamorous.

As well as events in Chester, we have ventured further afield, dancing at the Welwyn Roman Day, the Chadkirk Festival in Stockport and Beeston Castle in Cheshire.