Lancaster, posted by Hebba

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

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

Claire House fundraising event - Saturday 30 April

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

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

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

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.