Heroes and Kings

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

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

Ya Raqs was one of a number of dance groups invited to take part in the Chester Dance Festival in October. We performed a number of dances in traditional styles such as Saaidi, Ghawazee and Nubian, and followed these with more contemporary ones, including a drum solo and a Modern Oriental routine.


Ghawazee dance


Nubian dance

Afterwards, Aisha led a "have-a-go" session where members of the audience were encouraged to try a few of the moves for themselves. Although we had brought some extra hipscarves with us to allow the participants to get into the mood, demand greatly exceeded supply, so the belts of our dresses were pressed into service to ensure that no-one was left out.



The "have-a-go" session

The event was a great success, and there are plans to repeat it next year.

Alvaston Hall

For our last outdoor dance event of the year, we joined Deva Victrix at a Roman Day at Alvaston Hall Hotel. Guests could try their hand at activities such as archery and slingshot, and watch demonstrations of Roman life such as cooking and of course, dancing. After each set of dances we held a short workshop.

East Anglian Medieval Fayre, posted by Hebba and Kebi

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

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

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.