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 Uschi's
Villa on the Red Sea
interviewed by Lynette
Editor’s Note:
During the recent Rakassah Festival I met one of Bert
Balladine’s oldest and closest friends in the belly dance world,
Uschi Lenz (the “u” is pronounced as in “bush”) of Cologne,
Germany, and Hurghada,
Egypt.
I asked her about her connections with belly dance. Following is a
summary of what she told me. Below also are Uschi's pictures from the
2001
Festival Ahlan We Sahlan in CAIRO
I
met Bert Balladine in Germany
when he came to teach a workshop in the early 1980’s. I opened a dance
studio in Cologne with a
partner in 1984. I had learned to dance a few years before that, but
at that time learning to dance was handled sort of clandestinely. There
were no magazines or ads for belly dance. I heard about it from a friend,
who sent me to a place where dance was taught. The teacher was Ishtar,
who studied with Bert in the late 1970's.
 After
my first trip to Egypt
in 1985 I organized a dance trip for people, especially for my students.
That was a novel thing to do  then,
even having dance classes on the ship while cruising on the Nile.
I took more than thirty trips to Egypt
before deciding to live there.
I
met my new husband in Hurghada and bought this house and began to remodel
it to fit my style and taste. Actually, the house seemed to be just
waiting for us. There every house has a telephone number that belongs
to it and this house had a number made up of my birth year and Akhram’s
birth year. After two years of remodeling, the house was completed
almost a year ago. It lies 100 meters from the shore of the Red
Sea – just across the street – with four guest bedrooms
that sleep eight. Each bedroom has its own bath.
There is a dining room that seats twelve and a large kitchen. We live
in the penthouse and the guest bedrooms are on the second floor. The
ground floor is for reception and the communal areas. Upstairs on the
roof garden there is a pool from which there is a panoramic view of
the Red Sea. There are flowers everywhere on
all levels. Our dog, Blackie, and cat, Mitzi, are both
very friendly. Michael, the houseboy, lives downstairs and is
on call twenty-four hours a day. He even will go to the supermarket
at two in the morning! Laundry is done for the guests, of course.
Staying at our villa is like staying with a friend, not like being in
an impersonal hotel, and I take my guests to the marketplace myself.
 Cairo
is 580 kilometers or five hours by bus. It is 300 kilometers to Luxor.
The buses in Egypt
are large and modern with coffee served and onboard toilets. The Red
Sea is great for skin diving, windsurfing – all water sports
– and there are boats available to take one to snorkeling spots. Lately
kite surfing is becoming popular because there is always wind. The
salt content of the Red Sea is high so one floats
easily – swimming is a breeze.
 The
cost of a stay in our villa depends upon many variable factors, but
roughly I would say that groups using 2 or 3 bedrooms pay $ 220 per
person a week. The big hotels mark up everything, including water.
With us, you buy your own supplies at the prices the locals pay and
then use the kitchen. This is a wonderful opportunity for someone who
keeps his eyes open and finds a cheap flight.
We
have a Jeep Chereokee and, of course, will take you around locally.
Akhram is Egyptian and can arrange for anything you like. Children
are loved and welcomed in Egypt.
The custom with Egyptians is to take the whole family to all events
and if the children fall asleep they find a place nearby to lay them
down. Childcare is easy to find. All of the hotels have activities
for guests’ children and people from the outside can use the facilities
for a small fee.
Hurghada
has become quite a large place and a tourist center so, of course, everything
one needs is available there, including modern hospitals, TV, cable
and Internet access. There are a lot of Internet cafes, which charge
six Egyptian Pounds or about $2 for an hour’s access. Bert and Glenn
say I am the shopping expert, and I’ll tell you that you can
shop until you drop every day without ever leaving Hurghada.
Uschi with friends from Japan |
Uschi's
photos and notes from
The 2001 Festival Ahlan We Sahlan in CAIRO
on June 1-8, 2001 at the Cairo
Sheraton
The
festival produced
by Raqia Hassan, lasted eight
days with 500 dancers registered. The
Stars included Dina. Dina was very popular and had good
classes, which I highly recommend. I interviewed Dina for a German
magazine, Orient, and asked her where she gets her powerful
stage presence. She answered, “It’s so simple!” You will have
to read the interview in Orient for more!
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Uschi with Mahmoud Reda |
Sohair
Zaki taught in a huge room with 150 students. Raqia Hassan,
Ibrahim Akef, Hassan Afifi also taught. The Banat Mazin
were dancing in the Gala. I took their workshop and was surprised
that a man taught it. The women were sitting there with their
babies, but a man of the family did the teaching.
Aladin
el Kholi also taught. Although he lives in Germany,
he is originally from Egypt.
Of course Mamoud Reda had a big class, and was also there,
plus there was more. Raqia provides a very good program for the
classes – one can study everything! And
in Cairo! When you
leave the Sheraton, you are in the Orient, with the smell and
the sound of the music; you can absorb it and have the feeling
for the dance. Festival Ahlan We Sahlan 2002 will have nearly
the same teachers. A web site is available. http://www.raqiahassan.net
I
see Scheherezade
is doing a tour! You can also do it individually – come first
to the Red Sea, stay with us, and then
go to the festival. I prefer not to stay at the Cairo Sheraton
because there are lots of flats that you can rent for the week
in the same area. We can, of course, help to arrange this for
you. We know a lot of people there. If someone wants to perform,
we have connections at the Sinbad Tent, a wonderful local
venue. It’s a place where you can see belly dance and folklore.
We know most of the dancers, so you can even perform in Egypt
if you like!
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Raqia Hassan and Momo Kadous with Uschi between |
Correction from Grainne and Uschi
The dancer is Ba'dia. She is from Cairo but now lives
in Los Angeles. The gentleman with her in the foreground is
her hubby - the gentleman on her other side is Aladin el
Kholi . He lives in Germany although his is Arab (either
egyptian or turkish I'm not sure). He is a SUPERLATIVE teacher
and those that have the opportunity to study with him should
grab it with both hands.
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