Susie’s Photos of the
Belly Dancer of the Year 2009 Pageant
Belly Dancer of the Year 2009 Pageant
Saturday Afternoon: Troupes, Duos & Trios, Grand Dancers
Saturday Evening: BD of Year, Preliminaries
Sunday: Finals
Photos and text by Susie Poulelis, (*with a few supplemental photos by Lynette)
posted June 2009
As a fish to a shiny object, so am I drawn to a well produced event of glamorous, bedazzled and talented performers of belly dance. Leea Aziz’s yearly production The Belly Dancer of the Year Pageant held this year at the San Ramon High School was at the top of my list of shows to see and photograph. It never disappoints in its ability to help me snap some of the best shots in my portfolio; the clean backdrop, the lighting, the exquisite sparkle of the costumes inevitably lead to a weekend of nonstop shutter clicks. My apologies to those seated near me. I just can’t help myself.
Favorite costume: Summer Sahar’s pink number in the finals on Sunday. The Barbie pink with shell paillettes get up could be heard tinkling during shimmies from the stage. Fabulous!
Satuday Afternoon- Troupes, Duos & Trios, Grand DancersWe missed part of the first set of dancers and troupes, including: |
 Seshata* |
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Defi Safir* |
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Hala Dance Company* |
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Taroob* |
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Aiwa She Raqa |
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Raks A’Diva– awarded 2009 Troupe of the Year |
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Theresa Jade awarded 1st Runner Up for Troupe of the Year |
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Modern Gypsy awarded 1st Runner Up for Troupe of the |
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Magenta |
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Raqs Ahroosh |
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Scimitar |
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Tiyanna |
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Awards
Raks A’Diva – 2009 Troupe of the Year Aiwa She Raqa – 2009 Trio of the Year Fiji – 2009 Grand Dancer
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Saturday Evening- Bellydancer of the Year Preliminaries |
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Stephani |
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Marzieh |
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Namira |
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Aazura Nour |
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Khalilah |
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Maria |
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Sedona |
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Summer Sahar |
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Mariah |
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Alanah |
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Karolina |
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Finalists
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Sunday Finals |
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We missed Namira , Mia, Khalilah…
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Magidah |
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Maria |
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Lulu |
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Sedona |
 Summer Sahar |
 Mariah |
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Karoline |
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Casuals
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 2009 BDOY Judges Ahava, Aneena, Ayesha, Aziza!, Bay’la Zena, Denise, Ely Buffin, Fadil Shahin, Jizan, Judeen, Malia DeFelice, Ma*Shuqa Mira Murjan, Naiya, Numa’ir, Oreet, and Pat Olson |
More photos of this event by Michael Baxter coming soon.
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Check the "Letters to the Editor" for other possible viewpoints!
Ready for more?
- 7-28-08 Suhaila in the Phoenix,
June 28, 2008, Brava Theatre in San Francisco, CA Produced by Bellydance Odyssey -
3-31-08 A New Venue for Rakkasah Festival West
In retail, there is a saying that having an item sell out was a happy problem to have. You want to keep your customers yearning for more, making sure they won’t hesitate to buy the next time they see something they want. - 6-21-07 The San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival, Weekend Two,
Afro-Cuban, Chinese, Peru, Korean, Appalachian, Bolivian, Mexico, Tajikistan, Cambodian, South Indian, Tahitian - 4-14-07 Randa Kamal in Cairo The Photos of Susie Poulelis
I was fortunate to travel to Cairo on business in April ’06, and managed to take some time to see a few sights and, at least, one dance performance: Randa Kamal at the Marriot Zamelek’s Empress Nightclub - 3-22-07 The Photos of Susie Poulelis, Sunday March 18, 2006, Rakkasah Festival, Richmond, California
Isabelle shines at 9! - 6-11-09 Arabic Lessons, My Introduction to Shaabi, Part 1
She taught us that besides learning the words and their meanings, Egyptians do not stand still when singing. They dance around a bit and use their hands, body and eyes to gesture according to the songs. - 6-10-09 Carl Capture Character: Rakkasah Festival East, Saturday Dancers L-Z
Latifa, Banat Al Beled, Leena, Lotus Niraja, Mahira Tribe, Mahrabesh, Majestic Hip, Malweh, MaShuqa, Mayumi, Nabila, Naheda, Natica, Nixies… - 6-8-09 The Real Ideal Show; Why we Dance!
As the time approached for our show, two of our dancers were stuck in traffic trying to reach us from San Francisco, so we arranged our show to accommodate them if they made it and so it would work if they didn’t . - 6-7-09 Ask Yasmina #7: Milaya, Tipping, Gossip
Ask yourself "why?’ over and over again, digging deeper for the truth, until you arrive at that moment when the beauty of Bellydance had you completely inspired and elated, that moment
when you wanted the whole world to experience the same joy. - 6-4-09 Michael’s Spring 2009 Photo Spread,
Aazura, Adriana, Ahava, Alimah, Andrea, Claudia, Eve, Kashmir Isis, Katherina, Khalila, Maria, Meissoun, Michelle Joyce, Mychelle, Nadira, Nanna, Nicole, Sandra, Shoshanna, Summer, Surreyya, Crystal, Tabitha, Zaheea - 6-4-09 Carl Capture Character: Rakkasah Festival East, Saturday Dancers E-K
East Pennsylvais Middle Eastern Dance Club, Egyptian Sunrise, Egyptian Sun, Enzina, Eye of Horus, Fahtiem, Fatima Al Wahid, Femme Fatales, Gypsies & Genies, Jenivia, Jewels of the Nile, Johara &
Snake Dance Theatre, Kaeshi, Kaoru, Kimberly
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