Ahlan Wa Sahlan Festival 2009
Page 3:Competition Winners, & Closing Gala
Photos by Denise Marino
text by Leyla Lanty
posted November 11, 2009
Page 1: Opening Gala, Page 2: Teachers
It’s June 27, 2009, in Cairo, Egypt, which can mean only one thing – the Opening Gala of Raqia Hassan‘s Ahlan Wa Sahlan Festival! At the Mena House hotel the excitement in the air is palpable, not only because of the highly anticipated evening show where dancers from all over the world gather to see the top dancers, musicians, and singers in Egypt, but the next week of classes with Egyptian stars and teachers from all over the world, nightly parties, and the Closing Gala, a spectacular evening of top dancers, AWS competition winners, musicians, and singers.
One feature of the nightly parties is the dance competition. Although it’s one competition, it is spread over 2 or 3 nightly parties, with only some of the competitors performing each night until all have had a chance to perform once. Judges for the AWS 2009 competition included Mo Geddawi, Mona El Said, Nabil Mabrouk, and Katia.
Winners are chosen from the whole field of competitors with no semi-finals or finals. The 2009 Winner of the Ahlan Wa Sahlan Competition was Dariya Mitskevich from the Ukraine, who received a gold ankh trophy, a performance slot in the Closing Gala and the opportunity to teach at AWS 2010. This year there were several teenage or younger competitors and Maria Litovka, Russian, won first place among them. Both winners were outstanding dancers whose performances showed their artistry, musicality and talent.
Denise-"Not all the judges are there because evey night there were different judges except Katia & Mo Geddawi were there every night"
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Dariya Mitskevich of the Ukraine wins
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Closing Night GalaSome of the entertainers and dancers in the Closing Gala were guest artist Jillina from California, Katia from Russia living in Egypt, Dalia from France living in Egypt, and the famous singer Saad el Soghayer."
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Said el Artist – He and his highly talented and extremely well rehearsed percussion ensemble wowed the audience with percussion as no one had ever heard before. The show included some Nubian dancers and drummers along with some fine drum, tambourine, and cymbal soloists. Featured in the show were drum solos by some of the young boys in the El Artist family ranging in age from about 6 to 12 years. In the next photo, the accordionist on the right is Houda El Artist and the accordionist on the left is Sallah, two of Said’s brothers. Behind Houda was another brother, Dede who in the past has been head drummer for Dina and Dandash. Houda and Said own a recording/rehearsal studio in Giza just off Haram Street, where my CD “Golden Days, Enchanting Nights” was conceived and put together. |
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Dalia is a French dancer living in Egypt |
Jillina – Oh yes Jillina!! She knocked my socks off! As far as I know, she’s had only one opportunity to rehearse with the band before being the final dancer at the Closing Gala. She looked as if she’d been dancing with them for months if not years. She sparkled and shone throughout her performance – what a great way to end the dance performances at AWS 2009. [Ed note- article by Jillina on her experience coming soon!} |
Saad el Soghayer – He and his wonderful orchestra and team of about 40 young male dancer -drummers lit up the night, energizing the whole room even though it was already 2:30 in the morning and it had been a long, long show already. He and his dance team moved out into the audience early on then to keep the excitement going, ended the show on stage with a number of the audience members dancing on stage with him. |
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Angelika, Princess Farhana and Fahtiem |
Just a few more photos from the Opening Night Gala… Essam Karika is a very popular Egyptian singer who closed the Opening Night Gala. His show includes a number of circus acts circulating among the audience while he sings, sometimes from atop a dining table. There |
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Denise Marino, world traveling professional photographer, who has been a featured photographer at the festival for several years, contributed these magnificent photos from AWS 2009 to the Gilded Serpent.
See Denise’s bio page for a list of more of her photos posted on Gilded Serpent and for links to her websites
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Check the "Letters to the Editor" for other possible viewpoints!
Ready for more?
- 11-4-09 Ahlan Wa Sahlan Festival, Page 2: Teachers from Around the World
On Teachers’ Night, held on the night after the Opening Gala, teachers have the opportunity to show festival attendees what their special talents are. The next day after this, many go to the registration desk and register for additional classes with teachers they saw in this show. - 11-3-09 Ask Yasmina #10: Bellydance Business, Finding Musicians, Certification
This experience has made me very wary ever since of people with certificates. - 11-2-09 Ahlan Wa Sahlan Festival, Page 1: Opening Gala
It’s June 27, 2009, in Cairo, Egypt, which can mean only one thing – the Opening Gala of Raqia Hassan’s Ahlan Wa Sahlan Festival! - 11-2-09 Gilded Serpent reports- Gig Bag check with Amira and Mom, Sadiya
What does a dancer need to carry in her gig bag? Amira and her mom, Sandra or Sadiya show off her fancy gig bag and all the costumes in it that Mom made for Amira. Footage was filmed at Carnival of Stars in November 2008. - 10-29-09 Interview with Jacqueline Lombard, Queen of the Dancers in the Golden Era of Tinseltown
They refused to play dance music or anything you asked for…got to admit, that really taught how to pull off a show & think quick on my feet. You never knew where they were going with the music, & they tried to make you look bad. - 10-22-09 Chelum, a Transcendent State
They call it chelum, another Turkish term in the Eastern Macedonian dialect. It refers to a transcendent state of dance and music enjoyment fueled by tapanje, zurli, darabouki, tamburi, and of course the ubiquitous Rakija.
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