Memorial to John Compton

Video Clip of John interviewed for Hoochy Mammas

I am very sad with this news, john was infected after those people who rest their joy, incredibly talented and most beautiful of his talent was as enjoyed the dancing and the energy delivered to the public, always remember. -Paula

I have the treasured memory of studying with John Compton in Spring of 2009 = drove 3 hours one-way 2 states away to get the chance to bask in his "John-ness" LOL:) & I AM SO GLAD I DID!!! …Even just to speak with him (He’s such a CHARACTER–had me in stitches!:)) was a wonderful experience! …I drank in all his stories of Hahbi’Ru & Jamila Salimpour, delighting in surprisedly seeing his costume displayed on the wall of a bar in SanFrancisco, etc…

***REST IN PEACE, JOHN COMPTON!!!***

Hugs-&-Shimmies, Zafirah (Lesly Tejero-Baker)

I have a few photos from a weekend workshop I took with John Compton in Syracuse, NY in April 2006.

Paula, ?, John

?, Rebaba, Sage, Paula and John

John and Farideh

From Sid:
I’m Sid Jones, and Oud player who played for John during the time he was expanding his activity from Santa Cruz into the San Jose area.  We performed at a place in Sunnyvale called Alladin’s Pizza Parlor.  In John’s own words:

"In the late 1970s I was dancing in Sunnyvale, California, at Aladdin’s Pizza Parlor.  I gained notoriety at the Friday lunch shows which would get booked three or four months in advance. I did some Saturday night shows there also and it was almost like the Chippendales shows. There would be about three hundred frenzied women and maybe fifty men. The main part was the tipping." . . . "I also worked in many places around San Jose, California. I worked at the Balkan Village in Los Altos. The San Jose places paid better."

Source:  http://www.gildedserpent.com/articles6/northbeach2/johncompton.htm

I was employed in Sunnyvale as an Engineer.  I escaped for a couple of hours each Friday to do the noon "John Show".  Also playing with me were Dave Adams (also an Oud player) on Guitar, and Tom Malley on Dumbek and Def.  I’m sorry to say that I have no photos from those gigs, even though thousands were taken by all those over-excited women, but I can submit a previously unpublished shot which I captured at a Renn Fair about twelve years ago.

Photo sent in by Rebaba:
"I got permission from Rosemary to publish this on GS.  Taken in Vacaville in the early 2000s when we first introduced all of our students into the company. "

Attached is a picture that was taken with John Compton after attending his workshop at 2010 LVBDI.  I am so saddened by the news of his passing but feel so fortunate to have had the chance to meet and to learn from him. Best, Souzana

Attached is one of my photos from Las Vegas BellyDance Intensive and Festival (2010). -Dano Blanchard

10-15-12 , Rebaba: "The first one I’ll re-scan and send separately as you can see the scanner cut it off for some unknown reason.  The first six (counting the cover shot I will send in the next email) are panels from a promo kit created by a Hollywood agent who was determined to make John a STAR (except according to John he just wanted to dance and didn’t care about the modeling or acting at that time [early 80s]).  The most famous picture with the tray on his head is with the beautiful dancer/choreographer Sharlyn.  The last two photos with me were taken in 2000, one is from Rakkasah and the other is us goofing around after a photo shot.  I love this picture as it shows his real constantly playful nature! Love, Rita"

year 2000

"In a word, John had Charisma.  His quick wit and  sense of humor made him popular; his kindness made him loved.  Above all, he had courage.  We have lost a wonderfully unique individual…and there will never  be another like him." Anne Shears, St. Louis, Missouri

Here is the last "best day" photo we took of each other at Pacific Beach in San Diego on September 14, 2012.  The following day he collapsed on me and we went to emergency and it was sort downhill from then on until he passed exactly one month later (ooooh, I just realized that he passed exactly 30 days from this when this photo was taken, October 14th was his last earthly day!!)

The older woman with the white hair is Anna.  She came to every dance show in Vancouver B.C. and had been in a concentration camp in WWII.  She could party.  She was such a fixture and a great audience and she loved John.  She would get up and dance after she had a few and she was just such a happy spirit.  She came down for this show with Rahma Haddad and Selma Ferchichi and this guy, who knew John but I don’t remember his name. -Shelley

This is a photo of John and me taken a few years ago at a workshop in Salina, Kansas. 

My mother, Shadia Dahlal, made fun of how starstruck I was the first time I met John. I remember her telling him about it, and he just laughed. Some of my best memories are of sitting with my mother and John listening to them exchanging dance stories from the old days. From the first time I met John, he was a friend. He shared jokes and funny stories with me like we had known one another for years. As a dancer, he inspired me like few other dancers have, and as a teacher, his patience and fun attitude made me feel like I could accomplish anything. Occasionally, he would surprise me with a message letting me know he was sitting in an airport and just thought of me, or when I got married and moved to Colorado, "Waaahhh! You left me for someone else!" 🙂 It meant everything in the world to know that someone I looked up to so much was thinking of me. I will miss him very much. – Marisa Elena Dahlal

 

Hi……..
It is sad…. And more and more are following him to the clouds…..He will keep us the good places warm for our joy of the art of dance. Attached some photos from Rakkassah 1996 ….. J. with 1001 Oriental Greetings
André Elbing

 

John & Asia in Hollywood, 1984

Dancing together at Rakkasah

I am sending along these pictures, John and I were partners for ten years.
We danced and taught all over California, Portland and Seattle. He was so much fun to work with.
He was an inspiration to all. Personally, he is the person who convinced me to move to SF and throw my hat in the ring as a professional belly dancer.
John was one of a kind and will  be sadly missed.-
Asia

John Compton was  a close friend and and such an influence on me, I’d known him since I was a baby dancer. His  talent, his stage presence, and generosity made him a huge figure in our community, and I felt blessed  to know him.   Off-stage, we got a long like gangbusters- anyone that was around him for a while knew that he was totally  fun, spontaneous  and crazy…in a GREAT way.  After my career took off, we wound up working together (and often rooming together) at many festivals.  We  always seemed to meet up at airports in far-flung cities, on our way to dance events…so we’d have a cocktail together while waiting for our plane, it kind of became a "tradition".    I’m not sure what airport  this  picture was taken at, and I’m thinking he probably  just had a random  stranger snap it,  a few weeks before we were scheduled to work together in 2009…but this wound up being his Facebook profile picture for a while. I thought it was cute at the time  and it still is, but now it’s also indicative of what a warm and funny person  he was. –Princess Farhana