![\"Placeholder\"](\"http:\/\/www.gildedserpent.com\/art56\/graphics56\/pam\/pamsloanesphinxTOP.jpg\")
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Veteran belly dancer Dalilah<\/a><\/span> from Las Vegas sponsored a tour to Cairo for American belly dancers so they could learn from the cultural source of the dance.\u00a0 She would leverage her connection with Egyptian film and dance legend Tahia Carioca<\/span> to arrange special dance-related activities, including meeting Samia Gamal<\/span>. <\/em><\/p>\n Dalilah also touted that the tour would feature dancing lessons with Cairo\u2019s most prominent contemporary dancers including Fifi Abdou<\/a>, Hala Sofi, Sohair Zaki,<\/a><\/span> or even Nagwa Fuad<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0 It would be a dream come true if either they or Tahia and Samia would share with us their stylish moves.\u00a0 In addition, around these lessons would be sightseeing tours for which Dalilah hired an Egyptian tour agency.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n The following is the original revised and edited account of that historical first belly dance tour of Egypt.\u00a0 I did meet with Tahia and Samia on September 22, 1977 \u2013 my birthday \u2013 and this version features highlights of that exchange. <\/em><\/p>\n Thirty-three eager dancers participated in the very first ever belly dance tour of Egypt during the week of September 16, 1977, named \u201cA Belly Dancer\u2019s Dream Come True.\u201d\u00a0 We landed in Cairo after dark on Friday, September 17. The luminary Tahia Carioca herself, accompanied by members of the Egyptian press, had assembled at the airport to greet us and hold a publicity reception.<\/p>\n Instead, six hours later than our intended arrival time, Misr Tours<\/span> greeted us with profuse apologies along with sincere regrets from Miss Carioca.\u00a0 She and her retinue could no longer wait.\u00a0 The tour rep then presented Dalilah with a bouquet of flowers Tahia had intended to give us.\u00a0<\/p>\n Further delays resulted when we discovered that several of the tour members didn\u2019t have proper visas.\u00a0 Once this was remedied, we learned that the luggage of those joining the tour from Los Angeles had failed to arrive, so half of the tour members were stuck wearing their stale travel clothing for the next two days.<\/p>\n We finally arrived at the Cleopatra Hotel <\/span>by midnight. While most slept, Dalilah took a taxi to Tahia\u2019s downtown Cairo theater to meet the Egyptian media star.\u00a0 She reported that Tahia had spent three hours waiting for us at the airport, and that she regretted missing us.<\/p>\n Missing Tahia\u2019s warm welcome got the tour off to a disappointing start.\u00a0 Her huge red smile would have reassured us that the promise of this tour was on track.\u00a0 It was but the first of many hiccups and unfulfilled promises that was to characterize this tour and reveal essential truths about Egyptian culture and society.<\/p>\n Misr Tours kicked in with an exciting itinerary for our first full day.\u00a0 Accompanied by hired guide Dr. Yussef<\/span>, our bus full of wide awake dancers laced its way through rural Nile-side villages to visit Memphis and Sakkara, two necropolises (cities of the dead).\u00a0 We entered two major tombs, saw the archetypal step pyramid and various others all predating the Great Pyramid of Cheops.\u00a0 We also visited the Great Pyramid of Giza.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sahara City <\/p>\n There was barely enough time to return to the hotel and freshen up for that evening\u2019s \u201cSound and Light Show\u201d in front of the Pyramids and Sphinx, followed by a late dinner and viewing of the diverse entertainment at the Sahara City.\u00a0 Located a few miles past Giza in the desert, Sahara City is a popular tourist spot offering dinner followed by a full range of nightclub acts, including \u2013 to our excited anticipation – an array of belly dancers. <\/p>\n \u00a0The club was housed in a lively tent-like affair elegantly draped in deep red fabric looping from the ceiling.\u00a0 <\/p>\n \nWhile we ate dinner, a three-piece ensemble consisting of an organ, electric guitar and trap drum played popular tunes.\u00a0 When it was time for the entertainment to begin, the small music trio was quietly replaced with a traditional Arab musical ensemble consisting of violin, kanoon, drums and oud.\u00a0 The newly arranged musicians began a traditional Arab piece.\u00a0 After several lilting measures, the much-awaited belly dancer sauntered gracefully onto the stage.\u00a0 <\/p>\n She smiled at the audience, then promenaded in small swishy steps with only a few hand gestures.\u00a0 In her early 20s, the stunning, somewhat tentative dancer wore a costume of a bright red top and skirt with a bit of fringe on the hip belt. Her style was characterized by a lot of promenading punctuated with poses with interesting hip and torso twisting combinations. <\/p>\n As the band played on after her dance, she spent a good deal of time going through the entire house posing behind two customers at a time while a photographer flashed their photos.\u00a0 Of course afterwards, the customers were offered the folder of their photos for 50 piasters.<\/p>\n Word reached the manager of Sahara City that 30 belly dancers from the United States were in the audience, which caused him to promptly greet and invite us all to take the stage.\u00a0 Perhaps prompted by the manager, one of the professional dancers took up the cause, urging Dalilah to come up.\u00a0 <\/p>\n The Egyptians were not the only ones trilling and clapping as Dalilah finally accepted the invitation, rising from her seat and beaming broadly at her American prot\u00e9g\u00e9s.\u00a0\u00a0 We clapped along with the rest of the audience to the resounding live music, encouraging Dalilah in her zealous brief solo that left the whole house begging for more.<\/p>\n A photo and concise description of this event appeared a day or so later in an Egyptian newspaper.\u00a0 <\/p>\n The finale of the stage show featured a woman who picked up a table with her teeth and danced around while playing zills.\u00a0 I recognized this stunt from Greek taverna shows, and all agreed that it was memorable note on which to end the evening of unforgettable dance and music. <\/p>\n The manager sought through our Misr Tours guide to engage the group for a formal performance that coming Thursday.\u00a0 Most of the tour members relished this invitation as the chance of a lifetime to perform belly dance in the shadow of the Pyramids, especially since we\u2019d already had a taste of the Egyptian stage that night.\u00a0 But Thursday was a long way off and, as we had already begun to observe, even the best of plans were subject to unforeseen twists and turns in this land by the Nile.<\/p>\n Dr. Yussef of Misr Tours was again on hand to narrate history as we trudged through the museum, gawking and peering at the artifacts in this unkempt Egyptian warehouse.\u00a0 I had already seen the contents of King Tut\u2019s display in a special exhibit in San Francisco, but seeing the duplicates here still stirred excitement.\u00a0 <\/p>\n The mummies of such historic notables as Ramses, Seti, and Tuthmos and others, laid out in glass cases, did not disappoint, either.\u00a0 Arranged in neat rows and revealed from the neck up, the facial features were so discernible that you could reconstruct what each mummy probably looked like as a living person.<\/p>\n The trip to the museum was followed by a buying frenzy at a bazaar to which Dr. Yussef escorted us and assisted in haggling for goods. While haggling is expected in Egypt, by the time the tour wound down most of us were tired of this effort, finding it to be troublesome and time-consuming. <\/p>\n The bazaar featured metal trays, cups and tea pots, all kinds of jewelry, clothing ranging from beautifully embroidered tunics to even some tempting Bedouin blankets.\u00a0 <\/p>\n Monday and Tuesday mornings were to have been the essence of our tour, described in the literature as \u201c\u2026Belly Dance lesson at the hotel (or in front of the Pyramid.) by one of the most famous Belly Dancers at the present time.\u201d\u00a0 <\/p>\n Neither of these lessons materialized.\u00a0 Apparently Nagwa Fuad<\/span>, the reigning Nile Hilton<\/span> belly dancer, did not honor her commitment confirmed through the Egyptian Embassy before we left the States. So, while behind-the-scenes finagling went on in attempts to remedy this blow to our belly dance dream, the Thursday optional tour to Luxor was moved up to Monday instead.<\/p>\n Hotel Problems<\/p>\n At this point dissatisfaction with the Cleopatra Hotel reached a peak. The travel agency had represented it as a first class hotel and had charged accordingly, but many felt very strongly that it was completely below standard.\u00a0 Complaints included getting pins, flies and hair in food, which was barely edible most of the time anyway.\u00a0 <\/p>\n Some said service had been poor, with \u201cpestering\u201d of the patrons by certain hotel employees.\u00a0 One tour member even had a dress stolen from her room; others were missing money.\u00a0 Though the Ministry of Tourism was called and sent a person to help rectify whatever he could, the fact remained that the hotel was first class by Egyptian<\/em> standards, and there had been no misrepresentation.<\/p>\n Originally tour members were to have stayed in another first class hotel, the Jolie Ville<\/span> near the Pyramids, but in August we had received a letter from Dalilah stating that for convenience sake, we had changed to the Cleopatra.\u00a0 Now, in the emotional discussions following the open complaints, the suggestion was floated that we pay a few pounds extra and move to the Hotel Jolie Ville to \u201cget our money\u2019s worth.\u201d<\/p>\n In the end, certain reparations were made, hot heads cooled, and we begrudgingly stayed at the Cleopatra. <\/p>\n The Valley of the Kings<\/p>\n Despite the dissatisfaction with our various disappointments, we went along with the schedule change moving Luxor up, hoping that going to Upper Egypt earlier would help buy time to arrange the promised belly dance lessons with \u201cone of the most famous Belly Dancers at the present time.\u201d\u00a0 <\/p>\n Arriving at Luxor via a short plane ride, Msr Tours ferried us across the Nile to Queen Hatshepsut\u2019s funeral temple, then the Valley of the Kings where we entered King Tut\u2019s original tomb.<\/p>\n Back on the other side of the Nile, we went to the great Temple of Karnack.\u00a0 Though much dilapidated with only a ghost of its original visage, I was awed by the enormity of its numerous columns and sheer enormity. <\/p>\n Tuesday\u2019s cancelled dance lesson provided a windfall to get caught up on errands and rest, though enthusiasm had been dimmed overall. \u00a0Luckily, while we were enjoying our free time, Dalilah managed to enlist her old friend Tahia<\/span>\u2019s help, and the great danseuse <\/em>agreed to host us at her downtown Cairo theater that afternoon.\u00a0 <\/p>\n Tahia sent word reiterating emphatically that she refused to teach, but we were thrilled at the opportunity to meet and speak with her. After all, we had missed her welcome at the airport upon arrival.\u00a0 A sudden bout of a recurrent illness delayed her arrival, keeping the group waiting for her at the theater for over two hours. <\/p>\n Publicity Photos by the Pryamids<\/p>\n Wednesday was the highlight of the tour.\u00a0 Wearing our belly dance costumes, we assembled before the Pyramids and the Sphinx and with camels as props, indulged in an enjoyable photo-taking spree.\u00a0 In time, the contemporary dancer Sohair Zaki <\/span>actually showed up accompanied by her personal retinue and a gaggle of Egyptian press members.\u00a0 We went to a nearby tent where she sat with Dalilah and watched some of our tour members dancing to taped music.\u00a0 Of course, we had hoped for some dancing tips or even a brief demo of her softly fluid style, but her conservative flowered shirtdress communicated her intentions clearly. <\/p>\n An interpreter assisted, but even he could not persuade her to participate any further than sitting politely with Dalilah and smiling at our efforts.\u00a0 After about an hour, she gingerly excused herself and left in a flurry with her entourage. I understand there was a blurb in the Cairo press about this event the next day.\u00a0 Perhaps that\u2019s why Ms. Zaki chose to join us in the first place.<\/p>\n Misr Tours came through on Thursday with the city tour, felucca ride down the Nile, and the trip to the famous Kan Kalili Bazaar.\u00a0 That evening we had been scheduled to appear at Sahara City as a series of American belly dance acts. On hearing of this engagement, Tahia strongly advised against it, averring that dancing in such a place was \u201cbeneath us.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 <\/p>\n So, yet another highlight of our tour fell out from under us and certainly to the dismay of Sahara City\u2019s enterprising and persistent manager.\u00a0 But the change turned out to be a windfall in our favor, because Tahia offered in its stead to have us come to her theater for an exclusive engagement.\u00a0 There we would dance on her stage, in the presence of her audience, in the protective aegis of her theater.\u00a0 So next, we were due at Tahia\u2019s theater in Cairo.\u00a0 <\/p>\n Finally, a promise of the tour was to take place!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Face-to-Face with Legends Tahia and Samia<\/p>\n Upon arriving at Tahia\u2019s theater after a short walk from our hotel in the 120-degree afternoon heat, steady preparations got under way for the tour member dance performances.\u00a0 A modestly equipped facility with capacity for several hundred, the darkened theater offered a humble but appropriate venue for tour dancers\u2019 performances for Tahia and Samia.\u00a0 <\/p>\n Everyone held strong hopes that these two living treasures of danse oriental <\/em>might grace the theater with magical dancing pointers, or even a performance, no matter how impromptu or brief.\u00a0 After all, we had come to Cairo seeking to enrich our knowledge of Egyptian dance. <\/p>\n Tahia\u2019s husband and other friends greeted us and showed us around the theater as we posed for each other\u2019s cameras and practiced dancing on the small wooden stage with a wooden painted arabesque backdrop.\u00a0 An audience of about forty non-dancing tour participants and Tahia\u2019s entourage looked on.<\/p>\n Finally the air stirred and there she was – Tahia\u2019s effusive presence filled the theater.\u00a0 <\/p>\n She had entered customarily over two hours late beaming and aglow at Dalilah\u2019s side.\u00a0 Now an older, less hale Tahia than seen in the movies greeted us, her once rosy visage paled by sweat and recurring unnamed illness.\u00a0 A black caftan covered her corpulent body, and her dyed black hair was clipped in a smart, short hairdo quite unlike the flowing dark manes of her movie danseuses<\/em>.\u00a0 As her kohl-rimmed black eyes took in each of us, I felt privileged to experience her bold warmth and natural charisma in person. <\/p>\n At last this central expectation of the \u201cDream Come True First Belly Dance Tour to Egypt\u201d had finally come about.<\/p>\n My notebook quotes a cultural informant at Tahia\u2019s theater as saying: \u201cTahia is Egypt and Egypt is Tahia.\u201d\u00a0 <\/p>\n We hoped that Tahia might take to the stage this night and demonstrate what this meant. But the outspoken Tahia made it quite clear her performance days were over.\u00a0 \u201cI want see the American girls dance!\u201d she declared in her Arabic-accented English. Later she stepped aside with me for an interview in which I recorded her feelings about American belly dancing and the current state of the dance. [Article \u201cInterview with Tahia Carioca\u201d coming soon!]<\/em><\/p>\n Recorded popular Arab dance music piped in allowed some dancers to perform onstage informally.\u00a0 Tahia never stopped chatting and busying herself amongst us, always staying close to Daliliah.\u00a0 We cajoled and begged her to show us a bit of her repertoire, but she firmly declined, choosing instead to encourage us to continue entertaining her with our Americanized form of the dance.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/p>\n After a few hours, the festive atmosphere was broken by a sudden flurry in the darkened back of the theater.\u00a0 Samia Gamal\u2019s presence caused a major displacement of energy throughout the theater.\u00a0 Tahia stepped back, embraced her prot\u00e9g\u00e9 warmly, and then introduced her to Dalilah. That night we attended the Balloon Theater in downtown Cairo for a performance of The Reda Troupe<\/span> for a refreshing program of Egptian folkloric dance.<\/p>\n Several of us who had managed to meet Mahmoud Reda<\/a><\/span>, director and choreographer of the troupe, were invited to his downtown studio Friday evening for dance lessons. Mahmoud and one of his leading dancers, Raika<\/span>, lead us through beladi and other routines Reda had researched throughout the Egyptian countryside.\u00a0 One of his star dancers, Farida Fahmy<\/a><\/span>, greeted and chatted with us as well. <\/p>\n His surprise dance lessons helped offset some of the disappointment of not receiving dance instruction from any of the reigning stars as we had hoped.\u00a0 Instead, he respectfully took us back to the Nile countryside where the entire dance lexicon originated, thereby doing us an even greater honor.<\/p>\n Last Day<\/p>\n \nThe final, free day in Cairo was spent variously by the now wearied and somewhat disillusioned touring belly dancers.\u00a0 Some shopped, went to Alexandria, and revisited the Pyramids and museum, while others caught up on their rest before our departure early the next day.\u00a0 The evening was spent in much the same way \u2013 returning to see a favorite performance or dine at a favorite restaurant.<\/p>\n Conclusion<\/p>\n For most, the 4:30AM wake-up call from the hotel desk was acknowledged shortly after returning from the evening\u2019s outing.\u00a0 Eyes stinging from lack of sleep surveyed the dawn sights of a fascinating city teeming with her awakening people setting out to do their daily work as the tour bus headed to the airport.<\/p>\n As of departure, no one could quite yet manage to put together the disparate pieces of a frantic week of delights and disappointments.\u00a0 The sight-seeing had broadened our understanding of Egyptian history and culture; the nightclub performers and traditional dance of the Reda Troupe had been inspirational.\u00a0 But the failure of the dance lessons from contemporary performers as promised, along with the dead weight of empty time waiting for alternative arrangements in their stead, left a bitter taste \u2013 even outright anger – for many.<\/p>\n In the final analysis, the very notion of what \u201cA Belly Dancer\u2019s Dream Come True\u201d would be was based on American notions and expectations.\u00a0 Could such a dream, conceived in an American mindset, ever <\/em>have come true?\u00a0\u00a0 Learning about another culture in order to better inform the dance you\u2019re performing is a noble enough undertaking, as long as cultural disparity is understood from the outset.\u00a0\u00a0 No two cultures are alike, and that is the point we learned through this experience.\u00a0 <\/p>\n Sohair Zaki!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Desert tent behind Pyramids <\/p>\n <\/p>\nPart I. The Egyptian Odyssey Begins\u00a0\u00a0<\/h3>\n
![\"billboard\"](\"http:\/\/www.gildedserpent.com\/art56\/graphics56\/pam\/4bwbillboard.jpg\")
\nA billboard in town<\/h6>\nPart II:\u00a0 Egypt at Night<\/h3>\n
\n![\"Dancer](\"http:\/\/www.gildedserpent.com\/art56\/graphics56\/pam\/zdancer4inch.jpg\")
<\/p>\nDancer at Sahara City nightclub<\/h6>\n<\/div>\n
\n![\"Saudi's](\"http:\/\/www.gildedserpent.com\/art56\/graphics56\/pam\/saudis4inch.jpg\")
<\/p>\n Saudis party at Sahara City nightclub<\/h6>\n<\/div>\n
Part III\u00a0\u00a0 Touring Egypt<\/h3>\n
![\"Cairo](\"http:\/\/www.gildedserpent.com\/art56\/graphics56\/pam\/museumcollage.jpg\")
Egyptian Museum<\/p>\n![\"lunch\"](\"http:\/\/www.gildedserpent.com\/art56\/graphics56\/pam\/lunch.jpg\")
\nLunch at a café on the tour (yes, that’s Bert!<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n![\"Dalilah](\"http:\/\/www.gildedserpent.com\/art56\/graphics56\/pam\/dahlilahSohair.jpg\")
\nDalilah greets Sohair<\/h6>\n<\/div>\n![\"dancers](\"http:\/\/www.gildedserpent.com\/art56\/graphics56\/pam\/dancers3.jpg\")
<\/h6>\nSee Bert <\/a>in there?<\/h6>\n
![\"dancers](\"http:\/\/www.gildedserpent.com\/art56\/graphics56\/pam\/dancers.jpg\")
<\/h6>\nNames: 1, 2, 3 (behind), 4, 5, 6<\/h6>\n
![\"posing\"](\"http:\/\/www.gildedserpent.com\/art56\/graphics56\/pam\/pamcamel3.jpg\")
\nAuthor in red<\/h6>\n\n![\"Samia,](\"http:\/\/www.gildedserpent.com\/art56\/graphics56\/pam\/2dalilahcelebs4inch.jpg\")
\nSamia Gamal, Tahia Carioca and Dalilah, Sept. 1977*<\/h6>\n<\/div>\n
\n[Article \u201cInterview with Samia Gamal\u201d coming soon!] <\/em>\n<\/p>\n![\"Reda](\"http:\/\/www.gildedserpent.com\/art56\/graphics56\/pam\/redatroupe4inch.jpg\")
Reda Troupe at the Balloon Theater<\/p>\n <\/h3>\n
More Photos<\/h3>\n
![\"Soheir](\"http:\/\/www.gildedserpent.com\/art56\/graphics56\/pam\/soheirzaki.jpg\")
![\"Soheir\"](\"http:\/\/www.gildedserpent.com\/art56\/graphics56\/pam\/soheirzaki2.jpg\")
<\/p>\n <\/h6>\n
![\"dancers](\"http:\/\/www.gildedserpent.com\/art56\/graphics56\/pam\/dancers2.jpg\")
<\/h6>\nNames 1, 2, 3, 4, 5- Pam, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12- Delilah<\/a><\/h6>\n
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![\"dancers](\"http:\/\/www.gildedserpent.com\/art56\/graphics56\/pam\/dancers4pyramids.jpg\")
<\/h6>\n![\"Pam](\"http:\/\/www.gildedserpent.com\/art56\/graphics56\/pam\/pamcamel2.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Pam](\"http:\/\/www.gildedserpent.com\/art56\/graphics56\/pam\/pamtent.jpg\")
\nPam Sloane in front of emir’s desert tent near Pyramid, Sept. 1977<\/p>\n![\"Dalilah\"](\"http:\/\/www.gildedserpent.com\/art56\/graphics56\/pam\/dahlilah.jpg\")
![\"Dalilah\"](\"http:\/\/www.gildedserpent.com\/art56\/graphics56\/pam\/dahlilah2.jpg\")
\nDalilah<\/p>\n![\"Desert](\"http:\/\/www.gildedserpent.com\/art56\/graphics56\/pam\/tent.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Cairenes\"](\"http:\/\/www.gildedserpent.com\/art56\/graphics56\/pam\/egyptianman1.jpg\")
![\"Cairenes\"](\"http:\/\/www.gildedserpent.com\/art56\/graphics56\/pam\/egyptianman2.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"use](\"http:\/\/www.gildedserpent.com\/graphics\/acommentbox.jpg\")
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