Day 1: International Bellydance Conference of Canada, 2010

Long travel day today. Up at 4:30am, at the Austin airport by 5:30 and then off to Toronto. Lily and I were travel buddies and we made it to our hotel at 4pm that afternoon. Stacey and Rania took later flights and will be arriving close to midnight. By 8am tomorrow, we'll be out the door to a full day of lectures, workshops and performances at the 2010 International Bellydance Conference of Canada.

At tonight's opening gala performance, Yasmina Ramzy of Arabesque Dance Academy and host of the International Bellydance Conference announced that Mahmoud Reda and Khairiyya Mazin,the featured Egyptian instructors, were unable to make it to the conference because of the volcanic ash grounding airtravel over Europe. Here are short bio write ups taken from the IBCC website.

Mahmoud Reda is the pioneer of theatre dance in Egypt. In 1959 he founded the world renowned Reda Troupe. By the mid 60s the troupe had over 150 members including, dancers and musicians. As soloist, choreographer, and artistic director, he was instrumental in creating a legitimate theatrical dance genre that embraced many styles. He has choreographed more than 300 dances including for many Egyptian feature films, and has starred in three musicals directed by his late brother Ali Reda, two of which are major productions and are regarded as mile stones in the history of Egyptian cinema. With the troupe he has performed in prestigious theatres in more than 60 countries such as the Royal Albert Hall in London, The Olympia in Paris, Carnegie Hall in New York and Stanislavski in Moscow.

Khairiyya Yusuf Mazin is the youngest of the famous Banat Mazin, one of the last exponents of Ghawazi dance, which is perhaps the primary origin of Egyptian "belly dance." She is the sole remaining practitioner of the authentic dances of the Nawari Ghawazi of Upper Egypt. When Khairiyya Mazin retires, one of the most distinctive traditions of Ghawazi dance may come to an end. The Ghawazi are the famed female dancers described so often in Western travelers' accounts since the 18th century, and probably the major wellspring of Egyptian danse orientale.

What a true disappointment not to have the opportunity to learn from these legends. I had been truly looking forward to studying with the now 80 year old dance legend and choreographer Mahmoud Reda. But the show must go on and there will be plenty of amazing experiences ahead in the next few days of dance.

Photos and more reviews from the conference posted on my blog, Conversations on Dance. Enjoy!

Yasmin