My first blog post - why I choose Egyptian dance

So why would someone who grew up in the North of England, who worked most of her life in London and Manchester, choose to give up a well paid job to devote her life to her passion for Egyptian dance and music.  Well it's a complicated answer, and one that might take a few posts to be honest.

But I shall start with a very simple reason.

I believe that Egyptian dance, the dance of the people of Egypt as opposed to the cabaret/oriental/bellydance styles often associated with the Middle East and North Africa, is perhaps the most simple to enjoy dance forms that exists.  It is fabulous not just for the body and our health in general, but also for the relaxation and focus of the mind and works almost as a meditative practice.  And the development of the people's dance into what is called here in Egypt Raqs Sharqi (dance of the east), a more sensual and physically demanding dance style, has the potential to not just be a fun dance to do, but to actually be a vehicle to bring us closer to a personal understanding of ourselves and a tool for transformation.  Not everybody is looking for that, and not everybody wants it all the time, but we have it here.

And then there is Egypt, a country which is complex and varied, both in its physicality, its traditions, its modern developments and its philosophies.  I'll be looking at all aspects of Egypt in this blog - well my experiences of it.

Here in Luxor, the dance and music is about bringing people together; the movement is earthy, grounded and often repetitious, with the focus on joy and connection rather than expertise and the individual.

This week I'm going to be leading people in various dance activities with local musicians and I'll be bringing you some thoughts, images and information.  I hope you'll check in with me again.

​Until then …. some images