MEETING WITH AN AMERICAN PRODUCER

by Amana

It was on the Quebec discussion forum and in the Papyrus newspaper that I heard about the Bellydance Superstars for the first time with very complimentary comments. During a visit to Montreal with my friend Martine Werotte in May 2004, I learned that the troupe would be performing at the Folies Bergère in Paris in October 2004. As I had just bought a basement in poor condition in Paris near my home to create a dance studio, the idea came to me to offer the BDSS to organize internships during their visit. As soon as I got back to Paris, I received an email from the BDSS asking me if I could talk about their coming to Paris with my students and if I knew of a room to rent for internships. I obviously grabbed the ball on the leap and two weeks later Miles Copeland came down to my cellar among the pots  of paint and electric wires in an indescribable building site.

The white plaster shoes in the middle of the future dance hall, he tells me  :  » OK, if you are sure to be ready at the end of October, you organize an internship for me with Jillina, Rachel Brice, Amar Gamal and Ansuya  » and he offers me the complete collection of DVDs and CDs of the troop.  

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Miles Copeland and Amana

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After watching the DVDs I was even happier to embark on this project but my anxiety that the work would not be finished in time increased day by day.

Finally the studio was just usable for my open house in mid September and completely ready for the arrival of the BDSS.      

The internships filled up well with interns from all over Europe and the big weekend arrived, the show lived up to its reputation.  : technically perfect, very rich and varied in  the choreographies  .  I really enjoyed Jillina's percussion solo, Bellyqueen's grace  : Amar Gamal and Kaeshi, the energy of Ansuya, the beauty of Sonia  and the power of Rachel Brice's Tribal dance, which we discovered for the first time on a Parisian stage, but also Petite Jamila in the double veils, Adored with her spectacular pirouettes  and all the ballet.

The courses were also remarkable, the quality and generosity of their teaching were matched only by their kindness and simplicity.  : stars sometimes know how to keep it simple.

Before setting off again in his exhausting whirlwind of shows, Miles told me "  we're coming back for a week in February at the Folies Bergère, can you set up new workshops and organize a casting because I need more dancers to meet all the requests  » . In 30 seconds I already had a busy schedule for the coming months.

February program  : Rachel Brice, Amar Gamal and Tamra-Henna, new recruit of the troop. As soon as reservations opened, the 30 places for Rachel and Amar left in 2 weeks.

The first eight dancers arrived on Friday February 11 at 11.00 am, transfer to the hotel, taxi in stride to the dance studio to prepare a choreography on Rachid Taha for the passage on TF1 the next day  : after 12 hours of flight it's hard, the eyes are surrounded, the Bellydance superstars also look like  Lady everyone.

The passage on TF1, badly filmed, is not  not terrible but the American marketing is having an effect.

The first Thursday show was still just as magical despite the noticeable absence of Jillina and Ansuya. Amar Gamal was dazzling in the percussion solo  interpreted by Issham and Tamra-henna brought in her luggage a bit of style and music from Cairo where she worked for 1 year.      

I had launched the idea of a dinner after the show to be able to get to know each other a little better and we arrived at 20 people at the Brasserie Flo  past midnight. The service had just ended but in front of so many charms the head of the room accepted us against some free invitations for the show. The onion soup and sauerkraut had their usual success and Rachel introduced Burgundy snails to most of the dancers.

Return on foot to the hotel at 3 am  .   

             Aubre and Amar Gamal                                       Francois, Amana and Rachel Brice

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The weekend internships went perfectly well while Miles and Sonia auditioned about fifty candidates  at the Folies Bergere  to finally retain 4 dancers.

At the end of this emotional weekend Miles said to me  , “  you know, I have a castle in the Périgord where we could organize an internship for a week during the summer, can you take care of it  ?  »   . After a short visit to the website of the 14th century castle with

Swimming pool, tennis and 40 hectare park I immediately accepted and  according to the latest news this course could take place at the end of June 2006 , but in the meantime we should have the pleasure of meeting the BDSS in Paris in November 2005 .