They say that once you drink the water of the Nile, you cannot quench your thirst anywhere else; you will be drawn back to Egypt. My friends assured me it was the years that I spent living in Cairo, daily drinking the water of the Nile, that kept me returning to Egypt every few months [...]
Egypt Archive
Life on Cairo’s Houseboats
Thursday, May 13th, 2010Raqs Sharqi
Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010A succinct yet thorough overview of the dance style Raqs Sharqi.
Dancing in Egypt’s White Desert
Wednesday, January 13th, 2010I always considered myself a beach person until I spent time in the White Desert. Huge natural monuments of limestone and sandstone dot the landscape, some shaped like the heads half buried sphinxes, others resemble huge birds contemplating flight. For 4 days, friends and I wandered through the expanse of the desert, occasionally picking up fossilized shells from an ancient sea long since swallowed up by sand.
Moving in Ecstasy
Wednesday, August 12th, 2009This academic article investigates Laura Mulvey’s concept of the “male gaze” and its pertinence as a feminist critique on the artform of Raqs Sharqi in a Middle Eastern context. My aim is to bring about a more informed position from which to view, judge, and, for those of us so inclined, present specific performances of this highly individual and cultural art form.
