Suhaila Unveiled Editorial, March 1, 2007

March 1, 2007

Suhaila Unveiled Editorial

1. Greetings
2. Editorial by Suhaila
3. Workshops
4. Workshop Testimonials
5. Booking
6. Rashid's Old School Corner
7. NEW! Just Arrived...!

8. Sale
9. Highlighted Products
10. Classes
11. Special Events
12. Contact
13. Unsubscribe

NEW! Just Arrived...!

Finger Cymbals with

Jamila CD

Now Available!

The anticipated, remastered version of Jamila Salimpour's popular finger cymbal CD available today! Now with seperated tracks and new design. A must have instructional tool for any dancer, teacher or musician!

Available Now!

Buy Now

Now On DVD!!

Jamila Salimpour Archive Series, originally released in 1980...now available on DVD!! Learn the Salimpour Technique from a Salimpour.....

Buy Now

Suhaila's Instructional and Performance videos now available in DVD. Eight new releases in the DVD Collection of previously enjoyed titles......

Instructional Buy Now

Performance Buy Now

NEW!!! REMIX CD......

The anticipated title now available! Rich sound with infused beats and Arabic music overlay. Great for classes, dancing or just pure listening pleasure.

Available Now!

Buy Now

NEW!!! Tranquil CD......

Soft, sensual and moody. Get one of the three new cd titles recently added to the Suhaila Salimpour Music Collection...

Available Now!

Buy Now

NEW!!! REPERCUSSION CD......

Hot new release from Suhaila Productions. Designed with a variety of drum solos from 1 1/2 to 10 minutes in length. High powered and dynamic.

Available Now!

Buy Now

Logo Wear!!!

New Suhaila logo wear...including the sought after "Got Technique" tanks, in white & black.

Buy Now

Suhaila Design Pants...
New Colors!!!

The "Harem Girl" style Suhaila Design Pants available in black, plum or navy blue. Side slit, flare legged jazz pant with ankle drawstrings to give the option of a belled or pantaloon look.

Available now!
Buy Now

Suhaila's Hippeze!!!

The first of Suhaila Designs Hippeze. Enjoy new styles of the versatile, layerable hip wear.....

Available now!

Buy Now

Margaret Cho's Hip Wear!!!

One of a kind hip belts made by the hands of Margaret Cho. Don't miss out! Each design the one and only....!
Supplies Limited!
Buy Now

Sale!

Navy Blue Harem now 20% off!!!

Vary your style with the versatile jazz pant's belled or pantaloon look!!!

Buy Now!!

Baby Hoodie...

Limited Offer

Stock up for winter with the Suhaila Baby Hoodie. Available now at a discounted price.

Buy Now!!

All Suhaila VHS on sale for....$9.95!

While supplies last......

Suhaila Salimpour Instructional and Performance videos sale continues.......All titles only $9.95!*

Instructional Buy Now

Performance Buy Now

*Except for "Bal Anat in the Beginning"

Give the gift of choice! Gift Certificates available from $25-$100.

Buy Now

Zoe and Me

Sheherezade

DVD..... now available

Experience the show that is revolutionizing the art of belly dance. Suhaila Salimpour's Sheherezade......
Available now!
Buy Now

Suhaila Solo NOW AVAILABLE on DVD!!!

Enjoy an evening of a live solo performance bySuhaila......
Available now!
Buy Now

Suhaila Design Drawstring Pants!!!

The favorite Suhaila Design Pant available in two classic colors.....!! Get the drawstring pant in black and olive.

Available Now!

Buy Now

Bellydance Fitness Fusion is here!

Suhaila's newest fitness series, Bellydance Fitness Fusion. In this four DVD set Suhaila fuses Bellydance with Yoga, Pilates, Jazz, and also presents her signature Buns workout! Available individually, or buy the whole set and save!

Order Yours here!

Classes

The Suhaila Salimpour
School of Dance
10082 San Pablo Ave.
El Cerrito, CA
(510) 527-2400

Suhaila Salimpour Format Belly Dance, Jamila Salimpour Format Belly Dance, Jazz, Ballet, Hip-Hop, Adults, teens and kids!

Classes offered Monday through Saturday

For complete class listing, visit our website for our new schedule
or call (510) 527-2400

The Salimpour Technique
taught by Rashid

Located at Studio Gracia
19 Heron (off of 8th St.)

San Francisco, CA
Between Folsom and Harrison St.
(415) 307-4782

Level 1/2 combination classes are offered on Wednesday from 6:00pm-7:30pm
$12.00 Drop-In (class cards available)

For complete information, contact Rashid at:

raksrashid@aol.com

(415) 621-0669 (415) 596-0990

Events

Belly Dance Nights
at Montero's Café
A night of performance with dancers from the Suhaila Salimpour School of Dance

First Sunday of every month
6:00 pm

$7.00
1106 Solano Ave., Albany, CA
(510) 524-1270

Not a member?
If you received this newsletter from a friend, and you would like to sign up to receive it every month, visit www.suhaila.com

It was the last day of the Faire and I remember feeling the cool air on my face. I would sleep in the back seat of my mother’s old VW bug as she drove early in the morning with the window slightly open. As I laid with my eyes closed I could feel the soft wind hinting at the reminder that fall was approaching, I could hear the sounds of coins on occasion from my mother’s costume. If I needed an extra feeling of security I would only have to open my eyes a sliver. My mother was driving while dressed in full assuit. It was soothing to know that we were both out of the house and on the way to the Renaissance Faire.

The Renaissance Faire ran for eight weeks and late into October. It was only at the end of the Faire did I know that the climate would change and the feeling of needing that extra sweater would become more apparent. It was the end of one creative force and the beginning of another of nature’s mysteries. The last day of the Faire was always bitter sweet. We always began the Faire knowing this day will come, but when it arrived, the sadness of having to return to reality until the next year always seemed so lonely. I always felt at home at the Faire because my real home was at times unbearable. The costumes, the smells, the theater, the people, and mostly how happy my mother was enough to last me until the next year. When I think back on my childhood and the daily life I led, I mostly remember the weekends at the Faire and the images and memories that were positive and helped build my spirit.

As the gates opened for the last day, the people crowded onto the grounds as if each moment was to be savored on this last day. Back then you could not tell the workers at the Faire apart from the observers since everyone came in costume and spoke in an Elizabethan accent. It always added to the grand theater quality that I missed when I returned to Faire as an adult. My mother had a wooden wagon built for me and she would wheel me around all day in it. The days were long and my little legs would always give out. I would take naps, eat, and even play with my friends in that wagon and someone would always walk in front of the wagon and yell “make way for the Princess” as the streets would part and we would make our way through the crowds. My mother would stand on the side of the wagon while someone else pushed me. She would fan herself with a huge peacock fan that seemed to go in slow motion. Between shows I would fall asleep with the sounds of the Faire as a lullaby. After being awaken I would eat the fresh foods that were always special for the Faire and to this day I miss the fresh fruit ices, the turkey leg (that I could barely hold), the Sheppard’s pie, and of course my mother’s favorite, fish n chips.

By the time we would reach the back stage of the last performance I was ready to dance. We always did three shows a day all on a different stage. But the last show was on main stage and being that it was the last show of the year my mother danced.

My mother didn’t dance during the Faire or much at any other place either. By the time I could remember my mother, she had stopped dancing for good and was mostly teaching and directing Bal Anat. The last day of the Faire was special since we all knew, even though never a word was ever spoken, that my mother would dance the last show and end the year with her movement. The last show had no rules. The dancers would dance and add a little extra. The musicians would play a little longer. And then the time would come that the dancers and musicians would all hold their breath and hope that she (my mother) didn’t change her mind and would become the finale.

My mother was more than half the average age of the dancers in Bal Anat. She had me at the age of 40 and my father being the dominant Persian male that he was, forbade her to dance the day after they got married. It was more like a threat really, and something that my mother never forgave him for until this day. My mother loved her time dancing in night clubs and missed the fact that she was not able to stop dancing at her own pace, but was forced by my father. He was just being a caring husband and only wanted the best for her and of course how she appeared to his friends was also very important. Nothing personal was meant by his threat, but I always knew that my mother missed her freedom in the dance that the stage had brought her.

As she prepared for her grand finale at the Faire, her eyes would change, her posture would change, her insides would change and her spirit would change. She never gave us a cue, but the musicians would all wait for that “look” that she didn’t give that meant she was emotionally preparing for her entrance. I think that getting into this state was painful for my mother and she could only bring herself to this moment once a year. At this moment she was not my mother, but her own woman which was something I wasn’t able to witness very much. Everything she did off stage was for my father and his family and for the sake of the family, so this moment was so personal that I felt like I was being introduced to this woman, my mother, once a year. We all felt like a fly on the wall and it really didn’t matter to her if anyone was watching or not.

Her fingertips began her dance. As her hands started to move her body stood still waiting to follow. I’m not sure how the musicians would get enough energy to play their instrument since we all stood hypnotized and holding our breath. I really can’t tell you what my mother use to do in her dance, but I do know that her elegance, wisdom, and beauty was so strong and mature that nothing I every saw before or since came close to that magic. I would see for just these few minutes the freedom that I use to wish she could live with all the time. Life got in the way, her business got in the way, her company got in the way, and my father in and out of the hospital got in the way, but for these cherished seconds it was just “Jamila Salimpour” dancing for the love of the dance and the love of her feminine qualities.

When she felt she was finished dancing, she would slowly exit the stage as the musicians would keep playing. The other Bal Anat cast members would sheepishly dance their little solo and exit the stage quickly for the end of the session. No one really said much backstage to my mother. I think that getting to see her dance on the last day was a little reminder of how far they all had to go in the art. It took my mother some time to “come down” from her own experience and I never spoke to her until I could see in her eyes that she had returned. She would look at me and smile to give me notice of her return and I would smile back as if to great an old friend who had been on vacation.

I always look back at the last day of the Renaissance Faire with a fond memory. Not many people can say they were able to see Jamila Salimpour perform. We all felt lucky to have had that experience. Other than watching her dance in our living room, this was a highlight in my youth. I wonder if Isabella can see in me the love for the dance as I could always see in my mother. The difference is that I don’t have to hide my destiny and my mother always did.

Upcoming Workshops

Workshops

March 30-April 1, 2007 St. Louis, MO
3 Day Workshop/Bal Anat Performance

Content: Jamila Salimpour Format, Folkloric Fusion, Choreography, Salimpour Fusion, Taqseem Layering and Hip Hop Belly Dance.

Contact: Lois Marshall salwaabd@aol.com

314-961-3790 or 314-956-9725

August 6-10, El Cerrito, CA
Multi Leveled, Weeklong Workshop
Content: Suhaila Salimpour Technique
*Optional Level I and II Certification Testing Aug. 10
Time: 9:30am - 3:30pm
Location: Suhaila Salimpour School of Dance
Contact: Suhaila Productions, LLC (510) 526-4344, suhaila@suhaila.com www.suhaila.com
Send Checks/MO to: PO Box 8612, Landscape Station, Berkeley, CA 94707

2007 Workshops:

March 11, El Cerrito, CA Master Class - SOLD OUT!!!

Content: Suhaila Salimpour Technique

Time: 11am-2:00pm

Location: Suhaila Salimpour School of Dance
Contact: Suhaila Productions, LLC (510) 526-4344, suhaila@suhaila.com www.suhaila.com
Send Checks/MO to: PO Box 8612, Landscape Station, Berkeley, CA94707

March 16-18, 2007, Richmond, CA
Rakkasah West
Workshop/Performance/Festival
Suhaila Workshops: March 10th & 15th

Location: Richmond Memorial Auditorium

27th St., Richmond, CA

Contact: Phone: 510-724-0214
Fax: 510-724-4367
Email: rakkasah@att.net www.rakkasah.com

March 24-25, Charlottesville, VA - SOLD OUT!!!

2-Day Workshop

Content: Suhaila Salimpour Format

Time: Saturday and Sunday, 9:00am-4:30pm

Location: ACAC Downtown, 111 Monticello Ave, Charlottesville, VA 22902

Contact: Alexandra Snyder bellysouk@gmail.com 434-249-4611

More Info: www.bellysouk.com

March 30-April 1, 2007 St. Louis, MO
3 Day Workshop/Bal Anat Performance

Suhaila Salimpour Tribal Festival
Content: Jamila Salimpour Format, Folkloric Fusion, Choreography, Salimpour Fusion, Taqseem Layering and Hip Hop Belly Dance.

Times: Friday, March 30, 2007:

10:00am-12:00pm "Taqseem Layering" taught by Tiffany Bisconer (Authorized Instructor of the Suhaila Salimpour School of Dance)

1:00pm-3:00pm "Hip Hop Belly Dance taught by Kendra Katz (Authorized Instructor of the Suhaila Salimpour School of Dance)

3:30pm-5:30pm "Salimpour Fusion" taught by Rashid

Times: Saturday, March 31, 2007:

TBA "Jamila Salimpour Format" taught by Suhaila

Times: Sunday, April 1, 2007:
TBA "Folkloric Fusion and Choreography " taught by Suhaila

Contact: Lois Marshall salwaabd@aol.com

314-961-3790 or 314-956-9725

April 28, Ft. Lauderdale, FL

Master Class

Workshop Location: War Memorial Auditorium, 800 NE 8th St., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33304

Contact: Maja "Spirit of the Tribes" majanile@aol.com

More Info

May 2-6, 2007, Somerset, NJ
Spring Caravan
Workshop/Performance/Festival
Location: Ukrainian Cultural Center

135 Davison Ave., Somerset, NJ

Contact: Phone: 510-724-0214
Fax: 510-724-4367
Email: rakkasah@att.net www.rakkasah.com

May 25-27, Toronto, Canada

3-Day Workshop/CEC Workshop

*Taught by Tiffany Bisconer (Authorized Instructor from the Suhaila Salimpour School of Dance)

Contact: Audra Simmons (800) 431-0418

audra@cleopatrasbazaar.com

May 26-27, 2007, San Diego, CA
Workshop/Performance
Content: Saturday, Jamila Salimpour Format and Folkloric Fusion

Sunday, Suhaila Salimpour Format and Choreography

Time: TBA

Contact: Meleah meleahandco@cox.net

June 7-10, Trois Rivieres, Canada

Encore Festival of Dance

Workshop/Performance

Contact: Claire Mayers (877) 533-2673

c.mayer@festival-encore.com, www.festival-encore.com

June 14-17, 2007, Paris, France
Workshop/Performance/Festival
Contact: Amana amana@club.fr

June 21-24, 2007, Milan, Italy
Workshop/Performance

Content: Suhaila Salimpour Technique, Jamila Salimpour Technique, Choreography
Contact: Olivia olivia@rosedeldeserto.it

June 27-July 3, 2007, Cairo, Egypt
Ahlan Wa Sahlan in Egypt
Workshop/Performance/Festival
Contact: Raqia Hassan 2027482338, 20123292386, raqiahassan@hotmail.com

July 6-8, 2007, South Korea
Workshop/Performance
Contact: Lee Dong Min angel78477847@yahoo.co.kr

July 13-18, 2007, Taipei, Taiwan
Workshop/Performance
Contact: Kerim Alyot kerimalyot@yahoo.com

July 21-22, Somerville, NJ
2-Day Workshop
Times: Saturday, 2:00pm - 8:00pm (with a 1 hour break)
Sunday, 11:00am - 5:00pm (with a 1 hour break
Location: Indigo Ballroom, 17 Division St, Somerville, NJ
Contact: Suhaila Productions, LLC (510) 526-4344, suhaila@suhaila.com www.suhaila.com
Send Checks/MO to: PO Box 8612, Landscape Station, Berkeley, CA 94707
Register Online

August 20-24, El Cerrito, CA

Level III, Weeklong Workshop

Content: Level III of the Suhaila Salimpour Format

**Must be Level II Certified to Register

Time: 9:30am-5:30pm (1 hour break)Location: Suhaila Salimpour School of Dance

Contact: Suhaila Productions, LLC (510) 526-4344,

suhaila@suhaila.com www.suhaila.com

Send Checks/MO to: PO Box 8612, Landscape Station, Berkeley, CA 94707

September 7-9, Las Vegas, NV

Content: TBA

Location: TBA

Contact: Suhaila Productions, LLC (510) 526-4344,

suhaila@suhaila.com www.suhaila.com

September 14-16, El Cerrito, CA

Level I, 3-Day

Content: Level I of the Suhaila Salimpour Format

Location: Suhaila Salimpour School of Dance

Contact: Suhaila Productions, LLC (510 526-4344,

suhaila@suhaila.com www.suhaila.com

Send Checks/MO to: PO Box 8612, Landscape Station, Berkeley, CA 94707

September 28-30, Bagnor Regis, England

Workshop/Performance/Festival

Content: Suhaila Salimpour Technique

Contact: Josephine Wise 11442075020934

jo.wise@jwaad.com, www.jwad.com

October 22-26, El Cerrito, CA

Level II, Weeklong Workshop

Content: Level II of the Suhaila Salimpour Format

Time: 9:30am-5:30pm (1 hour break)

Location: Suhaila Salimpour School of Dance

Contact: Suhaila Productions, LLC (510) 526-4344,

suhaila@suhaila.com www.suhaila.com

Send Checks/MO to: PO Box 8612, Landscape Station, Berkeley, CA 94707

October 12-14, 2007 Somerset, NJ

Rakkasah East

Workshop/Performance/Festival

Location: Ukrainian Cultural Center

135 Davison St., Somerset, NJ

Contact: Phone: 510-724-0214

Fax: 510-724-4367

Email: rakkasah@att.net

www.rakkasah.com

October 26-28, Charleston, SC

Master Class

Workshop/Performance

*Taught by Tiffany Bisconer (Authorized Instructor from the Suhaila Salimpour School of Dance)

Contact: Eastern Winds Oasis, Mary Johnson

info@easternwindsoasis.com www.easternwindsoasis.com

November 3-4, Vancouver, Canada

2-Day Workshop

Content: Suhaila Salimpour Format

Time:TBA

Performance/Workshop Location: TBA

Sponsor: Martina 604-241-4371 martina@bellyfringe.ca

November 15-18, Toronto, Canada

4-Day Workshop

Content: TBA

Time: TBA

Performance: TBA

Location: TBA

Sponsor: Audra Simmons (800) 431-0418

audra@cleopatrasbazaar.com

Workshop Testimonials

Congratulations on becoming certified!!!

Level 1

Emily Alrick

Rachelle Erin Bertumen

Barbara Chadsey

Alice Cowens

Tracy Dewey

Shari L. Feather

Silvia Foster

Camille Manansala-Garnett

Marcela Gomez Gonzalez

Coral Hanson

Karen Hersh

Jane Yee Shan Chung How

Adriana Jansen

Olivia Mancino

Bridey Patterson

Lynda Rosner

Christina Thompson

Level 2

Alexandra Doppelt

Jenifer Stewart-Grimes

Kim Nicol

Toni Rapini

Attending this Workshop has been an inspiring life changing experience. Suhaila is a warm-hearted woman whose passion is the dance, and has become my inspiration. Through this experience, she has helped me internalize every moment, and has taken me to a new level of the dance. She and her staff are down to earth, and you can tell they all love their work. I can’t wait to take another workshop to further my dance knowledge and have a great time and meet new friends, who all share the same love.

-Roselee Kislowski

Bristow, VA