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SurfGuitar101 Forums » Musicians & Gigs Wanted »

Permalink Belly Dancer Looking for Band

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I am a Middle Eastern dancer and have performed occasionally with a surf band in northern Illinois. I'm looking for another band that might want to hire a belly dancer for special events on a per-gig basis. I would like to work with another surf band, as I truly love surf music. If you're interested, I would love to hear from you.

Last edited: Jul 31, 2014 08:39:00

DD- it's great that you dig dancing to surf music. I wish more people did!

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To bad you don't live in Southern California.
My friend Ran wants to do a middle Eastern/surf
Band.

Jeff(bigtikidude)

I think it's cool that you are a Middle Eastern dancer located in the Midwest. Cool

I wish you were located in South Texas...but hope you find some great gigs in the Rockford area.

https://kingpelican.bandcamp.com/

A Middle Western Middle Eastern dancer! The Surfside IV had belly dancers perform and it was a great addition to the music and atmosphere. I'd love to have a dancer performing, and one that specifically loves surf music is a HUGE bonus!

Wish you were out here, Desert Dancer! Best of luck finding a band to work with.

Matt "tha Kat" Lentz
Skippy and the Skipjacks: 2018-
Skippyandtheskipjacks.net
https://www.facebook.com/skippyandtheskipjacks
Otto and the Ottomans: 2014-2015
The Coconauts surf band: 2009-2014
www.theamazingcoconauts.com
Group Captain and the Mandrakes 2013
http://www.gcmband.com/
The Surfside IV: 2002-2005, 2008-2009
the Del-Vamps: 1992-1999, 2006-2007
http://www.dblcrown.com/delvamps.html

How about some pictures, hmmm?

Thanks for your replies. I wish I were closer, too. As far as photos, are you not able to see them on my profile page? If you can't, what do I need to do to make them visible to you?

Desertdancer wrote:

As far as photos, are you not able to see them on my profile page? If you can't, what do I need to do to make them visible to you?

Welcome to SG101 - and your photos are working nicely in the uploaded portion of your profile. As mentioned, the dance with surf can be very cool. Best of luck to you.
Smile

Wes
SoCal ex-pat with a snow shovel

DISCLAIMER: The above is opinion/suggestion only & should not be used for mission planning/navigation, tweaking of instruments, beverage selection, or wardrobe choices.

PolloGuitar, I listened to your "Ewa on the Beach" tune, and it IS Ewa Beach! Very lovely.

Desertdancer wrote:

PolloGuitar, I listened to your "Ewa on the Beach" tune, and it IS Ewa Beach! Very lovely.

Thanks!!!

Buy Speed of Dark @ Bandcamp
Buy Spin the Bottle @ Bandcamp
My Blog- Euro Tour Blog
Pool Boys on Spotify
INSTAGRAM
Frankie & The Pool Boys on FB
Pollo Del Mar on FB
DJ Frankie Pool Boy on North Sea Surf Radio

WHo is Ran? That's my bag, man! Please connect us up.
I used to play in a mostly acoustic middle-eastern funk band (typical SF thing). I played bass lines & fills on 'oud. We had at least one gig with a belly dancer. One of my earliest jobs was a valet at a Moroccan restaurant that had a belly dancer TO DIE FOR. I swiped some of the cassettes of Oum Kalthoum (feat. Omar Korshid on electric guitar)that she danced to.

bigtikidude wrote:

To bad you don't live in Southern California.
My friend Ran wants to do a middle Eastern/surf
Band.

Squink Out!

Oum Kalthoum is amazing. Have you heard the Turkish band, Oojami? They are wild! It's great to find out several bands out here have used belly dancers in their gigs. My first dance teacher used the Ventures and other surf music for choreographies, so I adored surf music from the time I started ballet, tap, and jazz at 4 years old. I still love it as much today. That surf sound and rhythm makes me want to shimmy!

Last edited: Aug 03, 2014 07:19:36

No, I haven't heard of Oojami. The guy from Einsturzende Neubaden made a film about the Istanbul music scene some years back that may have featured them. Lots of Baris Manco & Sezen Aksu – less danceable, more 'esrarlik'. The Sun City Girls used to have dancers at their shows in the late 80s, when Don Cherry used to gig with them. Their first record has tons of Moroccan stuff on it – the Bishop bros. are like half Lebanese and have always played exotic stuff. Early Secret Chiefs 3 (Book M, 2000) featured a lot of groove-oriented middle eastern/techno stuff, much lifted from Afghan and Turkmen music. They also play as surf band, emphasizing more the rock feel when they do.

I have a flamenco guitarist/luthier buddy (Steve Faulk, now in Japan) who told me if he wasn't playing that music he'd join a surf band.

Squink Out!

Matt22, thanks for the words of encouragement! I worked with a surf band a little last year and loved the challenge of converting desert dance over to American surf music. I would love to find another band to work with.

Gorgeous female belly dancers at surf shows would make them some several magnitudes more awesome. Is it only a SoCal thing, the mostly older male audience, or is it more general?
The Counselors have played a couple shows at The Trip in Santa Monica where there were burlesque dancers scheduled the same night, but for whatever reason they were unable to coax the ladies onto the floor while they were playing. What a pity!
I think Americans have gotten to the point with dancing that they only respond to recorded music designed specifically for dance. The fact that surf and other forms of popular instrumental music were originally intended for dancing crowds is lost on today's audiences. Pity.

Squink Out!

JObeast wrote:

I think Americans have gotten to the point with dancing that they only respond to recorded music designed specifically for dance. The fact that surf and other forms of popular instrumental music were originally intended for dancing crowds is lost on today's audiences. Pity.

well-stated and sadly seems to be true . . .

The Counselors

Jason wrote:

JObeast wrote:

I think Americans have gotten to the point with dancing that they only respond to recorded music designed specifically for dance. The fact that surf and other forms of popular instrumental music were originally intended for dancing crowds is lost on today's audiences. Pity.

well-stated and sadly seems to be true . . .

It's very possible that your burlesque dancers were under a contract that prevented them from getting up any time to dance with a band. I know some belly dancers in that same situation; they can't even dance to a rock band in the middle of a crowded dance floor. Truth to tell, they probably were dying to get up and shimmy with your band. I would have been. A little surf guitar and those wild drums, and I'm in the middle of a dance floor shimmying my little heart out!

Don't people dance at ska and reggae concerts in the US? Confused

Two things from my experience (which is limited to Europe):
1. Playing in a bar normally means people don't dance, but rather sit and drink no matter how good the music is, what genre etc. When you play in a club, people are there to listen to the band and have fun, which includes dancing. Even to surf music.
2. Belly dancers or burlesque dancers are among the few things that will KEEP me from dancing. I always feel like I am invading some professional space or blocking someone's sight.

Los Apollos - cinematic surf music trio (Berlin)
"Postcards from the Scrapyard" Vol. 1, 2 & 3 NOW available on various platforms!
"Chaos at the Lobster Lounge" available as LP and download on Surf Cookie Records!

I saw video of that Arabic dude (forget his name, wears shades, full thobe and sings to mostly keyboard & percussion) who became popular among hipsters in Brooklyn a couple years ago. His own vids show young Arabs dancing real dances (dabka, hora, etc.)TOGETHER to his tunes, and then the live vid shot in Brooklyn shows a bunch of sad hipsters 'doin' their own thing' without ability to dance together at all, just wiggling the white people do. Would have been much better for them if they had gotten a short lesson in mediterranean dance before the show.
I think this says a lot about the contemporary state of casual dance to live music here in the States.

Squink Out!

JObeast wrote:

... the live vid shot in Brooklyn shows a bunch of sad hipsters 'doin' their own thing' without ability to dance together at all, just wiggling the white people do. Would have been much better for them if they had gotten a short lesson in mediterranean dance before the show.

I see. So people should not just come to shows, have fun and move to the music, they should make sure to do it "the right way"... Face Palm

BTW: I didn't mean to discourage professional or trained dancing at concerts or elsewhere. But as said: You may have to decide whether you want to have the crowd dancing OR the pros.

Los Apollos - cinematic surf music trio (Berlin)
"Postcards from the Scrapyard" Vol. 1, 2 & 3 NOW available on various platforms!
"Chaos at the Lobster Lounge" available as LP and download on Surf Cookie Records!

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