An Evening with Candi
by Trish Champion

Candi Colgrave-Bell is one of our favourite dancers locally. As well as being a lovely dancer, she is a knowledgeable teacher, and is a wonderful person (and I’m not just saying that ‘cos we share a birthday!)  with a unique sense of style, both in fashion and in dance. So when Siobhan and I heard that Banat Eshourouk (Daughters of the Sunrise) from Leeds were hosting “An Evening with Candi” we decided to brave the infamous loop road and go to Leeds to see how it’s really done.
The Mosquito Lounge (downstairs, all the way, at The Living Room on Greek Street) is a tiny little bar with some lovely cocktails on offer. Clubbers might think it a little cramped, but for us it was perfect, enough seats round the outside of a good sized dance floor and a great sound system. It had been booked as a private party so those few early clubbers who popped down attracted by the music were soon seen off. Anna (or someone) had mixed some good belly disco tracks while we got settled in and met up with friends old and new, including Candi herself who was hugely gratified to see everyone. We were promised an Egyptian style show and were looking forward greatly to seeing what Candi would present for us. We were not disappointed. There are not may opportunities for a proper Egyptian style show in this country as most western audiences just wouldn’t get it, so most of the shows are westernised to a greater or lesser degree. This was an opportunity for Candi to let rip and show off what she likes to dance to, just as the Cairo dancers do.

Candi was kind enough to provide a little flyer giving details of the music she was dancing to. This was very useful as while an Egyptian audience would have been familiar with every piece, apart from her opening number, its nice to know what the music is about as this gives you a wider appreciation of the dancers interpretation.

A quick quote from the flyer: “This style of dance is unique as it is all about a shared experience with ... dancer and audience.... all the pieces I have picked mean lot to me”.

As is traditional in a Cairo show, we had 2 sets displaying 2 styles of music. The first set was the Oriental, opening with Candi’s very own Magency, Gawaher which means Jewel (aaahhh). A Magency is the dancers opening number, written for her and reflecting her personality and the music she likes to dance to. 2 traditional pieces followed; Msafer Wahdek, and Akteb Aleik. You may not know the names, but you will probably have heard them before.  Candi does a GREAT show; she displays her unique and personable style beautifully, interacting with the whole audience and showing us just what the songs mean to her. It was lovely to watch, Siobhan and I both decided we were never dancing again after the Magency, we’ll never be even half that good. For this set Candi wore a lovely pale orange 2 piece designed for her by Shimmy Shop Mandy with extra embellishments as requested by Candi. Well you can’t overdo bling you know! Shiny fabrics, diamante’s, matching veil. Sigh. After a huge and well deserved round of zaghreets and applause, over to DJ Anna while Candi went off the get changed for the next set. Everyone got up and had a little(!) boogie, Banat Eshourouk showed us some of their hafla choreos, and we all had a stupendously good time till it was time to sit down again and let Candi back on the dancefloor.

Set 2 was described as slightly down market. Anyone who has ever met Candi will know she loves Shaabi, the street music of Cairo. The set opened with Candi’s trademark Shamadan, the wedding chandelier of candles (real ones!) worn on the head and including Sagat and some careful floor work which just looked effortless and elegant. I decided to stop teaching at this point.  3 Shaabi tracks followed, shamelessly danceable stuff giving Candi her chance to thoroughly enjoy herself, and entertain us with her brand of supreme cheekiness. For this set Candi was again dressed by Mandy, this time in blue and green with swags of beads and loveliness. She made us all get up (oooh that was hard) and join her for the final track. More applause while she waved goodbye to a reprise of her slightly cheesy (she said so herself!) magency and we stayed on the floor as DJ Anna and Rhythmic Ginger took over again. I must say, having a drummer jamming round the music is fab, and he is one of the best. There was the ubiquitous technical hitch - we all shouted “oh just drum” so he did. Mind you, he was enjoying himself too and I don’t think we could have stopped him if we’d wanted to!  We boogied on down to the bellydance sound for what seemed like ages. Candi came back in mufti and chatted with everyone, we all had another dance (or 2 or 3, or...) I learned a variation on the debke step, and we all just had a jolly good time. The bar opened up to the GP at 10:30 so we all went home full of happiness, not least because that was probably the most fun I’ve had for a tenner for ages!

Banat Eshourouk have another of their nightclub evenings planned on 24^th October. It won’t be the same as a showcase, but worth the drive into Leeds if you can bring yourself to do it. We parked at The Light, nice and central but shockingly priced compared to Lincoln.

Huge thanks to Candi for forcing herself to dance (again, that was sooo hard!) Banat Eshourouk for organising a great night out, Siobhan for driving, and Tomtom for finding the way.

Trish 6^Th September 2009