Jewel of Yorkshire Review, April ‘09
by Katherine Soutar-Caddick
If you have already attended JOY you will know it is one of the best festival experiences you can have, for me personally it has been very influential in my development as a dancer, I have been to 8 out of the 9 festivals so far and it’s existence spans my time in dance as a student and now a teacher as well. My own students love it too and watching them making connections, finding their own path and opening up to the possibilities of just how much there is to learn and enjoy in this dance form is very special to me… It’s a way to celebrate yourself, whatever talent or ability you have…
So… we had an easy journey up by car, I have travelled by train from Shropshire but it means at least 3 changes and can be a bit wearing, so I would recommend car sharing if at all possible, 4 people splitting petrol costs saves everyone money as well as being good for the planet! The best time to leave on the Friday is around 5pm, any earlier and you get snarled up in motorway tailbacks.
So we all piled into Kim’s car, armed with Holly’s TomTom (although I have been many times, being a non driver I have no sense of direction whatsoever!) and industrial quantities of snacks, Haribo being a particular favourite…
We set out, arriving at the Abbey lodge, (which is cheap and cheerful and only a pleasant 10 minute walk from the venue) at 7.30pm. Then off to the pub when the rest of our little gang arrived. It’s great to be able to spend time with these fab women outside of class and I look forward to it every time.
The Victoria Hall is a wonderful building in which to hold a Festival, the rooms are mostly well lit and good sized and the main hall which houses the café, souk and the main stage where the evening performances take place is a large and friendly meeting place, buzzing with chat, shopping and snacking. A place you feel welcomed even if you are attending alone ( which I have done only the once I must admit)
Tea coffee and snacks are available all day, and the souk is Fab, almost too good for me as I tend to lose all focus and forget what I intended to buy and stand around looking glazed over and mumbling oooooohh…lovely…aaaarghhh… like Homer Simpson in a doughnut shop! It helps to have some cash with you, not everyone takes cards and it might help you control your spending (some hope)
My first workshop was Cairo direct with Lorna Gow in the basement Gym, this is my least favourite room as it has pillars which can catch you out if you get too focused on watching the teacher and forget they are there…
Lorna is a very engaging teacher and dancer with precise technique and one of the few western dancers to work in Cairo so has some interesting insights in to living there as a dancer as well. She explained how she achieved some of her precise accents by using her glutes and we all tried engaging ours in 4 different directions which I could just about do standing still… but doing it while dancing will take some time I think!
A bit of a break between workshops meant I just about had time to say hello to some old friends and have a very disorganised rifle around the souk. I’m a terrible shopper as my friends can attest… I think I just don’t get the practice they do!
In the afternoon I had Lulu Sabongi’s Baladi workshop. I don’t really have adequate words to describe how smitten I was with this petite, passionate, dynamo of a woman, she was altogether wonderful, she broke moves down beautifully and clearly, she gave everyone her individual attention, she nearly moved me to tears with her words on occasion, there is always someone at Joy who makes me feel this way and this weekend it was Lulu..
Off back to the Abbey lodge for a much needed shower and we arrived back just as they started serving the dancers tea, Yum, special mention for the veggie option, which is always great and I have several non veggie friends who give up meat just for this weekend…
THE SHOW!
Another Triumph for Mandy, Chris and the team, Anne Kingston was compere once again and opened the show by performing a brilliant belly-dance/Tango fusion with grace and passion shining through after reading a poem in tribute to Margaret Reddyhoff, a much loved and respected dance pioneer who died recently.
Next up were Pedaltra, Donna Gardner, Amanda Tivey and Lesley Hogg who danced improvised tribal and Folkloric beautifully and whose wonderful costumes triggered a rush to the Pedaltra stall during the interval…
One of my highlights was the next performance by Tracey Gibbs, who moved me to tears with an exquisite and heart wrenching veil dance to Water song sung by Ute Lemper, a fragile, sensual, furious piece *sigh*
The Fabulous and energetic bellyton performance by Anna Teed, Sabrina Owen, Heather Charlton and Nisha Lall had everyone’s pulses racing next, it was high octane entertainment of the best sort and we were all practising their amazing bum shimmies afterwards!
Wendy Marlatt’s tribal fusion performance to (and I have to mention the music title here..) ‘Music miserable Hora’ and ‘My drag’ by the ‘Squirrel Nut Zippers’ was what tribal fusion should be for me, fantastically precise and fluid technique coupled with Wendy’s gorgeous personality shining through every move and connecting with the audience the whole time…
Lorna Gow performed two stunning pieces but her drum solo with Adam Warne was the high point for me. Full of precision and playfulness which is a credit to the skill and experience of both dancer and drummer, nice one both!
I dashed off to buy a pedaltra silk coat during the interval and nearly managed to demolish the stall in my enthusiasm, apparently it falls down all the time, Honest!
Michelle Pender with an amazing trance performance next, I’ve never seen trance dance in performance and having participated in a Zar myself I’m still wondering how on earth Michelle kept herself in the room, never mind on the stage…
Next on stage was Fereshteh, looking gorgeous and relaxed and twirling an enormous stick with an effortless style and grace that left me speechless (and reassured, I was pretty close!)
Madeleine Mitchell, Jude Nortier and Julie Sexton made their entrance to gasps of appreciation, I’d seen Madeleine perform Tahitian dance solo before but there’s a real visual impact with three dancers that adds so much more… enthralling and exotic and I’m pretty sure those costumes are a challenge to dance in, but they made it look easy, lovely stuff!
Khaled Mahmoud. What can I say… I’m a paid up member of the fan club….how could you not be? He just gets better and better, if you’ve seen him you know what I mean, If you haven’t, get to a performance… NOW!
The second half concluded with a performance by Meissoun whose name apparently means ‘she walks with the grace of a gazelle’ well, if gazelles could dance too they could not be more graceful than this lady… it was easy to see why she is Switzerland’s top dancer, delightful.
Cue more shopping I’m afraid, egged on mercilessly by my students (I rely on them for this) I bought a pinky/reddy, gypsy type outfit for our dance café at the end of the month, now I just have to figure out what music goes with it…
Sara Farouk lit up the stage and our hearts next, leaving me lost for words, she weaves a magic you can almost touch and for a few seconds everyone feels it is just for them. Just like the best singers who take you right inside the story of the song and you are lost to the world for a while…
400 Roses are one of the most innovative, and stunningly costumed troupes I have ever seen and their choice of music and Chris Ogden’s fantastically clever choreographies are always spot on. This time we were treated to a medieval masterpiece which had my friend Mel in raptures as it was a mixture of her two most favourite things, medieval costumes and belly dance!
More from Khaled followed, a tour de force during which he managed to get Maria, Sara and Tracey to join in, Shameless!
Meissouns second spot was a captivating. It was a Bollywood dance (film dance) based on the Qawwali (Muslim devotional songs - like Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan sings) tradition with swift and delicate movements which all had a meaning related to the joy and suffering of love…
The last performance of the evening… Lulu Sabongi sweeps onto the stage and sweeps us all into her power within seconds, she is a phenomenon, a force of nature, and I could have watched her all night… but all too soon it was over and I dashed off to the disco to work off some of the pent up emotion of the evening, no matter how knackered I am I can always find the energy to career around the dance floor like a maniac! A mention here for Dawn O’Brien, who was laying down some amazing moves up there by the way.
Unfortunately I didn’t sleep at all well on Saturday night, we had some fairy elephants upstairs… so was a bit flaky on Sunday morning and didn’t get as much out of Khaled’s workshop as I should have, Oum Kalthoum’s singing always makes me feel a bit fragile anyway and my feet and hips got lost and forgotten which resulted in me bumping into a couple of people so I sat down and watched instead , which made me feel even more emotional… ho hum…
A bit of refuelling and a coffee later and I was in Meissoun’s step combination workshop having Swiss chocolate, and had a light bulb moment as she laid out pieces of paper with symbols on and reduced movement down to it’s simplest elements before building it up to a combo including turns, hips and arms, brilliant! More yummy references followed with the dance being described as a layer cake with the cherry on top being your smile, (no matter how small or simple your cake… always put on the cherry!) she was lovely… but my mind went completely blank when she asked us to put together a combination of our own! Never mind… this was a very useful workshop which will help me to help others when classes restart after Easter.
All in all a bit of a roller coaster of a weekend which left me with much food for thought…I would encourage anyone who can to go to the next one which includes Ava Fleming making her second visit, (Yippee!) and Camelia making her first appearance in the UK .
One little suggestion… a note in the programme about warming up and cooling down might be a good idea, they can be variable and occasionally absent altogether…people who know will do their own but I sometimes worry a bit about newbies who might do themselves a damage in their enthusiasm..
by Katherine Soutar-Caddick
If you have already attended JOY you will know it is one of the best festival experiences you can have, for me personally it has been very influential in my development as a dancer, I have been to 8 out of the 9 festivals so far and it’s existence spans my time in dance as a student and now a teacher as well. My own students love it too and watching them making connections, finding their own path and opening up to the possibilities of just how much there is to learn and enjoy in this dance form is very special to me… It’s a way to celebrate yourself, whatever talent or ability you have…
So… we had an easy journey up by car, I have travelled by train from Shropshire but it means at least 3 changes and can be a bit wearing, so I would recommend car sharing if at all possible, 4 people splitting petrol costs saves everyone money as well as being good for the planet! The best time to leave on the Friday is around 5pm, any earlier and you get snarled up in motorway tailbacks.
So we all piled into Kim’s car, armed with Holly’s TomTom (although I have been many times, being a non driver I have no sense of direction whatsoever!) and industrial quantities of snacks, Haribo being a particular favourite…
We set out, arriving at the Abbey lodge, (which is cheap and cheerful and only a pleasant 10 minute walk from the venue) at 7.30pm. Then off to the pub when the rest of our little gang arrived. It’s great to be able to spend time with these fab women outside of class and I look forward to it every time.
The Victoria Hall is a wonderful building in which to hold a Festival, the rooms are mostly well lit and good sized and the main hall which houses the café, souk and the main stage where the evening performances take place is a large and friendly meeting place, buzzing with chat, shopping and snacking. A place you feel welcomed even if you are attending alone ( which I have done only the once I must admit)
Tea coffee and snacks are available all day, and the souk is Fab, almost too good for me as I tend to lose all focus and forget what I intended to buy and stand around looking glazed over and mumbling oooooohh…lovely…aaaarghhh… like Homer Simpson in a doughnut shop! It helps to have some cash with you, not everyone takes cards and it might help you control your spending (some hope)
My first workshop was Cairo direct with Lorna Gow in the basement Gym, this is my least favourite room as it has pillars which can catch you out if you get too focused on watching the teacher and forget they are there…
Lorna is a very engaging teacher and dancer with precise technique and one of the few western dancers to work in Cairo so has some interesting insights in to living there as a dancer as well. She explained how she achieved some of her precise accents by using her glutes and we all tried engaging ours in 4 different directions which I could just about do standing still… but doing it while dancing will take some time I think!
A bit of a break between workshops meant I just about had time to say hello to some old friends and have a very disorganised rifle around the souk. I’m a terrible shopper as my friends can attest… I think I just don’t get the practice they do!
In the afternoon I had Lulu Sabongi’s Baladi workshop. I don’t really have adequate words to describe how smitten I was with this petite, passionate, dynamo of a woman, she was altogether wonderful, she broke moves down beautifully and clearly, she gave everyone her individual attention, she nearly moved me to tears with her words on occasion, there is always someone at Joy who makes me feel this way and this weekend it was Lulu..
Off back to the Abbey lodge for a much needed shower and we arrived back just as they started serving the dancers tea, Yum, special mention for the veggie option, which is always great and I have several non veggie friends who give up meat just for this weekend…
THE SHOW!
Another Triumph for Mandy, Chris and the team, Anne Kingston was compere once again and opened the show by performing a brilliant belly-dance/Tango fusion with grace and passion shining through after reading a poem in tribute to Margaret Reddyhoff, a much loved and respected dance pioneer who died recently.
Next up were Pedaltra, Donna Gardner, Amanda Tivey and Lesley Hogg who danced improvised tribal and Folkloric beautifully and whose wonderful costumes triggered a rush to the Pedaltra stall during the interval…
One of my highlights was the next performance by Tracey Gibbs, who moved me to tears with an exquisite and heart wrenching veil dance to Water song sung by Ute Lemper, a fragile, sensual, furious piece *sigh*
The Fabulous and energetic bellyton performance by Anna Teed, Sabrina Owen, Heather Charlton and Nisha Lall had everyone’s pulses racing next, it was high octane entertainment of the best sort and we were all practising their amazing bum shimmies afterwards!
Wendy Marlatt’s tribal fusion performance to (and I have to mention the music title here..) ‘Music miserable Hora’ and ‘My drag’ by the ‘Squirrel Nut Zippers’ was what tribal fusion should be for me, fantastically precise and fluid technique coupled with Wendy’s gorgeous personality shining through every move and connecting with the audience the whole time…
Lorna Gow performed two stunning pieces but her drum solo with Adam Warne was the high point for me. Full of precision and playfulness which is a credit to the skill and experience of both dancer and drummer, nice one both!
I dashed off to buy a pedaltra silk coat during the interval and nearly managed to demolish the stall in my enthusiasm, apparently it falls down all the time, Honest!
Michelle Pender with an amazing trance performance next, I’ve never seen trance dance in performance and having participated in a Zar myself I’m still wondering how on earth Michelle kept herself in the room, never mind on the stage…
Next on stage was Fereshteh, looking gorgeous and relaxed and twirling an enormous stick with an effortless style and grace that left me speechless (and reassured, I was pretty close!)
Madeleine Mitchell, Jude Nortier and Julie Sexton made their entrance to gasps of appreciation, I’d seen Madeleine perform Tahitian dance solo before but there’s a real visual impact with three dancers that adds so much more… enthralling and exotic and I’m pretty sure those costumes are a challenge to dance in, but they made it look easy, lovely stuff!
Khaled Mahmoud. What can I say… I’m a paid up member of the fan club….how could you not be? He just gets better and better, if you’ve seen him you know what I mean, If you haven’t, get to a performance… NOW!
The second half concluded with a performance by Meissoun whose name apparently means ‘she walks with the grace of a gazelle’ well, if gazelles could dance too they could not be more graceful than this lady… it was easy to see why she is Switzerland’s top dancer, delightful.
Cue more shopping I’m afraid, egged on mercilessly by my students (I rely on them for this) I bought a pinky/reddy, gypsy type outfit for our dance café at the end of the month, now I just have to figure out what music goes with it…
Sara Farouk lit up the stage and our hearts next, leaving me lost for words, she weaves a magic you can almost touch and for a few seconds everyone feels it is just for them. Just like the best singers who take you right inside the story of the song and you are lost to the world for a while…
400 Roses are one of the most innovative, and stunningly costumed troupes I have ever seen and their choice of music and Chris Ogden’s fantastically clever choreographies are always spot on. This time we were treated to a medieval masterpiece which had my friend Mel in raptures as it was a mixture of her two most favourite things, medieval costumes and belly dance!
More from Khaled followed, a tour de force during which he managed to get Maria, Sara and Tracey to join in, Shameless!
Meissouns second spot was a captivating. It was a Bollywood dance (film dance) based on the Qawwali (Muslim devotional songs - like Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan sings) tradition with swift and delicate movements which all had a meaning related to the joy and suffering of love…
The last performance of the evening… Lulu Sabongi sweeps onto the stage and sweeps us all into her power within seconds, she is a phenomenon, a force of nature, and I could have watched her all night… but all too soon it was over and I dashed off to the disco to work off some of the pent up emotion of the evening, no matter how knackered I am I can always find the energy to career around the dance floor like a maniac! A mention here for Dawn O’Brien, who was laying down some amazing moves up there by the way.
Unfortunately I didn’t sleep at all well on Saturday night, we had some fairy elephants upstairs… so was a bit flaky on Sunday morning and didn’t get as much out of Khaled’s workshop as I should have, Oum Kalthoum’s singing always makes me feel a bit fragile anyway and my feet and hips got lost and forgotten which resulted in me bumping into a couple of people so I sat down and watched instead , which made me feel even more emotional… ho hum…
A bit of refuelling and a coffee later and I was in Meissoun’s step combination workshop having Swiss chocolate, and had a light bulb moment as she laid out pieces of paper with symbols on and reduced movement down to it’s simplest elements before building it up to a combo including turns, hips and arms, brilliant! More yummy references followed with the dance being described as a layer cake with the cherry on top being your smile, (no matter how small or simple your cake… always put on the cherry!) she was lovely… but my mind went completely blank when she asked us to put together a combination of our own! Never mind… this was a very useful workshop which will help me to help others when classes restart after Easter.
All in all a bit of a roller coaster of a weekend which left me with much food for thought…I would encourage anyone who can to go to the next one which includes Ava Fleming making her second visit, (Yippee!) and Camelia making her first appearance in the UK .
One little suggestion… a note in the programme about warming up and cooling down might be a good idea, they can be variable and occasionally absent altogether…people who know will do their own but I sometimes worry a bit about newbies who might do themselves a damage in their enthusiasm..
