Zoraida I guess is probably my fondest memory from those years. Very infrequently Buckus “owner of the Britania” would let us come off stage and talk to someone we knew at the bar but always on alert for anyone from the Cabaret Licensing Board. This one night Kazar came in and said, Hey Gyps, you should see the “faukin” (New York common slang) dancer up in the Egyptian Gardens. She’s hot shit and her “faukin” zills (finger cymbals) are “faukin” dynamite. She’s up there with those “faukin” Turkish witches and kickin ass. Too funny! Well he was right, she kicked ass. Exotic & Powerful with “faukin” zills stronger then I had ever heard, with her own individual style. Talk about dancing to your own beat! She was born in Puerto Rico with Aztec origins, raised in New York. She had that FLAMINGO FLARE oozing from every PASSIONATE-EXOTIC pore in her body. A new concept for me, her dancing had passion. She was the first & only dancer that I could FEEL her raw passion. She was an orchid among roses.
Blog #8 Jouney with Zeyna in New York 1966 at the Egyptian Gardens:Turkish Dancers Saliha and Soraya Melik
The Egyptian Gardens is where I really learned more about that 9/8 (Karshlama) that Sabah had whipped out for Athena. All the Turkish dancers used it. I never worked the Egyptian Gardens.
These are the dancers that did work there during my time in New York and they are the ones that I watched every chance I could.
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Give your Father the ultimate gift: Entertainment from “The Harem Jewels” for a fun and festive memorable moment. They are Dallas’ Favorite Belly Dancers and are ready to entertain for your Special Father’s Day Event. The third Sunday in June is Dad’s time. Contrary to what some cynics contend, this holiday was not the invention of a greeting card company – commercial greeting cards as we know them didn’t even exist when Sonora Smart Dodd thought up Father’s Day in 1909. The Harem Jewels are a special treat for a Father’s Day Event. In the event you cannot be there, we will deliver the special message for you and a special jewel to him as a token.
Blog # 5: Zeyna meets Saida: Another Amazing Dancer in New York
Stage name Saida, real name Athena and she’s Greek, Go figure? Looking back over the years I have to tell you that there was nothing like having the the power of Athena’s “Arse” 3 feet in front of your face. She still reminds me of a wild black stallion.
Now don’t get full of questions on me. I know a stallion is a male horse. No, she was not gay. She came with her famous husband “The left handed Bouzouki player” John Palaologou.
It was her AURA, that wildness and power of a stallion that she emanated along with the attitude. Was she one of the Super Stars? You better believe it! She was also the first dancer that let me know just what the hell floor work really was. Did she have the “glamor” hell ya.
I remember that first night Sabah taking the drum from me (God Bless her). I thought it was just for Athena’s drum solo-ya right. Athena took off her “heels” and started in with a 9/8, SHE FLEW. Did we become friends, yes. Just a few years back on her birthday I presented her with a beautiful lithograph of a black stallion. Her response—–just a chuckle. Another power house, another style to ponder and again the more I learned the more I knew I didn’t know. GEEZZZZZZZZZ
Zeyna meets Sabah: A New York Belly Dancer with Amazing Rhythm!!!
1965-Now working at the Britania making $30 a night
Sitting on stage all night was not easy. We only got off to change and dance. 6 nights a week with dancers 3 feet in front of you was a hell of a school.
The real first “power house” I worked with was Sabah. Most dancers that knew how, played drum with the band and for the other dancers just to have something to do. But Sabah was mind blowing. This girl had beat not only on that drum but in her dancing. Until today no one can compare to this woman’s sense of rhythm. Even after she quit dancing she continued drumming with the best groups of musicians in New York. She taught me and guided me but I never touched her talent.
Some years back Neenah and I went to New York and Sabah joined us. I asked her please to get up and play. 6/8, 9/8 and even 7/8 rhythm, which is an Armenian rhythm called “Laz” Mind you, she was already 70 years old. She sat in with the band like it was yesterday. I would recognize her hands any where. Artistic and magical, she choked up my heart.