Shiraz | Delaware Belly Dancer (Philadelphia & Baltimore) - Shiraz is one of the top professional belly dancers in the Delaware and Philadelphia metropolitan area. She is highly sought after at local restaurants, nightclubs, and other locations that feature belly dance throughout New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. She is well-known for her classy signature style - She always steals the stage with a powerful emotive performance sure to excite. Her dance is bursting with life and energy as she layers shimmies, belly rolls and flutters; dynamic hip work, snake-like fluidity, classic beauty and a profoundly passionate yet playful charisma/allure/, to captivate and enchant audiences. Her deep understanding and sincere love of Middle Eastern dance, art, language, and culture add the necessary element of true authenticity to her dance that sets Shiraz’s performances above and beyond in the art and beauty of the ancient, yet ever-evolving- Middle Eastern Dance.
Essential Arabic with Shiraz ~ Haflas
September 13, 2010
    Whether you’re a seasoned professional, troupe member, supportive instructor, or ‘baby-belly’ anxiously awaiting your 1st solo, everyone loves a great hafla. Every dance community has them and every dancer’s mom, husband, kid, and BFF gets dragged along to watch the show. To a non-belly, an ‘outsider,’ a belly dance hafla is a place of strange and exotic sights, and strange sounds. Whether it’s zills, yipps, hisses, or zaghareets, we Oriental dancers know how to express our love in a uniquely flavorful fashion.
    The importance of these ‘exotic’ sounds is undeniable. They relax, energize, and inspire the performers; a good zaghareet can turn a slightly nervous dancer into the beautiful smiling artist she really is. It’s simply the best way to energize the room and keep the party going.
    I hope to add to the hafla noise with some very fitting, fun, and oh so very ‘bellylicious’ Arabic vocabulary.
    1st of all, if you don’t already know, a ‘hafla’ is a party or celebration in Arabic. The two Arabic words most of us probably already know are ‘Yalla’ = come on & ‘Aiwa’ = yeah! Here’s some other key Arabic we can use to show our appreciation for the dancers:
Ya Helwa = Oh, pretty (sweet)
Ra-quss-lee = dance for me
Raqs = dance
Ya Gameela = oh, beautiful
Mome-tez = excellent
Enti fa-naana= you’re an artist
Ya Allah = oh God (equivalent of our ‘OMG’)
Jayyid jidden = very good
Tussfeak = clap
Mash’allah = God willed it (saying when something good happens)
Hebick = love you
~If you’d like to wish a dancer ‘good luck’ before her debut~
Hathen saw-ee-den or Allah mah-ick (literally, God is with you)
~and after her dance~
Shukran ja-zeerahn = thank you very much
Mahbrook = congrats
    Haflas seriously RAQ, and Insha’Allah (God-willing) this new vocabulary will further spice-up the listening pleasure of dancers and audiences alike with even more bellylicious Middle Eastern flavor.
Check back for more Essential Arabic…
Sincerely,
Shiraz
*All the vocab is set in the feminine form using modern-standard Arabic*
3 Responses to “Essential Arabic with Shiraz ~ Haflas”
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Shiraz I love this ! Knowing what to expect at a hafla and being able to try out the language or look for it in a song makes it even more fun.
Thanks for this! I love language tidbits!
very very informative and a wonderful way to let people whether or not they are dancers know some of the beautiful arabic language