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

Sep 13, 2010

     Whether you’re a seasoned professional, troupe member, supportive instructor, or ‘baby-belly’ anxiously awaiting your 1^st 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.

     1^st 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*

Hi, Welcome to My New Site!

May 29, 2010

Hi, I’m Shiraz and I’d just like to welcome you to my new belly dance website! This is really exciting for me, and I have to thank Brian Feister of DreamStar Studios for everything! He created this site and did ALL the ‘techy’ and design work that went into making this a success; as well as making it super-easy for me to self-update and maintain. If you’ve read his entry, we definitely go way back, I love him and his cute little belly dancing wife with ALL my heart! He’s perfect to work with because I know he’s as passionate and creative with his work as I am with mine. His site’s over here at http://www.dreamstarstudios.net/ if you ever want any identity, design, or promotional work done. I hope you also read his post and help me make this site visible and successful by frequently checking back here for new journal entries and to check out my events page and come see me perform! I have BIG dreams for this site; my goal is that this site will add to my own professionalism and marketability as well as add to the greater belly dance community; by helping to promote and present the dance as beautiful, classy, high-end art. In particular, I hope this Journal page becomes a valuable resource for dancers and fans alike, so I hope you check back often for new entries. Also, don’t be shy, if there’s anything you’d like to learn more about, or get advice/tips&tricks on, e-mail me and I’ll do my best to gather the appropriate information. So far I have some ideas brewing for future entries- from useful Arabic vocabulary, tipping, rates, and professionalism, to Delaware & Philadelphia area ethics & guidelines for students and pros. So browse through the site, check out my latest studio photos, pencil one of my dance-nights into your calendar, and stay tuned for a whole lot more! Thanks so much!

 Sincerely,  ~ Shiraz

Opening Day!

May 27, 2010

Hi Everyone! My name is Brian, and while I’m not the author of the content that you’re hoping to read (that is, all the fun details about Shiraz and what’s happening with her), I did all of the creative, graphic, coding, and other technical work that has gone into this website. I was also had the pleasure of working with Shiraz on all of the photography that is featured on her site.

What I primarily want to do is say “Welcome, we’re glad you’re here!” and give you some suggestions about how you, as a friend, family member, or fan can help Shiraz out and make her new website a success. This journal is a place for you! This is the place to keep up with what is happening with Shiraz and also offer your encouragement and support. The more often you check here and the more often you comment on her events / journal entries and interact with this online community the more you will help her to become what I would call “visible” on the web.

The more people who visit a website, the more visible it becomes to search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing. This means that as her friend, you can help her out simply by checking back frequently for updates. It is my hope that this site will be a great help to anyone who is a fan of Shiraz and trying to keep track of her performance career as a dancer. ShirazRaqs.com incorporates a modern web technology called an “RSS feed” which is maintained and updated by automatically when she posts a new event or journal entry. To receive these updates by e-mail just enter your e-mail address in the Mailing List Sign up box on the left side of the page. Just make sure to check your inbox for a confirmation e-mail with a link that needs to be clicked. For those of you more web savvy, you can subscribe to her RSS feed to get the latest info via your favorite feed reader.

Here are some simple ways that you can help out Shiraz and this site:

• Check the site, particularly the main page, events page, and journal frequently for updates
• Comment on her events and journal entries
• Subscribe to receive e-mail updates (in the sidebar) (any time Shiraz posts something to her events page or journal entry you will get an e-mail in your inbox the following day)
• Post links back to her site in appropriate and visible places, such as: online forums and social networks like Facebook, Bhuz, Twitter, and other social networks.

There’s a good chance you won’t hear from me again since Shiraz will be taking over the show, but if you need me, you can find me over at my site DreamStar Studios. It’s not quite as girly as this site, but it has it’s own unique charm :)

Best wishes to everyone, and to all of you bellydancers out there, stay beautiful! Shiraz is an exciting up and coming star and one of my favorite people in the whole wide world (we go way back. She is not only one of the most passionate, powerful, beautiful, and exciting dancer’s I’ve ever seen, but she’s one of the kindest and most warm people I’ve ever met!

Brian Feister
DreamStar Studios