Zaghareet! is a belly dance troupe that brings to Edmonton, a dance form entirely different from anything seen locally before. Tribal style belly dance is an astonishing dance form that has been around for over thirty years but has only been a part of Edmonton's belly dance landscape for only a few short years. The principal quality behind this dance style is precision of movement.

In the late flower child era of San Francisco, Medieval Renaissance Faires were a very important part of summer. Belly dance students loved to go and perform at these weekend long parties and would sew themselves costumes that they believed would evoke the right feeling, with lots of natural fabrics, antique jewelry from the Middle East, and lots of camel tassels. They danced in a more earthy style than the Arabic nightclub and Egyptian stage styles that they were taught in class. Amateur musicians would often accompany them on doumbek drums, and the mizmar, an instrument played by every snake charmer was added, and a whole new style on music and dance was born.

This dance form incorporates dance movements from many regions of the Mediterranean. There are some recognizable Flamenco influences, Berber influences from Morocco, classical Egyptian folkloric dance movements, Tunisian, Algerian, Turkish, and many other folkloric dance styles from the Middle East. The jewelry is usually very old and mostly from Afghanistan and Morocco. Some of the fabrics and accents travel to our costume collection all the way from India.

Thirty plus years later, Zaghareet! has taken the Tribal Style and run with it. Each member brings innovative ideas to the group and assures that new features will always be added. The seeds of this remarkable dance troupe were first sewn several years ago with new dancers having been added since.

Bellydance and Swords
One very important element of bellydance you won’t see in a Greek restaurant on a Saturday night is a bejeweled dancer with a sword perched on her head. The last thing a restaurant owner wants to see is panicked expressions on the face of the patrons as armed entertainers whirl their way through a maze of the tables.

Watching skilled dancers undulate and spin while balancing weapons on their heads can steal the breath from your lungs. Onstage, several dancers can safely weave themselves into a human blender, all the while, keeping perfect time with the music.

There is no Velcro, there are no magnets, or any other form of adhesion that keep the swords in place, it is many endless hours of practice that keeps the swords from reaching orbit.

Hala...
Eastern blood runs through the veins of this dancer. Her heritage is mostly Turkish and Romanian Gypsy, with a little Russian thrown in for variety. Hala has been performing Middle Eastern Dance in Edmonton since early 2000, and has been teaching since early 2002. She is a choreographer, costumer, and theatrical dance show producer as well. Hala has appeared on Shaw Televisions’ ‘What’s On’ with Seanna Collins, A Channel’s ‘Big Breakfast’, several episodes of HELP TV, and most recently, Global Televisions’ “Morning News’. She was the object of an Edmonton Journal article in the spring of 2005.

Aside from performing with ZAGHAREET!, Hala teaches 13 classes weekly, and has all but abandoned her husband and grown children for the sequins and silk and antique Arabic coins of her sewing room. Hala is adept at Sword, Tray, Shamadan, Zills, Cane, Wings Of Isis, and Veil.

Hala has been involved with many other styles of arts, music, and dance over the years. In the 1970’s she was a regular on the disco television shows “Disco Daze”, and “Any Way You Want It”. She also occasionally taught Roller Disco in the seventies at the “Rollerdrome”, which is now a Greyhound bus station. From 1975 to 1978 Hala was a member of “The Alberta All Girls Drum And Bugle Marching Band”, and extensively toured Canada, Mexco, the U.S., and Europe. Highlights being a performance for Pope Paul the 7th., performances at Buckingham Palace, the Royal Palace in Monaco, and the Montreal Olympics. She also plays alto saxaphone, flute, and is teaching herself to play the doumbek. Attempts at learning the Rebaba are not going so smoothly at this point.

As an adult, Hala has been constantly active in the dance and music fields. From 1985 to 1988, she managed several Blues and Classic Rock bands, wrapped cords, pushed amps, and occasionally stood in the background and sang along.

She was also involved for several years with “Movements: Afro-Caribbean Dance Ensemble”, both as a participant and in an administrative capacity. She was also, in the mid 1990’s a modelling agent and runway instructor.



Lise...
Lise started movement classes at age 4 at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, followed by classical ballet, flamenco, jazz, mime, and modern dance at the National Ballet School, George Brown College, Young People's Theatre, and the Toronto Dance Theatre. High school years were filled with show dancing and acting in musicals and drama productions. Belly dance classes began with a teacher in Vancouver who was heavily influenced by American Tribal style.

Lise has been belly dancing in Edmonton since 1998, starting with cabaret style at Isis Dance studio. She has studied with several different teachers and peers in Edmonton, and at Arabesque Academy in Toronto. Other classes and workshops include NIA, Indian Classical Kathak, Rajasthani Folk dancing, and Bharathanatyam.

In 2003, Lise was introduced to the American Tribal Style Belly dance of Gypsy Caravan and Fat Chance! through a few local dancers. Soon after, she participated in the gathering of a group of peers who were dedicated to learning and performing Tribal Style. From that group, Zaghareet!, Tribal Belly Dance troupe was formed. Lise enjoys swinging poi and balancing a sword, and is planning to dance with her snakes. She is currently accompanied by a growing belly and has performed with her daughter Rowan who follows in her mother's dancesteps.



Zaena...
In 1998 when she was in her twenties and living in the Netherlands Zaena attended her first class and a dance addiction officially began. Since moving back to Edmonton in 2000, she has continued her ongoing explorations into the joys of Middle Eastern dance and its many cultural facets with the help of numerous fabulous instructors and sister dancers. The pleasure of the dance for her is sharing it with others, both on and off stage, and Zaena is proud to be a part of Edmonton’s exceptional artistic community. Alongside her dance explorations with ZAGHAREET!, she has been focusing on mastering Moroccan Shikhatt dancing, including the famous tea tray dance.







Anisah...
Anisah started dancing in 2004 as a form of low impact exercise. After her first class with Hala she was hooked. The following year she also started taking tribal classes with Hala. She has also enjoyed the teachings of Aurora and Zaena and has participated in workshops by Nath Keo and Sabura, Gypsy Caravan, Unmata, and Gypsy Fire. In August 2007 she enjoyed five wonderful days of learning and fun at Tribal Quest in Portland, Oregon. Anisah enjoys the togetherness of Tribal Style dance.... and a few other styles as well, like burlesque with Geela.







Geela...
Geela took her first bellydance class in 2003 strictly for exercise, but after the first isolation was hooked. She has taken classes from wonderful instructors including, Hala, Tatiana, Tascheleia, and Aldiya from Edmonton. As well, has participated in numerous workshops from world renowned instructors including Yasmina Ramzy, Hadia, Amr Thaleb, Nath Keo and Sabura. Geela took her first tribal-style class with Hala in 2005 and has now dedicated herself to learning as much about tribal bellydance as possible.







Laura...
Laura joined Zaghareet! in early 2007. Stay tuned for her bio...









Here we are in December of 2004 having fun with the Global Hand Drummers Of Canada. The finale is always a lot of fun, full on improv madness, I feel sorry for the drummers who are always exhausted by the end!!!




Here are some slideshows and video clips.

Live and studio shots. This is a photo slideshow done in Windows Media Viewer.

This is a Quicktime video clip from our first international performance, at the Fez, Portland, Oregon. It was our first visit to Tribal Quest. A few of us will be there again this summer.

This teaser was filmed at the Citadel Theatre and is in Quicktime format.

Check out our website at

www.zaghareet.ca