Ranya's excellent dance show, a lesson in artistic integrity...
I went out to see Ranya's show at the Lafayette Grill in Manhattan Thursday night. Now, I usually don't go out to see Middle Eastern music and dance much any more, as I have been all too many times dissapointed with the very gimmicky, over choreographed/over stylized presentations.Too many folks out there with super marketing skills and little else charging money for their performances, thinking they are contributing to the Middle Eastern culture scene in New York.

Well, Ranya's show was a breath of fresh air, I was glad I attended. Her students performances were all very nice, no weird gimmicks or tongue in cheek choreographies, just a sense of joy and an aesthetic that could only come from a teacher who is an accomplished artist. ranya spent years developing her skill and art as a fine exponent of Egyptian style dance in New York, and her integrity was evident the whole evening.
She featured the lovely Amar, and the reknown exponent of Egyptian dance in America, Shareen El Safy...real dancers, doing real dancing, it felt like the old days when nobody, dancer or musician, would do a gig unless they had some sort of credential, and the secret to credentials I'm talking about here is dedication and woodshedding. These credentials were shining through every part of the performance Thursday night.

Now, I will admit, I did go to this show because Ranya lined up a group of Arabic musicians, the likes of which are rare these days in New York. How could I stay home when Maurice Shadid was playing oud and singing, and Mohammad Abdullah played violin, Neboui, a very, very creative accordionist indeed, and a percussion section to die for...Gamal Shafik and Said Fahmy! No dead beats here! Mention must also be made of multi instrumentalist Nikolai Ruskin, who's riq, frame drum, rebaba, zurna and nai taqsim showed that this guy takes Egyptian music for real, not to mention that he sings the difficult segah mode right on the darn money!
The band enjoyed playing with each other, their energy was what Arabic music is all about...joy, love of life, passion, a musical camaraderie that sucks you in and you are glad it does.
I've been to too many Arabic classical and so called fusion concerts, and left bored out of my mind, not because the musicans lack talent or dedication, but because of the all too stiff delivery and presentaion of the program. Some of these artists don't want to hear a fly fart, never mind the occasional "Hup" or "Aman Aman". Maurice's group allowed me and everybody else present to evict shouts of joy anytime we felt the need to, and the smiles on the musicians faces encouraged the audience to do it again and again.

This was all brought together by Ranya herself, who I must give credit to for all the hard work putting this show together.Her aesthetic, dedication to her art, and her sense of integrity shone through every aspect of the program, from the first student dancer, to the fabulous and georgeously costumed Egyptian folk finale.

I do hope her students carry her sense of artistry and respect for culture with them if and when they go on to perform on their own.There are too many out there who think that the internet, a wonderful tool in it's own right, substitutes for woodshedding, practice, and raw dedication to one's art, be it music or dance. The Middle Eastern music scene in New York is suffering, in my opinion, because there are too many who think "Gee, I can do that, watch me".The musicians in Maurice's group Thursday night are mostly middle aged fellows, like myself, and they didn't have, back in the day, the knowledge or use of the internet to super-market and blow themselves up to make believe mythical proportions to the world at large.They had to perform before discerning audiences who listened carefully to what they had to say in their music, and dancers were watched for a sense of artistic endeavor and grace, not any attachment to gimmick or tricky choreography.
I'm not trying to discourage any one, all I am saying is, go see a Ranya show and you'll know what I mean about integrity.

They say you can drink wine after 40 days of the fermentation process. Yes, it's drinkable, but nothing comparable to a wine sitting in a cellar for many years.It develops over time.
An artist develops over time. Your art becomes your friend, your lover, your conscience, it becomes you.
Gimmicks don't last, they fall out of fashion quickly, here today, gone tomorrow. True art is immortal, and I say to you, artists like Ranya are to me, an example of immortality.
Kudos to you Ranya, we need more of the likes of people like you! I'll go to all your shows!

~Ismail - Ismail , posted 11/30/07 on Tribe.net
http://newyork.tribe.net/recommendation/Ranya-at-the-Lafayette-Grill/new-york-ny/7b8ff3b6-371f-426f-9f14-781b8df00c09

Ranya's 3rd Annual Gala at Lafayette Grill
As a participant in this showcase, I can't review the performance itself, per se, but I would like to comment on the extraordinary process leading up to it, and on Ranya's dedication to us, Middle Eastern music, and Egyptian dance technique.

This is my second year performing in Ranya's Holiday Gala, and Ismail (review above) is absolutely correct that she stresses integrity and hard work above all else.

To create this performance, we all participate in a rigorous series of classes and semi-private lessons of the course of many weeks, cultivating our feel for the music as well as deepening our dance technique -- usually with a focus specific to our given level.

The musicians aid tremendously in this process by participating in many of these workshops, educating us on Middle Eastern music -- the maqams, rhythms and the specific styles and techniques particular to their instruments. We practice with them as a group and individually, and they answer many questions and provide insightful feedback on how to effectively embody their music through dance.

We owe them a very special debt for this because they are not only magnificent artists, they truly care about our growth as dancers and give an extraordinary amount of time, effort and attention to this process precisely because they care about the integrity of the dance.

I can't praise Ranya highly enough for creating this experience; it is precisely because of her many years' experience, her sense of integrity and love of Egyptian style that she is respected by these excellent musicians, such that she is able to corral such a high quality band that is able to lure a discerning musician such as Ismail to our student show. :->

I and many of the students who performed last week have been studying with Ranya for years and plan to continue doing so ... and we look forward to participating in her 4th Annual Gala next year! - Tandava , posted in reply 12/03/07 on Tribe.net