ROCK THE CASBAH SATURDAY
York County Coast Star
Thursday October 9, 2008
ME
The Naya’s Trance Middle Eastern Dance Ensemble will perform at the
Dunaway Center in Ogunquit at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 11. The exotic
evening "at the Casbah" will include Middle Eastern music and a table
of classic sweets prepared by Maine’s Greek community.
October 09, 2008 6:00 AM
Ogunquit Performing Arts will host Naya’s Trance as part of its Middle
East Festival at the Dunaway Center on Saturday, Oct. 11.
Starting at 7:30 p.m., the center will again be transformed into a
Casbah for the performance of Naya’s Trance, Portland’s own Middle
Eastern dance ensemble. The Naya’s Trance dance group specializes in
a variety of Middle Eastern dance forms, including veil, fan, cane,
sword, and fire dance. To complement this exotic experience, Middle
Eastern music will be performed on original instruments by Okbari,
the internationally renowned and very versatile Middle East music
ensemble. As the final touch for this exotic evening, traditional
Greek pastries will be available, prepared by members of Maine’s
Greek community.
Featuring a bevy of beautiful and talented dancers, Naya’s
Trance focuses on the bellydance. The art ofbellydance has been
passed down for generations from grandmothers to mothers and on
to granddaughters. It’s a beautiful and mesmerizing expression of
a woman’s self, emotions, and spirituality. Bellydance can take on
many forms, from the earthy and powerful tribal style, to the sassy
and flirtatious cabaret act.
This evening offers up original bellydance performances in a range
of styles including traditional Raks Sharqi (cabaret) and Raks Beledi
(folkloric). Many of the movements in the dance are serpentine-like,
hence the group’s chosen name, Naya’s Trance, which can be literally
translated "Cobra’s Trance."
Portland’s own Arabic music ensemble, Okbari, was formed in 1955 and
has independently released four albums. Okbari performs Armenian and
Anatolian folk music, classical Middle Eastern music, and traditional
folk and contemporary songs from the Greek, Arabic, and Balkan
traditions. Okbari also presents multi-instrumental original music
inspired by the musical systems of the Middle East and India. They
perform on the oud, clarinet, duduk, bouzouki, doumbek, riqq, tabla,
ney, mridangam, and several other instruments from around the world.
Tickets are $15 and $12 for seniors and advance sale at the Ogunquit
Camera Shop, Dunaway Center, Ogunquit Welcome Center.
There is plenty of free parking.