As printed in the Quarter 4/2004 Issue of The Belly Dancer Magazine
Shukriya
Rakkasah Hostess, Instructor/Dancer
QUESTIONS FOR CENTER FOLD DANCER
Likes: Watching dancers grow
Dislikes: Being interviewed
Favorite City to live in: SF Bay Area
Favorite City to play in: London
Favorite Getaway: England & Europe
Favorite Color: non-color - black
Languages you Speak: Hardly get around in English
Do you have pets? Not now.
Do you have children? 2 daughters - 3 granddaughters - 1 grandson
What country/ries have you lived in? Just in the USA
Favorite music type and specific piece: ALL kinds of music
Hobby/ies: Is there anything other than dance??
Cabaret, Tribal/Gypsy, Ethnic, fusion,- - what style are you best known for? American Style Belly Dance
Who are your mentors in the business? Beginning teachers - Galya and Jamilla Salimpour - - RAKKASAH idea base - George Mosley of Seattle, WA
If you couldn't make a living at what you are doing now, what WOULD you do? Make a LIVING??
Turn On's: Going away - anywhere for a holiday.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Thank you for having me and RAKKASAH part of your great magazine.
Dancer to Dancer /Promoter
By OBERON
Before my first trip to Rakkasah, I was over the top with expectation for days. As is now made legend by "Zaina's Zainy Adventures", I packed everything in my closet and was dizzy with excitement by the time we got there. Bursting through the doors, my senses on high alert, I was smacked with the sounds of music and drumming, lured by the smells and fabrics, dazzled by a hundred - thousand colors, jingles and bangles, costumes and instruments and that….no I'm not lying….was all before I stumbled through the second set of doors, to encounter, a football field of shopping! Two stages were already in full swing with different performers appearing at approximately 15 minute intervals.
Those of you who know me won't be the least surprised, that I ran around like a demented chicken, Zahgereeted for three days straight and ended up violently ill at the end of it all. Admitting that I don't have a whole lot more control at Rakkasah even now
- I have to tell you, some of my sweetest memories of the dance are made there. New friendships, re-connecting each year, shopping with my "Homies" and the joyous hours of learning from legends, Dahlia Carella, Leila Haddad, Suzanna Del Vecchio and Margo
AbdoO'Dell to name just a few!
So, you can see why my friend and Editor, Zaina Hart, and I want to introduce you to the shy "power-house" behind this monumental yearly event. May I introduce Shukriya, Queen of Rakkasah.
O. So Shukriya…..why this monumental under-taking?
S. INSANITY - why else? Actually, I had been hosting teacher workshops where teachers debuted their brightest students to live music. I had taken a family trip in 1978 with my husband Michael, and had seen and was inspired by George Mosely's, "Fantasia". I loved the format of constant dancing all day but I remember missing the live music.
O. You came home and began on a production right away?
S. Our first event was in 1980, and we did add live music to the mix. Robaire Nakashian and Paul Ohaneshian were two of our first musicians and together we overcame many of the difficulties of set-up etc. regarding the music.
O. Where was the first event held?
S. That was in San Pablo at Maple Hall.
O. What were the origins of such an intriguing name?
S. We wanted a name that sounded both Spanish and Middle Eastern because the place we had chosen to begin was part of a Spanish Land Grant. Since "Raks" means dance and "casa" means house, (with a little license to the spelling), our name means "Dance-House". Robaire had subsequently spoken with Fidel Shahin, who once owned "The Casbah" in San Francisco and thepresent owner of the El Morocco in Pleasant Hill, CA. He said the name was also very close to aword meaning female dancer in Arabic, so we felt it was a good fit.
O. Shukriya, the venue is not at the same place as the first event …..why?
S. You know, we outgrew Maple Hall the first year! We moved into Piedmont Veteran's Memorial which we also outgrew in one year! We moved on the Scottish Rite Center. We were there for five years consecutively but then moved to the Richmond Auditorium for three or four years. Following homes were, the Marin Civic Center and the Oakland Auditorium, then back again to the Richmond Auditorium, our present location.
O. And was the format always the same?
S. No. Year one, through approximately year six, it was all festival with no instruction. Our attendance was coming mainly from the West Coast. I had lined up the vendors already and the first performers called in very casually over the period of about a month. After the first year, I advertised the event in "Habibi" Magazine owned by Lynn and Bob Zalot.
O. When did you add the Instructors?
S. Around the fifth year. Bert Balladine suggested adding classes. We began with Burt and Amaya and some local teachers. We taught relationship between I.e. Hula and Middle Eastern Dance and Flamenco and Middle Eastern Dance etc. The following year, 1986 I think, Burt invited Beata Zadou from Germany to teach. It was the beginning of our relationship with international dancers. We began to draw attendance Internationally.
O. What was admission to the festival in those days?
S. Can you believe that we didn't charge a door for the first year? The second year it was $3.00. It took us 8 years to break even! The addition of the work shops sure helped.
O. So we get to see the "Glitz and Glam" of the event - what is the real story behind this huge project?
S. (Knowing laughter here). The real story is..."You better love it or forget it".
O. What's involved?
S. Finding a facility and fixing a lease. Seeking out City rules and regulations. Dealing with them so that you can obtain a city license. Dealing with the food, paperwork to and from dancers, vendors, sound details and a videographer for the performers. Then we started with security at Piedmont. We actually considered canceling the 'East' Festival following 9/11, but after hearing so many New York & east coast dancers asking us not to cancel - we were concerned but excited to continue. In the 'West' we hired more security people to check boxes and bags at the door. This is all before we get into the areas of vending, the door, the music right down to "tiny" issues of shirts and badges to identify staff - you know we have approximately 30 to 40 volunteers. Yes, then there is stage management with dancer check-in..........what have I left out?
O. Would you say you have serious security issues at Rakkasah?
S. No, but when people realize an event of this size is going on you're bound to get opportunists, and some of the vendors let us know that we had some theft going on. Really, my biggest challenge is dealing with the city - because they tend to have different opinions regarding what we do at the event. Oh... and it's hard getting all the paperwork to do with an event this size, in on time every year.
O. Shukriya...given all this work - why Rakkasah East?
S. (Laughing). Because my daughter lives there. It's really a great time for me, getting to meet the "East' dancers, musicians, vendors and working with new members of our very large dance community.
O. So, I personally tend to think that you hide out at Rakkasah.
S. (Really laughing now). O.K.....I admit it, I'm hiding away from the silly questions.
O. And those would be? (You know that I'm really hoping that my next question doesn't fit that category)?
S. People have actually spent hours seeking me out to ask where the bathrooms are located.....but honestly, I am always available to handle serious issues.
O. Those would be?
S. MMMmmm...well, vendors insisting on overstepping their space allotments for instance - because this becomes a fire code issue.
O. Do you dance at your own event?
S. Yes...I have performed solo, but also with "Dancers of the Pharoahs", "Daughers of the Pharoahs"- a student troupe, Alexandria's Ghawazzi Troupe, our teachers dance troupe and now with Natica Angilly's Poetic Dance Theater.
O. How long have you been dancing Shukriya?
S. Thirty Years!
O. I'm curious Shukriya, how do you select the teachers at your event?
S. Well I would first like to say, that as you may have noticed, our teachers become our family here. We feel also, that it takes a good two years for a teacher to become locally known. We also do respond to trends. For a while, everyone wanted Folkloric, then none, and people wanted "Big Names", then No! We do respond to suggestions but please, suggest a certain class to us, don't write to say that you feel your teacher should teach here. We do try out suggestions, but if response is not good, you may not see that class again for some time.
O. Do you watch the show?
S. I see as many performers as I can when out on the show floor. I try to watch the video's after the show and see what has been missed. I watch my daughter Michelle, grand daughter Zoe from New Jersey and Ana Banat with my grand daughters and nieces from California.
O. Does everyone but the instructors have to call in to dance?
S. People who register for the week long before the deadline have the choice to dance - you can even do this "on-line". Yes...all others...even your favorites, call in - just like you.
O. O.K. Shukriya. What are your Rakkasah "guilty pleasures"?
S. Really - just watching dancers mature year after year and watching my daughter and granddaughters grow up in the dance.
O. So what's in the future for the fabulous Rakkasah?
S. Starting this very next event, both stages will run simultaneously the whole time. This will be our 25th Anniversary - can you believe it? We will have some really great teachers return to RAKASAH for our 25th celebration. I have asked Jamilla Salimpour to teach and she said yes. There will be some surprises in the performance line-up and there are likely to be some nice surprises in our future.
O. So Shukriya - what do you do the day after Rakkasah.
S. I sleep!!!
You can find Shukriya at:
http://www.rakkasah.com
