From Russia With Love Hafla feat. Elena Ramazanova
After about one year of planning and correspondence between myself and her, the amazing Elena Ramazanova finally landed in Kuala Lumpur International Airport from Moscow on 20 March 2014, one day before the hafla organised in honour of her. Needless to say, while I was waiting for her at the International Arrival hall at KLIA, I was rather nervous at the thought of meeting her face to face. After all, it's not everyday you get the President of the League of Bellydance Masters of Russia meeting up with you and staying with you in your home.
I arrived at the airport at about the same time her plane landed. After about 20-30 minutes of anxious waiting, she emerged at the gate looking around for signs of me. I waved and she saw me. My heart started pounding. I'm about to meet Elena!! After sharing a hug, we went for a quick lunch before heading home. Throughout the entire time, I was feeling super starstruck and just could not believe Elena Ramazanova is here. (To give some perspective to non-bellydancers reading this, Elena is like the equivalent of Madonna - she has been in the industry for such a long time, not everyone likes her style but nobody can doubt that she's a true artiste and pioneer in the industry and has loads of wisdom under her belt from years and years of experience)
The following day on 21 March 2014, we had our hafla at Hadramawt Restaurant along Jalan Ampang. It was the same venue I organised Rock The Kasbah! at last year. However, this time we managed to occupy the main hall of the second floor of the restaurant instead of the function room we had last year, so there was definitely more room for everything.
Official poster for the hafla
We had a proper reception table this time. Thank you to my husband Zhafri for being the receptionist for the night!
Guests started arriving as early as 6.30pm but by 8pm, the place was getting quite packed already. Turn-out was overwhelming and we needed to add more tables and chairs as the night progressed! Buffet was opened and the guests started eating. It was then just waiting for the show to start. We started a little late because some of the performers were stuck in traffic, but it wasn't obscenely late. The emcee for the night was non other than my good friend Amit Gilboa who, just like last year, flew in all the way from Singapore just to help me out. As usual, he was AWESOME.
The first half of the show had 8 items in total. I felt really blessed that so many performers came to dance in the show that night - women from all walks of life and from other states in Malaysia, Singapore as well as Hong Kong. To kick off the show, we had Helena Li (Hong Kong) who performed an upbeat oriental song with veil and zills (finger cymbals) which I think was perfect to start the show with and get everyone in the mood. Next we had Nikki Law perform a fusion number to the theme song from Nang Nak the movie. So very interesting! Then we had Diana Almaz who is originally from Ukraine but now residing in KL. Next was Elaine Chan of Penang with an exciting drum solo, followed by Freedom of Soul, a troupe headed by their teacher Sophia Kong. Then we had Beatrice Flowers, a tribal fusion dancer from the UK who is now living in KL who gave the audience a taste of some tribal fusion. To wrap up the first part of the show were the dancers from Middle East Dance Academy headed by Nanccy Bakhshy. She led the troupe in a powerful Sufi fusion dance before her two beautiful daughters Mandy and Nilu took the stage for a duet.
Performers in the first half
Then we had a 20-minute intermission before we started with the second half of the show. The first performance of the second half was a collaborative effort between myself, Amit and Helena Li. We wanted to do something a little different from last year's item so Amit suggested I play the zills. I was hesitant at first because I have NEVER performed with zills before, but I took it as a challenge for myself. I practised consistently for about a month, and the effort paid off! Helena joined us as the base drummer and we played the song "Party Drum Drum Solo" by Issam Houshan (I think). Considering the fact that the three of us had not done a single rehearsal together, I think our performance went well! I am so happy I did not falter in my zilling and it was so awesome that the three of us synchronized so well. I LOVED our ending too! Right on the beat!
After our drum and zill performance, I continued the item with a drum solo dance with live drum accompaniment by Amit and Helena. Again, we had not rehearsed this, not even once, and yet it was perfectly executed. Loved it.
After our item was the highlight of the evening - ELENA RAMAZANOVA! She performed an improvisational oriental dance in a gorgeous red costume and she was absolutely SENSATIONAL.
I was in total awe. It was just amazing to watch her dance live! Her dancing is just so real and soulful and everything seemed so effortless and natural. (We would come to know later during her workshops that her movements look effortless but in actual fact takes lots of hard work to do properly!) My mother who was in the audience used the word "relaxed", that Elena's dancing just felt so relaxed and was not hurried or forced at all.
After her performance, we had some more performances from dancers in the region. Firstly was Nurul Syazzwanie whose parents had also come to watch her perform - so nice to have supportive parents! After that we had Sophia Kong who performed a sensual balady number, followed by Lily Chin of Sungai Petani who I think has the most awesome poses in her performance photos! It's as if she was deliberately posing for every single shot that the photographers took of her while dancing! That is a rare skill!
After Lily was Belly Soul, a troupe headed by Bee Yen. They did a fast tempo medley of Ancient Ruin and Sahra Saidi, a famous drum solo. Serene Keng of Penang was next. I think it was my first time meeting Serene and I think she is such an elegant dancer. Next we had the gorgeous Nazira Hamdan who hails from Argentina. When she first sent me her performance song, I immediately fell in love with it and it was on replay on my computer's music player in an instant. Her costume on that day was so so pretty and I loved her style.
The second last item for the night was by Maia Amani of Singapore. I've known Maia for a long time and have always loved her dancing. She is such a sweetheart and it shows in her dance!
Our finale was Elena performing an energetic shaabi item. I've seen her dance this song many times on Youtube videos before but of course, seeing her live is a different matter altogether! I (and I'm sure the rest of the audience) loved how she interacted with people, even the photographers, so naturally and confidently. Not all dancers can do this interaction thing well, not even some of the best stage performers, but I think it's actually one of Elena's fortes. She nailed it!
One of the most apparent aspects of her performance is how her personality shines through her dancing. You immediately feel her positive energy, humility, grace and kindness. You know she is someone confident yet approachable and friendly. Ah, there's really no end to all the nice things I can say about her...so let's just see the pictures and watch the video, shall we?
I was actually planning to have a quick curtain call for all the performers at the end that then leads to the free dancing session or what I prefer to call "jamming" but it turns out that Elena already had something else planned, so we decided to go with it. It is something that I, as a hafla organiser, learn along the way - that not everything turns out as I had planned. Sometimes, it's the spontaneous things that make your event memorable. :)
Jamming! One of my favourite parts of a hafla!
I presented a bouquet of sunflowers to Elena and received a bouquet of roses from my family!
And my favourite shot of the night...
Is she amazing or what?
I arrived at the airport at about the same time her plane landed. After about 20-30 minutes of anxious waiting, she emerged at the gate looking around for signs of me. I waved and she saw me. My heart started pounding. I'm about to meet Elena!! After sharing a hug, we went for a quick lunch before heading home. Throughout the entire time, I was feeling super starstruck and just could not believe Elena Ramazanova is here. (To give some perspective to non-bellydancers reading this, Elena is like the equivalent of Madonna - she has been in the industry for such a long time, not everyone likes her style but nobody can doubt that she's a true artiste and pioneer in the industry and has loads of wisdom under her belt from years and years of experience)
The following day on 21 March 2014, we had our hafla at Hadramawt Restaurant along Jalan Ampang. It was the same venue I organised Rock The Kasbah! at last year. However, this time we managed to occupy the main hall of the second floor of the restaurant instead of the function room we had last year, so there was definitely more room for everything.
Official poster for the hafla
We had a proper reception table this time. Thank you to my husband Zhafri for being the receptionist for the night!
Guests started arriving as early as 6.30pm but by 8pm, the place was getting quite packed already. Turn-out was overwhelming and we needed to add more tables and chairs as the night progressed! Buffet was opened and the guests started eating. It was then just waiting for the show to start. We started a little late because some of the performers were stuck in traffic, but it wasn't obscenely late. The emcee for the night was non other than my good friend Amit Gilboa who, just like last year, flew in all the way from Singapore just to help me out. As usual, he was AWESOME.
The first half of the show had 8 items in total. I felt really blessed that so many performers came to dance in the show that night - women from all walks of life and from other states in Malaysia, Singapore as well as Hong Kong. To kick off the show, we had Helena Li (Hong Kong) who performed an upbeat oriental song with veil and zills (finger cymbals) which I think was perfect to start the show with and get everyone in the mood. Next we had Nikki Law perform a fusion number to the theme song from Nang Nak the movie. So very interesting! Then we had Diana Almaz who is originally from Ukraine but now residing in KL. Next was Elaine Chan of Penang with an exciting drum solo, followed by Freedom of Soul, a troupe headed by their teacher Sophia Kong. Then we had Beatrice Flowers, a tribal fusion dancer from the UK who is now living in KL who gave the audience a taste of some tribal fusion. To wrap up the first part of the show were the dancers from Middle East Dance Academy headed by Nanccy Bakhshy. She led the troupe in a powerful Sufi fusion dance before her two beautiful daughters Mandy and Nilu took the stage for a duet.
Performers in the first half
Then we had a 20-minute intermission before we started with the second half of the show. The first performance of the second half was a collaborative effort between myself, Amit and Helena Li. We wanted to do something a little different from last year's item so Amit suggested I play the zills. I was hesitant at first because I have NEVER performed with zills before, but I took it as a challenge for myself. I practised consistently for about a month, and the effort paid off! Helena joined us as the base drummer and we played the song "Party Drum Drum Solo" by Issam Houshan (I think). Considering the fact that the three of us had not done a single rehearsal together, I think our performance went well! I am so happy I did not falter in my zilling and it was so awesome that the three of us synchronized so well. I LOVED our ending too! Right on the beat!
After our drum and zill performance, I continued the item with a drum solo dance with live drum accompaniment by Amit and Helena. Again, we had not rehearsed this, not even once, and yet it was perfectly executed. Loved it.
Click to viewAfter our item was the highlight of the evening - ELENA RAMAZANOVA! She performed an improvisational oriental dance in a gorgeous red costume and she was absolutely SENSATIONAL.
I was in total awe. It was just amazing to watch her dance live! Her dancing is just so real and soulful and everything seemed so effortless and natural. (We would come to know later during her workshops that her movements look effortless but in actual fact takes lots of hard work to do properly!) My mother who was in the audience used the word "relaxed", that Elena's dancing just felt so relaxed and was not hurried or forced at all.
After her performance, we had some more performances from dancers in the region. Firstly was Nurul Syazzwanie whose parents had also come to watch her perform - so nice to have supportive parents! After that we had Sophia Kong who performed a sensual balady number, followed by Lily Chin of Sungai Petani who I think has the most awesome poses in her performance photos! It's as if she was deliberately posing for every single shot that the photographers took of her while dancing! That is a rare skill!
After Lily was Belly Soul, a troupe headed by Bee Yen. They did a fast tempo medley of Ancient Ruin and Sahra Saidi, a famous drum solo. Serene Keng of Penang was next. I think it was my first time meeting Serene and I think she is such an elegant dancer. Next we had the gorgeous Nazira Hamdan who hails from Argentina. When she first sent me her performance song, I immediately fell in love with it and it was on replay on my computer's music player in an instant. Her costume on that day was so so pretty and I loved her style.
The second last item for the night was by Maia Amani of Singapore. I've known Maia for a long time and have always loved her dancing. She is such a sweetheart and it shows in her dance!
Our finale was Elena performing an energetic shaabi item. I've seen her dance this song many times on Youtube videos before but of course, seeing her live is a different matter altogether! I (and I'm sure the rest of the audience) loved how she interacted with people, even the photographers, so naturally and confidently. Not all dancers can do this interaction thing well, not even some of the best stage performers, but I think it's actually one of Elena's fortes. She nailed it!
One of the most apparent aspects of her performance is how her personality shines through her dancing. You immediately feel her positive energy, humility, grace and kindness. You know she is someone confident yet approachable and friendly. Ah, there's really no end to all the nice things I can say about her...so let's just see the pictures and watch the video, shall we?
I was actually planning to have a quick curtain call for all the performers at the end that then leads to the free dancing session or what I prefer to call "jamming" but it turns out that Elena already had something else planned, so we decided to go with it. It is something that I, as a hafla organiser, learn along the way - that not everything turns out as I had planned. Sometimes, it's the spontaneous things that make your event memorable. :)
Jamming! One of my favourite parts of a hafla!
I presented a bouquet of sunflowers to Elena and received a bouquet of roses from my family!
And my favourite shot of the night...
Is she amazing or what?