Past Performances
"Labyrinth Medievel Fair"
On September 26-27, 1998, The Desert Mirage Middle Eastern Dancers
performed at "Labyrinth Medievel Fair", A 15th Century fair complete with period
arts and crafts at Apple Basket Farms, Barry, IL.
We performed two shows each day, starting with some free style dancing,
zilling, drumming and kidding around. Among the numbers we performed were our Cane Dance, Kenna, Mijwiz, Abla, Sultan's Veil,
Yemenite and Women of the Well. For the performance of Sultan's Veil, we
pulled a (sometimes) willing volunteer from the audience to act as Sultan, and this was a
hoot. Khalima and Amenta each performed a solo. Also present and performing were the
members of the beginning class. For most of the beginners, this was their first
performance, and it was very well done.
"Middle Eastern Bazaar"
On Saturday, May 16, 1998, Desert Mirage performed at the Middle
Eastern Bazaar held at the Villa Katherine, 532 Gardner Expressway, Quincy, Illinois. The
Bazaar was sponsored by the Friends of the Castle to allow the public the opportunity to
tour the Villa and see the renovations made over the last few years.
The show opened with Khalima, Amenta, and Saccara performing the dances
"Abla" and "Saidi Wind". Thalia and Shadia performed
"Mijwiz" as a duet; Amenta did a solo to Yasalaam; Khalima did a solo to
"Essays"; Sahara, Amenta, Saccara, Thalia and Shadia also danced "Women of
the Well", and the entire troupe did "Yemenite". Accompanying us on
the drums for some freestyle dancing were the Desert Thumpers: Konrad, Grimm and
William.
There was a good turnout for the bazaar and we were pleased to have
television coverage from KHQA on the evening news. Thank you to all those who came
out and supported the Friends of the Castle and the Desert Mirage Dancers. |
Welcome to
the world of Middle Eastern Dance. My name is Khalima and I've been studying Middle
Eastern Dance since 1990. Currently, I reside in O'Fallon, Missouri and take classes from Diana of Simone's 7th Veil in St. Louis. I am a former member of the Desert Mirage Middle Eastern Dancers from
the Hannibal, Missouri area, and occassionally dance with them still. I'm also dancing with a wonderful group of new dancers called "The Jewels in the Rough" in the Hannibal area. Previously, I was a member of the "Middle Eastern
Dance Artists" (MEDA) of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. This dance form is a very important part of
my life, and I'm very proud to share a little bit of it with you. Hope you enjoy this
page.
Here is the troupe
performing one of our numbers on the portable stage made available to us. From left to
right, we are Thalia, Amenta, Sahara, myself (Khalima) and Saccara.
