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Lebanese nights
Fabine – stage name Ameera – could easily have been a model. But luckily for Karachiites, the tall, lithe Brazilian with a Britney Spears tummy chose to become a belly dancer instead. Ameera was one of a team of performers who enthralled local audiences at four nights of Lebanese-themed recreation at a local hotel recently. A sumptuous spread, oriental dancing, Arabic music and a faux souk were just some of the entertainment on offer.
At a time when visas are scarcely provided and entertainment even scarcer, a night in a simulated Lebanon is a more than welcome diversion. Starting with the buffet – a bewildering variety of Lebanese fare including hummus, shish kebab or kofta as it is known in the Middle East, and assorted Lebanese sweets – the evening went on to live singing, Lebanese folk dance (called dabke) and belly dancing by the fabulous Ameera. And even though the hummus was perfect and the traditional Lebanese dance graceful, it was truly Ameera who was the piece de resistance. She belly-shaked, nay shimmered, her way onto the dance-floor and made the audience abandon their cutlery and clap, which cannot be said about Lara, the singer of the troupe. Perhaps the timing was wrong, but although Lara’s voice was sweet enough, her heavily accented rendition of Celine Dion’s sickeningly romantic My heart will go on just could not put a stop to the boisterous dinner conversations. After all, a performance is meant to be enjoyed on its own, not as a side of pickle with shawarma. That limitation aside, it was the dance that turned the night around.
As a taste of things to come, the dabke dancers came onto the dance floor. Lebanese folklore has it that dabke is a traditional dance that celebrates the harvesting season in the rural areas. In olden days, the Lebanese used tree branches smeared with mud before tiled roofs were introduced. When the season turned, the mud would crack and roofs began to leak. The owner of the house would then invite his neighbours to help and they would form a line and stomp their feet in order to keep the mud in its place. This later became a form of singing and dancing. While the programme called the dance preceding Ameera dabke, the Lebanese troupe blended it with other styles to create a thoroughly modern variety. According to Younes Younes – the choreographer, costumier and dancer – he had drawn inspiration from Arabic, Indian, Spanish and jazz sources for the night’s performance. Although the dancers were plenty energetic and limber, particularly the three women, it was no match for what followed.
High-heeled and dressed in a two-piece dress made of leaf-like fur and suede, Ameera stole the show. She was expressive, had a sense of humour and, more importantly, demanded audience participation. Calling guests onto the floor, she ensured that they had a free lesson in the dance form and had the audience laughing when they couldn’t emulate her movements. Then she mesmerized them with a fair amount of hip shaking and elegant hand movements, proving that dance need not be vulgar to be enjoyable. Perhaps our own film actresses need to take a leaf from her book (pun unintended).
Ameera is new to the art of oriental dancing. A Brazilian who almost took yoga to get rid of excess flab, she opted for belly dance and never looked back. “I lost 12 kilos,” she said, adding, “with a little dieting, of course.” She couldn’t look at herself in the mirror because her tummy was not trim enough. “Then I lost weight and loved it,” she said. Ameera has been dancing professionally for five years and has spent another three performing outside her home country. “I have a Pakistani friend in Dubai who told me that Pakistan is quite like Brazil.” Although she took to the little she has seen of the country, the food was another matter. “Too spicy,” she laughed. Incidentally, Ameera’s husband (yes, she’s married: sorry guys) who is a designer was responsible for the leafy and exotic costume that she wore. “He designs all my dance clothes.”
Pakistanis not familiar with the finer points of belly dancing ought to know that the Lebanese style differs from the Egyptian and the Turkish. First, the dance is performed in huge stadiums or concert halls packed with people. As a consequence, therefore, the movements are far more theatrical and exaggerated. True to the Lebanese tradition, Ameera not only wore dangerously high heels when she danced, her movements were dramatic and full of verve.
The Sheraton Hotel ought to be commended for their efforts to provide an entertaining evening out to Karachiites, even though it must be said that the seating arrangements were rather poor. Tables were spaced such that giant projector screens had to be put up for diners on the fringes to enjoy the live performances, which kind of defeats the intent. Kudos also to the chef – Sarhan, who was on a two-week visit to Pakistan – for cooking up a taste of the conflux of cultures that is Lebanon. An Armenian singer, a Brazilian belly dancer and a Lebanese choreographer – one could almost smell the cedar and salty tang of the Mediterranean Sea.
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