| I Love Lucie by Cheri Berens |
COPYRIGHT 2003
One of the good things about living in Egypt is that friends who had always wanted to travel to Egypt but were afraid to, suddenly find it less frightening
if they know someone actually living here. At first I usually receive e-mails inquiring about Egypt’s political climate, and of course, many questions
regarding safety. But eventually they take the plunge and come to visit me. Recently a friend of mine who knows very little about belly dancing visited
me. When I suggested some belly dance nightclubs she said it sounded “interesting” and that she was game to check it out. My husband and I
decided to take her to a 3-star and a 5-star nightclub. We wanted to get her impressions of both since she had no pre-conceived ideas about what she
was about to see.
The dancing at the 3-star clubs is a little sleazy, but there’s more to a 3-star club than just dancing. The fun at a good 3-star club comes from the music
and the audience. We had a terrific time. The full Egyptian band was great and even though my friend had never heard Egyptian music before, she
enjoyed it very much. She especially enjoyed the nationalistic pride and enthusiasm the different audience members expressed when their countries
were announced by the singer. The singer goes around from table to table and finds out which Arabic countries the audience members are from and
then he sings a popular song from each of the different countries.
It’s always exciting to see people get emotional and animated when they hear music from their homeland and my friend enjoyed this emotion and
excitement very much. But as expected, the belly dancing wasn’t very good and my friend could easily distinguish this fact. The dancers were very
lackluster and used very little variation of movements. A different dancer came out about every half hour and only one showed any real dancing talent.
My friend became more preoccupied with the dancers all being ‘overweight’. I had to explain that they weren’t considered overweight and that flesh is
sexy and desirable in the Arab world. The dancers in this type of club are mostly there to encourage the men to get up and dance, have a good time,
and of course, stay a long time and spend money. And as mentioned before, the fun in these clubs comes from watching the audience members dance
and enjoy themselves.
My first choice for the 5-star club was Lucie’s nightclub, the Parisiana. Lucie has been very busy acting in movies and television mini-series, so I was
worried that she might not be performing. When we got to her club I told my husband to ask the doorman if Lucie was going to be there. My friend and
I would stay in the taxi so we could dash off to another club in case Lucie wasn’t performing. My husband took what felt like forever (a very common
occurrence in Egypt--no one seems to have any concept of time here), but when he returned he said, “She wasn’t going to be here tonight, another
dancer is ready to begin, but I explained that I had two Americans waiting in a taxi and that they wanted to see Lucie”. The doorman called Lucie on his
cell phone and explained what my husband said. Lucie said she’d be there within the hour.
Lucie’s nightclub is 5-star all the way and my friend was impressed at the service. Before she could get a cigarette out of the pack, a waiter was there
with a lighter ready and lit. A few minutes later, several packets of my friend’s brand were put on the table. Before a glass was empty, a waiter
appeared out of nowhere to refill it. I asked for some apricot shisha (a water pipe with apricot flavored tobacco) and when they took a little longer than
normal to bring it, they came and explained that they didn’t have apricot flavored but had sent someone out to get it especially for us. It would be
arriving any moment. The food was excellent and when we received much more than what we had ordered, it was explained to us that Lucie had given
us a tray of goodies ‘on the house’.
After about an hour, Lucie’s orchestra came out and began tuning up. A full oriental orchestra is always an impressive and exciting sight. As they
tuned up, the floor was mopped for Lucie’s bare feet. Audience members were no longer allowed onto the dance floor so they would not disturb its
cleanliness for Lucie. Our empty food trays and dishes were taken away so there would be no distractions while she performed. The orchestra quieted
themselves and waited for their cue. The silence was broken with the classic Um Kolsoum song, Inta Omery.
Lucie made a dramatic entrance wearing a two-piece costume that was perfect for the long and emotional knee shimmy that she performed to the
intense kanoun part of the musical piece. At that point my friend, knowing nothing about the art of belly dance said, “Wow”. My husband and I nodded
to each other and smiled in agreement.
After Inta Omery the orchestra segued into a rousing upper Egyptian piece. Additional band members came out dressed in upper Egyptian galabeyas
and playing saiidi drums. Lucie finished the first performance with a fabulous saiidi dance.
Lucie’s second entrance was even more outstanding. She had on a hot pink 2-piece costume. Instead of the usual skirted bikini bottom, the bottom
was transparent leggings with hot pink spandex covering the necessities. It was sexy, but extremely tasteful. Lucie danced and then sang. She is an
incredibly talented performer and her voice is strong and powerful.
Next Lucie came out wearing a beledi style costume made out of assuit cloth. It had a village flair and she danced to Egyptian beledi music. Audiences
always react well to Lucie’s beledi dancing. My friend leaned over and said, “She’s great!”
Lucie broke up this last performance with a comedy skit performed with a male singer. My friend said that even though she didn’t understand a word of
it, she got the jist of it and found it quite fun. The skit had light, PG13 sexual innuendo in it about a husband and wife preparing to go to bed. Lucie’s
shows are always tasteful and are never sleazy. Her shows are very entertaining. There are often families with children in the audience.
Lucie finished with an exciting Egyptian beledi that had every heart in the audience pumping. I was happy to have had the opportunity to introduce my
friend to quality Egyptian music and dance. And as usual, I left the Parisiana saying once again, “I love Lucie”.
if they know someone actually living here. At first I usually receive e-mails inquiring about Egypt’s political climate, and of course, many questions
regarding safety. But eventually they take the plunge and come to visit me. Recently a friend of mine who knows very little about belly dancing visited
me. When I suggested some belly dance nightclubs she said it sounded “interesting” and that she was game to check it out. My husband and I
decided to take her to a 3-star and a 5-star nightclub. We wanted to get her impressions of both since she had no pre-conceived ideas about what she
was about to see.
The dancing at the 3-star clubs is a little sleazy, but there’s more to a 3-star club than just dancing. The fun at a good 3-star club comes from the music
and the audience. We had a terrific time. The full Egyptian band was great and even though my friend had never heard Egyptian music before, she
enjoyed it very much. She especially enjoyed the nationalistic pride and enthusiasm the different audience members expressed when their countries
were announced by the singer. The singer goes around from table to table and finds out which Arabic countries the audience members are from and
then he sings a popular song from each of the different countries.
It’s always exciting to see people get emotional and animated when they hear music from their homeland and my friend enjoyed this emotion and
excitement very much. But as expected, the belly dancing wasn’t very good and my friend could easily distinguish this fact. The dancers were very
lackluster and used very little variation of movements. A different dancer came out about every half hour and only one showed any real dancing talent.
My friend became more preoccupied with the dancers all being ‘overweight’. I had to explain that they weren’t considered overweight and that flesh is
sexy and desirable in the Arab world. The dancers in this type of club are mostly there to encourage the men to get up and dance, have a good time,
and of course, stay a long time and spend money. And as mentioned before, the fun in these clubs comes from watching the audience members dance
and enjoy themselves.
My first choice for the 5-star club was Lucie’s nightclub, the Parisiana. Lucie has been very busy acting in movies and television mini-series, so I was
worried that she might not be performing. When we got to her club I told my husband to ask the doorman if Lucie was going to be there. My friend and
I would stay in the taxi so we could dash off to another club in case Lucie wasn’t performing. My husband took what felt like forever (a very common
occurrence in Egypt--no one seems to have any concept of time here), but when he returned he said, “She wasn’t going to be here tonight, another
dancer is ready to begin, but I explained that I had two Americans waiting in a taxi and that they wanted to see Lucie”. The doorman called Lucie on his
cell phone and explained what my husband said. Lucie said she’d be there within the hour.
Lucie’s nightclub is 5-star all the way and my friend was impressed at the service. Before she could get a cigarette out of the pack, a waiter was there
with a lighter ready and lit. A few minutes later, several packets of my friend’s brand were put on the table. Before a glass was empty, a waiter
appeared out of nowhere to refill it. I asked for some apricot shisha (a water pipe with apricot flavored tobacco) and when they took a little longer than
normal to bring it, they came and explained that they didn’t have apricot flavored but had sent someone out to get it especially for us. It would be
arriving any moment. The food was excellent and when we received much more than what we had ordered, it was explained to us that Lucie had given
us a tray of goodies ‘on the house’.
After about an hour, Lucie’s orchestra came out and began tuning up. A full oriental orchestra is always an impressive and exciting sight. As they
tuned up, the floor was mopped for Lucie’s bare feet. Audience members were no longer allowed onto the dance floor so they would not disturb its
cleanliness for Lucie. Our empty food trays and dishes were taken away so there would be no distractions while she performed. The orchestra quieted
themselves and waited for their cue. The silence was broken with the classic Um Kolsoum song, Inta Omery.
Lucie made a dramatic entrance wearing a two-piece costume that was perfect for the long and emotional knee shimmy that she performed to the
intense kanoun part of the musical piece. At that point my friend, knowing nothing about the art of belly dance said, “Wow”. My husband and I nodded
to each other and smiled in agreement.
After Inta Omery the orchestra segued into a rousing upper Egyptian piece. Additional band members came out dressed in upper Egyptian galabeyas
and playing saiidi drums. Lucie finished the first performance with a fabulous saiidi dance.
Lucie’s second entrance was even more outstanding. She had on a hot pink 2-piece costume. Instead of the usual skirted bikini bottom, the bottom
was transparent leggings with hot pink spandex covering the necessities. It was sexy, but extremely tasteful. Lucie danced and then sang. She is an
incredibly talented performer and her voice is strong and powerful.
Next Lucie came out wearing a beledi style costume made out of assuit cloth. It had a village flair and she danced to Egyptian beledi music. Audiences
always react well to Lucie’s beledi dancing. My friend leaned over and said, “She’s great!”
Lucie broke up this last performance with a comedy skit performed with a male singer. My friend said that even though she didn’t understand a word of
it, she got the jist of it and found it quite fun. The skit had light, PG13 sexual innuendo in it about a husband and wife preparing to go to bed. Lucie’s
shows are always tasteful and are never sleazy. Her shows are very entertaining. There are often families with children in the audience.
Lucie finished with an exciting Egyptian beledi that had every heart in the audience pumping. I was happy to have had the opportunity to introduce my
friend to quality Egyptian music and dance. And as usual, I left the Parisiana saying once again, “I love Lucie”.
