Djam NYC - Arabic Night with the El Asdiqaa Band + Belly Dance

DANCERS

Yasser Darwish

Salit

Lidia Pleiada

Kaeshi Chai

ALSO PERFORMING

Idit Sabari

Katherine Perez Campos

And more

WHERE:

Engine Room New York, 707 8th Ave, downstairs, New York, NY 10036 between 44th and 45th St

SCHEDULE:

6:30-7:30pm Dance to Live Music Class

7:30-8:00pm Doors Open

8:00-10:30pm Show

CLASS COST: https://bellyqueen.com/classes/prices/

SHOW COST:

$15 Early Bird / $20 Tier 1 / $25 at the Door / $15 after 9:30pm.

Plus 1 drink or food item if seated at the bar

or 2 drink or food items if seated at a table

Tickets are general admission and non-refundable.

TABLE RESERVATIONS: Text Lindy at (929)497-6304 with your name and number of people you want seated at your table.

Check out other upcoming Djam NYC events!

https://bellyqueen.com/djam-nyc/

DETAILED BIOGRAPHIES (Listed Alphabetically)

KAESHI CHAI is a NYC based artist who integrates dance, theatre and teaching to empower and shift consciousness through performance projects such as “Ocean Stories” and PURE (Public Urban Ritual Experiment). She produces the annual PURE Conference focused on topics like Love, Peaceful Warrior and the 5 elements.

She is the artistic director of Bellyqueen, the school and dance company, and facilitates creative labs in which participants generate full-length theatrical dance shows in 3-4 days. She has toured extensively with the Bellydance Superstars, Bellydance Evolution and Bella Gaia. She founded the Djam NYC event in August 2007. www.kaeshi.com | www.bellyqueen.com | www.pureglobe.org

LIDIA PLEIADA: Originally from Volgograd, Russia, Lidia was born in a family of dancers. Her mother and father were the choreographers at few Russian Folklore Groups so Lidia get involved in dance at the age of 3. From 2000-2005 - she was a part of her mother's dance group "Style". In 2006 she took her first belly dance class with her first teacher Kalina Glazunova and joined her dance group - 'Silver nights". From 2007-2009 she danced at the Arabic restaurant "Korona". In 2010 she moved to the USA and worked at 2010-2011 "Elektrafly", 2011-2012 "Belly Trance", 2010-2013 "Royal Dreams", 2012-2013, "TGE".

Awards include: 2009-International BellyDance Competition Moscow, Russia -1st place, 2012-Miami Bellydance Convention, Miami, USA 2nd runner up, 2014-US BellyDance Queen Competition, Chandler, USA-1st place, 2014-NY Cairo Raks Festival, New York, USA - 1st place, 2016-NY Cairo Festival, New York, USA- 1st place, 2016- Heart of America Belly Dance Festival, Kansas City, USA- People's choice and 1st runner up, 2016 - Cairo Khan Belly Dance Festival, Cairo, Egypt - CD category-1st runner up, Live Band category - 1st runner up.

MAURICE CHEDID: A native of Beirut, Lebanon, Mr Chedid studied at the Lebanese Conservatory of Middle Eastern Music, where he received a Diploma in the traditional Mouashahat, Oud Playing and Folk Singing. As a member of the Lebanese Folkloric Group, he toured internationally for four years as lead singer and oud player with the ensemble, and was a popular entertainer in nightclubs throughout Lebanon. Emigrating to the United States in the 1988, he soon became a popular singer/musician at weddings, festivals, and cultural events all over the US. He has been a headliner in Arabic nightclubs, and has performed in many prestigious venues, including the United Nations, Lincoln Center, and Carnegie Hall. As a member of Atzilut, a ten-piece band which features Arabic and Jewish music, he travels to Europe every year to play in distinguished theaters such as the Royal Opera Theater in Denmark, and in many famous music and cultural festivals throughout Europe in the Concerts for Peace program. A prolific composer, he has composed and recorded many songs and dance compositions as well as the original musical score for the story-theater production of Banat el Emir or The Dancing Princesses. Mr. Chedid’s theatrical credits as musician also include Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves for Lincoln Center. He is also the musical director and featured musician for Mosaic Dance Theater Company.

NABAWY grew up immersed in the Egyptian popular and classical music emanating from Mohamed Ali street, the Cairo neighborhood celebrated for its professional musicians, dancers and music stores. Nabawy has performed with superstar Egyptian dancers including Nagwa Fouad, Soheir Zaki, Lucy and Fifi Abdou. After immigrating to the U.S. in 1990, he became a well-known figure in the New York City Arab music scene, performing regularly at venues such as "Cleopatra" and "Cedars of Lebanon".

SAID FAHMY: Born in Alexandria, Egypt, Said has been playing percussion for more than thirty-five years. He has played with dancer Aida Nour and with singers such as Mohamed El Helwa, Ali Haggar, and Iman Darwish, the grandson of the great composer Said Darwish. He has toured with Kazem El Saher, and plays in clubs and on stages from Cairo to New York City. In addition to Tabla, Said is an expert at the Riq, Tabl Baladi, Dof and Sagat. You can find him playing at New York hot spots for Arabic music such as Layaly, the Nile restaurant in NJ and now at the Engine Room in midtown.

SALIT is the founder, director, and head instructor of SH.E.B.A (Sisterhood of Eclectic Bellydance Art), a producer of dance shows that focus on female empowerment and positive body image, a music lover, dog lover, health-freak, and a crazy swirl in a world of squares.

YASSER DARWISH: Yasser, a performer and teacher of Egyptian folkloric dance, was born in Alexandria, Egypt. At the age of 18, Yasser became a member of the Alexandria Folk Dance Group and several years later moved to Cairo, where he danced with the National Folk Dance Company. In 2001, Yasser immigrated to Brooklyn, where he adapted group choreographies to solo shows and learned styles that appeal to his diverse New York City public. He is a popular performer of saidi tahtib, a stick dance from Upper Egypt, tannoura a captivating secular Sufi spinning dance and genres like the Arabian horse dance, which is performed at festivals, theatrical performances and weddings. He is director of his own Egyptian Celebration Company.

ZAFER TAWIL: Jerusalem-born Zafer Tawil is an accomplished Palestinian musician whose areas of expertise include the oud, violin, qanun, and Arab percussion. Zafer performs across the US and in the Middle East and holds workshops in oud technique and Arabic music theory. He was part of the Spirit of Fez U.S. Tour 2006 and has performed with some of the most celebrated world music artists, including violinist and oud master Simon Shaheen and Rai singer Cheb Mami. Zafer is continuously exploring the boundaries of Arab music, and has worked collaboratively on many concerts involving classical Indian and Persian music, as well as Jazz fusion. You can catch Zafer playing one of his many instruments at extravagant private celebrations near his Brooklyn neighborhood, and at cultural centers such as Alwan for the Arts in Manhattan.