Joana Saahirah´s World Blog
A Collection of Articles, Videos, and Freebies on Egyptian Dance, Self-Discovery & Empowerment
My Mum´s Golden Self-Empowerment Rule
Self-Empowerment comes in all shapes and forms.
It can come from teachers, books, life events, tragedies and pleasant surprises; it can come from strangers and from the person next door. It can also come as a surprise, from where you least expect it.
I grew up with a tough mum. Hard as nails, demanding, no-patting-on-the-back love style; doing the solo parenting job the same way Jesus held the cross - suffering, in plain sight; not making an effort to hide it.
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Love Letter to Mahmoud Reda (by Joana Saahirah)
Artists carry the blessing and the doom of the awakened heart - everything they (we) do comes from their internal world, from their core; it´s personal; it has their blood, memories, and soul in it.
I´ve made it loud and clear from the start of my career (20 years, already!): everything I do is personal. My dance on stage is personal; my choreographies, workshops, classes, lectures, and writing - personal, from my bones.
Furthermore, I don´t believe in Creation that...
How I fell in love with Om Kolthoum (a very personal story by Joana Saahirah)
Let me tell you a secret: I didn´t start loving Om Kolthoum. In fact, for years, I didn´t get what all the fuss was about.
My first contact with Egyptian music happened through Hossam Ramzy, pop and shaabi music I found in the markets during my first study trips to Egypt, the easy on western ears kind of stuff.
Om Kolthoum was an icon, an untouchable name that popped on my horizon as a mandatory field of study, a...
What´s making my heart skip a bit, right now
Focus isn´t everything but it´s a BIG THING. What we focus on, expands.
Read that again: what we focus on, expands.
Therefore, I focus on things, ideas, people, and news that allow me to feel inspired, sane, empowered, loving, hopeful, human.
Here are a few things that make my heart skip a beat (in the best possible ways):
Andrea Bocelli´s Easter Concert - free live-streamed - from Duomo di Milano (follow the link to access it: Click HERE...
Here´s what I do in times of crisis
From my window, I see the Atlantic ocean. It´s beautiful.
I can also see the emptiness of the street, the cars that stopped passing by, the neighbors who refrain from leaving the house. Just like I do, just like most people in Europe do, right now.
The Corona Virus hit the world and with it comes a series of QUESTIONS we never dared asking. I´m a firm believer in the flipside of the coin. Meaning: every challenge carries an opportunity and every crisis has its perks if...
What the last decade - of DANCE & LIFE - taught me
Looking back has never been "my thing" unless I do it as a student. A student of life.
We may live, or survive, without gathering our bearings; we may also grow older without growing up - ever. I choose to gather my bearings and to grow up. Annualy, weekly, I´d say daily.
As we enter 2020, I stop, breathe, and look back in search of answers, guidelines, lessons learned, jewels I can take with me on my upcoming Life Chapter.
We´re starting a new decade, one I believe will be a...
What happens - in your dance & in your life - when your heart is closed?
Egyptian Dance has become a competition, an endless marathon, a game of divas, lobbies, and marketing-made stars. I´m not complaining, just stating. Knowing where we are helps us define where we want to go.
Within this trend, there´s no space for EMOTION, SOUL, PRESENCE, LIFE.
The Egyptian Dance scene has become an extension of the world we´re currently living in, one that´s obsessed with EFFICIENCY, PRODUCTIVITY, GOAL ACHIEVEMENT, MACHINE-LIKE SPEED &...
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