Sunday, 26 October 2014

Belly Dance Performance Palmers Green Festival, North London








photo credit: Palmers Green Festival, North London

London Arabic Live Music Event: The Arab Quarterly

Last month, I went to The Arab Quarterly, a live Arabic music and dance show organised by Melanie Norman and Chalf Hassan of The Arab Quarter Band.

It was a real treat as there aren't many Belly Dance events in London (and mostly probably outside of the Middle East) where you can listen to live music nowadays. 

Being Turkish I grew up listening to live music at parties, weddings and at Turkish School. I kind of figured that it was the norm until I started to learn Belly Dancing.

Strange right?

Held in the Islington Assembly Hall, home to many live music events, The Arab Quarterly is a splendid mix of different dance styles and passionate music of The Arab Quarter Band. The venue adds a touch of old school glamour, a feeling of what it was like back in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s to dress up, go to a music hall to watch live bands and enjoy the music in the moment.

Some may argue that we've lost that sense of being in the moment and that we view everything through our smart phones even when we're there in person watching a performance. The Arab Quarterly brings back these feelings of capturing the moment and sucks you in to the sounds and colours of the musicians and performers.

The Arab Quarter Band is central to the activity of The Arab Quarterly and is lead by Chalf Hassan. These gifted and professional musicians bring between them an extraordinarily rich heritage of decades of Arab music making, a vast repertoire, and expertise.

Having just returned from Istanbul where live music is common and all around, it was a great evening which reminded me of my recent trip.

Well done to all performers they were great and so different, which made for a good variety. One thing you're guaranteed to get with Belly Dancers is beautiful costumes, and beautiful they all were.

Overall, the night flew by and I was thoroughly entertained. If you're in London and love Middle Eastern music this event is definitely for you. Congratulations to all those involved in the organisation of this wonderful event. It's got grandeur, class, live Arabic music, a great line up of dancers and a bar. What more could you want!

Find out more about The Arab Quarterly live music event: http://www.arabquarter.co.uk/store/index.html