Fabulous Full Figures, Part 3: Asifa el-Bah'r

In this picture, Asifa el-Bah'r poses at the 1996 Oasis Dance Camp with a troupe she used to dance with, Rising Phoenix, based in the Miami, Florida area.

The dancers in the photo below, clockwise from top left, are Akasha, Katina, Asifa el-Bah'r, Sherezzah (troupe director), Joani, and Adena bint Sherezzah.

She wanted to include this picture in the photo gallery as an example of how a troupe can welcome a whole spectrum of body styles from delicate to voluptuous, and have everyone look good in a well-chosen troupe costume.

Oasis Industrial

This costume was another stroke of serendipity.

When Asifa el-Bah'r went to Oasis Dance Camp, all the campers were asked to bring a picture for the bulletin board. Here's how she described what happened next:

I brought one from one of my Industrial Bellydance performances at Fallout Night (End Up club, San Francisco). The event featured post-apocalyptic costumes, lots of weapons work, music consisting of guys growling and banging on salvaged truck parts, etc.

So some folks at Oasis were curious about what that looked like, and I hadn't planned anything of the sort, and the show was the next day... but I did have some industrial-music tapes in the car... and some black harem pants with a fringed practice belt I'd bought from Mesmera... and a black mesh-paneled one-piece swimsuit from K-Mart... and a big jangly chain-mail-esque necklace from the previous night's flea market. I made a quick trip to pick up a camouflage scarf for some veil work, and a heavy dog chain to use in place of a shawl for some of the Schikhatt moves Zahra Zuhair had taught that morning; sketched in some "tribal markings" (Anarchy and Biohazard symbols) with my trusty eyebrow pencil... and the Show Went On.

Related Articles

Would you like to see my other Suite101 articles related to this topic? These will take you on a tour through articles with additional costume inspirations, advice on how belly dance can help with weight loss and fitness, and suggestions for other sites on the web to explore:

• Fabulous Full Figures, Part 1: Leyla Lanty. This was the first article in this series, and features a photo gallery showcasing Leyla Lanty from the San Francisco area and her costume collection, including many from Cairo.
• Fabulous Full Figures, Part 2: Leyla Lanty. This was the second article in this series, and features another photo gallery showcasing Leyla Lanty. Includes pictures of additional costumes made in Cairo.
• Fabulous
  The copyright of the article Fabulous Full Figures, Part 3: Asifa el-Bah'r in Middle Eastern Dance is owned by Shira. Permission to republish Fabulous Full Figures, Part 3: Asifa el-Bah'r in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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