The competition to get these dance jobs is intense, because the stars only want the very best dancers of Egypt. This job is not for the faint-hearted, full of sweat, fire, fighting bodyguards, 1-minute costume changes and, surprisingly, also hours of just standing on the feet. Let's get down to the details.
STYLE
The style of dancing I am required to learn is usually a sexy mix of high-energy hip-hop and cheeky salsa occasionally mixed with some typical oriental moves. Oriental, because although the stars have an army of electronic musicians behind them, they also have the oriental section of the band on the other side of the stage, balancing the more Western beats. But because we are still talking pop-music, the dancing is always fast and big and powerful! It gets even the most trained dancer to gasp for air. But to make matters worse...
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| Fire bigger than the dancers |
... it's hot! Not because I'm in Egypt, but because the stage is filled with fire-bursting high-tech music-sensitive fire engines that burst out fire at any random moment in the show. So to be on the safe side, you should never get too close. And when they do burst fire, the stage get's hot! Really burning hot, but Im still supposed to smile and look cool with all that sweat pouring down my skin.
FIGHTING BODYGUARDS
When the stars arrive to the venue 5 min before the show they are immediately surrounded by everyone in the backstage. The local press wants an interview, the stage constructor wants a selfie, the producer wants to update him on the program, the photographers all want their own share and the rest of the people just want to see him up close! Egyptians can be very pushy so no wonder the stars need a lot of bodyguards, they usually look like steroid-pumped iron men, not exaggerating here;) So by the time the show is about to start all the dancer and me are lined up at the stairs leading to the grand stage ready to start the show. Usually dancers go on and then a minute later the star comes out. If the star should decide to see the stage for a brief moment then he will climb to the top and the bodyguards do not leave his side. This means the bodyguards jam the stairs and I literally have to push some of them to remain standing on my stair and not fall down. It's a rough moment and it happens every time, both with Tamer Hosny and Ramy Sabry as well. Glad though they don't accompany him to the centre stage! But the camera-men do and usually the price they pay is a dancer's foot or fist in his face (or camera) in the heat of the show.
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| Kaidi on the left side with her hand up |
We usually have the line-up of the songs for the show, but we never know when the star decides to change it or skip something or repeat something or to cut a song short. This happened in Ramy's live-show. We were in the costume tent normally changing our clothes and suddenly the we hear our next performance song starting. For what ever reason Ramy decided to cut the previous song short and without warning the dancers he just went on with it. When he realised we were not there he put the song "on hold" (the drummers kept a steady beat going while he came to check his with his managers where are his dancers). So we got a 1-minute extra time to get ready and it became a madhouse in our tent.
STANDING STILL
Ramy's concert was 2 hours long. We probably danced 20 minutes from it and the rest of 1h 40 min just stood in the backstage. The backstage areas are always chaotic, no organised seats. Consider
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ground, because that would ruin the costumes and it's also not considered appropriate for female dancers.
At the end of the show I usually feel I've been through war - tired, sweaty, bruised and a little smoky. But it does pay off on so many levels. It always improves my performance skills, add's mad but useful stage experience, creates beneficial contacts and reaffirms my position if the dance scene.
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