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DANCERS
of the
CRESCENT MOON
Dancing under the flag of the moon and sword for over 10 years now, DCM has been awarded an amazing twelve titles. As popular with the audiences as with the judges, DCM is honored to have received four People's Choice/Congeniality awards. Dancers of the Crescent Moon (DCM) perform ethnic and folkloric dance suitable for all audiences. We combine traditional Middle-Eastern steps from such dances as Saidi and Debke with lively staging and audience participation.
DCM
is an award-winning troupe that has been performing in restaurants
and festivals entertaining audiences throughout the San Francisco Bay
Area for many years. Our repertoire includes the exciting sword dance
and water pot dance. Our dances are derived from traditional regional
dances including those of North Africa, Turkey, Persia, Egypt, and Arabian
Peninsula.
The Dancers of the Crescent Moon are:
In Memorium:
MADAME NUIT loved the essence of Middle Eastern Dance and music for many years. She began taking class in 1996, and performed at numerous Bay Area festivals and events, including many years at Rakkasah, both in Richmond and Vallejo. She was a member of Dancers of the Crescent Moon (DCM) from 2001 until 2 years before her passing in 2016. Performing in an offshoot of DCM, Madame Nuit was part of a first-place, award-winning group at the Wiggles of the West competition in Reno. "I have a wonderful and supportive husband, John; a son, Chris; a daughter, Gina; and 3 beautiful grand children: Nicholas, and twins Vivienne and Colette. They are most important in my life and have made me very happy. However, it wasn't until the age of 50 that I decided to do something I always wanted to do... Belly Dance. I love every part of our dance world: the music, costumes, performing, and the wonderful friendships of my fellow dancers... especially SIWA."
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 DESMA:
Hailing from "that school", and having done much in her solo career, Desma has been studying
with SIWA for well over a year. Her love of the ethnic, folkloric roots of our chosen art form
kept her coming back to perform with us until she was able to finally join us!
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 MAYA
MUNIRAH'S introduction to dance was bringing her two children
to Dancenter. After being Mrs. Taxi and audience for them for many
years, she started taking part herself. Ballet, tap, jazz, modern,
hip hop, you name it, she's at least tried it!
After discovering bellydance, Maya studied with SeSe for many years, as well as attending many workshops. She also studied gypsy bellydance with Vashti. She and SIWA met in dance classes and performed together in SeSe's gypsy dance group, Dajti. Maya can be seen on the IAMED DVD, "The Sixth Awards of Bellydance". Check out her performance, along with along with SIWA and many others in "SeSe Dance Theater". Maya tried folkloric for the first time three years ago and has been a member of DCM for 2 1/2 years. She is troupe secretary, thus keeping us focused. She also performed last year for the first time with her daughter, Zahira, at Hafla Santa Cruz.
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 NONAH,
having begun her life in England, can boast such
a varied background there as ballroom dance when she was 12, being
a member of the circus at 15, being in films with stars such as
Sally Ann Howes at age 16 and following that up with modeling school.
She then came to America where she started out teaching modeling. Nonah traveled the U.S. extensively after meeting and marrying her husband Dick of "Dick & Dot Remy", a brother and sister vaudville act. She and Dick settled in Santa Cruz where they both worked the Boardwalk in the costume department. She still lives in the home they shared together for many years. After grieving the loss of her beloved husband, she began her new life bellydancing with SeSe. When she saw SIWA perform, it was love at first sight for her dance style. Nonah has been with DCM for three years and as senior member, she is an inspiration to us all.
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 AJITA,
has been bellydancing since 2003, beginning with a basic class through Scotts Valley Recreation.
She was instantly hooked, and began a journey that has brought happiness, friends, and spiritual,
physical, and emotional health to her life, to say nothing of a closetful of costumes. Her work
with Dancers of the Crescent Moon has been a life-changing experience, and she is honored to work
with SIWA.
Ajita also currently studies with Palika Benton of Heavy Hips and recently joined Debbie Nargi-Brown's African-inspired dance class. Ajita has taken classes and workshops with Gwen Moreno, Sese, Vashti, Rachel Brice, DaVid, and John Compton. Her passions outside bellydance include writing, fiber arts, gardening, beadwork, and being a mother to her four wonderful children.
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 ZORBA
has been a performer his entire life! Trained in Classical Music (Piano and French Horn)
from a very early age, he went on to perform for over 25 years.
In early 1996 Greek folk dance caught his attention, and he danced for 10 years with a local group, performing with them after a 2 year apprenticeship. It was here that he took the name of "Zorba". In 2001, it was only natural when, upon seeing a Belly Dancer, that he would become interested in this ancient art form. Even as rare as male Belly Dance artists are, Zorba is forging a unique place among them as he specializes in veil dancing, and possesses a very smooth, graceful, and flowing dance style that is generally not seen among his male peers - thus his moniker "The Veiled Male". Never being one to allow "mere gender" to stand in his way, Zorba is both proud and honored to be the first male inductee into DCM and enjoys dancing with Siwa and his DCM dance sisters very much.
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 SIWA
- Oasis of Emotion
Softly insistent ... Slowly ... she weaves
into my awareness, I had banked those
fires - Craig Lockhart |
Costumes designed entirely by SIWA.
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