Jalilah's Raks Sharki 6
Jalilah (a.k.a. Lorraine Zamora Chamas) is an extraordinary "raks sharki" dancer, which is also known as "Oriental dance." In the West the dance is known most commonly as "belly dance," despite that fact that this dance form incorporates the whole body with far more emphasis on the hips than the belly.
Jalilah's passion for this dance style pushed her to thoroughly investigate the many different aspects of this art. She traveled to various Middle Eastern and North African countries where she researched, observed and practiced the numerous traditional dances of each particular area. Many of the dances are closely related to raks sharki. Her experience, notably with the ghawazee of Upper Egypt, gained her the honor of performing with the singer Metqal Qenawi and the group The Musicians of the Nile, with whom she has toured Europe (Italy, Spain, France, Holland, Slovenia, Austria , Sweden, Denmark and Germany) regularly since 1990. From 1987 until 1999, along with musicians, folklore dancers and other artists from Morocco, Jalilah performed in various European cities including Copenhagen, Madrid, Vienna, Helsinki, Geneva, Berlin, Lisbon and others.
They performed at mostly gala evenings promoting tourism in Morocco, sponsored by the Moroccan airline, "Royal Air Maroc." In addition to numerous performances throughout Europe, Jalilah has had extensive engagements in Egypt in the 5-star Hotel Meridian Heliopolis in Cairo and in the 5-star nightclub Veniza in Alexandria, as well as in Agadir, Morocco, at the Hotel Amadil Atlas. Jalilah was featured in two television documentaries on Oriental dance, filmed while she was working in Cairo, Egypt. They were both aired in Germany as well as several television films featuring Jalilah's dancing. She was also featured in the Spanish television production, "El Dia del Delante" in Madrid, Spain.
Jalilah produced a series of albums of Oriental dance music recorded in Egypt and Lebanon entitled Jalilah's Raks Sharki.
She now teaches and conducts workshops on Oriental dance, focusing on the rhythms found in Middle Eastern music, music interpretation, as well as the ghawazee and balady styles of dance. She has taught in Holland, Germany, France and Italy. She made her debut in the United States in August 2000, instructing and performing in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at the "Shake and Bake International Festival" and in Austin, Texas at "Bahaia's Heart of Texas Seminar." She currently resides in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, with her husband and son, where she teaches ongoing dance classes. —Courtesy Calabash Music