Good things come to those who wait! After years of persistently (and perhaps a tad annoyingly) requesting a Melaya Leff class, my wish was finally granted! A much-beloved local instructor, with decades of teaching experience, agreed to lead an introductory five-week course on dancing with the Melaya Leff this term. To say I'm delighted would be an understatement! Since my love language is sharing every morsel of relevant information on the subject with the world, consider thi

Believe it or not, it has been over a month, but I’m still riding the high from the recent student recital experience I had the privilege of sharing with the audience and my fellow dancers. Raqs Shamadan—oh, how I love thee now, though it wasn’t love at first sight. Like many of us, I once believed the candelabrum belonged solely to wedding celebrations, particularly the Zaffat . The Zaffa is an Egyptian wedding procession, and the most familiar to us is Zaffa al-Arous  — the

What was your most memorable candlelit dinner experience ever? Was it a romantic evening with your partner at a haute cuisine restaurant in Paris? Perhaps a homemade gourmet supper in the comfort of your own home? Or maybe wine and charcuterie in a cozy Alpine chalet with a breathtaking mountain view? I’ve had my fair share of candlelit dinners to reminisce about, but the most memorable of them all was when the underground power lines downtown burned out, leaving my building