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Biography: |
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Jalilah (aka 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, even though this dance form incorporates the whole body with far more emphasis on the hips than the belly. Jalilah´s passion for this art and dance style pushed her to thoroughly investigate its many different aspects. She travelled to Middle Eastern and North African countries where she researched, observed and practiced the numerous traditional dances of each particular area, many of which are closely related to Raks Sharki. Her experience, notably with the "Ghawazee" of Upper Egypt, gained her the honour 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, Slovania, 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, and Lisbon.
They performed mostly at gala evenings promoting tourism in Morocco, sponsored by the Moroccan airline, Royal Air Maroc. Jalilah has also had extensive engagements in Egypt: in the 5 star Hotel Meridian Heliopolis in Cairo, and in the 5 star nightclub Veniza in Alexandria. She's also performed 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 along with several television films featuring Jalilah's dancing. She was also featured in the Spanish television production "El Dia del Delante" in Madrid, Spain.
With Piranha Records Jalilah produced a series of 6 CD´s 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 U.S. debut in August of 2000, instructing and performing in Albuquerque, New Mexico at the Amaya-sponsored "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.
Mokhtar Al Said has been working in the music industry for over 30 years. He started as an accordionist in groups accompanying singers such as Umm Kalthum and Abdel Halim Hafez. At the end of the 90's he started composing his own music for national radio, and then for films and theatre. He did an arrangement of the Egyptian national anthem based on a song composed by Said Derwish and has done arrangements for well-known performers such as Beligh Hamdi, Mohamed Al Moogy and Samira Said.
After having been approached by JALILAH Lorraine Zamora for the RAKS SHARKI recording project, he formed the Orchestra El Faerka El Mesaya (The Orchestra of Diamonds). The name was given by the late composer Ahmed Fouad Hassan, their first director, who -- impressed with such high quality musicians -- said their fingers played like diamonds! The group has performed all over the world with well-known artists such as Abdel Halim Hafez, Farid el Attrache, Mohamed Serwat, Aziza Gelal and Warda.
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