Dev - Welcome home Caroline. It was a pleasure to watch you live with the Farha Tour in Sydney, When and how did you become involved with the tour ?

Caroline Evanoff - Thank you. I became involved about a year before the tour when Amera Eid asked me to be a part of Farha Australia. I thought that it would be a once in a lifetime opportunity for me to perform in my home town with a live Egyptian band.

Dev - You have made headlines with Nour when you appealed against the ban on foreign Belly dancers in Egypt in 2004. Do you think such a situation could arise again.

Caroline Evanoff - Anything is possible and situations do change. At they moment they are trying to limit the time a foreign dancer can work here to three years maximum.

Dev -  It was ironic to see you sharing the same stage with Renda Kamal, Renda once said it was ok to ban foreign dancers in Egypt as they take the native dancers jobs and don’t give much of a chance to appreciate the local dancers . Do you think she was right in her comments or views at that moment in time.

Caroline Evanoff - I was there when Randa was commenting to Arabic TV reporters that she wanted all foreign dancers out and I remember feeling a little upset and offended. So of course at the time I thought she was wrong and took it personally. At the time I believed that there was enough work for both Egyptian dancers and foreigners to co-exist. Some venues only wanted Egyptians and others preferred foreigners. However times change, and there is less work for dancers now and Randa has lost her main work at Marriott nightclub to a foreign dancer and now I feel more upset about that!

Dev -  You have been living and performing in Egypt for 10 years . What are the main challenges you have faced as a foreign dancer in Egypt?

Caroline Evanoff - There are so many challenges that I don't know where to start! Firstly there are the logistical challenges involving securing a contract then making your work permit, finding an apartment, dealing with managers, agents, cultural differences and language. These can be overcome through hard work, perseverance and patience. However the most important challenge for me is more personal and has to do with the art of the dance itself. I came to Egypt to learn to be as authentic and as "Egyptian" as I could be in my dance and this is the most difficult of challenges! It takes a lot of dance training and also immersing oneself fully in the Egyptian culture.

Dev - In your opinion is  it possible for a foreign dancer to reach the height of an Egyptian dancer if one  is committed and dedicated to the dance and culture .

Caroline Evanoff -  Well anything is possible, but so far no foreign dancer has reached the heights of stardom that Egyptian dancers like Dina or Fifi Abdou have over here. It's difficult right now to imagine even a new Egyptian dancer reaching those heights today or in the near future.

Dev -  During you time in Egypt as a dancer, what changes have you noticed in the Belly Dance scene since culturally and economically Egypt is going through a critical phase. Are those changes reflected in the dance world.

Caroline Evanoff - Well one thing I have noticed is that as the price of everything else goes up, the pay for dancers has remained pretty stagnant, increasing very little in comparison even over 10 years. Where as the cost of costumes, classes, rent etc have escalated dramatically. Then, I am not sure if it is just due to economic, but fewer weddings now include live performers, so less work for singers and dancers. However this could also be a cultural change, as young couples would rather see a Spanish or Cuban show or something new rather than what they perceive as “old-fashioned” bellydancing. Or they have a trendy DJ play the latest western and Arabic hits. DJs themselves have now evolved as the new stars in weddings, some commanding astronomical prices.  Another cultural aspect is the disappearance of Egyptian music from the nightclub scene. Recently I visited two cabarets, one at the high end, Sunset and Palmyra, at the other end of the scale. Ten years ago at Sunset you could be guaranteed of seeing a good Egyptian programme. I remember seeing Dandesh there and also Amani. The majority of the dancer’s show and that of the singers who also performed was Egyptian music with one or two Khaleegy (Gulf) songs if there were Gulf Arabs in the audience. However today, it is the complete reverse, with almost the whole programme being Khaleegy! I love Khaleegy music but I must say that after four hours, I was dying to hear anything Egyptian, so I found it somewhat disappointing not to find that in Cairo. So I decided to venture Downtown to the infamous Palmyra, known as a bit of dive but it always delivered a fun evening and for very little money and the chance to listen to good Arabic music even if the dancing was a bit on the dodgy side. There used to be a full Oriental orchestra and even a saxophone player, who did great baladi taxims! I thought the Gulf Arab hold on the scene could not have penetrated into this end of the market. However as I walked in, and took one look at the band, I knew. It now consisted of one keyboard and percussion only, a tabla, doholla and several khaleegy style doff. We did manage to get the band to play some Egyptian songs, but it just wasn’t nearly as good as the past as they didn’t have the instruments, just the keyboard with electronic sounding instruments.

Dev - What you think about the future of  belly dance in Egypt ?

Caroline Evanoff - I really don’t know. I mean with the decrease in the number of venues for dancers to perform in combined with a lower demand for dancers in weddings then the future of belly dance in Egypt is not looking bright. So it is even more crucial for the various festivals held in Egypt, such as Ahlan Wa Sahlan to continue to promote the Egyptian dancers both famous and new. There are some Egyptian dancers who are famous in the dance scene throughout the world and no one knows them here! Many foreign dancers are shocked to find that out so it is an indication of how the “West” is helping to keep the Egyptian dance tradition alive. Also I sometimes wonder where the up and coming dancers are to follow in the footsteps of the likes of Dina, Lucy and Fifi. It often seems like there is no one around then a dancer will surprise you, like Kamelia several years ago (although she has since left the scene) and recently Nancy.

Dev - Thank you for your patience and perseverance Caroline, we are sure our Australian readers will enjoy this interview and follow your career into the future.

Caroline Evanoff - Thank you.

Caroline teaches privately from her home in Cairo as well as regular holiday courses in Dahab (Sinai), Ahlan wa Sahlan festival in Cairo and workshops abroad. For more information contact Caroline via email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it