Hello, this is Nisreen — welcome to the tenth episode of
Season Three of my podcast!
Have
you watched the Michael Jackson biopic, Michael,
yet? I watched it as soon as it was released, and left the cinema feeling deeply emotional. It took me a while afterwards to
gather my thoughts.
In today’s episode, I’d like to highlight three aspects that made Michael a compelling film not only for MJ fans, but for anyone who cares about art. There will be spoilers, so please come back later if you’d prefer not to spoil the experience for yourself! I will show the process of drawing the thumbnail in the background of the YouTube video.
Please find the episode below, available in video on YouTube or audio on Buzzsprout. It's also on Apple Podcasts , Spotify
Special thanks to my friend Grace for filming my performance!
Music: Zeina performed by Indy Raqs composed by Mohamed Abdel Wahab
Dance performance: Nisreen
Event: Raqs Party (Dec 6, 2025)
Videography: SJ Images
Music: Aziza performed by Indy Raqs composed by Mohamed Abdel Wahab
Dance performance: Nisreen
Event: INBC Annual Bazaar (March 1st, 2025)
Music: Khamsa performed by Indy Raqs composed by Andy Smith
Dance performance: Nisreen
Event: INBC Annual Bazaar (March 1st, 2025)
At the INBC Annual Bazaar on March 1st, I stepped in at the last minute to cover a spot and perform to an Andy Smith original, Khamsa! It was definitely a challenge to dance to a song I heard for the first time that day, but it was so much fun!
Hello everyone, this is Nisreen — welcome to the
eighth episode of season three! It’s so lovely to speak with you again. Today,
I’d like to talk about three of my favourite books from my pre-teen or teenage
years. They may not be as internationally acclaimed as Harry Potter or The
Secret Garden, but they are wonderfully compelling stories — not only for
children, but for adults too. There are no spoilers, so please don’t worry. The thumbnail art is my fan art of Flossie Teacake's Fur Coat.
Please find the episode below, available in video on YouTube or audio on Buzzsprout. It's also on Apple Podcasts , Spotify
Hello, this is Nisreen! Welcome to the fourth episode of Season Three of my podcast.
As many artists and art lovers know, art is not only about aesthetic delight—it also offers profound insights into how we can face life’s challenges. Today, I’d like to share three paintings that explore loss and grief, and reflect on the lessons they can teach us. I hope you enjoy this journey.
* The thumbnail for this episode is my drawing named Sorrow.
Please find the episode below, available in video on YouTube or audio on Buzzsprout. It's also on Apple Podcasts , Spotify
What struck me about Norwescon was how family-friendly it was—I saw kids, dogs, people in wheelchairs, gender-nonconforming folks—everyone coming together and sharing their passion for science fiction and fantasy.
In my home country, Japan also has remarkably vibrant “nerd” cultures and communities, such as the Tokyo Comic Market I once had a peek at, but I always get the impression that their primary targets are loner adults, not families.
It was also lovely to be warmly welcomed as my big nerd’s plus-one by the community, and to see him glowing as he nerded out during the discussions too!
Event: Raqs Party (Sept 21st, 2024) hosted by Troupe Oasis and INBC
Videography: SJ Images
Choreography (Partly Improvised): Nisreen
Music: Laylat Hobb performed by Indy Raqs
Dance performance: Nisreen
Event: Raqs Party (Dec 7th, 2024) hosted by Donna B Carlton
The first song/
Based on choreography by: Athena Najat
Music: Para Bizde by Rumeli Orhan Kemal
Performance: Nisreen
The second song/
Choreography: Nisreen
Music: Shifting Sands by Nasir Eddin and The Pharaoahs
Performance: Nisreen
Music: 'Fire Dance, played by @indyraqs Venue: Indiana, United States Event: Mosey Improv Performed by: Nisreen
Music: 'Aziza' by Mohammed Abdel Wahhab, played by @indyraqs Venue: Indiana, United States Event: Mosey Improv Performed by: Nisreen
Music: 'Sendur' Venue: Indiana, United States Event: Mosey
Based on choreography by: Athena Najat Performed by: Nisreen
The first song/
Based on choreography by: Athena Najat
Music: Para Bizde by Rumeli Orhan Kemal
Performance: Nisreen
The second song/
Choreography: Nisreen
Music: Darbuka Solo Pt. 3 by Bünyamin Olguncan
Performance: Nisreen
Music: 'Tuta' by 'Farid al-Atrash', played by @indyraqs Venue: Indiana, United States Event: INBC Belly Dance Annual Bazaar Performed by: Nisreen Choreographed by: Nisreen (primarily improv)
I uploaded the second episode of my podcast. This time, I talked about how to watch my favourite art form: belly dancing! Belly dance is an umbrella term that includes numerous dance styles. This time, I used an example of a legendary Turkish dancer, called Tulay Karaca. Please listen to it from the audio below, or from Apple Podcasts or Spotify .
You can also read the full script below on this post. I’d be delighted if you write a review of this podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And of course, you’re more than welcome to let me know your thoughts from the contact form.
Hello. This is Nisreen. Welcome to the
second episode of my podcast. Lovely to speak to you again.
Today, I’d love to talk about how to watch my
favourite art form: belly dancing. I ‘ve been teaching and performing belly
dance for years now. The term Belly dance is a western one for dance forms that
originate in Middle Eastern, North African, Hellenic & Turkic countries. In
Arabic, Belly dance is called Raqs Sharki. In Turkish, it’s known as Oryantal
Dans. I decided to talk about this theme because I wanted to encourage more
people, and not only dancers, to appreciate this beautiful dance form. Belly
dance may not be necessarily considered high art in its original cultural contexts,
because its roots are in social dance. However, as I’m not from the culture of
origin myself, I believe it helps to have a bit of knowledge to be able to fully
appreciate the dance form presented on stage today. As mentioned earlier, Belly dance is an
extremely broad term. There are numerous styles of dance under this categorization.
So today, I’ll use an example of a legendary Turkish dancer called Tulay
Karaca. She was one of the most successful Oryantal dancers from the 1970s and
1980s. Many of her dance videos are available on YouTube. I will list the links
in the description.
I will describe 5 elements we need to pay
extra attention to when we see her performance. Let’s get right into it!
1.Genuine facial expression
When we think about dancers, we may typically think of
big smiles. But Karaca doesn’t always show one・ during her performance. Sometimes she looks like she’s daydreaming,
her eyes unfocused. People often say Turkish Oriental dance has outward-facing
energy, compared to Egyptian oriental dance, which is more grounded. I get what
they mean by that, but to me, great Turkish dancers too have some sort of introspective
quality to their performance. They look like they’re immersed in the music and
are completely at ease. The magnetic aura the dancer creates is mesmering, without
the dancer going out of their way to get the audience’s attention.
2.Incredible finger cymbal skills
Karaca, particularly, is known for her outstanding
finger cymbal skills. Finger Cymbals, or zills (cymbals in Turkish) are
literally small cymbals the dancers wear on their fingers and play, a little
bit like castanets. What’s incredible about Karaca is she can sometimes dance
to just her own finger cymbals without any other instruments. The way she improvises
playing the music and dancing might remind you of tap dancing. Nowadays, it’s
rare to see a dancer who can play finger cymbals with such finesse, especially
among younger dancers.
3.Explosive spins
When you look at Tulay Karaca’s performance, the first
thing that catches your attention may be her fast spins and high kicks. They
are, of course, technically great. But what makes her truly unique is the
timings she shows in those techniques, rather than the movements themselves. If
you pay attention when she shows varieties of spins and kicks, you may notice
that it’s very unpredictable. Obviously, she is improvising. This is connected
to another point : her performance is thrilling because she creates it on the
spot.
4.Fluid arm/ torso movement
I could say this is a characteristic of classic Turkish
Oriental dance in general. Karaca uses her arms and hands dynamically and
gracefully, reminiscent of central Asian dance forms. She also often executes a
big backbend either on her heels or on her knees on the floor. These movements
are in reaction to the sinewy sounds created by instruments such as the violin,
clarinet, flute, qanun, or oud. It‘s even more fascinating if you pay attention
to which sound the dancer is reacting to. You can tell fairly easily when the
dancer performs to the live music. Sometimes, the musicians make eye contact
with the dancer, too.
5.Big hip/belly movements
Yes, this dance is called belly dance for a reason! Karaca
especially has mastered big earthy lower body movements. Sharp hip-work is primarily
done according to the sounds of the drums called darbouka. When the darbouka
rolls, she vibrates her hips or chest in what’s called a ‘shimmy.’ There are
softer types of movement matching the violin etc. in hip-work too.
It’s even more fun to watch・ if you pay attention to how she is interpreting the music by
vibrating, swinging, or circling her hips or belly.
Karaca’s performance routine often includes 9/8 rhythms.
This rhythm is considered unique to the Turkish music. In particular 9/8 rhythm
patterns appear often in Turkish Romani music. There are different styles in this
rhythm. The most standard pattern goes D-T-D-DT-. So, to repeat, D-T-D-DT-. The
Dum represents the sound of hitting the surface of the darbouka. The Tek sound
expresses the lighter sound hitting the edge of the darbouka. The way Karaca
controls her pelvis shows the strong influence of Roman Havasi or the dance of
Roma people as well.
So there you go! And of course, Karaca’s exquisite
costumes and veils are also a part of the attraction. I didn’t mention it
because it may be too obvious! I hope you enjoyed this episode and the points I
made may help you to appreciate her legendary dance performance even more!
I’d be delighted if you write a review of this podcast on
Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And of course, you’re more than welcome to let me
know your thoughts from the contact form in the description.
I got interviewed by a dear art friend and a popular YouTuber, Sumino about our favourite Academy Award-winning film, 'RRR.' We had a blast having a fan-girl talk about one of the protagonists, Bheem. *25 March 2024: We finally added English subtitles to the video!
If you haven't watched 'RRR' yet, I'd strongly recommend the film. 'RRR' is a beautiful and emotionally charged action film which moved and inspired audiences worldwide.
The other day, for the first time since moving to the USA, I
went and stayed out of town for a belly dance event: INBC Summer's End Belly Dance Fest. I had the great luxury of taking a workshop with Phaedra, a wonderful
Chicago-based dancer, throughout the day. I also got to perform as a soloist
and a Troupe Oasis member at the gala show in the evening.
It was also my very first time to learn how to use a
fan veil, but I could learn a lot at the workshop, since Phaedra thoroughly
taught us the basics. I also discovered a lot about shimmy variations.
As a member of Troupe Oasis, I performed Move Your Belly,
choreographed by Dhalena. It is my favourite piece in Troupe
Oasis' repertoire, featuring a dramatic song, and beautiful choreography.
Troupe Oasisのメンバーとしては、Dhalenaさんの振り付けによるMove Your Bellyをパフォームしました。ドラマティックで美しい曲と振り付けなので、Troupe Oasisの演目の中でも私のお気に入りです。
With everyone before the performance. I was in my jacket because I'm an always-cold person.
パフォーマンスの前に、みんなと。私は寒がりなのでコートを着ています。笑
Below is a picture of Deborah, Kelly, and me performing in harmony.
I performed solo to a song called ‘My Love’ by the Turkish band Harem. I was particularly excited, as it had been a while since I had performed to Turkish music. I enjoyed doing the floor work, and seeing the enthusiasm of the audience. Phaedra's kind comments about the performance in the dressing room also made me feel very happy.
