Saturday April 21 we have our 30th Harem! Every month on the 3rd Saturday Eshe hosts this bellydance extravaganza.

Launched in 2007 this used to be a yearly event held at The Casbah.  Eshe returned to Canada in 2015 & opened Mahasti in 2016, that year she decided to relaunch Harem as a monthly event instead.

Harem is a public event that is open to everyone.  Each month Eshe invites professional artists to share their passion and talent.  The line-up is never the same & the dances are never repeated.  You’ll never see the same number twice at Harem.  We host local talent as well as international acts.

This month we have The Serpentina North Ensemble of Toronto.  They perform an improvisational group tribal style often with elements of classical Indian dance and Egyptian folklore they also whimsically pepper in modern dances like disco as well as theatrical staging.  In the best way possible, you never know quite what they’re going to offer.

Invoketress, lead by Ishra, are another shape-shifting bevy of talent.  From raqs sharqi to dance hall, folklore to fusion, they dance it all.  Enchanting Guelph for over 20 years, Ishra draws from a deep well of experience and inspiration.  They’re always a fan-favorite at Harem.

Wild Orchid Belly Dance are our home-team talent.  Lead by Jackie Pullar, they’ve been shaking things up in Hamilton for over 10 years.  Wild Orchid perform fusion bellydance seamlessly blending Reda-esque footwork, juicy Egyptian hip stylizations with playful or dramatic modern aesthetics and music.

Angela Josephine trains at The Dark Side Studio and performs with Lavish in Toronto.  She pairs razor-sharp technique with breath-taking and stirring execution.  Her style has been called deconstructed bellydance and is a fresh and often operatic take on the traditional.

Every month Eshe, the host of Harem, as well as her troupe Raqs Mahasti and teachers at Mahasti Peggy and Faith perform.  We start working on a new show every 4-5 weeks so that we’re always offering up something new and fresh.  This month Faith’s Kpop class will be sharing 2 fun and flirty numbers.  Raqs Mahasti will be dancing to classics “Misirlou” and “La Cumparsita.”

In the 2nd half of the show we’re trying something different, we’re going to hit “shuffle” on the ipod & dance to whatever comes up! Want to submit a song? Upload it here (friendly reminder: there are kids at our show)
https://www.dropbox.com/request/tAR9fl45peZyIb6v34xP

The show starts right at 7PM and runs til 8:30 with a brief intermission around 7:45.  Doors open at 6:30PM.

The Casbah is located at 306 King St W, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

The nearest municipal parking lot is across the street at 55 Queen St N, Hamilton.

Tickets are $15 at the door. (Capacity for the club is in the 100s we will not sell out)

Kids under 18 attend for free.