Beyond The Bagdad

Sausan and Jad Elias

When, one evening in 1980, I opened the front door to a small, dark nightclub on Broadway Street in San Francisco known as The Bagdad, I unknowingly stepped onto a flying carpet and entered into a magical way of life. At first, the stained carpet and dank and dingy smell-of-stale-smoke room seemed unpleasant but it was only for a brief moment. It took just a nanosecond to know that this dank and dingy second-hand smoke-smell wore the telltale signs of fun and energy-filled nights' song and dance aftermath, and I was eager to dive...er....dance right on into it.

Not many people know this, but under the dressing room tucked away in the back of the nightclub was an operational kitchen. A stove, asink with sprayer, a dishwasher...it was small, but it was there. Why wasn't Jad using it?

Jad asked me once, "What do you think this place needs?" I thought about the kitchen sitting empty and bare at the back of his place and said, "There's a kitchen right there!" I said, pointing. "What about some appetizers or something? " "You mean like humos? I'll think about it." was Jad's reply. Nothing ever came of our short conversation. But, it didn't really matter. I was dancing for my life. Those nights at The Bagdad set me wild and free. Dancing to the live tunes of Middle Eastern musicians behind me nourished my soul and filled my heart. Anyone, I thought, who was a serious belly dance student and who wasn't dancing at The Bagdad -- or any other nightclub like it -- was just, well, simply just plain dumb (no offense to anyone).

So, it wasn't the money that had enticed me to go there on every occasion after that night. Twenty-dollars for three shows, even in the 80's, was pittance; it was the place and the opportunity to dance to live music. It was the rainbow and the pot at the end of that rainbow, all rolled into one that kept me going.


Sausan in a back bend!

Those years of dancing at The Bagdad were priceless. Almost every night I eagerly headed toward that magical place on Broadway and danced my heart away to the music of the Middle East from 9PM to 1:30AM. It was better than drugs. It was my drug. And, oh, what a drug it was! I couldn't get enough of it.

The musicians I met, and have kept as friends until now, engulfed me with the exotic music of the Middle East, and I danced to it night after night. Owner, Jad Elias, played Oud, hired the dancers, and kept the place going strong until its doors closed in 1984.

The Bagdad is now closed -- a beautiful memory of a magical time and place to many dancers, and an amazing little nightclub that took many of us out of daily reality. But its closure wasn't the end of dance or of me. It was only the beginning.

I opened Al-Masri in San Francisco in 1999. So fierce were my memories of and the longing for the magic and excitement of The Bagdad and what it had done for me that I wanted to continue it's dance and music legacy in my own place, with the same type offerings to up and coming dancers.

The Bagdad may have closed it's doors, but it really didn't go anywhere. It just moved up the street to another part of the San Francisco Bay Area. This places were called The Petra, The Grapeleaf, Amira's, Pasha, Arabian Nights, and others. And, as these musicians and dancers became my friends, we all were headed in the same direction and danced in the same circles and places after the closure. We, unknowingly, yet altogether, continue to create the magic for our dance.


Sausan with Al-Azifoon

The best thing any dance student can do for herself is to continue to challenge her dance knowledge with her performance to the tunes of live music, new each and every time regardless. It's completely different from dancing to prerecorded music. Prerecorded music is predictable, memorizable, maybe even boring. Live music is exciting, challenging, instantaneous. To dance to live music is to learn nuances, work with individual techniques, and bond with musicians and other dancers overall.

Do this for yourself. Like the Bagdad, Al-Masri is today's magical place, transporting everyone who enters its doors to a magical place outside the boundaries and predicable rituals of everyday reality. Create a night for yourself and indulge in the excitement of live music and exotic atmosphere.

Years from now, like me, you'll be able to tell your own story of your own magic that only happens when like-minded people like yourself get together and contribute to a creation. It's a very personal experience, and an amazingly wonderful feeling. You may even become hooked. Perhaps, you'll even open a place of your own and offer the same magic to the newbies of the next dance generation. Just don't miss out on your own!!


Valentina with Musa Hanhan and Imad "Ed" Mizyed

If you are an aspiring dancer wanting to take that extra step toward bettering your knowledge in this dance, you must sign up to dance to live music. It's the best thing you can do for yourself. In doing so, you become connected to the culture, the music, the language, the musicians, the players, the country, the dance, and most importantly, yourself and your self-esteem.Once you are signed up, though, don't stop there. The the next step toward perfection and contact all of your friends, co-workers, family, acquaintances, contacts -- everyone. It not only helps you to established yourself as a force to be reckoned with, but it supports the venue and the person who hires the musicians to play. It's a win-win situation! To schedule, contact Sausan:
415-876-2300; 415-867-6754
sausanacademy@gmail.com



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