The only place to see good dancers seems to be in expensive clubs, many of which have been steadily closing over the last 5-10 years, or at far flung haflas and occasional theatre productions. Theatre productions cost more than £1,000 to stage-even when dancers are contributing their time for free-including rehearsals.So there are huge risks to theatre productions.

I felt that there was a demand to see good dancers, at affordable prices, and for more dancers to have performance opportunities. I also felt that if dancers from different communities participated it could help create a bigger, more united dance community.

As I had been performing and working closely with Vashti and Yvette Cowles for a few years, it seemed the perfect time to initiate these ideas as we all had trained in different disciplines but had the same aims and ideologies.

Planet Egypt was founded in 2003 and our first aim was to host regular showcases in an Arabic night club (Sahara Nights). We hosted these monthly events for over two and a half years and built up a following of up to 300 people, of diverse backgrounds, some of whom had never been exposed to this dance before. We even have a sizable Arabic following who greatly enhance the audience participation!

Having presented free shows for almost three years we then decided that if we were to continue we could no longer ask people to support us for free. Without people giving up their time for free we would never have been able to experience the successes or the levels of awareness that we have achieved.

So we moved to Darbucka where we have been based for the last year. We charge affordable admission (£10) and we are able to pay professionals and all the people who help out.

There are so many styles to this dance, and our audience is certainly better informed now as to the variety of disciplines that one can pursue. Many teachers and musicians are also regular supporters of our events

Some participants have come a long way to contribute, they are not all London based, and we have featured quite a few International Artists, who continue to inspire us.

We have been incredibly successful and are very grateful for the support that we have received.

We aim to continue to nurture fledgling dancers, to record our events on DVDs, and to provide informal seminars to deepen our understanding and connection with this dance.

Seminars will be starting around Spring 2007 and our Open Day will help us to outline some of our objectives and future goals. It will also allow us to continue presenting events that feature a wide variety of artists from varied backgrounds. We are consolidating our reputation in this way.

Updated January 2007