1980s Articles From The London Times Archive - Page 2

Suheir · 06-19-2008, 10:06 AM

The Times, May 11, 1970:

"Announcements

BELLY DANCER offered 1 week's complete holiday in sunny Portugal in exchange for 1 really great performance at the famous ' 7 1/2' Nightclub. Albufeira, Portugal, on 6th June.-Tel 01-606 4954"

The Times. June 3, 1970:

"London In Brief

Police investigating the disappearance of Mrs Soraya Ravensdale, aged 32, a belly dancer, after her performance at a London restaurant, are treating the matter as a missing persons case. "We have no reason to suspect foul play, an officer said""

The Times, November 5, 1970:

"Announcements

A BELLY DANCER for your Xmas party! Book Narriman the Queen now t-01-736 0333" Narriman the Queen had her advert in The Times nearly every day in November 1970 - there must have been a market for it.

The Times, January 16, 1971:

"BELLY DANCER! Arabic Delight on your menu ? Lunch/dinner parties, stags, etc. Book Narriman The Queen now. 01-736 0333"

The Times, January 4, 1971:

"The World Theatre season, which opens at the Aldwych at the end of next March, will include a week of performances by what is believed to be the first Turkish company to visit London. They will perform A Tale of Istanbul, which will include a belly dancer (Miss Tulin Oral, shown above, with onlooker)"

The Times, June 11, 1974:

"Mr Nixon On His Way To Middle East

"...A Government source today said that a performance planned for Mr Nixon by Egypt's leading belly dancer, Miss Nagwa Fouad, had been cancelled. No explanation was given" - well, well, Tricky Dicky missed Nagwa!

Suheir · 06-19-2008, 12:35 PM

Soraya Ravensdale, the Turkish belly dancer married to an Englishman and performing in the UK in the early '70s, wrote a book: Slimming: An Oriental Approach - SORAYA & RAVENSDALE, TOM & CHISSICK, DR. SEYMOUR S.

It must have been a pretty good seller as there are a lot of copies available from dealers on the internet. I've ordered a copy and will report back!

I'm a bit of a fiend for archives (I used to work in one myself) and I'm fascinated to discover all these references to belly dance in the UK in the late '60s/early '70s. There was evidently a boom here at that time, if a civil servant could give up her job and become a full-time belly dancer in 1966 there must have been lots of demand. Soraya's book would have featured in women's magazines in 1973 and she may well have appeared on TV.

The UK scene pre-Tina Hobin, Selwa Rajaa/Suraya Hilal, Wendy Buonaventura is not documented, I hope this can be a start.

Caroline_afifi · 06-19-2008, 01:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Suheir

Soraya Ravensdale, the Turkish belly dancer married to an Englishman and performing in the UK in the early '70s, wrote a book: Slimming: An Oriental Approach - SORAYA & RAVENSDALE, TOM & CHISSICK, DR. SEYMOUR S.

It must have been a pretty good seller as there are a lot of copies available from dealers on the internet. I've ordered a copy and will report back!

I'm a bit of a fiend for archives (I used to work in one myself) and I'm fascinated to discover all these references to belly dance in the UK in the late '60s/early '70s. There was evidently a boom here at that time, if a civil servant could give up her job and become a full-time belly dancer in 1966 there must have been lots of demand. Soraya's book would have featured in women's magazines in 1973 and she may well have appeared on TV.

The UK scene pre-Tina Hobin, Selwa Rajaa/Suraya Hilal, Wendy Buonaventura is not documented, I hope this can be a start.

Anne White of Planet Egypt spoke to me some time ago about doing some sort of family tree for dancers and teachers in the UK.
It is fascinating. I guess there was no mention of Vashti?
Gail Smedley was also the teacher of Wendy Buonaventura.

Suheir · 06-19-2008, 01:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Caroline_afifi

Anne White of Planet Egypt spoke to me some time ago about doing some sort of family tree for dancers and teachers in the UK.
It is fascinating. I guess there was no mention of Vashti?
Gail Smedley was also the teacher of Wendy Buonaventura.

No, no mention of Vashti in The Times, at least. I might give her a ring about the subject, she's a fount of knowledge!

What I find really fascinating is that I have never seen or heard anything about Jo Wise's pedigree - her blurb has always been very non-specific.

Suheir · 06-20-2008, 11:19 PM

Lisa Guiraut, the English belly dancer in the James Bond film "From Russia With Love": Agent James Bond 007 - From Sweden with love: A tribute to the James Bond phenomenon

She still appears at fan conventions.

Ooh! She's actually written a biography for herself on the Internet Movie Database!:

"Shirley (Lisa) Nelson was an airline hostess for TWA, having emigrated from London, England, UK. - Met John Guiraut 1957 - married - son Michael born March 1st 1958. Started Oriental dancing by accident at 12 Adler Place, San Francisco, 1961 (the dancer Aisha had run off to Reno to marry)... INSTANT SUCCESS - WARNER BROS - checked all the dancers on the West Coast and chose her for the yacht scene in DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES. She had only been dancing 3 months! From that time Lisa (Leila) was always featured as THE STAR OF THE SHOW. She divorced John Guiraut 1962 and returned to England for one year. Appearing at Persian Night Club Omar Khayam. AGAIN INSTANT SUCCESS... Was written up in all the English newspapers - 2 appearances on DAVID FROST SHOW THAT WAS THE WEEK THAT WAS plus other T.V. and charity shows. UNITED ARTISTS had been filming in Turkey and chose Leila to appear in the James Bond film FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE... "Green-card" time was up - rushed back to the States, so missed-out on all the publicity - but also avoided admitting being a "Nice English Girl"! Danced as the STAR at all the famous casinos and night clubs of the world - Europe - Far East - Middle East - Singapore - Indonesia - etc. Was guest solo artist with the Lebanese National Ballet in Iran for the Shah's coronation... Starred at Tito's Palma Xmas 1969 and fell in love with Majorca - owned one night club, then two bars there during approx. 30 years. THE ALHAMBRA in the Pueblo Espanol - BAR CARROUSEL and BAR DALLAS... Leila lives in Cala Mayor, Spain. Contact c/o Banco de Credito Balear, Urb. 14 Santagusti, Palma De Mallorca, SPAIN"

06-20-2008, 11:19 PM	#15 (permalink)
Suheir V.I.P. Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Europe - London Posts: 1,227	Lisa Guiraut, the English belly dancer in the James Bond film "From Russia With Love": Agent James Bond 007 - From Sweden with love: A tribute to the James Bond phenomenon She still appears at fan conventions. Ooh! She's actually written a biography for herself on the Internet Movie Database!: "Shirley (Lisa) Nelson was an airline hostess for TWA, having emigrated from London, England, UK. - Met John Guiraut 1957 - married - son Michael born March 1st 1958. Started Oriental dancing by accident at 12 Adler Place, San Francisco, 1961 (the dancer Aisha had run off to Reno to marry)... INSTANT SUCCESS - WARNER BROS - checked all the dancers on the West Coast and chose her for the yacht scene in DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES. She had only been dancing 3 months! From that time Lisa (Leila) was always featured as THE STAR OF THE SHOW. She divorced John Guiraut 1962 and returned to England for one year. Appearing at Persian Night Club Omar Khayam. AGAIN INSTANT SUCCESS... Was written up in all the English newspapers - 2 appearances on DAVID FROST SHOW THAT WAS THE WEEK THAT WAS plus other T.V. and charity shows. UNITED ARTISTS had been filming in Turkey and chose Leila to appear in the James Bond film FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE... "Green-card" time was up - rushed back to the States, so missed-out on all the publicity - but also avoided admitting being a "Nice English Girl"! Danced as the STAR at all the famous casinos and night clubs of the world - Europe - Far East - Middle East - Singapore - Indonesia - etc. Was guest solo artist with the Lebanese National Ballet in Iran for the Shah's coronation... Starred at Tito's Palma Xmas 1969 and fell in love with Majorca - owned one night club, then two bars there during approx. 30 years. THE ALHAMBRA in the Pueblo Espanol - BAR CARROUSEL and BAR DALLAS... Leila lives in Cala Mayor, Spain. Contact c/o Banco de Credito Balear, Urb. 14 Santagusti, Palma De Mallorca, SPAIN" Last edited by Suheir; 06-20-2008 at 11:25 PM.

06-19-2008, 10:06 AM	#11 (permalink)
Suheir V.I.P. Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Europe - London Posts: 1,227	The Times, May 11, 1970: "Announcements BELLY DANCER offered 1 week's complete holiday in sunny Portugal in exchange for 1 really great performance at the famous ' 7 1/2' Nightclub. Albufeira, Portugal, on 6th June.-Tel 01-606 4954" The Times. June 3, 1970: "London In Brief Police investigating the disappearance of Mrs Soraya Ravensdale, aged 32, a belly dancer, after her performance at a London restaurant, are treating the matter as a missing persons case. "We have no reason to suspect foul play, an officer said"" The Times, November 5, 1970: "Announcements A BELLY DANCER for your Xmas party! Book Narriman the Queen now t-01-736 0333" Narriman the Queen had her advert in The Times nearly every day in November 1970 - there must have been a market for it. The Times, January 16, 1971: "BELLY DANCER! Arabic Delight on your menu ? Lunch/dinner parties, stags, etc. Book Narriman The Queen now. 01-736 0333" The Times, January 4, 1971: "The World Theatre season, which opens at the Aldwych at the end of next March, will include a week of performances by what is believed to be the first Turkish company to visit London. They will perform A Tale of Istanbul, which will include a belly dancer (Miss Tulin Oral, shown above, with onlooker)" The Times, June 11, 1974: "Mr Nixon On His Way To Middle East "...A Government source today said that a performance planned for Mr Nixon by Egypt's leading belly dancer, Miss Nagwa Fouad, had been cancelled. No explanation was given" - well, well, Tricky Dicky missed Nagwa!

06-19-2008, 12:35 PM	#12 (permalink)
Suheir V.I.P. Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Europe - London Posts: 1,227	Soraya Ravensdale, the Turkish belly dancer married to an Englishman and performing in the UK in the early '70s, wrote a book: Slimming: An Oriental Approach - SORAYA & RAVENSDALE, TOM & CHISSICK, DR. SEYMOUR S. It must have been a pretty good seller as there are a lot of copies available from dealers on the internet. I've ordered a copy and will report back! I'm a bit of a fiend for archives (I used to work in one myself) and I'm fascinated to discover all these references to belly dance in the UK in the late '60s/early '70s. There was evidently a boom here at that time, if a civil servant could give up her job and become a full-time belly dancer in 1966 there must have been lots of demand. Soraya's book would have featured in women's magazines in 1973 and she may well have appeared on TV. The UK scene pre-Tina Hobin, Selwa Rajaa/Suraya Hilal, Wendy Buonaventura is not documented, I hope this can be a start.