Virtuoso violinist, Georges Lammam from San Francisco, first met Karen in the late 80's.

Coming to San Antonio for a "performahearsal weekend", both Georges and Project Band member Debbie Smith from Arkansas joined us as we talk about knowing each other for all these years.

We also explored how belly dancers helped bring Middle Eastern music to the western ear.

During this episode of the Baby Boomer Belly Dancer, we talk about:

00:00 What is a "performahearsal weekend"?

01:19 Georges' journey before meeting Karen in Houston

08:37 We met at Cleopatra's ... and 11 years later...

10:08 Oh, and the first International Conference on Middle Eastern Dance in 1997

12:44 And we haven't lost Georges since

13:40 Live music and belly dance improvisation re-emergance in 2012

14:17 Meeting cool musicians through Georges

17:36 Working with dancers - workshops and the resonating improv experience

18:30 Appreciating Middle Eastern music and touching the heart

22:34 Hitting the wall with recorded music and expanding with live music

23:01 Young musicians interested in this music... especially through the pandemic

24:25 Performing in the room and the exchange of energy vs. plexiglass

25:43 Looking for tiny nuances of the dancer on Zoom

26:30 Being hungry to perform to live music in San Francisco - hidden gems

30:45 Highlights of touring in the U.S.

32:38 Loving the music enough to enjoy even a little Latin dance club

33:44 Playing for Syrian refugees on an island in Greece

35:11 Original compositions -- "Dancing Bear" will be on stage in October

37:20 And we listen to Georges improvise a quick violin piece

Once again, Georges will be amongst the incredible musicians performing at Karavan's 25th annual "Give Belly Dance A Chance" weekend... the last of its kind.