GOOD HOUSEKEEPING
MAGAZINE , September 2001
EVERY WOMAN NEEDS AN ADVENTURE
What would you do if a life-changing opportunity came out of nowhere
– would you be brave enough to take it? Meet three women who were….
Francesca Sullivan, 39, lives in Egypt with her husband Safaa, 39. She’s
a professional belly dancer and works in Cairo. ‘I’ve always yearned
for adventure. When I was a little girl, my imagination took me to wild and
exotic places, but I had to content myself with writing stories about them.
Whe I left school I started to earn a reasonable living from photography, but
then in the early Eighties I went to Morocco and discovered a passion for Arabic
music – it’s so hypnotic and enchanting.
As soon as I came home I took up belly dancing classes and found I had a natural
gift for it. At first it was just a hobby, but then I discovered I was good
enough to be taken on professionally. When I was accepted at a club in London,
I started to rethink my life. I’ve always loved the paradox of belly dancing
– it’s a sensual expression of femininity that comes from a society
where such sensuality is traditionally repressed. It has glamour, exciting music
and graceful movement. I fell in love with it, and the seeds of an ambition
to dance in Egypt, where the dance began centuries ago, were sown.
‘But the reality required a huge leap of faith – by whole life was
in England. Then there was the fact that only the very best dancers can expect
to find work in Cairo. There’s a lot more to belly dancing than a fancy
costume and Arabian audiences can certainly tell the real thing from a fake.
‘I put in months of training before I was good enough to get an agent
and find work in Jordan, Morocco and Dubai on short-term contracts while continuing
my life in London.
‘But moving to Egypt remained my dream and, in 1995, I decided it was
now or never. So, at a time when many of my friends were settling down and starting
families, I did the complete opposite. I let my flat, packed up my dance costumes
and flew to Cairo.
‘I just knew that the only way of turning my fantasy into reality was
to go for it 100%. It was pretty scary and I did a lot of soul-searching, but
the excitement far outweighed any worries I had. And fortunately, my family
and friends accepted that I would regret it for the rest of my life if I didn’t
take the plunge.
‘The minute I steeped off the plane I felt like I’d come home. I’ve
been in work ever since, performing at weddings and putting on shows in hotels.
I certainly haven’t made a fortune, but I live in spacious apartment near
the pyramids and have an Arab horse which I ride out in the desert every day.
‘I also have the satisfaction of knowing that, against all the odds, I’ve
made it in an extremely competitive world. I’m not one of the stars who
are household names here, but in the world of dance everyone knows my name.
‘In addition to dancing, I now write and take pictures for Egyptian magazines.
There have been times when I’ve missed
England but I’ve never regretted my decision. Moving here was the biggest
challenge I’ve ever taken, but it’s also been the most rewarding.’