Moroccan Show in Fes

After our fun filled day in the Medina, our program took us to a Moroccan show. It was an interesting experience to say the least. Throughout our travels in Morocco each Spanish city had its own tour bus... and it didn't take long for the group to realize our bus had the most fun ;) Our bus quickly learned the title of Granada Buscoteca. Our Granada directors were an absolute kick. They knew going in to the trip that the bus rides were going to be a part of the experience and wanted to make sure we had as much fun as possible at all times. On our way to the show our directors turned off the lights on the bus and turned flashing green and blue lights while we all sand our hearts out to songs from "Grease" "Beyonce," anything they could get their hands on. It was a blast :)

Our entire program, 150 students, took up the entire venue. We were all seated at round tables and served the traditional mint tea. We weren't sure what to expect for the entertainment and we could not have prepared ourselves for it. We had become so accustomed to seeing women fully covered throughout the city that we were taken aback by the fairly naked belly dancers at the show, it didn't seem to match up at all. Their were four or five belly dancers that danced throughout the audience for a majority of the show. However in between the dancers there were other various acts as well. There was a group of four men that played various instruments and danced around the audience. One of the men played a pair of rusty old scissors! It was the strangest thing, scissors of all things. The other played different types of drums and dance and sang. Another man danced with a tray of tea on top of his head. He was the contortionist part of the act. But my favorite part involved two of our friends from our program. Our friends Randall and Cate were selected from the audience and taken back stage for fifteen minutes or so. When they emerged they were dressed in full Moroccan attire and acted out a Moroccan wedding ceremony. Cate was hoisted up in the air upon a seat and paraded around the room as Moroccan women sang and danced around her. It was very interesting. Cate's dress and headdress looked to weigh about 15 pounds! She could hardly move underneath it.

Overall I wasn't overly impressed by the talent in the show, but the cultural experience was an experience all on its own. It was a very interactive show and they kept the audience entertained. We had a great time :)