Tribal Revolution | Zills Zills Zills!
This weekend I had the honor of teaching a sold out zill class at the amazing Tribal Revolution Belly Dance Festival in Chicago, Illinois. For years I have felt that the art of finger cymbals playing was on the decline as festival show after festival show featured not one dancer playing these amazing instruments. But now I can confidently say that the scene is on the upswing, due much in part to the tribal community. Not only ATS but many of the big names in the scene are bringing cymbals back into their dance and I am TOTALLY THRILLED!
Thank you, incredible dancers, for wanting to level up your zill playing and for choosing to do it with me! I am honored and grateful to have had this moment with you to share my love of the zills, geek out a little bit and play!
So here it is, my lovely ZillStars – a list of resources for you to continue on your finger cymbals journey.
I know we will dance together very soon!
- Z-Helen | Zill Goddess | Check out her site and pick up her DVD: zhelene.com/DVDsandMusic2.html
- Karim Nagi | An amazing resources for not only rhythm but Arab folk dance as well. | He has a fabulous zill DVD: karimnagi.com/dvds/
- A compilation of Awesome Zill Videos on YouTube.
- Jamilah Salimpour | Mother of the finger cymbals in the US | Check out her manual: salimpourstore.com/collections/finger-cymbals
- Nadira Finger Cymbal Lace Course | I haven’t tried it yet, but I hear it is awesome: bellydancegeek.com/lace/
- Mary Ellen Donald | Percussionist Extraordinarie | Her site seems to be down, but here is a link to the best zill instructional manual I have ever read: Mastering the Finger Cymbals by Mary Ellen Donald
- Baksana Belly Dance | I just discovered these ladies last year, but they are my go to for incredible ambidextrous zilling. They have a beautiful book out that details their very well thought out zill method.
- Sahira | me! | Want to keep zilling with me? Check out my courses on Teachable and my YouTube Zill mini classes