is back to rock the nights away in Cairo. Ghada Abdel-Kader meets the Queen of Tabla is hailed as one of the most popular performers, teachers and composers of Middle Eastern drumming today. This young American woman has amazed audiences worldwide with her talent. Danziger's love of music began when she was just a baby. "There was music in my house," she says. "I played music since I was very young. My parents were classical musicians. My mother plays violin and my father plays bassoon in a classical orchestra." Danziger was born in America and lived in New York City. Now 39, she lives in Istanbul where she is studying the Turkish split-hand drumming technique, which means splitting the hand in two -- unlike the Egyptian style where it is a split of one hand. "It is a new style but it is very fast and difficult. The drummer needs to practise for eight hours a day because one can't do it if one doesn't practise. One of the most incredible Turkish drummers in Istanbul is my teacher, Binyamin Olguncan, who is currently with me in Egypt. It is like magic watching him play." Danziger and Olguncan held a week-long workshop for tabla students in the Sinai desert. "Fifteen of my students were from America, Spain, Germany and England. We all went to Sinai to practise," said Danziger, who comes to Egypt once or twice a year. "I wrote special compositions for them to learn. My teacher Olguncan taught them the techniques. The Sinai desert is my favourite. It is a magical and beautiful place to practise." On her current visit, she commanded a large percussion band in the Ewart Hall in the old American University (AUC) building in Downtown Cairo which was repeated at the new AUC campus in and the Cairo Jazz Club. The band of drummers thrilled the audiences with Danziger's exciting compositions. Danziger played the tabla and Iranian kemenche, playing some Egyptian songs on the native rababa. The duet she played with Olguncan used the new Turkish split hand technique. Danziger tells her love story with the tabla. "Five years ago, I first started to come to Egypt. I loved the tabla. Egypt is the source of Tabla. I want to see it in its place. I also started studying Arabic. I really love to come to Egypt to have some inspiration and get connected to the people. It is very important to me," she told Al-Ahram Weekly. She has performed here every year for the past four years, and has performed numerous times with the Egyptian drummer Said El-Artiste, who is a good friend. "He is a tabla hero," Danziger says. "Last year I had several performances with him at the Cairo Opera House and the Citadel, and I got to play a duet with him. He has a large company and I have begun to teach them my compositions. I am so honoured that he played with me. "Afterwards, I started my own band and called it Raquy and The Cavemen. We have had some success. We have toured all over America and different countries, and we have finished our seventh album which is called Bewitched. People love our music. I have made special compositions for the table, " she adds. Danziger has released Dumbek Instructional Kits that includes an instruction book, a DVD and CD. Dumbek Fever One is for the beginner and intermediate levels, while Dumbek Fever Two is for the advanced level. As well as Bewitched (2009), other albums she has released are Mischief (208), Naked (2006), Jordan (2005), Dust (2003), and Masmudi (2001). Dust reached the top 20 on the CMJ World Music Charts, while Jordan made it to the top 30. Danziger says about the type of music she presents that her style is now more influenced by the Turkish style, but it has influences from Egyptian, Indian and Persian drumming. "I put all these together with my original ideas in my compositions," she says. Danziger believes that women can play the tabla just as well as men. "I don't really understand why there are no more women tabla players. I think you needn't be very strong, but you need to be a good musician." Each musical instrument has certain skills. "Musicians need to have good rhythm and the discipline to practise every day. Even if you are very talented, if you don't practise you won't get better." Danziger's schedule is crowded. She will return to Istanbul for a week, after which she will be travelling to New York. Then she will tour with her band for some weeks all over the west coast of the United States, a tour that will include concerts, festivals and workshops.
