Why Amira’s Student Recital is so Important to Me

Recital marks my May like a holiday, with anticipation, preparation, the gathering of friends and loved ones, and a festive, joyful atmosphere. Amira Jamal has a gift for developing performers – from the shyest among us. Each year, it is a joy to see how people have grown. What challenges have they undertaken? What have they finally conquered? What new things have they learned, inside or out? What beautiful new costumes are to be worn? People's lives change as we see them from year to year, the long-time students of Amira, from young college students, to new moms, to women entering retirement. Perhaps because of the camaraderie in the classes, these students tend to stick around for a long time. I believe this was my 6^th recital and I am one of the newer regulars.

 

I love it as a time to see my classmates perform, all in one show, with a supportive audience that we need not stress over (but some of us do!) - as the audience is mainly performers and their families. I love it because it's a place where you can see bellydance not as a competitive sport as it has become in some cases, but as the empowering self-expression that is serves for so many people as. As sisters dance together, as daughters watch and eventually join in, as friends create duet choreographies - spending their time both practicing and laughing together - this aspect is one of the best aspects of bellydance. It is a place where people can come together to be creative, in a way that isn't always accessible in our day jobs.

 

As much as I loved a polished performance from a professional, and even better, an Egyptian dancer who is in touch with the music and the culture (the dance that in its highest form of art is not for everyone, more than a folkdance that all can do, it becomes like ballet, something only a few can do very very well) -- I also love this aspect of bellydance where it IS a folkdance that everyone can do, that it's a joy to see people do it at any level, at any amount of commitment, or years of training. I love the (American?) spin of self-empowerment and fulfillment. It is, of course, the reason why many of us were ABLE to learn bellydance, why classes are filled, and why it continues on with such popularity. American life offers us very few opportunities for creativity and self-expression (although this appears to be changing rapidly of late due in no small part to the internet culture of generating your own content) As I've observed in the past, we tend to leave that up to the experts. We listen to singers, but do not sing ourselves. We love to watch Dancing with the Stars, but people are often bashful to dance themselves. So when you see a woman in her sixties, grooving to a clarinet taqsim (solo), eyes closed and connected to the music - there's just something beautiful about that.

 

Anyway, I was moved today, to be at such a warm and supportive event, led by the teacher who brings out the best in all of us, Amira Jamal.

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A Tribute to Souhair Zaki

My current bellydance project is creating a Tribute to Souhair Zaki piece. Of all the dancers from past generations, she has always been my favorite, from the first time I saw her. The standard description for Souhair is "sweet". When I was in Egypt, some of the people I met did not admire bellydancers, but no one could say a bad word about Souhair Zaki. She really does come across that way, like a girl next door, like she would be a really nice person if you did talk to her. She doesn't appear to be strong or threatening, nor does she seem weak. It's somewhat amazing how much personality each dancer has, what comes across when they dance. When Souhair dances, you see that she is in enraptured by the music. She also had a tremendous figure, a distinctive style both in movement and appearance, and the music she chose to dance to is some of the best in the world.

I chose the song Leylet Hob, because she is famous for dancing to it and there were several videos where I could study how she related to that music. Poor timing, of course, for Youtube to take down all but one of the Souhair Zaki videos where she dances to Leylet Hob. One has been made private, the cute one with Souhair in a pink beledi dress. Another has been removed for terms of service violations.

The easiest part is the costume. I was born with long dark hair and generous hips. I can easily wear a simple bedlah with a chiffon skirt and matching body stocking. It will be a daring move for me to expose so much of my legs. Nevertheless, this is the EASY part. The hard part is the dance itself.

I am facing several challenges:

The first is artistic. How much do I include of myself? The version of the song I chose is 6 minutes long. There are plenty of Souhair movements that I can do. I can imitate the way she uses her hands and arms, softly flipping and twirling them, making arm paths. I can imitate her most frequently used movements – hip downs, figure 8s. I can perform one of her signatures, using the circle skirt as a veil and holding it as I twirl. I can also avoid movements that she never does, movements that became popular in modern Cairo style. I could, after all, just copy her entire dance although I think that would be less of a challenge and not cool at all. At some point, I need to bring in my own improvisation, and maybe even do a few of my own signature moves. It is still, after all, me dancing. I haven't seen a lot of tribute dances, but I know that when I read a book that is a retelling of an old tale, I am expecting a retelling, an update, something that both harkens back to the old but also offers something of the new.

The second is the realization that, to be a tribute to Souhair, you must not just emulate the gross movements (I call them this because they are the large physical movements, not the fine details) – the aforementioned figure 8s and downward hips. You have to get the essence, the way that she angles her head, smiles, the way that the hands and arms are held. She is very distinctive. Without attention to these details, one could repeat her dance exactly and not evoke Souhair at all. But with the proper details, no one could miss it. Generally if I choreograph at all, I leave the details up to my personal style and improvisation. In this case, I need to leave the gross movements up to improvisation with a loose idea of what fits – but I have to internalize the fine details until they are almost instinctual.

Finally, it is a personal dance challenge, slowing down and savoring a single movement. Like many modern dancers, I tend to dance in a series of combinations and rarely repeat the same movement for more than a measure or two. Souhair tends to repeat a movement, with variations. If you are a really good dancer, you can repeat a movement again and again. This requires excellent technical execution skills, to make something simple look divine. How do you keep the audience engaged without a lot of flash? That's really the challenge that all those who would emulate Egyptian style will face. One of the keys, of course, is engaging all those internal and core muscles at the root of our dance, to give the smallest of movements more oomph and strength. Also, one must develop confidence and charisma to present those movements. If the brain is thinking "Am I boring people?", it is broadcast through the face and body.

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Party Time

In the past, I would have been incredibly nervous right now. After all, tomorrow I am the surprise at a 49^th birthday party! I used to get all worked up about private gigs. After all, people were paying me to entertain them and not only did I have to be good, I also had to figure out how to please them. This year, perhaps because of the baby, I have a whole new attitude. First of all, I don't have time to get worked up! Secondly I have so much more confidence in myself as a dancer. I no longer bother trying to be someone I'm not. I figure, people have access to my website, my youtube videos – they know what I look like and they know what kind of dancer I am. If they didn't like me, they wouldn't be hiring me. I'm not hiding anything.

For one thing, I've decided that the best way to please my crowd is to be myself. Instead of picking out music – either BDSS-style fusion or American Cabaret classics – that I think is what you're supposed to use – I chose fun, fast upbeat EGYPTIAN music. Because that's what _I_ love. And if I love it, then I am going to radiate that love out to my audience. I have realized that you cannot rely on the audience's feedback to get you going – you have to produce it yourself – starting with music that makes you feel happy and utterly confident in yourself.

On my last two bellygrams, I also realized something else! Most of the time, the music matters NOT AT ALL. First, most of these people – unless they are Arabic, Greek, or Turkish – don't know anything about the music, or care. They just want a sparkly, "exotic" and beautiful woman to show up and make their party fun. It's like being a guy in a gorilla suit or a clown. On my first bellygram, which I did with Sabrina, we didn't really follow the music at all. We even did sword balancing and floorwork during a drum solo! We basically were party tricksters and entertainers. At my next party gig, I couldn't HEAR my music at all because their sound system was in the house and the party was outside. Not to mention, the guest of honor was blindfolded – until I took off his blindfold. I remember the most fun at that bellygram was all the little girls there, who all gathered around me to ask me questions afterwards. Now, there's always a chance that the people are going to stare blankly at you, or just sit and watch politely. In that case, wouldn't it be better to be dancing to one of your favorite songs, so that you can have fun – even if you're the only one?

Now I totally get why you don't break out Lissa Fakir at a party – and I'm not doing that. In fact, I hardly slow down at all except for a 2 minute Chiftetelli for sword balancing. For people who don't know much about Arabic culture, I often do sword balancing because it impresses people and it adds some variety to the show. It does let you slow down and catch your breath (not that I get out of breath), but without boring an audience who doesn't know a Hijaz from a Bayati. Of course, I end the show with a drum solo and then a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday, during which I really hope I can get the guest of honor up to dance – or at least take pictures – since the music itself is uninspiring. Sometimes I wish I could sing because that would be a great addition, but my singing – well – they might just demand a refund!

The only thing I'm nervous about is my entrance. The party is at a small Chinese restaurant. I'm a surprise, so I'm supposed to arrive in costume (I'll wear a cover-up and hopefully get nearby parking!) and come in dancing. I'm going to meet the person coordinating it outside, hand him my boombox, and trust that he can start my music. Somehow I have to come in with my sword, and my veil – forget about zills at this point. Now I know why a certain local dancer starts her restaurant set balancing a sword on her head with her veil draped over it holding her canes – she has mastered the art of getting on stage with all of your props.

Michael Gregian Taxim Workshop

I just wanted to use my blog to promote what I believe is a very important workshop for professional dancers. When this material was offered to me several years ago, it transformed my interpretation of taxim. I gained an understanding of the instruments' sound quality, their natural ebb and flow based on the musician's breath, the moods of the maqams, and how the musician communicates with the dancer. It was shortly thereafter that I experienced my first "tarab", the magical suspension of reality when the musician, the dancer and the audience are all mesmerized by the music. I had the opportunity to dance a taxim at the Middle East with Michael Gregian on clarinet.

In the class, he brings all of his instruments and students have the opportunity to dance to live taxims. It's very different than dancing to a recorded taxim, far more intimate and entrancing. And Mike is a kind instructor and musician, the ideal musician to work with. He actually watches the dancer, and if he knows her, will play taxims that suit her style and preferences.

When: Saturday, March 13th, 10:30-noon

Where: Performing Arts Center of Metrowest, 140 Pearl Street, Framingham, MA

What: Workshop with Mike Gregian to learn about the nai, clarinet and dumbek as they relate to belly dance performance. "Hands on" will include dancing with each instrument and learning how to phrase, especially during taxim and chifti-telli.

Price: $25, cash or check made to Mike Gregian directly.

If you are not comfortable working with a taxim this workshop is for YOU! Don't miss this wonderful opportunity to work with live taxim music. Contact Amira Jamal to reserve a spot in the workshop.

Kai’s First Hafli

I believe Kai enjoyed his first hafli. While he may have gotten a bit fussy between dancers, his eyes were glued to the stage when dancers came on. My son shows good taste in dancers – he enjoyed Phaedra immensely. He also had eyes for Xylinia (who was totally hot in assuit!) – and he was, of course, riveted to Karim Nagi. I particularly wanted him to see Karim, to see the mens' style of dance. Kai enjoys the music and he enjoys dancing with me, so I want him to know that there are options for him in this dance – it is not all ladies in bedlah.

In fact, he liked every dancer except me – he had to be taken screaming from the room when I danced, probably because I wasn't holding him anymore. Thanks Susi for keeping an eye on him while I danced! Thank goodness for simple costumes and simple pop songs. Needless to say I did not get as far as my fake hair and false eyelashes – I had to go for a more natural look! Overall, it was great to have him with me, to share with him my favorite thing in the whole world, and I think he loved being the center of attention. Just wait until he is old enough for his own galabeya and his own stick – I am sure he will be out there on the dance stage.

I won two things in the raffle! A private lesson with Najmat and one workshop that Za-Beth puts on this year! The raffle prizes were really great, ranging from 100$ towards a custom costume by Shadia (won by Lily), to various DVDs, hip scarves and jewelry. There was also quite a lot of variety in the vending – and I even got to see a friend from college, who ended up vending her candles there! I hope the event made lots of money for Haiti.

A nice weekend for bellydance for me, and wonderful to be able to share it with my son – plus to see the dance community in action, and so many friends. We really have such a good dance community here in Boston.