In Wales, you can see the
Celtic goddess Brigid celebrate Middle
Eastern dance, popularly known as
bellydancing, thanks to the growing
community that has embraced this culture.
Although, adding a Celtic element to this
art-form may seem a clash in cultures, there
is no better tribute that a dancer can give
to Middle Eastern dance than using its
movements to express something personal.
This dance has a long history with as many
interpretations as there are women who dance
it. Middle Eastern dance is
internalized physically and emotionally by
the dancer and is designed to bring out each
woman’s unique passion and beauty.
The Middle Eastern
dancers in Wales are proof that this dance
form is a universal language for all women.
In this article, we interviewed a few movers
and shakers throughout Wales who maintain
and strengthen their Middle Eastern Dance
community.
One of the forerunners
for this community is
Hannah Corr from Cardiff, South Wales. Hannah
Corr
and DJ Andy Roberts host
Arabesq, a website with Middle Eastern
dance news and events as well as an open
night for dance and music.
Hannah Corr said, “Bellydancing in Wales
has been around for over ten years but on a
small scale with a few dedicated dance
teachers. In South
Wales, there are many classes and new ones
are springing up all the time. Most classes
are informal evening ones. About four
years ago, a friend and I set up an open
night called
Arabesq
for people to come
along and perform, try some freestyle
dancing or just enjoy the music. It was
really successful and was supported by all
the local teachers and their students. We
set up the
Arabesq
website detailing all the classes in the
area as well as workshops, haflas and
events. This was the catalyst for
other teachers and dancers to get involved
and organize their own events. The
community in South Wales really grew from
this.”
In 2004,
Hannah Corr choreographed
twenty-nine dancers into ten performances
that made the production of
Ahlam; a large undertaking for a dance
community of any size.
“Ahlam
had been brewing for a long time and
took about twelve months to physically put
together,”
Hannah Corr said, “I chose
to portray goddesses from around the
world such as Kali, the Indian Goddess of
chaos and destruction and Baubo, the Greek
Goddess of bawdy humour because I do
believe MED (Middle Eastern Dance) is
universal to all women. I chose the
Goddess Brigid because she's close to
home and the piece wouldn't feel complete
without an ancient Celt.”
Such a performance would
not have been possible without a strong
community of Middle Eastern dance
enthusiasts behind her.
Hannah Corr said, “When I started
learning in Wales 5 years ago there were
very few resources and teachers in the area.
I learned through my teacher, by traveling
to workshops throughout the UK and watching
videos and DVDs. Discovering the Raqs
Sharqi style of
Suraya Hilal, now a resident in London,
has also been a turning point. It's a
way of moving that feels more in tune with
the body's natural movement. It is very
different now; there are over ten teachers
in South Wales covering many aspects of the
dance.”
And the Middle East is
not as far away from Wales as one would
think.
Hannah Corr said, “Many of our teachers
have links to Turkey and will
visit regularly. Also, Egypt is very easy
to get to and draws a lot of dancers every
year to see the sights, go shopping and
watch the dancing. In terms of the
dance, some teachers focus on the fitness
and fun element of the dance, others focus
on the modern techniques coming from Cairo
and Turkey and then there are those like
myself who want to capture the essence of
the original dance, so we cover all bases.”
However,
Hannah Corr added, “Even though
we have a huge Middle Eastern population in
Wales, bellydancing is pretty much contained
to Welsh dancers and a Welsh audience. It is
not seen as a reputable profession and many
of our Arab communities see what we do as
vulgar (or strange!). This is a shame as the
origins of the dance are not about sleaze.
There are a few dancers out there who give
the dance a poor name but luckily they are
few and far between and the dance community
in Wales is vibrant, supportive and growing
every day.”
Hannah Corr began learning Middle
Eastern dance in Dublin. “However, my
favourite moment has to be right now.
After six years of learning and trying to
find my way I've never felt more happy and
content.”
Sophie Smith, a performer and teacher,
confirmed that it wasn’t long ago that most
people interested in MED in Wales traveled
abroad to experience it.
“I first learned to
bellydance in Edinburgh, Scotland,”
Sophie Smith said. “There are
several very knowledgeable teachers in that
area and I found being able to go to
different teachers helped me develop both
technique and style. I also worked for a
while as a dancer in Middle Eastern
restaurants, which pushed me even more and
helped immensely for me to discover my own
style.
Hannah Corr said, “I tend to
learn more from teachers who are less tied
up with technique and place more emphasis on
dancing from the heart such as Serena
Ramzy who possesses tremendous grace and
ease and
Liza Wedgwood
who brings simplicity and freedom to the
dance, teaching us not to complicate things.
On the performance front, you can't beat
Samia Gamal for her smile, her fire and her
ability to draw the viewer in. I'd also
have to say seeing excerpts of
Arabesque Dance Company shows in Toronto
inspired me to create a show using MED.” 
“Personally, I find it
essential to study the dance abroad,” added
Sophie Smith. “Although, there
are very experienced teachers who hold
workshops in Wales and in England and London
once you reach a certain level, only going
to Egypt and/or other parts of the Middle
East is what can push you further.”
Dancer Leeza Lazeeza
added, “If you are willing to travel and
keep in touch with other groups in Wales -
there is always a workshop to attend or
hafla to dance in!”
All the women in this
article agree that this dance is a source of
physical and emotional empowerment and
happiness. Both westernized and
traditional forms of Middle Eastern dance
are explored in the Wales community,
including classical Egyptian, baladi
and sha’abi. Their practice of
Middle Eastern dance ranges from cultural,
recreational, performance art to feminist
art-form. They also celebrate the
cabaret styles so long as it doesn’t
de-evolve to the striptease act.
Sophie Smith said, “Currently, the dance
classes tend to concentrate on the physical
side of bellydance, on its liberating
influence and how it promotes general
wellbeing. I try to include little cultural
details in my class but as far as I am aware
there is no class that deals in-depth with
the history (which is problematic anyway) or
culture of Arabic dance.”
According to Liltinde
Sindarin Elvish’s experience with the
surrounding Middle Eastern dance
communities, “Very little bellydancing in
the UK is absolutely authentic and I would
be the first to say that I dance and teach a
westernized style of bellydancing that
mostly uses Egyptian style moves. Our
community focuses mainly on the physical
aspects of this dance.”
Leeza Lazeeza, “Belly
dancing came into focus for me around 1998.
I was desperately looking for something to
do for exercise that I could stick to and
enjoy. It's a great from of exercise -
it's able to be gentle enough for the
physically restricted and energetic enough
for the aerobic nut! We have a local group
that’s taught by a lady who’s 85 and her
group ranges from 20-85 years and some of
its members have learning difficulties.
Love a good cabaret show! Egyptian
style and not American! I like a bit of
oomph but no vulgarity and I prefer
technique to gimmick!”
Leeza Lazeeza and
Liltinde Sindarin Elvish are members of a
dance troupe called, Hizz Ya Wizz, an all
sizes, all ages dance group. Liltinde
Sindarin Elvish is also part of a dance trio
called Teese Kabera. Leeza Lazeeza is
also a founding member of the Habibi Dance
Group, a large community based in
Pontardawe. They are both based around
the Swansea area in Wales.
Hannah Corr’s dance performance
celebrates women and the movements of Middle
Eastern dance by letting her dancers embody
the stories of goddesses around the world.
When, in the average woman’s life, will she
find an opportunity to portray a goddess?
And how can she refuse when given such an
appropriate medium to do so?
“I picked seven goddesses
in total and chose them for their varying
aspects. I also wanted to cover goddesses
from all over the world and have a mixture
of well known and less well known ones. The
different goddesses convey
different characteristics such as love,
beauty, change, chaos, inspiration,
strength, humour - aspects that we have in
all of us.
Ahlam had 2 purposes, the first was to
inspire the audience to be more like the
goddesses they were seeing (for example
playful or destructive) and wake up the
parts of themselves that have been denied,
hidden or laid dormant. The second was to
show how expressive MED can be. I grew so
weary and saddened by the 'tits and tassels'
mentality that so many dancers and
audiences have that I wanted to show a
different side. MED has it all; it's such a
rich and deep dance form. It helps us to
convey the wrath of Kali (by using American
Tribal Style and its very strong and angular
movements), the bawdiness and freedom of
Baubo (using Algerian Rai which celebrates
the body) and the earthiness and strength of
Gaia (through Egyptian folk which is flat
footed and solid). Dance for me is about
expressing emotions and feeling all parts of
ourselves. MED enables dancers and
audiences to experience the whole range.”
Despite the many
intolerable differences humans find in each
other these days, our little cultural arts
and recreations such as dance, music and
food repeatedly teach us that we all
appreciate the same language. Asia
remains united by the love of noodles and
the spring roll, every country shares a
tradition of drums, music united black and
white America way before any civil rights
movement and women from all walks of life
are united through the movement of Middle
Eastern dance.
The movements themselves
are a language of their own that writers
such as I can only best express in words.
It’s this dance’s physical celebration of
women and its historical struggles with
gender and sexual stereotyping that makes it
so personal for all women.
copyright
lyw
Sept 2006
