Viva La Diva Weekend Part 3 - Zambra Mora and Conclusion

Zambra Mora
Sunday's workshop had a smaller group in it, but I think that was for the best! With all the skirt-whooshing, we probably would have hurt ourselves and each other if the workshop was packed.

Though I've included a link about Zambra Mora, I was hesitant about posting more about it. The link I provided, however, repeats what we learned this past weekend about the style. Dondi and Titanya stressed that there's nothing conclusive about what they or anyone else has learned about the style. They know that it preceded Flamenco, and that it most likely was not an actual dance. But even in their travels to Andalusia and Southern Spain, they found minimal information. I found it fascinating that Zambra Mora was once outlawed and is such an underground style, almost to the point of denying all the cross-over and intermingling that is generally important in the birth of creativity.

Zambra Mora, which translates to "Moorish party," seems to be both fiery and earthy, often danced barefoot and proclaiming emotions. There's a focus on duende, or feeling a passion in the body and soul, and those emotions are expressed in the powerful movements and the noises that is often made during the movement. One interesting tidbit we learned was that "Olé" is derived from the Arabic "wa'Allah" ("by Allah" or "by God"). It might seem silly, but that information blew my mind!!! Though the more I think about it, the less I'm surprised, especially coming from a culture that has 300 years of Spanish rule behind it. I think it's just one of those things you don't really think about until someone points it out.

Another way to think about Zambra Mora is "Spanish Fusion." A lot of the power and movement in Flamenco comes from this style, and the moves and choreography we learned echoed it. At first, we learned a variety of ways to twirl our skirts around. Moving in a circle around the room was somewhat exhilarating. You could almost feel the energy swirling around with us. Then Titanya showed us some beautiful hand movements. That was definitely a highlight for me! I know I need to work some more on my hands, and like I've said before her hands are a great example to follow.

The choreography was definitely a little more difficult on this day. Much of the routine was with a partner, at times moving opposite them. There was also a lot of turning from one side to another quickly. A lot of time was spent on moves that involved turning around our partners, and then speeding it up. We luckily kept each other balanced, though. I also had to keep from tripping on my skirt! They have so much fabric on them, I had to roll up the top a little.

We danced to "Qadukka-I-Mayyas" by Jesse Cook

Like I mentioned before, making noises is part of the dance. Zaghareets, yips, and clapping all get incorporated into the moves - but when you feel it naturally, not actually choreographed into a routine. I like all the yipping and shouting that's part of the dance. I think that we were all concentrating so much on getting the moves down that we did a lot less exclaiming, though. It makes me think a bit about technique vs. feeling. The essence of both Middle Eastern Dance and Zambra Mora seems to be in the emotions and feeling the music enough to express it in our bodies. I think it's a powerful message - one I plan to carry with me in my future lessons.

Another lesson we learned was the difference in clapping styles between the Arabic and the Spanish. In Arabic, the clapping style is called a qaf, and it's with fingers open and somewhat separated. Qaf wounds more high pitched. In Spanish, the clapping style is called a palma, which is with cupped hands. Palma sounds deeper and more muffled. It was fun to compare the two.

Aside from their teaching styles and friendly nature, I thoroughly enjoyed their history lessons!!! They spoke a lot about their own histories as well as the origins of some of the movements. Through their personal stories, they taught us a lot about what works for different people's bodies and main Element, as well as what is appropriate in the various dance settings (from country to country or from club to wedding). For example, if you're dancing in an Arabic country, DO NOT accept a drink from a server (probably bought by one of the guests), because it means you'll be sleeping with one of the guests! Also, if tips are thrown in your direction, you have to avoid stepping on the bills - it's considered disrespectful because the Sheiks pictures are on the bills! Basically, Dondi and Titanya are a wealth of knowledge! There's so much more that they shared with us, that it's hard to remember everything as I write about it. If you get an opportunity to learn from them, it's worth it!

We barely got a taste on Saturday of what each of the Five Elements were about. None of us can say that we've become experts on it. If I ever get the chance (and the funds! Read more on that below), I would love to take the 5-day workshop with Dondi and Titanya! I think the workshops would really help a person gain some insight about themselves, their surroundings, and the people around them. Plus, they are both just fabulous people! I'm going to credit their warm and welcoming nature to them having grown up in the South Pacific (yay!). But, it was great to meet two fabulous and well known dancers, and to learn that they are so grounded and humbled. Perhaps when I travel to the West Coast again, I will ask them about any happenings in the community. I think many people always say that they welcome emails and keeping in touch. But when they said it this weekend, it's the first time I felt it was nothing less than sincere.

The Reason Why I'm Broke (but Happy) Now
The danger of attending a weekend-long workshop is that there will always be shopping. Oh, glorious, exhilarating shopping. This weekend, Viva La Diva and the vendors basically took over an entire section of the Courtyard Marriott. An entire hallway was full of sparklies and flouncies and swooshies. I spent WAY too much money.

Though I now need to really sell some things just to not be broke (wait....did you click on that link? Go ahead...do it....I'll wait..............ok...be sure to email me, okay? :D), I walked away with two new veils, a cover up/shawl, two silver rings, and a gypsy skirt pictured below. Ay...my bank account will be hurting...but I had such a fabulous weekend! I feel like a different dancer, more educated and armed with my arsenal of costumage.

I feel so blessed to have been a part of that whole weekend, and I look forward to next year's workshop!

Gorgeous skirts and veils and women!!!

Viva La Diva Weekend Part 2 - Show and Competition

Viva La Diva Competition and Show
On my way to the Courtyard Marriott in Woburn that morning, I didn't think I would stay the whole day. With my weekends being so busy, I haven't had a lot of time to relax and spend time with my boyfriend and friends. But after Saturday's workshop, I had made some wonderful connections, and after telling my boyfriend about all the fun I was having he encouraged me to stay and get inspired.

I'm so glad that I did! It was my first Viva La Diva show, so I had no idea that it was going to go on for more than 5 hours!! But I love watching other dancers and hearing songs that I'm not familiar with yet.

Once Za-Beth posts up information about who the winners are, I'll update this blog with more of my impressions.

I was excited to see that one of my classmates with Amira Jamal was part of the competition! I was so proud to be there to cheer on Shakima Laila. She had performed some of her competition pieces to us in class, so it was exciting to see her in full regalia! She started up the night' festivities with one of her graceful routines.

I like that the belly dance community is so tightly knit. I'm sure that not everyone gets along swimmingly, but you can count on the fact that you will always see some familiar faces at an event. I asked Dondi a little about the differences between the communities on the coasts. She said it's a lot more competitive on the Westside, maybe because there's a higher concentration of them within a given radius and it seems like they're all trying to make it big. I definitely got the feeling of being "larger than life" from my small exposure to the Los Angeles bellydance community.

After Shakima Laila, the troupes performed. They were all so different from each other, but a lot of fun to watch! At one point, I whispered to Najmat who cam for the show, "God, I love bellydance." The costumes were just amazing! It seemed like a great thing to be part of a troupe, since you can learn so much from the other people you work with.

In general, the routines were super cute! Some involved tambourines (I mean, how can you go wrong with tambourines??), veil work, switching positions with other troupe members, and just having fun dancing with each other. For me, I feel like being in a troupe is much more reminiscent of how Middle Eastern Dance historically began, mainly since the moves - choreographed or not - center around sharing a space with other women.

Three performers I was fortunate to meet this weekend were Jenny Cohen, MiaNaja al Sephira, and Almasa Durriyah. After the competition portion of the evening, these three lovelies graced the stage with their performances, as well as other amazing dancers. It's pretty neat that these three came from outside of Massachusetts (New York, Maryland, and Rhode Island, respectively) to perform at the Viva La Diva Pageant. With varying degrees of life experiences and styles, I was inspired by these three lovelies. They were all graceful and really held themselves with a confidence that I'm trying to achieve, both off and on the stage - not to mention that they're all super sweethearts!

I also met Johara, who wasn't performing that night, but she encouraged me to think about dancing at the Middle East Restaurant - which, I'll have to confess, scares the bujeezus out of me! But, I'm working on it!!!

After the performance, the awards were given out. I thought it was super sweet that Za-Beth presented an award to all the participants. She stressed how important it was to have the memories, regardless of the outcomes. I think that message can get so lost in the world of competition. It was refreshing to see and hear a professional dancer with that mindset.

Me with Shakima Laila and her 2 awards!

At one point, she even played the zills for one of the performers! She has amazing skills at the zills (that's fun to say out loud!) making it look like she's barely breaking a sweat. All you see are her hands fluttering about, and you hear the ringing.

Finally, Titanya graced the stage. She danced a Spanish Fusion piece, complete with veils and zills. It was such a treat to watch her dance! You could really see her theater background when she is performing. I don't know how to explain it, but there's a certain way that the theater folks behave and carry themselves.

To conclude the show, Dondi performed a wonderful upbeat dance. It's always a little strange, I think, to watch someone live when you're used to seeing them on a DVD. She recently had an adorable baby boy, who was present, and you could see her glowing from it. Both her and Titanya moved up and down the middle aisle, and really engaged and livened up the audience after such a long evening.

I truly felt inspired by all the beautiful women who danced their hearts out. Though I'm not one for competition, maybe by this time next year, I'll not be as nervous about performing at a venue such as this.

To be continued...
Part 3 - Zambra Mora and Conclusion

Viva La Diva Weekend Part 1- Dondi & Titanya's Five Elements and Middle Eastern Dance

It's been a really busy August.

It's been a really expensive August.

It's been a really wonderful August...so far.

In my decision to expand my raqs sharqi education, I signed up for the Viva La Diva workshops hosted by Za-Beth. I had been looking forward to this weekend for a while. Since August has been so busy - and expensive! - I've been too broke to take a month's worth of Najmat's classes (and they're not even that expensive!). All I could do was rely on my Netflix queue. But I do so much better in a classroom. I've missed a lot of the interaction with classmates.
 
This past weekend, however, was exactly what I've been craving all month.

Za-Beth was hosting Dondi and Titanya Dahlin, two fabulous dancers who I've only recently discovered but fell in love with their stylings immediately.
 
I discovered Dondi through the Bellydance Superstars, which seems to be how many students have found her. She has this amazingly infectious smile and is a mesmerizing dancer. After watching her (and the other Supah Stahs) on the DVD, I Googled and YouTubed like crazy. I loved how relaxed she seems while she's dancing, like it just took no energy at all.

Through the powers of Google, I discovered Titanya. I wasn't sure what it was, but I felt a sort of simpatico with her style. Oh wait...it's because the first thing YouTube led me to was Titanya as a mermaid. I mean, really. Is there anything else I need to say kids? Alrighty then.

Dondi and Titanya's workshops focused on The Five Elements on Saturday and Zambra Mora on Sunday. It looked like the weekend was not only going to be a busy one, but an inspiring one.

Titanya, me, and Dondi - Smiles all around!

The Five Elements and Middle Eastern Dance
Being Asian/Pacific Islander, Chinese philosophy is something I've been exposed to as a child. I've always had a respect for it, but I've only really started learning more about it in the past couple of years (thanks to the boyfriend!). I've been able to learn a lot more about qi/ch'i and how it helps to explain so many things where Western medicine fails. It seemed like an appropriate way to learn more about Middle Eastern dance.

Dondi and Titanya introduced the Five Elements to us, stating that we each carry all 5 within us but will sometimes utilize one or two elements more so than others. In their explanations, they also broke down the way Water, Wood, Fire, Earth, and Metal play into personality types. I must say, I recognized many people in their explanations.

Concerning a 5-part Middle Eastern Dance Routine, Fire would represent the entrance, Water would represent the Veil and Taxim, Earth would represent the middle and grounding piece, Wood would represent the drum solo, and Metal would represent the ending piece. The Dahlin's mother, Donna Eden is an internationally respected author and practitioner of the Five Elements and Energy Medicine. So, with their understanding of the Elements ingrained in them since childhood, they've really come to understand how to use that energy towards their goals. I could go into more detail, but I why reinvent the Element Wheel?

Check out Titanya's article about movement and the Five Elements!

I thought it was really interesting, actually. After listening to their descriptions, I can say that I am mainly an Earth-Water person. Even my astrological signs point to that (I'm an Aries-Taurus Cusp and a Water Dog)! I am eternally a mother - and even considered that to be my answer to "What do you want to be when you grow up?" I definitely like to be closer to the ground, and prefer walking in my flip flops or barefoot if I can get away with it (as I type this, I've already walked around my office barefoot several times today!). Also, I feel like water has played a huge role in my life - from being born on an island to insisting on moving to Boston because it's by an ocean. When I first moved to Boston, I was so turned around! Generally, I'm pretty good at maps, but I kept confusing myself! For some reason, I could point to where the ocean was from any point of the city, but I couldn't tell you if I was North or South or East or West! It's like my body knew where the water was...but my brain was so used to it being to the West of me!

After their explanation of the Five Elements, they started breaking down some choreography for us that utilized all 5 elements. The workshop was attended by 20-25 people, and we mainly moved in a circle for the first part. As the room was longer than it was wider, there was a little bit of trouble in getting all the moves down. There were several times when I knocked into the woman in front of me! After the lunch break, we partnered up. I think putting the group into partners was a great way to get to know more of the women in the workshop and helped us learn the moves better.

The routine was beautiful and really fun! Definitely some challenges along the way, but I think I would be able to add some of the moves to my own repertoire. Titanya has a very energetic style (Fire, indeed!), and she reminded me a lot of my younger sister in the way she spoke. Her moves were definitely more "Here I am!" and flowy. She has absolutely GORGEOUS hand moves, which she credits to Polynesian Dance (another reason she reminds me of my sister..I'll probably be asking my sister to help me with hand movements the next time I see her!). Titanya was a lot more of a visual and physical teacher.

But when we thought the challenge would be over, Dondi handed us a drum solo! Though it was a quick piece, it definitely got a lot of us energized. Dondi's style definitely leans a lot more towards putting things into a concise explanation (soooo Wood!). But she also urged us to keep moving forward in the choreography. For myself, I don't think I felt like I was behind in any way, but I do wonder about those that take more time to learn. Dondi is much more of a "practice makes perfect" type teacher.

We danced to "Fe Yom Welaila" from the album "Tabel Ya Issam" for the first piece, and one of the drum solos from "The Dancing Drum by Issam" for the Drum Solo.

I enjoyed Dondi and Titanya teaching together! After their explanation of the Five Elements, you could really see where their strengths and challenges were. They seem to balance each other very well. Dondi would help to better explain movements, while Titanya was conscious of making sure everyone could see the movements.

To be continued...
Part 2 - Show and Competition

"Whatever Lola Wants" at 90 years old

On August 15th, my family celebrated our Lola's (grandmother) 90th birthday. Though her birthday is actually in September, the majority of family members (from San Francisco, Chicago, and elsewhere) were able to come in August.

It was a big to-do. There was a section in the Universal Hilton's Cafe Sierra reserved for our large family (and it's not even half of them!). My sister was responsible for making about 100 mini cupcakes as party favors. My mom and cousin were working on the program, which included a picture slideshow of my Lola's life. My siblings and I joked that it was almost like someone was getting married!

My sister and I (and one of our nieces) helped to provide some more entertainment for the day with some dances. Interestingly, because my sister learned hula in Los Angeles and joined a troupe there, my family has been privy to the style and culture of hula. Though I've been learning belly dance for about 7 years, most of my learning has been on the East Coast. I think my parents and siblings have seen one video of me dancing at a recital, but the majority of my family has never seen me dance live.



So, I thought this would be a great way for my family to see me, especially since I rarely see them except for the holidays. At first I struggled with making the performance more choreographed than it needed to be. But, I realized I was forcing it with 2 weeks to come up with something. I usually work on a piece by listening to the songs over and over, and when I feel something, I go with it. Often, though, I listen to a song over and over on the T or at work - so I can't exactly attempt to choreograph something in those situations.

At some point, there was a decision made that the family would all wear red. However, I did not get that memo. So, naturally, I came with a luggage full of green clothes! If I had known, I would have probably brought the one red trumpet skirt I own, and worked my costume around that.

The night I was packing, I figured I would be wearing a costume that I'd danced in before. But, I was set on using the veil I had practiced with. Quickly, I modified my outfit, putting together a skirt and veil that I had never danced with before. The skirt doesn't actually fit me well, but with the veil wrapped around it and a couple of pins, it looked pretty good. Really, it worked out perfectly! I wore my harem pants underneath, since it is around my family and I figured I'd be slightly more modest. I also know that most people who aren't necessarily as educated about bellydance are always looking for the coin belt or some form of jinglies. I decided to put on the belt I recently bought at Velvet Gypsy in Venice Beach. I also wore a bra that I've worn with both my Mermaid Parade costumes as well as for bellydance recitals. I thought it worked out quite well, actually. I made sure I packed my safety pins, as well as a back-up outfit just in case I changed my mind mid-flight. But the outfit was perfect, somewhat mermaid-y, and green of course.

I danced to Natasha Atlas' cover of "Whatever Lola Wants," quite appropriate in a way.

(Taken from my Ate Jocelyn's camera)

Then I switched it up and danced to Tony Chamoun's Lola. Thanks to Nepenthe for the tip!

I think my family had no idea what they were in for. I encouraged them to clap along to the beat when it was appropriate, and I shimmied my little heart out. Many of my relatives approached my sister and I afterward asking us about how long we had been dancing and complementing us on our performances. It was pretty awesome, actually. It felt great to dance for my family. I hope I was able to open their eyes a little bit to the world of belly dance. I think my Lola enjoyed it, too.

Swaying My Hips Right (Coast) to Left (Coast)

Venice Beach, CA

On Thursday, July 30, 2009, I decided to check out a belly dancing event while I was visiting Los Angeles. Since I feel like I've been able to learn a bit more about the belly dancing community in New England, I was curious to compare it with the Los Angeles belly dancing community.

I found Meryem Vani's Showcase on the LARaqs.com website, which is a fabulous website for any belly dancer beginner or advanced. Teachers, costumes, events - it's all there! If you or someone you know in Los Angeles is looking to dip their toes into the world of raqs sharqi, this is a great website to introduce them to! I was very excited to have found that website.

It became suddenly clear to me that one of the major differences between the LA and New England belly dance communities was the size. Los Angeles, being a ginormous city, has the capacity to hold a variety of talented dancers, workshops, and events within its county lines. While Boston (my East Coast home) also has a wide variety of dancers as well, many of the events and workshops are not as easy to reach. As someone dependent on the T or my bicycle, it costs me not only a workshop fee but also a Zipcar membership. Even my Athena's job is an investment if I need to travel far. Strangely, perhaps because of the concept of the "county lines" or because I have more control over the space, things don't seem as far in LA even though I'm much more dependent on a car.

But the Boston/Greater Boston belly dance community extends to both the Massachusetts and New England communities. I think it's great because of how far reaching the community actually is - extending to multiple states! Coming from Los Angeles, I always thought it was pretty neat that folks in Boston could feel some camaraderie with the entire northeast corner of the country. On the other hand, I definitely enjoyed only traveling a little more than 2 miles to the belly dancing event.

The Showcase was located at the Tsunami Coffeehouse Theater in Silverlake, not too far from where I (my parents) live. Unfortunately, I didn't get to check out the actual coffeehouse before they closed, but I have had my eye on that place for a while! Aside from Perhaps on my next visit home, I will check it out during the day time.

I didn't make it in time for the short workshop that Meryem Vani held, but the women that participated told me all about it. One of them found this event through the LARaqs website as I did, and the other woman told us that she was part of the Bellydance Meetup Group, more specifically the Hollywood-East LA Bellydance Meetup Group. To further illustrate the point I made about the space and size, this one section of LA has currently 182 members. The Boston Bellydance Meetup Group currently has 297 members - but certainly, not everyone's address says "Boston." Craaaazy!

Zahir, who is not only part of Meryem Vani's Troupe Zaghareet but also an entertaining MALE belly dancer, was the MC of the event. He introduced about 7 dancers, including himself and another male belly dancer who's name I can't remember at all. That first male dancer was mesmerizing - balancing a tray of candles on his head and moving so slowly, from the floor to standing up.

Completely forgetting myself at the event, the only other name I could remember was Jennelah. To be perfectly honest, she was my personal favorite, perhaps because she was more my style. She had on a beautiful sparkly costume, and maintained her poise even with a slight technological malfunction of the CD player. Most of the belly dancers and groups were great, ranging from beginners to teachers. It made me feel more comfortable about my own performance level, especially since I felt that I could have a more educated opinion about the dancers.

The one woman who spoke to me earlier about being part of the Meetup Group interestingly had a lot of questions about belly dance, from the costumes to the styles of dance. At first I was shocked - because I always feel like everyone else knows WAAAY more than me. It was a good reminder for me, though, that I do know quite a bit more than I give myself credit.

At the end, there was a group dance, where the performers and audience members all got up to dance. For the first time, I didn't even hesitate getting up to dance with my peers, feeling secure in my own knowledge and body. I managed to convince a friend of mine to join me, and she stated after watching all the performances that she was absolutely intrigued by the dance and wanted to learn some of the moves.

Overall, while it was only one event I attended, I am so glad that I did! I'm not really sure what I expected. I've come across some interesting belly dance experiences in Los Angeles - from a class that felt like the teacher was teaching just to watch herself in the mirror to a store owner/teacher saying that he "doesn't teach housewives." I guess I was nervous that it was going to feel snobby and distant. But everyone was so welcoming!

Near the end of my trip, I wanted to spend one more day at the beach, but I also wanted to return to Boston with a new costume item. I hopped onto LARaqs.com before heading out, and found that the Velvet Gypsy was just along the Venice Beach boardwalk! While many of the items were tourist-friendly, there were some fabulous items that caught my eye. It was great to find a store that was exactly where I needed it to be - reducing the amount of time I would waste in traffic.

The day I move back to LA, I will feel secure in knowing that I can easily find and join the belly dance community. Not that I'm planning on moving back any time soon, necessarily. But I do miss my Los Angeles, and it's nice to feel like I still have a home and can make an updated home there.