I've had the pleasure to interact and learn from fabulous dancers, and I look forward to continuing my dance and music education. Through the different teachers, I've been exposed to opportunities that I've never thought I would be a part of.
Well...let me backtrack for a second.
I've done some performing for most of my life - from piano recitals to orchestra and band concerts in high school. Perhaps because of my being trained classically, I've always been freaked out by improvisation. Even in jazz band, I was so unsure of my abilities that I didn't think that I could possibly pull off something as musically awesome as some of the old songs I love.
When I was in undergrad, I participated (performed and directed pieces) in the Queer Fashion Show. I loved that whole experience! Working with large groups of people and putting together an entertaining peice...oh, then the performance! I loved it. But I never performed on my own. I felt that the people who I performed with were like my backbone, giving me strength to go on through my anxiety.
When I began to belly dance, I anticipated a lot more troupe performances. When recitals would come around, I would get extremely nervous. I had to psych myself up, just saying to myself that I've done this before, there's nothing to worry about.
Four recitals later (in 2008), I gathered enough courage to perform at a casual talent show in Vermont. It was the first time I had sought out dancing alone for a group. I was so nervous! I couldn't even tell you about the massive amounts of butterflies in my stomach and the bullets I was sweating afterwards. But throughout the weekend, I received so many complements. People I didn't even know were watching came up to me in the days following my performance, complementing me and asking me about my dance background. It was an exciting feeling.(Celebration of Expression, Photo taken by Cat O.)
Later that year, my fellow social workers and friends organized an event that created a safe space for women to express themselves. One friend read erotic poetry, another friend shared her baking wisdom, and I danced. It was my first time performing a full routine (though broken into sections) for a live audience.
2008 seemed to be the year I finally had enough "belly dance balls." Prior to the last two shows I wrote about, I was given the chance to dance with the Jewels of Jamal at the Athenian Corner in Lowell, MA. This time was different. This time, I danced to live music. Amira Jamal had been preparing us for this experience through all her classes, encouraging us to dance to songs we weren't familiar with.(Athenian Corner, Photo by Albert Ma)
All of her lessons were flooding into my head at that moment. Don't forget to smile, make sure your hands are "alive," move around the floor. I'm surprised I didn't fall over from all the thoughts in my head. In the end, I survived. I knew that dancing to live music was another goal to add to my list of accomplishments.
On October 1st, a Boston Bellydance Meet Up occurred. One of my dance teachers and friend Najmat leads the Meet Ups, and I was eager to meet more dancers in the community. This was the first Meet Up event in almost a year, and it was held in the Basha Cafe in Cambridge.
Mitchell Kaltsounas and Aboud Ghazi were playing that night. I don't know much about the musicians in the area, but if my classmates and teachers like their music I figure there's something for me to learn. Mitchell and Aboud were awesome! The music was fabulous, and I was surprised to recognize as many of the songs that I did. I'd have to credit Amira Jamal for making sure that we exposed ourselves to the classical Arabic tunes.
As a Meet Up event, I had a blast. It's unfortunate that not a lot of people, including much of whom RSVPed, attended. But it was great to be there with dancers old and new. We were all wondering if there would be a featured dancer, but realized that we were the only dancers there.
Now, generally speaking, others danced. It was almost similar to being at a club, but with live music. Someone was celebrating their 30th birthday, so there was much dancing and celebrating to be had. But the Middle Eastern dancers were the first ones to get up there. At first, I stayed behind the other dancers. I danced to the music, and sang along when I knew the words. While I started using my fellow dancers as a crutch, I grew more and more comfortable with myself.
It was a liberating experience. I'm still a student, no doubt. There were rhythms and movements I was still unfamiliar with, and I know I still need to grow in my stage presence. But dancing to live music adds to this other dimension of interaction between movement and sound. It gives me more items to add to my checklist of becoming a more professional and educated and comfortable in my own abilities.
