Sophie's Dancelog

So let me tell you about Bari Simon. Most of you probably haven’t heard of her, but she was one of the most famous and controversial Israeli belly dancers in the 80ies. In the early 90ies Bari exchanged her bedlahs [a two-piece belly dance costume] for a head cover, bought up all of her dance videos and opened a bridal boutique in Bnei Brak [a city east of Tel Aviv, populated by orthodox Jews]. Needless to say since then Bari does not perform in public, however she does tour the country with seminars for women only. This January Bari was one of the guest instructors at the Oriental Dance festival in Eilat. She taught one workshop and gave one lecture followed by a short performance.

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Yesterday I drove to Haifa to attend Yardena’s workshop. Not knowing the city I got lost and ended up 10 minutes late. Luckily I wasn’t the last one to arrive, Israel switched back to daylight saving time and most of the group was late. Yardena greeted me warmly, asked for my name and invited me to come in.
The spacious studio was well lit by the afternoon sun and you could see the sea gleaming further down below Mt. Carmel. Yardena insisted that we take off the dance shoes and the socks, so we could stay connected to the ground. I decided to warm up while we were waiting for the rest of the group and other girls followed me. Yardena seemed very pleased, nodding in agreement until the girls in the back of the room started chattering. To my content Yardena made it clear that dance is the highest degree of concentration and that she would not tolerate any disturbance. In the meanwhile the rest of the girls had arrived and the class began.

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The article was published on the Gilded Serpent. To read it click here.

Next week I’m going to attend 4 workshops with Atef and Magda Faraq, so I figured I should finish off my Rakkasah reviews.

This was Jim’s first Rakkasah as a teacher, and I truly believe he’s got a lot to share, especially with regards to class environment and organization. Any dancer knows how frustrating it could be when a teacher comes to class unprepared, or when he doesn’t remember what music is used, or when she’s unable to control the students . Continue Reading »