The following set of eclectic questions are from the same person in the same email:
Question #1 - What would you likely be doing for a living if you hadn't become a Bellydancer? I have no idea. As a child brought up in the 60s, my aspirations were to be a Hippy. Being a Hippy is a state of mind and not a job, nonetheless, my family does believe I accomplished my goal. Although I was a straight A student, I dropped out of school as soon as legally possible (age 16) to pursue mystical studies full time and took odd jobs here and there to help pay rent. Odd jobs then turned into Bellydancing which actually made me a living for 27 years. Career has never been a consideration in my thought process until very recently at the ripe age of 47 where the notion of old age security has seeped into my consciousness. Now, I am finally starting to learn about business and the meaning of a dollar. When people ask me for career advice, I always say "Follow your passion, money or no money, you will always be happy". If you forfeit your passion in order to earn money, you just forfeited your precious and short life. For me, the Bellydance path was never a choice. When it was explained to me, that this path of a Bellydancer would lead to being a bag-lady, I replied with "so be it" because if I do anything else with my life, I will suffocate and die.
Question #2 - Do you think bellydance is evolving? Should it? The answer is "of course" to both questions. I know you are looking for a longer answer to this - maybe later.
Question #3 - Explain how you came up with the name "Fish" for a reverse Maya? Actually my student and one of the co-founders of Arabesque Dance Company, Jane Graydon A.K.A. Jalilah came up with the name in 1988 when Arabesque was on Davenport Rd. in Yorkville. Jane also came up with the Drunken Sailor for the Rounded Out Crossover and the Bunny Hop for the Saiidi Drop. Jane had a great sense of humour. In the early 80s, what I now call a Maya was originally the Up & Over Figure 8 and the Fish was the Down & Up Figure 8. I was very literal and unimaginative with naming dance steps. One day a student from out of town came into the school and said she had been taught the Up & Over step was called a Maya. When I told Hanni, my Egyptian boyfriend at the time (and the only one who believed Arabesque Academy had a furture), he said that Maya meant Water in Arabic so when I told the class the next day, Jane decided the Down & Up Figure 8 should be the Fish. I also learned later that many Egyptians described Sohair Zaki as one who moved like a fish and as this was one of her signature moves, it seemed appropriate and it stuck. The name Bunny Hop didn't stick but Drunken Sailor is still around.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Artisitc Statement
Just thought I would post the artistic statement for Arabesque Dance Company:
From an early age, Yasmina Ramzy enjoyed attending the ballet, the symphony, theatre, opera, art galleries and museums regularly with her family who believed in a strong arts education. At age 20, after a seven year deep, personal journey into the study and practice of Tibetan Buddhism and ancient Egyptian mysticism, Yasmina was introduced to the world of Middle Eastern dance and music. While being mesmerized by the beauty, spirituality and profound emotion of Arab art, she could not comprehend why it wasn’t sharing the stage with ballet and the symphony.
For 27 years, it has been foremost in her mind to recreate for Western audiences, the joy and inspiration she found in Middle Eastern dance. The mandate of director Yasmina Ramzy and the Arabesque Dance Company is to promote awareness of and further the artistry of Middle Eastern dance. One of the main goals of the company is to dispel the common misconceptions and stereotypes associated with Middle Eastern culture and in particular its dance forms so that audiences are open to appreciate this profound Arab art.
Because of the meaningful and in-depth quality of work Arabesque has created in the past with such productions as Descent of Ishtar, In Search of the Almeh, Isis and most recently, Asala, the company has gained a large international following. Through word of mouth and worldwide DVD sales, Arabesque is highly regarded as one of the most prominent forces for taking this ancient art form to another level. Yasmina believes that by presenting Middle Eastern dance in a venue and format that Western audiences can relate to, the door is then open for these audiences to experience the joy of Arab music and dance.
Yasmina and the members of Arabesque feel strongly that this highly emotional dance form which inspired Ruth St. Denis and Isadora Duncan offers an important message of a powerful, feminine and ancient archetype to the modern world. Yasmina finds Middle Eastern dance to be the perfect celebration of the feminine, sometimes sensual, and always spiritual side of human nature. She seeks to inspire women and men everywhere with this message which is often lost in today’s world.
Although some believe it is the oldest dance form, it has had to confront almost constant persecution for the last 2,000 years which still lingers today. By steering away from stereotypes and commercialism, Arabesque has done much and will continue to do more to lift this stigma. Arabesque's professionalism and high artistic integrity has offered other Middle Eastern dance artists and teachers a platform of pride to stand on.
Yasmina also hopes to offer Western audiences a more intimate understanding of Middle Eastern culture which is much needed in today’s political climate. Director Yasmina Ramzy and the Arabesque team are always exploring new ways to reach out with these uplifting messages.
From an early age, Yasmina Ramzy enjoyed attending the ballet, the symphony, theatre, opera, art galleries and museums regularly with her family who believed in a strong arts education. At age 20, after a seven year deep, personal journey into the study and practice of Tibetan Buddhism and ancient Egyptian mysticism, Yasmina was introduced to the world of Middle Eastern dance and music. While being mesmerized by the beauty, spirituality and profound emotion of Arab art, she could not comprehend why it wasn’t sharing the stage with ballet and the symphony.
For 27 years, it has been foremost in her mind to recreate for Western audiences, the joy and inspiration she found in Middle Eastern dance. The mandate of director Yasmina Ramzy and the Arabesque Dance Company is to promote awareness of and further the artistry of Middle Eastern dance. One of the main goals of the company is to dispel the common misconceptions and stereotypes associated with Middle Eastern culture and in particular its dance forms so that audiences are open to appreciate this profound Arab art.
Because of the meaningful and in-depth quality of work Arabesque has created in the past with such productions as Descent of Ishtar, In Search of the Almeh, Isis and most recently, Asala, the company has gained a large international following. Through word of mouth and worldwide DVD sales, Arabesque is highly regarded as one of the most prominent forces for taking this ancient art form to another level. Yasmina believes that by presenting Middle Eastern dance in a venue and format that Western audiences can relate to, the door is then open for these audiences to experience the joy of Arab music and dance.
Yasmina and the members of Arabesque feel strongly that this highly emotional dance form which inspired Ruth St. Denis and Isadora Duncan offers an important message of a powerful, feminine and ancient archetype to the modern world. Yasmina finds Middle Eastern dance to be the perfect celebration of the feminine, sometimes sensual, and always spiritual side of human nature. She seeks to inspire women and men everywhere with this message which is often lost in today’s world.
Although some believe it is the oldest dance form, it has had to confront almost constant persecution for the last 2,000 years which still lingers today. By steering away from stereotypes and commercialism, Arabesque has done much and will continue to do more to lift this stigma. Arabesque's professionalism and high artistic integrity has offered other Middle Eastern dance artists and teachers a platform of pride to stand on.
Yasmina also hopes to offer Western audiences a more intimate understanding of Middle Eastern culture which is much needed in today’s political climate. Director Yasmina Ramzy and the Arabesque team are always exploring new ways to reach out with these uplifting messages.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Oum Kalthoum
Just received a question concerning dancing to the music of Oum Kalthoum. The inquirer wanted to know if a dance artist only of a certain calibre is allowed to dance to this music and are there some pieces of music held with more reverance that should not be danced to at all.
My answer: It is relative who has the where-with-all to dance to Oum Kalthoum. It also depends upon the audience. An Arab audience will have a more discerning eye for the artistic interpretation of this music and a much stronger emotional investment. All of her songs are of equal importance - some are more famous and popular and many have been adapted for Bellydancers. It is said only a Maalema can dance to the music of Oum Kalthoum but that does not mean it has ever stopped anyone and everyone dancing to it. Who does the music justice is in the eyes of the beholder.
One may want to note a few points:
- Maalema = dance master (feminine), sometimes a teacher and/or director of an ensemble
- The music of Oum Kalthoum is often quite difficult with rhythm changes and thus a beginner dancer will find it difficult to apply short cut elements like combos that can easily be used with pop music
- The music is generally slow and emotional, often in a sad maqaam so emotional expression is an important factor
- Dancing to an original recording of Oum Kalthoum singing live may seem direspectful to some who revere her, it is best to use a recording by another singer or a musical arrangement
- Many of her songs are 1-2 hours long so often the musical arrangements that are popular are only a small part of the song, often the beginning or just the musical parts which do not include the melody of where her voice would be
- Non-Arab dancers should note that when an Arab audience is listening to the musical arrangement of Oum Kalthoum music, they hear in their head the memory of the original version with her live voice and the profound lyrics, just like you hear Robert Plant's voice when a cover band plays Stairway to Heaven
- Thus it is important to listen to the original before dancing to the musical arrangement so the dance artist can prortray the same emotion and musical nuance the audience is experiencing, otherwise the audience may feel the dance artist does not understand the music
- To know more about Oum Kalthoum, see the film "A Voice Like Egypt"
My answer: It is relative who has the where-with-all to dance to Oum Kalthoum. It also depends upon the audience. An Arab audience will have a more discerning eye for the artistic interpretation of this music and a much stronger emotional investment. All of her songs are of equal importance - some are more famous and popular and many have been adapted for Bellydancers. It is said only a Maalema can dance to the music of Oum Kalthoum but that does not mean it has ever stopped anyone and everyone dancing to it. Who does the music justice is in the eyes of the beholder.
One may want to note a few points:
- Maalema = dance master (feminine), sometimes a teacher and/or director of an ensemble
- The music of Oum Kalthoum is often quite difficult with rhythm changes and thus a beginner dancer will find it difficult to apply short cut elements like combos that can easily be used with pop music
- The music is generally slow and emotional, often in a sad maqaam so emotional expression is an important factor
- Dancing to an original recording of Oum Kalthoum singing live may seem direspectful to some who revere her, it is best to use a recording by another singer or a musical arrangement
- Many of her songs are 1-2 hours long so often the musical arrangements that are popular are only a small part of the song, often the beginning or just the musical parts which do not include the melody of where her voice would be
- Non-Arab dancers should note that when an Arab audience is listening to the musical arrangement of Oum Kalthoum music, they hear in their head the memory of the original version with her live voice and the profound lyrics, just like you hear Robert Plant's voice when a cover band plays Stairway to Heaven
- Thus it is important to listen to the original before dancing to the musical arrangement so the dance artist can prortray the same emotion and musical nuance the audience is experiencing, otherwise the audience may feel the dance artist does not understand the music
- To know more about Oum Kalthoum, see the film "A Voice Like Egypt"
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Welcome...
Welcome to the Arabesque blog written by Dir. Yasmina Ramzy. Please visit often for new posts.
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