How's Bellydance at Taiwan? - Part III. Go West or East?! - Diversifying Direction

As bellydance became increasingly popular, the existing resource could no longer satisfy local dancers and students' strong desire to learn more about this dance and its related information.

Since bellydance was first promoted as “seductive” and “mystique” harem dance from Middle East, it is very rational to conclude that we should go to the land of cultural root for the best learning experiences. With almost no information at all, it seemed like a dangerous adventure into the unknown jungle. Under such circumstance, few went to Egypt while others went to Turkey.

In 2005, some dancers went to Egypt for Ahlan Wa Sahlan hosted by Raqia Hassan and they brought back further information and beautiful accessories and costumes. People started to talk about going to Egypt for learning bellydance. Among those dancers, Eva Shen brought back Mahmoud Reda technique and this “Moscow on Nile” style of oriental dance to Taiwan. It generated another bellydance fever and remains one of the most widespread bellydance styles here.

Crystal Lien went to Turkey and introduced Turkish style bellydance to local bellydance community. She teaches exclusively Turkish style bellydance and has strong emphasis on improvisation and music interpretation, which is very exceptional approach among local bellydancers and instructors. She moves to Istanbul in June 2009.

America opens its gate to Taiwan bellydancers through the DVD called Bellydance Superstar produced by Mile Copeland. In 2005, I had a chance to see BDSS performance at New York while I visited friends there. I also had opportunity to drop in legendary bellydancer Serena Wilson’s studio and was very lucky to be taught by Serena. Such experiences truly opened my eyes. I realized that perhaps going to the culture root is a great way for some to learn while visiting somewhere I can communicate with orally works better for me. I like to ask questions – thanks to the training during my education in the States, and I cannot learn just solely relying on visual observation and imitation. I need certain explanations and discussion to help me really understand the concept. Without some knowledge in advanced, I feel very insecure. Later I learned from Carolena, founder of ATS about different learning approaches – auditory, kinetic and visual.

I told others about what I saw in America and few suggested a trip together for Tribal Fest in 2006. At that time, the Internet became very popular and highly accessible. All of sudden all kinds of information are available for just one click. You could contact anyone you want via the “contact us” bottom at their websites. Viola! They would write you back. It is so much more easy and convenient.

Going to America learning bellydance thus becomes many dancers' choice, in particularly San Francisco. I do enjoy bellydance colleagues in Big Apple for their wonderful creativities and interesting personalities. Somehow the weather and atmosphere at Bay Area really attract people. In addition, Tribal Fest is held every year just one hour driving from Bay Area; Carolena and FCBD are right at Mission district; Suhaila and her dance school are based on Albony, a quiet and beautiful town slight north from Berkeley; Mary Ellen Donald could teach wonderful ME music knowledge and skills while Amina demonstrates amazing interpretation to music through zills…. There are abundant resources at Bay Area and the friendly and widespread Asian-cultural aura makes San Francisco an ideal place to visit.

Among those dancers go to States, Jane Chung went to Hawaii for intensive workshop hosted by Delilah in 2004. In 2006, she went to attend Suhaila Salimpour Level 1 certificate workshop and became the first Taiwanese bellydancer with such qualification. She still remains the highest certification of Suhaila Salimpour technique at Taiwan now. In 2009, she sponsors Suhaila for the first overseas SSBD Level 1 certification workshop.

Another spot in American Continent where Taiwan bellydancers go visit and learn is Buenos Aires, where Saida and her wonderful orchestra are based. Saida is quite popular here for her stage presence and dance style – somehow her persistence of dancing to live music does not affect her fans here or motivate them to polish further knowledge or skills on live music…Gina Chen based on Kaohsiung City is major sponsor to Saida and she often co-sponsors with Helena, the famous South Korean bellydancer who also promotes Saida style.

Either going east or west, we want to learn more and try hard to catch up with our bellydance colleagues around the world. This is not a dance form originating in our art and culture and thus we accept the fact and go aboard for learning and seeing the constantly growing community. With a positive viewpoint, this truly enlarges our vision and helps us gain rich life experiences, and best of all, meeting with other dance sisters and friends through this journey.

How's Bellydance at Taiwan? - Part II. How and When It Started?

Cover of the first Bellydance book at Taiwan by Violet Mozaini

Photo from http://www.panoramio.com/photo/5546983

As I said before, the development of bellydance at Taiwan is relatively new, comparing to its other Western communities. Even Japan and Korea have longer history of bellydance experiences than we have.

Around 2002 to 2003, it all started from simply sharing what she learned and enjoyed during her overseas studying at Israel, Violet Lee (She got married and changed her name as Violet Mozaini) first showed her friends the dance she learned and soon after with words of mouths, she was asked to teach in local community colleges and other studios. She was also invited to appear in TV and suddenly, everyone heard about bellydance and wanted to sign up a bellydance class.

I was one of the TV program audiences who wanted to learn bellydance.

Years ago, when I studied in New York, I went with my then boyfriend for a date and we saw a bellydance performance in Café Figaro at Village. It was my first time to see a real and live bellydancer with live band. I was totally stunned by her beautiful dance and her enjoyment with this dance, with the fact that she looked not that young and her body movement was so fluid.

I didn't think about signing up a class at that time. I was too young and there was the whole world waiting for me to conquer.

Years later, when I resettled at Taipei and my father passed away unexpectedly, the image of Violet dancing on TV reminded me of the elegant bellydancer I saw in New York years ago. My father’s sudden death really is a waking call to me: I realize health is very important and life is never too long to waste. I decided to sign up her class.

As bellyadnce became so popular at such rapidity, market demands appeared accordingly. People requested bellydance performances all the time and Violet had to ask her students coming with her to dance.

Eventually she trained some students to teach in order to meet with such strong demands on both performing and teaching. Since there was almost no supply of costumes and accessories available, Violet and her students either used Violet's own costumes and accessories or they had to make their own. There was no musician or bands either. Recorded music was used a lot. Few props were introduced by choreography, which remains the major method for bellydance learning and teaching: veils, cane, Shamadan, sword, Khaliji…

Gradually Violet formed her own troupe and members came from her students. She successfully creates very exciting, fancy and whirlwind like stage presentation, which becomes her own signature style as well as one of the major criteria for local audiences and peer colleagues. Usually she would create a story telling line guiding the audience. The topics are all about Arabian fantasy: 1001 nights, harem scene, village ceremonies… and each dance presents particular theme with either props or certain fusion styles. My favorite one is probably her last recital in December 2008. It is a short drama piece called “Looking for the Bluebird of Happiness.” In this story, a semi-autobiography of Violet's personal story, a girl seeks for true happiness and after a series of life experiences including miscarriage, eventually she finds her own happiness. It is already a very mature and yet strong localized format in terms of stage presence, with a sly twist of tantasy Middle Eastern flavor.

Violet and her troupe possess the majority of bellydance population in Taiwan. She successfully introduces this beautiful dance to local public audience and remains as one of the most renowned bellydancers here. She provides a great and friendly accessibility for those who simply want to do exercise, have fun, and press relief. There are many touching stories at her classroom telling how women regain their confidence and faith as themselves through bellydancing. If you go for their annual recital, it would be at least 500 to 1,000 persons in the audience seat. It is quite amazing.

Violet's case becomes the model following by other bellydancers at Taiwan. They also follow her choreography-oriented teaching with less emphasis on rhythms, downbeats and techniques. Violet's dancers are famous for their amazing memory of choreography and they specialize in group dancing with complicated formation. There is not much to do with solid bellydance movements or profound capacity on delicate stage presence.

Now with few years of bellydance experiences and more understanding of bellydance and ME/Arab culture, I found out there are more for me to experience in this giant bellydance world. I move on for finger cymbal, tabla and other techniques. I still like to see her annual recital to recall my early years of bellydance learning and see the promisingly growing bellydance student population.

INTERTWINE by Devi Mamak

An exciting new dance work has been brewing in the past several months within the Blue Mountains. The Winter Magic festival will host the “première” showing of this brand new & exciting production, “Intertwine” as part of this years Winter Magic Month program.

Devi Mamak has drawn together dancers, musicians and artists of varied disciplines and styles, braiding their talents together into a compelling and cohesive whole, creating a joyful, mysterious, colorful and diverse show that intertwines cultural traditions and an ebullient creative spirit. Audiences can expect to experience a visual & audio feast of dances and music from around the world from current re workings of the ancient Middle East, through to the gypsy dances of India, Temple dancers in Bali, the raw energy of African dance, passionate Flamenco styles, and right through to modern day Hip hop and back again.

Devi and her critically acclaimed Tribal Belly Dance troupe, Ghawazi Caravan from here in the Blue Mountains, have been working with other local artists including Emily Cooper from Hands Heart and Feet; Tarek Sawires & Jamie Bohm, Egyptian percussionists; Bronwyn Kirkpatrick, shakuhachi master; Colin Berryman , Sitar player: Keith Kempis, Balinese/Hip hop dancer, as well as Sydney artist, Jrisi Jusakos of Hathor Dance Company.

"It has been a dream of Ghawazi Caravan's to not only work with other dancers from various dance genres but to also work with fantastic musicians. “Everyone in the show is so hugely talented and this project has been so much fun to work on. These mixes of dance styles & musical instruments have never before been put together in this way so we all feel extremely excited about it.” Says Devi

"Intertwine" will be a joy for all ages, so come and see what happens when gifted people come together to share, collaborate and make a show supremely beautiful to the senses!

For further information, please check http://www.ghawaziaravan.com/

How's Bellydance at Taiwan? - Part I. Portugal Custard Tart vs. Bellydance

photo from sundeyahgo.pixnet.net/blog/post/22918710

When I travel aboard, particularly encountering with people from bellydance circle, they always ask me:“how's bellydance at Taiwan?” Well, it is a big question and it is not easy to answer in just few sentences.

In general, it was very big one time and now it is still hot, just not that big.

As an island with so many colonial experiences in the past – Holland, Portugal, Spain, Japan, immigrants from Mainland China after 1949…, we have such open-minded and welcome attitude toward anything new and exotic and we are also easily to be attracted by something much newer and different. In sum, it is a fast cycle of consuming: we find something new, we take it, and then it is done: we give it away for other things.

I still remember there was time when Portugal custard tart was first introduced to local consumers. All of sudden everyone was talking about this tart and the Portugal custard tart shop was everywhere. People even waited in long line for hours just for a dozen of tarts! It was such irrational fever. Few months later, people got crazy about other stuff and now we did not have many Portugal custard tart shops anymore. People didn’t mention it anymore and they don’t want to taste it anymore. It just totally disappears from our life.

When people learn that I am a bellydancer and I teach bellyadnce (I teach ATS), four from five people will say that someone they know also learn bellydance or involve with bellydance – it could be their family members, relatives, colleagues, classmates, friends, girlfriends…. Almost all who told me someone they know are learning bellydance or learned bellydance before said that those bellydance learners are so contented with their learning. I personally meet with some bellydance students and they project the same reaction: they first giggle and then smile shyly saying that they just really enjoy the bellydance class even though the class sometime is very challenging, regardless of their occupations, education or social status.

I am quite amazed at such high hitting rate. By statistics, it probably implies a huge consumer base of bellydance learning.

In the meanwhile, the local bellydance community gradually develops to reach its mature period in the past few years. It is consisted by bellydancer, bellydance instructors, and bellydance fans. I will say it is a quite tight-associated target group, almost like a secret underground cult. We only meet with each other like bats flying out of dark cave, at certain occasions: master workshops, local dance troupe recitals or foreigner bellydancers’ shows like BDSS.

There is a huge gap between the huge bellydance learning population and much-committed bellydancer community, in terms of knowledge and capacity of technique, concepts and information of bellydance.

It is very neutral. From my training of fine art marketing in the States, the whole market is like a pyramid (Pyramid means a lot to bellydancer!): the bottom section is much general and diversified while the top section is always more focus and targeted. What I refer to as “targeted,” is the fact that they are willing to spend a lot of money for classes and workshops, especially those certification workshops. We really love certification and there are many interesting facts behind this trend. (I should write another article just for this topic sometime!)

Tide comes and goes. Portugal custard tart is gone. Donuts are gone. So many stuffs passed. I definitely do not wish that someday my beloved bellydance would face a similar fate, totally disappearing from our life.

Somehow, bellydance, this art form of age old, has its own charm. It stays with us in a way we didn’t expect. Perhaps the fact that bellydance is a dance for women of all ages, sizes and live experiences, is also applied to this Confucius-dominant society.

A Night of Arab Music, Culture & Dance with Karim Nagi -A Charity Event for Children in Rural Area

Date: Thursday, June 11, 2009
Time: 19:30-21:00
Speaker: Karim Nagi
Location: B1 Auditorium, Taipei City Council
(No. 507, Section 4, Jen-Ai Road, Hsinyi District, Taipei City)
By Appointment only, NT$200 per person

Well renowned musician Karim Nagi, a native Egyptian as well, will give a 90-minute lecture on the dominant role of music, dance and drumming at Arab culture. He will start the lecture by giving audience the geographical introduction of 23 countries in Arab world. Several Arab percussion instruments will be introduced and demonstrated during this lecture. Nagi will also introduce two Arab folk dances: Tahteeb (a martial dance with stick) and Dabka (Arab line dance) to give audience a general vision of the tight association of dance and life in Arab world.

Nagi is born at Cairo and grew up at America. Carrying both Western and Eastern culture backgrounds and life experiences, he truly wishes to bridge between the two worlds for better understanding with each other. He hopes to present his beloved Arab culture to the world and let people know the fact that Arab world is not merely terrorism and wars: there are beautiful things worthy of sharing too.

The income of lecture will be donated to benefit children in rural area for their meals and textbooks. We accordingly invite all to share a night of wonderful cultural feast while support those children in need!

For further information please check Hand Dance & Drumming Sky at blog: http://blog.yam.com/crazydrum
For booking enquiry please contact Christine Du at HandDrum@gmail.com or 0952-523-235/ Lisa Chen at lisachen806@hotmail.com or 0970-071-411