“Amaya and I were hanging out at a male review bar and
discussing dance over tequila shots. Below is what came of that
conversation…” But seriously – over the years Amaya and I have
had many great shows together, and conversations, and are great
friends – thus it was wonderful to interview her and get some of her
life stories and dance experiences to share with you.
When, where, why, how and with whom did you start
dancing?
Her Beginnings…
Ma*Shuqa: Born in Crystal City, Texas, the “Spinach
Capital of the World” (complete with a downtown statue
of Popeye!), she was the oldest of seven children. At the age
of seven, she told her third grade teacher that she would
someday travel and dance for a living. Her teacher probably
had her reservations…how could such a quiet child of
such poverty level ever get the kind of training and luck to
become a dancer? Yet, Voila! It happened!
Amaya: I remember dancing around six years of age. My
traditional father caught me dancing to Elvis Presley with
my sisters around the kitchen table. He told me I should
never dance until after I was married. That created the
rebellious need to dance all the time! So I danced everywhere
and every dance craze on the sly for many years, while I
still lived at home. There was never money for formal dance
classes, and like most little girls, I hoped to wear a tutu and
be a ballerina someday.
M: In her mid-twenties, she took up this dance because
her husband didn’t like to social dance and this dance form
required no partner!
A: I saw my first belly dancer at a club called Zorba’s located
on Route 66 in Albuquerque. The year was l975. This led
me to classes with Libby Prothero of Dance World Studios.
She had been a June Taylor dancer on the Jackie Gleason
shows and had come back home to Albuquerque, retired
from show business