dance styles and music in the cities and towns where they traveled . Due to their substantial traveling , many groups developed a broad repertoire of musical styles , songs , and dances that could be performed or adapted to virtually any audience . They also performed and shared their art with the new regions they traveled to , influencing local styles as well . The Roma and Dom populations that settled in one region , mastered local styles and in some cases , were the main people to perform and preserve those styles for future generations . In some instances , they kept traditions alive , albeit under the radar of local authorities , in regions where folkloric traditions were under suppression . The Ghawazee dancers of Egypt learned , performed and preserved the folkloric music , dance , and songs of the Egyptian people , both in urban and rural areas . This article will explore the experiences and insight of Aisha Ali , an American dancer and scholar , who over decades of travel and dedicated investigation into the life and art of the Ghawazee , helped introduce a new generation of dancers and researchers to these fascinating people .
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Tell me a little about your background : I was born in Pennsylvania ; my mother was first generation Italian-American and my father was first generation Arab- American . My parents lived in the house of my paternal grandfather in Pittsburgh while my father was away serving in WWII , and when he returned he built us a house in the suburbs . There were no Arab families in either of our neighborhoods , and like many families of immigrants , my parents wanted to blend in with American culture and lifestyle , so they chose not to emphasize our Mediterranean heritage to others . Within our family , however , we were proud of our ancestors ’ long history of artistic excellence and most members on both sides of the family became painters , photographers , musicians , and writers .
I still remember the beautiful Arabic tiles and oriental paintings that decorated my grandfather Ali ’ s house , especially a long tapestry depicting a scene of musicians and a dancing girl . These were the images that planted the seeds of my later fascination with everything Oriental .
What is your earliest dance memory or what kind of training did you have before beginning belly dance ? My mother took me to ballet classes when I was about five .
After half a dozen dance lessons , she stopped taking me , and when I asked her why , she said the teacher told her not to waste her time because “ she will never be a dancer ”. That was the end of my dance training until I moved to Los Angeles and a series of circumstances unfolded which would lead me towards belly dance .
Let ’ s talk more about how and why you became interested in dance and then belly dance ; why did you move to Los Angeles ? I moved to LA directly after high school to attend UCLA . At first , I lived with my maternal grandmother and was under her supervision , as well as that of my two maternal aunts . They were very conservative and insisted that I should adhere to a more modest style of dress ; they cut my long hair short and were very controlling of me . It was not long before I made the decision to look for a part-time job so I could live on my own and be independent . During this period , by chance , one of my co-workers had signed up for fencing lessons with The Niko Charisse Dance Studio ; he lost interest quickly and decided to gift me the rest of his credits , suggesting I could trade them for dance classes . I wanted to learn belly dance , but in Los Angeles there were no instructions on the subject that I knew of . The closest thing to belly dance offered by the Charisse Studio was something called , “ Primitive ” – a style originally created by Katherine Dunham and taught by one of her protégés , Ellie Johnson . Upon joining Ellie ’ s group I learned primarily Afro-Cuban movement , mainly to a calypso album by Harry Belafonte and a record called “ Taboo ” by Lex Baxter .
That ’ s an interesting way to begin your dance journey ! How did you eventually find belly dance music and classes ? Later I found an Arabic record ( and there weren ’ t many out at that time ) called “ Flames of Araby ” with the singer Kahraman . Using some of the movements that I had learned from Ellie , I began to develop my own style of oriental dance . For my first stage performance I represented the Arab Student group at UCLA at an international festival , and on that occasion , I met Leona Wood and her husband Philip Harland , who were also performing . They had formed a small group of musicians and dancers that they called the “ Friends of Arabic Music ” ( At that time Jamila Salampour was one of the dancers in the group before it became The Aman International Dance Co .) and they invited me to join . They also encouraged me to join Mantel Hood ’ s newly formed program at UCLA for which Hood had coined the term “ Ethnomusicology ”.
16 The Belly Dance Chronicles � January 2017