be able to complete them all even if I live to a ripe old age!
But I’m going to try. I hope I get many chances to share the
knowledge and ideas that I have – they’re not of any use just
hanging out in my head.
What encouragement and personal advice would you give to
upcoming dancers who want to become professional dancers/
teachers? Career advice?
My advice to upcoming dancers is to study as much as you
can. You should not only learn all the different styles of
belly dance, but also cross train into other dance forms as a
complimentary supplement. You should perform as often as
possible. The more you perform, the better you will get. Try
to be proficient at learning choreographies, choreographing
for yourself and performing improvisational dancing. Keep
challenging yourself ! You’ll never know it all. Develop your
own personal style. Start to focus on what you do best,
and do it better than anyone else, to get jobs. Honor your
teachers. You wouldn’t know what you know or be where you
are if it wasn’t for your teachers. Be sure to make personal
connections and network along the way. This business is
word-of-mouth, both in your local community for your
classes and performance gigs and in the worldwide seminar
circuit. Consider competing for both the personal challenge
and to gain some recognition for your talents. And be a nice
person! Don’t gossip, don’t be threatened by other dancers
and don’t try to sabotage other dancers’ careers. Focus on the
beautiful dance and the talents that you can contribute to
this living, progressive art form and WORK HARD.
How do you hope belly dance will evolve in America? What
is your role in this evolution and development of belly dance?
I hope that belly dance will evolve into an even more
respected dance form on par with Ballet, Ballroom
Dance, Jazz, Flamenco, etc. Serious belly dancers are just
as dedicated as dancers from other dance forms and belly
dance deserves that elevated status. And I think it will
happen in the future. America and Europe might be the
places where this evolution will take place because of the
melting-pot nature of these locations, but I also hope to see
belly dance embraced to a higher standard in its countries
of origin, too. Belly dance is alive and well in almost every
country on Earth, so it may just take some time as long as
dancers keep participating in the art form.
As far as what my role might be in the evolution and
development of belly dance in the future, I am honored
to even be asked that question. I hope to have a positive
influence on belly dance in the future, even if it’s just a small
influence, through my teaching, performances and events.
I think belly dance is bigger than any one dancer; it’s a
collective art form that gives and takes from artist to artist.
I have been well-received each time I was hired to
perform belly dance and lecture about the history and
cultural context of belly dance at several universities like
Southern Methodist University, University of North
Texas, Tarrant County College and Texas A&M. I think
the more often belly dance is presented in a higher
education environment, the more likely it’s going to be
elevated to a higher status art form.
Also, the more often belly dance is presented at high quality
events that feature educational workshops for dancers and
theatrical shows, belly dance will gain even more respect.
Just to clarify, I think the cabaret roots (meaning the
venues, not the style) of belly dance are important and
not shameful at all. I have been and still am a working
dancer doing the nitty-gritty performance jobs every
weekend. This is an integral part of what belly dance is
and people need to know that. But the more we share belly
dance on highly respected stages and in the classrooms
of universities, it will evolve into a more highly regarded
dance form, it will garner the attention of mainstream
dance enthusiasts, and many more opportunities will arise
for belly dancers because of this.
For more information,
please visit www.SadiyyaDance.com
MA*SHUQA MIRA MURJAN
Ma*Shuqa
Mira
Murjan
has
been
performing, teaching, and coaching Oriental
dance for over 40 years. Her Ma*Shuqa
Method gives dancers a structure for
developing improvised choreography while
performing with individualized styling. Her
Diva Dancer Intensive workshop is perfect
for teachers and dancers who want to enhance performance dynamics
and styling. She has authored many articles on aspects of professionalism
and performance in Middle Eastern dance. As a dance photographer –
what she sees through the camera lens reflects a dancer’s professionalism.
www.MaShuqa.com
October 2017
The Belly Dance Chronicles
29