“ Nope , never doing
THAT again .”
An inside view of making a dance documentary
By Amaya Photos provided by Amaya
This is what I firmly said after finishing my first dance documentary entitled , “ American Belly Dance Legends ,” years ago . I could have passed a polygraph test on that . I was so sure that I would never take on another documentary project . Why would a sane person take on another documentary ten years later ??? Well , the road has been long and convoluted .
First , let me explain why I was so compelled to think of producing a documentary in the first place . I am an American , Middle Eastern , Raks Sharki , belly dancer . My roots are from Mexico and Spain ( by way of Texas and Michigan ). When I started this dance path over 40 years ago , I was not very knowledgeable about the history or origins of this dance . Once I realized that I was serious about this dance , I decided to study up on past dancers , original dance history , and the different cultures I was being exposed to . I started eating pita bread instead of tortillas , listened to Hakim instead of David Bowie , and wore long , flowing skirts everywhere . After several years , I saw how we American dancers honored Nagwa Fuad , Soheir Zaki , Fifi Abdo and other classic ladies of Egypt and surrounding areas . After several more years , I also realized that my American audiences did not appreciate or understand when I tried to dance a more languid , Soheir
Zaki style . I changed my style to appeal more to audiences that wanted shorter and more prop-infused shows . My teachers , Bert Balladine and DeAnn of Light Rain , led the way with their innovative ideas .
Fast forward 30 + years of dancing . It occurred to me that the American fad , the influence , the passion and the business acumen of American dancers was what was leading this world-wide fascination with our dance . Our Jamila Salimpour gave it structure and a vocabulary , Feiruz Aram helped to organize a dance union , Bert Balladine introduced workshops and seminars into Europe , Suhaila gave us schools , certification , and a solid core of training , Bobby Farrah ’ s Arabesque magazine was slick , well-funded and full of top researched articles , Isis produced the largest dance convention in history , Tamalyn Dallal traveled the world and wrote her books and many more other American dancers created so much buzz worldwide . Why were these trail blazers , legends , and icons not being hailed and recognized for their contributions ? After all , they were much more than local dancers . They helped spread the dance worldwide by their very enthusiasm and passion for this dance . They were smart , innovative , and trend setters .
October 2020 � The Belly Dance Chronicles 41