The Forgotten Pillars of authentic Egyptian Dance
I´m speaking to you from a place of Magic✨
Yes, Magic.
I don´t know where you´re coming from, if you´ve been involved with Egyptian Dance for a long time, on a deeper or a shallower manner. I don´t even know how much you desire to take from this dance or what you have in store for it - because we give and we take from it - but one thing I know for sure:
There´s a Magic in authentic Egyptian Dance that can save us. It has saved me again and again, especially in times of sorrow, disappointment, hardship.
I also know this, with absolute conviction: this Magic, the one that made me fall in love with this art form, is available for everyone but not everyone will experience it. To be initiated in the Mysteries of Egyptian Dance, as I like to call it, you must be willing, ready, and trained.
In this blog post, I´m sharing a few essential, yet forgotten, pillars of authentic Egyptian Dance.
Society has changed, in Egypt and in the Western world; we, that is me and you, have been rushed and turned into machines, productivity devices, independently of how aware we are of it; life is faster, more overwhelming, and competitive than ever. Those factors, and others inherent to the organic development of a dance form, have twisted Egyptian Dance into a pretzel.
At this point, most of us are unsure of what it is, what we´re supposed to do, how we´re supposed to dance, and what the hell is "authentic Egyptian Dance".
Hopefully, this blog post will help to clear the waters and offer guidance into the core of this ancient art form, one that has changed my life (hopefully, it´ll change yours).
I don´t mean to preach, or to claim I´m the owner of the truth (that´d be a heavy and impossible task). I´m sharing my experience, perspective, and blood. Take whatever suits you and discard the rest. Ready to dive into the Magic?
📌Forgotten Pillar of Egyptian Dance #1 - Egyptian Dance can only happen through the heart.
This is one of the easiest concepts to grasp, intellectually, and one of the hardest to apply.
The importance of the heart has become common knowledge in the field of Egyptian Dance - I´ve been preaching it from the beginning of my career, more than 20 years ago - but that doesn´t mean dancers are experiencing it. As I usually tell my students, theory is not practice and only the practice will give you the wisdom and the experience you´re searching for.
Dancers are aware of the concept and, yet, there are obstacles to its application:
A competition-oriented society, and dance community, that activates the ego (me against them) instead of the heart;
A fast-paced life, where we´ve become extensions of machines - hello, Capitalism taken to an extreme! -, has dominated our day-to-day life;
A clear disconnection from our emotions - who has time to feel, anyway?
Just to name a few.
Once we disconnect from the heart, we´re disconnected from the Magic of Egyptian Dance. In other words, the door to the true beauty of Egyptian Dance is closed to the ones whose heart is closed.
📌Forgotten Pillar of Egyptian Dance #2 - Egyptian Dance is Relaxed, Fluid, and Human
Nowadays, there´s a trend in Egyptian Dance which I call the "Karate Kid Syndrome". Dancers act as if they´re fighting - kicking, and flipping, and flying, and exhibiting an abnormal amount of tension, aggressivity, and stress.
I find myself on the verge of a nervous breakdown watching a lot of dancers - even talented, well-trained dancers. I feel their inner struggle, the anxiety pouring from their guts, a self-made prison that binds their movements. And being.
Egyptian Dance, in its purest form, is relaxed, fluid/organic, and human. The dancer is at peace, confident, and in a state of grace - physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.
📌Forgotten Pillar of Egyptian Dance #3 - Egyptian Dance is a Language that allows for the Expression of our Soul
Egyptian Dance is not about impressing others, or yourself, with tricks, belly flutters (with or without coins), and other circus acts. It´s about expressing our soul.
The question is: how do I do that; how do I express my soul?
A elusive concept that feels alien to most dancers. Once again, because there has been a generalized disconnection from our soul and a generalized assumption that we´re here to be the best, to compete, to win a race with no end.
📌Forgotten Pillar of Egyptian Dance #4 - Egyptian Dance comes from Within
This one goes back to the way most of us, myself included, were taught how to dance. There´s a teacher in front of us and we follow her, or his, movements. That´s it. If we´re lucky, the teacher breaks down the movements we´re supposed to follow but that´s how far they´ll go.
In my teaching method, I work with visualization - drawing the movements from within instead of having students look at me and copy what I do. The reason why I do it that way is because I noticed that we need to develop the dance technique from the inside-out, not the other way around.
When we do, every movement we make comes out with the beauty and the magnetism of truth - our personal truth.
📌Forgotten Pillar of Egyptian Dance #5 - Egyptian Dance is about the Visible and the Invisible
What you see and what you don´t see makes an Oriental Dancer.
In the years when I performed in Egypt, I´d frequently be asked to evaluate dancers for potential new hires. The managers trusted my judgement and I was put in the awkward position of having to say yes or no to a potential contract and the dream that came along with it.
I knew, in the first few seconds of watching a dancer, if she was going to make something out of herself. Her energy spoke louder than her movements - it told me everything I needed to know about a potential future in this area.
In my first published book "The Secrets of Egypt - Dance, Life & Beyond", I wrote about the concept of the Visible and the Invisible Dance. At the time - 2013 was the year of its publishing -, I was ridiculed because of it. Some of the old-school dancers and teachers took time to criticize me and badmouth me (how someone uses their precious time to try and bring other woman down will always amaze me but that´s another conversation).
These days, after more than a decade of its original publishing, the book sells more than ever - without any marketing or publishing house behind it - and what was ridiculed is now taught, with different degrees of understanding, in the mainstream market.
The reason why I stood my ground when the heat fell on the book, one I wrote in a maniac 4-months spree, was because I knew exactly what I was talking about.
- They´ll get it, soon. What is now ridiculed will be copied in a few years. - I told whoever had the patience to listen.
We live in a (mostly) materialistic world. Once again, we´ve lost contact with the invisible realm - spirit, energy, thought, emotion, aura, everything that exists and rules our life although we can´t see it - and, as a consequence, we´ve lost contact with the Magic of Egyptian Dance.
The energy the dancer gives out shapes her dance, the same way it shapes her life.
👉For more information about "The Secrets of Egypt - Dance, Life & Beyond",click here
📌Forgotten Pillar of Egyptian Dance #6 - Egyptian Dance is a Personal Dialogue with the Music
Dancers tend to be hyper-focused on the physical action, the movement. I was trained like that and most dancers I know go through the same process.
We agree dance is about movement but...it´s not only about movement. Egyptian Dance, in particular, is about many things aside from physical movement. One of them is a personal connection to the music.
The Pearly Gates of Egyptian Dance won´t be opened unless the dancer creates a personal, emotionally engaged, and authentic dialogue with the music. Which means we have to educate our ears, the entry to paradise, as much as we educate our bodies, minds, and hearts.
Once that dialogue is created - for real -, the experience of "Tarab" (ecstasy, transcendence) is possible; once that dialogue is created - for real -, the Magic of this art form is revealed.
📌Forgotten Pillar of Egyptian Dance #7 - Egyptian Dance is Religious
Many will be offended by this fact but that´s only until they learn the true meaning of the word "Religion". The word comes from the Latin "re-ligare" which means to reconnect, to reunite, to bring together something that was separated, dispersed.
Egyptian Dance is a religious experience in its purest form - the dancer reconnects to her/his soul; the body, the mind, and heart and the spirit join in one single dimension, collaborating, informing each other, making us whole again.
For most, in the market of quick choreographies, competitions, vanity fairs, and lobbies, what I just wrote is nonsense, even a blasphemy. For me, it´s a key - a major key - to the experience of Magic through the Magical Dance of the East.
If you wish to go deeper into these, and other, pillars of authentic Egyptian Dance, here´s what I suggest:
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👉I you want to check my first published book "The Secrets of Egypt - Dance, Life & Beyond", click here
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