raditional Egyptian dance, Raqs Sharqi, or belly dancing, has been popular with Indian practitioners for a while. Dance enthusiasts can now soak in the culture of a land far away right here in Mumbai. A new initiative by the Banjara School of Dance, founded by Meher Malik, in association with Dance with Madhuri and the House of Wow, will conduct intensive belly dancing workshops from May 3 to May 9.
The term ‘belly dance’ was coined in the 1920s by travellers to Egypt. To a novice, the name can be misleading. An art form that uses more than abdominal muscles to create scintillating movements, the technique used in belly dance is not common knowledge.
“Simplicity is the key to teaching,” says Damini Sahay, trainer at Banjara School of Dance and one of the instructors at the upcoming workshop. “We try and deconstruct the movement, and demystify the art form for beginners.”
The six-day workshop offers a beginners’ intensive learning class and an advanced choreography boot camp. Students will be introduced to classical Egyptian music, with a focus on fusing rhythm patterns with basic movement. Sahay, also a trained kathak dancer, while drawing a parallel to underscore the importance of rhythm, says, “In kathak, if the dancer does not have mastery over taal , the performance is a failure.”
The workshop will take students through basic movements such as hip drops and hip lifts, and the vertical and horizontal eight; creating the figure of eight in space.
The choreography boot camp, a more intensive workshop, as Sahay puts it, “is for dancers who want to take on a challenge”. Choreographies which are fusions of belly dance with genres such as Bollywood, pop and cabaret will be taught. “Fusion is an evolved concept. It requires a certain degree of mastery over both dance forms,” Sahay says.
Experiment with fusion
An institution that firmly believes that all dance forms evolve with time, Banjara School of Dance regularly experiments with fusion choreographies. The school’s popular Odissi-Oriental choreography of Hotel California by The Eagles is a fine example of how they highlight both dance styles. For the workshop, Bellywood, Arabicpop and Cabaraqs as the school calls it, will require students to have prior experience in dance for a smooth learning experience. The workshop will end with a Hafla night on May 10; a celebration where the participants will perform for fellow learners.
Belly dance in India is yet to witness the active involvement of men. Sahaytells us that “some of the greatest belly dancers are men. Mohamed Kazafy and Tito Seif for example.”
“As a dance society, we should appreciate it when men shed their inhibitions and take up this art form”. Banjara has five male students. One among them, a student only for six months, has already performed duets with Malik at several events.
The writer is an intern at The Hindu
Now, dance enthusiasts
can soak in the culture of a land far away right here in the city
Beginner’s workshop
When: May3 - 9
Where: Plot No A 19 B, Near Yash Raj Film Studio, Veera Desai Road, Andheri West
Timings: 7 pm - 9 pm
Fee: Rs.5,500
Choreography boot camp:
When: May 3 - 5
Where: House Of Wow, 10, Natraj Building, Opp. St. Stanislaus School, Hill Road, Bandra West
Timings : 2 pm- 4 pm
Fee: Rs.3000
For further details call 93211 33001 / 99302 46031
