A few weeks ago, I attended 2 of Keti Sharif's seminars - and I regret not attending more of them. She has an amazing amount of information about belly dance and the history of the Reda Troupe. I learned all about Farida Fahmy, Mahmoud Reda, and what the dance group was trying to achieve in Egypt (which is amazingly impressive). I also learned about how to bring different personalities into my dance - the Bint al Balad, Malema and Ghaziyah.
For a while I have been struggling to interpret music that requires a more contained response. I always respond to music with large movements - which is great for loud, fast music. But there are so many pieces that I'd love to dance to, but for some reason, I don't feel that my style works with these songs. I know that's just crazy because if you look at the range of the Egyptian greats - they all danced to ANYTHING - so I knew I was missing something. Keti exposed us to the 3 personalities, and I realized that I wasn't including the Bint al Balad. I included the Malema and the Ghaziyah (that's me most of the time anyway) - but Bint al Balad expressions are just different from my general personality. I still have to practice how do a better job of bringing the Bint al Balad into my dance and expand my "dancer vocabulary" - but that workshop was more than worth it just to build my awareness of what I needed and how to make that part of my dancing.
Then there was the lecture about Farida Fahmy and the Reda Troupe. If you have a chance to listen to her talk on this and get the video about Farida's life (from what I understand, that should be coming out soon) - that is just totally worth it. It took me 3 days to process the information I got from her. My view of the dance broadened even more, and I got inspired to add more artistic value in my dance.
I have always seen so many possibilities with Egyptian belly dance - from cabaret to saidi - but now the opportunities available has exploded. I've been exploring new music and new expressions/movements for the dance. I can see it all changing and a new expression and interpretation style is emerging. It was definitely a life changing experience. If you have a chance to attend her workshops - it's worth it!
Keti Shari's website: http://www.ketisharif.com/
Farida Fahmy's website: http://www.faridafahmy.com/
