When I first entered Shakira's class to study Middle Eastern Dance I thought I would prefer the "silk road" style of dance. That is the very sensual and slow dances that are very oriental in nature and meditative. I have found over time, that I prefer the Roma style of dance. Roma is the proper term for Gypsy. All my life I have had a fascination with Gypsies. I have a few books of Gypsy folklore and I have studied tarot reading as well and am a competant tarot reader in my own right. Many of my friends, Shakira included, have often refered to the style of clothing that I wear as Gypsy. In fact I was at a Macedonian/Greek Folkdance night at a local club/restraunt called K2U one Friday night when a young man there who was Persian asked me if I was Gypsy because of the way I was dressed and my looks! I was stunned! Also, our class has what are called "Studio Parties" where we get together with friends and family and perform for each other at a local Middle Eastern restaurant about once a month. Hanny who owns NAZARETH is very kind and lets us use the restaurant even keeping the kitchen open an extra hour so that we can order food for ourselves so we won't starve after we dance! At closing he locks the doors and the place is ours! The parties start at 8pm and last no later than 10:30pm because they are family oriented and Hanny is letting us use his restaurant free... Well I digress, at one of these parties there was a man there who was from Jordan and I had performed a Roma dance all in culturally correct outfit of course which is not hard because it is a circle and a half skirt to a double circle skirt and poet shirt and vest generally and I have plent of poets shirts and vests... Well I have this one skirt that I got at a thrift store that serves in a pinch as a Roma skirt. So anyway, I had just performed this dance and he told me that I reminded him of being back home! I felt so wonderful! And then he asked where I got my outfit because it was so authentic! Well I am such a little bargain hunter I had gotten everything in the thrift store and the whole outfit was less than $5.00 and the skirt was held together in back by safety pins... When I told him that he laughed and said, "true Roma!" I felt totally vindicated! So honestly I think that Roma will always be my prefered style though I do still love the "silk road" as it is refered to and I do quite a bit of meditative dance as well! One of my favorite movies that has absolutely divine music and beautiful dancing too is KAMASUTRA. It takes place in India of course and is absolutely spectacular! I actually listen to a variety of music. Not only do I listen to more traditonal Middle Eastern music but I will combine other venues as well... I have found a form called Bhangra that is kind of Middle Eastern rap in a way... And it is very lovely to dance to! I get very ecstatic with it! |