Ladies, my brain is still swimming - last night I had the greatest pleasure to not only witness some fantastic dancing, but to meet a 'celebrity' of this forum and to learn a great deal in that brief space of time!
Last night was Planet Egypt in London, a monthly bellydance showcase for performers, teachers and students. Alongside the native dancers we had Natalia Trigo of Brazil and our very own Maria Aya of Greece.
It's funny how you can feel you know very well a perfect stranger. And the relationship is fairly one-sided as I read and lurk far more than I actually contribute. And while I look forward to seeing Maria's name and avatar as her comments are usually knowledgeable, witty and often very very funny, I would be surprised if she knew who I was when I launched myself upon her!
Aside from the strange delight of meeting a fellow online bellynut, I was also excited at the prospect of watching Greek bellydance by someone who really knows what she is talking/dancing about. I think the UK is very Egyptian-focused (although AmCab and Tribal is starting to gain ground and prosper), then a bit of Turkish and very very little Greek that I have seen. The closest I have personally seen was a Turkish girl dancing to a Greek song.
And as if that was not enough, each song was to reflect a different era of Greek bellydancing! Entertaining, educational and enlightening, all in one evening's performance!
Maria's first song was from the 1930s and she wore a black galabeya-style dress, with a simple black hipscarf and a golden shawl on her head. Her style was not flambouyant or 'showy' but instead was something I don't believe I've ever seen before but have often heard discussed as the aim of a bellydancer: she was an intense "emotification" of the music, every move had a sense of feeling I didn't know was possible. And she didn't need to "run around" a lot hold the audience's attention, she was truly captivating in her intensity!
Her next performance was from the 1960s and a completely different Maria emerged. This one was more playful I felt than the first. Yet despite the more playful mood, the same intensity was present, as if the emotion and music had combined and possessed her. She moved around the room a lot this time and stopped for a while in front of myself and my friend & you could feel the energy radiating from her as she danced! I was so entranced I couldn't clap or cheer, just gaze hypnotised with a daft grin!
Maria, I learnt so much from watching you! I finally understand what it is to actually let go and FEEL the emotion of the music, not to merely act it. It doesn't look like something you can learn from a thousand classes but to have seen it this once, I genuinely feel inspired.
In short: You ROCK!
