As class was finishing the other day, the group was discussing what they needed to know to certify for Level 1 this coming October. One of my newer students asked me why would someone certify: what did it mean and what would be the point. I answered her question but somehow, my answer seemed inadequate. It has gnawed at me for days. I gave my reasons for certifying:  to be held accountable, to have measurable progress, to legitimize myself as a teacher and as a practitioner of the dance, to accomplish and move forward in a program like any other serious course of study, and to begin the deep emotional work, which starts in Level 3.

These are all totally legitimate reasons for undertaking Suhaila’s certification program, but I feel that my brief overview of an answer did not give proper weight to the underlying motivation.

Perhaps because I have been in the program for some time, I take for granted my decision a number of years ago, to pursue this format. Perhaps some of my reasoning has evolved. Perhaps I rushed through my reasons because part of me thought: “I do it because I am a professional and need accreditation, but that most of the students I teach don’t need that” … that is so far from the truth.

I made the decision and commitment to bring this certification program to all belly dancers in Calgary because I believe in it. Because of the dancer, performer, and teacher it is creating in me.  I believe in Suhaila’s format more today than I did the day I tested for Level 1 because I have seen the results in other dancers. I have seen the results in myself. Why certify? Here’s why.

Belly dance is a popular recreational activity for many women and some men, and it is an activity chosen primarily for fun, to spend time with girlfriends, to get in shape… Those who love it and stick with it often credit the sense of community they have found, perhaps they enjoy the opportunity to perform, to wear the fabulous costumes, or to move in a way that women want to move but aren’t often given permission. All excellent reasons to try, to stay, and to make it a lifelong habit! But what about the rest of us … those of us who, yes, love it for some or all of these reasons, but who want more? Who want to be challenged more deeply, above and beyond the current norm; to be the best dancers, the best artists we can be?

Now, I’m not talking professionals here, but people who want to continue to be challenged all of their belly dancing lives, be they professional or recreational.  Are we left with supplementing our dance of choice with more technical, challenging dance forms such as jazz and ballet? Don’t get me wrong, I take three ballet classes a week, along with weekly modern, jazz, latin, dancehall, yoga and whatever else my schedule allows me to fit in along with my online classes and the classes I teach. Cross-training is necessary if we want to be the best dancers we can be. But, we have an incredible opportunity to take our dance of choice farther than anyone in the history of this dance ever has before, thanks to Suhaila’s format.

I am currently listening to the audiobook Talent is Overrated, which breaks down the reasons why some have achieved excellence in their field, while others have not. A key ingredient in the long-researched debate surrounding nature vs. nurture, is described as “deliberate practice”:  the focused time spent working on specific tasks related to the goal and the repetition of these tasks, which are specifically designed and from which progress can be measured. The tasks are hard, usually not fun and require a good deal of commitment of time and energy.

Suhaila has developed a program that allows us as belly dancers to take part in deliberate practice. Through a process of doing repetitive drills that are specific, challenging, and require a great deal of effort over a long period of time. Our progress can be measured by our increasing ability to to perform these progressively more challenging drills proficiently — proven through the testing process of her level system. We have the opportunity to undertake a course of study that is by every measure as difficult as any formalized western dance form. And this describes only the physical side of her program.

Part of the trouble we encounter here is one of the reasons belly dance is so popular:  we can all do it. Every woman with every body and every background can learn it, most can perform it, many can teach it. There is no accreditation, no certification body to which members are held accountable, no measure by which any new student can determine to which teacher is worth giving their precious time and money.  And to be frank, there is huge resistance to the prospect of the sheer amount of mental and physical work that would need to go into it for each of us to actually be the best dancer we can be. We live in a quick fix world; and in a field of pretty good, we can all be at least good. There is not much that we see done on the belly dance stage that most of us couldn’t do ourselves with just a bit of extra effort. There is a huge status quo we have to overcome if we are going to progress as dancers, as a community.

This is not to say that our dance and the culture surrounding it doesn’t already hold a good deal for us to learn. It does. We have regional folkloric styles from which the popular / modern styles have been shaped.  We have a plethora of rhythms within a wide range of music with which to become intimately aquainted.  We have a good deal of historical and cultural context from many countries and from ancient and modern societies to consider.  There are a number of traditional and non-traditional props, not to mention all avenues of stylistic evolution that have turned tradition on its heels in the past couple of decades.  But the problem with folkloric based dance is that it tends to be rather general. “Moves” tend to be one-sided/uni-directional and are traditionally taught in the watch-and-follow method that tends to be rather vague, by instructors who are often unable to break down the movement. The beauty of Suhaila’s format is that it allows us a very specific context to break down any movement into its origin, musculature and timing such that any “move” that is taught can be reversed, turned upside down and inside out, done halfway or three-quarters of the way, layered with another component in a completely different time signature; and it all makes perfect sense and is repeatable and teachable in its finest detail. It takes away the general and the “kinda sorta”, and leaves us with such specificity; students of her format have the opportunity to be infinitely better dancers and better teachers.

I adore excellence. I am not satisfied with good enough. I would be bored to tears if I didn’t have the massive challenge that is this program in front of me. I don’t want to “feel like” I’m improving as a dancer. I want to know exactly where my weaknesses are and then, know exactly what I must do to improve. This course of study gives immediate feedback. The layering is so complex, either I can do it or I can’t; but the structure behind the layering is so specific, that it is “easy” to go backwards and work on the individual components until I can do the exercise in its entirety.

I aspire to the kind of excellence this program offers. This doesn’t mean I have to be the best belly dancer by any measure. I got over my competitive nature when I hit 30. But I will be the best dancer I can be, and I will work to make that happen. I owe it to my audience, to my community, and to myself. This program is not easy. It isn’t fun to stand alone in my studio, drilling away to Suhaila’s or Andrea’s voice over the sound system “rightleftrightleftrightleftoneandtwoandthreeandfourand” for hours a day. But I do it, because I know it works. I drive myself across the city twice a day to my extra dance classes. I put on the silly tights and I endure the humiliation of being the least competent ballet student, because I know that this is what it takes to be a better dancer. And I do love it.

We don’t need to aspire to be professional belly dancers to get with the certification program. Most of Suhaila’s students are not professionals. Most do the program for the same reasons my students come to class: for fun, for community, for physical fitness, eventually to perform…but what about doing it for one more reason? Why wouldn’t we want to be the best dancer we each can be regardless of whether we are performers, teachers or lifelong junkies? I say we each take this incredible gift of Suhaila’s format and see just how far we can really progress . . . how much we can surprise ourselves. Let’s see what Calgary and the world can become, together.

Christy (Maya) is performer, teacher, workshop promoter, event producer and student of belly dance.  She currently holds Suhaila Level 2 certification.  Click here to learn more about Christy and Eighth Wonder Studio.  Click here to read Christy’s original “Why Certify” Blog which was posted February 2012.   

For U.S. East Coast dancers, we are very excited to let you know about Sandey Grinn’s Stage Presence 8 hour workshop this March 3-5 in Charlottesville, VA.  The workshop is open to all participants.  Sandey’s classes are fun and supportive. . .you’re definitely in a safe environment.  Sandey uses games and other tools to help you steadily build skills that you can use for stage.  Learn to be present and develop your own honest stage presence for a “pure” performance.  For members of Suhaila’s certification program, Sandey’s workshop counts for 8 CECs.

Click here for more information about the upcoming March 2012 Charlottesville, VA workshop.

Click here to learn more about Sandey.

Leyla & Roland:  Rhythms 1 (Click here to view a content video & learn more)

Exciting online class taught by Leyla Jouvana, featuring live drumming by Roland.  Leyla uses her exclusive and celebrated teaching format for Rhythm introduction, technique, step combinations, and choreography. Leyla covers the following rhythms including background historical context and music signature, and she teaches specialized dance phrases for each rhythm:  Fallahi 2/4; Malfouf 2/4; Saidi 4/4; Shimmies 2/2, ¾, 4/4.

Leyla & Roland:  Rhythms 2 (Click here to view a content video & learn more)

Featuring Leyla´s exclusive, celebrated teaching format for rhythm-intro, technique, step combos, and choreography.  Leyla Jouvana covers several rhythms including background historical context and music signature, and she teaches specialized dance phrases for each rhythm: Chiftetelli 8/4; Masmoudi-Kabir 8/4; Karshlama 9/8. Class features live drumming by Roland.

Leyla & Roland:  Layers & Shimmies for all Stylizations (Click here to view a content video & lean more)

Exciting online class taught by Leyla Jouvana, featuring live drumming by Roland.  Leyla teaches dimensional layers using geometrical shapes and, of course, shimmies with variations!  For all levels of dancers and for all stylizations.  Choose how many layers you want depending on your skill, music, etc.  Class features live drumming by Roland.

Jamila began her belly dance studies by watching the famous dancers in Egyptian movies and emulating their movements. She continued by observing as many dancers as she could and seeking out all Middle Eastern music she could. . . even taking instruction in playing traditional Middle Eastern instruments. She insisted that her students learn about the famous dancers, Middle Eastern music, etc. Later, from her work with Bal Anat, Jamila became known as “the mother of tribal belly dance”, but the folkloric, fantasy and fusion dances of Bal Anat were just one element of Jamila’s program. The same dancers who participated in Bal Anat were the ones dancing to classic Middle Eastern music played by live by Arabic music in the night clubs.

The Moon Celebration shows would get started close to 11pm and would continue until 2am or later in the morning. As a child, Suhaila remembers going with her mother to these Monday night shows to watch the students dance to live Arabic music. Rather than go home after the show, they would curl up on the rug-covered benches along the walls of the club and sleep. Jamila would wake Suhaila up around 7am Tuesday morning to take her to school.

Now we fast forward to 2011. As part of her certification program, Suhaila’s Level 4 focuses on the professional performer of which improvisational skills to a live band are incredibly important. But how do dancers acquire this skill if live bands, specifically Arabic bands, are scarce? For members of the certification program who are working on their performance catalogs, finding opportunities to dance to live Arabic musicians proved incredibly difficult. To combat this problem, . . . similar to Jamila’s Moon Celebrations in the mid-1970s. . . Suhaila arranged to bring four Arabic musicians into her studio to provide a live band improvisation opportunity for her Level 4 workshop students. The night was a great success, and you can view highlights of the night on the Suhaila Belly Dance YouTube channel.

Highlights of the Level 4 Workshop Show
Behind the Scenes at the Level 4 Workshop Show
Featured Performance, Stacey Lizette, Level 4 Certified
Featured Performance, Emily, Level 3 Certified

Picture: Jane (Taiwan), Nadia (California/Mexico), Arya (Netherlands), Vashti (California), Kitiera (Washington), Nadira (Washington), Suhaila (Mothership), Rachel George (California), Stacey Lizette (Texas), Emily (Oregon), Alexandra (Virginia), Ginger (California)

Jamila Level 1 and Level 2 workshops were originally offered separately. Now students have many tools available to assist them in learning the material in advance to make the most of their workshop time. Read more about the requirements for both on the website.

For Jamila format Levels 1 & 2, you can review the Danse Orientale Manual, Jamila Salimpour four-volume Archive Series DVDs, and the Playing Finger Cymbals with Jamila album available on CD or as a download. For Jamila format Level 2, you can learn the two required choreographies (Raks El Zagat and the Pot Dance) through online video subscriptions from Suhaila’s Online Classes. You can see videos of the two required choreographies on the Suhaila Belly Dance YouTube Channel: Suhaila Dance Company performs Raks El Zagat March 2011 and Bal Anat performs the Pot Dance March 2011.

As a special bonus for regular online class subscribers, we’ve added a new choreography, Raks Om El Dunia by Jamila Salimpour. You can read more about it from our previous blog post.

Raks Om El Dunia was designed to fit to any music with a continuous beat or to be performed acapella. The finger cymbals and belly dance movements themselves create the melody, highlights and transitions in the music. The choreography is greatly adaptable and would be excellent for staging with a group.

To view an example of Jamila format choreography, please view the Suhaila Dance Company performing Raks El Zagat for the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival audition January 2011 and again at Rakkasah West 2011. You can also view a very (very) rare vide of Jamila performing in 1977 that we posted several weeks ago. Visit our website to learn more about the Jamila Salimpour Belly Dance format and the upcoming Jamila Salimpour Format Weeklong Workshop, June 6-10, 2011 in Albany, CA.

You can view the choreography in a 2006 performance by the Suhaila Dance Company on the Suhaila Belly Dance YouTube Channel. From the same show, you can also view Suhaila’s improvisation to Steve’s live guitar solo.

The music is available as a single on CD and also as a download. You can learn the choreography through Suhaila Online Classes by purchasing a Dark Veil choreography subscription (available in 30 day increments); the subscription also includes a free download of the music.

The documentary is short (less than an hour). We found ourselves wanting to know more about the students involved, but several interesting concepts or questions were raised that gave us some things to consider. Of particular interest is the story of Simbalke, a young woman with talent but an “untraditional” ballet body who, like many dancers, deals with body image issues. The follow-up to her story was covered by CNN and is available as a video online.

Please vote for her “Honey Blossom” perfume (Suhaila’s favorite) by going to www.Aftelier.com. Voting continues through May 12.

While you’re at Mandy’s website, please check out her incredible product line and join us in being one of her “fans” on Facebook.

The performance was filmed at Cabaret Tehran in Los Angeles, one of the places at which Suhaila was performing at the time. (Incidentally, this was the same location where Dances for the Sultan was filmed.) The lighting and sound crew for the video were the same that worked at Cabaret Tehran in the evenings during Suhaila’s show. They opted to use the “controversial” strobe light. The strobe light was used during the live performances, and it helped provide some light and dynamic to the atmosphere in a subtle way; however, the strobe did not translate well to the video and resulted in a more extreme effect and didn’t quite capture the true ambiance of Cabaret Tehran’s environment.

This video also included the legendary sarcophagus shot. Before the film shoot, the crew went to a movie studio warehouse and were able to borrow some props free of charge. They were excited to find a sarcophagus which they brought back for filming. The joke on set was the Suhaila should “enter” by coming out of the sarcophagus and then “exit” by returning to it. Because the crew was so proud of finding the sarcophagus, Suhaila improvised with it a bit. . . and the “joke” ended up making it into the filming.

Zei El Hawa Intro 1/3
Zei El Hawa Drum Solo 2/3
Zei El Hawa Finale 3/3