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Like Mother Like Daughter

Trance Dance

Sanctuary – the Divine Dance

Like Mother, Like Daughter?

Claudia and I recently taught a workshop together on Mothers day and of course it was a mothers and daughters workshop. The day was attended by children as young as 6 years of age to mothers in their seventies. Some families came as 4  generations the daughter with the children and the the mothers and mother in laws. This included our own family, as my mother and sister came too and some came as extended mixed families. It as a very special and fun day.

Claudia and I decided we would take the Hip Hop line and have a Dance Off – mothers verses daughters. We chose a Panjabi MC track and took alternative segments of the tune each  and created our respective style choreography. Off course mine was the Egyptian Dance component and hers was Hip Hop/Afro Funk style. We separated the mother and the daughter which some time became grand mothers and grand children, took them to our respective studios and taught them the segments of the dance. We then met and put it all together and to their astonishment we had created this very entertaining dance piece. There was much laughter and excitement as we bought the dance together shimmy our shoulders and flicking our hips to push the other side off the dance floor so each side could do their thing. We separated them into 2 performance groups so each group had a chance to watch and applaud the performing teams.

Thanks to The Underbelly team Andrea and Trisna for inviting us to create this mothers day treat. Bellow is an interview that Trisna did with Claudia and I as a prelude to the workshop.
I hope you enjoy it.

Like Mother, Like Daughter?

If you thought that the latest addition to the Underbelly family looked familiar, it may be because she was part of the family already! Claudia Sangiorgi has recently started teaching Afro-funk at Underbelly alongside her mother, Maria Sangiorgi, who has taught Egyptian Baladi at Underbelly since the Thornbury studio days.
Underbellydancer caught up with mother and daughter about growing up among art and dance and what it’s like to work with your mum.

UB: Firstly to Claudia, welcome to Underbelly… how are you enjoying working in the same place as your Mum?

C: It was bound to happen some day and I can’t think of a more relaxed and warm environment for it to be than Underbelly. My first month has been fantastic! Just ask the girls in Shonah’s African class, they get to have studio B after us, and boy do we make it smelly in there.

UB: Maria, tell us a little bit about what you do, your lifestyle, your many jobs.

M: Our life style… We had quite an eclectic, not very ordinary lifestyle,
compared to the norm. Whatever the norm is. My focus has always been on the creative and no matter how hard I try to put away the washing or the dishes or sweep the floor, it is my creative life, which I am blessed to say is how I make my living, that always comes first. I have never had a nine to five job in my life, and I really don’t know what it would be like. The concept fascinates me.
I teach Egyptian dance, and facilitate Raqs Chakra, Trance dance and The Dance of the Sensual Soul workshops. I am working on consolidating my work on paper and as a video/DVD. I am an artist’s model and have been since I was 19, so that is 26 years now. It is the only job I have had where I get a pay slip and a group certificate. I sew and recently made my girl friend her wedding dress. That has rekindled my passion, so I would like to do more of it again. I play the guitar and write and sing songs late at night when there’s no one listening, (before I took up MED I studied jazz singing). I draw, I write articles for the Spiralling News, a quarterly publication that I produce and for my website and sometimes for Underbelly. I write poetry. All these things are my job in one way or another. One of the most exciting things that I am doing right now is a certificate in Dance and Movement Therapy. I do some dance work with people with disabilities and would like to do much more. I have been a single supporting mother for 18 years, Claudia has a big brother called Robert. We live week to week, so it can get very exciting sometimes.

UB: Claudia, tell us a little bit about what you do.

C: This year I’ve decided to go back to school. I’m doing a Diploma of Visual Arts/New Media at Swinburne TAFE in Prahran, which takes up a lot of my time and energy in the week. On the up side I’m surrounded by painting, drawing, photography, printing, sculpture and film making – all the things I love. Aside from that, for money (and for love) I do a bit of graphic design, photography, filming and what not for friends and acquaintances. Occasionally I work along side artist Amanda King assisting her on public art projects which gets me to interesting places and meeting new people with a lot of laughing along the way. I’m also a member of the Mzuri Dance Network, contemporary and traditional African dance company, which gives me very exciting opportunities to perform and teach all over Melbourne. A friend and I are just at the beginning of starting our own dance project, and now I’m teaching at Underbelly, so my dancing career is unfolding very nicely! Everything is like a project… at least that’s how I try to view it, otherwise it all gets a bit crazy and overwhelming at times. Needless to say at 19 I’m pretty fortunate to be doing all the things I do and that’s thanks to my creative upbringing and the wonderful people that support me.

UB: Maria, are you a proud Mum (just because Mums often are)?

M: Yes, I am a very proud mum, many parents dream of their children doing what they do. With Claudia she just did and does. When she was five she was at a life drawing session working away on the floor and a woman came up to her and said, “Isn’t that nice dear, are you going to be an artist when you grow up?”. Claudia looked her square in the face and said “I already am”. And that is the way it has always been. Even now when people ask me what she is going to do, I say she’s already doing it. Her father tried very hard to discourage her from pursuing an artistic life, being an artist himself and knowing the struggle, but it was inevitable. So we share a rich, creative and parallel life. There were many times I couldn’t go and be the proud mum and watch her dance when she was small because I was doing a gig too and visa versa. I love to watch her enthusiasm and to see her blossom in what she does. Along with being motivated she is a great motivator. I also feel privileged that I can give her support and encouragement and that for her it is reasonably easy to be a strong individual, unlike my own early life where I was an alien in my home and had to fight very hard to be myself.

UB: Claudia, are you an embarrassed daughter (just because daughters often are)?

C: Not really embarrassed, I find it very funny when mum gets proud. She gets a huge grin on her face. When there is good news she also feels the need to rush out and tell everyone. Although she may not come across as one of those mums, when there’s good news, boy does everyone know about it! It’s especially funny when she comes to see me perform. She just stands, stares and can’t stop smiling… well maybe I get a little embarrassed.

UB: Maria, do you think you have consciously influenced Claudia’s direction in life?

M: No I don’t think I consciously influenced Claudia’s direction. As I said before, she just is who she is and it is truly a gift, as not only is she my daughter, but she is also my colleague and friend. Did I want her to be a belly dancer? Well she might surprise you all one day! I can see how I indirectly influence her. Sometimes, very rarely, she will ask me about something, but she is one of those people who takes things in without giving too much away. Later she will tell me that whilst she was teaching she said this and this to her students and I recognise my influence. I think one of the biggest influences I have had on her is that she is able to see that there are many ways to live your life.

UB: Claudia do you think you consciously followed in Maria’s footsteps as far as becoming a dancer and dance teacher?

C: Being surrounded by sequins, zills and figure eight’s from a young age definitely didn’t discourage me from taking up dancing. My journey to dance is a little different to mum’s in that I have really been dancing since I could walk and have always been surrounded by performing artists. The constant support and respect of dancing in my home has definitely made my direction easier to take. As far as becoming a dance teacher, well I still think that is a bit surreal and just plain funny. About 3 years ago at the ripe age of 16 I was sort of thrown into the deep end when asked to teach beginner classes for MZURI. Since then, it’s just been full steam ahead – not only are my students learning but I am learning too. I’ve been ‘teaching’ people to dance for years, I did it right through secondary school and I love the experimental side of it, not to mention the proud mother goose feeling I get when people twice my age are doing things I’ve taught them. At the end of the day teaching for me is about having fun and letting people express what they want.

UB: Has your Italian heritage had any influence over your
lifestyle/directions?

M: I think so. My background is very grass roots. We are mountain people and of the earth. I come from an area in Italy that many life models came from the 18th and 19th century, renowned for their strong bodies, good proportion
and beautiful hands and feet.  The Mediterranean connection is very strong in this dance. Also there is some research that has been done by a cousin that suggests that we have a gypsy lineage in our family. My mother’s maiden name is Eramo which means “to roam”. My mother being a very devout Catholic is not interested in perusing this line. People often think I am Egyptian (I have considered lying).

C: The European heritage has definitely influenced the way I look. I‘ve been called Spanish, Italian, Yugoslavian, Argentinean, Mexican, Chilean, Turkish… even Egyptian. My genetic heritage is a little more interesting and would explain my dancing. We all know my mum can dance well. My dad is a pretty amazing mover too. It’s all in the genes you see.

UB: Claudia, what is the most valuable lesson you’ve learnt from Maria?

C: I couldn’t say one particular lesson, she has taught me a lot without even knowing. In terms of dance, I have so much respect for her knowledge of human movement. To have that much patience not only to understand, but to want to understand your own body is something everyone can learn from. Stubborn as I am, I do secretly listen to her when she is telling me about the something joint in the something bone doing the something transiting through the something chakra. Her exposing me to my own body awareness and anatomy really does help me, not only in dance but in everyday life. She has a lot to share with everyone if they are willing to listen and learn. Cliché as it may sound she really has taught me I can do whatever I want to
in life, never putting any pressure or emphasis on having to be anything except for just being me.

UB: Maria, what is the most valuable lesson you’ve learnt from Claudia?

M: Claudia never ceases to teach me. She has always been very wise. She has taught me to stay young. She has taught me to discriminate and speak out (she is much louder than me). She has taught me that no matter how eclectic her life has been, that I am a good parent, which is something I used to doubt. She’s also taught me the value of being totally honest with her and her brother.

UB: Tell us a story from Claudia’s childhood that really sums her up.

M: When she was about 6 she said she wanted to do Ballet, so off we went to the Clifton Hill Ballet School. She did her thing and seemed to like it. When the next term came and I went to enrol her again she said, “I don’t want to point point point! I want to dance”. So off she went to Dominique’s Dance and that is were she stayed for seven years. You can see what kind of head she’s got!

M: In a nut shell, it’s great having Claudia on the Underbelly team. We are planning a duo for the next Underbelly Bazaar to one of our favourite pieces.  I don’t know who is going to move out of home first – me or her?

It’s 1975 and the sound of Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs rocks the Kings Theatre in Mt Gambier, South Australia. I am on the dance floor lost to the beat, my hair flying – my body knows the timing, the rhythm, as if we are one. The song is over I open my eyes and there is a space around me; my fellow revellers have given me room to move. That is how it was for me in my teens in the 70’s. Abandoned to the beat of Rock, transcending the moment. In the turbulence of my teenage years, this was my refuge, my home; to dance.

In hindsight Trance has always been in my life, it was my connection to something bigger than me, something that made me feel good. It took me out of whatever I was stuck in, for a while. It didn’t have a name then, the concept of Trance did not exist in my little world; in a town in the South East of South Australia.

Many years later when I finally found Middle Eastern Dance (MED) I also found Tribal and Trance. I found the names for this feeling of oneness. The Egyptian Zaar, the head spinning, the hair flying, it was just like being on that dance floor, by then I had grown up, I had left that world behind and had made a new life with a family of my own, in a city that connected me to a bigger world and a big cultural melting pot.

As I explored MED and all its technicalities, I always came back to the tribal indigenous aspect of it, which included Trance. I learnt about the healing aspect of these dances, I learnt about how cultures used them for these purposes and that dance; ecstatic dance, propels you to another consciousness. I have come to understand myself and why I am drawn to Trance dance and the importance of it in my life and how as a tormented teenager, it kept me sane and alive.

Trance or dance is my meditation. It is where I can release my thoughts . . . and go within. The older I get the clearer it is. Something that is an issue can be given over to the dance and a solution will show itself, without effort or thought, simply through dance.

Gabrielle Roth, leading exponent of Ecstatic dance and creator of the “5 rhythms”, has this to say about Trance:
“I mean for me God is the dance. God is energy, motion, energy in motion, motion is energy and that’s all one thing for me. And I can rely on it, because there’s no dogma in the dance. There’s nothing to believe there is nothing to hold onto. There’s only a force, a current, a wave, a cycle, a pattern to continually surrender to and to allow that to shift and change us, to take that which is disparate or divided and make it whole”. *

When Gabrielle talks about dogma she is referring to the constraints of organised religion and particularly Catholicism. Being brought up a Catholic myself, I understand what she is saying. What Catholicism has done for many of us “Once was Catholics”, is to take us on a spiritual quest for our own meaning of God. In the name of God many religions that originally practised dance as a way to God banished it. Catholicism and Islam are two such examples.

Trance dance takes place all over the world, all indigenous cultures have their own version of it. The characteristic of Trance music is repetition, simple repetition. The driving beat is a constant, something your body can trust so that your body can keep responding and releasing. In modern Western society, electronic music and the pursuit of Trance have created Rave gatherings.
What make Techno Rave gatherings like Earth Core and the Rainbow Serpent Festival so appealing is the constant loud driving beat and a place to be totally wild and abandoned. Personally, I can only take the Techno doof beat in small doses. After a while I long for the human touch, the emotional content, I respond more to the organic sounds that come from the skin of a drum or a person directly creating the sound. But for the thousands who go to these events it is their Trance.

Krusty, DJ, convenor of Rainbow Serpent Festival has this to say;
“You’ve got absolutely amazing frequencies coming out of those speaker boxes. And once you start dancing for a while you just start to resonate with those frequencies, they go right through your whole cellular structure, so that your whole body starts to vibrate. And when you’re all dancing en masse, with a number of other people, you all start to vibrate with that frequency, then the whole dance floor becomes a single organism.” *

That is what is great and in our ever-changing world, caught in a war between terror and trust, to be dancing with all of those people transcending is the best place to be.

I am very fortunate to have the opportunity to dance with musicians who also love to play transcendent music. Musicians are one with the dance, it is a pulse that works together as we play Sufi music, “Sufi music means any music that connects with the heart. It is the music of submission and surrender that bonds humans to God and transcends all religious boundaries. The sound of the Ney (reed flute) symbolises the lamenting and longing for the Beloved. The constant rhythmic beat of the Dafs (frame drum), the daf’s frame or circle symbolises the circle of love and each of the rings inside the Daf symbolises each one of us. The Zikr, a sacred phrase “La Ilaha, El Allah Hu” is spoken or sung aloud, and means “There is no reality, except God”  The chant HU is the ancient name for God, a love song to God. When Soul has heard this sound, Soul yearns to go home. From this place I whirl around my axis. Then the Ney ends and the percussion builds up and the Ayoubi beat gets faster and faster. I become the Zaar, and I begin to release my bones, my thoughts, and my body vibrates to the beat – it is not just me is all of us. Till finally I hit the floor.

The Egyptian Zaar’s movements are common to many North African cultures. An example of this is the Hadra ritual from Morocco. The Hadra is a healing trance ceremony in which music and dance are aimed at the attainment of ecstasy. It has its roots in Sufism. The Haddarat women of Essaouria sing and chant invoking holy men and spirits, communicating with other worlds. Each rhythm has many symbolic meanings, from healing powers to exorcism.
“When the rhythm starts, you feel like something is coming into your body; like something shaking. You don’t remember anything when you are in trance. You will be sitting with people and when the rhythm starts, that’s the last thing you remember, until you come to, when the incense is smoked over you” Lala Aicha *

In our performance of Zikr and Zaar we cross cultures from Turkey to Egypt. We are inspired by the Whirling Dervishes founded by Jelaluddin Rumi, who was inspired by love to write spiritual poetry and to whirl. This is taken from The Essential Rumi translated by Coleman Barks with John Moyne.
“The Turn”, the moving meditation done by Mevlevi dervishes, originated with Rumi. The story goes that he was walking in the gold-smithing section of Konya when he heard beautiful music in their hammering. He began turning in harmony with it, an ecstatic dance of surrender and yet with great centred discipline. He arrived at a place where ego dissolved and a resonance with universal soul comes in – Dervish literally means ‘doorway’. When what is communicated moves from presence to presence darshan occurs, with language inside the seeing. When the gravitational pull gets even stronger, the two become one turning that is molecular and galactic and a spiritual remembering of the presence at the centre of the universe. Turning is an image of how the dervish becomes an empty place where human and divine can meet. To approach the whole the part must become mad, by conventional standards at least. There ecstatic holy people, called matzubs in the sufi tradition, redefine this sort of madness as true health.”

As an entertainer/performer I have performed whirling and the Zaar many times. It is very challenging to do this, as in its purity it is not a performance. When I am not performing and just in my dance it is a very different experience. Over the years it has been a huge challenge to go into myself and to marry the consciousness of performer with the abandonment of the moment.

Last year I performed at the launch of the film Dances of Ecstasy. I spent the week prior to the event preparing myself. I ate lightly, I made myself a special dress. My intention was to be centred and focused and on marrying these two elements: the performance and the trance. I did two performances one at the beginning and one close to the end. The whole evening was an incredible journey. It began with the whirling, me; a white figure appearing in the middle of a room full of hundreds of people. The people are watching; I am being watched, but I am also somewhere else. I then leave the venue for a while to then return and do the Zaar. I call upon the spirits of the Haddarat women featured in the film, and as the rhythm begins and I come out into the middle of the crowded dance floor, I come to feel my myself transported to the desert, to that place in my spirit memory and to the dance floor in 1975. When I finish I can barely walk off the dance floor – if I could have, I would have stayed there on the floor. Krusty’s speakers begin to pump a tech beat and everyone goes wild. Many hands help me off and I collapse on the floor back stage. I was as high as a kite, lying on my back with this euphoric smile on my face I don’t know how long I stayed there I know that for the duration of my dance, I had taken the crowd back to the Moroccan women and the Hadra.

Trance dance ultimately is a personal journey. There are no rules to your response. Two people could have a completely different response at the same time. I give workshops in Zaar, Whirling and Trance. Although there is no technique or steps as such, there are important things to consider. In my workshops I encourage participants to eat lightly or to fast beforehand. Before we abandon to the beat, we prepare. Firstly we need to Breathe. The breath is everything; the breath allows you to release tension in your body and your mind, to bring you into your centre and to feel where you are at on a cellular level. From the breath we begin to find ways to access release in our muscles, bones and thinking mind.  From there you are guided through various process to induce a physical and mental trance state.

I will leave you with one of Jelaluddin Rumi’s poems

Dance when you’re broken open.
Dance if you’ve torn the bandage off
Dance in the middle of fighting.
Dance in your blood.
Dance, when you’re perfectly free.

Reference
Barks, C. (trans.) with Moyne, J. (19  ) The Essential Rumi  Castle Books

* Quotes are taken from the film Dances of Ecstasy by Michelle Mahrer and Nicole Ma.
This is available on DVD. Go to http://www.dancesofecstacy.com/

Dance when you’re broken open.
Dance if you’ve torn the bandage off
Dance in the middle of fighting.
Dance in your blood.
Dance, when you’re perfectly free.
Jelaluddin Rumi – 13th century

Rumi understood the power of dance as a catalyst for transformation. Last year we celebrated Rumi’s 800th birthday and Yalla celebrated 10 years of bringing their love of Middle Eastern music and dance to Australia. Yalla has another incarnation which is called The Sanctuary Ensemble. It was formed in 2003 to celebrate the Spirit of Rumi, playing traditional and inspired Sufi music, reading his words and to dance. Yalla’s focus has been to bring upbeat Middle Eastern music and dance to its audiences, The Sanctuary Ensemble is a way that we can express the deeper connection and to embody the contemplative transcendental side of this music and dance that resonates so deeply in our hearts.

The traditional aspect of what we play in Sanctuary is called a “Zirk” which means remembrance of Allah. It is the music of submission and surrender that bonds humans to God and transcends all religious boundaries. The whirling which is a part of the Zirk is the dance of turning like the earth spinning on its axis. There is also the Zaar which is a dance of release done by rhythmically swaying side to side and then releasing the head, the neck and allowing it to roll vigorously round and round until the dancer falls to the ground. This is one aspect of Sanctuary. The other aspect is the improvisational pieces that accompany the poetry and some original compositions all interpreted through dance.

I have always been drawn to expressing the unity of poetry and music. When the three become one the dancer is no longer the soloist, she becomes the element that weaves the music and the words. The dancer is not a distraction, she is the embodiment – you can still hear the word and the music as the dancer weaves them together.

I asked Harb Gill one of our readers why Sanctuary is important for her; she said “it takes me straight to the heart, because, like any meaningful art, that is where it comes from. The mesmerising music, moving ancient songs, Rumi’s words and wave upon wave of whirling dance all combine to open the heart and still the mind. I come out of it refreshed, harmonious and invigorated.”
This is true for all of us this is why we chose to embrace the art and spiritual practice from another culture that is essentially a Muslim practice when none of us are Muslim.

The most important instrument in this Sufi practice is the Ney. The Ney is a flute, made from a reed cut from a river bed that is hollowed out in the middle. It has nine holes that are said to represent the nine orifices of the body. The Ney makes hauntingly beautiful sounds and it is said to represent the yearning the lament the wanting to return to source. As the Soul also yearns to be united and to return to the source. When I dance the sound of the Ney moves through my spine and as the notes move so does my spine travelling through me carrying the words. Each time the same poem is read the words take on a deeper meaning that in turn deepens my dance.

The Chants called Illahi’s are also accompanied by percussion. The chants are played in various Macams which are like musical scales, each with a different meaning stirring a different emotions, used for different reasons, and at different times of the days and on different occasions. We are all involved in singing Illahi’s. I asked Ngame Grzisik our principal vocalist and composer what the dance meant to her in Sanctuary, she said, “ In this Sufi music, the dance expresses the flow of thought, feeling and spirit. The dancer responds deeply and intuitively to the poetry the music and sounds and whole experience of the group.”

While the sound of the Ney flute symbolises the lamenting and longing for the Beloved, the constant rhythmic beat of the Daf is the heart beat the driving pulse. The Daf is a frame drum of which the circle symbolises the circle of love and each of the rings inside it is each one of us.

Mik our percussionist said that performing in The Sanctuary Ensemble is a unique experience. He said, “drumming, entrancing, witnessing connection between word, music and dance. Learning about self and the nature of all things. Realising this connection also has taught me a lot about what prayer actually is. The wisdom of the text of Rumi is universal and not of one religion. That each religion fundamentally is universal. That each method of prayer to his/her own is equal in outcome. The expression of the dancer is from the heart – their prayer”.

The Sanctuary Ensemble celebrates the connection to this music and dance that has helped to bridge the cultural gap between Australian and Middle Eastern cultural and religions beliefs. Art, Music and Dance can transcend these boundaries.

As an artist I have the privilege to share the beauty of another culture with the community at large.

“As waves upon my head the circling curl,
So in the sacred dance weave ye and whirl.
Dance then, O heart, a whirling circle be.
Burn in this flame – is not the candle He? ”
Rumi

Rumi Translations by Colman Barks

Maria Sangiorgi

For 15 years I have had a varied and colourful relationship with the MED community. It has brought out the best and the worst in me. Writing the Newsletter made me confront myself. Opening myself up and saying, well, here I am:  This is me. I’m going to tell you things I think, do, say.  I’m going to promote what I do and who I am.

A group of my close women friends (not involved in MED) are nicknamed after inanimate objects.  Mine is “Can Opener”. I like to get things out in the open, not something many people are comfortable with – not even me.

This industry is governed predominantly by women. With such a strong female base we could embrace the notion of operating our businesses in a less linear, go-getter, patriarchal manner. Many of us are trying, but alas I understand within the parameters of Western society we have a long way to go.

When women first come to this dance they find sanctuary in private women’s business. They talk, play, dance and dress up. A Sisterhood is formed. This happens primarily amongst students, the teacher may or may not be a part of it.  She may generate the sisterhood or it may be self-generating. Organically it blossoms week after week.  This sisterhood can be found in cities, towns and  rural communities all over the Western World.  In a rural town this can be the only outlet a woman has, away from her family and work. This can go on for years, especially for the student with no aspiration to become a professional dancer or women in rural areas. Some groups become so close that if one leaves, they all leave and remain friends.

As the dancer moves up the professional ladder and becomes a teacher and entertainer this sisterhood becomes more fraught with difficulty.  A teacher can maintain her sisterhood with her students.  However, in the outside world (with her peers and contemporaries), ego, money, status, power, jealousy can and does get in the way.

This industry, with a 95%** female content has the opportunity to develop the power of the feminine far beyond any other industry on this planet.

Thousands of women all over the world empowering each other.  A Matriarchy of strong women who use their intuition to guide them, who understand that the law of nature is cyclic and winding as sure as the moon is full every 28 days and the tides ebb and flow and our menstrual cycles occur.

I confess I am an idealist. We, as so many women in business, have the opportunity to change the face of success in this patriarchal world.  As teachers we can use the power of this dance, which in essence is so in tune with the rhythm of nature – more so than any other dance.

I have a teaching curriculum with a linear structure, but I allow my lines to curve somewhere along the way, then they grow other lines that end in spirals. And why not, this is a dance based on spirals after all. Accepting and allowing things to happen in cycles is not easy.  Let the movement find its way, organically, naturally.  Let the dance be, without the teacher getting in the way. To allow the natural grace of our body to happen.  After all dance, like any other art form, is intuitive, inspirational.

In this world that has become so caught up with the external, we have the opportunity for us women to guide other women back to our true nature.

Everyone wants something external, they want to feel they are achieving because they have learnt 10 moves in one lesson.  There is nothing wrong with that – but these moves should be subtle and organic and flow from one to the other. This is how I teach my students; I want them to discover their dance by knowing first their bodies, and then by letting the dance happen. The women who love my Mariaisms are very wonderful, brave, insightful women and a pleasure to teach and to be with. I don’t call things a lift or a shift or a flick because if I do, that is what they become and that is what they look like, all on the outside and nothing happening internally or emotionally. 

This is not a judgement of teachers that use these terms, I am just sharing what I know.

I put heaps of time and energy into advertising for a workshop.  I accept that one day you can have a full house and the next time no one books.  Is it because it is not well advertised?  Is it over- exposure?  Is it my competitors?  Or is it simply  because it is not the right universal time?  The planet Mercury is retrograde at the moment (that means in Solar Sidereal time it is going backwards).  Mercury rules communication.  Every day there is some problem to do with communication. I can’t wait till the 2nd of May when it goes forward again.  What to do? Stop, have a holiday until then? We can’t.   Our linear way of life won’t let us and everything today is about communication.  So I have to accept this and absorb it into my life.  This belief has deepened my acceptance of outcome. When I plan a workshop I often have a gut feeling about whether it will go ahead or not. Sometimes this gut feeling is tainted with fear of failure or fear of jeopardy, and I feel like just crawl into a hole and forget all about it. Every time I write this newsletter, is like going in a quest. What I do is try to move past all of that stuff in my head and get the feeling right. And then other times  everything falls into place, everything flows.  I’ve become more courageous with planning workshops, putting the work in and accepting the outcome.

I have recently become a MEDNET (Middle Eastern Dance Network) committee member. This is a big decision – to join a group of women from different tribes. To become a part of decision-making for an

organisation whose fundamental aim is to provide a network for its members and to work for the good of the whole MED community in Melbourne/Victoria. A committee meeting can be seen as very linear with all the protocol of a meeting. But it can also be seen as a ritual. Linear is not all bad anyway, it’s just overrated.

This is it folks, as you can see there is a subscription form on the last page and up and coming local regional and interstate workshops, along with where Yalla! is playing.

There are individuals and groups and organisations that I have reciprocal arrangements with, they are listed in the box below and also a note to those who have made contributions in the past 2 years.

The choice is yours.

May the Goddess be with you in the spiral dance of life

Many Blessings
Maria

* Mariaism was a term recently coined buy a friend when I was giving him some ideas with how to deal with his dislocated shoulder, which lead to a discussion about my teaching methods which he named Mariaisms.
 
** 95% is my random guess at the ratio of women to men in this industry. It is not a definite figure.

Written for the Spiralling New a Dancing Isis Dance Publication ©