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Articles:
Saqra in Whitehorse May 8/9 2004
Workshop Review By Ruby Morales
Why Saqra? Why Whitehorse in the
Yukon Territory of Canada? I am a video student of Middle Eastern Dance.
I was lucky to find Saqra's "Solo Desert Wind Veil Dance" video and fell
in love with the warmth and humor and professional presentation of what
is a very organic and, dare I say, flowing sequence of veil technique
and sculpture completely woven into Oriental Dance technique and
expression. And, albeit a complete choreography, Saqra throughout the
video, demonstrates that there are individual nuggets that she
encourages the student to experiment with, develop, and expand.
Nita Collins of Celebrations Bellydance!
sponsored the Saqra workshop. Although she had attendees coming from
other countries (me, for one, being from Alaska), she made the
experience a breeze, arranging for a workshop rate at the hotel, the
same hotel where the workshop and evening performance were held! I so
appreciated the convenience, not to mention the restaurants, beauty
salon, and masseuse-all in the same hotel!
The first day of the workshop
opened with an hour for registration and, of course, shopping! Nita had
seen to those details as well and had worked with local vendors to have
lots of music and jewelry and baubles of an astonishing variety. I did
my best to lighten Saqra's load back, but I have to say that for her to
bring such an incredible assortment of costuming and music is just,
well, darned generous on her part. Dancers near the 60th parallel don't
often get an opportunity for browsing and touching before they buy.
Saqra's efforts to bring the mountain to us were certainly appreciated!
The workshop was rich and full and
detailed and textured-and flexible! Saqra's teaching style is nothing
short of amazing. She kept the dance flowing, addressed all levels of
the class, kept a watchful eye for body safety, and we students
laughing. Such respect, for the art and the student, adaptability, and
humor are a rare combination. The topics were working with drum solos
and zills on Saturday and on Sunday, Khaleegy, elegant hand and arm
concepts, and choreography to Tarkan's Simirik. The last two classes on
Sunday were switched to accommodate attendees' flight schedules and even
though one was to build on the other, Saqra, with grace and ease and
wit, kept us relaxed through the choreography and then expanded on the
nuggets in the choreography in the class on hands and arms.
Working with Drum Solos
If you have ever wondered, 'what do I dance to here? There's too much!',
then Saqra has the answer, or four, for you! Beginning with a shimmy
warm-up and constructing a vocabulary, she then moved into the texture
of locks, their techniques and combinations. "Lock" can be such a
one-dimensional grunt of a term, but Saqra demonstrated the many
subtleties of execution and combinations, as well as explaining the
nitty gritty muscle momentum, thus freeing me from my former "crunch and
conquer" tendencies. Then, we moved from shimmies, locks, and their
combinations, to how to modulate the energy of the dance: how to build,
how to start to build again, what to listen for, how to find the dance
of what we hear and what our audience hears. One of the tremendous
aspects of Saqra's teaching style is the comfort and the confidence: she
is able to show you that you can before you might stop yourself. I had a
happy surprised sense of ability and was even doing my first omi style
shimmy after class, relaxed and traveling with it. I may never just
simply walk again!
Zills
Have you ever experienced anything besides sheer delight with these
little brass darlings? I have. Saqra began with an overview of the
different kinds of zills and what effect shape has on tone and duration.
"You may not always be able to choose from a selection on a table, so
it's good to have some idea how what you are looking at affects the
sound." Saqra moved through what the zills accompany in music (and what
they don't!), proper striking technique, the different sounds, and then
to basic accents, counter rhythms, and drum rhythms. Saqra is always
acknowledging the students, that what she is saying at the moment may
not pertain to everybody and yet doesn't leave anyone adrift in the
reeds, but continually invites everyone back in. There is such adeptness
and alacrity to Saqra's teaching style. Each of us were singing and
dancing the rhythms as we played them, no matter our skill level!
Khaleegy
Saqra's presentation of this dance is a pure delight. It is demure,
cheeky, and so, so fun. Saqra started by reminding us that we already
knew the rhythm from the zill class. She started singing it and we
joined in, so, already, there was a sense of confidence. Saqra then
began with the footwork and when we were comfortable, she encouraged us
to relax into the movements, emphasizing that nothing is forced nor need
be made bigger, like flinging one's hair. Just as she had placed drum
solos and zills in a musical context, Saqra placed this dance in a
cultural context. To paraphrase Saqra, dance enlarges each of us. And,
Saqra made sure that each of us weren't at risk of injuring ourselves, a
point well taken given the movements of the head and neck in this dance.
We could have "Khaleegy-ed" the day away: gesturing, shoulders softly
shimmying, playing.
Elegant Hands and
Arms/Choreography to Tarkan's Simarik
What is there not to love about "Simarik"? (Kiss! Kiss!) Especially when
learning a choreography and you are going to hear the song, and hear the
song, and hear the song. Saqra absolutely shines when it comes to
teaching choreography. Why? Because the music absolutely never leaves
the room. There is no, "now for the next phrase of eight we …," in her
vocabulary and thank goodness! Once I get those eights into my head, I
am removed from the music. Saqra demonstrates each section, calling it
out as she goes. As she calls, she does so singing the melody line. Then
she plays that section of music and sings the steps out so that we may
dance (dance!) along with her, already experiencing the feeling and
touch of the music in our movements. Such teaching is a gift. All the
while, during the choreography, Saqra was also preparing us for focusing
on the grace and beauty of our hands and arms. When we moved on to that
section of the workshop, Saqra would begin demonstrating a piece of the
choreography and highlight what the arms and hands were expressing at
that point, if they were the focus, the frame, the counterpoint, the
pose, and at each point, Saqra would expand the particular hand and arm
gesture into beautiful variations and explanations of what works and
why.
I had tremendous difficulty writing
this review for the simple fact that Saqra is never just doing one
thing. Saqra is completely engaged; there is a vital, vibrant, veritable
teacher present. Words do not do her justice. I hope to have the
opportunity to study with her again and would encourage anyone who had
the chance to, to do so! And may this just be the First Annual
Whitehorse Workshop, Nita!
Don’t worry, Ruby, we’re doing it again next year (2005) with Jalilah
Zamora!
See you there!
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