Razia, Daphne, Anuka, Hiba, Aziza, Hannan, Alya, Thania and Kulyani
by Anuka
Razia, Daphne, Anuka, Hiba, Aziza, Hannan, Alya, Thania and Kulyani
At long last, a world class bellydancer decided to make an instructional/practice video that is geared toward intermediate and advanced dancers. The video features Aziza demonstrating her precise and intensive technique in a class setting. She presents a series of drills in isolations and layering. The project was organized by Hannan Sultan of Toronto Bellydance.
We started bright and early on a Sunday morning doing hair and makeup. As the crew was not ready to start filming, Alya, Ioana and I went on a coffee run. Picture three girls in black crop tops and track pants with colourful hipscarves and full makeup carrying trays of coffee down the street before 9 a.m. on a Sunday. We literally stopped traffic.
Now the real work began. The film crew wanted three takes of everything, with high energy and full-wattage smiles. For editing reasons, they would play only a few bars of music to get us started and then we had to depend on Aziza’s inner metronome to keep time. Dancing in silence was surprisingly tiring - we feed on musical energy in classes and shows, and with that support gone everyone had to reach deeply into themselves to keep going. We put our collective foot down to have music for the 21-minute shimmy. This segment was filmed during the 9th hour of the 10-hour shoot of the instructional section, during which a battery died on Aziza’s microphone ("shimmius interruptus", to quote Roula) so we had to take it from the top after about five minutes! Mercifully, we were so far overtime that we only did the shimmy section once.
The performance segment had a live audience - who had been patiently waiting for five hours! We heard tales of Hannan and Razia doing an impromptu Saidi performance with celery sticks for the people waiting in the hall. Aziza was definitely worth the wait - she danced an amazing 15-minute set. Watching her you wouldn’t believe that she was just finishing up a 14-hour shoot.
Somewhere between our fresh start, hours of sweat and technical issues, outrageous flirting with the cute camera guy (he was either oblivious or not interested in women), and desperate consumption of chocolate and sugary substances, we forged a tangible bond. A sense of community is part of what makes this dance so appealing. The whole experience was a lot of fun. We were fortunate to have a director with a sense of humour, a group of good-natured dancers (no divas), and of course Aziza herself. Throughout the whole day, her famous smile never faltered and she radiated love of the dance. I can’t wait to see the result!