Part of my disciplinary background in dance is oriental dance (arabic Raqs Sharqi, رقص شرقي) (refers to MENA region dance traditions and their performative forms / the term 'oriental' is a very bad translation from what is mostly referred to as 'raqs sharqi' = dance from the east, and more precisely dance style that emerged in Egypt/Cairo). I have taught and performed nationally and internationally in this rather dynamic and blurry dance scene (Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Denmark, Hungary, Egypt, Norway, England). I am interested in exploring the histories of these dance traditions and collide them with different perspectives. To sustain folkloric gravity and research the various ways in which oriental dance effect us are my current goals. I am also interested in curatorial practices within the scene of oriental dance and the ways in which oriental dance is conceptualised in various pedagogical settings.
Summer 2020 I initiated a feminist collective thinking group for professional oriental dance practitioners. The aim of the group is to discuss, reflect and problematise oriental dance practices and orientate toward ethical modes of doing and thinking with the dance.
Statement:
''While considering the form and aesthetics of ‘oriental dance’ both in east and west, it is obvious that ‘oriental dance’ carries both historical-racial and colonialist dimensions beneath its surface. However, it is needless to point out that ‘oriental dance’ as a form of dance is, has always been and is continuously becoming a mixture of movement that is emergent from different ecologies in which ‘oriental dance’ is being rigorously practiced (e.g. McDonald & Sellers-Young 2013). The ‘oriental dance’ community has currently conceptualised itself as a nomadic and global community that no longer finds it home in any specific country, but rather it is constantly finding and negotiating its space in each environment it ends up entangled with. Therefore, I could denote that ‘oriental dance’ is a queer practice and all questions related with cultural appropriation assumes an existing ‘authentic’ body both toward the dance and toward its practitioners both in east-west and south-north (also Ahmed 2006, Laukkanen 2012).''
Bibliography:
Ahmed, Sara. 2006. Queer Phenomenology - Orientations, Objects, Others. Duke University Press. Durham and London.
Laukkanen, A. 2012. Liikuttavat erot - Etnografisia kohtaamisia itämaisessa tanssissa. Väitöskirja Turun Yliopisto.
McDonald E. & Sellers-Young, B. 2013. Belly Dance Around the World: New Communities, Performance and Identity. McFarland & Company Inc. Publishers. North-Carolina.
I have had several important teachers throughout the years from whom I have learned the dances, and their histories: Mahmoud Reda (Egypt), Farida Fahmy (Egypt), Aida Nour (Egypt), Yousry Sharif (Egypt/USA), Camelia of Cairo (Egypt), Abeer Kamal (Egypt), Mohanned Hawaz (Iraq), Azad Kaan (Turkey), Serkan Tutar (Turkey), Zahra Mujunen (Morocco/Finland), Mercedes Nieto (Hungary), Tito Seif (Egypt), Zeina Abou Shebika (Egypt/Sweden), Saara Soikkeli (Finland), Sirke Seppänen (Finland), Peppina Lindfors (Finland), and many more.
Summer 2020 I initiated a feminist collective thinking group for professional oriental dance practitioners. The aim of the group is to discuss, reflect and problematise oriental dance practices and orientate toward ethical modes of doing and thinking with the dance.
Statement:
''While considering the form and aesthetics of ‘oriental dance’ both in east and west, it is obvious that ‘oriental dance’ carries both historical-racial and colonialist dimensions beneath its surface. However, it is needless to point out that ‘oriental dance’ as a form of dance is, has always been and is continuously becoming a mixture of movement that is emergent from different ecologies in which ‘oriental dance’ is being rigorously practiced (e.g. McDonald & Sellers-Young 2013). The ‘oriental dance’ community has currently conceptualised itself as a nomadic and global community that no longer finds it home in any specific country, but rather it is constantly finding and negotiating its space in each environment it ends up entangled with. Therefore, I could denote that ‘oriental dance’ is a queer practice and all questions related with cultural appropriation assumes an existing ‘authentic’ body both toward the dance and toward its practitioners both in east-west and south-north (also Ahmed 2006, Laukkanen 2012).''
Bibliography:
Ahmed, Sara. 2006. Queer Phenomenology - Orientations, Objects, Others. Duke University Press. Durham and London.
Laukkanen, A. 2012. Liikuttavat erot - Etnografisia kohtaamisia itämaisessa tanssissa. Väitöskirja Turun Yliopisto.
McDonald E. & Sellers-Young, B. 2013. Belly Dance Around the World: New Communities, Performance and Identity. McFarland & Company Inc. Publishers. North-Carolina.
I have had several important teachers throughout the years from whom I have learned the dances, and their histories: Mahmoud Reda (Egypt), Farida Fahmy (Egypt), Aida Nour (Egypt), Yousry Sharif (Egypt/USA), Camelia of Cairo (Egypt), Abeer Kamal (Egypt), Mohanned Hawaz (Iraq), Azad Kaan (Turkey), Serkan Tutar (Turkey), Zahra Mujunen (Morocco/Finland), Mercedes Nieto (Hungary), Tito Seif (Egypt), Zeina Abou Shebika (Egypt/Sweden), Saara Soikkeli (Finland), Sirke Seppänen (Finland), Peppina Lindfors (Finland), and many more.