Viva La Diva Weekend Part 3 - Zambra Mora and Conclusion

Zambra Mora
Sunday's workshop had a smaller group in it, but I think that was for the best! With all the skirt-whooshing, we probably would have hurt ourselves and each other if the workshop was packed.

Though I've included a link about Zambra Mora, I was hesitant about posting more about it. The link I provided, however, repeats what we learned this past weekend about the style. Dondi and Titanya stressed that there's nothing conclusive about what they or anyone else has learned about the style. They know that it preceded Flamenco, and that it most likely was not an actual dance. But even in their travels to Andalusia and Southern Spain, they found minimal information. I found it fascinating that Zambra Mora was once outlawed and is such an underground style, almost to the point of denying all the cross-over and intermingling that is generally important in the birth of creativity.

Zambra Mora, which translates to "Moorish party," seems to be both fiery and earthy, often danced barefoot and proclaiming emotions. There's a focus on duende, or feeling a passion in the body and soul, and those emotions are expressed in the powerful movements and the noises that is often made during the movement. One interesting tidbit we learned was that "Olé" is derived from the Arabic "wa'Allah" ("by Allah" or "by God"). It might seem silly, but that information blew my mind!!! Though the more I think about it, the less I'm surprised, especially coming from a culture that has 300 years of Spanish rule behind it. I think it's just one of those things you don't really think about until someone points it out.

Viva La Diva Weekend Part 2 - Show and Competition

Viva La Diva Competition and Show
On my way to the Courtyard Marriott in Woburn that morning, I didn't think I would stay the whole day. With my weekends being so busy, I haven't had a lot of time to relax and spend time with my boyfriend and friends. But after Saturday's workshop, I had made some wonderful connections, and after telling my boyfriend about all the fun I was having he encouraged me to stay and get inspired.

I'm so glad that I did! It was my first Viva La Diva show, so I had no idea that it was going to go on for more than 5 hours!! But I love watching other dancers and hearing songs that I'm not familiar with yet.

Once Za-Beth posts up information about who the winners are, I'll update this blog with more of my impressions.

I was excited to see that one of my classmates with Amira Jamal was part of the competition! I was so proud to be there to cheer on Shakima Laila. She had performed some of her competition pieces to us in class, so it was exciting to see her in full regalia! She started up the night' festivities with one of her graceful routines.

I like that the belly dance community is so tightly knit. I'm sure that not everyone gets along swimmingly, but you can count on the fact that you will always see some familiar faces at an event. I asked Dondi a little about the differences between the communities on the coasts. She said it's a lot more competitive on the Westside, maybe because there's a higher concentration of them within a given radius and it seems like they're all trying to make it big. I definitely got the feeling of being "larger than life" from my small exposure to the Los Angeles bellydance community.

Viva La Diva Weekend Part 1- Dondi & Titanya's Five Elements and Middle Eastern Dance

It's been a really busy August.

It's been a really expensive August.

It's been a really wonderful August...so far.

In my decision to expand my raqs sharqi education, I signed up for the Viva La Diva workshops hosted by Za-Beth. I had been looking forward to this weekend for a while. Since August has been so busy - and expensive! - I've been too broke to take a month's worth of Najmat's classes (and they're not even that expensive!). All I could do was rely on my Netflix queue. But I do so much better in a classroom. I've missed a lot of the interaction with classmates.
 
This past weekend, however, was exactly what I've been craving all month.

Za-Beth was hosting Dondi and Titanya Dahlin, two fabulous dancers who I've only recently discovered but fell in love with their stylings immediately.
 
I discovered Dondi through the Bellydance Superstars, which seems to be how many students have found her. She has this amazingly infectious smile and is a mesmerizing dancer. After watching her (and the other Supah Stahs) on the DVD, I Googled and YouTubed like crazy. I loved how relaxed she seems while she's dancing, like it just took no energy at all.

Through the powers of Google, I discovered Titanya. I wasn't sure what it was, but I felt a sort of simpatico with her style. Oh wait...it's because the first thing YouTube led me to was Titanya as a mermaid. I mean, really. Is there anything else I need to say kids? Alrighty then.