Top News Stories
Tories scrap proposal to end party subsidies
In a stunning reversal, the Harper government announced Saturday it will withdraw...
Local Updates
Dancing to an Arabic beat
For belly dancers, Hafla party offers chance to perform to live music
Jennifer Fong, The Edmonton Journal
Published: Thursday, August 30 2007HAFLA
When: Friday, 8 p.m.
Where: Meridian Banquet & Conference Centre, 4820 76th Ave.
View Larger ImageBelly dancer Aurora Ongaro is creative director of edVenture, which is producing the Hafla performance, a night of live Arabic music and dancing.
Shaughn Butts, The Journal
Email to a friend
Printer friendly
Tickets: $65, available at the door or in advance at Tix on the Square or by calling edVenture Arts Academy at 238-5099
- - -
EDMONTON - It's time to Hafla.
Dressed in vibrant, gold-sequined gowns, Alberta's best belly dancers will wiggle their hips and throw their hair to the beat of live Arabic music at a traditional hafla -- Arabic for a party with music, dancing and food -- on Friday night at the Meridian Banquet & Conference Centre. Produced by the edVenture Arts Academy, it will be the first of its kind in the city.
The night's five-hour program will feature longtime professional belly dancers, most from Edmonton and Calgary, as well as live music from renowned Toronto band, the Arabesque Orchestra.
Music is a big component of belly dancing, said edVenture's creative director Aurora Ongaro, but very rarely do dancers get a chance to hear Arabic music live.
"The biggest reason (to do this) would be to bring the music to the city so belly dancers, no matter what school they're affiliated with, can hear how great live music is," she said.
Ongaro, a native Edmontonian, was professionally trained in belly dancing at the Arabesque Academy in Toronto, where she lived for four years.
That city boasts a thriving Middle Eastern community, said Ongaro, who remembers being able to go to a restaurant and see the Arabesque Orchestra play for two hours, followed by a half-hour set with belly dancers every Sunday night.
"Here in Edmonton, you're lucky if you go to an Arabic place and they have a keyboarder," she said.
While she expects the Hafla to draw a lot of dancers, Ongaro said it's an event organized with the larger community in mind, too.
"I wanted the Arabic or Lebanese or any of the Middle Eastern people in town -- if they want to have a night of music, where it's like being back at home in the old country, they could come," she said.
"And then for people who don't know anything about belly dancing, I want them to have a great first exposure to it."
The 27-year-old first fell in love with belly dancing when she was 19. Thanks to endless practice, and dancing whenever she possibly could, it didn't take long for Ongaro to master the art.
She joined the Arabesque troupe in 2003 and became a principal dancer a year later. When she returned to Edmonton in 2004, Ongaro became an instructor, starting out with a class of five dancers. In just a few years, her roster of students has grown to 70.
Belly dancing is gaining popularity for many reasons, said Ongaro. "Part of the beauty of the dance itself is anybody can do it, whether they're two or three years old or whether they're 60 or 70 -- it's a very gentle form of physical activity," she said.
Another advantage is that you don't need a partner.
"There are so many dance forms out there where you have to convince some guy in your circle to take some dance classes," said Ongaro "Here, you're dancing because you want to. It's for you."
At the Hafla, Ongaro will be performing with the Arabesque orchestra for an improvised solo set, as well as leading her advanced class of seven dancers through two numbers.
The group has been rehearsing twice a week for months now, at a dance studio on the second floor of St. Patrick School in the north end of the city.
As they put the finishing touches to their performances last Thursday, they joked and giggled, clearly excited about the upcoming show, where they hope to get more people hooked to the joys of hip-shaking. "You don't have to dance to go to the Hafla," said Lauren DeBruin. "It doesn't matter if you have rhythm or not, we'll get you going anyway!"
jfong@thejournal.canwest.com
TIPS FOR BELLY DANCING
1 Learn how to drum: "The rhythms they use in the Middle East are different from the rhythms we use," said Ongaro. Dancers struggle if they don't recognize the type of dance right away by listening to what the drummer is doing.
2 Use your knees: Most people, says Ongaro, try to dance with their back muscles, but the key to swaying naturally (and to avoid injuries) is to use your legs as much as possible.
3 Work on having "pretty arms": Keep your elbows up, your shoulders low and pushed back. "So often, students are so focused on what their hips are doing, they just forget they have their whole upper half of their body."
4 Learn from different teachers: "Every instructor likely has different mentors and different styles that they enjoy," said Ongaro.
5 Listen to live music: "Part of belly dancing is learning to dance to music and to understand music," said Ongaro.
SEE SOME SHAKING
Watch belly dancers from the edVenture Arts Academy practise for the Hafla.
Go to Journal Videos at www.edmontonjournal.com.
