Alexia, an artist who goes above and beyond… [2]
By: Angelys Liranzo

AL: As an artist who is also a teacher, how do you deal or differentiate, if you do, between serious students and hobbyists?

A: I don't differentiate between any students. Honestly, everybody gets the same information. It would be wrong for me to judge and even worse to hold back information from certain students. The cool thing is that you never know how far anyone will take things and most times they don't know either!

AL: How different it is to teach other forms of dance in comparison to Oriental?

A: It's not different at all. Everything I teach is muscle based. I make sure to teach about the cultural context no matter what form of dance. Belly dance or not, there are many different types of learners so I use a variety of teaching modes no matter what.

The Musician:

AL: You play the riqq, bendir, the zills and the dumbek. How has being a musician enhanced your dancing?

A: I started drumming to understand rhythms better to help my dance. The funny thing is that I never stopped. Off the top of my head drumming taught me:

- Rhythmic structures and how to move with accents within each rhythm.
- The names and time signatures of rhythms that in turn helped my communication with other musicians
- Timing
- Counter rhythms
- Musical phrasing
- Song form
- More options for finger cymbal playing
- And above all, listening skills both as a musician and a dancer.

There is nothing more satisfying then to see a dancer actually become part of the music. Listening is the first step to this. It's the thing that takes a dancer from using music as just a background. Listening is the thing that moves a dancer from doing four of these and four of those. The second part of becoming part of the music is technical training. The dancers body needs to respond in the moment. Building your "chops" through training and practice will have the dancers vocabulary at the ready. Then of course, the dancers emotional connection to the music completes the picture.

AL: How important is the music aspect of your career?

A: I really can't separate music from dance, so I'll say it's pretty important.

AL: Not many instructors teach both dance and drumming, what is the main difference in teaching dance and ME drumming?

A: The common elements are listening, timing and muscle memory. What separates dance from music is the visual/spatial element. And of course dance has many more physical demands.

The Entrepreneur:

AL: You are obviously an entrepreneur, artistic director of Alexia Multi-Cultural
Productions, advisor and guest choreographer of Raks Odalisque, co- founder of Groove Merchant, dance coordinator for the New Jersey State Teen Arts Festival among others, how do you do all these?

A: Well the first year I did all of these kinds of things together (1995) I crashed and burned. I performed with SaZ Dance Theatre (the biggest dance thing I had ever done), I ran my first Teen Arts Festival serving over 3000 students over the course of 2 days (the biggest thing I had done administratively), plus I had family stuff that was going on. At that time it was probably the most successful year of my life but I felt like crap. I really spread myself too thin and it literally took 6 months to recover. I couldn't dance; I could barely make it through the day. Eventually things evened out and I was back on track and the lesson was learned (I think?). I really try not to over commit. Now I'm very careful about how I schedule things. I have to make sure that the workload of one project doesn't overlap with another. The reality is that there is not enough time in the day for all the ideas in my head. So I just write them all down and eventually I pick something to work on. It's still a challenge to balance it all.

AL: In 2002 you produced a fantastic show here in New Jersey, would you ever venture in that field again?

A: That show in 2002 was a Turkish Oriental concert featuring Artemis Mourat, Dalia Carella, Aszmara and Sabah Nissan. I'll absolutely do it again!

AL: How difficult and rewarding at the same time was to produce the show?

A: It was a great night! The focus was on the different aspects of Turkish and Romany dance and music, its evolution and influence. It was very rewarding for me because I was able to have what was in my head come to life with all of these amazing artists who have contributed to my growth and education. I love these women because they continue to evolve artistically and push themselves where they haven't been before.
The difficulty in a project like this are the logistics, but it's all worth it!

AL: How an artist who is also a businesswoman commingles art with commerce without loosing site of her artistic self?

A: I decided a long time ago that what I teach and my philosophy are valuable, and also that you can't please everyone. So basically I take the risk of sticking to my guns about the way I teach. I feel strongly about safety and teaching people how to dance muscularly (from the inside out) rather than mimicking my moves. It takes a bit longer for students to master but what's wrong with taking your time?

AL: And the most exciting question of the day, please share with us about your new endeavor, your "drum and dance learning center"

A: In September Dave Merritt and I opened The Drum & Dance Learning Center in Bordentown, NJ. It has been a dream of mine to have a school where I can offer a variety of opportunities and a welcoming atmosphere to support the creativity of dancers and musicians. We offer classes in a variety of multicultural genres such as Oriental Dance, Salsa, Hip Hop, Folkloric Fusion, World Dance, Middle Eastern, Celtic & West African Percussion, Drum set and ensemble skills. And we're just getting started! In addition to the regular class schedule we offer specialty workshops and events with masters of dance and music. Our courses are designed to meet the needs of both the casual student and those students with a life long dedication to learning.
Beyond just learning how to dance or drum we believe that personal dedication to an artistic discipline whether as a hobbyist or professional, develops essential life skills. These include: communication, teamwork, cultural awareness and understanding as well as developing aesthetic values, problem solving and analytical skills. The arts are not always recognized as having value beyond a final product. We hope to help build and support a community of creatively active people. We've just begun and we're having a blast doing what we love!
Come visit us!! www.drumdancecenter.com

AL: Tell us about the Suhaila's format and series of workshops taught at your school?

A: I had been belly dancing 11 years when I was finally able to study intensively with Suhaila. Her format took me right back to being a beginner and I will forever be grateful for that. There is so much to say about this format and philosophy so I'll summarize.
As best as I can put it simply, the philosophy of the format is to build your skills technically first so that you eventually have an infinite and strong vocabulary to express your ideas and emotions. An artist should work as hard as they can to develop their tool (body) so that physical limitations don't get in the way of creativity. Also, learn as much about the history of all the places that belly dance comes from, the past and the present. This learning generally doesn't come only from books about "belly dance" but from politics, religion and social issues in the specific regions. This is a way to get a glimpse of what the life of a person (dancer) from a specific time and place might be like emotionally.

The skills building begins with learning:
Technique: from a muscular and anatomical standpoint. So in a sense learning muscularly from the inside out rather than just mimicking the movement. This gives the dancer an unlimited amount of control and choices about movement and above all provides safety in dance.
Timing and downbeat choices: Dance is musical so understanding how to count (like a musician) and the possibility of downbeat choices frees the dancer up to really become part of the music.
Then when you have developed a strong vocabulary we work on emotional development. Much the same way actors use many methods and exercises to tap into their emotions and experiences for character development, the dancer does the same to develop choreography.
Another important point is that the format is not a style, it is dance training that will prepare you for any and every style you wish to pursue.

So this is putting it VERY simply. Working within the format is an amazing journey. It's fun, it's challenging; it really makes you learn all kinds of things about yourself (whether you want to or not)! Basically I think it's like any other discipline that you dedicate yourself to, one is going to learn things about life, not just about the discipline.

Let me also point out that the format is a vehicle for my creativity and working in the format will not turn me into a cookie cutter dancer of Suhaila. The format is a catalyst and this is still MY journey. I also continue my studies with other oriental dance teachers and in other dance forms. I also offer classes and workshops in specific stylizations and regional dances.
You asked about the workshops at my school. I bring Suhaila here once a year for a weekend intensive. Monthly I offer 3 hour Drill Sessions in the format for dancers who can't get to my weekly classes.

AL: To conclude this interview, this is what some reputable and talented people in our dance community have to say about Alexia (Kim Leary):

"I really have always been impressed with Kim's approach to Middle Eastern Dance. Her musicality is impeccable and she has worked very hard to teach and perform in the Middle Eastern Community in New Jersey. I love her Turkish Roma interpretation" - Dalia Carella

"Kim has the heart and soul for what will make this dance form appreciated and respected in the dance world. Her focus on training, technique, structure, and hard work is rare for Belly Dance and her dedication to this art is a true testament to the woman that she is.
Not only do I enjoy her loyalty as a student, but her passion while performing is exactly what this dance was meant to embody" - Suhaila Salimpour