HC: You are a master of performance and choreography in many ethnic and modern dance styles (bellydance, gypsy dance, flamenco, bollywood and classical Indian dance, Latin dance styles). Do you ever perform dance fusion?

Elsa Leandros: Personally, I don't perform fusion myself, never have. Whenever I perform, I do the tradional, purest form of each of these dances. However, fusion, well executed, is beautiful, and it's an example of what's going on today, it's the blending of different cultures. That's why I love to choreograph fusion pieces for others. It takes too many years to master each dance separately, and with fusion, any talented dancer can explore other styles.

HC: There is a lot of discussion and criticism directed toward bellydance fusion. To you as a master teacher of traditional dance styles, what qualities should a bellydance fusion performance/choreography possess to stand up to style and technique criticism?

E: Unfortunately, the criticism is well founded. Many people, not really well trained, come up with this hybrid of badly executed movements of different styles and call it fusion. In order to do fusion, a dancer must master, at least, one style, then find a reputable, authentic coach for the other style. A belly dancer has to be first well trained and authentic before she considers incorporating other dance forms.

HC: If a dancer wants to “fuse” two different styles, how deep should be her knowledge in each individual style? Are there dance styles that are incompatible with each other? What should an aspiring fusion dancer watch out for?

E: One style must be 100% professional level. It doesn't matter whether she's a modern dancer or has mastered a so called "ethnic dance". For the fusion, she should, at least, have a knack for the second, or third style in order not to look weak in that part of the dance. You can practically fuse any combination of styles, as long as it's done right. An aspiring fusion dancer should not use fusion as an excuse for her inability to perform well one specific style. The idea of knowing a little bit of this and a little bit of that and putting it together is what has given fusion a lot of criticism.

HC: What ethnic dance arts would be most challenging for dancers with bellydance-only background?

E: The first one that comes to my mind is flamenco, and it happens to be the one most widely used. Like ballet, it takes years to really learn it, I have been doing it since the age of 6 and I did not perform it until 20 years later. Besides, there is a big difference between the true gypsy flamenco, and the classical Spanish that some belly dancers have studied to form their own hybrid style. Classical Indian is another style that would be challenging. It's best to stick to bollywood which has many elements, including hip hop, and it's lighter and less rigid.

HC: Dancers have won competitions performing your classical Egyptian and fusion bellydance choreographies. What makes your work stand out, and what makes dancers come to you seeking choreographies that help them do their best?

E: I respect the dancer's style and ability so I choreograph according to what she can execute best choosing the steps that suit both her body and personality. The result is that none of the dancers I've choreographed for look like one another. Each one keeps her own style, her own "essence" to the point that the audience thinks she, the dancer, choreographed that dance herself in a moment of inspiration. That's the secret - do what you feel deep inside is right for you. If you are going to dance with no feeling, don't.

HC: When you teach your World Dance fitness classes, your warmup and cooldown are based on bellydance movement, even though the program offers sections of flamenco, gypsy dance, bollywood and Latin dances. Why do you begin and end your classes with bellydance?

E: After years of experience, I have found belly dancing to be the best for this purpose because of the isolations and flow. By working the body all the way from head down to the feet, the body is prepared easily and effortlessly to do any dance or workout. The same thing applies to the cooldown. It incorporates basic stretching, which, by the way, the experts have agreed just in the past year that it's best done after a workout. The basic flow of belly dance movements will ease the person out of the cardio, which is usually done at the end of my sessions.

HC: How did it happen that you were born in Venezuela but grew up in Madrid?

E: My father was a political exile at the moment and he moved the whole family to Spain. Years later it was OK for him to go back, and we did, for a short period of time, before we moved permanently to America, aproximately 30 years ago.

HC: By the time you started studying bellydance you were already an accomplished flamenco/gypsy dance performer. What prompted your interest in bellydance?

E: I love Arabic music and culture. One of my favorite poets is Khalil Gibran. Also, it is the woman's dance "par excellence". The beauty of the movements, and the freedom to incorporate other dance forms if one chooses to, the sensuality and celebration of femeninity, well, the list goes on and on.

HC: In your dance/fitness classes where you go through a number of dance styles in each class, what dance styles are currently most popular with your New York City students? Why?

E: Of course belly dancing is at the top of the list. A lot of my students are not dancers, but professional women who spend their whole work day dealing with the business world, using, so to speak, the left side of their brains, the calculating side, and neglecting their creative, feminine side. Many of them have told me they need belly dancing not only as a workout, but also as therapy, to get back in touch with their feminine side. In the case of flamenco, The Gypsy Kings have made it very popular with the rumba flamenca style, which is a lighter form of flamenco that uses very little, or no footwork. Salsa is another favorite. Samba and bollywood are well liked too.

HC: Do you think popular dance-related TV reality shows affect students' interest in your classes?

E: Definitely. All these shows focus not on just one style, but many. It seems that nowdays, the more styles a dancer can do, well, the better. And people, even non-professional dancers, like to try and see what they can do. Most students are really surprised to see that they do a lot better than they expected, and it gives them a feeling of accomplishment.

HC: What are do’s and don't's of teaching dance as a fitness discipline?

E: Do make it easy and fun, but challenging enough for the students to look forward to improvement. Stick to the traditional steps, so that they can use what they learn on a dancefloor - these would be a couple of the many do's.
Don't treat the student in the same way you treat a professional dancer. The fitness student is there for a workout and to have fun, learning dance steps is a wonderful by-product of dance workouts, so don't expect perfection, and do not critize a student to the point that he or she becomes selfconcious and insecure. Only make the necessary corrections if the student is totally confused.

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A choreographer and performance coach known for her enormous dance vocabulary and visionary approach to developing new and existing dance trends, Elsa's expertise is in demand among NYC's star performers of traditional ethnic and ballroom dance, as well among dancers focused on the cutting-edge fusion styles that blend dance arts from around the world.
Elsa teaches world dance fitness classes for the United Nations community and staff, as well as at Mang'oh studio, NYC

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