A: How did you start belly dancing?

S: I was born and raised in Sao Paulo in Brazil, a large cosmopolitan metropolis that is a fusion of numerous cultures and nationalities. One of them is a Middle Eastern community to which my sister Karima was drawn and in which she became a professional dancer. Watching her as a child, accompanying her to her performances and meeting and absorbing that kind of atmosphere made me fall in love with the music, the dance and the style of life from that region.

The first time I became really aware of my deep liking to the dance was when I found myself dancing to a piece of music when I was 5 years old. I always loved to dance and dancing was always a source of joy to me as a child, be when I danced or when I saw others dancing.

I continued dancing as a hobby until I was 15 when I made a conscious decision to make this as a career for myself, "To Perform Professionally". I started from the beginning as a professional dancer in the most prestigious Egyptian & Oriental dance club in the whole of Sao Paulo if not in the whole of Brazil... "The Khan El Khalili Casa De Cha".

A: What drew you to belly dance in particular?

S: It is not just the dance that drew me, it was the whole Egyptian / Middle Eastern culture that attracted me like a magnet. The language, the way of the women and the various styles of music of the Arabian world, from its east to its west. Not forgetting the food of course. (hahahahaha)

Egyptian dancing as an art was the only medium where I felt I could fully express myself. It is a celebration of being a woman and it is a celebration of being alive and the Egyptian and Middle Eastern people dance when they are experiencing heightened levels of joy and that is what I like best. In Brazil we are a nation of joy and celebration and are always looking for a good excuse to celebrate and this we share deeply with the Middle Eastern people.

But if we were to talk about what drew me to it technically, then let me tell you this... Dancing in any style inspires aesthetically. However, Egyptian dancing in the eyes of the Egyptian people is about one thing and one thing only... the translation of the music. That I love to do.

A: Who were your teachers?

S: You know... I have learned from everybody, from every dancer from every Egyptian, Lebanese, Syrian, Palestinian, Saudi, Moroccan or Brazilian woman I have ever seen dancing this style. Even the ones whom I did not like their dance very much, I still learned something from them: How not to dance!

I learned a lot from my sister Karima. She was so generous with me and was such a guiding influence that I am eternally indebted to her. Karima made me understand the spirit of the dance and she introduced me to the music gently and to the dance community too. She looked after me in a way that I just walked my way through my early dancing steps to a fully pledged professional.

I also learned from watching videos of the great Egyptian dancers. I would copy their steps and then work out and analyze and study their concept of musical expression, their individual choice of steps and individual expression as a person. This has been a very difficult school to attend, as you are on your own in a class with a teacher who is not teaching you. Naima Akef, Taheya Karioka, Samya Gamal, Soheir Zaki, Mona El Saied, Fifi Abdu, Azza Shrief and Hanan. I love them all. These were the dancers.

Then, I took my very first dance workshop by a man who I only heard his name and listened to his music. Hossam Ramzy. This workshop turned out to be the biggest revelation for me as a dancer. He educated me into what it is that dancing was about: The TRUE translation of the music. Not only that, but he taught us and gave us a unique tool with which we could do that easily. This helped me find the basic core of what I was searching and researching within the dance and made everything I knew in the dance just fall into place. It became MY KNOWLEDGE rather than just something I was studying.

A: How would you describe your dancing style?

S: Oh, I don't know... I never thought of it. I am only concerned with my abilities to translate the music and to do that I have to really understand the music that I am dancing. There is not one day that goes by where I do not listen, enjoy, count and breakdown my music to sections that I can, in turn, turn into a 3 dimensional movement that portrays the sound to the full. This is where I am always trying to go with my dancing. It is not about the way I look. It is about what the MUSIC looks like when I am dancing it.

A: Who or what is your greatest source of inspiration?

S: The music is my greatest source of inspiration. The music is what makes me move and it is what makes me want to dance. I love music that is composed in a way that is designed with the dancer in mind.
But if we are talking about dancers, then it is Naima Akef. If you are asking me about composers, then my answer is my husband Hossam, if you are asking in life generally, then my family, Hossam and our son Amir-Sultan.

A: Do you teach? If yes, what do you like most about teaching?

S: Yes, I do. I teach privately at my own studio on one-to-one basis and I also hold workshops with Hossam nationally and internationally. Together we have traveled the 5 continents almost 3 times teaching, lecturing and performing.

I love to teach, I want others to be able to understand the music of their loved art form and I want them to be able to put this knowledge into actual practice. Teaching gives me satisfaction on many levels. I love to see my students grasp the concept of musical translation, rhythmic construction and create their own way to portray a composition. It is like seeing and hearing the same piece of music for the first time, all over again in a new and exciting color.

A: When you perform what do you like to 'tell' the audience with your performances?

S: Nothing. I am so happy to be there, performing the music for them, I happy and honored to share the stage with Hossam's band. I just cannot believe my luck. People are here to see me dancing the music I adore.

A: Do you use props in your dancing? What are your favorites?

S: Hmmmmmm... yes and no. I do sometimes. I dance with a stick or with a veil or use Sagat, sometimes... it depends on the composition and depends on what I want to portray.

A: Do you prefer to choreograph your dancing or do you prefer improvisation?

S: I choreograph and I don't, I improvise and I don't. It depends on the music and the situation, if I am dancing to recorded music or to the live band. With the recorded music, you know exactly what is coming and your job is make sure you are translating the music 100%. If it is with the live band, then the magic is there in its fullest power. I listen to the music that Hossam's band is playing and I improvise along with their solos 100%, 100% of the time.

A: Do you perform together with your husband? If yes, could you tell us a little about these performances?

Yes, I do very regularly. Actually, I only perform in concerts with Hossam, either just the two of us or with the orchestra. When we go to any city to teach a workshop, they always want us to perform a concert for them and while some of the cities cannot afford the whole band, we like to perform for them, so we do a 45 - 50 minute show.

I dance to Hossam's recorded music. Hossam also does various presentations of the various Egyptian percussion instruments on which he is a master. We also love to do one or two improvised drum and dance duets that we create on the spot each time.
This is done as a second half of a full show, the first half of which we like to invite our hosts to present their work to Hossam's music and to also present their most promising students and or troupes in the first half of the show.

In Hossam's orchestra we have some of the most famous musicians from Egypt like Mr. Emil Bassili, a very unique violinist from the orchestra of the late Om Kolthoum, Egypt's and the Arab world's most loved singer. We also have Mr. Wadie Nossier, an amazing Nay player from Abdul Halim's recordings and many of Farid Al Atrash and Mohamed Abdel Wahab live orchestras. Also Mr. El Gamal El Soghayyar, on Keyboards, a great dance music composer and one who worked with and composed for Shushu Amin, Hala El Safi and Gigi Omar. On Accordion, we have El Sheikh Taha, the legendary Baladi player who composed several songs for Ahmed Adaweya. Add to them the perfect percussion section with Mr. Josef Eskander, famous percussionist from Hossam's CDs and Hassan Reeves on Mazhar and Duffs from the old Nagwa Fouad orchestra.
And the cherry on the top... Hossam himself. What more do I want ?

A: What do you think is the most fulfilling aspect of being a belly dancer?

S: My greatest joy is when any of my audience or from my orchestra compliments me and says that I translated the music perfectly that night. I feel like I am walking on clouds.
The ability to make the music have a physical shape for people to see is a pleasure I cannot describe.

A: Do you have another career or do you dedicate 100% of your time to belly dance?

S: Yes, I do. I am one of the directors of our company, Ramzy Music International Ltd. I am responsible for much of the artistic creativity, as well as financial planning, as well as project management and some of the promotional campaigns. This is another full time career, not to mention our children, our son Amir-Sultan and his education and entertainment as well as Hossam's daughter Omayma.

A: If you could 'educate' general public about belly dance, what would you like them to learn about this dance?

S: It is not the public that I need to educate. It is the dancers whom I need to educate into interpreting the music and the portrayal of the music. The public will accept, like, dislike, respect or disrespect what the dancer puts in front of them. My audience is an intelligent collection of various people from various walks of life hoping to be entertained and shown music and motion in harmony. If I do that... then I have entertained. This is my job. On the stage, I am an entertainer, not a teacher.

A: What do you see as trends for the future of this dance?

S: Judging by the way it has developed in the last few decades.... I have no idea what they will do with it next.

A: Do you have any exiting plans for the future you like to tell us about?

S: Yes, lots... Hossam and I are in the mid preparation for a big tour this year. We are touring Europe, UK, South East Asia, Australia, New Zealand and some of South America. We are also preparing the storyboards for two new DVDs we are producing and Hossam has a couple of CDs that he is about to finish very soon. One of them is the second "Flamenco Arabe" and the other is a follow up to his mega success "Faddah".
Our biggest plan, however, is our "Villa Ramzy School of Rhythm & Dance" in Egypt. This will be a residential school to which dancers can come and learn with us 4 times a year where we will be teaching all classes with our live orchestras. Baladi, Saidi, Classical, Percussion and the Bedouin Gypsies. There will a lot of information when the school is completed, hopefully you will be able to come and write about it.
May I take this opportunity to thank very much for caring to do this interview with me and I look forward to meeting you in person, which will be my pleasure.
Happy New Year.

www.serenaramzy.com

***

AMULYA began teaching and performing bellydance in In 1993 in The Netherlands. In 1998 she went India to study different dancing and costuming styles. Her latest interest is tribal belly dance, a particular style of belly dance that originated from the U.S.A. Amulya's primary focus as an artist is to promote this beautiful dance. Another consuming interest is passing on her knowledge through teaching. Amulya moved over to Australia in 2005 and now teaches and performs belly dance in Brisbane. Visit Amulya's website - Bellydancenet!