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Conversations with RaymereA: What inspired me most was the encouragement of some of my best (and most persistent) belly-buddies. Dre Varella of Habeeba's had told me a little about it. Back when I started dancing, she was a duet partner of mine for a dance routine that I will never forget. Shakira got word to me about a week before the event, and gave me a lot of encouragement as well. The contest truly started as a nightmare! I volunteered as DJ for the previous day’s competition, and the very last performer chose the same title and artist that I had. I went home and went over my options: dance the same number and bore the audience, change the number, or withdraw. Who would ever just throw their hopes to the wind, pick something fun and improvise? I would. So, that’s what I did. Honestly, under the balance of that 10 pound scimitar, I was a nervous wreck! Q: You also won Niran's Best Arabic Award. Tell me how you feel about that. A: People have said many amazing things about what happened. I'm just as amazed about Niran's award. It was on the living room wall within 30 seconds of my return home. What caught my ear the most was when she explained at the presentation that the she was looking for the “spirit of the dance,” not just acting. The spirit of the dance itself is what keeps my belly jiggling! When I teach, I often use the dance as a tool for connection of the mind, body, and spirit. One of the most important lessons I teach has nothing at all to do with movement. It’s about how to dance like a child at play and how to overcome nerves. It was re-enforcing to have that recognized through this award. Q: Has winning changed anything for you? A: Everything changes and everything stays the same. I dance because I love the dance, because the spirit moves into, through, and out of me while I do it, and because I feel in my soul that this dance is part of me. I recall once that my troupe and I went to eat at an Arab restaurant after one particularly upbeat show. We brought music and started to dance. The Arab men started looking over at me and joking in their tongue. I let them have a little fun, but played their game. Their womenfolk at least were clearly impressed by what I could do by the end of the night. (I know we have all had our belly dancing "mission impossible" moments!) Q. What has it been like being a man in a female dominated dance form? A. For years I've carried around doubt that being a male dancer was a glorified way of making a mockery of myself and another’s culture. Some people are very against men belly dancing, and it can be incredibly discouraging at times. I've seen a large number of potentially awesome dancers turned away. The challenge of it just drove me to work that much harder. I feel lucky to have found teachers that would work with me early on. Often I’d practice 5 nights of the week during my first two years dancing. It’s so important to put everything you can into your development, and to do less in any situation will frequently lead to disappointment for yourself and others. Q: What are your plans now? |