Oriental Dance during the Danceorientation Festival 2022 by Marika Raks
Marika Miserez writes:
“At Danceorientation, I was given the task of providing a performance of oriental dance during the breaks. There were also oriental snacks and drinks.”
What is Oriental Dance?
It is commonly referred to as belly dance. However, this is not entirely accurate, because in this dance, the hips are mainly moved, but also the belly, shoulders, chest, head, and so on. It is a dance from the Middle East where different body parts are isolated and these movements are combined. There is a lot of variation in styles, depending on the region, sometimes soft, sometimes very strong. These movements are applied to specific oriental melodies and rhythms.
What is included in the repertoire of oriental dance:
1. Hips: square, movement left, right, forward, backward, tilting left, right, backward, forward, circles (both horizontal and vertical, small and large), figure 8 (vertical and horizontal in both directions), accents (right left with flat feet, forward, sideways, backward with pieds tendus, down, up, down left and right (like a ‘scale’), shimmy, 3.4 shimmy in different ways, and so on.
2. Chest: up/in (not forced, by breathing in and out), left/right, forward/in, circles (directed up/front), accent up, accent down
3. Arms and hands: snake arms, turning with the hands, graceful hand positions
For the first performance, I started with a classical number. At the beginning of a performance, I often dance in front of the tables with enough space. As time goes on, I move between the tables and interact with the people sitting. Some ladies are very enthusiastic, and it doesn’t take long to convince them to dance with me. This is part of a performance as it would be in a restaurant. First, a dancer shows her art, then she approaches the guests to invite them to dance with her.
Considering the event, I also chose a song with mainly percussion to stimulate the ears with the rhythms. I also used typical Egyptian music that is rhythmic and festive. During the second performance, I used glowing Isis wings. This added an extra dimension to the evening. I was happy to hear later that some visually impaired people were still able to see the lights.
Image Description
Photo 1: Marika Raks dances in the outdoor courtyard of the VGC complex. She is wearing typical oriental attire. A blue bikini with golden bells and a long matching skirt. Of course, her belly is exposed. Marika has long red-blond hair and very light skin. She is surrounded by visitors to the festival.
Photo 2: Marika dances between the people sitting at tables eating and relaxing. In the foreground, you can also see Saïd Gharbi sitting. A blind performer who was also scheduled in the program.
Photo 3: A black-and-white photo of the event.
