Matching steps to different rhythms

Spellbinding styles

The ‘Sixth Annual Belly Dance Show’ was conducted by Sanaz Dance Studio at Alliance Francaise recently. Students and instructors of the dance studio performed belly dances to different cultural music compositions.

The event began with a documentary presentation on how belly dance originated and how it came into practise. The documentary gave a glimpse of how dance forms differed from culture-to-culture and how they were improvised after being influenced by another culture. The first dance performance was indeed different, as told by the organisers at the beginning of the show.

The belly dancers performed to live music on the stage, a style influenced by the Afghans.
As the musicians played hand instruments, the dancers matched to their rhythm with hand movements and creating sounds with dance steps.

This was followed by a contemporary fusion belly dance comprising different forms of Indian dances. The show then continued with dancers performing to the beats of solo darbuka (Arabic tabla).  

The group performances then brought out emotions in different culture. The funny and humourous side of the Egyptians and how playful they are, was brought out in the next
performance.

Apart from this, the first session concluded, with a fashion show by a retail outlet in Jayanagar. The next session kicked off with advanced dance performances by the instructors of the studio. A fusion of hip-hop and belly dance was the most cheered performance. This was followed by a ‘modern medley’ dance.

Many, who were new to this form of dance, seemed to enjoy all the performances.
Siddharth, a member of the audience, said, “I have come to support my colleague. She is performing and I am here to cheer for all the dancers.

Though I do attend dance shows, belly dance is relatively new to me. I am used to watching dance styles like hip-hop, salsa and other forms. But belly dance is really interesting. The dancers looked so colourful and the stage was so vibrant. I had a very nice time.” 
 
Amay, another attendee, said, “The choreography was very impressive and it
really showcased the talent of the instructors who came up with the steps. The dance steps went really well with the music they had chosen. They maintained the energy with high pitch music and even the students looked very professional.”