Recalculating Khaleeji

Find out why the expression “Khaleeji the dance of the Persian Gulf“ Does Not fit in the Khaleeji world and get a better understanding about the subject.

About Martina Cancio

Martina Cancio, from Brazil, is a professional dancer, dance instructor, researcher and Culture lover.
Working Internationally since 2005 and based in the Middle East since 2007 have performed in 15 countries around the globe.
Registered by the Brazilian government as Artist/Dancer under the license DRT 002303.

Little Egypt in the U.S.

A dancer named Little Egypt presumably introduced MENAHT dance at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Although no records of a dancer with that name at the fair have been found, legend credits her as the dancer who startled and delighted audiences on the Midway Plaisance. Although her exact identity remains unknown, her legacy lives on in stereotypes of the belly dancer. The term danse du ventre or “belly dance” itself evolved from Europeans as an attempt to characterize the movements of this dance form during the colonial period. Images and imitators of this dancer proliferated and catered to Western audiences long after the fair, but images of dancers in prints, paintings, and photographs long preceded the live dance in the US. An analysis of images of MENAHT dancers and their American or European imitators made and advertised to Western audiences reveals stereotypes and misunderstandings of this dance form that persist to the present day.

Laska (Leanne Zalewski)

„Laska is a belly dance (MENAHT) performer and instructor based in Connecticut, USA. She performed in Jillina’s BDEx Seattle Wizard of Oz in 2022. She completed JTE 1 & 2, and earned a Bellyqueen Teacher Training Certificate in 2022. She received a Jump Start Grant from the Connecticut Dance Alliance in 2021 in order to produce a MENAHT dance show. She has been performing since 2010 and teaching since 2019.
She is also an Associate Professor of Art History and for this talk, combined her love of dance and art. Her article on which this historical presentation is based is out for peer review at an art history journal.“

Orientalism

Brief ideas about Orientalism and how this cultural phenomenon has conditioned the history of bellydance and, in general, the image of the East in the collective imagination.

Chrystelle Ferrara Viforcos

I studied History of Art, specializing in cinema. Currently, I work in the decoration department for television series and movies, which I combine with my other great passion: Oriental Dance. I am in love with vintage bellydance, in general, because it makes me very happy to study and dance like in the movies of the Egyptian Golden Age!

DANCE DIDACTICS OR THE ART OF TEACHING

Being a teacher of geography and sociology by profession, but teaching Raqs sharqi and MENATH folklore teacher for the last 18 years, I will share some basic teaching terminology and point out some of the key questions every teacher should ask, before starting to teach.

Nataša Kočar

„I am a Raqs Sharqi teacher & some MENATH folklore teacher, dancer, book author, and passionate researcher, academically or out there on the field. I have been teaching dance for 18 years, especially for beginners and intermediate students in my dance company KUOD Bayani. I also have a diligent crew of semi-professional dancers who follow my crazy ideas of producing theatrical shows, as I strongly believe that our art form deserves a stage. We have been performing all around Slovenia as well as in Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, and Austria (5 times in Lalish Teater). I wrote a book – and made a corresponding video book – called 1001 Oriental Dance Moves, a practical guide for learning and teaching the basics of Oriental Dance.
www.natasakocar.eu“

A Journey in the Magical Land of Anatomy

A dance anatomy lesson.

Sofiya Marinova

„Sofiya Marinova is a dancer, teacher, and movement coach from Bulgarian origin, based in Berlin. She merges art and science by going deep in anatomy and embodiment in dance.

Sofiya is studying various dance styles, including oriental dances, contemporary, improvisation, ballet, waving and more. She likes to go out of the norm and experiment with movement, while maintaining respect to the dance form.

Additionally, Sofiya is a trained Franklin Method educator, which is an embodiment practice that combines functional anatomy and dynamic imagery to improve function and movement. It integrates beautifully into her dance practice, creating a deep body understanding and awareness. „

Introduction to bellydancing with a low income

Oriental dance is fantastic! Fantastic and… quite expensive. It can be hard to keep on dancing as a student, when your income drops. What can you do not to lose your progress?

The presentation shows the result of a quickscan amongst bellydance students and explains possible interpretations on that. It also gives a few practical tips on continueing your dance.

Leandra

Leandra is a dancer based in the Netherlands. Her style is known for being soft, emotional and unexpected. She dances both raqs sharqi and fusion style, and is currently following training in Reda style.

If she could pick 1 word to describe herself, it would be: curious! She loves learning about what is going on in society.

What format is accepted?

The accepted format is a video (mp4, avi, wmv, MOV) of a maximum length of 7 minutes and size of max 300 Mb.

It might seem that 7 minutes is not enough. Still, as scientific conferences prove daily, 7 minutes is short enough to keep your audience focused, especially if they go through many contributions, and long enough to say and explain your core message.

Tips for a successful contribution

Please remember, the presentation is not about you but your work or your experience. So, please, do not start the presentation by naming in how many countries you performed and with who you studied. Don’t waste your time on that because you will have the possibility to upload your short bio and contact information. Therefore, anyone intrigued by your video can read about you and contact you. Instead, focus on the unique topic and your own experience you want to share.

Do you want some other tips for a successful presentation?