Dancing again!

Last weekend I attended another of Keti Sharif's excellent workshops on middle-eastern dance technique. Keti has to be one of the finest teachers of this genre in the world. Her work is thoughtful and carefully graded, so that each step of the way builds on previous ones. Her A-Z system is one of the best constructed syllabuses I have seen in any form of dance education.

This workshop built on A-Z by using short sections of that system to suggest various choreographic moods, based on the four classical elements of fire, air, earth and water. Using appropriate 'mood music' made it easier to fall into the desired mind-space to express the gentle rhythms of wind and water and the strength of fire and earth. All these things, of course, are related to human moods. How often do we hear 'fire in the belly' or 'raining tears'?

I was delighted and relieved that Keti certified me (yes, OK, people are always telling me I should be 'certified'!) for both systems. I plan to try to interest my theatrical dance ladies in learning a middle-eastern routine this coming term. While dance is an excellent form of exercise at any age, classical ballet, with its complicated and difficult jumps and turns, is not the best choice for older people; at least not in the same format as one might teach children or teenagers. What I do with my class is to give them a simple but strengthening ballet barre and centre, and instead of the 'allegro' section of class which traditionally contains the most demanding material, I shift to energetic but not-too-demanding steps drawn not only from ballet but also from traditional dances of the world. One thing all nations have in common is dance. I have never heard of a society that has no dance culture, and I doubt such a society exists anywhere.

Keti Sherif (right) teaches world-wide, and is currently in (I think!) North America. Find out more on her website.