Egyptian belly dance comes to Taipei

Imagine that you are sitting by the side of the Nile River. Passionate music arises and you see a mysteriouss woman draped in veils, a low-waisted gauze skirt and shiny gold beads baring her midriff. As she begins dancing like a snake, twisting her belly, a halo golden bells tinkle around her head. The music grows to crescendo, you feel a swoon.

Now, you can catch this feeling in Taipei. Samah, a belly dancer with more than 20 years of experience, arrived in Taipei yesterday for two performances tonight and tomorrow night at Taipei's Fuego Fantastico Flamenco Workshop (迷火佛拉明哥舞坊). In addition to her performances, she is also giving a one-week lesson as part of the same workshop.

Samah is originally from Seville, Spain, the home of Flamenco dance. But it is also a place strongly influenced by the Orient, middle East and even Indian cultures.

Having learned belly dancing in Egypt, this Samah has given performances under her Arabic name in Egypt, Syria, United Arab Emirates, the US and many parts of Europe. In Egypt, the media describes her dance as "flying into another sphere." This is her first time visiting Asia.

According to Samah, belly dance can be traced back 2,300 years to the ancient worship of the goddess of fertility in Egypt. From there it evolved as part of the rituals celebrating fertility. "Now, in almost any kind of festivity, as long as there is the right music, Egyptian women young and old will take off their scarves, tie them around their hips and dance," Samah said.

She said belly dance has no particular repertoire or even specific steps. Once the basic skills are acquired -- including the movements of the neck, waist and hips -- one can dance freely to the music. The key, she said, is to move the three parts separately, using precise muscle control. "It's a very natural, very improvised kind of dance," Samah said.

"It is also very good exercise for women. By moving your belly and hips, it helps you with circulation, similar to yoga," said Lee Shih (李昕), a local Flamenco dancer who learned belly dancing from Samah in Spain. Egyptian belly dance emphasizes greater inner strength and the movement of your smaller muscles, while Turkish belly dance emphasizes grand gestures, bigger movement throughout the space and the beauty of the dance steps, Samah said. She will demonstrate the two different kinds of belly dance in her performances.

For your information:

Belly dance performances at 7:30pm to 9pm, today and tomorrow at Fuego Fantastico Flamenco Workshop, 3, Alley 8, Lane 303, Nanking E. Rd., Sec. 3 (南京東路三段303巷8弄3號) For more information, telephone (02) 2718-2011