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Belly dancing in the kingdom is being reinvigorated by an American teacher and performer who aims to encourage a whole new generation of women to take up the classical art form.
Khadejah El Oueslati organises special classes to teach the mighty movements to women of all ages and nationalities in the kingdom.
The mother-of-three from Juffair, who goes by the name of Dejah when she dances, insists that the Egyptian oriental dance known as ‘raqs sharqi’ is much more than a shimmy and a shake.
Khadejah, who works in the administration department at Bahrain School, said: “I have been dancing all my life and I can’t imagine not doing it - it’s like breathing to me.
“I don’t understand why it’s not regarded in the same way as ballet or other theatrical dances because it is one of the oldest dance forms. I wish people would see belly dancing the way I do, as beautiful, soft and sensuous, not erotic and exotic, but feminine.
“Nowadays, when women dance it’s more a case of ‘bing, bang, boom’ or ‘shak shak’. It’s almost like they are breakdancing and I’m thinking, is this what dance has come to - has it really gone down to this level?
“It’s not supposed to be about how many moves you can perform in a minute. There is no ‘tarab’ – in other words, there is no ‘feeling’ or ‘connection’ to a piece of music being played, in my opinion.”
In her regular Monday classes at Bodyline Sports & Spa she teaches posture, footwork and hip drops. She also explains how each song and beat can change the style of the dance and the costume worn.
“My aim is to bring back belly dancing to how it was regarded in those Egyptian ‘Black & White’ movies.”
During her choreographed sessions, which often accommodate more than 15 enthusiasts, Khadejah demonstrates down-to-earth, heart-warming dances including baladi which is the root of raqs sharqi, raqs shamadan known as the candelabra dance and saidi.
She also showcases styles such as raqs assaya (the cane dance), sha’abi, khaleejy which is considered ‘the dance of the Gulf’ and the old Bedouin-style dances of North Africa.
A couple of months ago, her hip-shaking moves were put to the test when her twinkle-toed pupils performed in Bodyline’s Belly Dance Night with Khadejah event. More than 30 women gathered at the fitness centre in Saar to take part. The ladies first participated in a half-hour traditional folk dance class and then five, including Khadejah, presented a choreographed piece and solo performances.
Sreekala Prakash presented a candle dance to a slow Turkish Chifte Telli song by Harry Saroyan and Lilo Khalili performed her rendition to the music of Alf Layla Wah Layla.
Summer Zhu danced a drum solo choreographed by Khadejah and the music was from Khemis Khenkish. Mary Grace Dela Cruz, a Bodyline certified instructor executed the raks sharqi beautifully to music from Eddie ‘the Shiek’ Kochak. Her dance included an introduction, veil dance and finale.
Khadejah’s many years of experience were evident when she danced to a piece of music that was written specially for her by Bassam Ayoub and sung by Nadia Hamdi.
Khadejah, an American from Pennsylvania, who legally changed her name when she was nine, was first bit by the belly dancing bug after watching screen performance by Egyptian stars such as Samia Gamal, Tahiya Karioka and Naima Akef. She said: “I remember watching an old movie dubbed in English with Samia Gamal and she was dressed like an amira (a princess) or a genie dancing in a sparkly costume. I thought ‘wow’ I want to dance like that. It was beautiful.”
Khadejah first took to dance in Pennsylvania and was the youngest attending classes staged at the YMCA. She was soon flying to New York, Philadelphia and New Jersey to perform with the troupe.
“It helped that I grew up in a multi-cultural community including Syrians, Lebanese and Palestinians,” she explained. “I became acquainted with the culture and the dances. It was a wonderful community that was full of love for music and dance.”
Khadejah moved to Europe after graduating from business school. She worked during the day and continued dancing in the evening.
She met her Tunisian husband, Mustapha, a folkloric dancer and civil engineer, in Germany. Together they founded a dance theatre school teaching more than 120 students a week.
Khadejah continued her dance studies and became a master instructor and choreographer, teaching workshops and performing at weddings. She was invited to open the Carthage Festival in Tunisia and was the first American invited to teach traditional dance at the acclaimed Ahlan Wa Sahlan Festival.
She also appeared on TV in the US, Canada, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa before moving to Bahrain in 2012.
Aside from holding dance classes, Khadejah is in demand to perform at female functions and weddings. She also holds upbeat belly dance classes at Fitness First in Riffa every Sunday alongside the popular Monday evening sessions at Bodyline.
For more details, she can be contacted on 36723054.
