The Birth of a Dance Scene The History of Oriental Dance in Switzerland by Meissoun As in many other countries, Oriental dance is getting increasingly popular in Switzerland. Most probably, the majority of newer dancers rarely think about to whom they owe it to that such a large number of classes, shows and workshops are now available. After all, it has been only about 25 years since the first pioneers, with a lot of enthusiasm and initiative, introduced this "new" dance form in Switzerland! Please allow me to introduce some of these groundbreakers so that you will appreciate what it was like to be an Oriental dancer in Switzerland in the early 1980s. Surroundings
We know about all the prejudices regarding this dance form; back then, negative prejudice used to be much stronger because hardly anybody had ever seen an authentic Oriental dancer and Oriental dance was considered, fundamentally, a form of Strip-tease. Consequently,
it is no wonder that there were students who kept their hobby
a secret and did not tell even their husbands what kind of
classes they were going to every week... Therefore, the teachers
and dancers tried, from the very beginning, to establish Oriental
dance as an art form and often felt they had to refuse to dance
in restaurants for this reason. Fortunately, it was possible
to convince the audiences through professional presentations. Many of the first dancers also sponsored workshops featuring foreign teachers - often purely out of love for the dance because there wasn't much money to be made. It is also remarkable that many of the initial teachers began to teach very soon after they had started oriental dance. Today, we frown upon dancers who start teaching after only 1 or 2 years of dance experience, but back in the day, there was no alternative. (By the way, it is great to see that with only few exceptions, most of the first dancers are still active, mainly as teachers.) On the other hand, it was much less common for students to perform too early--mainly, because performance venues were much more rare than they are today. Some of those gigs were for weddings and birthdays in the first Turkish and Arabic restaurants. Audiences reacted with skepticism but were curious also. Some did not exactly understand what it was that they were watching; however, they liked it. Some teachers produced staged shows that were surprisingly popular; in fact, some of the shows that were held in Basel and Berne attracted up to 300 spectators!
Depending on whom you ask, prices for dance gigs varied. Some dancers claim to have earned much more money in the early days, while others were paid less. Nonetheless, receiving CHF 500 for a show at a big event was already possible in the 1980s. The media demonstrated an interest in Oriental dance from very early in its inception and published articles about dancers, shows and classes—some of those efforts were effective, while some, were rather useless. More or less, contact and collaborations between dancers were useful and relationships were satisfactory. The Middle Easterners often had a different point of view than the Swiss about both dancing and teaching, and therefore, the Middle Eastern dancers preferred to “do their own thing.” On the other hand, the Swiss dancers collaborated often, and they formed good and long lasting relationships. (They went to workshops together and stayed at friends’ homes.) Among a growing number of dancers, there were all kinds of relationships—from concurrence to collaboration; some dancers went so far as to found associations. In the 1980s, many Swiss dancers traveled extensively to other countries to take lessons; so, they came into frequent contact with fellow International dancers. This phenomenon happened less often when more possibilities to study the dance began locally and rose again only when the Internet became popular. The costumes of the time were mostly homemade, partly for budgetary reasons. However, some dancers also bought professional costumes from Madame Abla in Cairo or Bella in Istanbul—or even managed to obtain a second-hand costume from Nesrin Topkapi! There wasn't much choice for Middle Eastern music in Swiss record shops. Remember—it was a time before the CD became a preferred format. Consequently, music for dancing was sold either on cassettes (sometimes in very poor quality) or on vinyl recordings. One of the most popular sources was Paris where a large Arab community had already formed. Also, some dancers were able to locate music in Germany or Egypt. Most of the early dancers mention that, back then, dancers often showed more curiosity for the various Middle Eastern cultures, and therefore, they researched more. (Perhaps, one generally needed much more enthusiasm and engagement to learn Oriental dance under the circumstances.) Many dance students already had adequate cultural knowledge when they started their dance classes; whereas today, Oriental dance appears to have become one more consumer good, and many students don't seem to be quite so interested in cultural information. Aspects such as fitness and fashion trends (like that of Shakira) are more important, apparently nowadays. The
Pioneers Julie
Gürtler, Basel She met Marrakchia (from Zurich) and both of them went to Istanbul together where they first took lessons from the American dancer Nancy. However, after seeing a very impressing performance by Nesrin Topkapi, they asked her to teach them. So they became Nesrin's first students and for the next 2 years, they traveled back to Istanbul each Spring and Autumn. They lived in simple hotels because flying was much more expensive by then.
Beatrice
Holm Marrakchia
(Silvia Hunziker) She has been teaching classes in Zurich since 1983 and attracted a lot of students from the start. Many of her former students have become dancers and have their own schools for Oriental dance today. Marrakchia is one of the founders of the "Orientalisches TanzForum", an association of teachers in and around Zurich. She still teaches and creates her own stage shows from time to time. Badiaa
Lemniai Meyadeh
Jamal-Aldin In 1982/83 she started teaching her first classes the Oriental way—so there wasn't only dance but also food! After this, she taught in an "alternative" cultural center where hardcore feminists made fun of her dance. Through her brother, the famous film director, Samir, she soon got into the media, but she was dancing for fun and never wanted to be a full time professional with all the consequences. Meyadeh continues to teach in Zurich. Maha
Weber To educate herself, Maha took classes in Egypt and Lebanon. In her teaching she emphasized cultural understanding as well as having fun while dancing. She is very proud that many of her former students are teachers today and still teaches her own classes in Berne. Anisa- Cyndy Essahbi-PeakCyndy grew up in Southern California where she saw her first belly dancer at the age of 10 in a Greek restaurant in her home neighborhood. From then on, she wanted to learn this dance herself but had to wait until she finally took her first classes at Santa Barbara University. Cyndy came to Switzerland in 1977 where she started teaching in a dance studio in 1984. For her own dance education, she went to Istanbul (Nesrin Topkapi), Cairo (Hassan Afifi) and Marrakesh (Leila Haddad). Cyndy also met her husband in Marrakesh. Cyndy continues to teach and perform in the Zurich area. For me, it was very interesting to talk to our pioneer dancers and see how the dance scene has built up. I had also taken classes with some of them in the 1990ies and will be forever grateful for their persistence and work to introduce Oriental dance to Switzerland. Have
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The first
Oriental dancers in Switzerland were definitely regarded as
exotics! The dancers whom I interviewed told me that the reactions
of the people around them ranged between “curiosity” and “friendly
support” to “disgust.”
Later on,
Julie also went to Germany and France to learn the Egyptian
style, and she also has fond memories of 
