Gilded Serpent presents...
Interview with Sapphira
By Sally Long

Q. How did you get into belly dancing and burlesque?
I saw my first belly dancer at a Turkish restaurant in Australia, her name was Azura and she was setting up her own school so I began taking lessons with her. When I moved to London, I continued to learn with master teachers touring the UK and also regular weekly classes in various locations.

Q. How long have you been performing both styles?
I have been performing for over ten years as a singer, for five years as a belly dancer and three years as a burlesque artist (but in many ways I use my skills as a cabaret singer in these routines)

Q. What was your motivation for doing the Shimmy Shake show?

I befriended Princess Farhana on the internet when I was launching myself as a burlesque and belly dance artist because I noticed an article she had written on the internet on the Gilded Serpent website as she also performed both styles. I then met her in London when she did some workshops here and we discussed doing a belly dance and burlesque show if she came back to the city. She emailed me again at the beginning of the year to say she was coming over so I decided to put the wheels in motion and put on my very own show. Shimmy Shake was a catchy name and no-one else in London was doing a specific belly dancing and burlesque show. Although I had been belly dancing at many burlesque events in the past so I knew the format would work. I was also determined to use the best artists I could find, because I had seen a lot of amateur belly dancing shows and burlesque shows and wanted to create something with a very high standard. I approached Madame Jojo’s and they were very keen to be involved and I was able to book a Sunday evening slot. Also, from my experience I knew that belly dancers and burlesque artists were both intrigued about each others art and I could tell from the number of belly dancing students attending Princess Farhana’s burlesque workshops that

uniting both scenes would benefit a lot of artists and students. Both art forms attract similar women who enjoy being sensual, expressive and adorning themselves with glittering costumes.

My other motivation was to extended interest beyond the niche belly dancing scene that I had experienced open belly dancing up to a broader audience. Doing a show at a mainstream venue like Madame Jojo’s would give lots of new-comers the chance to see belly dancing and burlesque at their best and hopefully inspire new students to take up either art.

Q. Are you pleased with how it is going?

Shimmy Shake is going much better than I ever could have hoped for. I have put in a lot of work promoting it in the right circles and because I have been involved with belly dancing and burlesque here I have a good network of fellow performers, teachers and students who are helping to get the word out there. Also, it helps that she show is at a popular venue like Madame Jojo’s because they are very proactive in promoting the show at their venue and on the their website. We have also had rave reviews from local press which has also been very helpful. I have done a lot of work with press releases to get journalists from a broad entertainment field to come along to the show.

Q. You are now doing Shimmy Shake workshops, how did that come about?

I think the expression is ‘supply and demand’, after the first Shimmy Shake show I had a lot of enquiries from belly dancers who wanted to learn burlesque so I decided this would be a great format and asked the venue if I could teach a workshop during the day. They thought it was a great idea. For the next workshop I will be demonstrating the similar movements used by both arts and showing how they can be applied to different music to achieve the different styles.

The first workshop was a real success and I just love teaching because you see the confidence you pass on to women of all shapes and sizes when they realise they can move sensually and elegantly. I think there is a showgirl inside all of us!

Q. How do you feel about the criticism on the internet and particularly from Miles Copeland who is a well known personality?

The belly dancing and burlesque debate is an interesting one. I think comments are being made by people who have not experienced the show and are in the dark about what we are doing. I can only say that I welcome any critics to come to the show and experience it for themselves.

Miles Copeland’s article seemed to be written without much forethought or insight as he did not even bother to find out what a ‘fascinator’ was and slandered the show without attending it.

How can anyone hope to make an accurate remark if they don’t know what they are talking about? I wouldn’t try to comment on flying a plane as I have never flown one. I think this is an appropriate analogy because many people are ‘guessing’ about what they think the show is doing and how it is portraying belly dancing.

Q. I noticed the last Shimmy Shake had a send-up of the belly dancing and burlesque debate – how did you come up with this idea?

We really enjoyed doing our inspector routine. I couldn’t think of any better way to make light of the Miles Copeland article so we decided to do a spoof! Hey, it’s what burlesque is all about anyway so what perfect material!!

Q. Do you agree that burlesque could be perceived as sleazy and degrades belly dancing?

At my shows, the burlesque artists and belly dancers are polished professionals who have been trained in dancing, drama and stagecraft.

Burlesque does not always involve striptease and showcases comedy and artists from all genres.

For the next show we have Cancan dancers, tribal belly dancers and singing acts that do not involve any striptease at all. In the routines where burlesque does feature strip-tease it is a joyous, playful and liberating way that celebrates the female form and is more about coyly toying with the audience in a clever and suggestive way. I know that Shimmy Shake is not degrading belly dancing because I have been flooded with enquiries from some of the best belly dancers in the country wanting to perform at my show. I know that my event showcases belly dancing at it’s best and many people have gone on to take belly dancing classes after seeing such a superb display of talent.

I think any craft that is not polished and is performed badly can damage the art form it represents.

I have seen many poorly rehearsed belly dancing shows that do no credit to the performer or the dance, the same can be said of amateur burlesque performers who struggle with props and drop things on stage. There are many shows like this that do not do the performers justice or the art form.

Dancing is self-expression and comes from the heart.  Like popular culture, art is constantly progressing so we should embrace new shows, dance and fusion as it’s a necessary part of artistic progress. I don’t believe we can ever make ‘rules’ about dance, music or expression.

Q. What is your advice for performers who want to get work performing in shows?

Attend as many workshops as you can and find a style that suits you. Practise thoroughly until you know your routine and props and can use them with confidence in any scenario. Be prepared that most live shows will not go as you practised so make sure you are good at improvising.

Always bring two copies of your music and burn only 1 song on each CD so there is no confusion for the sound engineer. Your costume is what marks you as an artist, find something distinctive and flattering and make sure your music and performance match the outfit. If you can devise a signature act that no-one else is doing, this is a great way to get noticed.

Above all, self-promotion is key! Get a good website together, create some professional flyers and market yourself properly. Good luck!

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