2013 Interview with Virginia of Miami
A Five Part Video Talk with a Star of Florida
by Lynette
post starting September 19, 2013
Filmed during the Miami Belly Dance Conference at the Alexander Hotel on August 31, 2013.
On August 31, 2013 we interview Virginia at the Alexander Hotel on Miami Beach. In this section of the interview she tells us about her RakStar festival and about 2 of the the teachers they will have this year- Mercedes Nieto and Wael Mansour. In the following sections of this interview we will cover the other teachers and get Virginia’s opinion on various community issues.
Part 1: Creating RakStar and talking about teachers Wael, Mercedes |
Part 2: In this section of the interview she tells us about her RakStar festival and more of the the teachers they will have this year- Amir Thaleb, Mohamed Shahin, Issam, Aziza, Virginia. |
Part 3: Community EthicsVirginia talks about the recent belly dance boom and the increase in teachers and festivals, in Miami and around the world. " I was raised with Ethics" she says. Currently she says the emphasis is on business. |
Part 4: How to make yourself known!Virginia has suggestions for making yourself known in the community in an ethical and respectful manner. |
Part 5: What happened to the Arab Clubs?
Why are there no Arab clubs to dance in anymore? Virginia talks about what happened to the clubs in Miami and what is happening currently in Cairo. |
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Ready for more?
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I looked at different options to satisfy this need to improve my dance. I decided to travel to Argentina and train with someone whom I considered the best modern belly dancer, Saida Helou. - 6-8-10 Interview with Yamil Annun, An Argentinian Belly Dancer
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Either we are a sisterhood of ego therapists and our instructors are politically correct in all they say and do—or we are tough artists in search of ways to improve our art form by ruthlessly weeding out the lame from our herd. - 4-12-03 The Emperor’s New Clothes
Until we see ourselves in the context of a larger society, no one outside of our community will accord us the respect we desire. - 4-12-03 Critiquing, the “Agony & The Ecstasy”
It’s an unnerving experience to be “critiqued”by your peers, but my personal opinion then and now is that when you perform in public, critiquing just goes with the territory of performing. - 8-15-06 Bellydance Journalism, Rhythm and Reason Series, Article 14
One powerful tool used to mislead is bellydance journalism. - 6-29-2010 Argentine-Arab Dance and Music Charm Taiwan, Gina Chen promotes Live Music for Local Dancers
I have to say it is quite different from any other American or Egyptian style choreography I learned before; you almost always keep your feet into ballet position and body weight is relatively higher. The physical dynamic is much exaggerated. I guess this is the Argentine style bellydance and I could see why local dancers are fond of it, owing to the quality of fluidness and lightness, very outward gestures and wonderful live music. - 12-13-07 A Report on the First International Bellydance Conference of Canada Part 2 – Sunday Club Party
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Additionally, their friendly and respectful relationship was highlighted when she finished her show, dancing to each instrument separately, and in this way she introduced each of the musicians. Such a relationship between dancer and musicians is not widely seen in today’s restaurant atmosphere… unfortunately. - 9-6-13 Gigbag Check #47 with Rosa Noreen on the CK
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I immediately made new friends and was surprised to find the multi-national composure of our 200+ people crowd – I befriended a dancer from Holland and another from Columbia, although the majority of the dancers were from Japan and other far-east countries. - 8-24-13 Because I’m Worth It! The Perils of Pricing
There is a difference between "daring" and "working for free, undercutting other dancers, and misunderstanding the economics of pricing whilst mindlessly genuflecting to celebrity culture."
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