Colorful Moments in Spain
2014 International Oriental Dance Festival of Gijón
Photos by Gabriel Monserrat
Intro text by event producer-Vanesa Moreno
posted April 18, 2014
The International Oriental Dance Festival of Gijón, held every year in March, is organized by Fusión Oriental Group and Vanesa Moreno. Gijón is a small town on the north coast of Spain. Since its inception, the number of students was increasing and improved their attitudes about Oriental dance. That is the main reason why Fusión Oriental group decided to do something special to provide an outlet for all of these emotions and ideas. Many ideas emerged, but finally we decided that a festival was the best of them.
Our first effort was small, and we only invited two teachers: Munique Neith (Brazil/Barcelona) and Mohamed El Sayed (Egypt/Madrid). It was a complete success and the students were delighted with the idea! That infused all of us with the energy and strength to continue organizing the Festival again, even though it meant a lot of effort on various levels. This year was the sixth edition of the festival, and it has been a great success once again. This year’s list of outstanding teachers and dancers shows how this festival has grown:
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Teachers
Virginia Méndez (USA)
Samara Hayat (Argentina/Madrid)
Aziza Abdul Ridha (Italy)
Nelly (Greece/Vienna)
Simona Guzmán (Israel)
Helena Russo (Italy)
Naima Bakkali (Morocco/Cádiz)
Antonia Azahara (Brazil/Zaragoza)
Amaru Sabat (Barcelona-Spain)
Jelila (Barcelona-Spain) - Dancers
Ann-Marie (Ireland)
Pharaon (Egypt/Dublin)
Alejandra Oliveira (Brazil/Bilbao)
Angelina (Colombia/Coruña)
Naima Nez (Menorca-Spain)
We are fortunate to have had Gabriel Monserrat as our official photographer at our festival. He has been with us for the last two years, and he is coming back again, for certain. He does an incredible job during the weekend with a noticeably professional touch.
This festival does not want to lose its “familiar context” so it is limited to a maximum of 25 students per workshop. Students have all three meals of the day with the teachers so they can learn more than just dancing from them. All the activities during the weekend are at the same hotel, which means that all students, teachers, dancers as well as the members of the audience do not have to worry about going to different places in town, loosing precious time. Every dancer at the competition receives a prize, so the backstage is really relaxed, and it is great to see participants helping each other before and after their performances. There is even a special event for students on Sunday evening. They can perform on stage, no matter what their level may be, in front of the invited teachers and the audience. After the show, teachers may talk with them about their dance and how they might improve. There is no Oriental shop in town so the students are delighted to have the chance to try on and look at all the costumes and Oriental dance accessories that are brought into the festival from shops in Egypt, India, and different cities of Spain.
Both teachers and students always leave our festival with a with a feeling of warmth, hospitality, and friendly atmosphere. All of the difficulties experienced by the Fusión Oriental Group and Vanesa Moreno during the year are forgotten when we hear participants saying, “I want to come back next year!”
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6th International Oriental Dance Festival of Gijón 2014
Simona Guzmán – Israel
Aziza Abdul Ridha – Italia
Virginia Méndes – USA
Nelly – Greece
Vanesa Moreno – Gijón
Antonia Azahara – Brasil
Naima Bakkali – Morocco
Samara Hayat – Argentina
Vanesa Moreno – Gijón
Vaimarama Group – Asturias, Spain
Kamra Azrak Group- Bilbao, Spain
Fusión Oriental – Gijón, Spain
Final Gala
Group Photo- Gala International
Angelina – Colombia/ Spain
Ann-Marie – Ireland
Pharaon – Egypt
Amaru Sabat – Barcelona, Spain
Jelila – Barcelona, Spain
Ann-Marie – Ireland / Pharaon – Egypt
Final Gala National Final Gala National
Group Photo National Gala
Cristina Calzón
Angelina Oriental Troupe – Coruña
Emanuela Marocco – Italia
Mohamed Alí – Egypt
Final group photo of the contest on Saturday 8th of March
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