{"id":2140,"date":"2010-11-26T16:50:12","date_gmt":"2010-11-26T23:50:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gildedserpent.com\/cms\/?p=2140"},"modified":"2010-11-29T12:45:34","modified_gmt":"2010-11-29T19:45:34","slug":"marthyna-belly-dance-quebec","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.gildedserpent.com\/cms\/2010\/11\/26\/marthyna-belly-dance-quebec\/","title":{"rendered":"Struggle for Legitimacy"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Fawzia<\/p>\n

History of Belly Dance in Quebec – An Overview<\/h2>\n

by Marthyna<\/a>
\nphotos supplied by author
\nposted November\t26, 2010 <\/span><\/h3>\n

This is an overview of a presentation I made during the 2010 International Bellydance Conference of Canada<\/a><\/span> in Toronto. This is not an article, but different historical points to illustrate the history of belly dance in Quebec and how the french language impact the development of the dance form. I hope you will enjoy it!<\/em>  <\/p>\n

The first bellydance in Quebec was Fawzia Amir – so our Quebec history begins in the late 1950. <\/p>\n

\"Fawzia
\nscan of an actual menu from her night club<\/h6>\n

Fawzia opened the first Middle Eastern night club \u201cSahara\u201d in 1957. She was a strong business woman and a great bellydancer. She deplored the term \u201cbellydancing\u201d \u2013 preferred \u201cnative folk dance\u201d to avoid sexual references about her dance or her costume. She was acquitted in 1960 of presenting an immoral dance after being arrested for indecent exposure and called to court. She actually danced in the court room to show the judge what this was really about. Her last engagement as a dancer was in 1970.  She trained Gamila Asfour<\/strong> which will be one of the most influential Belly Dance Tearchers in Montreal. <\/p>\n

\nThe Second Generation include three wonderful women : Gamila Asfour, Lala Hakim and Helen Smolens <\/p>\n

\n\"GamilaGamila Asfour<\/strong> <\/p>\n

Gamila met Fawzia in the early 1960s.  Trained in ballet, flamenco and social dances, she learned by observing Fawzia at the Club.  Another influence on Gamila was the last Ahmad Jarjour<\/a><\/strong> who taught her his passion for bellydance.  Gamila worked for years at the Sahara Night Club<\/em><\/strong>.  She taught most of the actual teachers in Montreal and now she still teaches workshops and is a part of AQDO<\/em><\/strong>, a Middle Eastern association for Quebec. <\/p>\n

\"LalaLala Hakim<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lala arrived in Montreal in the mid 1970\u2019s.  She was a soloist for the Egyptian Folkloric Ensemble Kaymea<\/em><\/strong>.  Lala began her career in Quebec in a restaurant, Le Beyrouth<\/em><\/strong>, in Montreal.  She is still very active and has her own school in Montreal. <\/p>\n

\nHelen Smolens<\/strong> <\/p>\n

Helen debuted in movies; she danced with Samia Gamal<\/strong>, Tahia Carioca<\/a><\/strong> and Naima Akef<\/strong>.  She trained with Mahmoud Reda<\/a><\/strong> from 1956 to 1968.  She arrived in Montreal in 1968 and created her own troupe, Les princesses du Nil<\/em><\/strong> (Princesses of the Nile), which is still active today. <\/p>\n

\nFrom 1960 to 1980, bellydancers performed in cabaret night clubs and restaurants.  <\/p>\n

They were not always accepted by the general public because of the revealing costumes but also because sometimes dancers performed between two strippers.  This created a taboo around bellydancing.  No one wanted to be caught learning it or performing on stage. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Helen
\nHelen dances with Naima Akef in a movie
\n<\/h6>\n

This is where the language barrier changed this\u2026In French "Belly Dance" = "Danse du ventre". Let me explain. <\/p>\n

\"FirstAt this point and even now \u201cdanse du ventre\u201d is associated with a sexy dance. Someone took the opportunity to create a new french word for it \u2013 baladi.  This change occurred because of a book \u2013 Le Baladi, Apprendre la danse du ventre pour s\u2019amuser, maigrir, etre en forme.  Edition de l\u2019Homme in 1980. <\/em><\/strong>Even if the name change helped the reputation of the dance form putting the general public in the state "what is baladi" instead of "woohoo, do a nice little dance for me", we\u2019ve been working on changing it back to Danse Orientale (Dance from the Orient or Oriental Dance) because Baladi is not accurate. <\/p>\n

\nImportant Dates \u2013 A Timeline<\/strong> <\/p>\n