Lectures, Speakers, Films
and Panel Discussions
Hungarian-Canadian Cultural Centre
April 19th - 22nd, 2007

At least four hours each day in the Seminar Room will be dedicated to well-known Bellydance personalities presenting a paper, a book or the screening of a film. Admission is free to Conference registrants.

The purchase of a Day Pass to the Seminar Room for $25 will allow limited public attendance. The Day Pass gains access to lectures, panel discussions and Open Stage presentations for one day.

PANEL DISCUSSIONS AND PANELISTS

FEATURED SPEAKERS & PRESENTERS

Tamalyn Dallal • Shareen El Safy • Angelika Nemeth • Julie Elliot (Shira)
Andrea Deagon • Stavros Stavrou Karayanni • Merryl Bear • Yasmina Ramzy
Lynette Harper • Donna Carlton • Kathleen Fraser • Ferda Bayazit
Barbara Sellers-Young • Mary Lalonde • Venus (Marilee Nugent)
FILMS: 40 Days And 1001 Nights • My Mother Is A Bellydancer • Satin Rouge

Tamalyn Dallal

Film: 40 Days And 1001 Nights

Tamalyn Dallal is working on a book, film, and music project entitled 40 Days And 1001 Nights, in which she travels to five Islamic countries, Indonesia, Siwa Oasis of Egypt, Zanzibar, Syria, and Xinjiang (Northwest China) to live for 40 days. The book about her experiences will be out January 2007, while the film is a a work-in-progress.

The first cd 40 Days and 1001 Nights, Bellydance Music for Tamalyn Dallal, by the Ikhwani Safaa Musical Club of Zanzibar is available from the Mid Eastern Dance Exchange, Dahlal, Amazon.com, and at any workshop or performance by Tamalyn Dallal.

Tamalyn Dallal
shows her film on Sunday April 22nd.

Tamalyn dances
on the Gala Stage
Saturday April 21st.

She teaches
Saturday April 21st.

See Schedules
for details.

Biography: Tamalyn Dallal has danced for Madonna, Robert De Niro, Sean Connery, members of the Saudi Arabian royal families, King Abdullah of Jordan (when he was a prince), and Francisco Flores, president of El Salvador. She was also one of the dancers featured on the first Bellydance Superstars CD and DVD.

Impassioned with Middle Eastern culture from an early age, she sees Bellydance as the ultimate feminine expression, embracing every woman's unique beauty. Having bellydanced since 1976, and taught this art in many parts of the world, she has a wealth of experience travelling in North Africa, the Middle East, India, and Eastern Europe to further explore Belly dance and related dance forms.

In 1990, she founded the Mid Eastern Dance Exchange in Miami Beach, where she spent fourteen years training dancers and producing a myriad of events ranging from theatre shows to outdoor festivals. Many of the top names in Oriental dance studied with Tamalyn Dallal including Bellydance Superstars Amar Gamal, Bozenka and Yasmine.

On top of being a renouned dancer, she is also the author of two books: They Told Me I Couldn't, about her adventures as a travelling belly dancer in Colombia, and Belly Dancing For Fitness, a step-by-step guide to teaching and learning Bellydance. She has written two feature-length screenplays, and produced two instructional videos on Bellydance technique.

Shareen El Safy

Lecture

A Coexistence of Opposites: Tradition and Innovation in Middle Eastern Dance.

An inclusive view of our dance field confirms the inevitable forces of change.

Looking back at our history, we see that invention and adaptation have been fairly continual. In the West, new adaptations of the traditional have been embraced with references to the authentic forms as well as innovative departures from their cultural context.

A counterforce to this inventiveness has been efforts to reconnect with the origins of the dance, to explore and absorb the traditional ethnic as well as the modern oriental form directly from their sources in the East.

Shareen El Safy
gives her lecture
Saturday April 21st.

Shareen dances
on the Gala Stage
Saturday April 21st.

She is a panelist
for our Panel Discussion
Saturday April 21st.

See Schedules
for details.

Biography: Shareen El Safy, the “Spirit of Egyptian Dance,” has performed and taught on five continents, appearing in sixty major cities throughout the world. She has made extended trips to Egypt, performing in Cairo nightclubs from 1988-1992.

She has presented at university programs, and at the 1999 World Congress of ICHPER-SD in Cairo. She has received numerous awards for her teaching and choreography, including the South Australian Parliament “Cultural Enrichment” Medal, 1998.

Shareen co-produced the 1st and 2nd International Conferences on Middle Eastern Dance, 1997 and 2001. She was publisher and editor of Habibi Magazine from 1992-2002, and editor-in-chief in 2003.

Angelika Nemeth

Lecture

Teaching Oriental Dance at the College Level.

Chances to teach accredited classes in Middle Eastern Dance at the post-secondary level are increasing, but do we have enough dancers who are qualified or understand the academic environment?

California Community Colleges require a master’s degree, preferably in dance. Some educational institutions accept proof of professional equivalency in performing and teaching.

Teachers have to prove Middle Eastern dance is relevant and appropriate to a student’s development and provides not only physical benefits but also mental benefits such as critical thinking.

Angelika Nemeth
gives her lecture
Sunday April 22nd.

Angelika dances
on the Gala Stage
Saturday April 21st.

She is a panelist
for our Panel Discussion Sunday April 22nd.

See Schedules
for details.

Biography: Angelika Nemeth is on the dance faculties of three Southern California colleges where she teaches accredited classes in Middle Eastern dance.

She has organized and led dance tours to Egypt and Turkey; co-sponsored two international Middle Eastern dance conferences; and is an accomplished producer, director and choreographer.

She trains and mentors many of today’s new dance stars and presents workshops throughout the world. Known for her dynamic stage presence, she blends traditional and contemporary Middle Eastern dance styles into a passionate performing experience.

She has certificates in Dance and Theatre Arts, and holds a BS in Education and an MA in Psychology specializing in the Transformational Arts.

Julie Elliot (Shira)

Lecture

Dance In Egyptian Cinema.

Many people interested in Oriental dance see scenes from vintage movies, but have no context for what these scenes represent in the films in which they appear.

This presentation reveals the story behind the clips – not just the plots, but insights into the audiences for which these films were made and understanding of how then-current events/culture influenced the portrayal of dance.

Clips from a variety of Egyptian movies will illustrate key points, using narrative to weave them together, establish a historical context for each, and help viewers anticipate what to look for.

Julie Elliot
gives her lecture
Saturday April 21st.

Julie is a panelist
for our Panel Discussion
Sunday April 22nd.

See Schedules
for details.

Biography: Julie Anne Elliot first began studying Middle Eastern dance in 1981. She pursued her studies while living in Iowa, Ohio, and California. Over time, she began performing professionally under the dance name of Shira.

In 1997, she began her focus on the pursuit of the historical and cultural foundations of the dance form. For continuing education, she has traveled multiple times to Turkey and Egypt. She is known worldwide as the creator of the web site www.shira.net.

Her academic credentials include Bachelor of Arts double major in journalism and French, and Master of Business Administration in Management Sciences.

Andrea Deagon, PhD

Lecture

The Evolution of the Belly Dance Costume: Representations of Order and Desire

Most serious Bellydancers know, the two-piece bedlah is a Western invention, adopted by Eastern dancers in the early 20th century and firmly established in both Eastern and Western film by the 1940s.

This illustrated lecture follows the interrelationship between the Eastern costuming of its indigenous dances, and the Western costuming of its “Eastern” spectacles, in the years from the 1880’s to the 1960’s, focusing on the early 20th century. It explores such issues as the symbolic meanings of costume elements, the costume’s interpretation of the female body, and the significant role of Eastern dancers working in the West in the early 20th century.

Andrea Deagon
gives her lecture
Friday April 20th.

Andrea is a panelist
for our Panel Discussion
on Friday April 20th.

See Schedules
for details.

Biography: Andrea Deagon received her Ph.D. in Classical studies from Duke University in 1984, and she currently coordinates the Classical Studies program at UNC-Wilmington, as well as teaching in the Women’s Studies program.

Since 1975 she has studied, taught and performed Middle Eastern dance, and has taught workshops for professional dancers throughout the Southeastern United States.

She delivered the keynote speech at the First International Conference on Middle Eastern Dance (1998), and has spoken widely on Middle Eastern dance for both dance and academic audiences. She is a frequent contributor to Habibi magazine, and her articles on dance history and spirituality have appeared in other dance and academic publications.

Stavros Stavrou Karayanni PhD

Lecture

Dancing, Fear and Desire: Race, Sexuality and Imperial Politics in Middle Eastern Dance.

Karayanni's book Dancing, Fear and Desire: Race, Sexuality and Imperial Politics in Middle Eastern Dance (Wilfrid Laurier UP 2004, reprinted 2005) reveals, apart from a great artistic passion, the intricate ways in which the present tradition of this controversial dance has been shaped by Eurocentric models that define and control identity performance.

Stavros Stavrou Karayanni
gives his lecture
Sunday April 22nd.

Stavros dances
on the Open Stage
Saturday April 21st.

He is a panelist
for our Panel Discussion
Saturday April 21st.

See Schedules
for details.

Biography: Stavros was born in Cyprus and pursued English studies in Canada on a Commonwealth scholarship. 

He has published widely on culture, gender, and sexuality in the Middle East, but Oriental dance has been the main focus of his intellectual interest and research.

Stavros has broken new ground for this controversial dance by incorporating it in his presentation of academic papers at international conferences, thus assisting its entry into cultural and critical debates. 

The United Kingdom Alliance of Professional Teachers of Dancing has made him an honourary Fellow while Dancing, Fear and Desire has won the European Society for the Study of English (ESSE) book award in Cultural Studies. 

He teaches English Literature and Cultural Theory in the School of Social Sciences and Humanities at Cyprus College.

Merryl Bear

Lecture

Body Image and Self Esteem: Understanding and Building Towards Resilience.

Speaking for the National Eating Disorder Information Centre (NEDIC).

Merryl Bear
gives her lecture
Thursday April 19th.

See Schedules
for details.

Biography: Merryl Bear is the Executive Director of Canada's leading eating disorder information centre, NEDIC (www.nedic.ca). She is acknowledged as a leading authority in women's health matters and sits on the expert advisory committees of the Canadian Women's Health Network (CWHN) and the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario's Body Image Project.

Merryl is trained as an educational psychologist and has taught at high schools, universities and colleges in South Africa and Canada. Her most recent teaching work - at George Brown College in Toronto - was in the Assaulted Women, Children Counsellor/Advocate, and Human Services Counselling programmes.

Much of her teaching focused on Gender Identity Development and Women's Issues in Psychology.

Merryl is an experienced public speaker and a sought-after resource for the media on the topics of food and weight preoccupation, self-esteem and body-image and related issues. She has contributed articles and book chapters to a number of publications.

In recognition of her work at NEDIC, Merryl was awarded the Toronto Sun's Women on the Move Award in 1995 and included in the Who's Who of Canadian Women since 1996.

Yasmina Ramzy

Lecture

Looking For The Goddess In Vertical Drops and Shimmies

Yasmina explores how the unique way of movement in Bellydance is a meditation that allows the practitioner to experience and become one with the Foundation of the Universe or what many call the Goddess. 

At age 14, Yasmina began studies into ancient Egyptian mysticism and the worship of Isis, which eventually led her to the art of Bellydance.

In 1981, A Buddhist Lama encouraged her to pursue Bellydance and never give it up. He felt it would be very important to women's spirituality in the future.

After 15 years performing in night clubs in the Middle East and Canada, she returned to her spiritual roots and created choreographies for Arabesque Dance Company known as Descent Of Ishtar, Isis, and A Prayer To Nuit.

Now, she is writing a book called To Dance In Her Name and is finally speaking about why and how Bellydance can be a spiritual path.

Yasmina Ramzy
gives her lecture
on Saturday April 21st.

See Yasmina dance
on the Gala Stage Saturday April 21st.

She teaches
on Sunday April 22nd.

She is a panelist
for our Panel Discussion
Friday April 20th.

See Schedules
for details.

Biography: Yasmina Ramzy is the founder and artistic director of Arabesque Academy, Canada's largest Bellydance school and the critically acclaimed Arabesque Dance Company & Orchestra featuring 17 dance artists and eight musicians.

She received her key training from leading artists in Egypt, Lebanon and Syria.

Since 1981, Yasmina has been teaching, performing and choreographing Middle Eastern dance worldwide while mentoring many dance artists. Her artistic vision has been awarded several times by the Toronto Arts council, Ontario Arts Council and the Canada Council for the Arts and she has received rave reviews in national and international media for her innovative choreography.

Her workshops are renowned for promoting the power of the female spirit and her ability to convey the essence of Arabic music and dance. Under the moniker of Arabesque, Yasmina has created six performance DVDs, eight instructional DVDs and six CDs featuring original acoustic music.

Lynette Harper PhD

Lecture

Tribal Bellydance: Fusion or Paradox.

An exploration of tensions in North American transformations of Middle Eastern dance, focussing on Tribal Bellydance.

Discourses of Tribal bellydance emphasize respect, tradition, authenticity, community and inclusions.

Yet Tribal bellydance practices also support exclusivity, hierarchy and the reification of difference.

Harper will explore these contradictions by unpacking assumptions about authorship, certification, the “branding” of teaching styles, and the complex social implications of Tribal Bellydance in North America.

Lynette Harper
gives her lecture
on Saturday April 21st.

Lynette dances
on the Open Stage
Saturday April 21st.

She is a panelist
for our Panel Discussion
Sunday April 22nd.

See Schedules
for details.

Biography: Dr. Lynette Harper is an author and ethnographer, and currently teaches anthropology at Malaspina University-College.

Her academic and popular publications address museology, dance ethnology, culture learning and diversity, Lebanese refugee narratives, and education partnerships.

Travel and research has taken her abroad to Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Kenya, and Tunisia. Inspired by her Lebanese ancestry, Lynette has developed a unique and effective teaching style in three decades of teaching and performing Middle Eastern dance throughout the Pacific Northwest.

She was a founder of Earthfire dance collective, and is well known for her versatility, respect for tradition, soulful expression, spirited improvisations, and use of narrative.

Donna Carlton

Lecture

Still Looking for Little Egypt: Updates and Anecdotes.

In 1995, Donna Carlton's book, Looking for Little Egypt, was published, chronicling the history and perceptions of Middle Eastern dance in the USA since the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago.

The book explains Little Egypt's notoriety and traces the history and development of Raks Sharki (Bellydance) in the United States.

Little Egypt was a pre-Hollywood sex symbol created by and personifying the Western obsession for the exotic. She was born in an age when showmen outdid each other to manipulate the press and mislead the public by fabricating larger-than-life personalities.

Donna Carlton
gives her lecture
on Friday April 20th.

See Schedules
for details.

Biography: Donna Carlton teaches Middle Eastern dance, hatha yoga and drumming in Bloomington, Indiana, where she lives with her husband and son. Since 1988, she has edited and published the annual resource guide Middle Eastern Dance Video Sourcebook. Since its publication she has been a guest lecturer at universities, bookstores, and dance workshops and retreats. She also sponsors workshops locally and is a representative for Audrena's International.

Donna began taking classes in Middle Eastern dance in 1982, started performing in 1983, and by 1989 was performing regularly and began teaching. Donna originally got involved in Middle Eastern dance for its exercise value.

Kathleen Fraser

Lecture

19th Century Egyptian Bellydance (1760-1870): The Bee, The Love Duet and The Pure Dance.

A study of three choreographies performed by Egyptian dancers during the first half of the 19th century.

The Bee involved a dancer attacked by a stinging insect, the pain she experiences, and her attempts to rid of herself of the threat.

Because the other two were nameless the presenter has arbitrarily entitled them The Love Duet and The Pure Dance. The Love Duet took the form of an often highly sexual mimed couple dance.

The Pure Dance consisted of movements only, without a storyline.

Kathleen Fraser
gives her lecture
on Friday April 20th.

See Schedules
for details.

Biography: Kathleen Fraser received her MFA in Dance History from York University (Toronto) in 1991 with a thesis entitled The Aesthetics Of Belly Dance:Egyptian Canadians Discuss The Baladi.

Since then she has taught dance history at Scarborough College (University of Toronto), made numerous presentations at scholarly dance conferences, and her written work appears in North American dance journals.

She has recently completed a ten-year study of Egyptian Bellydance history of the late 18th and 19th centuries.

Ferda Bayazit

Lecture

Turkish Rom Dance: Culture, Music, Dance and Marginalization

Bayazit shares often comical and sometimes unsuccessful stories of looking for Rom people in Turkey to illustrate their marginalization.

Her lecture demonstrates how that marginalization, and the Rom response to it, is expressed in their music and dance through slides or video of Rom dance in it’s cultural context in Turkey. She also shares insights from Dr Serpil Mertezoglu of Istanbul Technical University who has studied Rom music and dance.

She will also discuss how Rom culture, music and dance has influenced Oryantal (Bellydance) in Istanbul and Turkey.

Ferda Bayazit
gives her lecture
on Thursday April 19th.

Ferda dances
on the Main Stage
on Thursday April 19th.

She is a panelist
for our Panel Discussion
Thursday April 19th.

See Schedules
for details.

Biography: Ferda’s dance career began at age four, when excelling in dance, she completed the Royal Academy of Dance ballet program with honours.

She had her first Bellydance lesson at 13 while visiting her Turkish father in the Bay Area of California. As a Canadian born in Turkey, it was special for her, like returning home through dance.

Since that first lesson, she has studied with renowned instructors such as Raqia Hassan, Yousry Sharif, Suhaila Salimpour, Hadia and Jillina. She has performed as a soloist in Canada, the US and Turkey and as part of the popular, high energy troupe Earthfire in Canada and the US. She has also taught ongoing classes and has given workshops in Canada and the US.

Currently, she is living and dancing in Istanbul, Turkey where she has been studying Turkish dance forms with various celebrated Turkish dancers. However, her favorite and speciality is the powerful Turkish Rom style of dance, for which she is now highly sought after for workshops when visiting Canada.

Barbara Sellers-Young PhD

Lecture

Tahia Carioca & Edward Said: Reflections on Home and Exile

Edward Said (1935-2003), public intellectual most noted for his documentation of The West's approach to The East (referred to as Orientalism), was witness in his teens to a performance of Tahia Carioca (1915-1999) Egyptian dancer and actress. Said was at the time living in Cairo as an exile from Palestine.

His 2002 volume Reflections On Exile And Other Essays which includes an essay about Carioca, has drawn fire from feminists who see Said's writings about Tahia as an objectification of women that reinforces orientalist attitudes about women.

This presentation presents another point of view, and considers Said’s reflections on Carioca as someone writing and speaking from a place of exile, in comparison to Tahia Carioca’s life that was rooted in her country of origin.

Barbara Sellers-Young
gives her lecture
on Sunday April 22nd.

Barbara is a panelist
for our Panel Discussion
Friday April 20th.

See Schedules
for details.

Biography: Barbara Sellers-Young has a BS in Sociology, MS in Dance and a Phd in Theatre from the University of Oregon.

Prior to her academic career, she was a dancer/choreographer/director who performed extensively in the Pacific Northwest, Japan, and England. She has also taught workshops and classes in dance and movement for international groups and universities.

Her research projects on the intersections of dance, body, and globalization have taken place in Sudan, Egypt, Nepal, China , England, and Australia. Her articles can be found in The Journal of Popular Culture, Theatre Topics, Asian Theatre Journal, Dance Research Journal and elsewhere.

She is the author of three books: Teaching Personality With Gracefulness (1993); Breathing, Movement, Exploration, (2001) and Bellydance: Orientalism, Transnationalism And Harem Fantasy. (2005).

Professor Sellers-Young’s research has been supported by fellowships from the American Council of Learned Societies and the Centre for Cultural Research into Risk, Charles Sturt University, Australia, as well as numerous grants, including a Davis Humanities Fellowship and a Pacific Rim Planning Grant.

She served on various university committees at UC Davis, taught as a member of the Davis Honors program and was from 2001-05 Chair of the Department Theatre and Dance.

Mary Lalonde

Film

Raqs Sharqi, It’s No Hootchy Kootchy.

The documentary is about bellydance instructor Hiba Al-Kinani, who took up the dance form to get in touch with her Arab heritage, only to discover many people have a negative perception of it.

She has made it her mission to change these negative stereotypes by educating her students and audiences about the history and culture of Middle Eastern dance.

The film tracks Hiba's efforts, explores other dancers experiences, peoples' attitudes, and describes some of the history of Bellydance.

This documentary provides an entertaining and thought-provoking look at the politics of Bellydance.

Mary Lalonde
shows her film
on Saturday April 21st.

Biography: Mary Lalonde’s passion for Bellydancing began after taking her first class with Hiba Al-Kinani of Guelph in 2003 where she continues to dance.

Mary’s other interest in video and film grew out of her studies at the University of Guelph, where she graduated with a B.A. in Women’s Studies in 2005.

Since graduating she has been active in the Guelph film community in a variety of capacities. This work has culminated in bringing her interests in Bellydance, womens’ issues, and film together in the production of a documentary about the politics of Bellydance in 2006.

Venus
(Marilee Nugent)

Lecture

Analysis of Active Muscle Patterns and Body Motion in Bellydance Movements.

Ever wonder what goes on in your body during Bellydance? In a university experiment, Venus’s joint and muscle activity was recorded by computer.

Results show which muscles are working when. Each movement shows its own unique pattern; layered movement patterns containing the combination of two simpler movements.

Results will be used to refine instruction methods, provide the basis for describing and clarifying dance technique, develop guidelines for injury prevention and suggest future studies in motor control of the trunk.

Venus
gives her lecture
on Sunday April 22nd.

See Venus dance
on the Open Stage
Thursday April 19th.

She is a panelist
for our Panel Discussion
Saturday April 21st.

Biography: Venus began Bellydancing in 1981 and currently teaches and performs full-time in Vancouver, BC. In 1982 she joined the Mirage Dance Company, a Victoria-based troupe specializing in group and solo dances in Middle Eastern folk, cabaret and interpretive styles. From 1984-91 Venus broadened her dance training with intensive studies in Ballet and Modern Dance, completing the two-year Contemporary Dance Program at Simon Fraser University, and the Main Dance Projects Performance Training Intensive.

Since 1991 Venus has devoted herself full-time to the dissemination and development of the art form through Venus Bellydance. With six instructors at six locations she offers classes for beginner to advanced Bellydance, and provides opportunities for student performance training and experience. From 1994-1998, Venus served on the Vancouver-based Middle Eastern Dance Association's (MEDA) Board of Directors as President, librarian, newsletter editor and publisher, and event organizer.

In September, 2001 Venus returned to Simon Fraser University to pursue dual interests in art and physical function. She has enjoyed researching various cultural and biomechanical aspects of Bellydance while completing a BA in Art & Cultural Analysis and a BSc in Kinesiology.

My Mother Is A Bellydancer

Film presented
by Mey Jen Tillyer

Who says that "See Lai", a species of sloppy housewives suffering from loss of youthfulness, beauty and passion of life, are doomed to spend the rest of their lives hustling and bustling the market and having dinner ready on time?

What if they regain the joy of life and liberation by learning belly dancing?

Can belly dancing be their savior or will it bring about their downfall as

husbands and community revolt against a dance that is not decent?

This Hong Kong cross of DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES and SHALL WE DANCE demonstrates female power, and stars Kristal Tin, Amy Chum and Tung Lam Ka. In Cantonese with English subtitles.

Mey Jen Tillyer (inset) hosts a Question & Answer session following the film.

Satin Rouge

Film

As she gradually sheds her shapeless, matronly housedresses for sequined Bellydance costumes, she also begins to emerge from her cocoon of melancholy and
loneliness.

Variety critic David Stratton compares Amari's tale to Douglas Sirk's American suburban melodramas of the 1950s (particularly All That Heaven Allows) calling the film a "handsomely produced and exhilarating romantic drama."

Starring Hiam Abbass, Hend el Fahem and Maher Kamoun.
In Arabic with English subtitles.

A widowed Tunisian seamstress takes an unlikely journey of self-discovery in writer- director Raja Amari's sumptuous and sensual Satin Rouge.

While investigating a suspected liaison between her headstrong teenaged daughter and a cabaret musician, young widow Lilia becomes drawn to an exotic nightclub netherworld of RubÈnesque Bellydancers and nocturnal pleasure- seekers.

She strikes up a friendship with one of the dancers, then eventually takes the stage herself — quickly becoming the favorite of both cabaret patrons and the club's hot-blooded drummer.