Aziza, “Dear to the Heart”

As WAMEDA members anticipate Aziza’s arrival for the 2006 workshops and hafla, our featured instructor and performer grants us an exclusive interview.

From her home in Montreal, Canada, she shared with me her beginnings in dance in her hometown of Portland, Oregon to some of the highlights of her career.  As we spoke, it became evident she has deep respect, understanding and passion for this dance form, its roots and its future.
 
Q:
You started dance with classical ballet correct?
A:
Yes, I studied classical ballet exclusively for 15 years starting at the age of three.  When I went to college I quit dancing completely and I was miserable.  I went to Hawaii for spring break and I ended up staying.  I spent some time there studying Tahitian and Hawaiian dances.  I realized then what had been missing in my life, dance.”
 
Q:
How did you become involved in belly dance?
A:
I think my story is very typical. When I came back to Oregon, I was coaxed by a friend to take a belly dance class.  I went, expecting nothing special…I didn’t see it as a serious dance form. I had seen a belly dancer once in an old James Bond movie.  I was struck by the variety of the women in the class, all shapes and sizes.  And the music; when we started moving to the music, I thought ‘ahhh…this is it!’”
 
Q:
Who was your first belly dance teacher?
A:
Her name was Rubye Sowder in Vancouver, WA near the Canadian border.  Rubye had a singing telegram business and I started doing singing telegrams. I gained a lot of performance experience and learned how to improvise and think on my feet in a variety of situations.  I studied with Rubye for about two years.  Rubye’s class was very performance-oriented. Within three months I was dancing in the clubs and within six months I was making a living from dance. I really didn’t know what I was doing…..I wanted to learn more.  I started to go to workshops and watched a lot of performance videos of dancers from the Middle East.”
 
Aziza’s rise to fame was no accident.  In fact, she pretty much planned it.  She had been dancing in the clubs for 15 years and realized she needed more to secure her future.  She wanted more and she set out to get it.
 
A:  I knew I had to make a name for myself.  I knew that if I worked hard to make a name for myself that my name would work for me…hopefully.  I wanted to win an IAMED award, Cabaret Dancer of the Year.  I needed to get my name out there. In 2002 I entered the three big competitions on the West coast:  Belly Dancer of the Year, Wiggles of the West, and Belly Dancer of the Universe.  I worked my tail off to prepare, I mean really worked my tail off…and I won all three.  And then wouldn’t you know it, IAMED didn’t have the awards that year.
 
For those who may not be familiar with IAMED, the International Academy of Middle Eastern Dance (www.bellydance.org) is known for producing the best quality shows and videos, reaching belly dancers world wide. Many of today’s dance stars became internationally known as a result of being recognized by the IAMED Awards and appearing in IAMED videos.
 
2002 was the year Suzy Evans of IAMED decided she was only going to do the awards every other year.  So there was no awards ceremony that year, but there were plans to do a show and video called “Rockin’ the Casbah.”  Aziza was added to the line-up at the last minute and appeared as the cover dancer on the video. Her memorable performance became widely recognized as one of the highlights of the show.  In the finale segment of her performance, an authoritative voice (Hannan Sultan) seamlessly woven into the music, begins to give dance instructions as Aziza follows the directions, even feigning a frantic moment of hesitation.
 
A:
I wanted to do something different, yet remain true to the roots of the dance….something that would speak to the new dancer as well as to the twenty-year dancer.  My good friend Hannan Sultan helped me.  She found the DJ who mixed my music and helped me put the piece together.
 
Q:
Where or how do you find inspiration to stay fresh?

A:
It comes from never being satisfied and always feeling like I could do more.  I actually find I’m looking outside of belly dance.  Inspiration comes from everywhere.  It comes in concepts.  For example “Celtic Tiger” with Michael Flatley…what grabbed me was the fusing of Irish dance with other things yet honoring the roots at the same time.  Just recently I attended the International Flamenco Festival in New Mexico.  One of the concepts I came away with was “seize and release.”  I think, ‘how can I take this and apply it to belly dance.’  Inspiration is everywhere, even old musicals. I look for what grabs me and I try to find that in my dance and capture it.
 
Q:
What would you be doing if you had not chosen dance as your livelihood?

A:
I CANNOT imagine not dancing!  But when I went to college I had intentions of becoming an interpreter for the deaf.  I was studying sign language; I had this way of communicating with my body.  I never really thought about it but I guess it makes sense now.
 
Q:
What advice do you have for aspiring professional dancers?

A:
It starts with the instructors.  Instructors have a great responsibility to their students. They have influence over their students. Instructors must realize that students will want to perform and they must address it.  They can have field trips to restaurants and clubs to see dancers they respect and show their students how it’s done.  They need to provide appropriate performing opportunities for their students to gain experience so they don’t go performing in restaurants when they don’t know what they’re doing.  They need to monitor and mentor their students.
 
Q:
Who are some of your influential teachers?

A:
Delilah and her Video Workshop series was a big early influence.  Fahtiem was also a big influence later on as well as Hadia; Maliha of Iowa City, IA, who is probably not well-known outside of her area; she is fabulous!  And Suhalia Salimpour has a strong format….you may not agree with her choreography or costume choices but her format is focused on technique and dancers need strong technique to go to a higher level.  I wish there was more focus on technique in belly dance.  The other stuff is good too, but technique is so important.
More recently I had a great honor to take private lessons in Egypt with Raqia Hassan.  When I got the nod from her…you know the nod (of approval)…that was a great feeling.
Aziza’s teaching and performing schedule is quite full and has been for the last few years. She has taught seminars all over the U.S., Canada, Germany, France and more recently at the Holiday Dance Festival in Essaouera, Morocco.  As she tells me about her upcoming workshop tour of Europe, she is genuinely astounded at the world-wide demand for her workshop offerings.
 
A:
I’m in the process of setting up a workshop in Portugal….Portugal!  How do they know about Aziza?  I know we are a small world with the internet and IAMED, but Portugal!
 
 
Q:
Have you noticed any differences in dancers or the dance scenes in different geographic areas?

A:
Not so much differences, I am struck by the similarities.  If you’re a good dancer, you’re a good dancer in New York, in Los Angeles, in Egypt.  A good dancer is a good dancer everywhere.
 
Q:
How did you get your dance name?

A:
I was working in the Greek clubs in Portland.  I was going by my real name at that time.  There was a musician there, Spiro.  And he drank a lot of ouzo.  When it was time to introduce me, he would always forget my name.  One night when he was about to introduce me, he did the same thing, he paused and hesitated and then he introduced the dancer…“Aziza!”  I looked around and wondered “is there another dancer here?” And then I came out and danced as Aziza.  Later I asked him….when he was sober….why he introduced me as Aziza, and he said I reminded him of a dancer named Aziza he used to work with.  When it came time to make my business cards, I had to decide what to put on them, so I became Aziza. It means “dear to the heart” in Arabic.
 On September 16 and 17, Aziza will visit the DC area for the third time, and for the first time sponsored by WAMEDA.  On Saturday, she will serve us her famous (or infamous) technique drills on a platter of passion and poise.  The Saturday night performance is not to be missed.  And Sunday she will offer some new material…perhaps a scrumptious new drum solo?  Mmmmmmmm!