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I have recently met through the internet Maja,The Girl from The
Nile. During our ensuing conversations, I began to realize she is
a very interesting woman! "What a great person to interview," I
thought, as she has a unique perspective on our dance form, being
from Egypt originally and now residing here in America, in the state
of Florida.
One
of the first questions I asked her was about her childhood. Her
parents, grandparents and she were born in Cairo. Her family came
from Algeria originally, "on the back of a donkey as merchants to
Egypt." Her lineage on her mother's side is French-Algerian-Jewish,
born in Egypt. From her father's side, Maja is of Russian, Romanian,
and Gypsy roots. She says playfully, "I am from Egypt from the belly
down, and Jewish from the belly up!" She grew up dancing as a child,
at family parties and clubs. Maja says that "my grandfather used
to take me to Om Kolthsoum concerts. I was so bored then,
and slept on his lap. Now I give so much value to that time we had!"
She
continued to tell me her story. "We left Cairo when I was 14. All
foreigners were obliged to leave the country. It was because of
President Nasser. He wanted to nationalize, or 'Egyptianize' the
country, because many of the businesses were in European hands.
We were given 24 hours to leave. We couldn't sell anything in 24
hours, or make any arrangements, we just left. We ended up wandering
around, travelling to France, Israel and finally we ended up immigrating
to Brazil. 'It was raining gold,' they said, it was the 'land of
the future.' So all Jewish Egyptians left and spread through different
countries. As a Tribe, we always look for each other."
When
she got to Brazil, she stopped dancing, as there were no teachers
there at that time. But the dance was always in her heart, her soul,
her blood and her very being. Brazil was a great experience for
Maja, and her son Patrick was born there.
Maja
told me of leaving Brazil eventually, and "I moved to America 9
years ago. I started bellydance here as a hobby to get in touch
with my roots. I was fat, not coordinated and felt I could not move
at all. The transformation started very gently, and slowly. But
gradually, my body and then my spirit, changed. I believe in Magic.
In expansion and inner transformation. I reconstructed myself. The
inner doors opened. I gave a chance to my inner little girl and
to my essence to flow and grow.
My
major influence and first teacher is Youkta. She is the most
incredible spiritual New Age Bellydance Teacher. She is now teaching
in Arkansas and has a woman's retreat there. She is the best hidden
secret, a unique teacher in our Art. She comes down to Florida occasionally
for workshops."
When
Youkta left Miami, Maja "started to share what little I knew and
the students encouraged me and gave me support. I grew up, thanks
to all the women I have around me. I grew up watching them growing
and expanding. I expanded my classes - opened up to my soul, got
into the Goddess dance, because I believe in the power of ritual,
and my spirit knows that it was done in ancient times. I feel we
are here to remember the dance of our ancestors, to remember our
intuition and through the practice of these sacred movements, we
become empowered, and get stronger in our daily lives. We are here
to reconnect all the women we have in our womb, in our roots, in
our communities, to become one.
I
opened up to my Gypsy soul, and of course to the Egyptian way. I
love and understand the music and that's the major point I find.
To interpret the music through our dancing.
I
went to so many workshops that I cannot remember all of them. Some
of the dancers I am inspired by include: Delilah, Dalia, Suhaila,
Cassandra and now Carolena (of FatChanceBellyDance.)
Here in Miami I have also attended classes with Miriam Eli
and Jihan Jamal. And I grew up watching movies of Tahia
Carioca, Samia Gamal and Naima Akef, who continue to
be my idols.
All
the teachers I have had have helped me to grow. I am always inspired
by other dancers, and other women, no matter what shapes, sizes
or levels of technical prowess. I am always amazed by the possibilities
this dance provides for us to create and produce. It is a Magical
Dance.
But
the one who is present at every movement I invent and create, is
Youkta. She is the absolute and I bless her at every class. I learned
so much with her. She has it all."
Maja
currently teaches regular classes in several communities in southern
Florida, from Ft. Lauderdale to Miami Beach. She coordinates drum
circles and haflas. She also is available for workshops. Some of
her own specialties include projects for children, such as combinations
of Middle Eastern Dance and storytelling that she has designed herself.
What better way to interest the next generation of dancers and musicians
than by utilizing this wonderful combination to keep them enthralled!
Besides traditional raks al sharki, Maja also enjoys teaching
Ritual Sacred Dance, Candle Dances (especially with Pharaonic themes),
her own Gypsy style, Egyptian Trancedance, Swordwork, Veilwork and
Guided Movement Imagery classes. She directs a troupe called The
Gypsy Tribe, who enjoy performing the modern, the classical
and the folkloric styles of the MidEast, as well as some of their
own interpretations. As a teacher, Maja takes the time to teach
her students about the dance's origins, and the meanings of the
songs. She shared with me that the Arabic name for Cairo, Al
Qahira, originated from the name for the planet Mars, which
is Al Qahir. Mars was in the planetary ascendant position
while Cairo was being built, orginally as a military headquarters.
Since Mars rules that sort of action, it was considered a good omen,
and a divine blessing, so the name was given to honor the planet.
On
her travels, Maja shared that she "went back to Egypt twice. To
reconnect, to get in touch with my roots, to feel, be and taste.
Just to be there is a blessing. I choose not to go on tourist's
tours. I feel as if I am on a pilgrimage. I walk and walk and walk
for days and hours in places and streets and markets that tourists
would not go. I get the buses with the people. I want to touch,
to feel, to play, to smell, to reenergize - to eat the bread and
'falafel' they sell on the streets. I feel that my body needs
to be there. It is as an ancient medicine to me. I drink in the
dirt and the noise and the smiles, I buy tapes on the streets.
This
last time I went, in 1998, I wanted to do something extravagant,
so I decided to take classes with the famous names. I had one class
with Nadia Hamdi, at Mahmoud El Ghafar's store. His
is the largest store for bellydance costumes and accessories. The
building is three floors and shopping there is a blast! Nadia is
adorable. She is very, very nice. I asked her to give me something
folkloric. So she brought a picture from her grandmother with a
'balass' (vase). She used to be a dancer, too. So Nadia gave
me a vase dance choreography. She is very much alive, uplifting,
a giver and a true enthusiast in her art. I enjoyed every minute.
And, she will be in Florida in April!
The
second teacher I studied with there was Raqia Hassan. I went
to her apartment for my lesson. She lives by the Cairo Sheraton.
I had taken lessons with her before here in Miami. She is excellent.
The spirit, and the gestures. I asked her to give me a 'Melaya
Liff' choreography, and here I am with a Balass and a
Melaya Liff in my pocket!
The
last lesson there was at Mahmoud Reda's home. All of these
teachers are pure gold. Also while there I went to the best, most
unique Sufi presentation in the oldest mesquita, (temple)
right in front of the Khan Khalik. It was a free show.
The best Tanoura (dervish) you can ever hope to see. Everybody
who goes to Egypt should make a point of seeing that show!
I
did see 3 zeffas (wedding processions) in the lobbies of
the hotel, and a fun folkloric show by Hassan and Company,
at the Hilton. The male dancers this time impressed me much more
than the women. I did not see any great Egyptian dancers perform.
There were none. I saw an Argentinian, and a Brazilian. The shows
start at 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning, so I stopped looking, as
it wasn't worth it for me to go to see these copies of the real
thing.
The
government in Cairo is aware of this problem, and is going to make
it more difficult to release visas for the Russians, as they took
over the market by charging much less than the Egyptian dancers
do, and effectively put the natives out of business.
From
Egypt, I went to Israel. I was pleased to find that there is a lot
of bellydancing there, too. I had a class with Fifi. She
is born in Egypt like me,and she was receiving a teacher from Germany
that weekend. I could not attend, however, as that was the day of
my show! I was hired from here in the U.S. as a gift for a Bar
Mitzvah of a predominant family in Tel Aviv. So I am very proud
that I made it, and that they asked me. It was a big party in a
garden, and the dance was a joy for everybody.
During
that same trip, I went to Brazil, and spent three weeks with my
son. Bellydance is a FEVER there! More in Sao Paulo than in Rio
de Janeiro where I was. Teachers abound by the dozens, and you can
find them all over. It's funny, this 'fever' started after I left
Brazil. In Sao Paulo is the largest Lebanese community in the whole
world outside their native soil. Big names and very wealthy.
The
teachers I met there included Regina, who gives names of
Egyptian Goddesses to her movements. She had made a deck of tarot
cards with names of moves and pharaonic pictures on them. She has
a class in the summer right on Ipanema Beach. I was very inspired
and started one similar last year myself, in Florida. She has her
own studio for teaching, and a metaphysical magazine. While I was
there, she had a show in a pizza place with her students.
Marcia
owns the studio "GAIA" and teaches Gypsy flamenco and bellydance.
She promotes shows with her students. I found her to be a very beautiful
and earthy teacher.
The
Brazilians are very talented and innovative in their costuming.
They prepare these huge sequined costumes for Carnival. There are
many hand workers who work inexpensively. But personally, I don't
like them. (the costumes.) They just don't appeal to me. Maybe they're
just too - inelegant or unrefined for my taste.
But
in general, they are very inspiring teachers, I think in part because
of the Samba dance. They have it in their blood. And, they
are very good with their hips!"
In
closing, I asked Maja to please tell our readers about any upcoming
events she has on her calendar.
Maja:
"This year I promoted a couple of seminars with different teachers,
including Miriam Eli, Tasha Banat and Helene. They
were successful, and I have dreams to bring as many teachers as
I can to my area. In fact, I am honored and proud to present for
the first time in Florida, an American Tribal Bellydance seminar
with Kajira Djoumahna from California, on January 16 and
17, 1999. It is something that many dancers here are yearning and
eager for, (the American Tribal Style) and we did not have it here
yet. We are all very excited to have Kajira with us. We cannot wait.
Her program is intense and we are going to go deep into this Magical
Phenomenon that is the American Tribal Style. Kajira is a student
of Carolena Nericcio of FatChanceBellyDance in San Francisco, and
she will present their unique interpretation here for us. Some of
you may have heard of Kajira, as she is a staff writer for this
magazine, and teaches many styles of the dance, including tribal,
in her home town just north of San Francisco. She is very active
with her various troupes and solo endeavours, and this will be a
very exciting thing to have her here."
I
wish to thank Maja for granting me this interview, and also Taaj
for printing it! If anyone would like to contact Maja, you can telephone
her at: 954.929.7155 or email her at:
majafromthenile@hotmail.com
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