Spring Fling 2000, review
by Ann "Roxann" Sabin

On June 3, 2000, Su’ad and the Desert Moon Dancers hosted the Spring Fling 2000, in Hartford, CT. Three workshops were presented, taught by Su’ad, of Hartford, CT, Farasha, of Jackson, NJ, and Aviva of Long Island, NY. 

The first workshop, led by Su’ad, was about the taqsim, the slow, improvised aspect of Middle Eastern Dance. Su’ad talked about using one’s mind to discriminate first the different musical styles. We listened to different instruments and distinguished what types of movements best match the music. Su’ad then gave us the opportunity to execute this newfound knowledge. We split up into groups and performed for each other. The difference between this and other workshops is that we were all improvising, not imitating the same choreography. It reinforced what we had just learned and we practiced using our own style (dancing with the soul, now that we had exercised the brain) just moments after learning, AND it gave us the opportunity to experience other dancers as performers. We had the opportunity to take an active role in creating the workshop with Su’ad; she tapped into our individual creativity. And as delightful as I found that, there was no real structure set up to assist us in remembering our newfound techniques. While low structure is fitting in a taqsim workshop, which is an unstructured stretch of music and dance in of itself, I believe that Su’ad could have provided a handout including her philosophy of taqsim. This one piece would have been a wonderful reference, especially for the newer dancers in the workshop. Overall, Su’ad presented a good basic foundation on which to build your taqsim.

The information gleaned from Farasha’s workshop was an introduction to the variety of sounds you can make with your zills. We reviewed traditional rhythms as well as a variety of ways to use the zills to accent the music and movements. We learned choreography with scripted zills, which gave examples of Farasha’s different zill usages. In the choreography, the education was in mapping the zills over specific movements. We covered this thoroughly, Farasha explaining where each accent landed. So much attention was given to zills, however, that sometimes footwork went by the wayside. Having the zills, music, and steps in unison is what would have driven the point home about zill usage, and losing this aspect of the choreography I feel may have caused the point to have been lost on some students. Farasha does deliver the message that excellent zill playing is attainable, and makes the whole art of zill playing very human. This is very useful, especially for the newer player. Her sunny personality was always present. She was rather delightful when describing the music phrases, and what we were going to do next. This removed any pretense that what she was doing was exalted knowledge, and gave us permission to accomplish with her. 

When it came to elegant veil, Aviva was the right instructor for this workshop. She provides simple choreography, which even the most basic of dancer can manage, if not master, which leaves room to teach the basics we sometimes neglect. We learned a simple veil routine, with emphasis on presentation. Every one of the workshop participants, including the very beginner, could do the veil work. This was an advantage because it gave the student the ability to focus on presenting the veil work elegantly. Aviva first addressed how important presentation is to dance. An underlying message was that even though anybody could do veil work it took some concentration and rigor to do veil work gracefully. Along with educating beginners, this came as a good reminder to more experienced dancers; we were doing the physical equivalent of stuttering while following along. Aviva showed us what our own elegance looked like, and gave us a tool to raise it to the next level. I found, at times, I needed to stop watching Aviva’s feet and remember that her teaching was about poise and presentation, and then the grace and elegance would come. The hard work disappeared and the simple joy of dancing with a floating veil was present. Aviva reminded us with this veil routine that it is not necessarily complex choreography, or even terribly long and hard work, but rather a pride in oneself, and commitment and rigor when you are practicing that maintains elegance in the dance.

In conversation, Su’ad said the intention of the evening show was to give anybody who wanted to a chance to perform, a welcome opportunity here in the Northeast where, I have discovered, such opportunities are rare for the non-professional. As a result, some performers were able to experience the thrill of being in front of an audience for the first time. Many others welcomed the opportunity to share their latest work, with skill levels ranging from beginners to professionals. All three instructors demonstrated their workshop emphases in performance.

Overall, Su’ad and the Desert Moon Dancers hosted a good workshop and show. The space was very workable, and comfortable, and the presentation of the event was professional. A major concern of mine, however, is the price schedule. While $45 for three workshops was more than generous to the attendees, paying $5 to perform in the evening show was inappropriate. It troubles me that students might leave this workshop thinking that they should have to pay somebody for the opportunity to perform. And with the plethora of non-professional performers, $20 is asking quite a lot for general admission. I believe it would have worked better to restructure the rates: eliminate the performer’s fee altogether, and reduce the evening admission to a single rate. Increasing the workshop fee will make up any shortfall, and a lower admission price would have made the show more accessible to the general public.