The Hilal Dance Week Experience 2005

Written by Fiona Dixon

As a student of Hilal Dance I have attended several Dance Weeks at Düsseldorf and they have never failed to impress me, yet I can honestly say that this year, the whole experience was exceptional.
It started well when I checked in at the appropriately named 'Friends' hotel and received a warm reception from the staff there, which set the tone for the week to come. It is situated round the corner from the Tanzhaus, with all its facilities where our classes were to be held. One of the great features in having this compact arrangement is that we had extra time amongst ourselves in order to socialise, meet new people and reacquaint ourselves with old friends who had come from all over the world.

The pace of the week was really well thought out and although so much was learnt from Suraya and Alessandro, the relatively relaxed pace meant that nobody became exhausted or burnt out, energies were conserved and to my mind at least, the special atmosphere contributed greatly towards the learning process, without any pressure whatsoever. There was even room for spontaneous performances, for example when one of the groups wanted to see the other group perform, such was their interest. It is always uplifting to be around so many motivated and enthusiastic people, especially since we all share a love for this beautiful dance form and there was a very real connection between the students, teachers, the music and the superb musicians that gave a unique environment, safe and supportive, so typical of Hilal Dance.

For me personally, an enthusiast of the Sha'abi form, it was exciting to have a couple of days of Sha'abi music and dancing which helped to remind us of the origins of the various dance forms, before moving on to Baladi, the urbanised evolution of Sha'abi.

However for many of us, it was Sharqi, or the classical form which captivated us the most. It helped of course that we were privileged to have Ibrahim playing percussion and Emile playing the violin for us in class, yet far from being intimidated by such masters, in true Egyptian fashion they were helpful and encouraging in the extreme, clarifying musical points for our greater understanding. There were occasions in the class when it was sheer bliss to listen to the exquisite music and watch the other half of the group dance in the Hilal Dance style. Equally, it was exciting to dance to the music and lose ourselves in it. Although we were acquiring a great deal of knowledge about the technique of Hilal Dance, it was such a rich environment that it never once felt like a learning process but rather a hugely rewarding experience where we were all learning at our own pace in an organic way. One thing which was obvious was the rate of improvement made by many pupils in the classes as the week progressed. Some of us took advantage of Ibrahim's percussion classes which are always good fun as well as helping our general understanding of Egyptian music. It was impossible to separate learning from enjoyment and under the expert guidance of Suraya and Alessandro the classes seemed to pass very quickly and I was always taken aback by the speed with which they ended. This was also true of the whole week, which seemed to fly past.

It is difficult to choose a particular highlight of the week since it was superb as a whole but one aspect which left us all speechless with admiration was the performance of Alessandro's Iskandar Dance Company, one evening. Those of us lucky enough to know him and his gifted young dancers knew it was going to be good but we were absolutely amazed by the power, beauty and perfection of the performance.

It epitomised everything about Hilal Dance, the clear line, fluidity, energy and expression of the traditional music of Upper Egypt in a contemporary form which made it a unique and mesmerising experience. It is a tribute to Alessandro as a teacher and choreographer as well as the dance itself that two talented young girls can evolve into stunning performers in a relatively short period of time. No wonder that many of us were moved.

The memories of all the aspects of this special dance week are still strong and I still feel inspired by all I have experienced and learned. I cannot wait to repeat the experience in 2006!

Fiona Dixon

The consensus is that this year was particularly special because the atmosphere was filled with a generosity of spirit, calmness, and joy.

"The rare privilege of dancing to a live accordion was certainly an impetus for experiencing the animation of deeper aspects of the Baladi form. ... Many people felt emotional due to its nature as a reservoir of poignant expression."