In fall of 2002 I walked into the Jung Center in Houston, TX to attend my first Egyptian dance class. I had no idea what Egyptian dance was but it sounded exotic so I wanted to try it. Ten minutes after I arrived and saw women tying on hip scarves, I realized I had just signed up for belly dancing lessons. I was ready to leave….me….belly dancing? No way! I decided to suffer through the humiliation of the first class and explain to the Jung Center what a silly mistake I’d made and ask for a refund…surely they’d understand. I was enjoying a good laugh at myself when Kristina Koutsoudas, the instructor, began energetically engaging the class. Kristina, an amazing choreographer, began by introducing us to the rich history of what is loosely termed ‘belly dance’. Her lecture was accompanied by historical footage of folk and cabaret styles and included performances by well known Egyptian dancers. The music, the moves, and the unique female experience of belly dance excited me so much that before class was over I knew I’d never be the same; refund was the furthest thing from my mind. My life changed then…there. I continued lessons and began to take from Kristina at her private studio as well. One evening she came to me after class, "I can’t wait to show you ‘the Turkish’ " she said. Being the xenophile that I am, I was thoroughly intrigued; Turkish sounded even more exotic than Egyptian.
My introduction to Turkish dance was through its music… the first few bars of a Turkish slow 9: doom-doom/ pause-pause /doom-doom-doom…overwhelmed me…it was music I’d never heard but felt like I’d known my entire life…it didn’t just resonate with me…it exploded. I’m still as wild about Turkish music and dance as I was that day 8 years ago. Whether it’s learning new dance steps or rhythms on the doumbek, zills and riq, this is the music and dances in my heart. There are many who share my passion. Through a series of interviews with sister Turkophiles, Dance Romani will be hi-lighting talented artists from around the country who perform the Turkish style.
My introduction to Turkish dance was through its music… the first few bars of a Turkish slow 9: doom-doom/ pause-pause /doom-doom-doom…overwhelmed me…it was music I’d never heard but felt like I’d known my entire life…it didn’t just resonate with me…it exploded. I’m still as wild about Turkish music and dance as I was that day 8 years ago. Whether it’s learning new dance steps or rhythms on the doumbek, zills and riq, this is the music and dances in my heart. There are many who share my passion. Through a series of interviews with sister Turkophiles, Dance Romani will be hi-lighting talented artists from around the country who perform the Turkish style.
One of many amazing woman I've met on my Romani journey is the passionate and super-talented dancer and percussionist: Amina Beres. We met at the home of Artemis Mourat in Silver Spring, MD in 2009 and will be reunited with otherTurkophiles from the Artemis camp at 3rd Coast Tribal Fest in Fort Worth, January 2011. We’ll be studying Turkish with under Eva Cernik. The following is an interview conducted today with the lovely and energetic Amina.
The 'Daring' Amina Beres! October 16, 2010
Dance Romani: Good Morning!!
Amina Beres: Good Morning to you, how are you this fine day?
Dance Romani: Excited!
Amina Beres: Same here! Had a performance last night here in our Egyptian-dominant town....my Turkish troupe did a karsilama and I did a Turkish oriental solo....we had a blast, and we get to do it all again tonight.
Dance Romani: That's fantastic!
Dance Romani: How long have you been dancing?
Amina Beres: I started dance in 1995, on a dare. I've never done any dance before, my background was in music and sports.
Dance Romani: I love it! Tell me about the dare and how it led you to Turkish?
Amina Beres: I was attending our Minnesota Renaissance Festival where the local dance company was performing. The finger cymbals and the rhythms are what grabbed me, makes sense given my 25+ years of playing percussion at the time. I said 'wow, I'd like to do that!', and the people I was with said 'yeah, right, you never will.' Couldn't turn the dare down, so with an "I'll show them" attitude, looked up the local dance company and signed up for lessons. It was lessons in Egyptian style only, back then we had one Turkish dance instructor in town but I wasn't able to fit her classes into my schedule and she stopped teaching shortly thereafter. So I stayed with the Egyptian, until about 6 years ago, Artemis Mourat came to town to teach some workshops and perform in a show, and I was completely blown away by the fire and spontaneity of Turkish style.
Amina Beres continues: When you are first starting out as a dancer, you 'don't know what you don't know', and I wasn't able to notice the differences in the style. After years of hearing 'Turkish is a second-rate style', and then when I saw Artemis, I realized that something was not correct with that assessment. It took another 3 years, until 2007, before I was able to finally take some workshops with Artemis. Oh, and I Dalia Carella! I had taken 2 workshops from her and she was the first to introduce me to 9/8 rhythms for dance - it really resonates with me.
Dance Romani: There are so many facets of the Turkish style - everyone is drawn to something about it that resonates with them. I'm not at all surprised that the rhythms captivated you! What town are you in and how did you specifically hear about Artie initially?
Amina Beres: I'm in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I first heard about Artemis in 2004, when a local Egyptian dancer brought her to town for a weekend of workshops and a show. I wasn't able to attend either, but a friend of mine loaned me the DVD of the show....I had never seen anyone dance with so much fire and so much love for the dance! I then searched online for any info on her, ordered her DVDs, and then we finally connected at 3rd Coast in Ft. Worth, TX about 3 years ago.
Dance Romani: You're an energetic dancer as well...and an accomplished musician. How would you describe your own style of Turkish dance...who are your influences...your favorites?
Amina Beres: That's an excellent question, it's always difficult to describe yourself! I would say my style is a blend of Turkish and 1970's American Cabaret. My Turkish influences/favorites are, of course, Artemis Mourat but also Dalia Carella. Mesmera also does some very lovely and powerful Turkish-style. I'm thrilled to be taking workshops and a private lesson with Eva Cernik this coming winter; she's always been a favorite. Turkish dancers I enjoy watching are Didem, Reyhan, Birgul Banay, and Tulay Karaca.
Dance Romani: Ditto on the favorites - do you have sources for Birgul other than the video we both have that originally came from Eva? There's some YouTube clips but very short....would love more!
Amina Beres: I've been searching ever since we received that video, no luck so far :(
Dance Romani: Yes...seems like we'll have to travel to Turkey to study with her. Since Turkish is heavy on the zills, do you incorporate zills into most of your dance....any floor work?
Amina Beres: Yes, zills are a big component of my performances (classes also). I used to incorporate floor work, but last winter I suffered a severe leg muscle injury and am still rehabilitating it so floor work is on hold for a bit. I still teach it in my classes, but I have to talk my students through gracefully descending or rising from the floor until I'm fully recuperated.
Dance Romani: Yes, I remember you had an injury when I met you at Artemis's. Sword? What do you find most challenging about sword - any tips for us?
Amina Beres: It seems the most challenging part of sword is finding one that's a proper weight and properly balanced....there's a myriad of ways to keep it on your head, but my experience has been if it's the right size, style, and weight for you and is properly balanced, the rest is easy. Number 1 tip is don't say 'I can't do it', because if you think you can't, then you won't.
Dance Romani: Great tip! Thanks for your positive energy. Who do you listen to for dance...for playing percussion?
Amina Beres: Currently for dance I'm listening to Burhan Ocal, Turku, Sezen Aksu, and Djoumbush. For playing percussion, no current favorites as I listen to everything from Turkish to Egyptian to jazz to rock....you can practice zills to anything as long as you can find the beat, and by widening your scope of music to listen to, you will open the door to playing zills more musically/artistically instead of rote patterns over and over.
Dance Romani: That's a GREAT thought about zills! I had a classical guitar teacher that made me listen to Coltrane...when I asked him why Coltrane, he gave me the same response - its music - it will broaden your understanding. What instruments do you play?
Amina Beres: Any/all percussion you would find in a concert band, jazz band, marching band. I'm predominantly a stick percussionist, but also play doumbek, tar, riq and, of course, zills ;)
Dance Romani: I feel sorry for my neighbors when I practice the riq. Maybe when next we meet at 3rd Coast we can share tips on the zagats we bought!
Amina Beres: Absolutely! I'll bring the zagat, thanks for the reminder.
Dance Romani: If I want to see you perform, where would I go?
Amina Beres: I list my upcoming performances on my website www.bellydanceamina.com. If you find yourself in the Minneapolis area perhaps we can dance together at one of them.
Dance Romani: Absolutely - I'd be honored - thanks for the invite! Thanks for your time and your thoughtful responses - it's been very informative.
Turkophiles at Artemis Mourat Turkish Intensive 2009
Top L to R: The Slow 9, Amina Beres, Steffi Bruninghaus, Monica Hobbs, Annwyn Amar, Danielle Donaldson, Laura Oliver
Bottom L to R: Deborah Stearns, June, Artemis Mourat, Jessica Rabalias, Patsy Doane
Looking forward to dancing and drumming with Amina in January at 3rd Coast Tribal Fest in Fort Worth!
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