"Dance for a Chance"
Jareeda Magazine
May/June 2008
Art Saves Lives. When I saw this bumper sticker, it resonated
with something deep inside; but only now do I understand it
completely. Art does save lives. It heals, brings joy, strengthens
communities, and helps all people on the planet.
The art I have chosen to help heal myself and others is the
sacred art of Belly Dance. I am fortunate to be in a troupe
that feels the same way, a troupe that realizes that through
this dance we can make an important difference in the world.
We are Raks Awalim. Anyone who has ever been in a troupe, taught
a troupe, or even been a partner or child of someone in a troupe
knows the absolute dedication and commitment that it takes.
Committing to Belly Dance already takes so much time and energy,
but when you dance with a troupe, you begin to cultivate deeper
forms of patience, motivation, and willingness. And boy does
it pay off! There is nothing quite like looking in to your
fellow dancers’ smiling eyes during a performance, or
being able to share the joy and excitement of success with
them. To know that we all worked so hard to accomplish something
that we could not have done on our own is deeply satisfying.
Dancing in a troupe also connects us with the very ancient
roots of the dance, when it was about dancing together as a
community of women.
At one point we began to want to share our enthusiasm with
the community; not just in performance, but in some way more.
It wasn’t long before we had an opportunity. Hurricane
Katrina hit, and like most people, we felt helpless and heavy-hearted.
There was a time that I had called New Orleans home, and it
hurt to see the disaster take such a toll on so many people.
My troupe and I began to brainstorm: was there something we
could do?
The answer came almost immediately. Cammi Vance of Darshan
Productions approached us about performing in and helping to
produce a Hurricane Katrina benefit. Because of the urgency
of the disaster, we had to get it together, fast! It was astounding
to me that we were able to create such a great show in just
a few short days. We booked the venue, gathered raffle prizes,
finished choreography, and promoted the show in record time.
The show was a huge success! There were stellar dance performances
along with live Middle Eastern music and an awesome raffle.
The little over $2000 that was earned went towards helping
Hurricane Katrina victims and Habitat for Humanity. It was
so powerful to see dancers come together and do something positive
in such a short time to help with such a challenging situation.
After that, we were hooked. We permanently committed ourselves
to the mission of using our art to help make positive changes.
Shortly after Hurricane Katrina, we had another opportunity
to put our mission into action. All of the dancers in Raks
Awalim have many Middle Eastern friends and it was awful to
hear about what was happening to children and families in the
warring Mid-East. So many innocent people were displaced and
without resources. Once again we felt we had to act fast. This
time, Raks Awalim dancer Claudia paired up with her house restaurant
Al Amir and organized a fundraising dance and dinner show.
The urgency of the situation left no time for promotion yet
still we were able to earn $900, which was all donated to Mercy
Corps to help provide resources for displaced refugees of the
Middle East crisis.
My troupe and I were so ecstatic to be doing this charitable
work though Belly Dance! Not only did it earn cold hard cash
that would help with global problems, but it turned our focus
to something so much more positive. Instead of sitting on the
couch feeling sad and sick to our stomachs, we danced, danced,
danced! When you know that you are dancing for a deep and important
purpose, it adds so much depth, magic, and inspiration. Your
deep and important purpose may be simply to put a smile on
one persons face, but it’s this commitment to make a
positive change that makes a dance so special.
Our last fundraiser made a significant and positive impact
on the community and us as individual artists. After winning
2007 Belly Dance Troupe USA, we wanted to have a huge benefit
dance week. We began to discuss and research important global
and community-based issues. After a lot of research and discussion,
we decided to have our benefit in the name of stopping violence
against women. We looked into many organizations and chose
the Portland Sexual Assault Resource Center as our beneficiary.
They are a remarkable local organization that acts as an advocate
for any past or present survivors of sexual assault. They guide
and help women through intense evidence exams, questioning
and entire legal cases. They also offer unwavering emotional
support in the form of bilingual individual and group counseling,
support groups, preventative out-reach programs, and a 24-hour
crisis line. Because of the miraculous work they do within
our community, they were an obvious choice.
For our fundraiser, we put on a huge show and workshop. The
show had a completely packed house and consisted of complex
choreographies involving snakes, swords, trays, wings and shamadan,
not to mention a live troupe drum solo with master Arabic drummers.
The SARC had a booth at the show to provide guidance and more
information. The workshop, which was taught by myself and Claudia,
was also completely packed. Altogether, we earned $1815 for
the SARC. And if that wasn’t wonderful enough, when we
delivered the money we were met with sincere tears of thanks
and appreciation. The SARC is completely funded by grants and
private donations, and the money came at a time when it was
truly needed.
Now that we know we have the potential to do such amazing
things with Belly Dancing, we are even more passionate than
ever. I feel blessed to be one of the people sharing this beautiful
art with the community. I also feel that those of us who have
been touched by its magic have a very important job. In this
fragile time of global disease, poverty, and war, we Belly
Dancers have the opportunity to promote cultural awareness,
inspire global community, and bring about positive change.
Though it is very unfortunate that we live in a place where
there is skepticism, anger, and hate towards the Middle Eastern
culture, a beautiful, heartfelt Middle Eastern dance or music
performance can be just the thing that dissolves negative feelings
and opens the door to love, respect, and understanding. It
can do this and so much more. A dance by yourself in you living
room just might be the thing that uplifts or grounds you after
a hard day. A dance performance might be the thing that allows
an audience member to relax and let go of their troubles. It
might inspire someone to follow their heart and their passion
or go home and give a necessary apology. Belly Dance could
be the thing that encourages someone to feel confidence and
self-approval, or it might create comfort and strength where
there was back pain from a car accident. It could be the thing
that teaches you love and respect for your own body, about
patience with yourself and others, or about giving something
your best shot.
Whatever form it may come in, know that this sacred practice
called Belly Dance holds within it the ultimate power to heal
and change things for the best. I encourage all of you to get
in touch with the healing power and DANCE for a CHANCE!! A
chance to make the world a better and more beautiful place.
Sedona of Raks Awalim
www.RaksAwalim.com
www.oregonsarc.org
www.mercycorps.org
www.habitat.org
