Today we talked with Canela, a goddess dancer, bellydancer, alternative, entrepreneur, she tells us in more depth her passion for oriental dances, I invite you to know her more closely!
“The rhythms that I like to dance are the rhythms that are not only Arabic”.
I dance since I was 13 years old, I started studying oriental dances in a small academy located in Catia la mar (Vargas State) near where I live, my teacher is called Brady Laya (my first teacher and the academy was named Anubis Kawhala was a student of Mahaiyla Al Nujum, is the name of a very famous bellydancer in Venezuela who currently lives and continues with her bellydancer career in Miami, Shakira inspired me to dance, she is a bellydancer who is consecrated in the world, she is also very versatile in her dance, she puts elements of other types of dance and I think that’s great, Shakira is a great artist and as a dancer I think she gets all the awards.
I have been a couple of times in competitions at national level as part of my dance group that at that time when I was in competition “La troop Almeira” (The troop of light) with her I was in several competitions and several galas of other academies, in one of those competitions I was soloist in which I interpreted a fusion of Arab Cabaret that was spectacular, in this competition I got fourth place, I did not win but I grew and also met Nazharith Layali who is currently my teacher of oriental dances.
“I am fond of photography so I like to take pictures of some place and add a writing to them”.
Well apart from dancing my trades are very varied, I am a body therapist specializing in relaxing and reductive massages with lymphatic drainage, I also knit and commercialize Crochet garments, I have an enterprise that is a brand of Crochet knitted clothing, clothing and accessories and it is what I like to do, in addition to this I also have a Hive account on PeakD, is a platform where I am fond of photography then I like to take pictures of somewhere and add a writing, because I am very good at writing and writing very poetically.
The rhythms that I like to dance are the rhythms that are not only Arabic but that gather the rhythms of the whole middle east, I’m talking from rhythms that were born in Egypt to rhythms that may have been born in Morocco, Turkey, in the whole middle east in general but the Arabic rhythmology is very complex, diverse and extensive as well as beautiful, of course, so to name them, well, some like Saidi, Baladi, are super strong rhythms with a lot of joy and a lot of passion for the land, but outside of Arabic rhythmology, other rhythms that inspire me to dance would be Dembow and Afrohouse which I love, even though I’m not that good at them, but I like and love to learn to dance them as well.
“that’s why I make the emphasis on I am a dancer of oriental dances because I have studied the dances of Egypt, Arabia, Turkey, Lebanon, Morocco.”
There are the oriental dances (we call it that and not belly dance) because oriental dances gather elements and dances from all the cultures of the middle east that’s why I make the emphasis on I am a dancer of oriental dances because I have studied the dances of Egypt, Arabia, Turkey, Lebanon and Morocco. I recognize each dance, each origin of each dance, origin of each rhythm and depending on the rhythm, and what means that dance are the steps and variations of steps, here I make this differentiation, now, the stylized Bellydance that we can merge that is what is currently danced, which is what I also dance, we can merge it with any style of dance. We can think of, and that is what I like the most, the versatility of my dance, it is not the same to dance a pure Baladi (because it has pure elements of Egypt), it is a Baladhi of flat feet, earthly, defender of the earth (I refer to Egypt because it is a dance that was born there). Unlike the Bellydance or Bellydance fusion, it is more flexible because it was born in the casinos of Egypt that served foreigners, the dancers were integrating other elements making fusions it was not so strong, it was a more stylized dance, placing elements of ballet, most of the fusions for example romantic/oriental are fusions of Arabic dance with ballet and it is very beautiful, then what other dances can be found within my style?
We can find ballet, tango, African rhythms with drums, jazz, the one I like the most is bellyjazz, Jazz is beautiful born in the United States and it touches my heart, fusing this genre with Arabic rhythms was a challenge but I have managed to do the battle.
My style is very Cabaret! If I have to define my dance style? Although I don’t like to define it because I can do a tango fusion or a fusion with African rhythms, but if I have to define it, it would be Arab Cabaret.
“Oriental dances are super sexualized in today’s society and I think that this is an issue that we must discuss and break”.
Well my artists of influence I have since the golden age of Bellydance as Gigi Abdu who is co-founder of the Troop Reda (Academy of oriental dances largest and most awarded in the world located in Cairo – Egypt), Samia Gamal and Tahia Karioca, Mata Hari for me is the example to follow in terms of aesthetics of Arabic dance or Arabic cabaret, and contemporary would be Tamara Bornia, makes tribal fusion and my teacher Nazarith Nayale.
I think my dance has an impact on society, I think we should do it, bellydancers are very sexualized, oriental dances are super sexualized in today’s society and I think that is an issue that we must discuss and break, because those who really love this, we do not sexualize it in any way, it is a dance more like ballet, you do not dance to seduce, you dance because you love it and you have to dance, not to seduce.
During all my life I have struggled not to stop dancing in spite of all the situations that one can find in life, so without hesitation I would and will do it for the rest of my life!
Thank you very much to Canela for telling us a little more about this wonderful and ancient art of dance, specifically oriental dances, I invite you to visit her on her social networks.
Instagram: @canela.del_caribe @apamatecroc