SABURA - A Dancer With A Style All Her Own
SABURA! Just the way her name rolls off the tongue is as smooth as her dancing and stage presence. Get to know inside this amazing and inspiring dancer.
Asmina: How long have you been dancing and how were you introduced into this dance?
Sabura: Ever since I was a child, music has inspired me to dance extemporaneously. I'd done international folkdancing and a few modern dance classes in college, but when I first saw a bellydancer perform at a California fair, in 1972, I was entranced. It was the most beautiful dance form and the most wonderful music I'd ever experienced. A year later, I spotted an ad for bellydance classes, tacked to a telephone pole in Bellingham. I took a couple of class series from Yasmela and Sahira of Bousaada, and loved the movements, but then became lost to the dance, through travel, work and medical school. I managed to take a few classes during medical residency in Utah, but really only started taking more regular lessons when I returned to Seattle in 1987. I started performing in 1992, and gradually became completely impassioned, in the years that followed.
Asmina: What has been your most rewarding dance experience?
Sabura: Dancing with live music in general. One of my best live music experiences was an impromtu performance at a party on the beach on Vashon Island. The featured entertainment had cancelled, and I was asked (after having eaten a lot of dinner!) to fill in. There were two African drummers with djembes and another drummer with an Eastern European drum. None of them knew any Middle Eastern rhythms. As I was teaching them some basic Middle Eastern rhythms to play, Stephen Elaimy arrived with his oud and a dumbek, and all the simple rhythms turned to magic. The stage was a blanket thrown over the sand. As I danced, the music poured through me. I felt incredibly powerful and clear, weightless and radiant, at one with the moon and stars. I felt as if all the great dancers I'd ever seen were moving my body through the night.
I've also had wonderful experiences at Folklife---maybe because the audiences are so happy and responsive. The ethnic dance stage used to be about 8 feet from the first row of chairs. One year, I looked down into that space and saw at least a dozen little girls ecstatically whirling to the music, as I danced. It was the most wonderful thing.
Asmina: What has been one of your most dissatisfying experiences?
Sabura: Dancing in small spaces in dark restaurants, where the audience can see the dancer dimly and only (if they're short, like me) above the waist.
Asmina: Why do you think that the American perception of who and what a bellydancer represents slants towards the "sexual" vs. the "sensual"?
Sabura: Hollywood images in movies and videos and America's puritanical past and fear of/fascination with/commercialization of female sensuality have shaped the public image of bellydance in America. It doesn't help that many Arabic cultures lock the dance into a double standard. Also, any dance form with costumes and movements accentuating breasts and hips tends to be classified as sexual (including Caribbean, Polynesian and Latin). I also think that many Americans have never experienced what I consider true bellydance----which issues from the depths of the soul. So many times, after performing, I've had people say, "I'd never realized that this really is an art form".
Asmina: What does bellydancing mean to you?
Sabura: It's "the wind beneath my wings". It balances out all the unhealthy parts of my life: my Type A personality, my analytical physician profession. It brings me joy, creative challenges, healing, constant learning and immense endorphins. As aerobic exercise, it allows me to eat way too much chocolate.
Asmina: What notable awards/recognition have you earned as a dancer?
Sabura: I won the 2000 and 1996 titles for "Bellydancer USA" and The Stranger's (Seattle area weekly newspaper) citywide talent contest in 2000. In 2001, I received an award for choreography from the Seattle Arts Commission and a Special Projects grant from the King County Arts Commission. I was chosen, by audition, to be listed in the King County Arts Commission's Touring Arts Rosters for 2000-2003. The Seattle dance publication, DanceNet, did a cover feature on me as "Dance Babe of the Month" in 1998. The Evening Magazine show keeps re-running the television feature they did of me in 1996, as a doctor and dancer. I also consider it an honor to have been asked to perform at the 2001 IAMED Awards, and to have been on the JAREEDA cover (2001).
Asmina: What is your most enjoyable type of dance?
Sabura: Improvisation with veil and to saidi, maksoum, and beledi rhythms.
Asmina: What props do you enjoy utilizing in your dances the most?
Sabura: Veil and cane
Asmina: What advice would you give to a new dancer in terms how to be a captivating performer?
Sabura: Share the joy the dance gives you. Open your body and heart to the music, and let the energy and emotions that emerge, flow into the audience.
Asmina: As a spectator who has seen you dance live in a variety of venues over the past several years, your performances are so passionate and leave me so inspired. Where do you go internally to bring out that excitement & energy for your audiences?
Sabura: It comes from the music. Internally, I disappear. Just before I perform, I center and empty myself, visualizing light radiating through my body in every direction. In my best performances, my brain dissolves (which makes it difficult to remember choreography!), and the music moves through my body, creating the emotions I communicate to the audience. I feel a continuous flow of energy between me and the audience, so that I usually end up with much more energy than I started.
Asmina: Have you traveled for bellydancing? If so, where?
Sabura: I've taught and/or performed in western Canada, California, WA, OR, Chicago and NYC, and have taken workshops or classes in the same geography, as well as in Massachusetts.
Asmina: As far as costuming, what do you use/do to determine what costume/colors you want to wear?
Sabura: In general, I pick colors that I like and that I think enhance my skin tone. I've finally figured out that most of the costumes I'm attracted to are too much costume for my petite body---so I'm now trying to find more delicate costumes with shorter fringe. In terms of choosing costumes for specific events, I use a combination of whatever color appeals to me at the time and any practical information I have about the venue. If I know the lighting will be poor, I use a more reflective costume and brighter colors. If it's a private party, I use a newer costume. I have basic silver and gold bedlah sets, which allow me to create "new costumes" with a multitude of different skirts and veils. If I'm using recorded music, I try to rehearse at least twice in the costume, to make sure I'm prepared to deal with any problems that are likely to arise (eg: a costume with rhinestones that like to snag veils or a skirt that's too tight for floorwork).
Asmina: What do you want people to think or say about "Sabura" 10 years from now?
Sabura: She was an amazing dancer, who inspired others to dance and helped change the public's perceptions about Middle Eastern dance. (I hope, by then, that Middle Eastern dance will have become part of the UW World Series at Meany Hall).
Bio: Of Syrian-Lebanese heritage, Sabura performs and teaches Middle Eastern dance throughout the western U.S. and Canada. Sabura was the Performances Director for Seattle's Arab Festivals (co-sponsored by the Seattle Center/Festal and the Arab Center of Washington), as well as a co-founder and past president of Middle East Arts International, a nonprofit corporation sponsoring Middle Eastern dance and music concerts and workshops in Seattle.
Photo credits: Sabura w/blue veil by Cindria Riches / all other photos by Sebastian ©2000
Asmina: How long have you been dancing and how were you introduced into this dance?
Sabura: Ever since I was a child, music has inspired me to dance extemporaneously. I'd done international folkdancing and a few modern dance classes in college, but when I first saw a bellydancer perform at a California fair, in 1972, I was entranced. It was the most beautiful dance form and the most wonderful music I'd ever experienced. A year later, I spotted an ad for bellydance classes, tacked to a telephone pole in Bellingham. I took a couple of class series from Yasmela and Sahira of Bousaada, and loved the movements, but then became lost to the dance, through travel, work and medical school. I managed to take a few classes during medical residency in Utah, but really only started taking more regular lessons when I returned to Seattle in 1987. I started performing in 1992, and gradually became completely impassioned, in the years that followed.
Asmina: What has been your most rewarding dance experience?
Sabura: Dancing with live music in general. One of my best live music experiences was an impromtu performance at a party on the beach on Vashon Island. The featured entertainment had cancelled, and I was asked (after having eaten a lot of dinner!) to fill in. There were two African drummers with djembes and another drummer with an Eastern European drum. None of them knew any Middle Eastern rhythms. As I was teaching them some basic Middle Eastern rhythms to play, Stephen Elaimy arrived with his oud and a dumbek, and all the simple rhythms turned to magic. The stage was a blanket thrown over the sand. As I danced, the music poured through me. I felt incredibly powerful and clear, weightless and radiant, at one with the moon and stars. I felt as if all the great dancers I'd ever seen were moving my body through the night.
I've also had wonderful experiences at Folklife---maybe because the audiences are so happy and responsive. The ethnic dance stage used to be about 8 feet from the first row of chairs. One year, I looked down into that space and saw at least a dozen little girls ecstatically whirling to the music, as I danced. It was the most wonderful thing.
Asmina: What has been one of your most dissatisfying experiences?
Sabura: Dancing in small spaces in dark restaurants, where the audience can see the dancer dimly and only (if they're short, like me) above the waist.Asmina: Why do you think that the American perception of who and what a bellydancer represents slants towards the "sexual" vs. the "sensual"?
Sabura: Hollywood images in movies and videos and America's puritanical past and fear of/fascination with/commercialization of female sensuality have shaped the public image of bellydance in America. It doesn't help that many Arabic cultures lock the dance into a double standard. Also, any dance form with costumes and movements accentuating breasts and hips tends to be classified as sexual (including Caribbean, Polynesian and Latin). I also think that many Americans have never experienced what I consider true bellydance----which issues from the depths of the soul. So many times, after performing, I've had people say, "I'd never realized that this really is an art form".
Asmina: What does bellydancing mean to you?
Sabura: It's "the wind beneath my wings". It balances out all the unhealthy parts of my life: my Type A personality, my analytical physician profession. It brings me joy, creative challenges, healing, constant learning and immense endorphins. As aerobic exercise, it allows me to eat way too much chocolate.
Asmina: What notable awards/recognition have you earned as a dancer?
Sabura: I won the 2000 and 1996 titles for "Bellydancer USA" and The Stranger's (Seattle area weekly newspaper) citywide talent contest in 2000. In 2001, I received an award for choreography from the Seattle Arts Commission and a Special Projects grant from the King County Arts Commission. I was chosen, by audition, to be listed in the King County Arts Commission's Touring Arts Rosters for 2000-2003. The Seattle dance publication, DanceNet, did a cover feature on me as "Dance Babe of the Month" in 1998. The Evening Magazine show keeps re-running the television feature they did of me in 1996, as a doctor and dancer. I also consider it an honor to have been asked to perform at the 2001 IAMED Awards, and to have been on the JAREEDA cover (2001).
Asmina: What is your most enjoyable type of dance?
Sabura: Improvisation with veil and to saidi, maksoum, and beledi rhythms.
Asmina: What props do you enjoy utilizing in your dances the most?
Sabura: Veil and cane
Asmina: What advice would you give to a new dancer in terms how to be a captivating performer?
Sabura: Share the joy the dance gives you. Open your body and heart to the music, and let the energy and emotions that emerge, flow into the audience.
Asmina: As a spectator who has seen you dance live in a variety of venues over the past several years, your performances are so passionate and leave me so inspired. Where do you go internally to bring out that excitement & energy for your audiences?
Sabura: It comes from the music. Internally, I disappear. Just before I perform, I center and empty myself, visualizing light radiating through my body in every direction. In my best performances, my brain dissolves (which makes it difficult to remember choreography!), and the music moves through my body, creating the emotions I communicate to the audience. I feel a continuous flow of energy between me and the audience, so that I usually end up with much more energy than I started.
Asmina: Have you traveled for bellydancing? If so, where?
Sabura: I've taught and/or performed in western Canada, California, WA, OR, Chicago and NYC, and have taken workshops or classes in the same geography, as well as in Massachusetts.
Asmina: As far as costuming, what do you use/do to determine what costume/colors you want to wear?
Sabura: In general, I pick colors that I like and that I think enhance my skin tone. I've finally figured out that most of the costumes I'm attracted to are too much costume for my petite body---so I'm now trying to find more delicate costumes with shorter fringe. In terms of choosing costumes for specific events, I use a combination of whatever color appeals to me at the time and any practical information I have about the venue. If I know the lighting will be poor, I use a more reflective costume and brighter colors. If it's a private party, I use a newer costume. I have basic silver and gold bedlah sets, which allow me to create "new costumes" with a multitude of different skirts and veils. If I'm using recorded music, I try to rehearse at least twice in the costume, to make sure I'm prepared to deal with any problems that are likely to arise (eg: a costume with rhinestones that like to snag veils or a skirt that's too tight for floorwork).
Asmina: What do you want people to think or say about "Sabura" 10 years from now?
Sabura: She was an amazing dancer, who inspired others to dance and helped change the public's perceptions about Middle Eastern dance. (I hope, by then, that Middle Eastern dance will have become part of the UW World Series at Meany Hall).
Bio: Of Syrian-Lebanese heritage, Sabura performs and teaches Middle Eastern dance throughout the western U.S. and Canada. Sabura was the Performances Director for Seattle's Arab Festivals (co-sponsored by the Seattle Center/Festal and the Arab Center of Washington), as well as a co-founder and past president of Middle East Arts International, a nonprofit corporation sponsoring Middle Eastern dance and music concerts and workshops in Seattle.
Photo credits: Sabura w/blue veil by Cindria Riches / all other photos by Sebastian ©2000
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