Greetings and Welcome to my World of Dance!
My whole life I have been involved in dance – as a student, performer, writer, troupe director, instructor, mentor, and sponsor. For over the last 30 years I have immersed myself into Middle Eastern Dance. Raks Sharki, (arabic for dance of the East) has lead me on a wonderful dance journey. It has taken me into an exploration of my physical & spiritual being. Just as this ageless dance evolves so do I evolve in the paths it opens up to me.
For those of you who have just found Middle Eastern Dance it may seem a bit confusing at first. There are many different forms of this dance Art. I like to explain it to my new students very simply in a way they will always remember. First you need to understand that this dance is a living form – it will change and adapt to the times it exsists in or it will perish. It is like a lovely large old tree with many branches. The roots are strong in the rich fertile soil and thus feed the lofty branches above it. Yet the tree needs to be supple and flexiable or it will snap in the wind. This dance is strong in its roots of rich history. It is one of the oldest dance forms on Earth. The tree trunk is vast and wide and is strong enough to support many branches that shoot out in various directions. The base of Middle Eastern Dance is the folk dances of the people – these dances are varied and rich in their cultures. The Middle Eastern Dance branches are also varied – they include: Egyptian, Raks Sharki, Turkish, Arabic niteclub, American Cabaret, Oriental, Folkloric, Historical, Goddess/Fantasy, and ATS (American Tribal Style). As this dance is constantly growing and evolving new forms are always emerging. Some of the latest are: Bollywood, Fusion, Techno, and Gothic. Then there is also the Club Mix that the young people are doing. . . it’s future may be as limited as DiscoBelly was in the past . . . As you can see this is an ancient dance that is still living and evolving today !
I hope that you enjoy my site and that it helps you on your own personal path. Please respect the intellectual, if not the actual work, that has gone into this site and ask for my permission before lifting, using, forwarding, or adding this information to other sites or for use in classes. . . Just a little common courtesy will do ! Thank you!
Peace be with you,
Thais Banu
P.S. This site has become a reality thanks to the constant pushing, pulling, and shoving of my family, dance collegues, and friends – you know who you are -
Now I have finally arrived into the 21st Century – I hope you are all happy – now would someone please show me how to work the remote?
*Photograph of Thais by Rabah Saffal
Phone: (309) 678-1555
Email: thais2007@att.net