Dawn Devine
Hello, my friends in dance! Over the summer I was approached by Leena and Süreya, the co-hosts of Raks Dünya International Dance Summit.
The event had an intriguing mix of Turkish and Egyptian dancers, exploring the similarities and differences and the historical relationship between the dance culture of these two regions.
Grateful for the opportunity, but very short on time, I jumped at the chance to work on this innovative international dance event and submitted a pre-recorded workshop. Due to my busy schedule, I couldn’t attend that weekend.
However, In the fullness of time, I’ve had the opportunity to watch the workshop replays, enjoy the film screening, and listen to the roundtable on the relationship between Turkish and Egyptian dance.
Digital Dance Events in the Post-Lock-Down Era
Most dancers spent the lockdown era glued to their screens watching digital haflas, surfing YouTube for vintage dance clips, and participating in small-scale digital interactions with individual instructors and friends.
A paradigm shift in these post-pandemic years taught us that digital communication, work, and learning are possible. In our world of video cameras in everyone’s pocket, we’ve culturally attuned ourselves to using our devices to access a 24-hour stream of content.
In my 35+ years in the belly dance world, I’ve witnessed the massive paradigm shifts from local events, to regional, and international destination learning experiences. I watched and participated in the evolution of the internet, social media, and the rise of video first on the computer and now on your phone.
Today, we can study with instructors worldwide from the comfort and safety of our homes and studios. And it just keeps getting better. There’s an almost constant improvement in the quality of audio and visual communication.
Leena Viee hails from India, but now splits her time between the UK and India. Watch her show real here:
Leena Viee
During an interview with India-based dance powerhouse Leena Viie, she shared her passion for creating connection and dialog. Leena has blended the skills and knowledge of her previous corporate work with her dance event planning and marketing. She’s created some of the largest and most impactful global belly dance festivals Bwitches in 2022, and she strives to create connections between dancers worldwide.
Leena is an innovator in digital dance communication, instruction, and performance. She’s hosted three major digital dance workshops and they just keep getting better. Leena’s four-part mission fuels her work, striving for excellence while always keeping these four principles in mind:
Activism - Accessing an international community helped Leena raise awareness, and perhaps more importantly, financial aid for marginalized people. Leena leads with her heart hosting events that have raised tremendous amounts of money for marginalized and endangered people in India and beyond. Her humanitarian mission is stated on Page One of her website if you would like to learn more about her past charitable work: https://www.leenaviie.com/
Global Education - Leena firmly believes that “Knowledge is Power” and as a dance event host, she strives to hold impactful events that help dancers learn and grow. She has developed a digital event format that expands the educational opportunities for dancers in small communities, in rural areas, and remote countries.
Opportunity - Leena has generously put people first. She thoughtfully creates connections between dancers and instructors, scholars and performers. These relationships transcend borders and allow us far-flung dancers to share our knowledge beyond our local dance studio.
Visionary - As an event host, Leena can spot new opportunities to expand the discourse, giving opportunities for historians and academic scholars.
As technology continues to improve, there are more platforms available to host events. According to Leena, she believes the dance community has the power to embrace technology as a tool for cross-cultural and global communication. “We have unprecedented opportunity if we have the vision to dream it, we can make it happen. All we need is the drive and the team to make it happen.”
INSERT: Leena Viie is the creator of one of the most haunting beautiful belly dance videos ever made. https://youtu.be/UhJQ4KckZJw?si=b1Tfqou1MF7LI2Wp
Raks Dünya
Leena teamed up with pro dancer and instructor Soraya Hussein of the UK. Together they pooled their resources to create a unique opportunity for dancers for this event.
Raqs Dünia was crafted as a summit to open dialog between practitioners of Turkish and Egyptian dances. Attendees could join a round table discussion, a dance class, a history presentation, participate in a dance video competition, and more.
Soraya is one of the very few authentic Turkish belly dancers currently working in the UK. Her mission is to help spread the word about Turkish dances. Like most forms of intangible cultural heritage, Turkish dance isn’t well documented and is on the brink of extinction. In Raks Dünya, the pair crafted an experience to spotlight not just the dance vocabulary of modern Turkish dancers, but to take deep dives into specific regional styles.
Beyond the movement, Soraya and Leena created an entire track of programming that focused on the current scholarship on culture and history. Presentations explored the lasting impact of the Ottoman Empire on the regions surrounding the Mediterranean are often overlooked as most dance scholarship focuses on Egypt as the primary authentic source of dance scholarship.
Raks Dünya: A New Approach to Global Dance Festivals
While destination workshops and festivals are widely available going digital with online and hybrid events is a boon to students. Digital events lower participant expenses and allow dancers at all income levels to study with international superstars at a fraction of the cost.
Leena remarked, “Removing the cost of travel, lodging, and food, allows dancers from around the world to use their computer as a portal for learning.”
“Removing the travel aspect is good for both the instructors and attendees not just for practical money-saving reasons. You can simply study with more instructors,” said Leena.
For the instructors and dance industry leaders going digital adds to their productivity. According to Leena, “Instead of a whole weekend plus travel, we could ask for a small piece of an afternoon.” Popular international workshop leaders benefit from less time traveling, being away from family, and working while jet-lagged.
Modern communication methods allowed them to swiftly reach out to potential participants. Quick responses meant they could begin advertising immediately. When Soraya and Leena were planning this event, they found the speed of email, social media DM’s, and WhatsApp to play a crucial role in event planning.
Raks Dünya from an Attendee Perspective
From a participant's point of view, there are many advantages. Attendees like myself were able to choose their adventure without ever having to give up part of the experience. Each of us has the opportunity to:
Watch at your own pace and timeline
Rewatch workshops to analyze and perfect moves
Discover new workshop leaders from around the world
Gain access to groundbreaking research
Participate in live conversations or watch in replay
Save money and time on travel, lodging, and food
Have access through December 31, 2024
INSERT VIDEO LINK:
Raks Dunya - After Movie: https://youtu.be/3mk1tGfVjSI?si=CI6gdVMyh--WWJZm
From a workshop leader's point of view.
My presentation “A Journey Down the Nile 1910” was offered as a pre-recorded video for early-bird registration. Though I only played a small part in the event, Suraya and Leena included my information on their main poster, along with other collaborators.
They were so very kind in reaching out with an invitation to participate. And though my schedule made attending live impossible, after talking with Suraya and Leena, they found a way to include my work in their educational summit.
INSERT Video Link “1910 Journey Down the Nile” with Dawn Devine aka Davina - https://youtu.be/maOIVbvPl7Y
But what did I love most about Raks Dünya?
Raks Dünya, without a doubt, offered tremendous value for attendees. I loved the ability to take it slow and participate in key live events like the Film Screening and Panel Discussion in person. Then watched the replays of the rest of the content when I had the time and energy.
Unlike a multi-track in-person workshop, I didn’t have to choose which of the workshops I was attending. With the power of the replay, I could literally consume the entire event. And since the organizers have left the watch window open through the end of the year, there is ample time to see everything.
I personally enjoyed having the opportunity to study with Turkish dance master Serkan Tutor. I enjoyed learning Turkishey Oryantal techniques from Sureya and the Turkish folk dance Halay with Eray was a revelation. With digital, I watched and paused where needed to take notes. It was a pleasure to rewind to see moves executed as many times as I needed.
But as a researcher, It was the non-dance presentations that really spoke to my soul.
I was so pleased to watch the replay of “Treasures Unveiled: A Historical Exploration of Turkish Dance with Badriyah and Anne-Sofie of Belgium. Simply outstanding! The other standout as a researcher was the fascinating and informative “Evolution of the Egyptian Dance Scene” lecture with Zara of Cairo.
Badriyah: https://www.badriyahbellydance.com/
Bottom Line - I’m looking forward to the next Raks Dünya in 2025!
Final Note:
After my interview with Leena, the Raks Dunya team is extending a special offer to Fanoos readers. They are reopening access to the digital festival through Dec. 31st.
Leena and Soraya invite you to click through to the event website and sign up for their newsletter for access to this opportunity. Then explore the menu of workshops and instructors to discover new learning experiences. Have questions for Leena and Süraya? Contact them via the Raks Dünya website.
Dawn Devine ~ Davina is best known for her numerous books on belly dance costuming and history. She’s currently working on a major research project “The Visual History of Belly Dance” that she shares on her website www.davina.us - Catch a current presentation and support her work directly via Patreon https://www.patreon.com/davinadevine or buy one of her books on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/stores/Dawn-Devine/author/B0052AOPR2
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