"Drum solo", "Belly hips cardio": The answers and journey of the talented Soraya

Thanks to Soraya SAADI, a bellydancer and teacher in Lyon (France), for answering our questions concerning her activities and career.

As a Bellydance professional, can you fill us in on the "drum solo" in its entirety? 

"Drum solo", also called percussion solo or tabla solo, is one of the oriental dance's dominant styles. It is characterized by the instrument played, the tabla/derbuka which accompanies the dancer. The dancer most often does a dynamic and festive performance to amaze her audience by showing all her technical skills, with power and precision. The dancer's movements should stay in tune with the percussion, giving the feeling that the dancer is "drawing the beats with her whole body". The body's upper and lower limbs come into action with the idea of combining either jointly or independently the arms, shoulders, chest, hips, pelvis or even the other body parts... The dancer is free in her choreography. Indeed, she can play, have fun with the all the sounds and highlight her different expressions and mimicking. It's a very popular moment with the audience, who are absorbed by the performance!
The costumes illustrating this style are mostly 2-piece Bellydance costumes (bra + long skirt) but in recently, oriental dancers have often combined small fantasies with more modern and innovative costumes.

You give quite original Bellydance lessons called "belly hips cardio", what can you tell us about these? 

It's a kind of oriental fitness. This unique sporting discipline is based on tonic gymnastics mixed with combinations of oriental dance movements, on frenzied rhythmic music, with various influences.
Fitness-related moves are the bodybuilding ones (steps, squats) mainly accompanied by jumps and movements.They are intense, repetitive and use all muscles.
The "belly hips cardio's" particularity consists in building muscle while using some of the body parts that are usually underused in traditional fitness such as the pelvis, hips, perineum, chest, shoulders more, and becoming familiar with the oriental dance's world. This activity is accessible to everyone, including beginners. It allows for muscle building and cardio work.
The goal of a session is to stay fit, exercise and have fun on dynamic songs. Practicing this sport is very beneficial for the body and mind.

We know you are very feminine and always well dressed during your Bellydance classes and workshops. Why and what are the benefits for the dancers? What's your favorite dance workout outfit? What advice would you give students about this?

I love to wear sophisticated and colorful class outfits, different each time! It is a pleasure on a personal level to see myself well dressed in the mirror when I teach my group Bellydance lessons, and at the same time, I believe it is important to give my students a positive image. I think the main thing is that the student feels good in the class and her body, you shouldn't try to imitate anyone, and be yourself. Often, I notice that at the beginning, my students have fairly basic and classic Bellydance outfits (top, pants) and over time, some of them begin to try colors, scarves with sequins, little tops, jumpsuits. It's as if they gradually gain self-confidence and accept their image and figure more easily... As a teacher, it's a great satisfaction to see them evolve this way!

Among all the oriental dance styles, which one do you prefer?

The Shaabi remains my favorite Bellydance style. It's the one that suits me the best because it gives me this space of freedom and creativity in the dance that I appreciate so much, while combining energy, power, anchoring and letting go! I love to dance in connection with the public, by playing with my expressions and emotions. Shaabi, a popular Egyptian style, lets me do it completely and reminds me a lot of the "hip hop battles" spirit that I practiced for many years, where surpassing yourself, spontaneity, mimicking and interactions with the audience reign! I have a blast when I dance a Shaabi!

Which Bellydance artist literally turns you upside down?

There are so many that it is very difficult to choose! But Julia Farid is still one of my favorite artists because she represents the perfect combo between the (traditional) Egyptian style and the modern style. Few artists manage to wear both caps in their dance. She always dances with elegance and grace, whatever the style, and the perfect technique. She is also a great instructor, with her own way of teaching!
She truly is a complete artist!

What are your 5 favorite titles on your "Bellydance playlist"?

The 5 timeless titles that I've have on my flash drive for almost 10 years are:
- "Baeed Anak" by Oum Kaltoum (a classic that every oriental dancer must know)
- "Enta Omry" by Oum Kaltoum (also a classic with amazing instrumental music)
- "Batwanes Beek" by Warda (a key artist)
- "Mosh Hasaleh" by Hakim (a very old Shaabi, by the way, I love Hakim for his popular music full of pep)
- "Aah W Noss" by Nancy Ajram (an oriental pop music which makes you smile, pleasant to dance on)

You are one of the well-known and famous belly dancers of our generation. Can you talk about your journey from the birth of your passion for oriental dance to all of your current activities in this domain?

Of Algerian origin, I was born in Lyon in 1986.
I first started taking gymnastics and jazz dance lessons at 10-12 years old and I practiced the hip hop dance new style for almost 15 years. I was quickly spotted by my former teachers and recruited as an amateur and semi-pro dancer in several dance companies and troupes: Jenny Team associative troupe, Cie Kyvala, Cie Guesme, Cie G'Wells...
By chance one day I went with my mother who had recently enrolled for a Bellydance class in a MJC in the suburbs of Lyon, I fell in love with the discipline, it was love at first sight! From that day on, I wanted to discover more about this dance and so trained to get better with great oriental dance teachers during lessons, workshops and master classes throughout France and abroad.
At 16, I started teaching Bellydance in Lyon and its region in many dance schools and MJC, it happened spontaneously through word of mouth.
In Paris in 2010, I was able to integrate the Cie Khaled Seif Paris with the talented Egyptian choreographer Khaled Seif who allowed me to focus on folk dances.
In 2011, I founded the Troupe "Féminissime Orient", made up of 15 amateur oriental dancers, which performs all year round at all kinds of public events and through which we support several charities.
Within the association "Féminissime Orient", I also offer Bellydance group lessons and workshops to a varied public.
Since 2012, I have been organizing and been the artistic director of a major oriental dance and music festival. This event called "And if the Orient was told to me...", takes place in Lyon for several consecutive days, and the public can discover a wide variety of oriental dance styles, meet famous national and international artists as well as the varied folklore and oriental culture! This festival is still one of the craziest and most ambitious projects of my professional belly dancer career! I hope to continue very soon...

If you had any new innovative idea to suggest to the Bellydance world, what would it be?

Oriental dance is constantly evolving, modernizing, and standardizing, whether we like it or not... As a teacher I think that we also have to adapt to this evolution and pass it on to our students! In my Bellydance classes, I tackle all styles, from the most traditional to the most modern ones, and I'm absolutely not afraid of fusions. Indeed, I think that fusions do not claim to replace traditional oriental dance, it is only another vision we give to this art so it is accessible to as many people as possible. Anyway, I always try to make my choreographic creations more complex, sophisticated and original! For example, I am currently teaching my advanced level students an oriental tango fusion choreography. I can't wait to see the result on stage at our next gala on Sunday June 26 in Lyon, and I'm sure the audience will be surprised by this explosive mix!

Discover in a video the bubbly Soraya with her students during an oriental dance class: