Omg, I am blogging people. It has been a year since my last entry. I am an inconsistent blogger, I know it, and I feel no shame about it either.
I am writing in reflection of my recent experience at "Reverence: A Tribute to Celebrate the Life and Art of Jamila Salimpour" in Berkeley on September 7, 2013 at the Julia Morgan Theater. I am so moved by this experience that the only way I can possibly express how I feel is to take the time to write it out in pieces.
It was a most touching experience for me on a personal level because my precious Gram passed away this year. Those of you who are close to me know how special my Gram was to me. She was very much a maternal figure in my life. She had always been a source of constant love, affection, attention and support throughout my entire life. She passed on April 6, 2013 - just past the stroke of midnight so as not to pass on Madelynn's birthday, which was April 5th. Madelynn turned 18 this year and I am so grateful my Gram was able to watch me and help me raise her. One of my Gram's greatest legacies was her nursing career and to our delight, Madelynn has decided to go to nursing school. Only weeks before Gram passed Madelynn spent the entire day with her as a student while Gram taught her all the "tricks of the trade" and passed on her highest nursing values.
My Gram and Jamila Salimpour happen to be the same age - 87. My Gram was the grand matriarch of 63 direct descendents - 7 children, 19 grandchildren and 37 great and great great grandchildren. At the very top of this grand tribe was my little petite, but powerful, Gram. Jamila is mother to Suhaila and grandmother to Isabella only, but in so many ways a grand mother to a dance tribe of thousands. Both women were single mothers and complete badasses. They both have a flare that cannot be copied - they both know that the best parts of life are based in family, food, laughter and connection. Although my Gram was no professional, she loved to dance too. Both women defied society's expectations of women and forged new paths for themselves and other women in the world that left blazes afire for many years to come. To offer reverence to Jamila in this show was also, in some ways, a way to offer reverence to my Gram.
While I was backstage for Reverence and trying to catch glimpses of the video footage about Jamila that played on stage, I was in tears of gratitude for Jamila's contributions to the belly dance format. Her research, dedication, consistency, and love of the art form played a direct role in why I had become a belly dancer. Her contributions created American belly dance culture as I knew it. I made sure to wear a chain coin belt from my very first belly dance teacher, Asha Diana, from Lupus, MO who taught Jamila's format. I wore it as homage to not only my first teacher, whom I respect, but to the far reaching impact of Jamila's work. I also wore a few pieces of my gram's jewelry to pay homage to her belief in me and my dance. I stood there in the dark sending up "thank you, thank you, thank you," prayers to the great goddess for the influential female/mother/grandmother teachers and role models in my life. Because, of course, without Jamila we would also not have Suhaila, who has been the most significant teacher and mentor of my life.
I knew it was no coincidence that we were dancing in the beautiful Julia Morgan Theater. I did my research and discovered to my absolute delight that Julia Morgan was one of America's great architects at the turn of the 20th century, primarily known for her incredible wood work. She actually graduated from architectural school in 1894. Now that is a badass. She originally created the space as a church and it is primarily made of redwood. The space was intimate, beautiful and sacred - and created by a powerful woman. Reverence could not have been in a more perfect location. We were offering reverence to Jamila and we were offering reverence to the female strength to build things outside of ourselves - to create bigger and bolder and more expansive than we even possibly realize.
Directed by another badass, Amy Sigil of Unmata, the show was divided into 3 acts about Jamila's life. The first two acts exemplified her circus experience in the 1940s and cabaret club solo career in the 1950s - all played by an array of dancers from different genres of the national belly dance community, including Sabriya Tekbilek, Rachel Brice, Asharah and Ashley Lopez amongst others. Zoe Jakes danced the Mother Earth Goddess dance in the final act, Jamila's infamous Bal Anat, from her 1970s Renaissance Fair performance era. The Mother Earth Goddess dance, channeled by Zoe, was absolutely mesmerizing. As I stood on stage in the circle watching her, with hands folded in respect, I felt a strong vibration of affirmation and encouragement run up my spine and perhaps throughout the entire dance congregation. I glanced at Jamila in the audience and saw her proud smile and then at Suhaila to see her sparkling eyes watching us. I took in this sweet coming together of soul sisters and sent a little prayer to Gram. I realized in that moment that this entire service was in dedication to the Court of Matriarchs.
