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COCKBURN COMMUNITY WORKSHOPS: GRANT RANT
by Amy
Some were young, some were mature, some were professional bellydancers, some were new to dance; some were shy, some were uninhibited... but how did this random group of twenty seven women end up laughing, dancing and zaghereeting together in a recreation centre in Spearwood? Well, here is the story...
In October last year The Kismet Tribe applied for a Co Express Grant from the City of Cockburn to run free introductory workshops in American Tribal Style (ATS) Bellydance. Our aim was to give women of all ages, backgrounds and abilities an opportunity to share the same joy and passion of ATS that we have. We felt women in the community needed a chance to reconnect with their bodies and each other in a friendly, fun and non-threatening environment. And to our delight we were able to realise this dream when our grant application to the Cockburn Council was successful. After the initial excitement of receiving the grant it dawned on us: "Wow, we've got quite a lot of work to do now!"
We set the date for the first workshop our the 3rd of April. As always in The Kismet Tribe, we shared the tasks amongst ourselves. Sarah took on 'the press' and Anne made flyers and posters and organised a dummy to display our costumes. Amy kept the funds in check and Clair organised the workshop format. As the date approached, so did our energy levels. Thanks to support from Access 31, the local newspapers and Fremantle radio our advertisements/articles were everywhere. Sarah's phone was running hot with people booking in!
The night before we set the scene with screens, veils, cushions and rugs to create our own welcoming energy with a middle eastern flair. On the Saturday morning we arrived early to ensure we were ready for our students to arrive... and they did! Initially there was a little nervous excitement as people wondered "what have I got myself into?" Clair soon reassured everyone and gave an introduction to American Tribal Style Bellydance and The Kismet Tribe. She gave a quick rundown of how this style of dance came to be and the origins of the costume. We showed a 10 min video of Fat Chance Belly Dance in order for the students to understand what we are striving for and what is possible after years of dedication.
Our students were keen to get started, so after a warm up Clair took them through three basic moves and variations. We wanted to keep the technique simple as the aim of the workshop was to have fun and dance together, not to achieve technical accuracy. By the end of the first half of the workshop our students were beginning to gain confidence and play with these moves. We were also all famished so morning tea was served and devoured! This was a fun part of the workshop as we mingled and chatted about our background and how we ended up at the workshop. After morning tea, the positive energy seemed to envelope everyone in the room. We were all ready to embrace the spirit of community dance and start getting tribal! Clair explained the theory of following and leading while dancing and how to do this. She also taught the students how to support each other with the zaghareete call. We then broke in to small groups to practice how to communicate using language of moves and cues of ATS bellydancing. It was great to see the bonds between the women grow. The finale of the workshop was to bring it together and to dance as one. We formed a chorus and took turns to dance by leading or following, all the while being supported by the newly learnt zaghareet. Clair took the final lead and we formed a circle. We faced in and then danced forward, making the circle tight and intense, then to celebrate the mornings events a loud zaghareet went out from us all, sending shivers down our spines.
We had achieved what had set out to do: bring American Tribal Style Belly dance to the women of our community - and to have fun doing it! We received much positive feedback from the students who shared their personal experiences with us. Due to overwhelming demand we have since run other workshops, including one at Fairbridge Festival. We are pleased to report that these have been as fun and as successful as the first. The Kismet Tribe would like to thank the Cockburn Council for generously funding the community workshops and primarily, we would like to thank all the participants who attended the workshops for sharing your lovely positive energy with us, and each other.
Amy Warne
The Kismet Tribe
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