Interview with Cissie

October 2, 2009 10:22 AM

Name: Cissie

What is your role within the Sahara Dance community? Student of Several, Fan of Many

Childhood ambition: When I was young, I wanted to be an opera singer or a Broadway singer and dancer. After I discovered belly dancing, I wanted to be a belly dancing opera singer (or an opera singing belly dancer). And to travel to Egypt.

First job: My senior prom date got me a job at the World Future Society packing book orders (S&H was $1.50, no matter how huge the order, which gives you an idea how long ago this job was) and mailing magazines to subscribers.

What’s playing on your iPod or CD player? Kevin Johnson, Wash Ya Wash, Americana Motel, Bob Dylan, Music to Spy By, Volume I.

Indulgence: Old movies — my husband says I don’t like a movie unless it’s in black and white. Good fruit pie (there’s a lot of mediocre fruit pie in the world). Good cake. Chocolate malts. A good swim to relax and refresh (and to help counter the movies, pie, etc).

What’s your favorite belly dance moment or experience? Hard to say. Perhaps my veil dance at Casablanca last summer and the semester I finally got good enough at zils to feel like I could play them in public and not embarrass myself.

What is your dance background? I started belly dancing when I was in high school, taking classes at Open University (long gone, or at least the name’s been changed). I don’t remember my teacher’s name, but I do remember admiring how very “jiggly” she was. After that, I just danced in my house to my George Abdo records (yes, I said records). Besides the semester each of ballroom and jazz I once took, that’s about it until I started belly dance classes again a few years ago.

How did you get interested in belly dance? Probably two things: seeing a belly dance record once in junior high school when I was babysitting (I’m sure I was too intimidated to actually play it); and seeing an episode of “The Odd Couple” that had a Greek belly dancer in it — Felix and Oscar (and Oscar’s mom) were at first shocked by her but then quite impressed. I think the idea that I was doing something no one else I knew knew how to do must have appealed to me as well.

Finally, what do you love most about Sahara Dance (other than Hip Talk, of course!)? Kind, thoughtful, good-humored, patient, interested and resourceful teachers. And my fellow (sister?) students. All of them/you. All of the time.

Permalink →