Name: Pauline (AKA Maralina)
What is your role within the Sahara Dance community? Student, Current Company Member of Raquettes Beledi and Raquettes Repertoire, former Company Member, Raqs Caravan West and Raqs Caravan Folkloric, former Studio Assistant at Sahara Dance Downtown
Childhood ambition: I wanted to be an actress, a comedian, or a journalist like my father was. When I was a little kid, I was very dramatic and was always making up “characters” and putting on different voices and imitating people, or making up songs or making up my own words to jingles on the radio. I think I still have a gift for impersonations and telling stories. Usually it is people that I know in real life.
First job: At one point I wanted to be the first female mayor of Atlantic City (my hometown). I was dissuaded from this path by a high school guidance counselor. I also realized that politics in my hometown was a dirty business and I didn’t want to be a part of that.
My first “job” was babysitting as a young teen. My first actual job was a summer job when I was 14 working at a city-sponsored day camp program as a counselor. I related better to the boy children than the girls, probably because I have a younger brother. My first non-childcare job was when I was in high school I worked at a clothing store in the mall called Merry Go Round. This was the mid-80s so we sold a lot of really funky stuff. Leather and suede dresses, fringed leather jackets, “parachute pants” and of course, Bugle Boy jeans for men. Because of this job, I always clean up after myself in fitting rooms when shopping.
My first job after high school was working at one of the Atlantic City casinos (I grew up there) in the Entertainment Dept. as a clerk/typist. This was a way of saying, you are not skilled enough to actually be called a secretary, but we will let you type simple things and use the copier. It was the summer between high school and college. Our offices were literally backstage, next to the dressing rooms for the performers. I would often work at night because they needed someone in the office to answer the phones in case someone called while the show was going on. I once spoke on the phone to Sheena Easton, who was performing at the hotel. I also spoke to Harry Belafonte, who called asking to speak to Sammy Davis, Jr., who was onstage performing at the time. I told him, “I will leave a message for him in his dressing room!” I worked there for 2 summers and saw a ton of great shows for free and got a real up close and personal taste of “show biz”…..I think that growing up in Atlantic City and being exposed to performers at a young age made me more interested in performing myself years later!
My first “real job” after I got done with all of my school was as an immigration lawyer in private practice in DC….I am still doing that job!
What’s playing on your iPod or CD player? On my “Recently Played” playlist: Abdel Halim Hafez (Zay El Hawa, my favorite), Michael Jackson, Thievery Corporation, Sammy Davis, Jr., Tom Jones, Bobby Darin, Amr Diab, Djinn, Selena, Squeeze, Tarkan, Haircut 100, Farid El Atrache, Simon Shaheen, Pink Martini, Turbo Tabla, and of course, the ubiquitous “Unknown Artist”!
Indulgence: Sleeping late, taking taxis (I am one of those weird people who does not own a car, so I rely on public transportation…and taxis when I am running late or feeling lazy), and typical girly stuff like retail therapy at Sephora, pedicures, spending too much money getting my hair colored, massages, eating stuff like pasta, chocolate, etc. Oh, and wine…and this Belgian beer that tastes like sour cherries….and vanilla vodka with sprite…and a good Manhattan - not all at once of course!
And of course, taking dance classes and being an amateur belly dance performer is the ultimate indulgence! We spend a lot of time and money indulging in this artistic and creative pursuit.
Another indulgence of mine is conversation. I am one of those people who can talk to a friend on the phone late at night for hours and lose track of time. It is really an indulgence to have the time to do this, and to have the friends who want to share this sort of thing.
What’s your favorite belly dance moment or experience? There are so many! One of my favorite experiences was performing in a joint Raqs West - Raqs East “dance off” routine (Din Daa Daa) choreographed by Ebony at UDM in 2008 I believe. There were so many dancers and so much crazy energy on the stage it was a blast!
Another memorable experience was when I was performing my first Oriental solo at a Sahara summer showcase at Casablanca. I performed to a George Abdo song (from the same CD that I had bought several years prior to impress the old boyfriend!) and there was a section of the song which was a taqsim where I had my back turned away from the audience. The music then changed and went back to vocals, and as I turned around to face the audience again everyone - especially the Sahara teachers, who were all sitting in the front - started cheering really loud and clapping - I felt like such a rockstar! Make that, raqstar ;) It was such a wonderful, exciting, empowering moment.
A most recent memorable experience was just last month at the Sahara winter show at the Calvary Baptist Church. My mother was in the audience watching the show. I was dancing in a beautiful veil routine choreographed by Colleen for Intermediate Repertoire. I was one of 3 dancers on the stage in the beginning of the routine, and we started off with the lights down low and our backs turned away from the audience. We shimmied and did very slow arm undulations. As I was doing that, I could see my shadow and the shadows of the other 2 dancers against the back of the stage. Those moments when I was dancing up there with the other 2 dancers with our backs to the audience were very powerful, exciting and emotional for me. I felt as though we were sharing an intimate secret with the audience. The fact that my mother was in the audience watching made it even more so emotional and exciting :)
I look forward to many more memorable moments to come!
Current inspirations: I recently saw the Alvin Ailey dance company perform and I am feeling very inspired by them. I really agree with their message that dance comes from the spirit and that a large part of the beauty in dance is the uniqueness of the dancer. I am also very inspired by all of my Sahara teachers, including my current teachers, Colleen, Rachel and Jennifer. I am in awe of and constantly inspired by my other teachers, Faten Salama and Artemis. I recently had the pleasure of taking a North African dance workshop with Latifa at Sahara Dance and enjoyed it very much. I am looking forward to taking more workshops with her in the future.
I am constantly inspired by all different kinds of music, including jazz, big band, classical Egyptian, Moroccan “country” music, etc.
And of course, my mother, my original dance inspiration, continues to inspire me!
What is your dance background? My initial “dance background” would have to be my mom, since I got 50% of my DNA from her! She is a dancer. She was a childhood tap dancer, and took ballet and yoga classes as an adult, when I was a little girl. Now she is an accomplished Ballroom and Latin dancer, and she still takes tap classes. She is my inspiration in the world of dance, and I am happy to be able to share this interest with her.
I started with tap dancing at the age of 4 or 5, and continued with that until I was in the 8th grade. My mom put me in dance classes because “you were very shy and a little uncoordinated, so the pediatrician said it would be good for you!” I also did jazz and a little bit of ballet, but ballet was “too slow” for me.
I was one of the “Tony Grant’s Stars of Tomorrow” - a group of children who performed in and around Atlantic City in local shows, including our biggest gig of the year, a week of performances at the world famous Steel Pier, home of the legendary “diving horse”.
In elementary school I also did some Israeli dancing, as I went to a Jewish school. This would be most similar to a folkloric style of Middle Eastern dancing.
Fast forward 20 years, and I discovered Sahara Dance and started taking belly dance classes in 2005.
How did you get interested in belly dance? The short story: I was dating a guy from Lebanon, I bought a George Abdo CD to try to impress him, he did not seem that impressed, I fell in love with the music though. I wanted to take ballroom or salsa dancing, but my boyfriend was shy and absolutely refused to dance. So I thought that belly dance would be a good form of dance that I could try that I could do on my own, without a partner. I found Sahara Dance by searching online, was lucky to take my first B1 class with Elysa, and the rest is history!
P.S. I dumped that guy (or I suppose, we both dumped each other), and now I have a boyfriend who “gets” this kind of music AND who appreciates my dancing.
Finally, what do you love most about Sahara Dance (other than Hip Talk, of course!)? I love the supportive atmosphere for learning and the studio’s commitment to strong dance technique and to artistic and creative beauty. I love how the studio has classes and performance opportunities available for all levels of dancers. I love how the teachers genuinely care about the students not only as dancers but also as people. I love that I have met such wonderful, talented, well-rounded women from all different backgrounds at this studio, and that I have and will continue to create wonderful friendships with them! Even though I really love to perform, the best part about dancing at Sahara is all of the fun and effort and camaraderie that leads up to the performances.
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