Guedra

I had the wonderful fortune to attend a workshop by Morocco - the dancer not the country - on Guedra. I first learned about this "dance" (we'll get back to that later) years ago in the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism www.sca.org) and have participated in many guedras over the years. Attending this workshop gave me the opportunity to clarify a few questions and to learn the "dance" from the main instructor in the United States. For a background on Morocco and her research into this "dance" see www.casbahdance.org and look for her article on "Dance as a Community Identity" about the Berber National Identity and Guedra.

First off - the reason I keep putting the word dance into quotations is that one of the things she emphasized was that this was NOT a dance, but a ritual. "It's not a dance, it's never been a dance, and it never will be a dance!" I've always heard it referred to as a dance and this one statement completely changed how I thought about this ritual. The article listed above will give you a good background on the ritual and why it's performed. I'm not going to go into that - I'm sure you can all read! ;)

Some of the things that I took away from this workshop:

1. Clapping and Chanting: This was presented in a much different format to how I've always done it. The method I was using worked, but the method she presented was much simpler and less structured. I can't wait to try it out!

2. Magic Necklace and the Man's role: This was really cool! While only a woman can perform the guedra - men do have a role in this ritual and I loved the "magic necklace", which is the term Morocco used for the necklace that the guedra wears. The idea of a community building their own magic necklace that is then used for guedra was really enticing!

3. No Flailing: I'd always understood that the increased movement or "running man" or "flailing" at the end of the ritual was necessary to trance. Morocco was very clear that this was not so and could even be very dangerous to the woman performing the ritual! I spoke with her after the class and her best guess was that this came from a staged performance that she and her troop did where two of the girls added such movement in order to increase the umph of the performance. It was not traditional to the ritual and not necessary in order to trance. So while there is swaying and chest lifting - the arms are held fairly steady at shoulder level and the chin is just gently lifted and turned. Morocco said that if everything else was done correctly the movement was not needed in order to trance. The trance was about the energy work - not the movement. I've never liked the flailing at the end of the dance due some neck issues and was quiet happy to hear I could stop performing it that way!

4. Drum Rhythm: I'd always read that the drum beat was a heartbeat rhythm, but I've never - not once - had such a rhythm played at a guedra that I'd participated in. Most of the time the rhythm played was a Moroccan 6/8 - which works just fine, but isn't authentic. Morocco had a CD of several performances of guedra recorded in the 1970's and the difference in the sound is profound. I think the heartbeat will assist in the trance and it's much easier to play. Can't wait to try this one out either.

All in all it was a really great class - more lecture than movement, although the time we spent practicing the hand flicks, salutations, etc was really fun and I definitely felt it in my wrists the next day! It was also wonderful to see this legend in belly dance perform not once but three times in the show that evening. Morocco is a "granny" of belly dance and let me tell you what - it doesn't take amazing strength moves or super ooey-gooey undulations to create a great performance. I truly began to comprehend why they say in Egypt that no woman younger than 40 can be a great belly dancer - she has nothing to say. Well Morocco had something to say and I was thrilled to be able to listen that evening! I hope that when I'm a "granny" of belly dance that I can rock the stage - literally - with my shimmies that go on forever! Take that Belly Bunnies of the World!

Halleyah