Ahmed Yami performs the Egyptian Tanoura at Zerzura each Sunday. He talks to Divya Kaushik about improvising the form using props and retaining the spiritual and cultural image of the dance
His twirls makes neon fabric fly. It appears as though he was floating in the air at Zerzura in Qutab Institutional Area, where he regularly performs. Ahmed Yami is originally from Morocco and has come here to perform at the Egyptian Tanoura Sundowner Act.
He was initially apprehensive, but realised the art form has fans in India too. Tanoura is an improvisation of dervish whirling — done by men in long skirts, wearing coloured clothes, even lights. Each colour of the skirt represents a sufi order.
So his multi-coloured outfit is a tribute to Sufi values. Ahmed uses Arabic and Asian Underground tunes like Jugni by Arif lohar (in a remix to stay consistent with the whirling), Turkish artist Ibrahim Tatlises’ song Mavilim, Saber Al Rubai’s Sidi Mansour Albi Albi and Yalla Habibi by Nancy Ajra.
“What’s most important for me is to retain the spiritual and cultural image of the dance, while making it popular and enjoyable. I worried about performing in a lounge. I felt the atmosphere would not respect the dance form. The first evening, there were over 100 people at the lounge. The manner in which they cheered, clapped and supported me was amazing. I think India is ahead culturally, which is why they revelled in this form,” informed the dancer.
His initial introduction to the sufi whirling dance was through social and religious events. He went to a formal school in Morocco to learn dervish dancing. (He says in the socio-economic community that belongs to, everyone goes there). After that he performed at cultural events across Morocco, before deciding to head to the rest of the region and explore how they interpret the form. While in Egypt, he discovered Tanoura.
“I have performed for a decade and still practice for 17-18 hours. Balance is an important part. You have to get your steps steady to the rhythm. There is a one step spin and two step spin. With the former you spot an object and keep your focus while moving, so you can maintain balance. In the two step spin you spot two objects around to focus on. This practice requires time and training. Thanks to it I could make the object spin continuously for five to seven minutes. Props changed. These could be clothes, umbrellas studded with lights so they shone, creating beautiful patterns. But heavy weight objects are avoided because it is difficult to maintain balance. lots of hand movements can be added,” explained the artist, who plans to travel to other parts of the globe and make his dance popular.
“Sufi dervish dancing is popular. But Tanoura entered the picture later.”
Yami is learning about Indian classical dance forms and may incorporate elements in his dancing. “But as I mentioned, I will maintain the purity of the dances. Tanoura has some things in common with classical Indian dance movements. But I want to understand forms first. Then I might incorporate elements,” he said. Ahmed performs at Zerzura and will be there for a few more Sundays. “Though I don’t train, during the time I am here, I’ll be glad if someone learns this and wants to continue.”