Warriors of Bellystan, directed by Meher Malik, infused various dance forms with belly dancing. Organisers tell Shrabasti Mallik that people are slowly accepting belly dance as a serious form
Belly dancing has always been a dance of the exotic. The sensuous movement of the hips, the captivating music — all leads to an enchanting experience. This dance form has been tried and tested by many dancers and actors but there are perhaps a handful who see belly dancing beyond the belly and acknowledge it as a refined, artistic dance, steeped in tradition, grace and beauty, not to mention the immense hard work that goes in to perfecting it.
Meher Malik understood the potential of the dance form quite early and, therefore, she set up the Banjara Banjara School of Dance, India’s first and largest belly dancing school. As a serious dancer she knows how important it is to ensure that this dance form but various stigmas, taboos and prejudices continue to be associated with it.
The Banjara School of Dance, India’s first and largest Belly Dancing School, recently presented Warriors of Bellystan as its premier belly dance production and it was nothing like we had ever seen before — 21 dancers came together to work on this unique project, directed by Malik and film maker Aakriti Gandhi in the format of a documentary/dance production.
Warriors of Bellystan is an attempt to show people that this form of dance — which has to be a bit naughty, unless one wants the audiences to look for something else — is a serious art form beyond the narrow confines of hypocrisy. They are a group of eccentric, independent, strong individuals who believe in their dreams and will go to any end to protect it.
Warriors of Bellystan consisted of 10 scenes with 10 dance pieces and the highlight were the colours and the fusion of belly dance with different styles of dance in a way never seen before. Each piece was set in a different mood and with completely different elements.
The main aim of the production was to educate while entertaining and the goal is to take the production pan India to educate people, because the Banjara School wants to change prevailing prejudices by promoting belly dance as a professional dance form.
The school also promotes folk, classical, oriental and gypsy dance forms. The basic aim of Banjara is “to express, not to impress” and give life through dance.
It is an initiative to bring together different dancers from different styles and cultures of dance.