Thread: Morocco as a dancer...?

I have always read (and myself had) great admiration for Morocco as a historian and booster for Middle Easter/Oriental dance the world over. Her specialities seem to be in knowledge of the dance, and spreading the truth about its evolution over time. I have also heard she can have a harsh manner as a teacher, but in a "ya gotta love the New Yorker" kind of way. All that I have heard many many times.

But what about as a dancer?

I don't think I have ever heard discussions of her dance technique, what style she performs, etc. Is she a strong dancer? What style would you say she dances when she dances Oriental? Or is it a "we don't talk/dish about one of our dance Mommas" kind of thing?

I've seen her dance a couple times, once in person and once on YouTube.

I took one of her weeklongs (with Saqra several years ago) and she does have a direct style of teaching, but I wouldn't say it was rude. She will press your physical limits, even the youngest (age) and fittest will be challenged by her stamina.

Back to dancing...she has great technique and her style is very old school Egyptian. ie. no nonsense, simply great dancing. She's also one of the best zill players...ever...

I have never felt moved while watching her dance. Good, but not one of the great ones. A bit "phone it in". Having said that I will also state that I have never seen her live..and something always goes missing in 2 dimensions.

i studied under morocco for a couple years when i lived in NY, and reconnected with her a couple years ago after losing touch for about 12 years,

when i FIRST saw her almost 25 years ago on stage, i was BLOWN AWAY by her......her hips were precise, and nimble, zilling UNBELIEVABLE, with aLOT of musicality and presence, as well as a cheeky, wonderful stage persona............when dancing slow, she was quite graceful and expressive....as i studied under her, learned in her troupe and got to see more of her as a dancer, it was even more inspiring............my first impression.......for shamadan and assaya, she would wear one of those amazing mme abla dresses with long hip fringe and more fringe thru-out.....at one point when she would put away the props and do the 'quake', the fringes would undulate and move as she did a 3-5 minute taksim to an oud-like instrument(sorry, don't remember it's name, shame on me, i'm STILL looking for that taksim) with the 'quake'.....the fringes just came alive when she would move......

then, i moved here, lost touch, and got a chance to see her again at her weeklong and was amazed on how LITTLE she had changed.....her dancing is STILL precise and energetic, i'm STILL blown away by her technique and presence.....

ye, she is very direct, and no nonsense, and extremely honest....but i've never seen her rude....i'll agree with that her style is very old school egyptian orientale. i understand that not all dancer's styles are everyone's cup of tea, but morocco continues to inspire ME with her constant evolution, knowledge and boundless energy, and i can only HOPE that my hips could have the same precision and a life of their own as i continue...

i was lucky to book her for a workshop here for a weekend and got to share my experience with my students and local dancers...........what a BLAST we had! wanna do THAT again, AND i'd go back to her weeklong

Originally Posted by AnnaTX

even the youngest (age) and fittest will be challenged by her stamina.

This can apply to her performances as well. I was at a workshop show where she performed not only a super sassy 8 minute assaya to close the first half, but her primarily oriental performance to close out the show was a staggering 20+ minutes long - during which she barely appeared to break a sweat.

She's got great technique, amazing musical interpretation, loads of stage presence, and as AnnaTX mentioned her zilling is swoon-worthy.

Originally Posted by anala

I have never felt moved while watching her dance. Good, but one of the great ones. A bit "phone it in". Having said that I will also state that I have never seen her live..and something always goes missing in 2 dimensions.

morocco live IS a different deal! i felt the same when i saw artemis dance live for the first time............WOW!......

and while suhaila's style isn't my cup of tea, seeing her live was a different experience when i caught her at spring caravan............very dynamic..........

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voqHFey-RJM]YouTube - Oriental Dancer Morocco in Bahlam Beek & Drum solo[/ame]

I first saw Morocco dance about 40 years ago. Wonderful. I have taken a workshop and seen her dance quite recently. Still wonderful. A little heavier but aren't we all.

yay! that was at the winter weeklong i was at!

that was what, 2 years ago?

Rocky is really something. I don't think she is at all cruel or sharp tongued teacher. She pushes hard and her teaching method lets you get through multiple choreographies over a weekend workshop and hve them pretty well assigned in muscle memory.

I believe that she is going to be 70 this year so she was in her late 60s in that video of Bahleem Beek. Her hip work is crisp with efortless layering of shimmies of all sorts. When Rocky calls for a "brrrrrr" she means that a shimmy is going on constantly regardless of what other movements are involved. I like her best with slow soulful music where emotions are worn on the sleeve. But there is no denying that her 9 min. raks assaya "Rocky's Cane Dance" performance will bring you to your feet. And when she and Tarik dance in duet they are breathtaking.

I learned after the first workshop with her to ignore her arms.

For those in the southeast, Rocky is going to be in the Macon, Georgia (south of Atlanta) area for workshops in April. Wouldn't miss it for the world!

Souzan

I thinks a matter of taste, but I've heard from other dancers she used to dance flat-footed, which might bother some. I love zils and appreciate anyone who does them well.

Originally Posted by Souzan

I learned after the first workshop with her to ignore her arms.

What do you mean by this, Souzan?

I have taken two workshops with Rocky and loved them both. She's so knowledgeable and no-nonsense! I would love to see her dance live.

Wow, 70. I can only dream of such energy.

I saw her dance at the Northern Lights event last year and saw both things I admired and things that weren't to my taste. Her musicality, I thought, was incredibly good.

I saw her dance live back in october. I have no idea where her energy comes from, she wore me out just watching. She was great fun to watch and a real inspiration. Then I took a class with her and watched a lot of dancers dropping like flies trying to keep up with that continuous shimmy!

I took a workshop a few years back and loved her. A well paced, interesting and accessable routine sprinkled wth hilarious anecdotes.
I saw her perform at Raqs B last June and just didn't get her performance at all!

Originally Posted by Taj

What do you mean by this, Souzan?

I have taken two workshops with Rocky and loved them both. She's so knowledgeable and no-nonsense! I would love to see her dance live.

Wow, 70. I can only dream of such energy.

What I meant by the arms thing is that she has very definite arm frames for hip work but other than that it seems that her arms are just there counterbalancing whatever she is doing. No swooshy ballet arms. Not that her arms aren't strong (she started as a Flamenco dancer, afterall!) but when learning her choreographies I know that she will have some standard Rocky arm positions.

Originally Posted by Kash13

I saw her dance live back in october. I have no idea where her energy comes from, she wore me out just watching. She was great fun to watch and a real inspiration. Then I took a class with her and watched a lot of dancers dropping like flies trying to keep up with that continuous shimmy!

LOL, that happened both at her weeklong AND the workshop i sponsored in baltimore............my poor students stuck it out (including one gal who was 5 months pregnant :p), but said that by the end, the 'brrrrrr' (layered shimmy) was GONE and they just stepped thru the choreo.....alot of gals WERE dropping like flies, Rocky didn't seem to break a sweat, AND she danced a guedra AND an almost 30 minute set at the show that night, AND taught another 5 hours the next day, fresh as a daisy! WHEW!....i hope i have that energy in 20 years ..l;,

I saw her dance in person when I was a baby dancer- she danced at a benefit performance here in NC.
I thought she was fantastic. She has amazing energy. I was also blown away by how kind she was to everyone backstage! I danced as well that evening with a student group, and she was VERY sweet and encouraging to us even though we were "just students". (And we were doing Tribal!)
I feel lucky to have met her.

I love Rocky both as a teacher and as a friend! Don't forget, along with everything else, she's a Mensa member and speaks quite a few languages fluently. And yet, I've never seen her be rude-she is always blunt but kind. I've done 3 weeklongs with her, and each of them had at least one student from 'away' with less than perfect English-and Rocky just repeated instructions in that language!

She's also tremendoulsy versatile-somthing I'm not sure she gets credit for. She can dance/teach not only Egyptian nightclub, but (and these are just the workshops I"VE taken with her; there are more!) Turkish and Egyptian Rom, flamenco and Zambra, Guedra and Zar, Saiidi and Shichkatt.

I wouldn't say she is rude at all, very direct though. She's not afraid to speak her mind and tell it like it is.


When she dances she radiates warmth and charisma, I would totally recommend seeing her live if you can, none of that really comes across on youtube clips. Her zilling is incredible, and she always interprets the music beautifully.

She is also extremely funny and a bit saucy, both in her dancing and teaching. I feel extremely proud and lucky to have had the opportunity to study with her and see her perform, she is a truly wonderful person.

I think the best words to describe Rocky is opinionated and straight forward.

And yes, her energy as a dancer is pretty unmatchable.

{{{HUGS}}}

I agree with Souzan on the arms. Overall, I think her arms are unpolished compared to some dancers today, but I chalked it up to a matter of style. She is the pure original Arabic-style dancer without western influence.

I did prefer Tarik's dance style in his workshop (they taught the same day), but I would say it was a lot more modern in style, he did a sha'abi workshop.

I don't think her performance brought me to tears but I was inspired by her abilities, and that she is still going strong at her age. She sure has a lot of talents - and energy. She looks good and wears classy costumes.

Her teaching style for workshops was excellent. It was a real workout and I found I would remember it much easier than other methods, although it did become laborious to repeat everything 4 times - it worked!

I didn't think she was too sharp-tongued. She was witty. She was opinionated, but not mean. Maybe it is because I am from the northeast as well. I remember that she had some strong opinions on how to dance and what to do/not do - well, some of those things she says "not to do" are things that I do and are a part of my style. She was still supportive and I think she said she enjoyed my show.

I said harsh, not rude or mean. But I guess I was driving at blunt.

So far I am getting a lot of "she has a lot of endurance/energy for her age", and a few actual compliments to her dancing. Heh

I have long wanted to take from her. Actually I was signed up for a multi-day workshop a couple years ago, and then had to drop out. :(

Originally Posted by TribalDancer

I said harsh, not rude or mean. But I guess I was driving at blunt.

So far I am getting a lot of "she has a lot of endurance/energy for her age", and a few actual compliments to her dancing. Heh

I have long wanted to take from her. Actually I was signed up for a multi-day workshop a couple years ago, and then had to drop out. :(

'blunt' is pretty accurate..g.:

and more accurately, she has alot of endurance/energy, period...........i've got stamina, but i was getting worn out, and the younger gals were just melting away.......gah..............yeesh, i'd love to plug into that!

if you get the chance to see/study with her, do.......you so won't regret it....

I am just mean enough to enjoy running my 20 year old students into the ground on a regular basis. It gives meaning to my life.

I loved her workshop and I think she is a great teacher. I was very impressed with seeing her do the Guedra, it was moving. I thought her Raqs Sharki dancing was good, but I wasn't blown away. Could be an off night, and I had just seen Sahra dance (which did blow me away) so I don't know. It also was late into a hectic night, so maybe it was me.

Hm, I hope that I do not come across as negative, which is in not my intention at all. I saw Morocco last year at Folktours, and I was very moved by her dancing (there were a few hiddden tears, and not many dancers move me that way).

First, I think her body shows some of her age; she does not look like a teenager, it is fair to say that she looks like a woman who has left 30 behind for a while. Of course, she has great technical mastery and is in a shape that would have impressed me if she had just celebrated her 30th birthday. She has an energy that is tremendous, but she does not have the weightless smoothness of an 18-year-old ballerina. What I remember most: She had a beautiful expression of joy when she danced, and she seemed to internalize and then express the music in her own way, which I enjoyed immensely.

I think how one feels about her dancing depends a lot on what one is looking for in a dancer - whether it is super-smooth technique that looks weight- and boneless or whether it is expressiveness that brings the music to life. I happen to be moved by the latter, and whereas the former leaves me relatively cold.

Weightless and boneless? No. But lyrical, flowing, controlled, expressive, thoughtful in its execution....

super-smooth technique that looks weight- and boneless or whether it is expressiveness that brings the music to life.

I want both! There is a dancer of my aquaintance that has great skills, but has always left me cold. It took a long time for me to come to the conclusion that there is a very weighted aspect about her dancing. Flat footed and deliberate. She maintains a shimmy underneath almost all the time, but it is a shimmy without shimmer. The effect is a bit ponderous and heavy. I want to see a dancer that appears to levitate at times. Know what I mean?

Originally Posted by TribalDancer

Weightless and boneless? No. But lyrical, flowing, controlled, expressive, thoughtful in its execution....

OK, your quote is a pretty accurate description of Morocco's dance. Not as precise as Tarik, but I've never seen another dancer that connects with the music and the audience as well. She can change the mood in a room.