Interview with Yasmin Farrah
by Laila Bouhouch


Interview of the great oriental dancer Licia Marcheselli (Yasmin Farrah) From Italy. Licia has performed with Aziza, Zaza Hassan (France), Yousry Sharif (USA), Dr Geddawi (Germany) and Raqia Hassan (Egypt). She founded with her students the group " Harem" to transmit Arabian culture by the pleasure of dancing.





Laila Bouhouch
How did you discover oriental dance?

Yasmin Farrah
I discovered oriental dance by chance.

Laila
Did you see in your life an oriental dancer?

Yasmin
I saw an oriental dancer when I was very young. I saw her in the television. She was an Arabian dancer. She was very good and she was dancing with musicians. Her name was Yassmin. I kept in my heart her memory for all my life because she was great. When I discovered oriental dance, I was a teacher of ballet and a professional dancer. I was always late to take my courses, so the director of the school did not want me to enter because I was late. I did not want to go home so the director told me to try a lesson of oriental dance instead. She said that if I do not like she will return me my money. So, I was curious because I had seen a lot of article on the newspapers, many years ago this famous oriental dancer. There was a curiosity. I like to try new way, it is in my character. Finally, I decided to take this lesson. My teacher was American called Aziza. She was a great dancer, wonderful teacher. Immediately, I fell in love with this dance because the teacher was very good. She had a nice personality. I study one year with her then she left Italy. She disappeared from my life. It was the beginner. Little by little, I was involved in this middle of oriental dance because I found immediately a work. Also, I told you that I was a teacher of classical ballet. I studied it all my youthfulness up to professional level. At this moment of my life, I was living a crisis because I did not recognize myself in the classical ballet. In the ballet, you have to follow a stereotype, in the oriental dance you must be yourself. You do not follow other dancer, only a technique and not with expression or the style. When I started oriental dance, I was fed up of ballet because it was difficult to express yourself. You must be slim, you must have long hair and It was a period of crisis in my life. For all those reason I was attracted for oriental dance. It was a new way for me.

Laila
So, after one year you said that you find a job immediately ?

Yasmin
I love to dance. It was very easy to start for me. When Aziza left there was again an other crisis, because there was no master teacher like Aziza. So, I wanted to stop. But finally I did not stop because I met Zaza Hassan in a workshop in Milano. He teaches in Paris, so I took several workshop with him. Immediately, as I was a good student, he invited me to dance in his show in Paris organized by UNESCO. He said that it was a present for me because I was very good. There is a video of me in the UNESO but I had never seen it.

Laila
I think that people can go there to watch it.

Yasmin
I think yes. Zaza was very kind with me. When I went to Paris for the show, the emotion was great and it was the first time that I saw an Egyptian orchestra, Egyptian people. I felt a great emotion when I started to understand what is oriental dancing. When I come back to Italy, there were no school to continuous what I had started. Zaza was in Paris. I could not go there every time. I fall to stop again but I think that oriental dance was in my destiny. One day, in a bus stop, I found a woman. She was a dancer but transforms. I help her and we started to dance together. We decided to go to the U.S.A. We went to New-York. At that moment I decided to become an oriental dancer. This was a really push, from New-York, I never stop.

Laila
You started to learn with witch master in New-York ?

Yasmin
I started with Yousry Sharif. He influenced me a lot to dance. Aziza and Zaza were the first. I have been conscious of what I wanted to became with Yousry Sharif and Raqia Hassan. They influenced a lot my style.

Laila
It is probably because you were a good student with a perfect technique.


Yasmin
I hope ! I think that It is important to a dancer to have clear ideas in their minds. You have to decide immediately who are you and what you want to become. You must work hard on yourself. I like Egyptian Teacher but I try to find my own style and personality. Even if It is difficult because Raqia Hassan and Yousry Sharif have a strong personality. It is very important for a dancer to become independent from their teachers. They gave me a lot. Now I am Licia not Raqia or Yousry. I think that all dancers should not copy their teachers or other dancers on every things like the costume, the choreography, the music, the design and the make-up. You must be you and I must be myself. You have your body and I have my body, you have your culture and I have mine. We can't be similar. This is important because in oriental dance, the technique is the first step but the style, the interpretation and the personality are more important. The public must distinguish you from an other dancer. They can not say "she looks like Mona Said" or "she looks like Fifi Abdou". You must be yourself.

Laila
Who are your favorite dancers ?

Yasmin
My favorite dancer ? Well, in the beginning of my career, there was a great confusion in my mind. I was not able to distinguish. It is normal because when you do not know the steps you make a great confusion. Now, usually, I prefer Egyptian dancers. I like when a dancer is very clear in her technique. I do not like when people mix different style. If you are a wonderful artist, It is OK but It is a big risk. Well, I like Dina, Mona Said, Soheir Zaki and Nadia Hamdi…

Laila
Perhaps Lebanese artists ?

Yasmin
Yes, Amani is very fascinating, but the Lebanese style is very different from Egyptian style. When an artist is great It is great, It do not matter the style. So, I like also Nadia Gamal.

Laila
You said that in Italy, there is no school of oriental dance but now ?

Yasmin
Yes.

Laila
Do you teach ?

Yasmin
Yes, I teach in Italy. The problem in Italy is that we are beginning, we are not like Germany, U.S.A. or Egypt. So, we make mistake, of course It is natural. It is the history of evolution. There are no master teacher. They come only for workshop and It is not enough. So, everybody teach but most of them are not good. (There are two or three good teachers.) They do not know the technique very well. They think that oriental dance is easy to learn. No, It is not easy. It is like to study ballet, Jazz or Flamenco. There is a technique. You must study it. It is difficult to cooperate, to work together. I am optimist. I hope that in the future people stops to make mistake, try to be honest and modest. If you want to be good you must work a lot. If you are professional, you must go to the rehearsal, to study, to watch other dancers, do not stop. The level goes down if you stop. It was very good for me to learn classical ballet because there was a discipline. Discipline means to work every day, to be able to choose right teachers, this is more important. Also, do not mix too much.

Laila
Why did you go to Cairo ?

Yasmin
For many years I went to New-York to study with Yousry Sharif because I used to like his style. I had many friends in New-York, professional dancers. You can go to perform in many night club. The American style is very good but It is not my style. After, several years I was ready to go to Cairo. I did not go before because I was not ready. I think that in Cairo, there are many dancers and teachers. If you are not a professional dancer you can make a mistake and choose the wrong things. You must be ready to learn every kind of dance. When you are beginner you can not learn completely. So, I decided to learn with Raqia Hassan because she is in the same line of Yousry Sharif. They are different because, he is a man living in New-York and she is a woman living in Cairo. I needed to start with a woman to be completely. The first lesson was terrible because I was like a statute. She have different movement and a different move of body, but it was positive because I learned new steps. After several lesson, I was ready. I fell in love with Cairo. I love the atmosphere and people. I went there in the right moment. I was able to catch every things but not only in the class with Raqia Hassan but also in the street. When I listen to the music, when I speak to taxi driver, when go to the market because It is very important to be in the culture, to be inside people, inside their music. For example, I heared about Omm Kalthoum for many years. I was always dancing on her music without knowing words. I was only dancing. When I started to learn Arabic language and when I read a book translating in Italian language about Omm Kalthoum, immediately I understood who was Omm Kalthoum for Arabic people. I mean that It is not enough to follow the music, It is important to be in the feeling of people, to understand what is dancing. For all those reasons, when I travel to Cairo, I like to stay along the street, to watch children. I like to speak with Raqia Hassan. I like to ask her questions. In the night I go to watch oriental dancers. It is very important to ear and to watch dancing.

Laila
Did you see a lot of dancer while studying in Cairo ?

Yasmin
Yes, It is the first things that we want to do ? I saw a lot of dancers.


Laila
Did you see known dancers or unknown dancers ?

Yasmin
I saw both. The level is good but usually I saw great dancers. I saw also famous dancers but not great. It is important to see every kind of dancer. For the European people, It is difficult to understand the feeling. Arabic dancers feel immediately the music. It is for those reason, the technique is not enough. You must move the public. You have to give emotion, joy or to make cry. You must be able to touch your public.

Laila
Do you prefer to teach or to dance ?

Yasmin
It is very different. I like both. I think It is more difficult to teach oriental dance than the classical ballet. In the classical ballet, you know exactly which step you have to teach and in which order, "plié", "demi-plié", "tendu", "jeté"… There is an order since a century ago You can not make a mistake because there is also a music ready to teach classical ballet. All step have a name and there is a lot of book. In oriental dance, nothing is written. It is very difficult to explain the steps and to help student to understand the music. This one is very different from us. The Arabic music is complicated and far from us. It is very difficult to teach the technique and in the same time the emotion. You must look natural but in the same time disciplined. I prefer to make choreography. I love that.

Laila
Do you have a lot of imagination ?

Yasmin
Yes, but It takes me many time to prepare it. I am not rapid. It is a good work and you discover many way.

Laila
Its depends the music.

Yasmin
Yes, you have to find the right music. Well, to put right step on right music. You have to be various but not to much various. It is a very good work. You can not learn to be a choreograph, I think It is instinctive, natural. It was very easy for me to learn the technique of oriental dance than the classical ballet. In the beginning of my career, It was difficult to make improvisations and to work with an orchestra. When you are a good artist, you must work on choreography but also improvisation. You need both. It is better to improve in restaurant or night club but for a theatre or a show you must dance on a choreography. I like both.

Laila
Did you learn all kind of Arabic dances ?

Yasmin
Yes, I love the classical dance with the veil. I started to learn stick dance, baladi, shamadan. I call shamadan "my baby" because It is a part of me. Shamadan is on my head so It is like my partner. It is the same with stick dance. Now, I started Melaya because in Italy, no-one knows this dance except people from Alexandria. When I danced for the first time, Melaya, in the Egyptian cultural center, the Egyptian from Alexandria were happy because they recognize their steps, the music and every thinks. I had a big success ! I studied also sagat. It is very important to know the culture, the history of each dances. You must understand what is stick dance, what is Melaya dance… You must be an actress to interpreted their dance. It is for these reason that I am studying Arabic language. Nothing must be separated. I love to dance on the music of Omm Kalthoum because I feel a great emotion inside myself but one of my specialty is the drum solo because the public became crazy when I start. When I perform with the musicians, It is like a meeting between us but of course friendly. I love that.

Laila
What do you think about oriental dancers in Italy ?

Yasmin
People started to be interesting by oriental dance. This is good. They are some movies in the cinema, some books are printed. It is important because people will be more interesting about oriental dance. There a bad information from the television and magazines. The journalist wrote wrong thinks about the history, about Egypt and in the television you can watch a very low level. I am very worry because the mass media do not help us for the evolution of dancing. They do not give true information to people. I am optimist for the future. The public recognize the difference of a bad dancer than a great.

Laila
Every year, there is in Italy a conference of dances.

Yasmin
I took part two years ago. It is very good to meet students, teachers, dancers from other countries… Probably, I will take part this year in may. You can not speak about other dancers, you must be careful. You must talk about history to inform people. You can say your opinion but you must respect different style. After the student choose what they prefer.

Laila
Is there any magazine of oriental dance in Italy ?

Yasmin
There is nothing unfortunately.

Laila
Do you find some books or music ?

Yasmin
Ten years ago, my teacher Aziza translated the book of Wendy Buonoventura, "the serpent and the sphinx". Now, It is sold. It is very difficult to find some things. There is some but not enough. There is no choice. It is very difficult to find music, books, customs… You can not find any custom. You have to make it yourself or you must wait that a foreign teacher bring some for his workshop. Outside Milan, there is woman who sell costumes but there are to much expensive for a beginner. When I travel, I try to buy a lot to my student. If you want to be rich you must spend your money. As I know that there nothing in Italy, I buy a lot of music or other things. You must be generous.

Laila
Do you want to ad something ?

Yasmin
Yes, in Italy, there is some Arabic orchestra. They are trying to do their best. After, my trip to Cairo, I knew how much it was difficult to work together. Sometime, they are always playing the same music. They do not change. It is difficult for them to change. Sometimes, there is some problem. We are not like in Germany or the U.S.A. They started twenty years ago. We have the Egyptian cultural center since one year. The government do not help them to organize festival. They try to but they do not help artist. There is no possibility. We make mistakes but it is the evolution of oriental dance in Italy.


Contact: Yasmin Farrah via Pirandello 6 20144 Milano, Italy. Tel/
Fax: 02/720.23.997