Brazilska plesalka in pedagoginja orientalskega plesa Serena Ramzy. Egipčanski ples raks sharqi je bil ustvarjen s strani žensk za žensko energijo in moč.

Ksenija Visket iz mariborskega KUD PD Zahir je v sklopu dogodka z imenom Raqs Maribor gostila vrhunsko plesalko in koreografinjo, ženo pokojnega mojstra egipčanske glasbe Hossama Ramzya. Intervju z njo je nastal preko spleta po delavnicah.

Serena dobrodošla ponovno v Sloveniji. To je tvoj drugi obisk, prvič si bila tu s Hossamom pred petnajstimi leti. Kakšen je občutek biti ponovno tu?
Rada bi se zahvalila za res topel sprejem. Da, to je moj drugi obisk Maribora in tokrat sem imela več časa, da sem mesto zares doživela in uživala v družbi moje gostiteljice Ksenije, zaradi česar je vse skupaj še bolj dragoceno. Tokrat sem imela tudi malce drugačen stil delavnic, bile so bolj intimne, z manj udeleženkami, kar mi je omogočalo da sem lažje delila moj pogled na ples in ljubezen do te plesne forme.

S Ksenijo Visket in tečajnicami v Mariboru.

Vrsto let si učila v sodelovanju z možem Hossamom (Hossam Ramzy, egipčanski glasbenik, op.p.). Kako drugače je zdaj ko učiš sama?
Glede na to, da sem bila samostojna plesalka že preden sem spoznala Hossama in ustvarjala z njim, zdajšnja solo kariera ni nekaj povsem novega. Tako kot za vse v življenju, sem hvaležna in ponosna na obe plati svoje umetniške plesne kariere z vsemi dobrimi in tudi tistimi manj dobrimi platmi. Vedno se veselim tega, kaj novega bo prinesla prihodnost.

Tvoj stil je zelo edinstven, spominja na klasični egipčanski raks sharqi iz Zlate dobe egipčanskega film. Bi lahko rekla, da je to obdobje tvoj glavni vir navdiha?
Da, absolutno. Zlata doba mi predstavlja velik navdih in je smer razvoja plesa, ki sem ga izbrala že davno tega. Všeč mi je stil, eleganca, glasbeni pristop, vizualna predstavitev…praktično vse.

Za naslednje vprašanje bom izbrala citat iz tvoje spletne strani: ‘Učenje je inspiracija in obenem izkazuje spoštovanje znanju drugih.’ Kaj je tvoj glavni vir učenja – imaš kakšnega posebno ljubega učitelja ali učiteljico?
Kot rečeno je moj glavni navdih v obdobje in plesalke zlate dobe egipčanskega filma. To so bile moje glavne učiteljice. Kar zadeva glasbe in muzikalnosti sem se ogromno naučila od Hossama, toda če govorimo o gibih so to definitvno Naima Akef, Samia Gamal, Taheya Carioca, Suheir Zaki, Mona el Said, Zeinat Owlwi in številne druge plesalke, ki so mi pokazale pot in jaz sem jo nadaljevala.

Prosila bi te, da se za trenutek vrneva k tvojim plesnim začetkom. Tvoj dom je Brazilija in tam si začela plesati že kot zelo majhna deklica. Kateri plesni stil je bil tvoj prvi in kdaj si se srečala z raks sharqijem?
Z osmimi leti sem začela plesat balet. Moja sestra, tudi plesalka, je odkrila orientalski ples leta 1983 in takrat sem ga odkrila tudi jaz. Od takrat je prisoten v mojem življenju. Želela sem si postati profesionalna baletka, a zaradi poškodbe kolena tega nisem mogla uresničiti. Orientalski ples pa sem kljub poškodbi še vedno lahko plesala. Nikoli nisem obžalovala. Balet imam še vedno rada in z obiskovanjem baletnih ur sem nadaljevala tudi kasneje v življenju.
Kdaj si se odločila da boš postala profesionalna plesalka?
Ko sem začela z baletom, sem se odločila da je to tista stvar, ki jo bom počela v življenju. Stil plesa sem zamenjala, a še vedno je ples. To je moja ljubezen. Rada imam vse plese. Prav vse.
Kaj ti pomeni raks sharqi?
Pomeni osupljiv, bogat, poln globoke umetniške izraznosti, ustvarjen s strani žensk za žensko energijo in moč. Je vizualna izkušnja in vizualni izraz glasbe, ki ju cenim z vsem svojim srcem.
Ali v Angliji, kjer živiš, učiš redne tedenske tečaje, ali večinoma samo spletne tečaje in delavnice v živo?
V tem trenutku imam redne tečaje samo preko spleta. Veliko potujem po svetu in v živo učim samo na delavnicah. V zadnjih nekaj letih velikih sprememb sem ustvarila spletno platformo www.serenadances.com in tam ponujam veliko odličnih in raznolikih tečajev, predavanj in delavnic. Vsak teden imam tudi spletna plesna srečanja v živo, preko zoom-a. Vse to preko moje spletne platforme.
Imaš zares široko znanje o egipčanskem plesu, glasbi in kulturi. Si kdaj razmišljala da bi napisala knjigo o svojem življenju?
Res zanimivo, da me to večkrat vprašajo, morda bom pa res začela razmišljati o tem. Sem bolj človek dejanj, tista ki stvari izvede, ne pa toliko človek besed – ne kar zadeva govorjenja in tudi ne kar zadeva pisanja. Sem ženska akcije, toda tudi pisanje knjige se zdi dobra ideja in morda pa se nekoč zares zgodi! Bom še naprej razmišljala o tem.

S Hossamom, ki je bil eden največjih egipčanskih glasbenikov sveta, sta imela dva otroka. Ali sledita svojemu očetu ali bolj mami?
Pravzaprav sva imela midva skupaj le sina, Amirja. Je pa z nami živela Hossamova hčerka iz prejšnjega zakona od njenega šestega leta starosti. Oba sledita svojim lastnim potem, čeprav sta oba zelo glasbeno in umetniško nadarjena. Amir je komponiral glasbo in ustvarja kratke skladbe, glasbene vložke. Omayma je pa vizažistka…oba sta zelo samosvoji osebi in zato sem zelo ponosna na niju. Oba pa sta tudi ljubitelja glasbe in plesa.
Kakšni so tvoji plesni plani za prihodnost?
Še naprej nameravam širiti to umetniško obliko na način, ki mi je blizu in ki ga imam rada, preko delavnic in preko spleta. Obenem pa želim z vsemi novimi vznemirljivimi stvaritvami in razvijanjem umetnosti ostati zvesta lepoti, ki nam je plesalkam tlakovala pot do sem.
Serena najlepša hvala za tvoj čas, da si spregovorila o svojem življenju in plesu za bralce Parade plesa.
Hvala tudi vam za povabilo in zanimanje za moje delo. Upam, da se ponovno srečamo v bližnji prihodnosti!

In English

This interview was done online with Serena Ramzy, due to her recent WS at Raks Maribor, organized by Ksenija Visket from KUD PD Zahir.

Serena welcome to Slovenia. This is already your second time here. Your first time was 15 years ago with Hossam. How does it feel to be here again, is it different?
Thank you for this warm welcome! Yes this is the second time and I had more time to experience Maribor and enjoy the company of my host Ksenija , which make it extra special. Also this time had a closer and more intimate style of workshop which allowed me to hopefully share more of my ideas and love for the dance. It feels great and I am delighted to have returned to Maribor.

You taught many years in collaboration with Hossam, who was your husband. How different was it when you started your own path without him?
I was a dancer befor I met Hossam and collaborated with with him, so working solo was not something too new for me. It like everything else really, good and trickier sides to everything, I appreciate both chapters of my career and I am grateful to have had all the experiences I had with the art form so far. I am always excited to what will be next.

Your style is very unique, reminds a lot about classical Egyptian raqs sharqi from golden era movies. Would you say that the golden era is your main source of inspiration?
Yes, absolutely. Golden Era is a huge source of inspiration and the direction I chose many moons ago. I love the style, elegance, musical approach, visual presentation… everything about it.

I like the quote from your web site where you say: ‘Learing is inspiring and it values the knowledge of others.’ What is your main source of learning – any favorite teacher?
My main source of inspiration, as mentioned, are the artists geo the Golden era period. They have been my teachers, of course musically Hossam has taught me a lot, but I terms of application and movement, Naima Akef, Samia Gamal, Taheya Carioca, Suheir Zaki, Mona el Said, Zeinat Owlwi and many others have shown me how it could be done and it took on from there.

I´d like to go a little bit back to your beginnings. You are originally Brazilian and you began dancing when you were very young. What was your first dance style and how did you meet raqs sharqi ?
I was a ballerina from the age of 8. My sister, also a dancer, found belly dancing back in 1983 and that is when I discovered belly dance. It’s been part of my life since. I intended to follow Ballet as a career, but due to an knee injury I had to give that up and I then decided to do belly dance since I could do it despite the injury. I never looked back. Though I love ballet and continued classes later in life.

When did you decide to become a professional dancer?
What gen I got into ballet, I decided to then that I wanted to do that for life, the style changed but not the subject. It’s what I love. I love all dances. All of them.

What does raqs sharqi mean to you?
It mean an amazing, rich, full of depth art form, created by women, for the female energy and power. A visual musical experience and expression, which I treasure with all my heart.

Do you teach live weekly classes in England where you live or only online classes and live workshops?
I only have regular classes online at this time. I travel around the world with live workshops. During these times of change, I create a platform online www.serenadances.com and there I offer many valuable and varied classes, courses and workshops. I have also live zoom sessions in a weekly basis. All available via my platform.

You have a vast knowledge about Egyptian dance, music and culture, did you ever think about writing a book about it or maybe writing a book about your life?
It’s so funny, I get that question asked so often, that I might start considering. I have always been one to get up and do, not talk or write about it too much. I live for the action, but it seems like a good idea and we shall see! I will continue to consider it.

With Hossam, who was one the the greatest Egyptian musicians of the world, you had two children. Are they following their father´s or their mother´s path?
I had only one, my son Amir. Though I did his middle daughter since she was 6.
They follow their own path, however they are very musical and artistic themselves.
Amir composed music and creates beats. Omayma is a makeup artist… they are their own person, and I am proud of them for that. But they are indeed music and dance lovers too.

What are your future plans in the dance field?
I plan to continue with the dissemination of the art form in the way I know and love, through classes or online. Make sure that with all the new and exciting creations and developments of the art and indeed of the world, we do not loose track of the beauty that lead us here and paved the way for all of us dancers.

Serena, thank you so much for your time and willingness to speak about your life and your dance journey.
Thank you very much for your interest in the art and my work. I look forward to meeting you in a near future!