A Day With A Gypsy: Review of Gitane's Turkish Rom/Flamenco Moro and Sword Balancing Workshop
By: Claire Stone, DJ

How do you endure a very physical, emotional, all-day dance workshop? Easy.  Find out if Gitane is teaching it.  I have known Gitane now for a couple of years, loved her personal brand of art that she brings to dance, and had taken a workshop with her back in June at the Austin Belly Dance Convention. That one just wet my whistle for this weekend's dance studio (an hour and a half at ABDC, such a tease!).   Personality-wise, Gitane is a force of nature.   She is what she is: lovely, raw, human, pure, powerful, elemental.   She is what she dances.   And, on top of everything, a comedian.   She leaves me in stitches every time I see her, ranking her high on my list of instructors.   But, better still, she is very much an expert in her rare dance style, continuously evolving her brand of Gypsy Fusion and very willing to share her knowledge and joy.

To begin the workshop, ever conscientious of health issues of her students, Gitane was sure to get us properly warmed up for the day's events with some serious thigh strengthening exercises (I, and a few other sister dancers, happily stumbled around on those overworked legs the next day; it’s a good kind of sore). She is very adamant about making sure that everyone takes excellent care of their feet, as her dance style is characterized by hardcore staccato moves, stomping, and abrupt changes of direction. The day began with her breaking down a Turkish Romani choreography to 9/8 rhythm which was fully revealed later in that evening's performance with her Indigo Rose Dancers. The zilwork had a distinct syncopation that differentiated Turkish Rom from Egyptian zils.   Footwork was definitely grounded in Egyptian bellydance style, most specifically lending itself with the coy Ghawazee and Saiidi elements.   But, most distinct in Rom, was the emotional punctuation with arm gestures: the saw, the blade hand, the pounding fists, the axe, the blessing wrists, only to mention a few.   Gitane later went on to discuss how Gypsy culture influenced the Gypsy Dancer wardrobe with bold patterning and colors to confuse the Evil Eye, and mentioned a few of her favorite historical resources such as books by Isabel Fonseca (Bury Me Standing: The Gypsies and Their Journey), Angus Fraser (The Gypsies - The Peoples of Europe)), and Bart McDowell (Gypsies: Wanderers of the World (National Geographic Special Publications)).

The second half of the morning revolved around the dramatic Zambra, Flamenco Moro, or "Barefoot Flamenco", steeped in smoldering Latin. This was the portion of the program that pointedly engaged using a full skirt as a dance prop and for added drama: crushing it into your arms, holding it longingly, trailing it along with you as you traveled, and flinging it cavalierly aside.  The music was bittersweet and ranged the gamut from "poor darling" to "stay away forever" to "come back to me"...all in the same song.   Ah, such is passion. The footwork was equally volatile: slow and saucy, languid, somber, then suddenly, peppered with energy, barrel turns.
Arms were usually held in Flamenco posture, stolid, ballet poses, and terminated strong leanback lines. The hands undulated and were quick to have lots of air to grab or snatching back the swirling skirt. This section required much directional change, and her dance assistant, Amethyst (the cabaret director of Indigo Rose), lovely Amazon that she is, was our template for when we had to spin around to the back of the room. Gitane and her Indigo Roses would dance this Zambra choreography to it's full blossom at that evening's Gala Performance.

For those who may not know, Gitane is a gifted metalsmith from Ft. Worth who creates swords, jewels, and bellydance costumes crafted of brass, nickel, and copper. The afternoon workshop, Gypsy Fusion Sword, was just right for those just cutting their teeth on bellydance metal. As a special treat, many of us were loaned Gitane's personal art swords, balanced perfectly and just the right weight.  Fortunately, the inevitable travesty of letting one of these beauties slip off from our heads was kept to a minimum. She spent the right amount of time helping us to adjust to our new headgear, giving us time to make peace with the sword, letting us do the most important part of swordwork - being calm and quiet to get the feel for it. After that initial setup time, on to the fun extravaganza.   She had us rolling around on the floor doing the Cleopatra Crawl, the Princess Roll, level changes with a dip, and turns, learning not to fight the natural inertia of the sword spinning, but to dance into it - dancing under it.  Core strength is mandatory when getting up gracefully from floorwork and Gitane makes it look so easy, pulling herself up from laying completely flat, all by an invisible ribbon. She went on to double sword balancing (and some of the hazards she has faced therewith) and balancing swords on the hip, upper arm, knee, and chest. Her dance assistant, Circe, is the perfect compliment to Gitane when they do their sword routines, and showed us several dance partner moves, each using double swords and floorwork. Outstanding.

Gitane is indeed one of my all-time favorite instructors and performers. She is passionate about her life and her dance. And it shows, glowingly. Guaranteed, every workshop you attend with her is different and chock-full of new information on this jewel facet. Hazarding sheer exhaustion, even a full-day workshop with Gitane is still not enough, and is but a glimpse of the tip of the Gypsy Fusion iceberg. Time flies and the next day, your head still swimming with the ideas she has laid at your feet, you will ache, but happily.
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         SATURDAY, July 11, 2009

at the
Eternal Way, 1122 South Lamar Austin, Texas

Nacheska Gentry-Combs
and the Odyssey Theaterical Group
from Ft. Worth, Texas
www.odysseytheatrical.com
HULA FOR EVERYONE