by Kirby Lindsay, posted 3 October 2011
“There are so many different styles of belly dancing,” Rebecca Uyleman observed recently. At Costas Opa restaurant, on Friday and Saturday evenings at 7:30p, the belly dance exhibition – featuring Rebecca or one of the other hand-picked dancers – is performed cabaret style. With the showcase, “we want to enhance the positive experience of their evening,” Rebecca explained, “while giving them a little glimpse into the Greek culture.”
A Positive Experience
“In the Greek culture,” Rebecca observed, “belly dancing is an art form, a celebration – not just of femininity, but also of the Greek culture.” With the cabaret style, the dancer involves the audience, and invites them into the dance. “A proper entertainer in a restaurant,” Rebecca pointed out, “is able to connect the music, the audience and themselves,” through the dance.
“When you’re on stage, your soul and your spirit and your physical body is in a vulnerable state, and the viewers see who you are,” Rebecca related, “you have to be comfortable with who you are.”
“If you are dancing for yourself, you aren’t going to make that connection and it’s not going to be a positive experience for either party,” Rebecca commented. Instead, these dancers perform for the enjoyment of all – themselves and the audience. The dancers she books, “they are confident, and they’re skilled,” she explained, “the whole show is fun, but being comfortable makes the audience relax and have a good time.”
Going Greek
Rebecca began her study of belly dancing in 1998, and has been “on the scene,” as she described it, since 2004. She has worked with Costas for 7 years as well, first as a dancer in their dining room, and for private parties and special occasions. Today, Rebecca also books dancers for four venues: Costas, the Kasbah Moroccan Restaurant on Crown Hill, Spiro’s Greek Island in Kent, Romeo’s in Edmonds.
“Costas gets a diverse audience,” Rebecca observed, including diners not expecting to see live dancing during their dinner. “The beauty of coming to Costas,” Rebecca pointed out, is the opportunity to, “see a different style.”
Shows at Costas, which run about half an hour, follow the Greek style – fast, with drums. The dances often start with an intro, and then incorporate a veil or sword. From there the music shifts into a taqsim – “a slow, emotional, snake-y, medium tempo piece,” Rebecca described. “I don’t do a lot of taqsim,” she admitted, “My medium tempo will have a 1-minute taqsim in the middle of it.” The dance often concludes with a ‘tip song.’ “The tempo is even,” and allows the dancer to invite people from the audience to get up and dance along, Rebecca explained, “and that’s when people can tip the dancer.”
At Costas, Rebecca books a rotation of dancers. “We all have different bodies,” she explained, “and we all move differently.” Each dancer brings her own personality, style and connection to the audience to the dance. The dancers, in addition to Rebecca, include Alexis, Andrea, Asiya, Elisa Gamal, Gevene, Imei, Lisa Yasmeen, Nadira, and Suzanna.
“What’s beautiful about belling dancing is that it is not wrong,” Rebecca summarized, “a lot of instructors want to conform their students into their own style. It’s so important to learn the dance, and make it your own.” With cabaret style, the dancers can also make the performance a special exchange among the audience gathered at any particular show.
For those who want to see a showcase of this beautiful, often lyrical, dance, performances at Costas are provided free to diners, with no cover charge. For those familiar, already, with the way Costas has brought Greece to the Center of the Universe, consider this an added layer of culture to be experienced, and enjoyed, next Friday or Saturday at 7:30p!
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