Dancer to Dancer – Alexandra King by Oberon
Biography of Alexandra King
Alexandra King is recognized as one of the leading Middle Eastern Dance Artists in the United States today. She is a consummate artist who has won numerous awards for her work in the field of Middle Eastern Dance over the past 20 years.
Accomplishments: In 1985 she produced the popular performance video "A Very Special Evening at the Plaka," featuring herself and both of her teachers, Diana Ferrari and Jenaeni Rathor. In 1986 she produced the four-part instructional / performance video series "The Ancient Art of Oriental Belly" Dancing," which gives instruction in the basics of the dance; hundreds of thousands of these tapes have been sold throughout the United States and Canada. In 1986 she was the featured cover story in Habibi Magazine (Vol. 9, No. 6), (www.habibimagazine.com). In 1988 she placed first in the Walnut Creek Belly Dancer of the Year Pageant. During 1989 and 1990 Alexandra wrote, choreographed and produced the first full-length Middle Eastern folk ballet titled "Seraglio." She then toured with the show in California and Utah. Later in 1990 she joined Dr. Scott Marcus in forming the first and largest university-based Middle Eastern Ensemble at the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB), in which she is currently the dance director and principal choreographer. In 1998 Alexandra was nominated Best Instructor by the International Academy of Middle Eastern Dance (IAMED), and in 1999 she won IAMED's award for Best Cabaret Dancer.
Training: Alexandra is the grandaughter of silent screen star Molly King. She began her dance training and performing at the age of ten, inspired by a family of actors and musicians. Alexandra's training includes ten years of ballet, four years of training and performing in Polynesian dance, jazz and tap as a child, three years of flamenco classes, two years of training in the classical East Indian style, Bharata Natyam, Greek and Middle Eastern folk and line dance, as well as intensive study of both Traditional and Modern Styles of Oriental "belly" dance.
Alexandra studied belly dance first with Diana Ferrari, a former member of the San Francisco-based company Kos Kadas, and later with the legendary dancer Jenaeni Rathor, Ansuya's mother. She was a member of Rathor's company, Yaleil, from 1980 to 1983, and still works with Jenaeni and her daughter, Ansuya, in dance productions. Alexandra has traveled extensively throughout North Africa and the Middle East to observe and study the dances of this region. In 2001, she was appointed as the lecturer in the first ever accredited ethnic dance class in the Univeristy of California at Santa Barbara (USCB) dance department. She travels extensively throughout the United States teaching and performing, both independently and as the director of UCSB's Middle Eastern Dance Ensemble, Seher.
Awards!
* Winner of the 2003 International Academy of Middle Eastern Dance (IAMED) Award for Best Instructor of the Year
* Winner of the 1999 IAMED Award for Best Cabaret Dancer
* Nominated by IAMED for Best Instructor 1998
* Winner of the 1995 Nafisa Gem Award for Best Instructor
* 1988 Belly Dancer of the Year, Walnut Creek Belly Dance Pageant
* Creator of SERAGLIO - the first U.S. Middle Eastern ballet
* Lecturer of accredited Middle Eastern Dance class at UCSB
* Artistic Director of UCSB Middle Eastern Dance Ensemble
www.alexandraking.com
alexandra@alexandraking.com
Personal Interview by Oberon
I don't know how it happens but sometimes a star get s lost in the shadow-lands of our dance. You know the name, probably recognize the face but have no idea that a major player is moving and shaking just beyond the dazzle of the publicly acclaimed. A bawdy courtesan really, a member of the second generation of American dancers, star-making teacher, ground-breaking program director, provocative and engaging performer her love of the dance an obvious extension of her soul … if she lived closer to me, I'd be nagging the hell out of her, just her laugh will make you want to explore Alexandra King.
O. I truly feel that you are one of the most underestimated talents in this dance … does that make you frustrated?
A.K. You know that I don't play the victim well. When this art form went from a pond to a lake, it was the girls who were young that got marketed. Youth and beauty sells. In general, dance skill is really secondary in the performing arts market, and belly dance has always been low on a the dance totem pole really secondary in the market-place. However, as we all know, you can sell a rock if you market it correctly and Miles Copeland has proven that by marketing young and beautiful dancers like Ansuya, Jillina and Rachel Brice to fame. The truth is, I'm thrilled about this! Belly Dance is finally becoming mains-tream. It's about time. The fact is, this is good business for all
O. How did you enter the dance Alexandra?
A.K. (Laughing) … I entered Belly Dance in 1975. One summer night, I was trying to track down my boyfriend who was a folk dancer and who would go to this Greek restaurant to dance. I walked into the place, and instead of finding him I found my life's work Belly Dance. I saw a belly dancer for the first time and stood with my mouth agape! After her show there was a table dance, a man lifting tables with his teeth with a small child on top of the second table, and then the folk dancers. I decided that night that I would learn to belly dance. I found my first teacher, Dianna Ferrari soon after and I studied with her for a year until I met my second and most influential teacher Jenaeni Rathor, (Ra-tor). She wound her way to the stage, her face swathed in her veil doing a slow balady. Her performance left the audience in an altered state I was absolutely spell-bound. It was in Ojai, California in the 70's. She became my teacher for 5 years, one of my closest friends friend and also happens to be mother of one of my favorite dancers Ansuya.
She was also the founder of the ensemble, Yaleil, (The Night), in which she asked me to join. She was a crazy gypsy really, at one point living and traveling around on a school bus with her daughter Ansuya. Unlike other dancers, she was not concerned with fame, she just wanted to dance. I have always felt that the world missed out on one of the greatest belly dancers ever because she was never recognized.
O. How did you begin your solo career.
A.K. In the1970's I began to get little jobs here and there while training. There were Lots of requests in that area for ethnic dance performances such as, Persian or Turkish folk, and so I was always looking for teachers to teach me these styles. This set the stage for my future work at UCSB with the UCSB Mid-East Ensemble. I love the search and discovery aspect of learning esoteric things. I suppose it appeals to my "Scorpio" personality - I'm always curious and hungry to uncover everything I can about dance and dances. Then in 1981 I landed a job at the Greek Restaurant I first visited when I discovered Belly Dance, called "The Plaka". It was named after the old Turkish quarter of Athens. At first the owner was reluctant to hire me but I was persistent about auditioning, and after a few years he let me dance on an off night. Not only was I hired but I quickly became the featured dancer, 5 nights a week. I worked there for 12 years and really leaned how to dance there. I loved the folk dancing as much or more than belly dancing. I made good money and a name for myself in the belly dance community, but I paid a price for it. Working for the owner, George Alexiades was a never-ending, bitter experience. He was cruel and abusive and made my life hell!
When I began working at the Plaka, I was truly naïve about the club world - how unsavory club owners could be. For example, on the first night I danced, during my "audition" I covered my head with my veil, thinking this was quite mysterious! As I made my entrance and before the lights went on, George grabbed the mike and yelled at me "take that fucking thing off your head". I managed to hide the tears inside my veil and finish my first performance, but he never turned the stage lights on and I danced in the dark. This was just the beginning of ongoing conflicts and abuse in which he bullied and attacked me, until an incident in 1988 on a busy Saturday night, when it all came to an end.
After every show, my son, Sky, and George's son, "Little George", would pick up the tips from the floor and bring them to me back-stage. On this particular night, George was in one of his really foul moods and he took it out on Sky. He pulled my son physically from the floor, slamming him into a high chair so hard that it bruised his back. Sky came running back-stage terrified, screaming and in pain. I was so angry that I left quickly without saying anything, because I knew that if I got into it on that night I would kill George.
When Sky's father saw the bruises, he call Alexiades and threatened to sue him. George paid the medical bills, but took revenge by promptly firing me. I should have been happy, but I was devastated. I was a struggling single mother and I had a good business that was threatened by losing my job at the Plaka. For the next year I managed to muddle through and get MY revenge by working for a rival Turkish club which opened right across the street from the Plaka. There is a God, I thought! George and his cronies would come to see me perform there and try to woo me back. I finally did go back. There was no place like the Plaka to dance.
O. What kind of impact did this have on your relationship with your son?
A.K. He has issues around my dance and I'm sure with his own self-esteem. I struggled as a single person and a dancer. I regret not having quit long before I was fired. I compromised my decency by staying there. I felt I needed the job, but truthfully I should never have exposed myself or my son to that man.
O. Did you have no other income coming in from the dance?
A.K. Yes, I had income from private parties and private classes - but I got that work through my position at the Plaka. Remember, back then belly dancing was a sub-culture art form and as such, only existed in clubs like the Plaka.
O. How did you come to teach?
A.K. I never really wanted to teach, but a friend of mine opened a studio and asked me to. I didn't know what I was doing when I started teaching and struggled to develop teaching skills. I worked hard and ultimately developed a distinct system of teaching which I have formatted into an excellent instructor's workshop! It has taken 23 years, but it's good, and I'm ready to market it broadly. I hate mediocrity, so I am happy I gave it so many years of commitment. I piloted it this past week-end and got very good reviews.
Jenaeni taught me that a good teacher seeks to have her students surpass her. In that way, the art evolves. I love teaching and I'm good at it - and I'm proud to have had a hand in training stars like Ansuya and Tamrahenna. I approach teaching with this idea for all my students.
O. So how would you describe your style?
A.K. I am a traditionalist. That is, I perform the American, five part cabaret. I briefly tried to do Egyptian styling too but it's really not the style I "feel". However, I believe it went a long way towards bringing me to the apex of my dance by improving my positioning and posture. I'm really a traditionalist, and I believe that traditional style belly dance created in this country during the 60's and 70's. A combination of Turkish, Armenian, Greek, Arabic and Persian, regional styles, is unsurpassed in it's challenge to the dancer and what it has to offer an audience. I love this style, of course, because my teacher taught it to me. She, Una and Kathryn Ferguson are three of my favorite dancers in this style. They have the soft, mesmerizing moves that epitomize what I feel is a necessary "dreamy" quality of the dance. They are quintessential belly dancers.
O. What don't you choose to teach in current dance styling?
A.K. Poor fusion and physically, over expression of the soul. In her biography, the famous Russia ballerina, Anna Pavlova, states that a dancer must resist the temptation to compromise her art for sport. That is to say, it is easy for some dancers to get caught up in the athletics of the dance - to emphasise acrobatics and gymnastic skills over the artistry of the dance. What distinguishes dance as dance and not as a sport, what makes it art instead of athletics. Is the expression of the soul and the interpretation of the music. If I want to see gymnastics I will go to a gymnastics event. If I want to see dance, I expect heart, soul and expression! Dance is not just about intense physicality and so, by focusing on physicality alone one loses the art. Today, more and more, everything sublime is being left behind, such as the taqsim, the veil and floor- work . I believe this reflects the high speed, shallow life style of the global world. Real tazsim, floor work - and dancing with soul, sadly, have largely been dropped from our dance because they involve too much work. To be a great artist, the dancer must be fit and excellently trained, have impeccable musicality and a depth of emotional content to capture and maintain the attention of the audience for the length of a complete cabaret performance. This is what I teach.
O. So splits, and fusion and Tribal …….
A.K. As for fusion, it has always been a part of our dance and all dance for that matter. Take Zills for instance, they were always used sparingly in Egyptian and Turkish cabaret. It was we Americans who took them and began using them throughout the dance much like the gypsies who brought Indian and Moorish style to Flamenco, using castanets liberally throughout their performance. Egyptians have been fusing Western Dance into their own style for decades - just look at the old time dancers of Egypt who incorporated Hollywood dance into their show! So, there is nothing wrong with fusion! It is the process of creativity. The question is not - whether not to fuse but HOW to fuse. I think the criteria for good fusion in anything is ; can the version of the art stand on it's own, with enough expression, power, potency and individuality to influence and move people. I say, Tribal meets that criteria in every stage of its development, from Jamilla to Carolina, and now with Rachel's style.
Lastly, I don't like the conflict created by the separatists - that is to say, those who assert that one style is the only true or acceptable style of belly dance over any other. There is room for all styles and they are all legitimate. Indeed it is the diversity in our dance that makes it such a rich and exciting style of dance.
O. Alexandra, I am so impressed with the program you are directing at the University of California, Santa Barbara. How ever did this come about?
A.K. I am so happy that you are asking me about this! I have for some time, tried to interest other publications, including Habibi to cover the dance in academic settings, but to no avail. I really feel that with this university based company, I am able to apply the western standard of excellence to our dance. It is a real coup for our art form to be in the music department of a major university. The United States has never had a truly professional Middle Eastern dance company like ours, which spans such diversity of cultures and which is supported by government funding, as well as private sector contributions, and which has it's own live orchestra!
O. How did the opportunity present itself?
A.K. Only a few top rated universities like William and Mary and UCSB offer courses in ethno musicology. My boss, who heads this department, Scott Marcus, who heads the Middle Eastern Ensemble has a PHD in ethnic musicology with a specialty in Nay. As part of his academic work, he lived and studied for five years in Cairo. When he joined the faculty at UCSB in 1989, he introduced the idea of an ensemble of musicians and dancers, which of course is typical in the East. With the University's agreement, he set out to find a dancer who had enough experience to create an ensemble. I happened to be the headliner for this area at that time and this attracted him. Once we met, he invited me to collaborate with him.
O. This is a seriously prestigious position and a monumental responsibility because it is a first impression and a first for Middle Eastern Dance in this country? Were you nervous?
A.K. OHhhh ….. I struggle all the time to uncover what is real in all the regional dance forms because there is no written guide book per say.
Very little if anything has been published about Middle Eastern Dance. Of course there are fonts of knowledge in our community such as Morocco, Aisha Ali and the various folkloric teachers - all of whom have been a real support system for me. However, the more I know, the more I realize how little I really know. It's one thing to specialize in a particular style, like Persian or Kalligi, and another entirely to be required to be savvy in All Middle Eastern styles, including belly dance! It's a daunting challenge.
O. So you created an ensemble, using what criteria?
A.K. The ensemble is called "Seher" meaning magic in Arabic. Members have to audition and present a resume`. Each member must have 3 years of ballet, one year of folk dancing and one year of Persian dance and three years minimum of belly dancing training. Of course their performing skills must be excellent, they must be and stay in top physical condition and they must have musical talent.
O. And how does the college contribute to your program.
A.K. They provide me with a dressing room, a costume room, two seamstresses, access to any teacher at any time, and a small salary of course. It is certainly not enough to live on, but I augment it with outside classes and workshops. I am responsible for much of the choreography for the different regions we represent, and I design of the costumes, and select the dancers and assist Scott in programming and outreach with the community.
About five years ago, the Saudi Royal Family donated $3 million dollars to UCSB for the establishment of a Middle Eastern Studies Program. From this, Scott allotted funds to create an appointment for me as a lecturer in the department of Dramatic Art and Dance. The hope was, that in three years dance would pick me up as one of their own, but that never happened and I lost my appointment. Sadly, they never had the funds nor the interest to hire an ethnic dancer into their department. Of course I still have my appointment in music with the ensemble, so all is not lost!
O. What direction do you see yourself going from there?
A.K. I am looking forward to being a top circuit, seminar teacher. I have a full line of awesome workshops, both in belly dance as well as regional styles. My work- shops include videos - both general topics such as belly dance, plus videos specific to the subject of the work-shops with hand-outs. I am fortunate enough to be invited back repeatedly, to many of the venues in which I have already taught, which warms my heart! I have plans for several more videos, two intermediate, two advanced and four more after that, but I'm not telling what these are yet!
O. What have all these years in our dance given to you Alexandra? 
A.K. A way of expressing myself, and releasing emotions … and, (gales of laughter)… a way of attracting men! After four marriages, I have come to see myself as an artist, not a "wifey-poo" and so perhaps I make a better concubine than wife! Let's say that most men do not appreciate a wife who is an itinerate artist!
O. Can you suggest some music selections?
A.K. I tend to use symmetrical music with contrasts of asymmetry and I love poignancy like Gereges Lamman's violin solo - Awesome! I like Joumana, Alf Leyla Wa Leyla and Spectacular Rhythms of the Middle East. They are my favorites for their complexity, contrast and drama.
O. Live performance or tape, what is your choice?
A.K. Live music when it is good. I love performing with Brother's of the Baladi for instance. However, I worked in Mexico City years ago with a band from Lebanon. They were so awful that the club owner actually apologized to me. It was a night-mare. I infinitely prefer recorded music to that.
O. O.K. Alexandra, please give us the gift of some advice to take into our dance.
A.K. Take your Art seriously and Yourself lightly!
