Dancers, who ripple, swirl and even fall like water - reminding us what we love in the music, leaving us their sparkling memories and inspiring our hearts and feet. These dancers carry the music within, a sweeping river of emotion that pulls us deep, in a way that has repeated for hundreds of years. Sometimes, airy and seemingly weightless, they wind a constant, magical thread throughout our community - visible and invisible all through the years. Pull on this thread and you often unwind a complex journey of cultural exploration, physical joy and ambitious opinion.
Although the journey continues, if the thread is held visible for just this second we can glimpse the world of a dancer who lights up the world stage with delightful presence and our community, with a voyager's insight - such a dancer is the ethereal Eva Cernik.
O) Did your parents give you the gift of music and dance?
E) My parents did play instruments - my Mother the piano, my Father the violin, but only for their own enjoyment. I think more so, the gift of my "wandering feet". My parents are Czechoslovakian. They were refugees who fled from communism to a camp in Italy. When they could no longer stand the endless waiting, they boarded a boat to Brazil. They actually were placed on an island off the coast of Brazil until a job became available to my Father, working on a water pipeline that crossed the Brazilian main land. I was born in Brazil. So we wandered around Brazil until we finally settled in Rio. I was born with the wanderlust - everywhere we traveled, I was a foreigner, so what did it matter?
O) Did you have sisters and brothers?
E) We were three girls - the third was born in New York.
O) Did you begin dance at a young age?
E) I did begin ballet in Rio, and then gymnastics at the Czech Social club when we moved to New York. I was attending the Metropolitan Opera School of Ballet until it closed. Also I trashed my knee skiing and since I couldn't see myself relegated to the chorus, I began taking what I "thought" was Armenian folk dancing, with Anahid Sofian in her new studio in New York City. 
O) Was your first ethnic performance in folk dance?
E) Well it was at a Harvest Festival. I was about 10 years old and was accompanied by a Czech violinist. I wore a red skirt with a white "poofy" blouse. I felt like it was a "Romani ballet" and I responded passionately to the music.
O) How did you connect with Middle Eastern Dance?
E) I lived in mid-town Manhattan - an area full of Armenian, Greek and East Indian to name a few cultures. There was an Armenian store I passed frequently, yet never went in because the smells etc. were not what I was used to. However, I saw a poster in their window, of the dancer Anahid Sofian. She wore a huge striped skirt and her hair was flying around her. I went to the advertised class thinking she was a folk dance teacher. She was Armenian from Turkey. I stayed and studied in her class for months. I think a meaningful legacy for a teacher is the impression she leaves with her student, and she left a strong impression with me. Though she taught both Egyptian and Turkish styles, it was her Turkish style that influences me to this day. She also started me with zils right away. She still has that same studio where she produces teachers and performers.
O) Was she your only experience at that time?
E) Actually I heard you could see dancers at one of the clubs on 8th Avenue - where of course, I was not allowed to go. At this time, I had an Italian boyfriend, so I made him take me. It was the Egyptian Gardens, a typically dark club with a great band. Soon after that, I went back to Brazil for carnival. So I made a Belly Dance costume out of an old turquoise bikini by adding coins and a skirt. I was a hit as a "Romani" dancer.
O) So Eva, when you refer to Turkish and Egyptian style - could you explain the difference please?
E) I feel that in performing "Turkish style" I am utilizing the whole body, even including fingertips. I feel the "Egyptian style" is very much in the torso with a focus on the hips and the hand expression being soft and decorative. The energy concentrated on the centre of the body while the extremities are soft and decorative. Though Turkish dancers love to dance to Egyptian music, they don't always express the meaning of the music. Egyptians have traditionally felt that Turkish dance is too harsh and the dancer's bodies, too muscular. However, things are changing with dancers like Dina using kick-boxing to keep their bodies in shape. Turkish dancers have always been very athletic. Of course dancers like Nadia Hamdi did splits during the "shamadan dance", however, on the whole, Turkish dancers were desired to be strong and athletic - Egyptians on the other hand, felt, if the body was moving too much - the dancer was working too hard and of course, fine ladies do not want to appear to be working too hard. Actually, when Turkey became a republic, old fashioned thinking was gone. In Turkish dance - strength projects throughout the body - everything is more exaggerated.
O) So returning to your dance education - where did it take you next.
E) I moved to Colorado and so began studying with Naila Rose. She had been a student of Jamilla Salimpour and so had a more "balanced" style.
O) Was it there that you began to perform?
E) Yes - because there were really only three dancers that I can remember performing at that time. Jamilla Pappas - great "Greek style" and chiftetelli, Naila Rose - my teacher and another friend Susheela. There were lots of jobs here and there and not enough dancers to fill them, so I really began performing before I was ready.
O) What do you feel about Suhailla continuing Jamilla's style and taking it to the next level?
E) I am grateful to these women because they've seriously devoted their lives to the development of our dance. Suhailla is doing a lot toward the maturation of this dance.
O) What feelings would you like to express regarding the total direction of Middle Eastern Dance?
E) I'm not happy about every one of the new directions the dance has taken. I actually view it as a tree with many branches. Some branches will bear fruit and flourish - others will not be recognizable as Middle Eastern dance or even as "belly dance", and will need to be sawn of in time.
O) Sounds like and interesting and important perspective - please explain.
E) Well, for instance, there is the "orthodox branch", remaining solidly a part of the trunk, preserving the basics of the original styles as best it can with what we've learned through education. I have a lot of respect for dancers like Aysha Ali who have worked to keep the 70s & 80s Raks Sharqi and Beledi branch going during a time of intense fusion.
There are the branches of fusion styles - i.e. Flamenco, Latin, Brazilian and African styles fused with Middle Eastern dance. And, other branches - American Tribal for instance. All of these branches hopefully use fusion with Middle Eastern dance in a progressive way that keeps the dance genre recognizable.
It should be said however, that there are other branches of the tree that don't even enjoy, and are not interested in the culture of our dance. They want to keep the name and the hard-earned public forum attached to it.
You know, when you are performing publicly, you are already an educator making an impression on people's minds. I have no issue with someone presenting "erotic dance" in an appropriate venue - I do have a problem if they don't call it what it is. I have an issue with such dancers, in a sense "stealing" from an art form that has struggled for over 100 years to educate that the belly is a sacred place! Just to be simply clear, we have cleaned up the public image of the Belly! The belly is O.K.
O) So you feel the name is loosely applied to capitalize on our dance?
E) Yes. I feel it is used to obtain a captive audience to advertise another form of art. For instance, it was used by a dancer who had her partner insert steel spikes into her back. This caused a distinct reaction that is not present and has nothing to do with Belly Dance. I am against stealing through misrepresentation, the opportunities that belly dancers have worked hard to acquire. I understand that pain can make you spiritually focused. I would have no problem with the spikes if they did not distract us from her dance. When I saw the photos, all I wanted to know was, "Well…is she a good dancer?" and, was it "Oriental Dance?" Everyone draws the line differently.
O) Can you expand more on the cultural line?
E) Middle Eastern dance has distinct characteristics. A high kick, for instance, has been done in the dance facing away from the audience and into a split. A high kick, facing and showing your crotch to your audience is anti characteristic of Middle Eastern Dance. If you completely change the character of the dance, then it is no longer the dance. In the Middle East, even when they dance to Middle Eastern Rap music, they call it American style.
So, some of the branches will bear fruit that will not be called, Middle Eastern Dance. Even some Tribal branches are evolving into something that in time will not be recognized as Middle Eastern Dance. Because if you start fusing from a point that is belly dance and keep on adding things that are not part of Middle Eastern Dance you end up with technique and attitude that are not characteristic of the dance.
O) What draws you to a performance?
E) You can be a perfect technician and be only half a belly dancer. If you have missed the interpretation of the music, and have failed to project it, you have missed fifty per cent of your performance. When a Middle Eastern Dancer works at a nightclub in Egypt, she gathers up all the feeling in the room and every strain of the music. She absorbs everything, makes one thing of it and radiates it back to her audience. She becomes the focus of everyone present, but in a selfless way, as the Goddess embodied. That is the purpose of the solo. I think some young dancers are trying to reflect this by way of troupes and duets thinking that multiplicity is somehow superior.
O) Interesting observation. Was it always your goal to make your living through dance?
E) Not at all. I was studying Biology and Chemistry. I have a degree in Biology. My Father actually encouraged me to go to Art school. I was accepted into two prestigious schools but declined because I felt it was my duty to become a scientist. I forced myself toward biology and chemistry, but I'm glad that I did because it gave me a clear understanding of the workings of the human body. I'm sure however, the time spent on this study did put me back when it came to my dance career.
O) Aaah - the age old struggle between technology and art.
E) Another pet peeve of mine: like many artists I have trouble incorporating the swift movement of technology into my career. I spend 50% of my day dealing with E-mail. My dance suffers. Darwin said "It's not the strongest who survive but those with the most ability to adapt". It's like having two careers! Also, I think the computer has been somewhat damaging to the dance. Aggressive advertising, by people who have very little actual education in the dance, but are excellent at promotion. They can produce beautiful web sites with very misleading pictures. They promote themselves into jobs as skilled belly dancers and can be very deceptive to people hiring and seeing a belly dancer for the first time. It's that public educator issue again. The internet has been hard on my Middle Eastern Dance Tours too because companies without my experience can make their web sites seem even more proficient. Also, what took me thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours to learn -small dance tour operators can now get second hand from the internet without even setting foot on the actual sites.
O) How did you begin your travels to the Middle East?
E) In 1979, I said, "I can't do another performance of this dance until I see where it comes from." That started my four year wandering through the Middle East. I began from New York with $1,300.00. I started in London with the idea of going from there to Cairo. It was at that time that Sadat was assassinated, and I waited in London to watch for the developments in Egypt. I looked for work in London which was harder for me to get because I refused the practice of "consummation" which involved the dancer sitting with the customers to promote consumption of alcohol.
Because of my Sufi studies, I was blessed to have friends in London, Istanbul and Tehran. A musician in London, gave me the address of Mahmoud Reda's photo studio in Cairo. I arrived in Cairo in December and explained to Mahmoud that I had always danced on New Year's Eve. A friend of his, Samir Sabri put me in his New Year's show. He sang - I danced. There were a couple of other American dancers in the show. We learned a lot, because he had the last position of the night so we would watch all the famous dancers such as Suhair Zaki perform before we went on.
On the trip through Afghanistan, I went with a Sufi friend and of course did not earn money as a dancer. I felt protected by my knowledge of the Islamic culture so that I didn't do improper things. Through Sufi work I have learned to become "invisible".
In Iraq - I worked with a troupe for seven months. Iran was at war with Iraq and because of this I was encouraged not to wander around. I had only one day off in all that time because of the circumstances.
O) How did the local dancers react to your presence in their arena?
E) There were a few that felt I was infringing - trying to do "their" dance. At that time though, I was talking with women who knew I was a dancer and understood that in America the attitude is different toward this, and they were flattered that I was reaching out to their culture. These were people within my social circle, it was not something I would relate to just anyone on the street.
O) So what were the differences you noticed between dancers from the Middle East and America?
E) American dancers are obsessed with technique. When an American dancer says she had a perfect show she means every step was perfect. When a Middle Eastern dancer says "perfect" - she means everyone in the audience felt connected when she walked away.
O) Huge difference.
E) When people see my videos, they may say, "that's simple - I can do that". It's because they were not there. They didn't see the collective love and spiritual satisfaction that was collected and emanated back. A lot of dancers in the Middle East are not formerly trained, yet grew up in learning to dance with their families. A lot of the moves are basic and simple. Dancers in the city have taken these moves and refined them while performing.
O) What within the dance is personally close to your heart?
E) I'd like to talk about a class I just started for women over the age of 45 who are not necessarily dancers, but just have a need to stay healthy. It's called "Wise Women Belly Dance". And I teach a micro version of the dance in this class. I focus on going inward and teach muscle awareness, posture and alignment of every bone in the body. I work on attitude, breathing into the lower part of the lungs - you know, some women have never opened their ribs in their life. It's incredible how much energy you have when you breathe correctly.
It's in four week increments with the last week being a lesson with the veil. Delilah from Seattle used to do a "veil therapy". It's very therapeutic to have a light silky veil floating over their bodies. I have them partner up for a veil dance - it's not for watching, much more for feeling. I tell them they need to practice every day of their lives to be healthy. The advantage of this, it's a dance and they enjoy doing it. It truly even helps my experience of the dance. I've been doing this for a millennia and yet I'm re-discovering it. I think men should try it too. I selected the name because you become wiser as you are more familiar and aware regarding you body.
O) And you're also teaching your standard classes?
E) I have three levels going at the moment. Beginning, mixed level and advanced.
O) What is your personal philosophy regarding teaching.
E) There are two kinds of teachers generally in a dancer's life. One teaches a specialty, passed along in a workshop situation. The other, as in India, called "the Guru", has a lot of experience and so has the whole picture of the dance, how it fits into your life, the cultural backgrounds from whence it came. This teacher should be able to coach each dancer to bring out the individual best of them.
Experienced is important for long term education, because the inexperienced teacher may not realize that she is causing bodily damage with her teaching. If she is young, she may not even feel it. If she is young she may grasp the dance fast and feel she can teach it, but she doesn't have the complete picture. In ballet for instance, my teacher was 86 years old. Respect is a thought that doesn't exist any more. Where you want to go - the older dancer has generally been there. New things are really old things in new garb!
O) What advice would you offer generally to the dancer starting out.
E) I saw Shoshanna in performance some years ago at Mendocino camp. She was very wild, on the edge of loosing it BUT - without losing control! The lesson is, you can't play on the edge of the boundaries if you don't know where the boundaries are.
I often do my shows that way, and when I achieve it, I feel satisfied and cleansed because I am taking an informed risk. I know where the boundaries are. You can go for the speed but your education has to help you look calm.
O) What is a memorable performance for you? 
E) Mmmm … once I was inspired to jump on the top of a metal drum to perform my drum solo. In fact when I was dancing at the Amira restaurant in San Francisco, there was a guest drummer. I grabbed his drum and stood on it to do my drum solo - he was shocked! However, I was familiar with the cast aluminum instruments and knew that I would cause no harm.
O) What direction, in this art form, do you find unpleasant?
E) Again, whatever changes the character or nature of the dance. For instance, as Miles Copeland has had to change the nature to appeal to the general public. He's extracted all the big moves, trying to have his dancers as the name suggests, appear as Super Stars. From a dancer's perspective, I call this kind of moment "the 7 minutes from Hell show". Meaning we have to work really hard to fit in all our spectacular moves while at the same time trying to feel connected to our audience and musicians. We have to try to warm to our audience as if we are in the middle of a show of normal length. Every time I finish a seven minute show, I wish I could begin all over again. Much of the connective tissue is gone and you see little depth in the dance. You definitely need time for the dimension of this dance - you need the transitional moves. With the low attention span these days, dancers want only to learn the "juicy stuff" that will make them appear flashy. Wise dancers use the big, visually spectacular moves sparingly.
In Turkey for instance, MTV has ruined the dance by presenting only flashes of the whole dance completely out of context. It looses all the textures because the dance is all about the transitions - the story is lost. In Egypt where the dance would last over 30 minutes, people would come away from the performance changed. Now people find it easy to look away - they loose the thread and are bored. In a hundred years there will be no new legends - people will say "just give me the synopsis".
I feel it's a sign of the times - I spend an incredibly long time composing an e-mail only to receive back a short and ill-prepared reply that totally missed the point.
O) What does this say about the future of our dance?
E) I think it will be O.K. We must keep one of the branches of the tree alive in a truly "dancerly" manner. We must hang in there until people are sick of being only, "Wowed". It's good to do some internal soul searching as regards your intention for this dance. Intentions can be small, i.e. I will breathe correctly and stay connected with my audience throughout my whole show. The bigger intentions, why are you dancing? Am I dancing for my health, to uplift people, to make myself happy?
O) So Eva, is there a particular piece of music that makes you happy that you would share with us?
E) There is so much wonderful music for every purpose but I could recommend a Romany CD called "Edirne Romanlari" with Deli Selim that I think has great music.
O) A favorite dancer or performance you would share?
E) "Any dancer who is truly 'in the zone' … she could be totally in a choreography or totally in her tribe, totally meshed with her orchestra and audience, or totally alone and spontaneous … you could tell by the attitude of her body, face and spirit."
For Info about Eva go to:
http://home.earthlink.net/~evacernik/eva.htm
EvaCernik@Earthlink.Net
419 South Sherman Street, Denver, CO 80209 U.S.A.
(303) 573-7610
