Mala Bhargava’s Interview: Full Text
I had already been working hard on isolations with Ariellah’s video when I got Asharah’s Modern Tribal Bellydance DVD. I was thrilled at the increase in difficulty level and the sheer length of it. For a whole year I worked with this DVD, sometimes on many chunks of it, adding up to two hours and sometimes just the warm up segment, which in itself is some 55 minutes. I realized that it’s important to stick with a particular workout to really see the benefits, so I didn’t try experimenting much with others, except for using a shorter warm up from East Coast Tribal if I was in a hurry. And I was right. Asharah’s warm up and conditioning increased my strength and flexibility in addition to getting those isolaitons truly isolated. For a video-only learner, her video has been a godsend.
Mala: I’ve used your DVD all year long – have you got such feedback from others?
Asharah: Yes… and most of the feedback I’ve received is positive, which makes me really happy. It warms my heart when people say that they think it’s the best instructional DVD they own, or when non-tribal dancers say that they love the technique drills. It’s a great compliment when someone tells me that my DVD kicked their ass. So far, I haven’t seen any overwhelmingly negative reviews either, which makes me feel pretty accomplished. And now Borders Books is carrying my DVD in their fitness section, and that makes me feel proud of my work.
How difficult was it to make this video?
Planning and filming this DVD was quite difficult, before, during, and after it was completed. I spent several months going over the material on the DVD, and because I’m an incurable perfectionist, I was changing the program the week before filming. I wanted to offer something different, something harder for the intermediate dancers, but I also had to make sure it was accessible to beginning dancers.
Just to give readers some perspective: In one weekend, we spent 11 hours in the studio filming the DVD: eight hours on Saturday and three hours on Sunday. We spent two hours that Monday taking photos for the cover, during which I had to contort myself into positions that made me look taller and leaner (and it worked, right? LOL). A month later, I spent over 11 hours reviewing the first edit of the DVD. I have no idea how long it took to actually edit the footage and make sure the sound was lined up with the video.
What a lot of people don’t know is that I completely wore myself out making it. I really poured my heart, soul, and body into this project because I… I don’t compromise myself or my art. I really wanted to make this product the best that it could be, and that meant that I neglected my physical health for the sake of my own personal integrity. I was ill for two months afterward: constant headaches, achy joints, exhaustion, irritability, nausea when I tried to eat, allergic reactions to foods I normally could eat like dairy and eggs. It was terrible. After a barrage of blood tests for everything under the sun–HIV, mononucleosis, thyroid disorders, blood sugar levels, anemia, hepatitis, even vitamin D–and multiple visits to the doctor, my doctor determined that I was exhausted and prescribed that I go back to weekly yoga classes. The other thing about me that most dancers don’t know is that I work full-time, and I teach dance classes two evenings a week. So, I made a DVD in one weekend, only to go back to work immediately, never giving myself time to rest or recuperate. Don’t try this at home, kids!
Oh my god. You do look cool and relaxed in the video though. Do you remember anything amusing from the video filming?
The only incident that I can think of involves my red foam roller. I brought my therapeutic foam roller–which I use to relax and massage my muscles, particularly the iliotibial band along the outside of my legs–with me to the video shoot. Between takes, I took a moment to roll out my legs, and Neon, in her cute Russian accent says to co-producer Scott Shuster, “Look Scott! Asharah has a giant red hot dog!” I’m not sure how well that story translates in words alone, but at the time, it was rather funny.
Neon is funny – and I love her accent. How much of this video is based on what Suhaila does in her courses? And what does she think of your video?
The warm-up and technique drills of my DVD are essentially based in the Suhaila Salimpour format. The “modern tribal movement” and the combinations are mine, but Suhaila and other dancers heavily influenced them. Suhaila Salimpour, as some people know, is my dance mentor, and I owe much of my progress not only as a dancer but also as an artist, to her guidance. When World Dance New York asked me to film a DVD, I immediately asked Suhaila for her blessings and for permission to use her format in the program. She gladly obliged, only asking for acknowledgment in the credits. I think she’s proud of me that I made this DVD, that it uses her format, and that so many dancers seem to really enjoy it.
It’s a long, long program to do on an everyday basis though, isn’t it?
Yes… You’re right! It is a long program! I never intended dancers to do the entire DVD every day, but I do think that the warm-up and conditioning could be done on a daily basis if someone really wanted to be hardcore. I wanted to make a DVD program that gave dancers options and that challenged them. I was getting a little bored with the DVDs in my own library, and I thought, “If I’m getting bored, other dancers are certainly getting bored.” I think I might have gone a little overboard in just how much material I crammed on to one disc, but the length of the program seems to be something that people like about it.
I don’t suppose you’re thinking of another DVD yet, are you?
Well, at this point in time I do not plan on making another DVD. Making the first one wore me out so much, and it took me away from my own personal practice. I currently don’t even know what the next DVD would focus on, so that’s sort of a great unknown.
So, what direction do you see for yourself next in dance?
What direction? FORWARD! UPWARD! Breaking through barriers and preconceived notions about who “Asharah” is. Haha… OK. Really…
Currently, I find myself attracted to music with classical elements, such as Venetian Snares’ song “Számar Madár” which samples Elgar’s Cello Concerto in E Minor as performed by Jacqueline DuPre (if you haven’t heard the original concerto, it’s gut-wrenchingly beautiful), and a remix of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata which moves me to tears. I’ve also been collaborating with a good friend of mine, cellist Samantha Hegre, in performing three movements from J. S. Bach’s cello suite in C minor, where she plays the cello and I dance. That was her idea, but I also always wanted to dance to Bach, so it works out.
I also see myself becoming more emotional, more open, more me on stage. I want to move my audiences. The best compliment someone can give me these days is that my performance made them cry. That might sound a little sadistic, but to me, that means that I connected with them, and that my audience connected with me. And that connection is why I make art.
