Meet Cassidy Switzer, a belly dance artist from Lancaster, SC. You can catch her performances in and around Charlotte, NC... from time to time she also offers belly dance instruction / classes. For information on classes, or to book a performance: emailcheshire_kitty16@yahoo.com
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When did you first become involved in belly dancing? About 5 years ago...
What got you interested? I went to the Carolina Renaissance Festival with one of my friends (I'd never been before). We were just walking around and I heard this awesome drum beat and was like "WHAT is that?"... I looked and there were belly dancers and, to my surprise, there was a girl in my art class... and I ran up to her and asked "How did you get started?" and she said "my sister runs it". So we started the next Monday and I've been doing it ever since.
Are there any dancers who have inspired you? There is a belly dancer named Rachel Brice– she's awesome... she's a different kind of belly dancer... she's not what you would think of when you think 'belly dancer'. She does a different style called 'tribal fusion'– it's getting pretty big. It integrates belly dance & a lot of hip hop movements and it's all very muscular. Whereas most cabaret belly dances are more skeletal (as to the way you move)... she just inspires me because it takes so much concentration in the stuff that she does– she's just amazing... an incredible entertainer. And another belly dance artist that inspires me is Amar Gamal... she is Egyptian Cabaret (like what I'm wearing), just your basic, you know– what you think of when you think of a belly dancer... Suhaila Salimpour, who is a second-generation belly dancer– her mother was actually among those brought belly dance to America. She is AMAZING, and in the classes we try to integrate some of her teaching style where, even though she's not tribal fusion, everything she does is muscular– EVERYTHING... even when she's doing shimmies, it's not her pumping her knees to get her hips to move– she is literally GYRATING GLUTES, that's all that is, and it's amazing... she's incredible.
You mentioned Egyptian Cabaret– what styles will you be teaching at the Recreation Center? They'll be learning basic Egyptian Cabaret.... and cabaret bellydance has pretty much been put into a genre of just 'American bellydance'... because, if you come from Egypt and you learn Egyptian Cabaret, there's a lot of movement that we teach that isn't affiliated with that. Then there's Arabic belly dance... and it comes from all over, so what we teach is just a mixture of ALL of that, and that is what American Cabaret belly dancing is now. It's a mixture of all the basic belly dance moves from around the world.
Do you perform regularly? I perform where I'm hired... lately it's been at the KABOB HOUSE for private parties. There are other dancers there now every Saturday night.... but I perform on an as-hired basis. I'm not under contract with any venue.
Have you performed in any festivals or special events? I've performed at two Carolina Renaissance Festivals, in Rock Hill at a 'spring fling' type event (I can't remember what it was called, that was years ago)... for the past couple of years I've danced at Angels of '97 in Charlotte. I just recently was at Festival on the Green at CPCC... there's been a lot– that's the ones I can remember.... oh– and I was also at CarnEvil at Amos' on South End. I was doing fire at that one.
A while back, you received some hand torches– have you experimented much with that? Yes– we danced with hand torches at the Renaissance Festival this past year, so I was pretty comfortable with them. But they're a lot different from what I was used to and you can do so much more with them just because of the weight... they're a lot heavier... better balance. The fans are really cool, too.
How do you select the music that you dance to? It's very random. Sometimes I'll just buy a 'belly dance' CD to see what's on it and sample it.... and then go to LimeWire or any other music site and just type in 'belly dance', 'arabic music', or 'turkish music'... Turkish music tends to be a lot more upbeat and poppy– it's a lot of fun to dance to. Arabic music tends to have a lot more melodies, not as many instruments... it's either the tabla or a stringed instrument, whereas Turkish music is like American pop, pretty much, with a bellydance-ish fling to it.
Is there a particular length of song, or a certain amount of time before you just give out? Well, our standard song length runs around 3 1/2 - 4 minutes... after that, you've kinda got to change it up.
Do you have any favorite songs for dancing? Anything that you always go back to, any one artist? Hakim is a wonderful artist to listen to and my favorite song that he does is called 'Talikik'... he's a good exmple of a Turkish artist. His stuff is very poppy, very easy to dance to, a lot of great down-beats... very good cues, and it's just FUN. When you hear his music you just smile and you've GOTTA MOVE, whether you belly dance or not– he's great. And then there's Karim Nagi, he's a percussionist and he's awesome, too. His beats are very good and he's very, very talented.
What's it like to perform in front of a crowd? Do you ever get nervous? I do. I tend to get nervous when there's people that I know, and that is something that I just kind of have to "wu-sah!" to let it go, like they're not here. But when it's people that I don't know, I have a little more fun with that because I love being in front of people... and dancing (like the restaurant-style dancing) where they're right in your face, where you can literally get up to them and just... dance in their face and just humiliate them... it's just so much fun because they're with their families and friends and it's just like "oh my god- is she coming towards me?! oh my god!"... but it's just so much fun and I really like dancing in front of people I don't know. When there's people I do know, I'm like "oh god- they're watching EVERY move that I make"...
I've heard you say "wu-sah"– what is that? [laughs] wu-sah is just something that we've come up with... in yoga and, in a lot of pilates, it's a good way to relax. Basically you're just trying to filter everything out like "sssss", just take it out... concentrate, calm down.
I noticed the pretty costumes you wear while dancing. Do you find them in stores, or make them yourself? Some of the stuff I find in stores. Some of my neatest pants and stuff I found in the mall; Carolina Place, Columbiana Mall. A lot of the stuff that I find– it's really funny– is sold as 'club wear'. Go in to any club wear shop and you can find some of the neatest pants, some of the coolest halter tops that you can just easily wear a little differently and it becomes a belly dance outfit. Some of the costumes I have made on my own, and the one that we just shot [see main photo] I bought that from a belly dance vendor in Charlotte; The Belly Dance Shop (on Industrial Drive in Pineville, NC).
Do people signing up for classes at the Rec. Center need any special sort of clothing? You just need basic workout clothes. If you want to get anything that looks a little more belldance-ish, go to thebellydanceshop.com (that's The Belly Dance Shop in Charlotte)... there's a lot of other internet sites for belly dance attire... basically, all you have to do is google it.... or go to Suhaila's site– she has her own line of clothing. I'm wearing her pants right now- they're so soft & comfortable... you'll walk to the washer with them on! So, yeah, If you want to get a hip sash like I was wearing, go to The Belly Dance Shop... or even eBay.
How do people contact you to book a performance? Via email: cheshire_kitty16@yahoo.com (or phone: 803-235-1249). Or to book another dancer, you can contact the studio that I'm affiliated with (Lotus Dance Studio in Charlotte). There's some great dancers there– my teacher is there, her name's Naina and she's been my teacher since I started (and she's amazing)... and there's the owner, named Iona– she's awesome too, and is a wonderful zil player (zils are the little finger cymbals)... she's INCREDIBLE.
Where can we can find out more about your scheduled performances? I usually post it on my MySpace profile.
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SIGN UP FOR BELLY DANCE LESSONS: Springdale Recreation Center. Classes will be held 6–7pm on Fridays (4/18–5/23). Register in person before April 18th. Fee due at sign-up: $55 for 5 classes, and the 6th is free!
When did you first become involved in belly dancing? About 5 years ago...
What got you interested? I went to the Carolina Renaissance Festival with one of my friends (I'd never been before). We were just walking around and I heard this awesome drum beat and was like "WHAT is that?"... I looked and there were belly dancers and, to my surprise, there was a girl in my art class... and I ran up to her and asked "How did you get started?" and she said "my sister runs it". So we started the next Monday and I've been doing it ever since.
Are there any dancers who have inspired you? There is a belly dancer named Rachel Brice– she's awesome... she's a different kind of belly dancer... she's not what you would think of when you think 'belly dancer'. She does a different style called 'tribal fusion'– it's getting pretty big. It integrates belly dance & a lot of hip hop movements and it's all very muscular. Whereas most cabaret belly dances are more skeletal (as to the way you move)... she just inspires me because it takes so much concentration in the stuff that she does– she's just amazing... an incredible entertainer. And another belly dance artist that inspires me is Amar Gamal... she is Egyptian Cabaret (like what I'm wearing), just your basic, you know– what you think of when you think of a belly dancer... Suhaila Salimpour, who is a second-generation belly dancer– her mother was actually among those brought belly dance to America. She is AMAZING, and in the classes we try to integrate some of her teaching style where, even though she's not tribal fusion, everything she does is muscular– EVERYTHING... even when she's doing shimmies, it's not her pumping her knees to get her hips to move– she is literally GYRATING GLUTES, that's all that is, and it's amazing... she's incredible.
You mentioned Egyptian Cabaret– what styles will you be teaching at the Recreation Center? They'll be learning basic Egyptian Cabaret.... and cabaret bellydance has pretty much been put into a genre of just 'American bellydance'... because, if you come from Egypt and you learn Egyptian Cabaret, there's a lot of movement that we teach that isn't affiliated with that. Then there's Arabic belly dance... and it comes from all over, so what we teach is just a mixture of ALL of that, and that is what American Cabaret belly dancing is now. It's a mixture of all the basic belly dance moves from around the world.
Do you perform regularly? I perform where I'm hired... lately it's been at the KABOB HOUSE for private parties. There are other dancers there now every Saturday night.... but I perform on an as-hired basis. I'm not under contract with any venue.
Have you performed in any festivals or special events? I've performed at two Carolina Renaissance Festivals, in Rock Hill at a 'spring fling' type event (I can't remember what it was called, that was years ago)... for the past couple of years I've danced at Angels of '97 in Charlotte. I just recently was at Festival on the Green at CPCC... there's been a lot– that's the ones I can remember.... oh– and I was also at CarnEvil at Amos' on South End. I was doing fire at that one.
A while back, you received some hand torches– have you experimented much with that? Yes– we danced with hand torches at the Renaissance Festival this past year, so I was pretty comfortable with them. But they're a lot different from what I was used to and you can do so much more with them just because of the weight... they're a lot heavier... better balance. The fans are really cool, too.
How do you select the music that you dance to? It's very random. Sometimes I'll just buy a 'belly dance' CD to see what's on it and sample it.... and then go to LimeWire or any other music site and just type in 'belly dance', 'arabic music', or 'turkish music'... Turkish music tends to be a lot more upbeat and poppy– it's a lot of fun to dance to. Arabic music tends to have a lot more melodies, not as many instruments... it's either the tabla or a stringed instrument, whereas Turkish music is like American pop, pretty much, with a bellydance-ish fling to it.
Is there a particular length of song, or a certain amount of time before you just give out? Well, our standard song length runs around 3 1/2 - 4 minutes... after that, you've kinda got to change it up.
Do you have any favorite songs for dancing? Anything that you always go back to, any one artist? Hakim is a wonderful artist to listen to and my favorite song that he does is called 'Talikik'... he's a good exmple of a Turkish artist. His stuff is very poppy, very easy to dance to, a lot of great down-beats... very good cues, and it's just FUN. When you hear his music you just smile and you've GOTTA MOVE, whether you belly dance or not– he's great. And then there's Karim Nagi, he's a percussionist and he's awesome, too. His beats are very good and he's very, very talented.
What's it like to perform in front of a crowd? Do you ever get nervous? I do. I tend to get nervous when there's people that I know, and that is something that I just kind of have to "wu-sah!" to let it go, like they're not here. But when it's people that I don't know, I have a little more fun with that because I love being in front of people... and dancing (like the restaurant-style dancing) where they're right in your face, where you can literally get up to them and just... dance in their face and just humiliate them... it's just so much fun because they're with their families and friends and it's just like "oh my god- is she coming towards me?! oh my god!"... but it's just so much fun and I really like dancing in front of people I don't know. When there's people I do know, I'm like "oh god- they're watching EVERY move that I make"...
I've heard you say "wu-sah"– what is that? [laughs] wu-sah is just something that we've come up with... in yoga and, in a lot of pilates, it's a good way to relax. Basically you're just trying to filter everything out like "sssss", just take it out... concentrate, calm down.
I noticed the pretty costumes you wear while dancing. Do you find them in stores, or make them yourself? Some of the stuff I find in stores. Some of my neatest pants and stuff I found in the mall; Carolina Place, Columbiana Mall. A lot of the stuff that I find– it's really funny– is sold as 'club wear'. Go in to any club wear shop and you can find some of the neatest pants, some of the coolest halter tops that you can just easily wear a little differently and it becomes a belly dance outfit. Some of the costumes I have made on my own, and the one that we just shot [see main photo] I bought that from a belly dance vendor in Charlotte; The Belly Dance Shop (on Industrial Drive in Pineville, NC).Do people signing up for classes at the Rec. Center need any special sort of clothing? You just need basic workout clothes. If you want to get anything that looks a little more belldance-ish, go to thebellydanceshop.com (that's The Belly Dance Shop in Charlotte)... there's a lot of other internet sites for belly dance attire... basically, all you have to do is google it.... or go to Suhaila's site– she has her own line of clothing. I'm wearing her pants right now- they're so soft & comfortable... you'll walk to the washer with them on! So, yeah, If you want to get a hip sash like I was wearing, go to The Belly Dance Shop... or even eBay.
How do people contact you to book a performance? Via email: cheshire_kitty16@yahoo.com (or phone: 803-235-1249). Or to book another dancer, you can contact the studio that I'm affiliated with (Lotus Dance Studio in Charlotte). There's some great dancers there– my teacher is there, her name's Naina and she's been my teacher since I started (and she's amazing)... and there's the owner, named Iona– she's awesome too, and is a wonderful zil player (zils are the little finger cymbals)... she's INCREDIBLE.
Where can we can find out more about your scheduled performances? I usually post it on my MySpace profile.
____________________________________________________________
SIGN UP FOR BELLY DANCE LESSONS: Springdale Recreation Center. Classes will be held 6–7pm on Fridays (4/18–5/23). Register in person before April 18th. Fee due at sign-up: $55 for 5 classes, and the 6th is free!
4 comments:
hmmmmmmmm..... interesting
woohoo! you got it down cass. major respect for you.
peace
jdub
Now this is the kind of local arts I can really stand behind...
LW's class was so much fun- there is a variety of ages in the group and those ladies are hilarious. Cassidy is a great teacher. Everyone wants to know if she will continue with an intermediate & advanced class.
I haven't written it up yet because I've been googling belly dance costumes-
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