Seattle Intensive Hosted by Saqra

Let me also say thank you to Ruby for her beautiful phrase: “Basics are rich and varied landscapes each of their own.”

I attended Morocco’s intensive in Seattle (hosted by Saqra) last June and came home with a huge lightbulb glowing over my head regarding the fundamentals – only I had a hard time verbalizing it.

Then I spoke to Ruby in an email and she replied with this wonderful statement and everything became crystal clear for me.

What happened in the workshop was that Morocco first demonstrated and then taught a dance (“Nihna Wal Kamar Jiran”) that was like a revelation to me. Maybe a simplistic one – but a revelation on a very deep level that the basics are indeed rich and varied landscapes.

The individual movements in the choreography were all basic fundamental movements. No ritzy stuff. Nothing I couldn’t introduce to a level 1 & 2 class. When Morocco danced it I was totally blown away – I had to sit for a minute and try to figure out what I had just seen and why I felt so *affected*.

The dance was very beautiful. The grace and beauty of the dance came out of the mastery – a “knowing in the depths of the body and soul” these basic fundamentals and in her ability to express the yearning in the music using only the simplest of simple movements. It brought tears to my eyes.

The landscapes of hip circles and simple shimmies, hip lifts and drops, snake arms and undulations … almost without embellishment…l feel like I’ve had a revelation on the spiritual level. Thank you Aunt Rocky for opening that door to me and thank you Ruby for putting it into words.

Nita