I am Serena, nice to meet you!
Hello! How wonderful to meet you here!
I am very excited to be sharing here on this platform some of my thoughts with you on dancing and everything that surrounds this art form.
But first, I will give you a glimpse of my journey so you get to know me a bit more. It has been a fantastic journey, and it continues to be! I hope you enjoy learning a bit of it and, in doing so, a bit of me.
The Beginnings
I want to start from the beginning; it’s always a good starting point.
The story between dance and me began long ago when I was a little girl, around 3 or 4 years old, already in love with movement and music. My sister, who shared the same passion, took me to ballet and jazz classes with her (yes, 80s jazz classes, still the best!).
Once she got me started, I was there every day! I wore dance shoes in the streets, so I never stopped feeling like a dancer.
I have many fond memories of my teacher Luiza, who looked like Tina Turner and got us dancing to Lionel Richie and George Benson. You get the picture.
When I was 9, my sister Karima, who I always danced with, started taking belly dance classes. These classes were not for kids, but I could watch them—and I did every single one!
My First Dance Partner:
Karima became a professional dancer one year later, performing around the country, and I was her roadie. I picked up her veils and dance sticks and sorted the music for her. She taught me so much during those early years.
Around that time, I received a scholarship to the São Paulo City Ballet, which I would follow for the next eight years. However, life had different plans for me.
A few years later, an injury prevented me from taking my ballet training to a professional level. But I knew this would not be the end of my dancing career.
I was determined to continue dancing in any way I could. Although I practiced other dance styles, belly dance was a natural direction for me because it was already so integrated into my life.
By age 14, my sister said, “You are ready; you are coming to perform with me!”
I didn’t have that certainty, but I had been observant and practising in hiding (I used to be extremely shy). I had learned all the group dances as I would stand in when someone missed rehearsals. So, what was the worst that could happen, I thought.
From that day in 1990 until today, dancing has been my life.
Early Belly Dance Years:
For the first six years, I watched videos of dancers like Fifi Abdul, Mona El Said, Hannan, Nelly, Nagwa Fouad and many others.
And have them as my dance education, studying their motion, feel, and musicality. That was food for the soul!
They have taught me so much through their art; even today, I learn from watching them – they are my go-to for inspiration.
All my training at that time was soaking in all. Having observed my sister, her gentle guidance, and her always encouraging me to find ways to develop. It was almost 24/7 watching the golden dancers mentioned above.
I was lucky enough to always have my sister by my side as a sister and dance partner. We performed all over Brasil in Hotels, weddings, parties, nightclubs, and cultural festivals, with Arabic music bands and rock bands appearing in TV adverts and programs, including MTV Brasil.
We had a great synergy. A familiarity that made it so easy and natural for us to perform together, and the public loved it. So it was a special time for both of us.
All felt extra special because our mum would accompany us until I became 18 (as a minor, I needed chaperoning. It was a family thing, and I treasure those moments with all my heart.
The Dynamic Duo
Funny how things go; I am writing this to you today, 19 January 2020.
I said “Nice to Meet you” to Hossam in Brazil on 19 January 1996.
I was doing my regular performance on a Friday night. He was in the audience. And decided to play a drum solo and asked if I would join him. We clicked artistically right there and then. Later that year, we would do our first official collaboration.
We performed together on Brazilian TV, and I became the cover of his album Gamal Rawhany, where the music he composed for me, “Serena”, is featured. Now, this album is called From Cairo to Sao Paulo.
Moving to England
The following year we married, I moved to England, and we became music, Dance and life partners for the next two decades.
During this collaboration, I learned much about music, Dance and Egyptian culture, all through close contact with family and friends, musicians and dancers in Egypt.
It was then that I fell in love with the Golden Era. So I aimed to learn as much as possible about the subject. Making sure I contribute to their everlasting in any way I can. In a future article, I will tell you more about this Golden era journey and how it changed my Dance.
Touring the World
From the late ’90s and 2000s to 2015, we travelled worldwide, visiting five continents and performing and teaching dancers of all levels.
We founded the Drumzy School of Music and Dance. As a result, we graduated numerous dancers to a professional level and a foundation level in the method of the School.
My role was creating, choreographing and directing performances presenting Egyptian culture in a highly artistic rendition. In addition, I’ve had the pleasure of collaborating with fantastic dance artists and musicians. Not only of Egyptian style but of other forms and cultures too.
Becoming a Teacher
I became a dance teacher in 1998. I started to share what worked for me as a dancer, technically speaking, and Hossam taught me about music.
It was a complete package of music and dance. So it was I discovered my passion for teaching when I started teaching. But I needed to develop my practical teaching methodology on how to do what I do.
After much study, I gained insider knowledge of Egyptian Belly Dance Music and Rhythms. That lead me to develop my methodology effectively.
Learning how music is composed, its ins and outs, and how to play it a bit were incredibly helpful.
The Performer
Having worked closely with a tremendous Egyptian band and presented Egyptian art at some of the most prestigious music and dance venues and festivals. Such as the Petronas Twin Towers Philarmonic in Malaysia, the Beijing Conservatory and Edmonton- Canada Conservatory, to name a few.
I have proudly recorded 2 Dance DVDs: Visual Melodies and Bedouin Tribal Dance.
There are so many things that I am proud of, but I will share another time as this is getting to be a book!
During all this, I created a family. In 2002 I became a mother to my amazing my son Amir and tried to keep up with my childhood dream. Despite some body parts protesting, I continued with ballet classes as much as I could until now.
Going Solo
For the last four years, I have developed my dance career as a solo artist, which has been a fantastic discovery period for me. I continue to tour the world, teaching and performing whilst teaching on home grounds and expanding my reach to what creativity attracts me.
Continuing the journey of grounding and defining further my teaching methods to better assist the students and make them dancers for themselves and help them develop their individuality as dancers. That is what I like to do as a teacher.
As a dancer, I keep working on developing myself according to my essence and what I aesthetically appreciate.
I recently collaborated with the East-West orchestra at the Philarmonie in Essen, Germany. I will continue my “Music in Motion tour” with workshops and performances in the UK and abroad.
Getting Personal
Even though I have lived here in the UK for most of my life, I am Brazilian through and through, and I don’t like to take myself too seriously.
As always, I like to keep it all very simple. Life is a game that should be fun to play. I love going to a disco, dancing, and singing in the car with my friends.
Also, I love going or organising dance parties where you can dress up as you want. I am that one that stays on the dance floor for one more song. Often dance so much that I can’t move the next day (some friends call me the Duracell bunny, but I have no idea why!).
My laugh is loud, and I love making others laugh loudly. Love to be fun – though sometimes embarrassing mum. And refuse to grow old mentally but grow spiritually.
It’s always hard to speak about yourself, but I hope you got to know me a bit more through this introduction.
Also hard to squeeze in all these 40 years of dance passion in a single article. But we will get more and more acquainted as we go along this year with the articles to come.
So, for now: Wonderful to meet you!
I would love to meet somewhere sometime soon and share happy dancing moments.
Much Love,
Serena xxx
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