TURKEY
American belly dance has its roots in Turkish belly dance so for an old-timer like myself it was more a real treat to go to Turkey. It was a treat, not only because my roots are in this style, but also, because I present a lot of Turkish dance with my company and had the opportunity to see and learn, first hand, many wonderful Turkish folk dances. Most interesting for me was/is Black Sea dance. It is a dynamic line dance in which men hold their arms up and their hands hang and bob as the tempo builds into a furious pace and they perform more and more complex steps and movements. It is thrilling to behold! I saw Black Sea dancers everywhere but the best were at a club in Taxsim called Caravanseray.

For me the dance and music of Turkey are light years ahead of Egypts in quality and authenticity. To begin with, the Turks have not compromised the integrity of their music and dance by synthesizing it with ballet and other dance styles – (except Egyptian! interestingly enough, most cabaret dancers were emulating Egyptian dancers and using Egyptian music, and doing it better than the Egyptians I saw while in Egypt, I might add!). For the most part one will see original folk and belly dance with indigenous instruments only anywhere one goes.

Additionally, Turkish clubs go out of their way to accommodate visiting dancers who are there to see the dance and hear the music. When videoing the hosts of clubs always made sure I had the best vantage point to shoot from, in contrast to Egyptian clubs which prohibit videoing of shows! The music was all acoustic and authentic and all in all, the club experience was very grand and entertaining! I must say, while I appreciate the dignity that Egypt has brought to the dance, I feel it goes too far and becomes too serious about it all. After all, it is as much – if not more – entertainment as it is art. The Turks have a sense of perspective and humor about the art, while maintaining dignity and poise, I appreciate a lot.

I was impressed by the fact that the gypsies are the omnipresent and consummate musicians everywhere in the country. I was lucky enough to dance in a couple of shows with gypsy musicians who really ROCKED - they wailed on their instruments and I got to wail in my dance with such incredible music! (Also, it was such a pleasure to dance a taxsim to a clarinet – a rare experience these days!)

The countryside of Turkey is awesome. From the conical eruptions of Cappadocia to the fire holes in Olimpos. All in all it was an exotic and captivating country.

But most of all, I can’t say enough about Turkish music and dance. It went beyond all my dreams and expectations of seeing and learning dance on the trip. Any chance you get to take a trip with a US dancer such as Judeen, Artemis or Eva do so – you won’t regret it! I have to say that next to Spain, Turkey was one of my two favorite destinations on this trip!

GREECE
For twelve wonderful years I was the featured dancer at the popular Santa Barbara Greek restaurant, The Plaka. During those years I fell madly in love with Greek music, dance and culture. Although it is not Middle Eastern it became my favorite kind of music and dance and so I looked forward to visiting Greece with great anticipation! Sadly, it did not meet my expectations – mostly because I went during the height of the tourist season and the hottest time of the year July. I had been warned about the difficulties this presented, and all the warnings turned out to be horribly real.

I made my way by ferry to Rhodes via Marmaris, Turkey in early July. I went to Rhodes because of the famous dance company, the Nelly Dimoglou Dancers. Rhodes City is nothing if not a very modern shopping center overlaying an ancient medieval city. It was built by priests to protect Rhodes from Turkish invaders. They failed at this but left behind a fascinating city with towering walls and cobblestone streets. I hated the overbearing tourism, but, thoroughly enjoyed the Dimoglou Dance ensemble and went to every performance while there! What a thrill! I even had a private lesson with Ms. Dimoglou herself which was hysterically funny, but that’s another, long story!

Next stop was Crete and what a beautiful island it is! Visited Sitia on the extreme eastern end of the island and then to Hania in the West. There I hiked across the island through the Samaria gorge – absolutely breathtaking landscape! Found a very cool little café – The Cretan Café - in the maze of streets which make up this old Venetian city and enjoyed truly wonderful Cretan music and dance for several nights. Fell in love with a dashing Greek musician, but never did anything about it – (just didn’t want to ruin the fantasy with a dose of reality).

After ten days in Crete I took another ferry to Athens where everything seemed to go downhill. Here is where my “leap of faith” had me landing flat on my face! Plans I’d made did not work out and in general I found the Athenians to be quite rude, dishonest and in short it was all very horrible! I had hoped to see the famous Rhea perform, but, ironically, she was in Rhodes performing where I had just come from! Had hoped to take classes with the famous Dora Stratou Dance Company, but, alas, their fee was a whopping $400/week!!Yikes! I did get to see them perform and oh, what a treat! Rembetiko clubs were $75 just to get in and I heard that the music was mediocre at best. Despite these disappointments, I stuck it out for 10 days but was most happy to be on my way to Indonesia on August 3rd!

INDONESIA
I had planned to go to India first and spend a month there but was unable to because I couldn’t get a visa in time. In a way I was glad not to go as I had had enough of the heat and the grime and hardship of the Middle East. I loved it there but after four months I was getting worn down and very homesick. I had heard that India was worse. So, I welcomed the idea of the balmy breezes and laid back, tropical life and friendliness of Indonesia – and I wasn’t disappointed!

I arrived in Jakarta, Java, after 2 days of flying. I slept for 17 hours and then explored the city. It is the filthiest and most polluted city I have ever been in. Additionally, the day I arrived a department store was bombed by Muslim terrorists, (Java is Muslim). I took a hint and got a train to Panganderan, a small village in south Java - immediately. Stayed there to rest for five days. I was pretty much alone in a beautiful tropical setting in a grass bungalow for $4/night eating fresh fish, fruits and veggies every day – truly paradise! A far cry from the hustle and bustle I had come form in Greece! Ahhhh! Relief.

Went on to Jojakarta in central Java and there I shopped and visited temples. It was a splendid place. But, once again, terrorists struck and 20 miles north of Jojakarta 16 tourists were kidnapped and killed. So, I once again exited and this time flew to Bali – a Hindu island and a major tourist destination.

In Bali I spent most of the time in Ubud, an artists village and there I shopped and went to music and dance performances almost every night. Bali lived up to its reputation as a beautiful place with incredible shopping and very friendly people. I spent the final leg of my trip with my family, (son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter) and it was one of the happiest experiences of my life!

Well, that’s about it! My store is about to be launched. It will feature Middle Eastern imports, (lamps, lanterns, camel saddles, rugs and belly dance supplies). So far my new direction with dance and this business have been uncannily successful. I hope you will all visit my site once up and visit me here in Santa Barbara if you pass through. I welcome fellow dancers as guests.

This coming year, 2002, should be a fabulous one. Please share it with me anytime! I look forward to hearing from you.

Best Regards,

Alexandra King