Belly Dancing by Zaira

Last September, I was fortunate enough to attend the 2009 Miami Bellydance Convention (“MBC”) in sunny Florida.  The impetus to attend the convention was the fact that my biggest inspiration in the middle-eastern dance art form, Saida from Argentina, was teaching a workshop for the very first time here in the U.S.  When I heard she was actually going to be here, on American soil, I could hardly contain my excitement!

I stumbled upon Saida several years ago while “you-tubing” belly dance in general. I recall being immediately absorbed by Saida’s captivating beauty and incredibly graceful stage presence. Upon closer inspection, I was further impressed by the fact that she never seemed to sacrifice technique for showmanship.  Her moves, while irresistibly graceful, were impeccably crisp. She immediately struck me as a highly-skilled middle-eastern dancer. Saida, in my opinion, she was the complete packge!

       Saida, Photo by MiamiBellydanceConvention.net

 So, who is Saida?  Her birth-given name is Veronica Helou.  She is the daughter of Sirian parents and was born in Argentina, South America where she currently resides.  She is a college graduate and has been dancing for nearly twenty years.  She studied classical dance from 1983 to 1991 at which point she became interested in belly dance.  For over ten years, she danced with a highly prestigious Argentinian dance company and has been featured in countless middle-eastern dance events in Argentina. In 1994, Saida formed her own Bellydance Academy in her native Buenos Aires.  Her school offers a five-year training program spanning from beginner to professional levels. Over the years, her school has grown exponentially currently hosting over 750 students!  Her international career began in 2000 when she began teaching workshops all over South America and Spain. She has been featured in various belly dance instruction DVDs including the Bellydance Superstars.

When Saida appeared at the Miami Bellydance Convention, everyone was completely and utterly “star-struck”.  I knew almost immediately that my trip to Miami would be so worth-while! While tiny in stature, approximately 5’1",  Saida had incredible presence! She was highly energetic, enthusiastic, welcoming, and very gregarious – just a joy to be around. Her workshop included a beautiful modern Egyptian choreography and was packed with detailed breakdown instruction. Her workshop was very-well put together with a lot of attention to professionalism and artistry. I must note however, that there was a bit of a language “barrier” as Saida is not fluent in English.  She did have a translator by her side that proved very helpful for some.  Having said that, what was amazing about her is that she was able to successfully convey her skills mostly, by using body language. She was very consice in her instruction delivery, persistent and yet extremely patient. By the end of the two-hour + workshop, I was craving more!

I can’t wait till MBC 2010 this coming Labor Day weekend!

For more information about the Miami Bellydance Convention, please visit

http://www.miamibellydanceconvention.net/

Video of Saida courtesy of you tube.