It is an experience watching someone use their body to tell a story or convey an emotion, matching the pulsating rhythm of its accompanied song through art. It is incredible what the body is capable of and there are those that blessed with the talent of communicating their innermost feelings through the language of dance. There are masterminds of choerography out there who are so well able to translate an emmotion to the audience and able to communicate so well to the dancers in order to orchestrate a dance masterpiece. With it being International Choreographers day, it’s time to place a spotlight on the very best of these dance experts across the region.
Khadiga El Arkan
Since a very young age, dance was in El Arkan’s blood, a passion that she held onto and constantly pushed to transform into an intrinsic part of her career and life. After receiving training from some of the top international choreographers, she was able to pave her career by first performing in front of different audiences and from there, tapping into her creative side by choreographing several music videos including Ruby’s Nemt Nenna, as well as dance sequences in TV shows like the hilarious dance Akram Hosny and Hanady Mehanna performed during the wedding scene from “Maktoob A’alayyaa”.
Taking her talent and dance mastery to the literal stage, her most recent and exciting project was choregraphing the dance sequences to the highly anticipated theatre production of “Anistuna” starring Egypt’s beloved star Donia Samir Ghanem. El Arkan took to Instagram to celebrate the collaboration captioning her post with “it’s truly an honor”.
Rochdi Belgasmi
Growing up in the port city of Sousse, from the prime age of ten, Tunisian Belgasmi began to take lessons in dance clubs and schools. With Belgasmi, dance always went beyond aesthetic movement, it was more about using the body as a conduit of self-expression. Since 2011, the artist began to create metaphorical performances, giving each one a unique name to signify the intrinsic message behind the spectacle. With “Haunted body trance” or “Tahwila”, integrating contemporary and berber dance styles, the dancer showcased a haunting portrayal of raw emotions, of trance-like movement and an undulation between silence and chaos. Then came his 2022 masterpiece dubbed “Chghol” where the entire performance was centered around a loom.
His chorographical work was also full of artistry as he managed to create the dance sequences for a wide collection of theatrical performances including Chokri Bin Shika’s “Join the Revolution” and Samir Agerbi’s “Habouba sings and dances”. With any piece of choreography, he is known to showcase Tunisian dance to its full glory.
Layla Ghaleb
Just as with El Arkan, Ghaleb’s dance was fine-tuned and sculpted by the finest in the dance industry, ones who even worked with the likes of American Singer Britney Spears. By attending an Urban Dance Camp in Germany, she experienced condensed mentorship, dancing 10 hours per day and from there she came out as a strong force of nature who tapped into her creative juices to develop full-fledged music videos. Whenever she listens to any piece of music, she’d immediately visualize it into a dance or video and that is how she came up with several music videos including her short dance film “The Kool Kids”.
Today, she is known as one of the top Egyptian choreographers in the region specializing in a blend of hip hop, jazz and contemporary. She worked with the biggest names in the industry including her recent collaboration with Wegz were she was the mastermind behind his epic “Ezz El Arab” music video and worked with Ruby in creating a dance sequence for an Egyptian telecommunications provider.
Nadim Cherfan
With a heart full of passion and a strong talent to boot, since the age of nine, Cherfan fell in love with the world of dance. From the prime age of 14, the Lebanese artist began his dance career and developed his skills by attending workshops in the UK. Taking his talents to new heights, he launched his very own dance classes and studios, refining talent and bridging the gap between hopeful beginnings and full fledged careers.
His breakthrough came when he created a dance troupe known to everyone as the Mayyas made up of more than 30 dancers who took part in Arabs Got Talent in 2019, winning the entire competition. Fast forward to 2022, the Mayyas make history as the first ever Arab performers to bag top prize during the 17th season of America’s Got Talent.
Yara Saleh
Saleh’s relationship with dance didn’t start off as early as most choreographers as she first dove into an entirely different world, that of engineering, working at oil rigs among other talented engineers. Her passion for dance kept pushing against the seams and managed to catapult her out of the world of engineering and into the world of movement and expression. Through her time in LA and Jamaica, the artist was able to pool from both cultures, bringing that rich diversity to Egypt when she become the first dancehall choreographer in the country.
Every class was a bubble of thriving energy as everyone took to the dance floor and let go of their inhibitions for a free expression of mind, body and soul. Reviews of her classes boast about dancers being made to feel confident and expressive. Entering the world of dance may have been risky at first but it definitely paid off for the dancer.
Whether its jazz, afro, hip hop or contemporary, each of these choreographers understand the language of movement and have helped create a blend between the region’s culture and modern dance. If you also want to get into this special art and get your dance on this month, you can always join a dance class and learn some choreography. You can even draw inspiration from any of the hard hitting music videos or performances created by these dance mavericks.
