“Farfesha” is Arabic for “laugh joyfully,” said Michelle Morrison, founder and owner of Farfesha Belly Dance.
This weekend, Farfesha is hosting a show at the Filling Station to celebrate the differences and similarities in Eastern and Western styles of dancing.
“For me, belly dance was kind of a gateway dance, where once I kind of got into it, things like samba, and Bhangra and Bollywood were all the sudden a lot easier,” Morrison said. “I had had western dance training as a child such as ballet and jazz, but it’s a whole different body concept when you get into belly dance.”
Alongside traditional Egyptian-style belly dancing, the show will feature American tribal belly dance, fusion belly dance, samba, Bollywood and Bhangra.
Harrison said the Farfesha dance troupe performs at Taj Palace every month for student salons, which showcase the talents of the dancers.
“(This performance) takes it out of the bar mentality and puts it on stage,” she said. “We do restaurant shows every month, but at least once a year we try to do a big stage production just to really let the dance be all that it can be and fill the space.”
Troupe member Evon Harrison said the troupe has input on a lot of the choreography that goes into the show.
“Michelle is our main choreographer, but we try to have a little bit of input on everything,” Harrison said. “An East Indian lady was teaching us the (Bhangra) moves, and it was fun to put it together.”
Morrison said her favorite part about owning a studio is seeing how dance improves her students’ lives.
“I certainly notice that they might come in grumpy or down and they leave feeling better,” she said. “You look in the mirror and think, ‘Oh, this is bad,’ or, ‘that’s fat,’ and by the end of the hour you look at yourself and think ‘Oh, I look good.’”
Debi Hall, another Farfesha dancer, said dance has had a positive effect on her life and boosts confidence.
“It’s not really expensive and you can just go whenever you want,” she said. “There are women of all shapes, sizes and colors in there.”
Hall said Farfesha also offers classes in hula and flamenco, and those styles work their way into each performance.
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“Sometimes we invite them to come and join us in our shows,” she said. “It’s cool because it all kind of melts together. Sometimes the flamenco arms go with the hips from belly dance and hula. It’s nice because it makes it a variety show.”
*East Meets West
Friday and Saturday
7:30 – 9:30 p.m.
The Filling Station
1024 4th Street S.W.
$10
Farfesha.com
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