ORIGINS To those of you familiar with the long career of Kathryn Ferguson , your introduction to her work — unless you were fortunate enough to study with her at her Xanadu Studio , in Tucson , Arizona , or happened to attend a seminar in which she guest taught — probably came via her instructional tape : Mid- Eastern Dance : An Introduction To Belly Dance . Through her groundbreaking two-hour tape in which she shared her style and technique , she made the ancient art of belly dancing more accessible to the general public . Still revered for its completeness , her instructional tape has never lost its value to the world of belly dance . Many would say that it is enough . But no , there is more , much more , to the career of Kathryn Ferguson .
Spain & Morocco Kathryn ’ s interest in belly dancing originated in a most curious way in 1969 , while traveling Spain to study the authentic style of the local flamenco dancers . Fate stepped in when she met an American woman who had just bought a car , and who wanted to travel to Morocco . The catch ? The woman ( with two children ) was afraid to drive in that exotic North African country , so Kathryn and her companion accompanied the woman to Casablanca . There , in the fabled land which made Rick & Ilsa famous , Kathryn was initiated into Moroccan nightlife , and its unique brand of entertainment . Strangely enough , it wasn ’ t a dancer in a richly-beaded costume that drew Kathryn ’ s interest ; it was the rhythms the band played , the music itself . In a nightclub with a drummer and three other musicians , the performer — a woman wearing a Moroccan dress ( rather than anything that remotely resembled a belly dancing costume ) entered just as the band started playing their Moroccan rhythms . The dancer walked around the room , eventually heading towards Kathryn ’ s table , then stood there looking tough . The dancer tore off a piece of bread with her teeth , chewed the bread , did a few shimmies , then ate some more bread . Eventually she picked up a glass tea service , balanced it on her head and proceeded
to do several wild and obscene movements . Even with Kathryn ’ s background in modern dance and ballet , she had never seen anything like what this performer was doing . By the end of the act , she realized that this was not merely a tourist show ; it was a seldom-seen form of earthy , North- African entertainment . And , once having experienced those authentic rhythms that night , Kathryn was hooked on the music . Though the performance she had witnessed was a 180 degree shift from her early , Martha Graham influence , Kathryn was determined to learn more about Middle Eastern music and dance .
In Tucson Still 1969 , Kathryn found a teacher who provided her with her initial instruction in belly dance . After quickly outgrowing the skills and range of that instructor , she discovered what a Mecca San Francisco had become for belly dance instructors . During the next five years , Kathryn traveled to the Bay Area to study with the two legends of that era : Bert Balladine and Jamila Salimpour . With each of them having such different styles and methods of teaching , of presenting belly dance to their students , Kathryn really had the best of both worlds . She learned Bert ’ s technique , and Jamila shared her passion and knowledge of music , playing the zills and how to dance “ with ” the music . Kathryn later expanded her horizons by studying in New York under the tutelage of yet two more master instructors : Ibrahim Farrah and Elena Lentini . With the proper foundation already laid , they aided Kathryn in elevating her dancing to an even higher level .
El Jabala In 1973 , Kathryn began her long run as featured dancer at El Jebala , a Moroccan restaurant and night club in Tucson — dancing four nights a week for the next 10 years . But it took another year for her career to really take off , and in several directions . First , she opened her Xanadu studio , teaching belly dance for the first time . Her methods were simple : she based everything on the rhythms . Rather than concentrating on individual movements or isolations ( muscular or skeletal ) she broke the body into sections , then showed her students how to react to the music , perfecting the particular movement by using her ears , her heart and , more importantly , her soul .
July 2017 � The Belly Dance Chronicles 79