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Earthfire is a high-energy dance troupe featuring five seasoned performers. Each dancer brings a unique style and expression to traditional dance forms, based on personal connections with Turkey, Lebanon, and Russia. Since their 1997 debut at Tofino's August Winds Performing Arts Festival, Earthfire has presented performances and workshops in theatres, community halls, and festivals in Vancouver, Seattle, the Gulf Islands, and around Vancouver Island.
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The dancers
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We're a very stable group - even though one of our members has just moved to Vancouver, she continues to join us for rehearsals and performances! We began as four, and added the fifth (Taissia) a year later.
Lynette has merged a love of dance with her Lebanese ancestry. She teaches and performs many styles of Middle Eastern and North African dance; she's also an author, ethnographer, and adult educator. Her goal is to find ways to combine innovation and creative experimentation with an honest respect for original dance traditions and their cultural origins.
Ferda honours her Turkish homeland in her work as a performer, choreographer, and teacher. Her dance celebrates women, movement, music and the creative fire in all of us.
Taissia, the newest member, draws from a rich dance background, including performances in Russia and North America.
Sahira has gone from many years of strictly ballet to bellydance.
Faith first fell in love with bellydance at age 5, but it took over two decades for her to throw down the gauntlet and pick up her zills. With a strong background in modem, jazz, and even line dancing, her Middle Eastern dance has become an integral part of her sense of self.
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Now that we've met the dancers, let's listen in as they share thoughts about this and that...
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Any special mandate/philosophy?
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Lynette: Earthfire is based on collaboration and equality - We have all worked hard to create a collaborative cooperative team. We share decisions; I don't assume everyone else will agree with my ideas. I need to persuade people to adopt plans or choreographic ideas - just like everyone else! This takes time and patience, but results in terrific commitment by all of us, to all of our projects. We treat each other as equal partners in the troupe, though that doesn't mean we are all the same! We recognize, respect, and make use of our differing levels of experience and ability. When any one of us feels insecure and gets jealous of others having more performance time, or taking more of a leadership role, we talk through it. So far, we've survived!
Two other important principles: We never stop learning, regularly attending workshops with visiting and local instructors. AND we take time to recognize our accomplishments! It's too easy to get caught up in doing more and more stuff, and take each others' abilities and our group energy for granted. We videotape and watch our performances together as much as possible, which is an opportunity to critique and improve as well as to give each other pats on the back. And we talk about how much we enjoy dancing, working (during rehearsal time), and even playing (when we're 'on the road') together.
Ferda: We try to be a collective, non-hierarchical in our decision-making, actions, and in what we present. This leads to many challenges. First, because we all started as students of Lynette and so we often rely on her for decisions and actions. Also she's a natural leader - dancing for many years, well known by the dance community, and she's an intelligent, motivated, and savvy woman. It's an amusing dynamic in our troupe that we aij participate in - Lynette is and isn't the boss. But, we aH keep trying - striving for a more equal, fair division of power and responsibility.
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About costuming and choreography:
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Ferda: Our philosophy shows up in our choreography - we strive to give equal space for each dancer -there is no one dancer showcased. We all express different styles individualistically and we see that as a good thing. Our costumes have a similar style, for example Turkish gypsy, Ghawazee, etc., but are NEVER identical. We do a limited amount of choreography together in each show - we leave lots of room to improvise, alone and together. This brings dynamic tension into our work. And because we can put more of our selves in each piece, everything then has more energy, more power.
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The secret to our success?
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Ferda: I appreciate the connections between us. They exist on and off stage - we have a great time backstage. I enjoy thinking about how many places we have slept while touring: on floors, couches, and beds all over the Pacific Northwest!
Faith: What's really important is how much fun we have in our troupe. There's an amazing level of camaraderie - we laugh as much as we work, and we have grown close over the years. An audience member once said: "You know, we women are so serious about our bodies in North America, while you're just celebrating and having fun".
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About musical choices:
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Lynette: We're inspired by a range of music. There are few Turkish and Arab musicians in B.C., so we mostly use recorded music - from treasured 30-year old recordings (like the Dolgru Yol Ensemble and the British Museum's World of Islam series), to recent releases by Algerian Rai, Lebanese & Egyptian artists. We love music from the Istanbul Oriental Ensemble, Karsilema, and other musicians who are creating new interpretations that honour and develop traditional forms.
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Current and future plans:
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Lynette: We're working on a thematic show that takes place in a kind of 'time warp', a liminal space where historical/traditional pieces can encounter the cellphones and camcorders of today's middle east. We'll work with other dancers and troupes on the Island - there's lots going on here! " to construct a strong narrative with distinctive (and inevitably colourful) characters. Nanaimo is a small town, so we have always travelled to different communities around B.C. to dance. Our first show was in Tofino, on the west coast of Vancouver Island. We expect to take this show to several towns on the Island, as well as Vancouver... and who knows where else!
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Any funny stories or anecdotes?
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Ferda: At our very first show we had a clothing disaster. We're always so ambitious, with lots of costume changes, and in Tofino we were sharing a closet with a small mirror...
Faith: I remember, you were late coming out on stage, and your beledi dress was in the process of splitting open down the front! While you were dancing you realized a breast had begun to pop out, so you turned your back to the audience and danced quickly towards some of us standing in the back. We managed to tuck you back in - though the rest of your solo was slightly more subdued.
