Aswan dancers return

This Friday, students can experience and maybe even learn about a different culture through music and dance as the Aswan dancers, a Middle Eastern drumming and dancing group, perform at SF State for their 20th anniversary.

The Aswan dancers first appeared at SF State 20 years ago in McKenna Theatre, where they will return this Friday at 7:30 p.m. with local bands "Susu and the Cairo Cats" and "The Sheikh Shak Shok Band." Also performing will be special guest dancer Nadia Hamdi of Egypt.

The performance is being sponsored by the Coalition for the Advancement of Dance (CAD), a group of students who put on events and work together to promote, educate and ensure that dance from all cultures continues at SF State and in communities beyond the university.

CAD member Celine Schein, a French and women studies major, said, "The tradition is the dance, the music and everything that goes with it. We help keep those traditions going."

Hamdi is a world renowned belly dancer from Egypt, who will be performing in the U.S. for the first time. In her country she is officially banned from performing or teaching, but has continued to dedicate her life to dancing.

Even though she is not allowed to teach dance in Egypt, Hamdi is known for ignoring the laws of her country and teaching foreigners the art and history of her dance in secluded places, such as in hotel rooms.

"Even if you're a business major, understanding someone else's culture is a very important thing," said Schein.

CAD began in Spring of 1994 when a group of concerned students came together because the Dance Ethnology program at SF State was in danger of being cut.

"It gives me an identity, and makes me feel like a part of something important," said Farah Gowani, psychology major and CAD member. Gowani said there are more than five other psychology majors who find therapy in the dance classes.

The Dance Ethnology program is one of only two in the entire country where a student can receive an undergraduate degree in the ethnology concentration.

It is also the only program that has five world-renowned faculty members who have spent the majority of their lives teaching dance and the cultural context of forms such as Kathak, Flamenco and Capoeira, all of which take years to fully understand, according to Schein.

"Our role is to preserve and maintain the part-time faculty," said Schein.

According to a statement put out by CAD, they believe that bringing an understanding of other cultures through the art of dance and music enriches existing curriculum and creates an educational experience that reaches far beyond the confines the university.

The group is planning a forum later this semester to inform students about what they are doing and to try and get more people involved with their efforts.

Egyptian belly dancer Hamdi and Amina, of the Aswan Dancers, will host a free lecture, demonstration and participatory workshop on Arabic dance at 3:30 p.m. today in Room 203 in the Arts and Industry building.

[ Golden Gater Online October 19, 1995 ]

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