Jamil has had a deep seeded passion for belly dance his entire life. Coming from a Middle Eastern background he has grown up with belly dancing pumping rapidly throughout his veins and considers it a way of life rather than purely an art. Since the age of five Jamil has worked his way up to the enigma he is today by slowly discovering the amazing talent and skill that he possesses. Jamil began teaching at Amera’s palace in 2006 and performing professionally since 2005 at various esteemed restaurants around Sydney, as well as a wide range of formal events. In 2007, he was approached about participating in an international television commercial after his talent was noticed by his infamous YouTube video clip, accomplishments are becoming more recognised as he has currently been selected to teach a workshop at the 2008 Farha tour and is currently in the process of creating a theatre production titled ‘JAMIL – the evolution of belly dance, through a males perspective’, which will be showing at the Seymour theatre on the 28th of November 2008. The following interview of Jamil has been conducted by Dev for the Australian Belly Dance store.

Dev - First of all congratulations as you are quite a celebrity on you tube. How do you feel about it and what affect has this had on your Belly Dancing career.

Jamil - Thankyou for the congratulations. I feel honoured knowing that that many people are going out of their way to experience a male belly dancer! Sometimes it takes me a while to comprehend that amount of people have seen my clip and the positive feedback that I get on a daily basis. My professional career has boosted mainly to the few clips I have on YouTube as word gets around and more and more people acknowledge the art and begin to approach me, both nationally and internationally for appearances. it truly is a dream come true, and feels quite odd when random people speak to me in the street after recognising my face from YouTube.

Dev - You have been dancing publicly since 2005. Are you considering your future life as an entertainer.

Jamil - At the moment I am heavily involved in my dance life. Teaching and performing on a weekly basis encompasses the majority of my time. I am currently in fourth year at university studying Psychology, so I hope one day in the future to develop a career in that field also. However, somehow I feel that I will be living the two careers simultaneously.

Dev - You are also involved with Amera in Sydney, and holding a workshop for the November Farha tour 2008. What are the challenges you have encountered as a male belly dance teacher in such a female dominated field.

Jamil - I must admit that fortunately I have not encountered many difficulties as a male teacher. The very few instances include a few female students initially not feeling comfortable with a male teacher, or a few female students initially believing that my teaching methods are not going to be able to accommodate properly for female movements. They quickly learn however, that I take my classes very seriously and go out of my way to help every student to feel comfortable and achieve the most that they can at the end of a class. I think that Australian lovers of belly dance are beginning to break down the hang-ups of gender in the belly dance arena and are starting to look through to the skill and talent that any dancer or teacher possesses. This is essential as it is my firm belief that as a result of this, our belly dance community will truly thrive.

Dev - Belly dance has gained a more positive reputation/image in recent years and accepted widely by the general public, but its still a sub culture within the main culture and presented at times by the media as stereotypical. As a performer and teacher how do you feel you can make a difference.

Jamil - I personally do not mind that the belly dance scene is still a 'sub culture.' To me, belly dance has a strong sense of personal identity for many of those who practice it, which is lost when it is overly commercialised. I find that more and more people are coming to classes with the goal of 'learning to dance like Shakira' rather then 'learning to appreciate Arabic music and enveloping it as a personal interest.' Yet despite this fact, I do feel that being a male dancer has somewhat created a ripple in the ocean that is 'belly dance' as it has allowed non-enthusiasts of the dance to look upon it as a non-discriminate art rather then a dance for select individuals, which has encouraged many individuals (female and male alike) to explore the wonderful world that is 'Oriental dancing‘.

Dev - We hear many arguments using the term Belly Dance instead of Raqs Sarqi or Oriental dance. How do you prefer to call your dance for the general public.

Jamil - To be honest all three terms don’t bother me too much, it just depends how it is expressed. I am a firm believer that the dance is an art and should be treated accordingly; however I find that when people use the term ‘belly dancer‘, it inadvertently conjures the image of a scantily clad lady gyrating for the entertainment of an audience. The other terms seem to generate a more artistic feel to the description of a dancer, which is probably more of a social phenomenon rather then any other reason, but it allows the impression that it the dancer takes the art quite serious.

Personally however, in an attempt to break down any preconceived notion, I generally title myself as an ‘Arabian dancer.’ Just something I feel a bit more comfortable with, based on the dance style I enjoy performing

Dev - Do you perform any Folk dances from the Middle East, The general idea is most of the male dancers from that region perform only folkloric in public?

Jamil - I only really began looking into folkloric styles during my formal training at Amera’s Palace., Even though I admired the technical side of dubki, khaleegi, etc… it didn’t appeal to me too much, simply because I think that what attracted me to the Arabic dancing style was the use of isolation and hip movements that seemed quite natural to my body, rather then any overly structural foot movement that drew attention away from the improvisational aspect of the dance.

Dev - You have a middle Eastern background , was it the main factor for you to take up Oriental dance in particular?

Jamil - Most likely. I think listening to Arabic music from a young age, and watching a lot of Arabic movies with a strong belly dance undertone was the main reason that I was attracted to the dance. As a young child, dancing was something I was never afraid to do, and it always seemed so natural that at any event, I would be the first one dancing with the belly dancer. I think what attracted was that I used to watch a lot of dancers as a young boy and was in such allure about how they could move their body in the way that they did. It never really occurred to me that a female was doing it, or anything gender related like that, so slowly I began to teach myself various movements while simultaneously understanding how my body worked in reference to the dance. After a while, my body seemed to interpret Arabic beats and melodies without any forced attention and by the age of about ten I had began noticing that this dance was having a strong impact on my life. I continued practicing 2-3 hours a day, every day for about 8 years, without fail, not by force, but by sheer enthusiasm. I assume however that had I been brought up in a different ethnic community, I may have been attracted to that particular dance form. But luckily, having that Arabic influence has taught me to talk the talk, walk the walk, and dance the dance!

Dev - As an oriental dance teacher what is your advice to a ‘newbie’ who wants to try out their first Belly Dance lesson. Also what should they expect or not expect from the experience.

Jamil - My advice is simple. Come into the dance with an open mind and with a sense of enthusiasm! The technical side of belly dance can be quite daunting to a person who has started a first term of classes, especially when trying to execute movements naturally foreign to the body with unfamiliar beats and rhythms. However, the trick is sticking in there and taking away as much from each class as possible.

Another very important piece of advice I like to pass on to my students is to keep a ‘belly dance movement diary whereby movements and tips that have been taught each week are written down for future use and practice. This is particularly imperative for those who come to belly dance with the intention to learn it for a while.

As for expectations, I only ask students not to believe that a one hour class per week is enough to strengthen the technical aspects of the dance. Many hours of practice is necessary in allowing a student to understand the beats, enjoy the music and create effortless fluidity in their movements. And hey, what’s so bad about homework being a couple of hours of dancing per week.