My first solo role in Opera and how it killed me!

Im writing this post with thrill and new-found motivation! This week I learnt something new. I learnt what it means to be an acting dancer on big stage. I have had similar experience throughout my dance career in Estonia, but this time I did it in ARABIC!
 

I was the double cast for the role of Dalila for the last 2 months that we were preparing our performance. It was in Damanhur that I was put into the active cast! The bad news for me was – they told me 2 days before the performance. So I had a full night of rehearsals for dance and drama in our Alexandrian hotel room (!) to refresh all details and get into the mood.

Now after my debut I couldn't be happier. I feel accomplished, I did something new that really pushed my limits. And I was a big surprise to the whole company! They did not believe a cute foreigner girl like me could put on that kind of a show – unique charisma was how they described me. And I confess, I really enjoyed it, the evil game I was playing on stage.

In the story of „Ali Zeeba“ Dalila is an evil high-class foreigner, a tyrant that lives off from the people's work, and suffering, so she could afford more luxury. They told me she was of Turkish origin, but in as the choreographer explained to me, symbolically, it's the role of foreign power, intervention, the enemy.

As a character I danced less than as a group dancer. So it was great for having the chance to take my breath and focus on the dramatic parts.

My first appearance was in dance called „Shahkseiaat“ (character). All of the key roles were together on stage kind of introducing their importance in an abstract way. Within this dance I had a solo part that I so proudly choreographed for myself! In my mind I was inspired by snakes and samurais;)

My second dance was the all-important duet with the king. The king was kind of a puppet of mine, I had all the power over him and could make him do anything I desired. The duet was a fierce expression of it - I was all over him, physically and mentally possessive.

Shortly after the duet I had a spy-scene. The villager were staging a puppet-show in the village square but that was really a cover up to call people to revolt against the king. I secretly appeared on the castle stairs to eavesdrop their plan and in the end of the scene I gestured to send the army to catch these revolutionaries.

I left the stage only to return 2 minutes later. I had to stop the escape-way for one of them. The army caught him and I took him as my hostage to my castle.

The next scene was me taking the hostage to the dungeon, hitting and kicking him on the way. Totally brutal and cruel. I was given free hands on how to interpret that part of my cruelty. As we got to the dungeon I pushed him on the floor and dances above his body as a power-hungry queen, again inspired by snakes.

Then came the difficult part. My one and only drama in arabic! Since my sense of arabic has developed quite a bit, it was not difficult to remember the word in the beginning. My accent was exactly what the
choreographer needed for that role. But what was a challenge was to express my words in a real believable way, to find a good balance between acting and in same time trying to look natural. I got better every time and in the first live-performance I really enjoyed every word. The feeling that You create new energy and add tension into the performance, that your world matter and affect the audience, it empowering!

Out performance had a happy ending. The villager managed to join forces and united they went to fight the king and its army and won. So my fate was in the hands of the people and they treated me as I had treated them – they hang me! The last 5 minutes of the performances I was hanging with a rope over my neck and the villagers joyfully danced the grand final.

I feel grateful that I was trusted to make this role and even given free hands to work on my solos.

So if people ask me why I love to be a dancer, this is what I tell them. Dancing gives me chance to do things I would never otherwise be able to do – rule a world, seduce a king, spy, play the snake and get myself hanged!