Mm Mm Monday - Nana Candelaria, Rachel Brice's Roots

Here at Deep Roots Dance, it doesn't take a genius to figure out we value the roots from which we all came. Nobody sprung fully formed from Zeus' forehead (though I joke to my students all the time that I have). Every dancer is the product of another dancer's inspiration and training.  So, too, with the ever-beloved Rachel Brice.

Here is a video of one of RB's earliest and most influential instructors, Nana Candelaria. A precise and playful dancer, you can clearly see her powerful influence on today's most famous fusion dancer.

Mm Mm Monday - Naemet Mokhtar

"The Woman Who Conquered the Devil" was one of her best-known films, Naemet Mokhtar was one of the film dancer greats. But her career was not as long as some of the better-known golden age bellydancers, and her departure from dancing was swift and mysterious...until 2012 when she turned up in an interview in the newspaper, El Fagr. You can read the translated version on Shira's website, but that isn't why we're here. We're here to see this delightful gem of a video, brought to my attention by the incomparable Cassandra of Minneapolis. I was completely mesmerized by her tiny shoulder shimmies, her luxurious figure 8's, and the swaying choo-choo shimmies...so much to Mm Mmmmmmm about!