Improvisation has always been my thing, my comfort zone, my nature. It was Mahmoud Reda, The Father of Egyptian Folklore and my best friend, who insisted I started doing it. And taking it seriously.-I can´t do it, Mahmoud. It bores me to death. I´m an improviser. – I´d tell him, like a baby.
-You CAN do it. And it will make you a better improviser. – He´d answer, holding his cup of tea, watching me go crazy, fighting with a musical phrase and my crumbling certainties.
At first, I did it for him; then, just for my own practice; after, when students from all over the world started to reach out to study with me, I´d choreograph for them.
Only recently, I´ve started to choreograph for myself, for pleasure as much as for work and personal growth.
It´s still out of my comfort zone. I hate it, at times, mostly when results are not up my expectations. But that´s exactly why I keep doing it: crashing walls, facing limits and expanding precisely on the spots I thought I´d fall.
Never underestimate the power of DOING. No need for perfection, if such thing existed (it doesn´t). You just gotta DO IT.
Photos: me, doing it, in one of my dance studios.
