Sorry for the break in sequence, Awassa and Shashemene II are coming.

If you’ve been reading my posts you’ve noticed more than 1 reference to Skista: Ethiopian traditional dance. This dance is really entertaining to watch. When you come to Ethiopia be sure to stop by the gift shop at the Tourism authority and pick up a videotape collection of about 16 different traditional dances from different areas. You will no doubt see these dancers on Ethiopian Television or at major functions. There are a number of restaurant/clubs that boast traditional dancers as well and every month the Ethio-Francais Alliance has Azmari night, a night of traditional dancing (check out http://www.whatsupaddis.com to see what’s happening in and around Addis Ababa). Well, one of the foremost dancers in Ethiopia is Desta – a middle-aged woman and Master Dancer. I have the privilege of doing dance classes with her now. It was a little hard to find at first, but for a very reasonable amount you can learn traditional Ethiopian dance from a Master Dancer. I know if this lady were doing workshops in the U.S. she’d be making loads. Anyway her classes are for one hour every weekday, during which you travel around Ethiopia through dance. Deftly switching her tapes on her double-cassette player, you switch from Tigray dancing to Amhara, Gurage, Oromo, the rather difficult (for me anyway) Wolaita, that of Gondar and Wollo and Gojam dancing. We have covered all of the above regions except for Oromo and I have only done 2 days! Skista looks very hard when you see it and it takes a lot of work. Her dance studio that is by day a basic school, is located near Churchill road close to the main Post Office. It is off the road Kream mentioned getting reasonably-priced souvenirs as an alternative to Merkato.

The class, with the exception of myself and my host, is comprised of all ‘Habesha.’ Mostly middle-aged women who want to either develop or brush up on already existing skills to show off at the next wedding come to the class at around 5:30 p.m. everyday after work. They change out of their suits into baggy t-shirts and sweatpants and begin the jerking chest motion that is typical of Skista. If you are familiar with hip hop or popular black dance you shouldn’t have too much of a problem. The dances are similar. Emphasis is placed on neck and should movements. It’s very important to be able to isolate parts of your body including your shoulders, your neck and chest. Depending on the region, some fancy footwork is involved. For example, Gurage dancing requires a lot of movement and if you’re not in shape it can quickly become exhausting.

Lucky for us there are a few English speakers in the class as Desta speaks almost entirely in Amharic. They came in handy when just yesterday W./o Desta warned us of thinking that what we see on TV is actual traditional dance. “Much of it is mixed with contemporary dancing.” She imitated the dancers by doing wild jerky motions, causing an uproar of laughter in the class. “And people clap for this?” She is a firm teacher, having no qualms about telling you when you are doing is wrong, she often imitates what you are doing then shows you how to do it. Sometimes she will have you sit down and watch others or she’ll have everyone sit down and do some one-on–one training.
“And…hulet… Sost!” she keeps count as the students try very hard to imitate her. In between steps she sways to the music, loosening us up by singling out a student and saying “Taddeus?” in a booming voice. She draws from everyday experiences to explain how to do the dances. “Pretend you are hushing a baby. Shuru, shuru, shuru.” She says, making the hushing sounds and bringing her chest forward in rhythm. Sometimes she gets so lost in the music I wonder if she remembers the students in the room, It is clear she truly LOVES what she is doing,

Neck Action
Neck action is universal folks! That’s right, the neck movement that is normally attributed to Sisters in America whose last nerve has been worked, is done in Ethiopia as well. Desta told us, when illustrating the neck movement featured in many of the regions’ dances, “It’s like when you are arguing with your husband.” She pointed her finger, squinted her eyes and moved her neck right and left. Yep, those days of practicing on the playground, snapping your fingers in time with your neck moving right and left and all around was not for naught. It hurts after a while though, because chances are you never did it that fast on the playground or for that long. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 that’s your neck going back successively in time with the (fast) beat, then 1…2…3. that’s your neck going right and left. Then 1,2…8 again. Yes neck stretches are every helpful. You know she is happy with what you are doing when she exclaims “Au!” or “Heh!” She may stop dancing herself and just clap for you, topping it off with “Betam gobez! (very good!)” and that’s exactly how you’ll feel at the end of every class.

Price
If you are spending at least 2 weeks in Ethiopia I would definitely try to enroll in this class. At 300 Birr/month it’s a very good bargain for what you are getting, everyday for an hour, you are being taught the dances of all the regions by a Master Dancer and very capable teacher. Plus, the longer you take the classes, the cheaper the fee. The downside is even if you only attend for only 2 weeks you will still have to pay the full amount. Even so it’s not that bad and remember, everything’s negotiable.