Today we’d like to introduce you to Mesmera Merkaba.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
It was high school and college that sparked my attraction to Middle Eastern and Turkish music, art, and culture, particularly that of Egypt. Yet it was years later, in an acting class at the Lee Strasburg Institute, that a lovely classmate belly danced for us in full costume and fascinated me with every move! I studied technique ravenously, researched enthusiastically, and practiced with passion, loving the increasing coordination, stamina, and control required by this articulate dance that features so much isolation and extraordinary layering of movement. In a few months, I was performing, which led to requests for more! My teacher, Gena Reno, gave me her Bellydance class at LACC when she left, so I was their instructor for decades while my own classes also thrived. Meanwhile, my drummer and I delivered about 5000 bellygrams for LiveWires, the singing telegram and entertainment company at Hollywood and Vine.
Instructional and performance video production came next, followed by music and dance adventure travel, seminars and shows, directing my dance troop shows, vending my dancewear designs and accessories, hosting drum circles, and treasuring our dance community!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The music is beautiful, and our costumes are glamorous like the artful dance itself. However, behind the scenes, there are extreme temperatures, bare feet on concrete floors that can have broken glass, being stuck waiting in a stockroom or back room until a client is ready, etc. It means developing communication skills and having the patience necessary to deal with the public in a positive way, no matter what. I still follow the phrase “give the people what they want.” Meanwhile, if one is imaginative and expressive, being copied without credit is very common. Performing and teaching is truly a labor of love for me, so I’m grateful to be driven by desire.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Although I’ve created many choreographies and enjoyed teaching and performing them, I love improvisation the most. It’s the thrill of the unknown! Allowing oneself to “be moved” by what we hear in the music and how we feel like shaping it is pure pleasure. Freedom of movement is, after all, a birthright, so why not dance! I see shapes when I hear the music, and integrating a whole-body expression in response has been a delight since I could stand up and bounce around as a baby. A keen ability to create in the moment and be receptive to creative inspiration has been essential for me, and I’m deeply grateful to see this reflected in my success and acknowledgment as a dynamic performer and gifted teacher.
What would you say has been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
Be patient, tolerant, understanding of others’ situations, conditions, or circumstances that may not be known. Ego is an obstacle to compassion and insight. Also, take excellent care of health and physical body in order to maintain tone and flexibility that’s integral to longevity and dancing happily through the years.
Pricing:
- $20/90min in-person class
- $15/60-90min Zoom Class
Contact Info:
- Website: www.mesmera.com
- Instagram: @ZambraMesmera
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MesmeraRedMagicDance
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@MesmeraMerkaba
Image Credits
Jacqui Wong
Carl Sermon
