Something really special happened this weekend in Ocala, Florida. It was a magical sort of something. Where one minute you are in an empty ballroom in the middle of CTAE (Community Technical and Adult Education) and the next you find yourself transported to a Middle Eastern Hafla (or dance party). This is an event that happens annually in Ocala, but only for one night and trust me, you do not want to miss it next year.

This event is hosted by Zuhela and Maia, two sisters who teach bellydancing in Ocala, Florida. Put together they have over thirty years of experience studying under master teachers Ibrahim Farrah and Elena Lentini. Ibrahim Farrah was one of the first Oriental dance teachers to bring certain elements of this exotic dance style to America – namely the Cane Dance and Pharaonic Dance, which are now common in the field of Middle Eastern dance. Zuhela and Maia, teachers of these dances, who bring their earthy grace to the ancient dance they teach, direct a talented group of performers local to Ocala, called The Benat Sharkien Dancers.

As you walked into the college Saturday night, everything seemed normal. There were white concrete walls, hallways with classrooms, water fountains and public bathrooms. However, as you approached the ballroom, that all began to slowly change, the atmosphere morphed as the lights were turned low, the colorful lanterns lit, and their light reflected off the beaded pillows and statues of Horus, Anubis and King Tut that decorated the room. You could pick out the clear “tink tink” in the air of the dancer’s coin belts. You could also begin to smell something tantalizing, different and exotic coming from the kitchens near by…..

Once the music started, the entire night was full of non-stop action, the mesmerizing twirling of veils, as the pulse of the drumbeats by live drummers soared through the air. It was as if the dancers were floating on clouds, their footsteps so light and airy, they hardly touched the ground. I am telling you, if this music doesn’t speak to you, inspire you and make you want to get up and dance, then you are truly lost. As Zuhela told the audience so poetically, dance is what keeps you young, alive and full of energy. You could believe that statement as you watched her dancers. There is a visible passion in the faces of some of them as they move and sway, that really gets the audience caught up in the moment, sitting on the edge of their seats waiting to see what amazing feats of bodily control they will do next, as their minds rule over the body. This dance is truly an art. It is hard work to isolate the movements that are the backbone of this style of dance. It is so earthy and grounding; while at the same time its fluidity swells to such heights.

As if this were not enough, there was the food. Delicious Mediterranean food, things like, falafel with tahini, cous cous, baba ganoush and baklava which are so lost and forgotten in Central Florida – perhaps it was never here to begin with.

My mom and I sat there musing about how spoiled we are, coming from the Northeast where you can get really great Middle Eastern and Mediterranean foods in practically any town. I had the distinct honor this night of being able to serve the food in the buffet line. For me, it was the essence of being a kid in a candy store – all night spent talking about and describing the foods of the Mediterranean, what the different menu items were, how they are traditionally cooked, how to eat them, all of which is my forte. I was completely in my element.

I so enjoyed introducing people to foods they had never experienced, or thought they would experience. We can also thank Zuhela and Maia for that gift– keeping it real, keeping the mystique alive with the choice of food.

As I have said time and time again, food is the key to a culture, it is a sensory experience like no other and it stays with you, like no other. So even if you can’t go to Egypt or Morocco, Turkey or Lebanon to watch bellydancers there and eat the traditional Mezze, you get to experience something close to it by going to these types of events. Support the arts!

There was such an air of authenticity to this night of entertainment and beauty – traditional foods of the region, traditional dances of the region, teachers who were taught by the masters teaching more dancers, the ambiance and the passion. This makes for a night of wonder and splendor, and as I said, you do not want to miss it next year!