Dancer Origin Stories – Yamê
Yamê is a Brazilian-born, New Jersey-based professional belly dance teacher, performer, and owner of SharqiDance, a physical and virtual space where adult students with little or no dance experience can feel welcomed and supported as they embark on their belly dance journey. She has over 15 years of belly dance experience under her belt, including more than a decade as a teacher. She recently completed her 200-hour Registered Yoga Teacher Training and added yoga classes to her offerings.
Yamê is a big believer in the power of dance to relieve stress and overcome the challenges of daily life, and she brings a kind and compassionate approach to her teaching and business.
Let’s dig into Yamê’s Origin Story…
Q. What is your first memory of dance?
A. I remember when I was probably between 6-8 years old, when my friends and classmates were taking ballet classes. I really wanted to learn how to dance. I remember asking my mom to put me in a class. She told me my orthopedist said no.
I was born with quite a few orthopedic issues, for which I had to wear ugly, uncomfortable orthopedic boots growing up, and went to physical therapy for a good portion of my childhood and pre-teen years.
I remember seeing performances from people in my school, or going to dance shows with my dad, and feeling so envious of the people performing, wishing I could do what they do.
Q. Was social dance or music a part of your life growing up? If so, how?
A. I always danced alone in my room, copying dances from music videos on TV, which I would then do together with my friends. I always loved dancing and singing though I never took formal lessons growing up. I also really wanted to learn how to play an instrument, but there was always a reason as to why my mom couldn't put me in lessons.
Many people in my family are very artistic and musical, but for whatever reason that wasn't encouraged in me, despite me showing an interest.
But at least growing up in Brazil, where dancing socially is more common than here in the US, I did get to dance socially once in a while before I moved here.
Q. How did you first encounter belly dance?
A. I first encountered belly dance on TV. There were some TV shows in Brazil that occasionally would feature belly dance performances and I was always fascinated by the way they moved. I never considered that it was something I could learn, though.
Then, there was Shakira and her "Ojos Asi" music video. I remember copying the moves from the video and thinking I was totally belly dancing! haha
Q. What phase of life were you in when you took your very first dance class?
A. I was 20 years old when I started belly dancing, and that was my first ever experience with dance in a formal class setting.
My first ever belly dance class in person was with Ashtar in Brick, NJ. Prior to that, for a few months I was learning through videos and DVDs because I could not find a teacher right away. She had a style similar to ATS (but not actually ATS, it was her own fusion creation), which is beautiful but not the style I ultimately wanted to pursue. Next, I found Zarouhi Otchy who was teaching Egyptian style classes near me at the time. I also trained for some time with Gia Al Qamar, but the teacher I spent the most time learning from was Tashira Wadiya here in NJ.
Q. Many dancers took classes when they were little, but then returned to dance as adults. Was this the case for you?
A. Not the case for me... I started at 20 and never stopped since.
Q. What (people/phase of life/experience) led to you becoming serious about your dance studies?
A. I was serious about my dance studies from the start, even before I found a class in person. As soon as I decided this was something I wanted to learn, I found some YouTube videos and a DVD and started practicing every day. I also used to watch belly dance performance videos on YouTube pretty regularly, and look up information online about the things I wasn't learning in class.
Q. What allowed you to become serious about belly dance?
A. It's a passion for the dance and a curiosity that I can't really explain! Maybe in the beginning it was a desire to be as amazing as the dancers I admired so much. Once I started teaching it grew into a need to learn as much as I can and integrate it in my own ways, so I have more to pass on to my students.
Q. How do other forms you have studied influence your belly dancing?
A. In my mid-20s I took ballet classes for a few years with my first belly dance teacher, Ashtar, who was a ballerina before she was a belly dancer. I felt like I really missed out on dance classes as a child and ballet classes would improve my belly dancing... and they really, really did. I added a lot of what I learned in ballet to my belly dance practice and teaching, to offer a fuller approach to the dance that includes body lines, graceful arm paths, pointing feet, turns, etc, things that are often neglected in belly dance classes.
Currently I'm taking Rosa Noreen's ballet lessons online. Rosa is an amazing teacher and I am seeing so much improvement in my dancing from taking her classes.
Q. Tell me about one of your most influential teachers.
A: Of all the teachers I've listed so far, Tashira was the most influential on my journey. She was a very successful dancer in the heyday of belly dance here on the East Coast and she took in her students like we were her children. She taught us how to embrace our individuality and develop our own style. Her choreographies were often very loose and she really encouraged our unique expression from them.
Q. Share the memory of learning a movement that came easily to you…
A. Probably figure 8s, because I've been doing those since I was a teenager, watching Shakira on TV! haha
Q. … and a movement that you had to work hard to master.
A. Shimmies! It took me so long to figure out what was going on! Nobody was really breaking down everything that was happening in the technique, and everyone seemed to do it a little differently. I had to watch really really closely and experiment a lot before shimmies started to click for me.
Q. Tell me about one “ah hah” moment that you recall, whether technical, emotional, or conceptual.
A: Realizing that ultimately, being a good dancer is not about having perfect technique or being able to do crazy tricks, but about how comfortable we are within ourselves, how much enjoyment we get out of dance, and how we connect with our audience when performing.
Q. What dance skills translate to your everyday life, or vice versa?
A. Accepting things as they are in the present moment and not being discouraged by the chasm between my current skills and where I wish they were. Enjoying the journey instead of focusing so much on the destination. Accepting that perfection is not real. Being consistent, trusting the process, and doing it for happiness and joy above all.
All of this is so much easier said than done, but I am constantly learning and re-learning these lessons in dance and in life.
Q. What else would you like to add?
A. I would just strongly encourage anyone reading this to pursue their passions for the joy of it. If there's something you'd love to learn, go forth and learn it! It's never too late to start something that would bring happiness to your life.
When we're learning something new, especially dance in particular, it's easy to feel frustrated and discouraged by everything we can't do or everything we are not, and we lose sight of everything we can do and everything we are. It's easy to get lost in comparison and feeling like we are not enough.
So it's important to connect back with the positive reasons for our practice. To tune back into ourselves and into how the act of dancing makes us feel, the way that it benefits our body, our mind and our spirit.
Q. What do you currently have in progress?
A. Absolutely! Any of the classes that are currently being offered on www.sharqidance.com.
To get the lastest on what Yame is doing, follow her on Instagram @yameyameyame!
