I got Isabella and myself ready for the show. We stood looking at ourselves in the mirror admiring our matching costumes. Matching costumes is one of the benefits to having a daughter that dances, so whenever I make myself a costume, Alnisa (who is my costumer) knows that a mini costume will have to also be constructed as well for Isabella. So there we were checking each other out with big smiles on our faces. I had one more task to complete which was a phone call to my mother before we headed down to the stage. I don’t always call my mother before each performance anymore, but tonight was special being that it was our full Bal Anat show being presented in St. Louis for the first time. 

When my mother answered the phone I got a little emotional. I re created Bal Anat for my mother and our legacy in the year 2000. I felt it was very important to bring Bal Anat back since it was the first Tribal dance troupe and inspiration and foundation of what is American Tribal today. Not only is Bal Anat a concept that is in its original form, but under my direction we are also bringing a contemporary vision to it as well. I only wish that my mother could be at each and every performance, but since she will not fly I hold her close to my heart and try to do her justice and make her proud. This night was special since we were able to bring Bal Anat out of California and to the Mid West, which had never been done before. My mother was so happy I called and told me how proud of me she was and through our tears I told her how proud of her I am each day. So after I reapplied more make up since some of it was running down my cheek, Isabella and I headed down to the stage.

A year ago after one of our level 1 three-day workshop in St. Louis, myself, Tiffany, Lois and Ken (our sponsors from Aalim Dance Academy) sat down to dinner. Little did I know that Ken and Lois had ulterior motives with our dinner plans and after drinks were served, Ken began his campaign. They had a vision to bring Bal Anat to St. Louis for the first time. After trying  not spit out my drink I turned to them and said, “are you nuts… no way”! The amount of work that goes into doing a show in California, which is in my backyard, is enormous so to even think of bringing 30 people to St. Louis was out of the question. I was set in my way and NO was the answer no matter how much they offered. NO money in the world could compensate the work that would need to go into the prep for this show let alone the show. But it wasn’t money that changed my mind but years of friendship and love for this couple sitting in front of me. Lois explained that it was Bal Anat that inspired her to begin her dance life and it was her dance life that saved her life. It had always been a dream for Lois and Ken to try and bring Bal Anat to the Mid West and educate people in their area to the history and root of this dance form in America. I held my head down low and felt my heart swell. I couldn’t believe I was actually thinking about it. 

Since money is never the way to get me to “do” anything, they knew just how to manipulate me; through my love for the both of them and the understanding of having dreams and wanting to see them through. I came home from that weekend and we began to plan the first Bal Anat show in St. Louis. I had a year which didn’t feel like much time, but since this show was now becoming personal I felt that an element of creating more family on stage was what would make it fun for me. I agreed to do the show under one stipulation and that was that Lois would have to perform with us. She would fly out and learn the dance that I chose for her and she would go back to her students and teach the capable ones (all being level 1 certified) the routine and then when we arrived in St. Louis for rehearsal we would just insert their dance in the line up. Since the “Suhaila Salimpour Format” is so precise I knew that this would be fine since under her leadership the dance would be clean to my standards. So knowing that Lois could pull it off with her students I began to think that I could ask this of many of my certified students from around the country. 

I (director), Jamila Salimpour (creator and creative consultant), Andre (CEO), Tiffany (assistant director), Rashid (creative consultant and costume designer) sat town and worked out the best strategy in being able to pull off this event. We sent out a mass email to my students that I felt ready for this challenge. Pulling from all over the U.S. I wanted to bring dancers together and teach them one of the routines from Bal Anat and then send them home to practice alone and then come together and look synchronized. Could this be done? Of course it could, since all the dancers were studying my format and have the same understanding of movement. So our Pot dancers were from Seattle, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles and while dancing they looked like they go to the Nile together each day to pick up the water. Our Turkish Gypsy was from New Jersey, and fire/candle was from Michigan. It was our sword dancers that held an emotional connection for me. It was during rehearsal in St. Louis the night before the show that I realized that I was Isabella’s age, when watching Michelle De Vine’s mother (Shukria; producer of Rakkasah Festival) perform with Bal Anat in the early 70’s. Now Isabella was watching the second generation both dance and direct Bal Anat. Michelle and I could hardly look at each other during the rehearsal and performance since tears were hard to have during the sword challenges. Michelle brought her students from New Jersey and took the stage with pride as we both held the legacy for our mothers. 

Bal Anat had also always been a tool for students to grow both in performance and as choreographers. My mother has allowed her top students to choreograph dances in Bal Anat and it was now time for me to pass on this tradition. It was with great pride that gave Tiffany and Kendra the role of choreographing dances for Bal Anat. We worked together in deciding the dance, feel, presentation, music, and costuming. I was totally confident that not only were they ready, but able to create something beautiful for the family. And they did.

During rehearsal Isabella was sitting in the front row watching the show and grooving in her seat. I walked over to her during the sword dance and told her I was her age when I had seen Michelle’s mommy doing the sword dance when Grandma was the director. Then I told her that someday this whole “thing” would be hers and she would become the director. She looked up at me with her big brown eyes and said “really mom…when”? I gave her a huge hug and told her that it means so much to me that she understands what it all means. She just held me tight and asked when she could take over. That’s my girl.

So as the night came closer I looked around the dressing room in awe realizing that we actually pulled it off. All of these amazing women from all over the country came together to respectfully represent their heritage, my family, and beginnings through Bal Anat. The ritual that went into the planning, rehearsals, travel, and production of this show was unbelievable. It was only possible because everyone involved shared the same vision for the right reasons; love and passion and a dream to share. I brought a personal film that was done in 1970 of my mother teaching and Bal Anat. It was a documentary about “Jamila Salimpour” that is a part of my personal possessions. After we screened the film, the eerie sound of the mizmars began to blow from the back of the hall as Bal Anat emerged through the audience and up onto the stage. 

The first gong was heard and Rashid brought our Mother Goddess to the center of the stage. It was Tiffany’s first night of dancing the Mother Goddess routine, which holds a great place in my mothers and my heart. It is a poem that my mother wrote and then choreographed the mime to it. Tiffany was beautiful and her sentiment perfect. I looked down at Isabella and felt this great sense of responsibility. Not only is it my job to prepare her to fly and stand on her own, but in doing that I must create a strong foundation in which to launch from. Bal Anat is that foundation in which we can all launch from. Thank you Jamila, thank you mom, thank you grandma for allowing me the opportunity to carry on your legacy.

As we walked off stage Isabella grabbed me and said “mom, you were on fire tonight… can I learn the dance you just did”? I laughed and said “of course honey…. It’s all yours anyway”.