Middle Eastern Dance club performs for Ann’s Choice

By Mark Abromaitis
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

Recently, Ann’s Choice was transformed into a Moroccan dance hall.

Before a sold out crowd, residents and staff joined together and performed a Middle Eastern dance recital on stage complete with sand on the floor and camels painted in the background.

The night was a culmination of months of hard work. But like most things, it was the journey to that evening that taught so much.

A simple plan
Led by Resident Life Director Diane Lasichak, the 22 residents who participated in the class started out just practicing the dance movements. During each class, Lasichak would teach the group a little more about each dance’s country of origin.

But it was a dinner trip to a local family-owned Moroccan restaurant, Casablanca in Warring, Pa, that envigorated the group. Almost immediately they branched off and studied the culture and interpretations of the Middle Eastern dance forms in Greece, Lebanon, Turkey, Egypt, and Moracco.

Expanding horizons
“The more we learned, the more we loved it,” Felisa Owen, a resident of Ann’s Choice and a dancer in the production, says. A self-described “fan of linedancing,” Owen joined the Middle Eastern Dance Club as a chance to try something new. “It was an opportunity to learn new cultures and it was just fascinating,” she says. In addition to the multi-cultural experience, Owen said the class was a good form of exercise. “There are a lot of different maneuvers in the dances that get the whole body involved.” She adds, “It’s fun and good for you, too.” Owen described the style of movements used as those similar to belly dancing.

“For many of our residents and staff who participated in the class, it was their first exposure to the music and culture of the Middle East,” Lasichak says. “Once we got the resident group started, many of our staff also wanted to learn the dances and participate in this multi-generational program with the residents.”