Serena Wilson

Serena Wilson was the godmother of belly dancing in America. She passed away in 2007 at age 73. 

For the the better part of four decades Wilson performed at major concert venues in the United States, Europe and the Middle East, bringing respectability to a tradition that was previously scorned by many as low brow or burlesque. 


The legendary Serena Wilson


 In Egypt, Wilson was revered as an "artiste". Her credentials were impressive, including numerous appearances with the New York Opera Company as lead dancer in "Aida." When the Metkal Kenawi musicians of Egypt made their only New York appearance, she was the dancer they invited to perform with them.

In her later years, Wilson had choreographed the Egyptian folkloric show at Club Ibis, a lavish Egyptian nightclub in New York. A critic with Dance Magazine once wrote that her performance was "Better than anything I saw in the Middle East."

The Village Voice,  in a review of Wilson's troupe's performance at the Lincoln Center in 2001, wrote that  "Her dancers, working those rhumba, chiftetelli, and kashlimar rhythms, showed classic Serena training -- elegant carriage, willowy arms and hips that make tiny flicks like a clock's second hand." 

Here is a poem written by Wilson to be read as a prelude to her dancing:

I am a woman, wrapped in chiffon and jewels,
Thin silks and girdle of gold. I stretch my arms...
The embrace encompasses a universe.
I can control a quiver in my hips, Tell a thousand stories with my eyes,
Skip with child-like glee, the smile of experience on my lips.
Glide in innocence, endure with age.
Spin like a dervish; undulate in sensuality...
Excite, promise, create, change, tease, mock,
Unveil my passion.
Untiringly seduce the world as I move my body, For I am a woman... I am the dancer.

 

Here is a video of Wilson dancing: