On a nondescript street not far from downtown Asheville sits a gray concrete building reminiscent of an old factory. Signs for several businesses hang outside, including one for the Future of Tradition Center for Folkloric Arts- an intriguing name in and of itself. Up the stairs and to the left, through a heavy door lies the Center - a vibrant, welcoming place full of kinetic energy and enchanting people, belying the bleakness of the exterior. This is the home of Baraka Mundi, a Middle East performing group that currently includes six dancers and 3 live musicians (oud/winds, bazooki/drums, and percussion). Onca, who is the director of Baraka Mundi and cofounder (along with her husband Draven) of the Future of Tradition Center for Folkloric Arts, embodies the spirit of the Center and its mission.
When I first met Onca, she was five months pregnant with her first child. I had journeyed from the Triangle to Asheville to attend a workshop that Onca and the Center were sponsoring: Maja, the Girl from the Nile was teaching both Goddess arms and Arab-Spanish fusion sessions. To my surprise and complete delight, Onca participated fully not only in the workshop, but also danced that night at the hafla (performing feats that I wouldn’t attempt even when not pregnant!) Her beauty as a dancer, the powerful way she moved, her complete grace, dignity and charisma were electrifying. More importantly to me, however, was the warm and welcoming reception Onca provided to each participant in the workshop. She made us feel as if the Center were our home for the day, and that we were all sisters in dance regardless of our ability, age or background. I knew I had to know more about Onca, her background, philosophy and aspirations. I think you will feel the same once you get to know her. By the way, the last time I saw Onca, she was three weeks away from delivering her baby, and she was still dancing gracefully and powerfully. I was amazed!
Onca started her movement training in Capoeira Angola, “a folkloric dance/martial art rooted in Afro-Brazilian culture” which “demands that anyone worth teaching the art to is willing to learn not just the movement, but the making and playing of traditional instruments, the oral history and songs, the culture and the Brazilian-Portuguese language.” This sense of total commitment is about “immersion and soulful participation rather than putting your most presentable (i.e. graceful, musical or whatever) self forward". Onca has attempted to adopt this holistic approach to Middle Eastern dance as well. In fact, “Onca” (AWN-sah), which means “cat” in Brazilian Portuguese, is a carry-over from her days when she was actively involved in this art form. The name suits her perfectly on many levels: she moves with the fluidity and fierceness of a cat; her eyes are cat-like in their depth and penetrating gaze; several cats even padded about the Center the first time I visited, adding to its home-like ambiance.
The seeds of Onca’s interest in Middle Eastern dance were planted as a child. “Since I first saw ‘Claude the Bod’ dance at a community pig roast ... (ME dance) seemed exotic and powerful, proactive and bold.” Upon moving to Asheville about five years ago, Onca started to take classes with Mahsati (aka Ryan Cate), and these seeds began to come to fruition. Mahsati’s advice, “dance no matter what- don’t let life or money or anything else keep you from dancing” resonated particularly strongly with Onca. “My husband and I were living in a yurt off the grid (no electric, etc.) and money was a very real obstacle in my pursuit of the arts ... (Mahsati) let me work off my classes so that I could afford to train, and this is a practice that I have continued to this day with my own students who need it.” When Mahsati moved to the Middle East three years later, Onca suddenly found herself in the role of teacher. She has striven since then to “give it my all. It is a piece of my vocation in life to share and model strength (and self-love!) to others through dance.”
Through her travels and exposure to different styles, Onca settled upon tribal as the style that suited her best. The “fierce and bold” costuming, the “earthy empowerment” of tribal all contributed to it being her genre of choice. Rather than performing strict American Tribal Style (a form started on the west coast), Baraka Mundi has chosen to adopt a “tribal ‘feel’ with an emphasis on both improv and choreography; folky, group-centered, but ‘blending the best and leaving the rest’,” a style that has evolved more recently in the southeast United States. Baraka Mundi, which started as Tribe Om, is a professional group of highly talented performers who bring this style to brilliant life. The fact that the troupe includes live musicians is integral to its identity. “We crave the interaction with real musicians who can co-create with you!... It is an awesome commitment to work with a group, and the demands of costuming, rehearsing, traveling to train... are daunting to folks who think it may be ‘fun’ to be in a troupe. It’s fun for sure and a serious undertaking ... Our pieces are very loosely structured ... but are improv at the root ... the hardest part of improv work is that everyone needs to give up some of their self-centeredness as a performer and learn to improvise as a group... to function as a tribe in other words!” What Onca endeavors to convey in her teaching is that this is an egalitarian dance form, “that it’s not about being young or pretty or tan or ethnic looking or female, or even graceful, but rather about growing through respecting and experiencing the most liberating aspects of this international culture.”
The Future of Tradition Center for Folkloric Arts exists, in part, because of Onca and Draven’s interest in integrating other cultures, ethnicities and traditions into the Asheville community. Draven came up with both the name for the center and that of Baraka Mundi (in my research, I found that 'baraka' means 'blessings' and "mundi means 'world'.) Together they envisioned “a place where many different art forms could come together under one roof, stimulating and informing each other, and helping awareness of the global village to grow.” A true combination of inspiration and perspiration, the center has been operating for just over a year, and accomplishing much of what Onca and Draven had hoped for. They offer weekly classes in belly dance, fencing, capoeira, african, swing, yoga, and zydeco as well as seminars in sacred geometry and periodic middle eastern workshops featuring such performers as Maja, Zafira, and Khafif. Currently, they also sponsor classes for children as well as midwives “interested in sharing the healing and toning movements with their clients.” In short, as Onca says, “the possibilities are endless!”
Currently, Onca is on sabbatical, awaiting the birth of her child. (In fact, by the time you read this he may already have been born.) She and Draven plan on naming him Zeyn “as in the classic arabic folk song I Ya Zeyn that our group performs regularly, which is about a beautiful warrior, Zeyn, in his flower garden.” Lucky Zeyn, about to be born and nurtured in a beautiful garden of his own, one blossoming with endless possibilities.
About the author: Sashi (aka Patti Beaman) is a member of Blue Moon Belly Dance, and lives
in Apex with her wonderfully supportive and loving family: husband Brian, daughters Sara and
Emily, and her dog Casey. Sashi has been studying belly dance for two years, but wishes it
had been two decades instead.
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