For this week’s Tuesday Tease, we divert from our usual focus on burlesque to pay tribute to the legendary belly dancer Serena Wilson (often known by her stage name “Serena”) who, sadly, passed away on June 17, 2007. We recognize her on the eve of what would have been her 79th birthday. I know a lot of burlesque dancers also double as belly dancers and Serena is largely responsible for legitimizing belly dance as a valid art form. No small feat in the misogynist 1960s! Surely the efforts of the neo-burlesque scene to do the same owe a large debt to Serena for helping to pave the way.

Born in the Bronx on August 8, 1933 as Serene Blake, she was brought up in a family of performers. Her parents were vaudeville performers and as a young girl, Serena performed in musical and comedic routines as part of her parents show, Blake & Blake. Her mother was born in Budapest, so was familiar with what was then called “Oriental Dance.” She enlisted her 7-year old daughter in dance classes with the legendary Ruth St. Denis, a modern dance pioneer who is now recognized for introducing Eastern-style techniques into the art form.

When Serena was 19, she married Dixieland band leader and percussionist, Alan “Rip” Wilson. It is said that Serena’s performance career began when Alan’s band was hired for a performance that required a belly dancer. The band adapted their Dixieland repertoire to include musical renditions of Middle Eastern-inspired numbers and Serena, calling on her training with Ruth St. Denis, improvised her own version of Oriental dance, using a water jug as a prop.

Soon afterwards, belly dance became popular in New York as more Middle Eastern restaurants opened throughout the city and Serena decided to pursue dancing full-time. Here’s a quote from a 1960 edition of Variety, documenting the belly dance craze that was hitting the Big Apple at the time:

“New York’s version of the Casbah is becoming one of the faster growing forms of nightclubbing. The belly dancer once relegated to the burlesque circuits and carnies is now in her glory in the cafes. The section is a bit of old cultures and customs that have obtained a foothold in New York. It is attracting many of those who used to go to Harlem for off beat entertainment, and who seek some of the more unusual aspects of night life.” [1]

In the mid-60s, Serena opened her own dance studio and began teaching the next generation of American belly dancers. In the 1970s she had her own TV show, and began introducing the American public to the beauty and grace of belly dance. She also wrote two well-respected books on belly dance: “The Serena Technique of Belly Dancing” and “The Belly Dance Book.” Serena’s popularity continued to soar into the early 90’s until the first Gulf War began to sour the American public’s taste for Middle Eastern culture.

That said, belly dance thrives to this day and we can thank Serena for its success. We are ticketing some great belly dance events, festivals, conventions and retreats and we encourage all of you to experience this beautiful art form in-person, either as a participant or an observer. When you do, remember Serena and the incredible contribution she made to modern American dance.

Thursday, August 16 I Go Eat Give – Destination Morocco – Atlanta, Georgia

Friday, August 17 I Cincinnati Belly Dance Convention – Cincinnati, Ohio

Wednesday, August 22 & Thursday, August 23 I Emerald Sanctuary Belly Dance Retreat – Coulee City, Washington

Friday, August 24 to Sunday, September 2 I The 6th Annual MixMatch Dance Festival – Santa Monica, California

Saturday, September 1 I Chifferobe and Vanity Present BOUDOIR – Providence, Rhode Island

[1] Quote courtesy of the Gilded Serpent website and Adam Lahm’s book “Looking Back: The New York Middle Eastern Dance Scene,” Arabesque 9/4 (November/December 1983) 6-7, 18-19.