Lighting the Fuze

by A.D. Amorosi

DANCE

Attorney by day, dancer by night, Azhia has long been a proponent of the art of belly dance. The Phoenix native has been accorded attention from the noted Dance Cooperative (who gave her its first-ever Josephine Baker Award) as well as director Philip Mallory Jones, who featured Azhia in his First World Order show's testimony to the philosophical and cultural aspects of the African diaspora. She integrates Asian, Lebanese, Turkish and Egyptian forms of dance as well as flamenco, West African and bharat natyam (South Indian classical) into her work. It's that fusion — and her talents in tap, jazz, modern jazz, West African, Hawaiian, Filipino folk and hip-hop --that brought her to the attention (and "progression," she says) of Bill Koutsouros of the multigenre musical troupe Animus. "We each have solid backgrounds, but we've also picked up different ethnic styles along the way and have learned to blend them and come up with a unique performance," she says.

That and other performances and workshops are the heart of FuzeFest: bringing together a variety of dance and musical artists in order to educate and expose each other — and perhaps new students — to fused forms. Each participant will learn basic, but specific, rhythm and movement combinations from a variety of regions (West Africa, South India, Latin America, Middle East) and learn how to blend them to create a synergistic whole. Azhia says, "It's easy to throw together a bunch of different sounds and dance combinations, but it takes skill to flawlessly blend everything together while maintaining the integrity of each culture."

FuzeFest, with Azhia, Kim Rollins, Animus, Zeva Soroker and others, Sat., Aug. 7, 3:30-6:30 p.m. workshops, $40, 8 p.m. performance, free, The Rotunda, 4014 Walnut St., 215-573-3234 or e-mail gina@foundationarts.org for info or workshop discount coupon.