Rhea’s Story. Part 2.

“My first gig as a dancer was in September ‘69 at the Taverna Athena in Jack London Square in Oakland, California. Anna Efstathiou taught Greek folk dancing on that night, so I had an opportunity to learn Greek folk dancing in addition to performing for the normal crowd of Greeks, Americans, and tourists. As with all my earlier gigs, this was arranged by my teacher, Jamila Salimpour, with whom I had been taking lessons for a little less than a year. In those days, clubs were the principle venues for an oriental dancer to appear and get recognition. You were not hired unless you could play cymbals. To not do veil or floor work was unheard of; one had to learn it if you wanted to be hired as a professional dancer. Now because there are less clubs to set some kind of standard, people are more into exploring the inner self for self-transformation, rather than pleasing others, which you have to do somewhat if you want to be hired to dance professionally.”

Excerpted from a 2002 interview in Jareeda magazine, in which my mom free wrote responses in her beautiful cursive script to questions submitted to her in writing by Morgana/Meg Smith. I typed up Mom’s responses then, and share them again now because her story is unconventional, unique & inspirational.

Mom felt a primal connection with Greece when she first visited in 1976. The ancient city in particular felt electric, magnetic. True to her instincts - with the exploratory fire of Sagittarius (her sun) and the persistent and practical will of Capricorn (rising)- she lives still in chosen beloved city of Athens, a stone’s throw from the Acropolis.

Photo is from @melinabellydancer personal family archives; photographer unknown (if you know who let me know please).