Strictly Abu Dhabi

Katie Gregory travelled to the United Arab Emirates to meet Joanne Smith, the owner of Abu Dhabi’s first dance school, and the host of a very exotic “Strictly Dance Weekend” with Darren Bennett and Lilia Kopylova

When explaining to friends that I was embarking on a trip to Abu Dhabi I was greeted with mixed responses. One mistook it for Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia. Another presumed it was somewhere in Sweden. Most had no idea where it was, and in the end I resorted to a default response that worked time and time again: “It’s about an hour’s drive from Dubai”.
Instant enlightenment. Even those who were unsure of the exact location at least narrowed it down to the Middle East. And it’s not merely that I choose my friends by their lack of geographical knowledge – despite being the federal capital of the United Arab Emirates, spanning 70 per cent of the entire country, Abu Dhabi has long struggled to emerge from the shadow cast by its extravagant neighbour. A constant influx of expatriates relocating to Dubai to enjoy the benefits of tax-free living and year-round sunshine has served to perpetuate the city’s reputation as an affluent party town. However, with more than US$100 billion worth of developments being built in the capital over the next five years*, the focus is set to shift. It’s Abu Dhabi’s turn in the limelight.

Bordered by Saudi Arabia and Oman, the UAE is made up of seven emirates, and while just 35 years ago the largest of these – Abu Dhabi – was little more than desert, the economic and visual landscape has changed vastly and continues to do so today. Walking around its streets during this period of transition makes for a truly fascinating experience. The modern exists alongside the traditional, the East is juxtaposed against the West – you can just as easily sample authentic Arab coffee in a small local café, or cross the road for a skinny latte at Starbucks. Angular outlines of innumerable high-rise hotels punctuate the skyline – a sharp contrast to the domed roofs of the mosques that nestle at their feet. On closer examination, the gleaming facades of banks and jewellers are covered in a fine coating of dust, a reminder of the all-engulfing desert’s proximity. A mixture of traditional and modern dress further adds to this effect. Emirati men wear the kandoora or dishdasha – a white or light-coloured ankle-length robe with a headdress. For women, clothing stores specifically for abayas – long black robes with a headscarf or veil that entirely covers the face – neighbour lingerie boutiques and Western clothing outlets from Marks and Spencer to Marc Jacobs.
While disconcerting at first, such marked contrasts soon become part of this city’s allure, and a population made up of just 20 per cent Emirati nationals** is testament to this. UK-born Joanne Smith is one of the many expatriates who uprooted to Abu Dhabi for work and fell in love with the city’s unique charm. Thirteen years on, and she’s successfully developed her love of dance into a thriving business that’s not only set her career on a new path, but is further changing the face of this vibrant area in the process.
“I was just fascinated with the place from the start,” beams Joanne, sipping coffee in Abu Dhabi’s Crowne Plaza Hotel. “In the UK everything is rush, rush, rush, but over here the pace of life is just so much more relaxed.” Completely new to the UAE, she quickly settled in to her office job for a large local company, and soon began to look around for dance classes in the area. Unlike the abundant variety she’d left behind in the UK though, finding classes in her new home proved virtually impossible, and after several years of struggling though temporary solutions, Joanne decided to do something about providing a permanent answer. Permits, paperwork, plus a whole lot of leg work later, and in November 2006, Joanne’s dream became a reality when she opened the doors of Expressions of Dance and Drama to the public.

The first thing that becomes apparent when walking into Expressions studio, situated on the 15th floor of a large apartment block in central Abu Dhabi, is an abundance of light. Despite being relatively modest in terms of floor space, the main studio is so flooded with natural light that the size is instantly forgiven. A second studio is similarly well-lit, while a third houses the necessary equipment for Joanne to teach Vertical Flex. The name itself is her own creation, and the read-between-the-lines description on the website – “this is a dance that involves poles” – reveals an understandable reluctance to use its common title. In a country steeped in the traditions and religious codes of Islam, I expected this to have been something of a struggle to facilitate.
“You have to submit a report – a proposal for the business.” Joanne starts. “I didn’t want to not mention it and then get into problems further down the line, so, I detailed exactly what it is – using the pole to develop upper body strength – and they accepted it with no problems at all.”
While in general nine out of ten participants in classes at Expressions are expats, Joanne revealed that five out of six of those signed up for the next Vertical Flex course are in fact Emirati locals.
“I had one lady in the full abaya enquiring about ‘that class’”, she remembers. “I asked her which class she meant and she explained that she wanted to learn to strip for her husband. I told her that’s not what the Vertical Flex class is, but she signed up anyway!”
Another style that has proved immensely popular is ballroom and Latin, and waiting lists for private classes in particular are growing steadily. “The benefit is that you can come along and know that you’re not going to be held back by your partner” Joanne explains. As well as increased pace, I suspect there’s another draw for the ladies, in the form of Greg Ryan – the rather young, tanned and charming instructor. Fresh from a career as a dancer on cruise ships and most recently in Miami, Greg is in charge of the private classes, while Joanne takes care of regular ladies’ sessions. In a city with women-only beaches and parks, where local women are not permitted to dance with or in front of men in public, she has had to adapt the format of partner dance classes, although this certainly hasn’t had a negative effect on the numbers. With “Strictly Come Dancing” a television favourite in the UAE, the resurgence of ballroom and Latin dance has followed the same upward trend as it has in the UK and indeed the rest of the world.
A fan of the show herself, Joanne travelled to Blackpool in 2006 to take part in a workshop with two of the show’s favourites, Darren Bennett and Lilia Kopylova, and while chatting with the pair she mentioned the prospect of hosting a “Strictly Dance Weekend” with themselves as special guests. A year later another of Joanne’s ambitious plans came into fruition, and Darren and Lilia flew over to take part in two days of workshops and a cabaret performance.
The first day of workshops took place at the studio itself, with back-to-back classes from 9am until 5pm. Darren and Lilia guided the eager participants through each class, tweaking finer details of technique – from transfer of weight in waltz, to working through the feet fully in cha cha cha. Married for eight years, the pair have developed a seamless teaching formula – a continuous dialogue, with Lilia’s cheeky banter (To a lone dancer: “Have you lost your partner? Do you want to borrow mine? For a good price I could even sell him to you”) a constant source of amusement.
The workshop participants were made up of a mix of young and old expats, from teenagers to retirees, some local, others who travelled from Dubai and even as far as Qatar. Up in the studio all day I quickly forgot how far away from home I was – reminded only by the inimitable sound of one of five daily calls to prayer ringing through the streets outside. As the locals flocked to the mosques and lined the streets in prayer, up in the lofty heights of the studio, a steady stream of dancers arrived throughout the day to get a glimpse of “Strictly’s” hottest couple, whose arrival had been so much anticipated that even a visiting royal paled into relative insignificance.
“Prince Charles visited the UAE last week” explained Joanne, grinning. “Everyone was saying ‘Did you hear that Prince Charles is coming?’ then, ‘Oh right, but did you hear who’s coming the week after? Darren and Lilia!’”
Yet, despite such a reception, nothing in either of the couple’s demeanours hints at this celebrity status. They’re completely down-to-earth both in classes and in private, and as Lilia explains, “How you see people on ‘Strictly’ is how they are in real life. The show goes on for so long and you’re so tired that you can’t act, you just have to be yourself.”
And the “Strictly Dance Weekend” must have been a fairly tiring one for the pair – on Saturday they taught another full day of classes, this time in the nearby Crowne Plaza Hotel, before appearing as the headline act in an evening gala performance. Dance styles from ballet to belly dance were showcased during a glittering evening of entertainment, and Joanne had clearly pulled out all the stops in the organisation, with sponsorship from big names including Virgin Atlantic and Orbit Satellite, who screen the UK re-runs of “Strictly”, as well as coverage by Ahlan!, the UAE’s biggest-selling celebrity magazine.

As ever, Joanne’s hard work has paid off, as the reams of positive feedback from very satisfied customers on the studio’s website would suggest. The next step for Expressions is a change of venue – as well as outgrowing the current studio, an ever-growing timetable demands more practical changes: “We had a flamenco class recently and of course it’s not exactly ideal for the residents living beneath us – that goes for the tap dance classes too!” she smiles.
To set up a dance school single-handedly whilst holding down a full-time job is challenge enough, but to do so approximately 3,500 miles from home is nothing short of amazing. Joanne’s achievements are the result of a combination of wry ambition, sheer tenacity and careful planning, as well as a passion for dance. She’s already begun discussions for a possible second “Strictly” weekend next year, and has been asked to consider organising a similar event in Dubai. Quite how it can possibly better this debut I don’t know, but I’m certain that without a doubt, somehow, Joanne will find a way.

Visit www.expressions-dance.com for more information, or alternatively
email dancing@emirates.net.ae.

* Time Out Abu Dhabi, March 2007, p16
**  Based on statistics gathered in 2004