Amira
By: Alice Castilow
ABILITY is what you're capable of doing.
MOTIVATION determines what you do.
ATTITUDE determines how well you do it.
--Lou Holtz
After five children (last couple were twins), Alice had to
get out of the house to vent her creative urge. Alice went
back to ballet and took her three daughters with her.
Quickly brushing up on technique she was soon performing as
a soloist with the Wichita Civic Ballet.
 With two other ballet teachers they incorporated
Metropolitan Ballet Co, Inc. Alice served as ballet
mistress, choreographer, soloist, and Associate Artistic
Director. Deep into board meetings, fund raising, costumes
and set design, she still found time to dance.
At this point Alice became interested in the belly dance fad
that was sweeping the country in the 1970's. Alice danced
the Arabian solo in The Nutcracker Ballet every year at
Christmas. June Landrith, the Artistic Director, told Alice
that she looked so natural in the part, that she should take
up belly dance to make extra income.
Upon investigating available teachers, Alice went to
California to take instruction from an authentic teacher in
early 1974. By spring, Alice adopted the name of Amira and
hung out her shingle on the studio, but continued with her
beloved ballet also. In 1975, a librarian took a
subscription notice of Arabesque to her belly dance
instructor, Amira. Amira promptly send for the magazine and
upon receiving the first issue, announced to her husband
that she was going to NYC to study with Ibrahim Farrah.
Amira sublet an apartment and accompanied her daughter and
another young ballet dancer to the Big Apple for the summer.
The teens went off to classes at the American Ballet Theater
and Amira immersed herself in studies with Bobby Farrah,
staying in NYC for two months, absorbing two-hour classes
everyday.
Bobby was impressed with this little ballet dancer from
Kansas and besides classes everyday, he showered her with
information. He gave her many important educational
materials and sent her to the NYC Public Library to view old
moving pictures of Fatima filmed by Thomas Edison in 1897
and other important manuscripts and early magazines from the
archives of the Orientalist age.
This was the turning point in Amira's dance career. She
found a dance art worth of her dedication and enthusiasm.
Amira had encouraged her three daughters to study ballet and
now, her daughters were deep into Middle Eastern dance arts,
giving them common ground to be together.
Amira's oldest daughter, Lettie was soon to turn 18 and
graduate from high school. Amira wrote Bobby asking him to
accept her daughter, Lettie as a working scholarship
student. Lettie was already a ballet veteran of ten years
from the finest of teachers with two years of Middle Eastern
from her mother.
Bobby named her Mish Mish B'int Amira and fondly referred to
Mish Mish as his adopted daughter; claiming that he found
her on his doorstep.
After two years of hard work Mish Mish, became a dancers and
soloist in Bobby's Near East Dance Group.
 Amira continued to grow and develop her dancers in Wichita,
Kansas and some dancers would move away and become teachers,
while others joined the ranks in Wichita with Amira.
Amira taught dance workshops throughout the Mid West. The
Christmas of 1997 was a dark one for Amira, for she was
diagnosed with breast cancer in both breasts and was
informed that her best chance of survival was to have a
bilateral radical mastectomy (removal of both breasts).
Following the surgery, Amira took six months of
chemotherapy. Amira's dancers gathered very closely around
her as if to shield her from any other misfortune that
should befall her. Amira's dancers organized a breast cancer
fund-raising event, "Middle Eastern Dance Magic," giving two
stunning performances of her works and choreographing of her
staging. Amira underwent breast reconstruction and now, has
completed 4 1/2 years of being cancer free and was recently
given a release from her oncologist. Amira, at age 62, has
since resumed a full schedule of training dancers and
performing.
On her fall itinerary, she is on the agenda in Kansas City
for Siham Ali. Last year Amira completed workshops for Judy Cunninham in Mo. and Hibeeba in Oklahoma City. Amira's
daughter, Mish Mish Bint Amira, along with Phaedra, Jajouka,
and Sumara taught Ibrahim Farrah's choreography in a
week-long intensive seminar in NYC on July 29 - August 4,
2001 at Hunter College, of which Mish Mish is alumna.
Epilogue
By: Terri Dirks
When Amira informed us, her students, that she had been
diagnosed with breast cancer, we were in complete and total
shock. How could this happen to someone we all love and
respect so much? We now know how anyone receiving this news
feels. We all tried very hard to be strong for Amira and not
break down and cry but, tears filled our eyes anyway and we
silently held Amira and each other and prayed. We had no way
of knowing how difficult this journey would be for Amira,
and ourselves. Not only would Amira go through drastic
surgery resulting in the loss of both of her breasts, but
she would also endure the torture of chemotherapy and a very
painful reconstruction process.
During her battle, Amira bravely continued teaching classes
when she could with the help of her assistant instructors,
Amitra, Dasara, Safira Zeki and Sheba, who kept the classes
going when she was unable to teach.
We have all seen the pink ribbons that people wear to
encourage breast cancer awareness, but have you ever worn
one on your costume?
Our annual studio show was just a very short time after
Amira's announcement and Amira would be going into surgery
the Monday after our show. Every dancer there wore a pink
ribbon to show their love and support for Amira and, the
American Legion hall where the show was held was packed. The
size of Amira's very supportive 'fan club' proved to be
quite immense. Before the dust had settled on the annual
show, the students were 'on fire' and plans were in the
process for a breast cancer benefit show.
We contacted the American Cancer Society and made
arrangements to hold our show in the auditorium of the First
United Methodist Church in the downtown Wichita.
 Any and all equipment that was needed for the show was
unselfishly rented or bought by Amira's own students.
husbands and boyfriends jumped in to lend a hand wherever
they were needed.
Lights, sound, special effects, curtains and announcing, all
handled by friends and family of her students. Even Amira
herself, in between chemotherapy sessions, managed the
production of the program. And it was quite a program!
It started with an opening number that had dancers rising
from a fog covered floor, to unique lighting tricks and
strobe lights.
Every dance was beautifully choreographed with Amira's
gifted expertise evident in every performance. Amira's
"Middle Eastern Dance Magic" was a success, with all
proceeds going towards the fight against breast cancer.
Amira is a survivor. She proved to all of us her ability
to endure, her motivation to overcome, and her
wonderfully positive attitude..
Anyone can be a survivor, but it makes survival a little
easier when family and friends pull together to lend all of
their love and support.
I'm sure every dancer out there is as loyal to their teacher
as we are to Amira. We are more than simply proud of Amira.
We are in awe! Her beauty, her strength, and her love of
life inspire us daily. Amira's students (as well Amira
herself, I'm sure) encourage you and all the women you know
and love to have a mammogram. Wear your pink ribbons. Buy up
all the breast cancer awareness stamps the post office has
left. And make any donation you can to your local American
Cancer Society towards the fight against breast cancer.
kindly reprinted with permission from Jareeda. |
