Bert Balladine -- please tell me this is just a bad rumor!

PracticalDancer

PracticalDancer

New member
All,

I have not confirmed what I have heard; I only have an email from a reliable teacher in my area with sad news. Sorry to be vague; but, I do not want to post anything that may be false. Has anyone heard any confirmed news of Bert Balladine in the last day or so?

I ask because, while I have not had a chance to study with him, many of the dancers I respect have. I am only beginning to learn of his talents, and I hope to learn more.

Regards,

Anala
 
Tarik Sultan

Tarik Sultan

New member
Anala said:
All,

I have not confirmed what I have heard; I only have an email from a reliable teacher in my area with sad news. Sorry to be vague; but, I do not want to post anything that may be false. Has anyone heard any confirmed news of Bert Balladine in the last day or so?

I ask because, while I have not had a chance to study with him, many of the dancers I respect have. I am only beginning to learn of his talents, and I hope to learn more.

Regards,

Anala
Click to expand...

Yes its true. He'd been in a pretty poor state of health for at least 10 years. He will surely be missed by all who knew him. I never worked with him or studied with him, but those I've met who have said that he gave 110% of himself to his students and partners. Wish there were more like him.
 
shiradotnet

shiradotnet

Well-known member
Here is the text of the email I received last night from Pat Taylor:

Roman "Bert" Balladine has passed away. I do not know the
circumstances surrounding his passing.

This legendary performer and teacher of bellydance survived a
concentration camp to become the single most influential figure in
bellydance throughout the world. A professional dancer in Europe, he
lived in Egypt, performing with Egyptian stars, Tahia Caryoka and
Samia Gamal. When he moved to California, he began teaching
bellydance. He was credited with spreading bellydance to over a
million students in California in the Seventies. In time, he was
honored by then-Governor Ronald Reagan for his work in popularizing
the dance form.

His contributions to the art are too numerous to mention in this short
communication, so soon after the news of his death. Any memories and
information that you have about Bert would be deeply appreciated. We
will mourn his passing and dance in his joyous memory.

"You are breast-taking, dah'ling!"--Bert

He was a friend, and I will very much miss him. As Tarik said, he has been in poor health for many years, so this is not a surprise.
 
Tarik Sultan

Tarik Sultan

New member
Salome said:
Bert Balladine passed? :(
Click to expand...

Yes, night before last. Although I knew he was very sick, I kind of expected him to keep going. Believe it or not, he actually died a few years back, but he was revived.... I guess I kind of expected him to keep bouncing back. He is a legend and pioneer for the dance in America and he will be missed. Did you ever get the chance to meet him?
 
PracticalDancer

PracticalDancer

New member
GS has also posted a brief notice (Memorial to Bert Balladine | Belly Dance News & Events). While I trust my source, I had hoped it was not true. Ironically, I was reading the Jan/Feb 2009 edition of WAMEDA yesterday morning (before I got the email). In it was a picture of Amaya and Bert. As I looked at it, I thought to myself how highly respected he was -- and yet, I knew so little about him. I made a flickering resolution to learn more "while I still could." I am always deeply unsettled when those thoughts are followed by news like this.

To those of you who were fortunate to know him, please have my deepest sympathy.

Regards,

Anala
 
Last edited:
Leyla Amir

Leyla Amir

New member
His charm and funny wit will be sorley missed. I had the opportunity many years ago to take one of his classes. He was a true pioneer in the US dance field and brought much love of the dance to many.

Leyla Amir
 
sabrinabellydancer

sabrinabellydancer

New member
he will truly be missed. he was warm and charming, and very serious while teaching. i was fortunate to take some classes with him when i was a baby dancer. he was so professional and demanded nothing less of his students. i was very impressed with his precision an emotion, even in the smallest details. he blessed our dance communities by sharing his wealth of knowledge and his kind heart. may he rest in peace.
 
Aisha Azar

Aisha Azar

New member
Bert Balladine

Dear Gang,
I took one workshop with Bert Balladine and saw him perform numerous times. I saw him treat dancers very badly at times and thought he was a bit of a mysogynist. I did not think he was a great dancer, but I thought that he did bring one amazing gift to the dance. He understood how to bring out the best in the dancers with whom he danced. He knew how to frame a woman to make her appear as beautiful as possible on stage. I saw him do this almost every time he danced with someone, even when the female partner of the moment might not be very talented herself. He made each dancer feel special, and look special to their audiences.

As a teacher, he was rather abusive at times. But he also probably experienced a lot of frustration trying to get dancers to move beyond movement into a deeper understanding of what they were supposed to be doing. He was one of the few in his time who did that with any consistency.

He was also big enough to admit it when he made a mistake, which I greatly respect. The first time we met was in a class situation and he accused me of not knowing anything about Egyptian dance; this before he had seen me dance or even move in a classroom!! He purposely hung around after my show to tell me he had seen me perform and that I did indeed have a deep understanding of the style and danced it as it should be danced. He also added "You don't know how many people say they are dancing Egyptian and are not." We ended up having a long and gratifying chat. He also was a wonderful and funny gossip, and I heard a few great stories from him that evening.
I will not make him into a saint because he is dead. I will say that I had a certain respect for what he was able to pass on and I feel that he added a richness to the American dance scene. As he once said to me, "Not bad for a poor old farmer, hunh?"
with respect for Bert,
A'isha
 
Last edited:
Jane

Jane

New member
How sad. He had the most wonderful stage presence. That man could really fill a room with energy. I got to take one of his workshops at Rakkasah. Yeah he yelled at me once, but I deserved it. I have an autographed photo and he also signed my copy of "Bert's Baladi" CD. He spelled my name wrong- twice. :lol:

Did he ever release any instructional DVDs?
 
A

AngieDawn

New member
Very Sad

A long time ago, my family was stationed in Berlin, Germany. My instructor, Lisa DeForrest, aka: KaLisa, was so happy to have Bert Balladine come to our class and give us one lesson. I will never forget it, and how seriously he took both myself, and my sister Peggy. (We were only about 8 and 10 years old at the time.) I had the pleasure of meeting him, and knowing that he really wanted us to continue our lessons. I am sad to know he's passed.
 
Azeeza

Azeeza

New member
I have a video tape of him dancing with a lady. Her name slips my mind at this time (could be Amaya), however I do remember seeing a documentary in black and white where he is teaching a bunch of young dancers which looked to be in the 1970's. I don't know if I have the footage or if someone loaned the video to me. I might own it actually.

So sad,

Azeeza
 
A

AngieDawn

New member
I imagine he helped many children over the years. He was very kind to us, and I cherish the memory. It was very encouraging to have not only his instruction, but as I mentioned before, he took us so seriously. (Which was good, because we were incredibly serious about our dancing.)
 
PracticalDancer

PracticalDancer

New member
Azeeza said:
I have a video tape of him dancing with a lady. Her name slips my mind at this time (could be Amaya), however I do remember seeing a documentary in black and white where he is teaching a bunch of young dancers which looked to be in the 1970's. I don't know if I have the footage or if someone loaned the video to me. I might own it actually.

So sad,

Azeeza
Click to expand...

Azeeza,

There are some clips here on the forum (http://www.bellydanceforums.net/video-clips-youtube/7494-1970s-san-francisco.html) that may be the video you are thinking of. And, in a stroke of ironic timing, the last post was by a gent who announced that he ad re-released the video for sale; this post was 2 days after Bert's passing. :shok:

Regards,

Anala
 
Shanazel

Shanazel

Moderator
First Serena Wlson, now Bert Balladine. The old guard passes. Does anyone know what has become of Juliana, the dancer who was on so many Amerabian record albums in the seventies?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top