Bellyful of praise for a tiny dancer from Cape Flats
AT age eight Zoe Harker is as accustomed to dishing out autographs to her Grade 2 classmates as she is to doing the shimmy.
Zoe, with her signature curly hair, is the youngest South African belly dancer to perform on the international stage. She has been dancing since the age of four at Aphrodite Belly Dance Studio in Strandfontein, Cape Town.
In March this year, she travelled overseas for the first time, with a pit stop in the belly dancing capital of Turkey, to participate as a guest performer in the Orientalisches Tanzfestival Stuttgart in Germany.
“She was treated like a celebrity from the moment she stepped onto Turkish Airlines,” said Zoe’s mother, Natasha Harker.
“In Turkey, people stopped her in the road wanting to touch her hair. She was treated like a royal celebrity. She just wants to travel now,” said Harker, who jokes about not having a “single rhythmic bone in her body”, unlike her daughter.
For Zoe, dancing is what she does for fun for about four hours a week. She also does karate and plays netball and, like other children her age, likes watching the Disney Channel.
The choice between dancing or school is easy — she loves performing and wants to become a dance teacher some day. But her dance teacher and parents make sure that she does well in both.
“I like the music and the rhythm and the costumes,” said Zoe.
She lugs around a Pocahontas suitcase filled with makeup and belly dancing accessories.
Upon returning from her international trip she appeared in the local newspaper in Mitchells Plain, which elevated her celebrity status among her friends at school.
“They stuck my newspaper article on the wall outside class. The children asked for my au- tograph,” she said.
Her dance teacher, Stephanie Singh, who started Aphrodite Belly Dance Studio, teaches about 300 students. Her youngest student is four.
Singh said she believed the dance was a major confidence booster for girls. And Zoe oozed confidence and talent, said Singh.
“She picks up moves very quickly and has an ear for music. She has done a few South African championships and is more professional than most dancers . . . When she needs to be on that stage she carries herself so well,” said Singh.
During her visit to Turkey, Zoe had the chance to meet Sema Yildiz, 80, who is regarded as the guru of belly dancing.
Zoe sometimes fuses karate moves with her belly dancing intros and finishes.
With a unique dance style come unique costumes, which are pricey. Harker pays about R1 200 for one costume.
“It is stressful as a parent . . . apart from the time constraints, it does put a lot of strain on you financially,” said Harker.
Singh said she believed that the dance style was gaining greater recognition. In 2017, belly dancing will be a category in ballroom dancing competitions. BELLE DANCERS: Zoe Harker performs with her belly dancing classmates in Strandfontein
They stuck my newspaper article on the wall. Children asked for my autograph