by Ely Buffin
& Patricia Krikorian

Between now and Rogue Festival 2014 we will be featuring several of the performers who will be at this year’s festival, so keep watching for more! Also, we have a preview of the Festival itself in today’s issue. And if that wasn’t enough, we will have show reviews and video interviews during this year’s Rogue Festival. So keep an eye on our Arts & Entertainment section to catch them all! Also check out our Rogue Performer Event page for fliers and press releases for more of the performers!

This is Ananka’s 12th happy year performing at the Rogue Festival. Although the Ananka Dance Co. performs in classical ethnic and cabaret belly dance, during the Rogue …the favorite is “Fantasy Spirit”…dancing with beautiful belly dance techniques and capturing moments in a variety of themes in a variety of ways. This year, we have the creative challenge in bringing, in dance, ‘Moments in Myths and Mythology.’ There will be characters and creatures you will know and some that you might not know. We do not try to emulate the characters, exactly as an encyclopedia might, but how the dancer might fantasize them. It’s all in fun…and once in a while, an ‘out of the box’ surprise will happen.

Ananka Dance Co. at Fresno Fair

Ely Buffin, the founder and director of Ananka Dance Company, has had the performance ‘bug’ all her life. She produced and performed in her first program when she was in the second grade. Ely founded Ananka Dance Company in 1989 and has taught a variety of dances to all ages. Before teaching belly dance she taught ballet, jazz, modern, ballroom and Afro Cuban. Not only does she love the beauty of this middle eastern dance form, she likes the fact that you can enjoy dance and express without having to have a partner.

When she is not teaching her classes at the Brass Unicorn or Diana’s Studio of Dance, Ely is planning and creating for the next Rogue. Shortly after the Rogue ends, the creative juices are flowing to create the next year’s Rogue show. The Rogue Festival offers Ely the opportunity to take the traditional belly dance movement and patterns beyond the traditional and add a bit of fantasy. This is when Ely can incorporate all the dance forms she has taught throughout her life. This makes for a very interesting, entertaining show along with all the costume changes by all the performers. A lot of effort is put into designing and creating the costumes as well as set design and choreography.

A dance scholarship at Fresno City College Dance Department for all types of dancers was established in her name. It is called the Ely Buffin Ananka “dare to dance” Company Scholarship. Since being inspired by the movie The Red Shoes she has HAD to dance and has encouraged any and all of her students…TO DARE TO DANCE.

Ananka’s performance dates and times are as follows: Friday – February 28 at 9:30 p.m., Sunday -March 2 at 5 p.m. Thursday- March 6 at 9:30 p.m. and Friday-March 8 at 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. We will be dancing at Diana’s Dance Studio, 826 N. Fulton, Fresno, California. This is a G rated performance and tickets are 10 Rogue Bucks ($10).
HOPE YOU CAN JOIN US!