Meet Tiffany Madera: Dance Scholar, Filmmaker, Performer & Producer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Tiffany Madera and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tiffany, is there something you can share with us that those outside of the industry might not be aware of?
As far as my industry I navigate between different worlds creating my own niche. Specifically, Raks Baladi dance (known as bellydance), social practice and documentary film. Raks Baladi goes by different names for a myriad of reasons including patriarchy, colonialism and imperialism. The dance and performance style is wrought with conflict from within the cultures of origin as well as its globalization. That tension lends to a powerful aesthetic offering when a dancer fully embraces the politics of the dance and owns her body. Because of the commercial aspect of Raks Baladi, most outsiders are unaware of how political the dance form is, and how it is a stand for women’s liberation, creativity and agency. This takes on different meanings across cultures. Honoring the women of the cultures of origin of the dance and using an intersectional feminist framework is central to my work. More concretely, pushing aesthetic boundaries of the craft from a performance studies perspective while centering the context of Egyptian cultural norms is a unique and fascinating challenge I explore across disciplines.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My art centers around Egyptian Baladi dance (bellydance) and film. As a Cuban American multidisciplinary artist, I have set out to put Baladi in conversation with other African diasporic art forms particularly women’s dances in the Caribbean. In the spirit of Maya Deren, documentary and dance for camera work inspires me to look deeper at intercultural connection anchored in the female body. This has not been an easy path. Baladi is a beautiful art form that exists within a complex social, economic and political universe in its countries of origin. My work to connect that context in a global and local contemporary art framework has its challenges as it weaves very complicated themes of identity, gender, violence and culture. I am most proud of my large scale multi year projects like Havana Habibi and Dancing my Mother’s Body that looks at personal ethnography and storytelling as a means to ask and answer big questions through our bodies and movement. One of the ways I seek to address these questions is my implicating myself in the work. Sharing my story and how I’ve overcome violence builds trust with my audiences. My brand which aims to empower women through dance and film is concretely based in personal experience.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I definitely have go to’s that I visit weekly or monthly. First we would bike ride the Miami Beach Boardwalk from Faena to South Pointe Park. We’d grab lunch (fried chicken and caesar salad for me) at Joe’s take out and enjoy it overlooking the water at South Pointe Park. Another day would include boating and my favorite spot- Shuckers for chicken wings. My favorite happy hour is at the Butcher Shop in Wynwood or Lulu’s in the Grove. A visit to Little Haiti Cultural Center and visiting the studios of Carl Juste and Eduard Duval Carrie are an absolute must. Without fail, we’d spend a day at PAMM and have lunch outside at Verde relishing the outdoor space while meeting up with friends and finding treasures at the gift shop. If we’re lucky there will be a wall cast at the Symphony or anything by Rhythm Foundation at the Bandshell to move to. A perfect moment on any day is a cafecito at El Exquisito and Cuban ice cream at Azucar on calle ocho. Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My Shoutout is dedicated to my grandmother and mother. My grandmother Pita was a social worker and one of the people that nurtured and cared for the unaccompanied Peter Pan children arriving in the U.S. during the Cuban Revolution. My mother, a psychologist, also dedicated her career to serving children and immigrants and was part of the medical team that supported Cuban migrants during the rafter crisis. Both of these women instilled a sense of love of the Cuban people, as well as a sense of duty and service to the empowerment and healing of the community.

Website: www.hananarts.org
Instagram: havanahabibi
Twitter: HavanaHabibi
Facebook: Hanan Arts- Havana Habibi
Youtube: Havana Habibi

Image Credits
red veil – Omni Kizzy Pink costume- Tall Rickards workshop- Hanan Arts performance shot- Jayme Gershen
Beatriz Ricco