Margo Abdo O'Dell found that her Lebanese heritage stimulated interest and concern for Middle Eastern arts and issues but initially dissuaded from her pursuing dace as a career. While advancing through corporate America, building a small business, and completing graduate work at the Humphrey Institute, she vigorously studied and performed Middle Eastern dance at every opportunity. She finally left what she once considered "competing and succeeding in the big leagues" to follow her lifelong passion. Today, Margo is known as a master teacher, star performer, and creative artist in the field of Middle Eastern dance, and her work has been recognized with grants from The Minnesota State Arts Board, The Jerome Foundation, The McKnight Foundation, The St. Paul Travelers Foundation, The Women's Foundation of Minnesota, and The Metropolitan Regional Arts Council. She is the director of Margo's Mid-East Dance Studies, tours extensively, and publishes Margo's Mezza, her online newsletter, which has subscribers throughout the world. Margo Abdo O’Dell is one of few women of Middle Eastern descent in North America who has publicly taught and performed Middle Eastern dance locally, regionally and nationally. Her most recent research trips include Morocco in 2005, Lebanon in 2006, Cambodia and Thailand in 2007.

Seminar sponsors have said:

Her teaching style is one which combines good humor, precise verbalization and physical demonstration. .....Instead of giving the class something they could never hope to get a handle on, she gave them something they could grasp and take home in order to drill. .....Her shows were energetic, entertaining and full of her unique personality. Every time I see her perform, she gets better. This is an instructor and performer not to be missed.
- Coke Timpte, Fort Collins, CO

Margo is one of the few dancers who can do it all. Her dancing is a rare combination of polished technique and expressiveness. Her Lebanese heritage shines in her dancing giving it a beautiful Arabic texture.
- Steve and Sadira Head, Madison, WI

If you had a much loved wise cracking sister who could dance like a goddess, you might come close to the seminar with Margo Abdo ODell in Nassau Bay, Texas. .....Margo Abdo O Dell is not only an extremely talented dancer, but a gifted teacher who brings out the best in her students.
- Diotima, Chanson de Vie Studio, Nassau Bay, TX

.....Margo was a study in how to do it right. From her bold body carriage to her curving linear shape (a hallmark of this dance), she had all at our table wrapped around her little finger. It was easy to see that she had the rest of the audience wrapped around her other fingers! ..... Margo Abdo O'Dell returned for the grand finale ..... Our table agreed that Margo expressed the true ethnic spirit of the dance. She ended her performance much too soon - I could watch her all night.
- Cindy Rubin, WAMEDA, Springfield, VA

	The beginning of the Abdo family in Minneapolis.
	Left to right: Hasna (my grandmother) Effie (my aunt) Paulos (my grandfather)
Click here for more family photos.

Dancing Her Heritage

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by Lisa Paulson

I don't know if you're aware of this, but it gets pretty cold pretty early here in Minnesota. Our legendary winters are long and dark. Like a good party, they start early and end late, and their icy temperatures can chill even the most hearty northern spirits.

Fortunately, those who venture out into the cold find a hidden treasure -- a lively and vigorous performing arts scene that brings warmth, color, and joy to the grateful hearts of a chilly populace. At one such performance, held on a brisk October night at a local avant-garde theater, dancer Margo Abdo O'Dell held an enthralled audience in the palm of her hand during a spirited raks sharqi and returned later to set them cheering for a vivacious cane dance. Her pink spangled cane spun like a wheel in the theaters lights, the audience clapped along with the beat of the drum, while the dancer herself smiled slyly from under a tiny, elegant hat bedecked with pink roses.

Glancing through a stack of background materials for this article a week later, with the memory of that performance still glowing in my mind, two things immediately became clear - the hard work and the vibrant joy with which Margo pursues her active vocation as a teacher, performer, and writer. A collection of letters from satisfied customers -- everything from a childrens hospital to a popular tourist attraction to an Arabic professor at a state university -- are brimming over with the same zeal and enthusiasm Margo brings to her dance:

"Your fabulous Middle Eastern dancing was an absolute hit and our guests loved you!"

"It was truly a pleasure to work with such a gifted and effervescent person as yourself."

"Your outstanding performance at our wedding was the social event of the year."

As with any artist, Margo's skill in dance came about through a combination of raw talent and hard work. Margo describes herself as the late-blooming daughter of a Lebanese mother and an Irish father. "I grew up smelling like garlic!" she laughs, "And in Minnesota, land of Scandinavians, that gets you noticed." However, the same ethnic background that made her a minority in her home state also gave her the gift of dance. "Growing up with a large extended Lebanese family, I was surrounded by Arabic music, dance, and culture," Margo explains. "But as a child watching my grandfather twirling a cane or a napkin above his head, or balancing a bottle of Arak on his head while he danced, I never dreamed I would become a professional Middle Eastern dancer."

Building on this childhood love of dance, Margo diligently studied tap, ballet, modern dance, and jazz, and was exposed to her first formal Middle Eastern dance class in college. While fortunate enough to study with what she calls "an alphabetical Who's Who in Oriental dance" --Margo also continues to draw upon her own ethnic background: "I learned to dance from the very best professionals, but also from non-dancers at Middle Eastern weddings and haflas."

After many years in the corporate world, Margo decided to focus on performing and teaching. Recently, Margo began to expand her horizons beyond her home base of Minnesota, and there is a rapidly increasing demand for her seminars, private coaching, and choreography. She also teaches weekly classes where her personable nature and sense of humor make her especially popular with timid beginners. "I came to class hoping to feel more comfortable with my body," enthuses one student, "and I came out feeling like a dancer!" Besides her natural energy and enthusiasm, and her knowledge of the dance strengthened through research trips to the Middle East, Margo brings to her students an understanding of anatomy, physiology, kinesiology, and exercise analysis. (She is certified by the American Council on Exercise and was recently selected to serve on their Quality Assurance team). "Teaching something I am so passionate about is a privilege," Margo explains. "This dance has enriched my life, and I love to share it with others." This attitude also shines through in her busy performing career. For over twenty years, Margo has performed in every venue imaginable, from nightclubs to living rooms, from wedding feasts to theaters. "I particularly enjoy performing venues that bring me near the audience because this dance is uniquely about relating to others as well as to the music," she says. She especially loves performing at traditional Arabic weddings, including recent celebrations for her Lebanese cousins. "The Lebanese immigrants I knew as a child worked and played very hard, and family was always their priority. That is why the music and dance are so full of life."

Margo sees this task of interpreting Arabic culture for American audiences as an important facet of her career. Her thoughtful, witty articles on dance - everything from the custom of tipping dancers in restaurants to techniques for teachers - have appeared in leading Middle Eastern dance journals including Arabesque, Habibi, Jareeda, The Crescent Moon, and El Gawhara, published in Cairo, Egypt.

"To dance is to celebrate life," comments Margo. Through dedication and hard work, combined with her vibrant dancing and exuberant spirit, Margo hopes to share this celebration of life with audiences and students everywhere.

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