Information for Students...and Anyone Else!
General information, followed by notes from past workshops
Terminology
General information, followed by notes from past workshops
Terminology
This website uses the word "bellydance" only so people googling for a "bellydancer" or "bellydance classes" can find the site. The correct term for the dance is "oriental dance". In Arabic, the dance is called raqs sharqi, which translates to "dance of the east" or "oriental dance."
"Bellydance" was coined by Sol Bloom, an American, at the 1890s Wold Fair. The term was intended to be titillating--"belly" was not a polite word. Showing/moving one's "belly" was simply not done--recall that women were still corsetted at this time. So not only was the term created by an American, it was created to scandalise...and it's not even a correct description of the dance! There are only two or three dance moves actually done with the belly; the action is actually in the hips.
So why is the term Eurocentric, if it's translated from Arabic? "Raqs sharqi" is likely a translation of the French "danse orientale". One of the first people to use the term raqs sharqi was Badia Masabni, a nightclub owner in pre-Nasser Egypt. Her club was frequented by the British and by Anglicised Egyptian elites. She needed a term for her dance that distinguished it from lower-class street dancing and from western dance. She chose (or perhaps even coined) a label that made sense to her clientele: "sharqi", i.e. of the East , i.e. east of England.
Why not just call the dance raqs sharqi? First, because there are too many ways to spell it. The Arabic letter "qaf" is loosely equivalent to an English "q" but sometimes gets translates as a "k" of "gh". This causes problems when doing internet searches for the dance. Second, it's an Arabic term, not Turkish. In Turkish, the term for the dance is "oryantal dans", not "raqs sharqi". But both those terms translate to "oriental dance" in English, giving us one term that is easy to spell and refers to both Egyptian and Turkish dance. Huzzah.
So why is the term Eurocentric, if it's translated from Arabic? "Raqs sharqi" is likely a translation of the French "danse orientale". One of the first people to use the term raqs sharqi was Badia Masabni, a nightclub owner in pre-Nasser Egypt. Her club was frequented by the British and by Anglicised Egyptian elites. She needed a term for her dance that distinguished it from lower-class street dancing and from western dance. She chose (or perhaps even coined) a label that made sense to her clientele: "sharqi", i.e. of the East , i.e. east of England.
Why not just call the dance raqs sharqi? First, because there are too many ways to spell it. The Arabic letter "qaf" is loosely equivalent to an English "q" but sometimes gets translates as a "k" of "gh". This causes problems when doing internet searches for the dance. Second, it's an Arabic term, not Turkish. In Turkish, the term for the dance is "oryantal dans", not "raqs sharqi". But both those terms translate to "oriental dance" in English, giving us one term that is easy to spell and refers to both Egyptian and Turkish dance. Huzzah.
Tipping Performers at a Show
Tipping
is not required, but if you would like to tip a dancer, there are
several ways to do it. You can tip a dancer by tuck a note into the
side of her belt or into a strap of her top (on the back or shoulder,
not near the chest. Obviously). Or if she goes into a backbend, you can
stick a note to her forhead (sweat will hold it there until she takes
it off). Men will sometimes give money to a female companion and ask
her to pass it on to the dancer. This really ought to go without
saying, but touching a dancer excessively while tipping or
making her "work" for a tip would be vulgar and inappropriate, regardless of the tipper's gender.Rhythms
Here are some websites that might be helpful:http://www.ketisharif.com/rhythms.html
http://www.zilltech.com/OsamaRhythm.html
If you want a CD to help you learn rhythms, check out "Jalilah's Raks Sharqi 4". She presents 20 different rhythms by having a drummer play them solo, then having a clip of the rhythm as it's used in a song. The booklet that comes with the CD tells you the names, origins, and uses of the different rhythms.
Notes on Turkish Roman Style
Notes on American Tribal Style
Downward Level Changes~There is a staggering amount of b.s. "Gypsy Dance" out there. In the UK, the majority of troupes and soloists claiming to be "Gypsy Dancers" are knowingly or unknowingly misrepresenting the dance. Some have built up arguments that any fusion of moves and clothing from the Romany Trail can be called Gypsy dance, while others are simply happy to market a racist fantasy of bubbly, tambourine-shaking honeys because that's what the public wants and expects. For a more in-depth explanation, read the Gilded Serpent article on the subject.
About the style:
~You can do it in bedleh as part of a Turkish oriental routine, or in a long skirt and blouse. If the latter: Anything labelled a "gypsy top" is a Disney Esmerelda fantasy. Wear an actual shirt that covers your stomach. Shoes are optional. The skirt and scarf should sit at or near your waist, not way down on your hips.
~There is no "tambourine dance" or "Gypsy skirt dance".
~Arms are more relaxed. Your arms should _not_ look trained and balletic.
~The karsimala is often girlish and playful. It is also used in Turkish Sulukule music, i.e. music from the Sulukule--"water tower"--district of Istanbul. Sulukule music is comparable in attitude to blues or to the better bits of Eminem. The dance attitude is less playful, more worldly, but not tragic.
~The quintessential Turkish Roma rhythm is the karsilama, which is a 9/8 rhythm. It can be written 1-2-3-123 or D-D-D-ttt. And other ways as well...Look at Shira's site for some clips and instructions on zilling. I usually zill r-l-r-rlr- OR (very quick) r-rlr-rlr-rlr-r-r-.
~Some of these movements are specifically done with the karsilama rhythm: fist over fist, fist to hips, and the bracelet gesture.
~One of the most famous karsilamas is "Rompi Rompi". There's a fantastic rendition on the Gypsy Fire CD. There are two karsilamas on the CD Shuvani and one on the Masters of Clarinet. I recommend the Gypsy Fire one, as the rhythm is very clear and comparatively easy to make out. Another great karsilama is "Mastika", a wholesome song about the joys of drinking and smoking.
Travelling moves:
1) Walk forward for a phrase (or 2), bounce back for a phrase (or 2). 3 or 4 bounces per phrase.
2) Walking while holding your skirt, swishing the skirt side to side or moving it in small forward circles
3)Fists together 1-2-3
with shimmy
Do _not_ do this below waist level. Try it in front of a mirror and you'll understand why!
4)fist to shoulder 1 or 2 times
5) Pelvic bounce (upwards)
walking forward
walking back
while sliding your hips side to side and drawing your hand palm-up across your abdomen (a hot move, not to be overdone)
6)Fist to hips. Do not touch your hips.
7) Washing your skirt while down on one knee. Hold onto the skirt when coming up to distract the audience from any lurching you may be doing
8) The side of your open hand touches wrist, upper arm and draws across collarbone OR wrist, upper arm, chin, then make a fist and gently tap your forehead.
9) Shimmy step, same foot steps to the front and back as you shimmy your hips OR your chest. You can travel to the side with this move.
10) normal heel-toe walk. Not an oriental gliding walk.
About the style:
~You can do it in bedleh as part of a Turkish oriental routine, or in a long skirt and blouse. If the latter: Anything labelled a "gypsy top" is a Disney Esmerelda fantasy. Wear an actual shirt that covers your stomach. Shoes are optional. The skirt and scarf should sit at or near your waist, not way down on your hips.
~There is no "tambourine dance" or "Gypsy skirt dance".
~Arms are more relaxed. Your arms should _not_ look trained and balletic.
~The karsimala is often girlish and playful. It is also used in Turkish Sulukule music, i.e. music from the Sulukule--"water tower"--district of Istanbul. Sulukule music is comparable in attitude to blues or to the better bits of Eminem. The dance attitude is less playful, more worldly, but not tragic.
~The quintessential Turkish Roma rhythm is the karsilama, which is a 9/8 rhythm. It can be written 1-2-3-123 or D-D-D-ttt. And other ways as well...Look at Shira's site for some clips and instructions on zilling. I usually zill r-l-r-rlr- OR (very quick) r-rlr-rlr-rlr-r-r-.
~Some of these movements are specifically done with the karsilama rhythm: fist over fist, fist to hips, and the bracelet gesture.
~One of the most famous karsilamas is "Rompi Rompi". There's a fantastic rendition on the Gypsy Fire CD. There are two karsilamas on the CD Shuvani and one on the Masters of Clarinet. I recommend the Gypsy Fire one, as the rhythm is very clear and comparatively easy to make out. Another great karsilama is "Mastika", a wholesome song about the joys of drinking and smoking.
Travelling moves:
1) Walk forward for a phrase (or 2), bounce back for a phrase (or 2). 3 or 4 bounces per phrase.
2) Walking while holding your skirt, swishing the skirt side to side or moving it in small forward circles
3)Fists together 1-2-3
with shimmy
Do _not_ do this below waist level. Try it in front of a mirror and you'll understand why!
4)fist to shoulder 1 or 2 times
5) Pelvic bounce (upwards)
walking forward
walking back
while sliding your hips side to side and drawing your hand palm-up across your abdomen (a hot move, not to be overdone)
6)Fist to hips. Do not touch your hips.
7) Washing your skirt while down on one knee. Hold onto the skirt when coming up to distract the audience from any lurching you may be doing
8) The side of your open hand touches wrist, upper arm and draws across collarbone OR wrist, upper arm, chin, then make a fist and gently tap your forehead.
9) Shimmy step, same foot steps to the front and back as you shimmy your hips OR your chest. You can travel to the side with this move.
10) normal heel-toe walk. Not an oriental gliding walk.
Notes on American Tribal Style
~For a history of ATS, look at the Fat Chance website.
~ATS is performed as group improv. Unlike oriental or neo-tribal, there is little to no focus on soloists. The result is that the movement vocabulary is limited because everyone in the group must be able to see, understand and copy the leader's movements. Thus there is very little use of layering and movements are large. Large does not mean fast or harsh.
~ATS dancers move against the music by going very slowly (I usually do things at half or one quarter the expected speed). This builds up tension as the onlookers wait for the dancer to "catch" the music again. Do not move against the music for your entire dance or your audience will feel frustrated!
~One of the ideas we addressed in class is that of the chorus. The dancers stand in a crescent and a dancer on one end is the leader. She chooses simple repetetive movements for the other dancers to follow. When she steps forward to solo/duo/trio, the dancer next to her becomes the next leader. Members of the chorus must use their peripheral vision to identify what the leader is doing.
~Some actions may be indicated by verbal cues
~I don't think floorwork was originally part of ATS but it has now been incorporated. Floorwork should be strong and proud--it can be sexy but not provocative. In class we learned the Berber walk and practiced moves, such as mayas, that can be done from a kneeling position.
~ATS is performed as group improv. Unlike oriental or neo-tribal, there is little to no focus on soloists. The result is that the movement vocabulary is limited because everyone in the group must be able to see, understand and copy the leader's movements. Thus there is very little use of layering and movements are large. Large does not mean fast or harsh.
~ATS dancers move against the music by going very slowly (I usually do things at half or one quarter the expected speed). This builds up tension as the onlookers wait for the dancer to "catch" the music again. Do not move against the music for your entire dance or your audience will feel frustrated!
~One of the ideas we addressed in class is that of the chorus. The dancers stand in a crescent and a dancer on one end is the leader. She chooses simple repetetive movements for the other dancers to follow. When she steps forward to solo/duo/trio, the dancer next to her becomes the next leader. Members of the chorus must use their peripheral vision to identify what the leader is doing.
~Some actions may be indicated by verbal cues
~I don't think floorwork was originally part of ATS but it has now been incorporated. Floorwork should be strong and proud--it can be sexy but not provocative. In class we learned the Berber walk and practiced moves, such as mayas, that can be done from a kneeling position.
~There are many offshoots of ATS--Urban Tribal, Gothic Tribal, and others. Here in the UK, Rachel Brice's style (which I would categorise as Urban Tribal) is probably more popular than standard ATS. Whereas ATS consists mainly of large, unaccented moves, Rachel's style is composed almost exclusively of accents, which makes for a very different look.
Notes on Level Changes
~Caitlyn's Cardinal Rule of Level Changes: Don't lean forward!
~Knees touching, feet in paraellel OR one foot slightly in front of the other
~It looks more impressive when you take longer to come up than to go down
~It looks nice when you come up doing the inverse of the move you used to go down. ex: go down with a maya, come up with a taqsim
~If you aren't going to go down to the floor, make sure you look like coming up when you do is a decision--i.e., you're not bailing out on what was supposed to be a descent to the floor. Pausing, pausing and doing a shimmy for a second, or changing your hip movement are all ways to do this
~My stylistic prference is to have one hand up and one by my hip
On the Floor
Respect your body's limits for all floorwork moves!
~On your knees: Maya, taqsim, camel, camel with twist. If your knees get sore, you can wear kneepads or practice while kneeling on something soft like a yoga mat
~Mermaid
~Backbends: Make sure you're engaging your abs, not straining your lower back. To build up strngth for this move, you can practice kneeling on the floor and leaning back as far as you can (and then coming up) while keeping your body perfectly straight from your knees to the top of your head. Imagine you have a board strapped to your back...
Travelling Moves on the Floor (consider wearing knee pads under your clothes for these)
~Berber walk (American Tribal Style)
~Turning circles on your knees
Upward Level Changes
~If you have the strength and balance, you can sit on your heels and rise vertically from there, doing a hip movement such as a shimmy. This should be done slowly; don't just jump up unless it's a drum solo.
~Get yourself into a lunge and slowly drag your back foot it until your standing. This is a good place for some chest/shoulder moves.
If you want old choreography notes, send a message
Other Dancers, Dance Teachers and Dance Troupes
~Britain's largest oriental dance website, run by Zehara~American-style dancer Salome
~Nikki, an Egyptian dancer based in the Cotswalds
~Noha Lamb. Classes in Chelmsford. Call: 0777.584.7614
~Darshan in NYC and Portland, OR
Questions?