Are you allowed to review something you were involved in? Probably not. As such, please call this a retrospective, as opposed to an actual review.

What am I talking about? “Gaslight Faeries”, Sarasvati Tribal’s 2010 show.

Full disclosure: I was behind-the-scenes help… or you could say behind the screen, as that was what I hid behind as I hit “play” on the tapedeck and toyed with the lights, my music dictatorship signified by the Tophat of Power. From that position I got to watch everything… from behind.

If you want a proper review, might I suggest Elspeth’s? Her observations are clear, she’s refreshingly honest about any biases (or lack thereof), and overall she gives a good sense of what went on.

To continue—do you remember how I said that the future of bellydance is in vaudeville? I WAS RIGHT. “Gaslight Faeries” was a venue-specific show set at the Glasgow Panopticon, the oldest surviving dance hall in the world, and drew inspiration from the Panopticon’s heyday of 1857-1938. The show was filled with tribal fusion, Egyptian bellydance, vaudeville and burlesque. The latter sent the show into the adults-only territory, yet people were being turned away at the door. As Elspeth notes, it seemed that much of the audience was drawn from outside the bellydance community. Bringing the art to a wider audience? Oh yes!

Now that I’ve had my moment of smugness, let’s consider the show itself. Its carefully-considered mixture of acts was what made it. The interspersing of group acts, solos and theatrical pieces (overlapping with the previous two) kept the show lively, and the inclusion of several props and Egyptian pieces (including a Golden Age-inspired piece by Susanna of Habiba Dance) demonstrated the breadth of bellydance.

To get a wee bit personal (whenever is this blog not about me?), my two favourite performances were given by Laura and Ali, both of Sarasvati Tribal. Laura briefly forsook tribal to return to her Egyptian roots, performing as Mata Hari aiding her lover in stealing an officer’s documents by entrancing the officer. I loved the conceit, but the enjoyment was in the execution—Laura was entrancing, and the gentleman playing the officer played his response perfectly. It was enticing, it was humorous, and it was dramatic.

Ali danced with fan veils in a piece entitled “An Homage to Loie Fuller”. These are the dryest terms possible to describe her solo. When she entered, she faced away from the audience, towards me—I was the first to see her full-on—and I couldn’t start the music. Not because of any technical difficulty, but because I was stunned, in awe. Her hair was loose, her dress long and white, and her white silk fan veils were draped over her arms, and I remember thinking that she looked like a Greek goddess—Athena, maybe. And then I remembered oh yes, she’s supposed to dance, too, jarred myself, and hit play. And then the magic happened. That dance, that experience, is indescribable, and I was privileged to see it.

In closing—because little can follow that—I’ve been listening to the music from the show since it finished (as musical dictator, I got to keep the music!). The music from the piece entitled “Arsenical Bun” has been stuck in my head.

As only one thing could have followed Ali’s performance, only one thing can finish this blogpost. Therefore, I present to you the fabulous Nagwa! If you look carefully, you can see me running the music and the lights in the back (look for the Tophat of Power!).

Tags: bellydance,performance,Scotland,tribal fusion
Categories: dance
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A couple weekends ago I went to two workshops in Glasgow with Sherri Wheatley. I’ve been meaning to blog on it since then, but it’s been surprisingly difficult to write on—there’s just something about the weekend that I still can’t quite wrap my head around. Let me note that this is a positive thing!

What I attended were two workshops on two days, with a hafla in-between (there was a previous workshop and hafla that week that I was unable to afford).  Both workshops included a very gentle non-yoga warm-up, which was a nice change from normal yoga-heavy tribal. The first workshop had several really interesting combinations that I will definitely be using, while the second workshop was attended mostly by teachers and pro performers, with a few intermediate students (ok, me) along for the ride. Both classes used a lot of slow moves and material, which inspired me to challenge myself–I haven’t yet been brave enough to perform something slow, feeling awkward and ungainly when I practice such. Sherri also has the most amazing arabic shimmies and level changes I’ve ever seen, a further inspiration! Also, I’m far more shouldery now than before that weekend!

Overall, I felt both challenged and comfortable with Sherri’s workshops and style. Though certainly tribal, her style feels rather intimate and soft to me, which I really liked, as though I like to watch very technical pop-lock-layer bellydance, both in tribal and regional styles (such as American or Russian strains), it feels more natural to me to dance softlywith the pop-lock for accent.

The second-to-last gem that I’m holding on to was a brief moment where Sherri informed that she’s not a natural performer; she didn’t seek the spotlight in her childhood. I am a natural performer (read: mug for attention), but oftentimes I really have to psyche myself up to properly perform–there’s still that niggling in the back of the mind saying “people don’t really want to watch/listen” (first manifesting itself when I took voice lessons). That thought needs to be CRUSHED WITH EXTREME PREJUDICE.

In short, the greatest thing I got out of Sherri’s workshops was feeling comfortable in my own dance.

Now that I’ve gotten far too personal, the HAFLA!! It was fabulous, though I wasn’t able to watch as much as I liked (being far too paranoid about balancing my sword… and that my solos-in-public are still in the single-digits…and picking over Sherri’s costume in my over-obsessive manner, which she was very kind to allow!). We had a wonderful variety of performers on both the Egyptian and tribal sides of things; it was particularly tribal-heavy for a Scottish hafla, which was a nice change from the norm! We even had a bit of the gothic creep in, thanks to the fabulous Bex! Like most haflas, though, it was a “you-had-to-be-there” to really understand the awesomocity of it.

For that purpose, I present to you my last gem: Sherri’s final performance from the Glasgow hafla! Many thanks to her for the permission to post it. Also, a wee anecdote: the last of Sherri’s songs was actually something I had discovered only two weeks before the workshops, and my first response was “Someone needs to dance to that!” Imagine how thrilled I was when she did!

P.S. I also got a mention in the August issue of Nafoura, in “A Tribal Update from Scotland” (p.98, article starts p.96)! Thank you, Doris! (Also, gorgeous pictures of my dear friend Tamsin inside!)

Coming soon: knitting! As soon as I finish the current project. It’s a SURPRISE.

Tags: bellydance,hafla,tribal fusion,workshop
Categories: Arts, dance
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So Lorna of Cairo recently blogged about how she’s really enjoying dancing saidi right now (and forgot to mention that her costume looks amazing; I want to see bigger pictures of it!), which sent me off Gleaning The Tubes for a plethora of saidi videos. Because I have an almost unhealthy obsession with saidi.

For those who are unfamiliar with the term, saidi was/is originally a folk dance from Upper Egypt, but has been lumped into/hijacked by bellydance. It’s also known as “raqs assaya” or stick dance, when performed with a cane/stick (dur), and there’s a men’s duet version called tahtib that simulates a fight. The women’s form is, of course, more refined and less warlike; I’ve also heard that the saidi step (the lifted legs and kicks) is mimicking a ‘dancing’ horse.

So, we’ve combined pole-arms, horses, and dance. If you know me whatsoever, I think you can see where my obsession with saidi comes from. So, on that note, I present to you: SAIDI SPAM!

As Lorna’s post was the instigator, her video is first! The first half of her dance at a wedding is a saidi number with two male back-up dancers. I particularly like how she “borrows” a cane from the audience. Cheeky and awesome, as always!

I just discovered this video today of a Lebanese dancer named Rindala (though this might be proof that I’m rubbish at telling styles: I would have pegged her as Turkish style if it weren’t for the cane!). Her energy, speed, and skill is inspirational!

For a complete contrast, Yasmina of Cairo (with four male dancers) produces a far sweeter and sedate dance. Also, this video alone makes me want to jump onto a plane to Egypt RIGHT NOW.

I have to include Elspeth Swishandhips in this spam! I was lucky enough to see this performance live, and it was amazing; the video doesn’t do it half justice. Every clap and cheer was more than deserved!

Penultimately is the great Fifi Abdo, who really needs no elaboration. However, I noticed with a bit of glee that she seems to be playing to the women in the audience.

Finally, sans stick, is Aziza. On YouTube this had a bit of criticism for not being earthy enough, but I really like the softness of it. If this is a ‘horse dance’, well, I’ve known horses that move like each of these women (that’s a compliment, fyi!). Anyway, when a horse is really dancing, they’re not earthy: they practically float!

Here, to drive that point home, have a video of a dancing horse:

That’s some of the most beautiful dancing I’ll ever see.

Tags: bellydance,folk dance,saidi
Categories: dance
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So for the past few weeks I’ve really been glutting myself on videos of tribal fusion bellydance on YouTube—usually as a break from actual work (or, other times, because the weather was as awful as I felt). Some of my favourite new discoveries are clips from the Indigo’s show Le Serpent Rouge. Not only is the bellydance amazing, but it looks like a good show overall, the sort of thing a general audience might enjoy.

Most bellydancing is “consumed” (for lack of better terminology) by the bellydancing community. The one exception to this is restaurant work, which although invaluable as both a tradition and as a venue for properly learning to improvise, doesn’t provide a setting for duets, troupes, or choreographed show pieces. Restaurant work and haflas can only support the art so far, and—if we want the dance to not only survive but thrive in the west—then our community needs to figure out how to present itself to the general public in a desirable manner.

Which brings us to Le Serpent Rouge’s vaudeville style. It’s an appropriate adoption for a tribal fusion show, as like tribal fusion vaudeville is essentially American in origin and attitude. It also means the dancing can be broken up with musical interludes, comedy acts, and basically anything else you can think of—vaudeville is, after all, closely related to variety shows.

And it is THE WAY OF THE FUTURE!!!

Ahem. Sorry. Got a little excited there.

Originally, vaudeville was family-friendly entertainment: (mostly) clean, alcohol free, and for a middle class (educated, but not affluent) audience. Bellydancing, too, is supposed to be family-friendly (just like its folkloric social dancing origins). A vaudeville format means that, although a show could be organized by a troupe, the burden of performance isn’t necessarily on the troupe. Organizers could pull from a wide range of local performers—it’s not a difficult feat. For example, just from amongst my own social circles I have access to a folk rock band (and straight-up folk musicians), comedy acts, jugglers, stage combat artists, singers, dancers of multiple styles (belly and otherwise!), and a plethora of other artists that I currently can’t think of that would break up a show and keep an audience engaged. Mix all this together with a talented MC, and you’d have an awesome, evolving show that would introduce the general public to bellydance without overwhelming them, and would draw return visitors from both inside and outside the bellydance community.

You’d just have to make sure to keep a high quality of entertainment throughout the show—but not as sterilized as the Bellydance Superstars. It’s about comedy, quality, and variety.

Keep ‘em engaged and they’ll keep coming.

Tags: bellydance,tribal fusion
Categories: Arts, dance
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My love for Tribal Fusion bellydance was more-or-less inevitable. Tribal Fusion was, after all, developed in California from ATS, and I tend to make quite a bit of noise about me being a Californian. ATS itself sprung from Bal-Anat, an American Cabaret group that performed significantly at the Californian Renaissance Faires (from what I’ve been able to find on the internet, they were mostly at the southern Faire, but info on the original northern Faire is scarce seeing as it went under when I was younger—they very well may have been at both). My mother also took me to the RenFaire as a child, but I don’t know if I ever saw Bal-Anat, as we only went to the northern Faire, and our attendance ceased when it went under. All I remember was the amusing way food was sold, that I bought an ocarina, and I wanted a snood. I still want a snood. Seeing as I could make myself one these days, I should really get on top of that.

Anyway, when I was in high school/college I got really into RenFaires, performing in (and helping run) my undergrad’s medieval variant, and learning quite a bit of stage combat along the way. It was around then that I was introduced to TF/ATS, but due to faire didn’t have time to pick up another hobby (boy, that complaint still sounds familiar…!). It waited until grad school. I picked up bellydance simply for something to do with myself, taking Egyptian lessons because they were what was available. No more than six months after, however, my current TF teacher Laura was invited to do a workshop locally. Do I actually need to say I was hooked?

Yet I’m still conflicted as to what bellydance style to pursue.

Lorna of Cairo, dancing Egyptian style with veil intro.

Though I absolutely adore watching Egyptian (especially Lorna!), I know I’m not an Egyptian dancer. Though I take Egyptian classes on occasion and enjoy performing Egyptian class choreos, it doesn’t feel like me when I’m dancing solo. I feel like an imposter, which is exactly the opposite of how I should feel.

Sema Yildiz, dancing Turkish style with zills.

Part of me wants to learn Turkish so that I could at least have the option (eventually) of restaurant work, gigs at cultural events, etc. I also quite enjoy floorwork and zills, both standards in Turkish, and Turkish is heavily influenced by Roma dancing (which is just COOL). But Turkish is nonexistant in this area—no teacher!—and I have the feeling I’d run into something similar as with Egyptian.

Mia Shauri, dancing American Cabaret with tambourine.

As for American Cabaret, I absolutely love the way Mia Shauri dances; it’s something I’d like to emulate. I love her use of zills, her ability to manipulate props, her spins, arm carriage, and hip work. Since AmCab does floorwork too, that makes it an option, but as I’m not currently living in the States (or a closely-related area—Mia Shauri’s from Puerto Rico) I’d feel a bit silly trying for it. Though AmCab does exist abroad—it’s usually labelled “vintage orientale” or “eclectic”, but both those labels (and even AmCab) could simply be translated “immigrant fusion”. However, with the local community’s preference being straight Egyptian, such a conglomerative style would be difficult to pursue.

Elspeth Swishandhips performing an Egyptian stick dance

On the other hand, I’m rather obsessed with saidi. It’s a combination stick (weapon!) and horse dance, which puts it right up my alley. On the other hand, since it’s originally an Egyptian folk-dance it’s usually found lumped in with Egyptian style, and as discussed above that’s just not me. I would do saidi, but not the rest that it’s associated with. It’s just not me. Which is particularly ironic, seeing as when I was little I wanted to be an Egyptologist (though I’m pretty sure I chose that simply because I didn’t know a word for people who study mummies—and I was interested in mummies outside of Egypt, too. I liked natural mummies best. Yes, I was an odd child). By the by, the video linked above is the best stick dance I’ve seen. And I was lucky enough to see it in person!

Sarasvati Tribal, performing West Coast Tribal Fusion

Finally, returning to Tribal Fusion (I’m going to skip ATS—I know it’s too rigid for me). Anyone who knows me knows I’m a bit “SQUEE YAY HAPPY”…which makes me worry I’m just wrong personality-wise for TF. Yet other parts of me (the medievalist, the stage combat artist) make me feel like I fit perfectly into Tribal Fusion. I feel quite comfortable with it, both stylistically and from its origins. Props are a go, as is floorwork (though veil is usually out, alas!). I like the freedom TF has in music choice, and my favourite music (folkrock!) fits perfectly into the style.

Throughout my consideration of styles, the only thing that’s consistent is my love for props—a hold-over from stage combat, I think. My TF teacher has ordered me to do sword, and my Egyptian teacher has ordered me to do veil. I’m currently teaching myself zills, and want to learn basic Egyptian rhythms.

And regardless of style, I LOVE watching good bellydance. Period.

This ended up an inordinately long and self-absorbed post. Oh well. If you’ve made it to the end, would you be kind enough to provide feedback to help resolve my crisis?

Tags: bellydance,egyptian,saidi,tribal fusion,turkish
Categories: dance
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So my last two weekends have been FULL of dancing. The first was the InterVarsity Folk Dance Festival (IVFDF) in Durham, which was quite fun. Social folk dancing = ridiculous amounts of fun. Folk dances that are meant to be watched, on the other hand, are ridiculous amounts of funny—and that’s why you have to love them. They’re too silly not too!

I spent most of that weekend going to music workshops, such as sea shanties with the Young Uns and Welsh songs , but I also discovered two (new-to-me) folk dances: molly and rapper.

The above group Gog Magog (dancing starts at 1:09) were also the ones who taught the workshop on molly dancing. Molly is supposed to be danced ridiculously seriously and militaristically, as it is a full-out piss-take on morris dancing and the like. It is the straightman comedian of folk dancing, and it is ridiculously fun. Particularly when you get to shout.

A video of rapper can be viewed here; it’s the best I’ve found so far but embedding is disabled.

Somehow I ended up doing two rapper workshops, which seeing as I didn’t even know what rapper was until I saw a dem on our first night was mildly surprising. It’s one of the sword dances of England, and I have to say, highly enjoyable. There’s a major sense of fulfillment when your side (the name for a troupe) performs a figure well, and major comraderie. This sense of “chill awesomeness” (technical term!) continues, apparently, in proper rapper performances: A PUB CRAWL. Seriously. Proper rapper performances are pub crawls—popping into pubs, performing, partaking of a pint, pleading for a penny, and proceeding onward.

The whole weekend, however, was worth it simply for the contra dancing. Contra is actually from the US, but I think it’s mostly an everywhere-but-the-West-Coast thing (which is why I didn’t discover it until I left!). And I LOVE CONTRA. It’s like a high-octane version of Scottish country dancing (which is saying something in itself) with more progression and faster spins. And I LOVE spinning. I’ve yet to find a video that properly displays contra, so you’re just going to have to go find a group to dance it with. Trust me, you’ll love it.

Another highlight of the weekend was the disco ceilidh. Yes, disco ceilidh. My friend Yolande and I developed a disco version of the Gay Gordons (a staple of ceilidh dancing). and that was awesome.

However, as much fun as IVFDF was, I feel like I’m getting to be too much of an Old Lady to go to all-weekend folk dance stuff. Not insomuch as I’m too old (there’s people decades older than me attending!) or because I didn’t have a good time—I did. But I don’t like dashing from place to place, I don’t like limited access to sleeping venues (or showers!!), and I don’t like getting back from something at 2am. Going to bed at 2am, yes, but being out until 2am. On the other hand, if the whole weekend were bellydance… let’s just say I’m annoyed that I won’t be attending Raqs Brittania.

Which leads us to this last weekend: the University Dance Show! I have little to say about this, other than that there is much love to the people who came to see us. There was a consensus amongst the folk I talked to, at least, that ours was one of the top performances. Eventually I hope to post video of the performance, but until then:

Run away, Egyptian dancer! Run away before the scary tribalista eats you!!!

Tags: bellydance,festival,folk dance,tribal fusion
Categories: dance
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