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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