March 2005

NoAmerican Bellydancer - the Movie

This month the movie "American Bellydancer" was aired at one theatre, for one showing, in St. Louis.  I had hoped to attend and write a review but was prevented from doing so due to unexpected events.  However, approximately 10 of the Desert Moon Dancers were able to attend and constituted part of the less than 50 member audience.  Although I can not comment on the movie, it is fair to say that  Miles Copeland's stated goal of bringing public appeal (like Riverdance) to belly dance has failed in St. Louis.  In a metropolitan area with a population of over one million, it is difficult to understand how a movie appearing in only one theatre, on one night, can draw attendance that is not only minuscule but less than a fraction of the belly dance community alone.

February 2005

NoBelly Dance Expectations and Revelations - Part IV

You have been reading about belly dance as a fun fitness alternative and purchased one of several belly dance fitness videos.  After several weeks you decided it was time to attend a belly dance class.  

Although you enjoy your new dance class and had some muscle aches after class, it was not the aerobic workout you anticipated.  Why is the class so different than your workout video?

Belly dance was introduced in the United States as a performing art.   Historically, if you attended a belly dance class, you would learn belly dance movement, form, stage presence and the other elements of the dance that would ultimately enable you to perform. Bored with aerobic class styles, many women began taking belly dance, salsa and other dance forms for fitness.  As the popularity of belly dance grew, so have the number of classes that focus on fitness.  However, not all classes are for fitness.  Many instructors continue to teach belly dance as a performing art.  Any belly dance class will enhance your fitness through the use of muscles you don't normally use and through movements that improve flexibility.  However, classes geared for performers necessitate detailed instructions relating to  form and composition that will prevent an aerobic workout.

Before attending a belly dance class, assess your goals.  Do you want to have an aerobic workout, improve flexibility,  perform for your family and friends or become a full-fledged performing artists?  Select a belly dance class that best matches your goals.

January 2005

NoBelly Dance Expectations and Revelations - Part III

You attended a community festival, party or turned on the television and saw belly dancers for the first time.  Enthralled and intrigued by the beauty of the performance and hearing music that made you want to dance, you decide to join a belly dance class. 

Although you enjoy your new dance class you hate the music.  You also enjoyed your groups' performances, but again you hate the music and now feel uninspired to dance to belly dance music. Why is the music so different than the music you heard before?

First, it is necessary to explore music used in dance class.  Belly dance steps generally reflect the music and rhythms of the Middle East that are more complex than Western music.  In order to be able to teach a dance step, it is necessary to be redundant and repeat the step many times.  This necessitates that the music maintain a consistent rhythm which also means that class music often requires the use of  simple and sometimes redundant music compositions.

Performance music is a different story.  If the music is radically different than the music you previously heard chances are it music from a different Middle Eastern county or a different time period.   Consider American music.  American music includes pop, rock, R&B, classical, country and many other styles.  In addition, each style changes over time.  Rock music composed in the United States today doesn't sound like the music composed fifty years ago.  The same is true in the Middle East.  There are approximately  28 countries that are considered Middle Eastern and each has its own music style. While some of the belly dance music from different countries (such as Lebanon and Egypt) have similarities, they are different!  Furthermore, belly dance music composed today is not the same as music composed fifty years ago.  Furthermore, an American style of belly dance known as American Tribal often uses modern compositions that fuses music from Middle Eastern, African and other countries.  In addition, some belly dancers use American rock music. 

Learn more about the style of music used by your fellow student performers.  If your dance director does not permit you to perform to the style of music you like,  don't hate belly dance. Find a new class that performs to a style of music that better matches your taste and inspires you to dance.

December 2004

NoBelly Dance Expectations and Revelations - Part II

You attended a community festival, party or turned on the television and saw belly dancers for the first time.  Enthralled and intrigued by the beauty of the performance you decide to join a belly dance class. 

Watching your teacher's movements or the dances performed by your fellow students, you noted that these moves and dances look nothing like the belly dancers you initially saw perform.  In fact, you may not even like the moves or style being taught.  Why are the dances so different?

Belly dance is a term the United States has assigned to all styles of Middle Eastern dance as well as American dance styles that incorporate isolated body movements derived from the Middle East.   Calling all dances of the Middle East "belly dance" is like calling jazz, country and rock  dance "American Dance".  While woman from many countries in the Middle East including Lebanon, Egypt, Tunisia and Turkey use isolated body movements, each country has dance styles that are significantly different.  In addition to cultural differences, there are historical difference.  Folk dance and modern styles of the Middle Eastern dance are also coined belly dance in the United States in spite of enormous differences.

Since belly dance was introduced in the United States around a century ago, an American style also evolved that fuses together movements from many Middle Eastern countries as well as ballet, jazz and other dance forms.  More recently, a style known as American Tribal has emerged that often blends African dance steps and/or Flamenco as well as a different music and costuming styles.

If you don't like what you are learning or seeing in your class, don't hate belly dance. Find a new class with a style that better matches your future dance style goals.

November 2004

NoBelly Dance Expectations and Revelations - Part I

You attend a community festival, party or turned on the television and saw belly dancers for the first time.  Enthralled and intrigued by the beauty of the performance you decide to join a belly dance class.  The dancers you saw executed each move with ease and you are confident that you will be performing in no time at all.

First class revelation, you were wrong.  Professional belly dancers make the moves look easy.   However, like other dance forms (flamenco and ballet among others) belly dance requires extensive training and discipline.  To be a dancer, in addition to learning the specific movements of belly dance, you must develop strength, coordination, stamina, grace and flexibility.  While some individuals are naturally gifted to dance, most of us require several years of training to develop these skills.

If your expectation is to begin performing in a few weeks or even months, chances are you will not enjoy your learning experience.  Trying to advance too fast, without mastering the basics, will not improve your dance.  Relax and enjoy the music, movement and physical improvements you gain from your class.  With time your movements will become effortless and you may become a performing belly dancer.

October 2004

Suit Suitability

Just as women wear suits to work and swimsuits to the beach, not all belly dance costumes are appropriate for all performances. It isn’t enough to have a great costume.  It isn’t enough to have a costume that is suitable to your body type.  Costuming should reflect the dance style that you are performing.  

Costuming malfunctions are more than a strap breaking or a tag showing. Consider a master ballet dancer who enters to perform swan lake in a cowboy hat, blue jeans and flannel shirt.  Her performance may be the finest performance of swan lake ever seen; however, it is likely that the audience would find her performance extremely humorous.  Consider a metal rock star showing up for a  metal rock video in a tutu.  

With these basic principles in mind, you might consider wearing a Turkish costume when performing Turkish dance, an Egyptian costume for Egyptian dance and more covered historic costumes for folkloric dance. The costume of your dreams will not make you the dancer of your dreams; however wearing an unsuitable costume may make your dance laughable.

May 2004

Belly Dance Performance Flop

Have you ever hosted a belly dance performance with disappointing attendance?  In St. Louis, for example, the Belly Dance Superstars' show had approximately 100 attendees in a venue with a seating capacity at least twice that big. 

If you have ever directed a performance that had an attendance flop, consider the following.

• Was the event organized sufficiently in advance so that people knew it was coming?
   

• Was the event included on a prominent web site so that it was picked up by search engines?
   

• Were flyers distributed to those you wanted in attendance?
   

• Did you advertise?
   

• Does your dance company have a reputation for presenting exciting dances at each event?
   

• Does your dance company have a reputation for presenting professional performances rather than amateur student recitals?

If your answer to each of these questions was yes, chances are there was nothing else you could have done to improve your turnout.  As noted in this month's causerie "of all the major arts, dance seems to have the toughest time attracting audiences."

Until the general public develops a greater appreciation for dance, and belly dance in particular,  be prepared for the worst.  Be prepared to lose your investment in the performance.  Strive for the greatest success with preparation for the worst.

April 2004

Belly Dance Superstars and Riverdance

Belly Dance Superstars is now touring major cities throughout the country. Miles Copeland, the creator of Belly Dance Superstars, is billing the event as a performance that will be loved by fans of Riverdance.   Riverdance and Belly Dance Superstars have at least one thing in common, both are touring dance companies.  On the other hand, correlating the production of Belly Dance Superstars to that of Riverdance, is questionable, but that is another story.  One thing the two shows do not have in common is timing.  Riverdance, like most professional performances, starts on time and, at least in St. Louis, Belly Dance Superstars commenced 25 minutes late. 

Belly dance as a physical activity is gaining popularity in the United States.  The popularly of belly dance as a performing art has not yet achieved the status of  Riverdance or other dance forms like ballet.  Creating a touring Middle Eastern dance company is a big step forward for which Miles is appreciated.  However, small steps forward also contribute to the image of our dance and professionalism.  While many members of the belly dance community have come to expect belly dance performances to begin late, this is not the case with the general public.  Members of the audience may have plans to dine after a show, relieve a babysitter or simply have better things to do than sit in a chair for 25 minutes.  A professional event booked to commence at 8:00 p.m. should commence at 8:00 p.m.

March 2004

The Veil Dance

Belly dance originated in the Middle East, was exported to the West, blended with other styles of dance and re-exported to the Middle East.  The result is that Middle Eastern dance now incorporates dance styles that are not native to that part of the world.  While a veil entrance may be seen in the Middle East, veil dancing is a western style, that has never been accepted in the Middle East.  One reason is that Easterners find the look of a veil dance similar to watching a strip tease.

In the November/December article "Ask Hossam!"  in Zaghareet magazine, Hossam was asked his opinion on veil dancing.  Hossam suggests that when using any prop you should know the final result it will create and what effect you are trying to achieve.  Hossam pointed out that in Egypt, dancers use the veil to either "create a big flurry of visual effect as they are entering the stage" or "as a sensual, attractive, skin-touching, beautiful personal look." He points out that once a Middle Eastern dancer has the audiences' attention the veil is set aside and the dancer "gets down to the business of dancing to the music."

I thought about the article when I recently attended a belly dance show following a workshop.  A woman entered the performance area with a veil covering her head and body with only her arms showing. She moved her arms under the veil for awhile.  When she removed the veil, I thought she would, as Hossam said, "get down to the business of dancing."  Instead, off came another veil.  This time, covering the entire front of her body, she placed the veil under her eyes and did a look at my beautiful exotic eyes thing.  I can't remember what she did with the third and fourth veil, other than taking them off.  And there may have been a fifth veil; however by the time she was manipulating the forth veil my attention was completely gone and I was drifting and  thinking.... What is she thinking. What is she trying to convey?

At worst, I could not help but think she was acting out some hidden desire to be a stripper. At best, I could not help but think, props are one way a dancer can hide  her lack of dancing skill.

February 2004

Egypt Court Upholds Ban  on Foreign Belly Dancers  

On January 21 an Egyptian court upheld the law prohibiting foreign belly dancers from performing in Egypt.  The battle began in August 2003 with the passage of a law imposing the ban to become effective in 2004.  An Australian dancer, Caroline Evanoff, and a Russian, known as Nour, contested the law.  On January 21, 2004 the court rejected their appeal and upheld the law.

Share your thoughts:

Does a foreign dancer ban improve belly dance in Egypt?
Is such a ban an unusual and unwarranted restriction on the arts?
Do you believe the ban is about jobs in Egypt or other non-disclosed reason?
Any other thoughts or comments are welcome.

January 2004

Proprioception and the Belly Dancer  

Successful belly dancers have many athletic skills including strength, stamina and flexibility.  The single most important component of their athletic ability is balance. Balance is the foundation of all movements regardless of whether the movement is dominated by strength, speed, flexibility or stamina.  Balance is closely related to coordination and agility since they are both dependent on good balance. Balance is what allows us to move gracefully. 

According to medical studies, most sports related sprains and strains have to do with balance.  Proprioception to be exact.  Proprioception is one’s ability to sense the position, location and orientation of the body and to react.  

Balance and proprioception are influenced by genetics as well as an individual’s acquired skills.   Balance can be improved through exposure to variety of different sensory conditions and repetition of the movement. 

Most belly dance classes include warm-ups that encourage flexibility or simple movements that get the muscles prepared for more strenuous activity.  Yet some belly dance classes completely neglect balance stimulating exercises.  

To improve balance, the volume of exercises can be low but the exercises should be incorporated in every class. In addition, dancers should be encouraged to incorporate balance exercises into their daily workout routine.  Here are a few you can try: 

1.       Stand with good posture and legs together. Raise yourself  up on your toes.  Go down to the floor (squat) while staying on your toes and raise back up on your toes to the original standing position. Repeat several times.

 2.       Stand with good posture and legs together. Raise one foot off the floor. Lift one hip up and down 20 times then switch legs.

3.       Try both of the above with eyes closed. 

December 2003

On more than one occasion I have addressed belly dance and weight.  Although anyone can dance for fun and fitness, to have commercial value requires that a dancer be aesthetically pleasing.  This does not mean a perfect beauty of perfect proportions, but having an appearance that most people will find pleasant to watch.

Why would I write about these matters?  First, because like it or not, fact is fact.  Second, I was not always my current petite size 6.  I was a very heavy child; the fat kid that classmates made fun of in school.  When I reached my mid teens, I wanted to be more attractive; I wanted to date.  In my mid teens I lost a lot of weight but yo-yo dieting prevented me from fully reaching my goals.  In my late teens, I changed my eating patterns and began an extensive exercise program.  I reached my weight goal and have maintained it.  This required changing my life-style; forever. 

Writing about weight is not an attempt to badger. It is to say, stop making excuses. If I can do it, you can too. 
 

November 2003
 

_________
*  In  January 2003, ABC News reported that obesity is not just an American image crisis - it's fast becoming our most serious public health problem. Obesity now rivals smoking in its deadliness and is linked to diseases such as type-2 diabetes, heart disease, and certain types of cancer.

In December, U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher, reported that an estimated 300,000 Americans die each year from fat-related causes, and $117 billion was spent in obesity-related economic costs just last year.

October 2003
 

COMPETITION WITH CHOICE

Each year Desert Moon Dance Academy, and other well known belly dance promoters, host belly dance competitions. It is a matter of personal choice whether or not a dancer enters a competition. Judges determine the winner by casting votes for the dancer they consider to be best based on pre-determined guidelines such as technical skills, entertainment quality and stage presence.

Not all competitions are based on choice or pre-defined standards.  Anyone anywhere can establish a contest of any kind they wish. Consider Brandon’s Oasis, on-line only, belly dance competition.

I discovered the competition last year when Desert Moon Dance Academy was entered in the competition by Brandon. We did not choose to enter this competition. A competition that has no defined standards for entry. A competition that has no defined standards for winning (e.g. the most popular dancer, the best dance troupe, the most attractive dancer, the best web site). A competition where the winner is selected based on the number of votes cast by email. A competition that has no controls on voting (e.g. any one that has multiple screen names can cast as many votes as they like).

Now you may participate in Desert Moon Dance Academy’s OBSCURE BELLY DANCE CONTEST.
 

CAST YOUR VOTE FOR OBSCURE:

Vote Yes for Brandon’s Oasis or
Vote NO for Brandon’s Oasis by emailing Arleah@desertmoondance.com

The voting deadline is November 1.
You may vote as many times as you like
The Official results of this "Scientific Poll" will be on our website next month.

June 2003

Qualified Belly Dance Instructor

May 2003

Growing Interest In Everything Middle Eastern

 INCLUDING BELLY DANCE

April 2003

Celebrate Dance Day
 

March 2003

February 2003

If belly dancing is to gain popularity, in the main stream, performances presented to the public must be professional, entertaining and address the attention span of attendees. It may be best to keep student recitals private, or at least make sure that the media is informed when the event is a student recital rather than a professional performance.

January 2003

Stop Warming Up and Start Dancing

December 2002

Gloomy Belly Dancing

"When I think 'Gothic,' I think black makeup, depressing music, people
who wear all black," said Al Gordon, who spins Gothic and industrial
records during "Dominate the Species Night"  at Zootz, a club in Portland." 
(quote from Article from the Portland Press Herald.)

The gothic movement that, for sometime, has permeated throughout the United States, has recently begun incorporating belly dance into the gothic scene.

According to the writer for www.gothicbellydance.net,   "Gothic Belly dance was born from the fusion of Egyptian beledi and Voudun (Voodoo)".  The
Darker Image a website that "exists to capture the soul of Goth, industrial, alternative and fetish models, bands, clubs and events" has pictures of gothic belly dancers from the Metal Lounge club.

There isn’t a goth belly dance company in St. Louis, although some belly dancers accompany a dark music group as noted in the article Band Out of Hell  (and also noted at this band's   website).

Like most types of dance, belly dancing is normally associated with positive and enjoyable experiences; such as good exercise and entertaining performances.  These positive associations may make it difficult to become a gothic belly dancer. 

• What do you do about costuming? Try the Costume Goddess.
  
  
• How do you learn gothic dance moves to mix with belly dance moves?  Try the Goth Punk website.
  
  
• What about music? Try Shadowsphere, a UK group that mixes Egyptian and Gothic music.

I don’t think I will ever understand gothic belly dance; however, I guess the standard for some dancers is if you like it or it sells, go for it.

November 2002

Success for the Beautiful Dancer

Highly skilled entertainers are often engaged for their appearance.  Sometimes solely on the basis of appearance and sometimes on the basis of both skill and appearance.  While it is difficult to promote belly dance as an art form when only personal aesthetics are considered, it is also unlikely that a dancer who lacks personal aesthetics will be commercially successful. 

Although many belly dancers involved in the RJ Reynolds promotional campaign may have been highly skilled dancers, and while it is possible that a few may not have been extremely attractive, it is undeniable that RJ Reynolds preferred attractive dancers.  Is there something wrong with this? Although there are companies and individuals that engage belly dancers without exploring either their dancing skill or attractiveness,  I never receive calls from a potential client who says I would like to engage an ugly belly dancer that dances extremely well.

Whether we like it or not, beauty affects our success as belly dancers.  As women, beauty affects our success in most of our endeavors. 

October 2002

Belly Dancers and Cigarettes

For several years belly dancers have been hired by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company to promote Camel Cigarettes as part of a campaign called the "7 Pleasures of the Casbah." The campaign consists of 700 parties in clubs throughout the country in 70 cities. In addition to gifts of cigarettes (and zills) the parties feature magicians, fire eaters and belly dancers.

Another recent campaign is the Casbah Camel Cigarette Lounge. The lounge, actually a tent with a Turkish motif, is established at various rock concert venues (places where lots of young people go) throughout the country. Like the "7 Pleasures of the Casbah", visitors received free cigarettes and the opportunity to intermingle with a belly dancer.

In February 2002, entertainment agencies began searching for belly dancers for this year's Casbah Lounges. The belly dancer was to mingle with the patrons.  The belly dancer could dance occasionally but there were no apparent time demands on the length of performance or how much time to devote to dance during each of the several hour engagements. To select the dancer, the advertising agencies requested pictures only and never asked for information regarding dance experience or skills. As noted in the article "The Mysterious Unveiled" (see this month’s Causerie below) the only requirement was that the dancer be attractive.

Share your thoughts:

• Should belly dancers promote smoking?
  
  

• Should belly dancers accept engagements in which the primary qualification is beauty rather than dance skill?

(Send your comments to Arleah@desertmoondance.com.)

Note: Desert Moon Dance has not participated in these events; however we can report that in St. Louis, the Casbah Camel Cigarette Lounge is at the UMB Bank Pavilion, formerly Riverport Amphitheater.

 

September 2002

Know Your Belly Dance Music

 

Music that has no lyrics or that comes from a belly dance music CD is usually a safe bet for dancing. If the music you like is; however, from another source or has lyrics be careful. The music you select may insult or anger your audience. Consider the possibilities.

It is not appropriate to belly dance to all types of music. For example, a musical prayer or music telling a story of pain and suffering is usually not appropriate. Sometimes music may sound happy even when the lyrics are soulfully sad and painful.  It would be an embarrassing discovery to find yourself dancing joyously to such music.

Consider the language of the lyrics and who you are performing for. An Egyptian audience is likely to be insulted if the lyrics are in Farsi and not Arabic. Turkish or Gulf music may not be enjoyed by a Lebanese audience.

If you are not careful, you could find yourself, for example, dancing to the popular Palestinian group Sabreen with lyrics like:

"They put chains on his mouth
They tied his hands to the rock of the dead
And said: You are a murderer"

During the past six months I saw Egyptian Oriental Dance performed to Nubian music and to shaabi music. I saw Persian Gulf dancing to Egyptian pop music. Respect your audience, the culture from which your dances are derived and yourself by not making your dance laughable.

 

July 2002

Persian Dance

This month Laurel Victoria Gray shares her thoughts regarding the various dance styles referred to as "Persian Dance"  as follows:

The term "Persian dance" can be applied to a variety of regions and historical periods, making a strict definition difficult. After all, the Persian Empire once extended to Egypt. The population includes diverse ethnicities such as Kurds, Uzbeks, Turkmens, Jews, Armenians, and numerous Iranian tribal groups. Each group, each region, and each historical epoch has specific dance styles associated with it.

Styles can range from "Bandari" , a lively folk dance from the Persian Gulf region which contains strong Arabic and African influences, to sophisticated reconstructions of refined court dances. The movement vocabulary, costuming, music, demeanor, and context of these dances can widely vary.

Does this only obfuscate rather than elucidate?

Perhaps it may help to remember that the Persian language, Farsi, belongs to the Indo-European family, as does English. Arabic, like Hebrew and Aramaic, is Semitic. Likewise, Persian dance has different traits than Arabic dance.

Persian dance often utilizes delicate, graceful movements of the hands and arms, such as wrist circles. Animated facial expressions are central to the concept of "naz," that difficult-to-define quality of alluring flirtatiousness that marks the best performers.

Hip movements are sometimes used, but to a much lesser extend than in Arabic dance; these motions are often achieved by moving the legs in contrast with the true isolations of Arabic dance. Shoulder isolation appear but rarely sustained shoulder shimmies with the notable exception of "Bandari."

Like almost all of the dances of the East, the floor often becomes a significant element, with a performer kneeling or sitting in part of her presentation. Backbends and lay backs can occur.

Elaborate and complex spins and spiral turns are found in various Persian dances. This contrasts from the rare use of extended spinning in traditional Arabic folk dances. (The "tanoura" or "whirling dervish" dance has its own unique history.)

As for the variety of costuming, several regional and historical Persian dance costumes can be