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This is Princess Farhana's blog entry from July 30, 2009.  She very articularly expands on the sentiments that I expressed last month.  Please take the time to read it...Shaia

Like the rest of the world, the belly dance community is changing rapidly. Modern technology, globalization, forward thinking, trends and the inclination towards Westernization in the countries of the Middle East and North Africa are all contributing to these swift changes. And, of course, the fact that Oriental Dance-in all it’smyriad forms- has been booming into a worldwide fad doesn’t hurt,either!

It’s probably not an exaggeration to state that bellydancing itself, it’s practice, application, and traditions have changedmore in the past decade than it had in the hundred years that precededthe New Millennium, if not many centuries previous to that.

Whilethe evolution of new styles and fusions within Oriental Dance areexciting, revitalizing, and amazing to watch and be a part of, we are still running the risk of seeing many elements of our beloved dancefade into obscurity, and perhaps become lost forever.

Personally,I am a huge advocate of individuals bringing creativity and innovationinto the dance; I love to experiment and mix and match dance genresmyself, and have become well known as both a traditionally based danceras well as a fusion performer. When I first started dancing, nearly twenty years ago, I learned as much as I could about all facets of Oriental dance, from cultural context to genre-specific signaturemovements, from differences in costuming to the traditions that surrounded certain rituals. I did this because it was fascinating tome, and I was obsessively hungry for knowledge about where our dancecame from. I spent hours doing research in libraries, because there wasno Internet; I took classes and workshops like a maniac and becamefamiliar with- and in many cases, well versed- in the nuances of manystyles of folkloric, classical and cabaret dances from Egypt, Turkey,Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia, Uzbekistan, Persia, and many othercountries- like flamenco, Romany dances, and the like. I was interestedprimarily in Egyptian raqs sharki, but also learned to balancescimitars and perform raqs shamadan. I played with many props asidefrom those as well, incuding trays, canes, Isis Wings, fans of allsizes, etc.

After a while, I wanted to add a personal stamp towhat I was doing, and began imbedding my own ideas, concepts and flights of fancy into my performances, at the same time many other dancers from all over the world were doing the exact thin, or something similar to it..

Recently, I had an experience that was kind oflike one of those Oprah Winfrey “A-ha! Moments”. I was dancing at aparty, and there was a woman- obviously a belly dancer- sitting in the audience who was happily wriggling in her seat. Excited to see a“sister”, I called her up to dance with me. The music playing wasclassical Egyptian, “Ganal Hawa” to be exact. She got up and begandancing-quite beautifully, I might add- but as we moved together, Ibegan to feel like we were trying to converse in two completelydifferent languages without a common ground for understanding. Thoughshe was dancing on the beat, and looked lovely, we were not in sync atall. I mirrored her movements, but she couldn’t mirror mine. She haddance training- it was apparent- but her movement vocabulary didn’tinclude the typical fluidity or layers I was used to seeing.

After my show, I spoke with her, and she was indeed a belly dancer,with four years of training. Though she liked my music, she didn’t knowwhat it was; she also told me she was a teacher, but preferred “themodern style”, she was a Tribal Fusion dancer. The thing about herthough, was that for all her wonderful movement, her hips were prettymuch NOT involved, what she was doing was basically a string of arm andhand movements and gestures, with some foot work and upper-bodyisolations. I didn’t get a chance to ask where she had studied, or withwhom, or if she was self-trained.

This experience stayed with me for days, causing me to think and reflect.

I adore Tribal Fusion…. or any kind of Fusion. I also love“traditional” ATS –or ITS, as it’s now sometimes called, as well as Flamenco Arabic Fusion, Samba-belly, Raks Gothique, Asian-Influenced,…. You get the idea. But it wasn’t just that the dancer was performing something “modern”… it just didn’t look at all like oriental dance to me.

I stared wondering: what happened to just plain old belly dance?

Two decades ago, if two dancers from opposite backgrounds- say Egyptian and Turkish- got together to dance, even just for fun, there would be ashared movement vocabulary. There would be stylistic differences ofcourse, but essentially, they would be dancing in the same “language”.One decade ago, if a tribal dancer and a cabaret dancer got together, there would still be similarities in the movement vocabulary… hiparticulations, foot work, hand and arm gestures, and of course, fingercymbals would be included! Nowadays, it’s different.

Thinkingabout the incident with the dancer, I wondered if I was mildly upsetand uneasy about this for personal (as opposed to professional)reasons. I wondered if the disconnection I felt was because I was being stubborn, an “old lady”, a belly dance Luddite or just a big ole stickin the mud…then I realized that while no one can call me a staunch traditionalist, I believe in keeping tradition alive!

Ibecame conscious of the fact that though I sometimes choose to takecreative liberties within my own dancing, I know enough about theculture, history and tradition of oriental dancing to make theseartistic choices from a well-informed, educated view-point. Since we are practicing an art form whose very origins are rather mysterious,and whose historical documentation has been spotty at best, it is our responsibility as dancers to respect and preserve our past, even as we lean towards the future!

There are many ways each individual dancer can do this, no matter what sortof style of dance you prefer to perform or teach, whether you performcabaret or fusion, whether you are a baby dancer, a pro, a student oran old hand! Here are some ideas I have used in my own studies that mayhelp you to connect- or reconnect- to the rich customs and rituals that make our dance so unique.

Study The Dance In Its Cultural Context

Do some homework- learn what you can about the many cultures thatinfluenced belly dancing, and how the dance grew and changed in it’scountries of origin. This can be as simple as opening a book or surfingthe Internet, or as time-consuming and costly as “making a pilgrimage”to North Africa or the Middle East. If you are a serious student orworking dancer and you can afford to plan for a dance-study trip, andhaven’t been to any of the belly dance “motherlands” before, it woulddefinitely behoove you to travel with a group, lead by a knowledgeableteacher. Many are available every year, many offer payments on time.Numerous “big names”, or dance legends such as Morocco, Hadia, EvaCernik, Angelika Nemeth, Fahtiem, Delilah, Cassandra and many othersoffer educational tours on a regular basis. If, in these horrideconomic times, taking a trip is not an option, then try to study thesame thing closer to home. Sahra Saeeda, one of the most well-educatedfigures in dance ethnology, not only offers educational dance tours,but has a workshop series, tailored to locals around the world, called“Journey Through Egypt”, which is an intensive and ultra-comprehensivestudy of Egyptian dance traditions and culture, region by region.

Familiarize Yourself With Traditional Music, Movements, And Costuming

As a dancer, you owe it to yourself, and as a teacher, you owe it toyour students- no matter what style you perform or prefer- to be ableto identify at least the most commonly used Arabic rhythms, as well asthe movements that compliment them. You should also be familiar withArabic musical structure, and know the titles of well-loved songs, andhave a working knowledge of famous composers and singers. Do someresearch on line and have a look at costuming: traditional or folkloricas opposed to modern; Turkish vs. Egyptian, etc.

Study this onyour own or seek out instructors who specialize in these fields, take afew classes or privates- or study via DVD’s, both instructionalprograms and dance documentaries. There are also many CD’s on themarket offering tracks featuring Arabic drum rhythms to help youidentify them.

Learn To Play Finger Cymbals

Unfortunately,what used to be a requisite for belly dancers of all stripes is quicklybecoming a lost art. Keep this art alive by challenging yourself, andlearning to play them if you don’t already! No matter what you callthem: zills, sagat- finger cymbals, especially to “the general public”they are representational of belly dancing. No, they’re not always easyto learn, but you will be so glad you did!

Early on in my dancejourney, like many students, playing cymbals daunted me. I declared tomy primary teacher, Zahra Zuhair that I was only going to danceEgyptian style- and not play zills- just like she did!

She arched a well-groomed brow at me and said, sweetly but firmly,

“That’s fine- it’s your decision…. but the difference between us is that I can play them if I want to!”

Well…that kinda drove the point home to me, and even though Ipractically bit through every layer of my lip in the frustrating process of mastering them, I learned them well, play them often, andrequire my students to learn to play them, too. Again, if you don’thave time in a busy schedule for classes, there are many DVD’s on themarket, which will allow you to drill your cymbal technique at home.

Get Lost In The Past For A Little While

Thanksto www.youtube.com, we all have access to a wealth of videos featuring legendary dancers- take advantage of this! Spend some time looking atcool movie clips from Egypt’s “Golden Age”, and watch Samia Gamal,Naima Akef, and Tahia Carioca in action. Have a look at Sixties andSeventies dancers like Suad Hosny, Soheir Zaki, Nagwa Fouad, or theTurkish star Nesrine Topkapi. While you’re at it, look up some NorthAfrican or Lebanese folkloric stuff, traditional Rom dances,traditional dances of Yemen, Syria, Israel, Persian Classical pieces,Bollywood, Bhangara, Uzbek dance, Egypian balady… the possibilities areendless, and it’s all there for you to see and become inspired by.

Remember… it’s up to every one of us to help keep our dance alive, and by honoring and preserving our belly dance past, you can assure its future!

You can go directly to Princess Farhana's blog by clicking on this link:

http://princessraqs.blogspot.com/2009/07/back-to-future-honoring-our-past-to.html

In recent years it has come to my attention that many new belly dancers are drawn to fusion, and practice this dance form without ever learning the roots of the dance -- folkloric, Raks Beledi, Raks Sharqi.  Today I read this statement from esteemed instructor and performer Nourhan Sharif:

" For years I was fearful of the future of organic Egyptian Dance as there is so much fusion around and confusion abound... while fusion is fun it is indeed departure...we need to know what we are departing from!"

I could not agree more with Ms. Sharif.  Learn your basics!  Study the history of the dance!  One great source is Shira (www.shira.net).  Take workshops that focus on Egyptian style.  Watch youtube vidoes of everyday Egyptian people dancing at weddings and parties. 

Abstract artists learn realism before they move into abstraction.  If you are more interested in fusion than pure Egyptian dance, familiarize yourself with what you are trying to fuse.  In the process, you may find yourself drawn to the subtle complexities of true Egyptian dance!

~ Shaia