Articles
- It's Not About Being Perfect
- Belly Massage for Belly Dancers
- Huraiva's Reviews
- Stop the Food Fight
- Ask Isis
- All I Really Need to Know I Learned from Bellydancing
- Bhangra Fusion
- Belly Dance, Weight Loss, and Body Image
- Overcoming Physical Obstacles in Belly Dance
- Napolean
- The Constant Grind
- Tribal and Cabaret
- Envy, Admiration, and Inspiration
- A Bedlah for Every Body
- Tribal Belly Dance
It's Not About Being Perfect
by Nicole Kelley of the Bonner Springs "Cheiftan"
Archive for Thursday, June 5, 2008
Belly dancing: ‘It’s not about being perfect’
Maya Zahira, instructor of a belly dancing class at the Bonner Springs Community Center, demonstrates how to dance with a veil. Students of the class learned movements for their arms and hips in addition to working with veils and finger cymbals. Enlarge photo — Photo by Nicole Kelley
By Nicole Kelley
June 5, 2008
The jingling of coins, the shaking of hips and the flowing of brightly colored fabric veils filled the Bonner Springs Community Center on Thursday for the first day of belly dancing classes.
Participants swayed their hips from side to side to the beats of Middle Eastern music and used “zills,” or finger cymbals, to follow the drum rhythm while learning the beginning basics of the dance.
Instructor Maya Zahira, owner and director of the Maya Zahira School of Belly Dance, has been traveling to communities in Kansas and Missouri teaching belly dancing classes for the last six years and first came to Bonner Springs in January 2008.
“All different body types feel good doing the dance,” Zahira said of belly dancing. “You just feel beautiful.”
For Zahira, belly dancing has been a life-changing experience that has left many positive marks on her life.
Immediately hooked
Belly dancing first came into her life 10 years ago. She was going through a divorce and said she was searching for an activity that she could do just for herself. After one class she was hooked, which led to a weight lost of 100 pounds, a career change and a happier outlook.
“It was just so intriguing,” she said.
The more she got involved with belly dance, the more her life improved. Zahira said that the dance helped her with improving her body image and self esteem.
Zahira studied belly dancing in New York City. She gave up her elementary school teaching job and began teaching belly dancing classes. She said the classes went so well in the beginning she decided to make it her new career and start her own school.
Despite her own significant weight loss, Zahira said she doesn’t like to place too much emphasis on weight loss in her classes. She said what was more important was a healthier and more “balanced” body.
“I want to help women to shift that thinking and to feel better about themselves,” Zahira said. “It’s not about being perfect.”
Most of the people who attend Zahira’s classes just want to have fun and are looking for a more interesting way to get exercise. The movements involved in belly dance can improve balance, flexibility and cardio vascular health, Zahira said.
The class she teaches at the Bonner Springs Community is choreographed to benefit people with different limitations. She said students could expect to work up a sweat although the exercise is gentle on the body.
“I hope that these ladies have fun and in some way become healthier and feel better about themselves physically and emotionally,” Zahira said.
In her blood
One of this current session’s four participants is Stefanie Livonia of Lansing. Livonia was born in Beirut, Lebanon, and a family in the United States adopted her. She said she signed up for the belly dancing class because she wanted to get in touch with a part of her heritage.
“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do,” she said. “I figure, why not learn something that’s in my blood.”
Livonia said she always was looking for a way to get healthier as well. She used to take an aerobics class, which she liked, but thought a dancing class would be even more fun.
“I have no idea what I’m doing, but I’m having fun and exercising at the same time,” she said.
Where else?
The same goes for beginner Jennifer Mata of Edwardsville. Mata said she had a friend who took a belly dancing class in Lenexa earlier this year and raved about how much fun she had. Mata figured she’d give it a try and was happy with the how the first session went even though it was her first-ever attempt.
Belly Massage for Belly Dancers
by Maya Zahira
Belly Massage for Belly Dancers
I recently had the pleasure and privilege of receiving a Maya Abdominal Massage from massage therapist, Ashlee Harrison. The massage was extremely relaxing and therapeutic, and I’d like to share my experience with you.
First, a bit of information about Maya Abdominal Massage: The massage techniques are based on the healing practices of Dr. Rosita Arvigo, who incorporates elements of massage, anatomy and physiology, herbology, nutrition, and emotional and spiritual healing. Dr. Arvigo’s mentor was the late Don Elijio, the great Mayan Shaman of Belize, Central America, who believed that a woman’s overall health is affected by the health of her uterus. As part of Ashlee’s massage training, she traveled to Belize, where she trained with Dr. Arvigo.
The massage itself addresses “position and health of the pelvic and abdominal organs. The work is best known for the correction of the prolapsed, fallen, or tilted uterus and for the prevention and treatment of benign prostate enlargement in men, and for the relief of many common digestive disorders.” (http://arvigomassage.com/definition_and_history.php) Additional benefits include relief from menstrual pain, fibroid tumors, endometriosis, and urinary and bladder problems.
After hearing about the many benefits of Maya Abdominal Massage, I was quite intrigued and wanted to see if it would help me with my own health issues. After making the appointment with Ashlee, I downloaded the massage intake form off of Ashlee’s website. The form would allow Ashlee to collect extensive information about my physical and emotional health so that she could better meet my needs.
When I arrived for my massage, Ashlee was there to greet me. We went into the massage room where Ashlee proceeded to review my intake form, ask me additional questions about my health and give me further information about Maya Abdominal Massage. Ashlee was very sensitive and respectful in discussing my health issues, which helped to put me at ease with the whole process.
After the intake, Ashlee left the room so that I could disrobe to my level of comfort and crawl under the warm layers of sheets and blankets on the massage table. After a few minutes, she knocked on the door to make sure I was ready for her to enter the room.
The first half of the massage focused primarily on the lower back and hips. Ashlee used firm yet gentle pressure, and I could instantly feel the tightness in my hips and lower back releasing. Halfway through the massage, I turned over onto my back, and Ashlee began to work on my abdomen with smooth flowing strokes. She worked on my entire abdomen, from right below my rib cage to the top of my pelvic bone. A couple of times, I had to take some deep breaths through some discomfort, as some areas in my upper abdomen felt tender. (It was worth it, though, because I felt MUCH better later!) One part of the tummy massage was particularly relaxing for me. Ashlee was massaging my entire abdomen in a big clockwise circle, and it felt GREAT! Very relaxing.
At the end of the massage, Ashlee taught me how to do the tummy massage on myself. I felt that this was the most important part of the experience since I believe that we are ultimately responsible for our own healing.
Immediately after the massage, I felt very relaxed and tranquil. I have been practicing the abdominal massage on myself and I feel that it has helped to relax my digestive system. I highly recommend this massage for anyone who wants to experience an improvement in their abdominal health.
Ashlee Harrison practices various forms of massage at Channels of Healing in Lawrence, KS. If you’d like to make an appointment, you may contact Channels of Healing at 785-856-4433, http://www.channelsofhealing.com. Or, you may contact Ashlee directly at 866-379-9186. Check out her website www.sweetthyme.net for more information about Maya Abdominal Massage.
Belly<
Huraiva's Reviews
by Huraiva
Huraiva’s Reviews by Huraiva Alimah, Instructor
The Discover Bellydance series by Neena and Veena, the Bellytwins, is one of the first group of videos that come to mind when asked by my students for recommended practice videos. The series is comprised of three DVDs. All three videos include a short warm up, technique, a short choreography and a performance section. The videos get progressively more difficult, however none of the moves should be beyond an Intermediate level student, and a beginner should be able to follow the vast majority. Many of the moves are those taught in our Level I classes, with some Level II moves added in the second and third videos.
The first DVD in the series is “Basic Dance”. In this video Neena and Veena cover various arm positions, some basic arm and hand moves, head slides, shoulder shimmies, rib cage moves, hip circles, hip circle pivot turn, crescents, hip drops, hip lift shimmy, rocking step, two point turn and the basic Egyptian. All and all a great practice video for beginner level students. The DVD version of this video includes three bonus performances, one in Turkish Cabaret style, the second in Persian Folkloric style and the third a modern Egyptian number.
The second DVD is “Beyond Basic Dance”. This video builds on the foundation laid in the first video and covers variations on the arm moves covered in “Basic Dance” as well as some new arm positions, vertical rib circles, traveling crescents, circle and a half, drop kick, drop kick turn, hip bump, hip downs, hip lift shimmy with hip slide, three point turn, cross point, three-quarter shimmy, 1-2-3 step, and a cute step called the Arabian Horse. This DVD would be a good practice DVD for an Intermediate level student, especially when combined with the first one. The DVD version of this video includes three bonus performances. The first one is a slower Turkish Cabaret number including veil and floor work, the second is a different style of Persian dance from the one demonstrated in the previous DVD with some African influence and the third another modern Egyptian number.
The third DVD is “Mystic Dance”. Here the Belly Twins continue to build on the foundation established in the first two DVDs. Again it starts with arm positions and movements, followed by up-to-down undulations, forward and backward hip figure 8s, upward 8, Mayas, bicycle hips, side hip figure-8, 4-count walk, traveling up-to-down undulation, paddle turn, barrel turn, step turn, and veil work. This video combined with the other two would be a great hour long (if only the technique portions of the videos were used) practice routine of Intermediate level dancers. The DVD version of this video includes three bonus performances. The first one is a fast Turkish drum solo, the second and third are modern Egyptian numbers.
I definitely recommend this series as a great way to practice between classes for Beginner and Intermediate level dancers and a good review for Advanced dancers.
Stop the Food Fight
by Maya Zahira
It’s that time of year again; everyone is making New Year’s resolutions to lose weight and try out the newest diet trend. I, on the other hand, have made a completely different type of resolution. I have resolved to never diet ever again.
Most women in our culture have been on a diet at some point in their lives. Many women have tried diet after diet year after year, depriving themselves of the joy of eating, only to gain even more weight than when they started. It is an endless cycle that keeps us unhappy with our beautiful bodies, and over the years, many of us even come to see food as the enemy.
The reality is that diets DO NOT work. First, when we diet, we cause our body to go into starvation mode. When we restrict calories or refrain from eating when we are hungry, our body thinks that there is a famine and it responds with many biological processes, including the slowing of metabolism, as well as the storing of more fat in order to keep us alive.
A dieting body is a starving body, so, the key is to eat a variety of nutritious foods when we are hungry.
Second, studies have shown that food deprivation can cause food obsession, binging, purging, anorexia, and personality changes, including “apathy, irritability, moodiness, and depression”. (Tribole, p. 60)
Let’s focus in on food obsession. When we deprive ourselves of a particular type of food (for example, cookies), we inadvertently create a mental obsession around that food. While dieting, we think of that food often, and we crave that food more and more, until we finally break down and eat several cookies or even an entire box of cookies. Food deprivation invariably leads to “rebound eating” (Tribole, p. 76), which then leads to feelings of guilt and shame, not to mention additional weight gain.
The solution to the diet rollercoaster is commonly called “intuitive eating”. This involves honoring one’s hunger signals by actually eating when you are hungry and stopping when you are full. It seems like such a simple concept, really a “no-brainer”, but for someone like me who has been dieting since childhood, the realization of this concept has been a total eye-opener.
It is time to stop the food fight! Food is not the enemy. Food keeps us alive! Food is a delight to the senses, and eating is an experience that should give us joy and pleasure. This year, why not make a resolution to finally make peace with food?
Sources:
Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch, St. Martin’s Griffin, New York, 1995
The Only Diet There Is by Sondra Ray, Celestial Arts, Berkely, CA, 1981
Do I Look Fat in This? by Rhonda Britten, Penguin Publishers, New York, 2006
The Body Sacred by Diane Sylvan, Lewellyn Publications, Woodbury, MN, 2005
Ask Isis
by Isis
Ask Isis! Questions for the Belly Dance Goddess
Dear Isis,
When may a student of belly dance consider herself a "belly dancer"?
Thank you,
Miss Belly Dance
I believe that every woman has a belly dancer living inside her, waiting to come out and dance. Each of us is capable of grace and beauty in this dance form. As soon as a woman takes her first class or does her first practice, she is a belly dancer, participating in an ancient tradition. There shouldn't be any competition in belly dance, it's a welcoming art form and you shouldn't feel like you need to achieve a certain technique level or performance record to be a "belly dancer." If you enjoy participating in the art form, then you are truly a belly dancer, in heart and body!
All I Really Need to Know I Learned from Bellydancing
by Gaitri
All I Really Need to Know I Learned From Bellydancing
by Gaitri, Assistant Director
I’ve been bellydancing for almost 6 years now and I have discovered some very important lessons along my journey. I thought I would share them with you as we shimmy our way into a new year in the hopes that they will help you along your own journey.
1) Listen to the rhythm and it will guide you.
2) It’s okay that things jiggle.
3) No one is limited by size, shape, age, race, or gender.
4) Turn your cell phone off when you’re supposed to be focusing on something.
5) If you support those around you, they will support you.
6) Make sure to keep your Right’s and Left’s straight.
7) Sparkles make everything better.
8) Practice makes perfect.
9) Breathe!
10) Be careful with sharp objects and fire.
11) Live a balanced life – make sure you dance and work and play and love every day.
12) Fill each movement you make with passion.
13) Love your body and it will love you back.
14) Stretch things daily – both your mind and your body.
15) When all else fails, SHIMMY!!!
Bhangra Fusion
by Amara
Bhangra Fusion by Amara Duende, Assistant Director
Indian dance and belly dance share a lot of the same movement vocabulary, and thus are wonderful to mix together!
Bhangra dance originated in the Punjab region of India. It shares the origin of "folk dance" with belly dance, and like belly dance, has gained a lot of popularity in recent years. Mixed with Bollywood, reggae, and hip hop dance and music, Bhangra dance has become mainstream.
Bhangra has developed as a combination of many Indian dance forms, including Jhumar and Giddha. Some of these dances were originally men's dances, and some women's. The movements of the men's dances were aggressive and percussive, including lots of jumps, kicks, and what belly dancers would call 'accent moves.' This has had a heavy influence on what we see in Bhangra dance today, which is an energetic, aerobically challenging form of dance.
A modern incarnation of Bhangra dance is Bollywood dance, which takes influence from classical Indian dances as well as Western dances. "Bollywood," a term for a section of India's film industry, now refers to the music and dance commonly found in those movies, and by extension, elsewhere throughout the culture as the movies help to encourage the popularity of these art forms. The vocabulary of Bollywood dance movements has a lot in common with belly dance, including hip lifts and drops, rib cage slides and circles, interior and exterior hip circles, and snake arms. Often these movements are softer and bigger than their traditional Egyptian relatives, and are mixed with the shoulder drops, kicks, jumps, expressive face and head movements, and mudra (Indian hand movements convey various meanings) unique to Indian dance.
Riverside Level III Tribal class is currently adding some Bhangra and Bollywood influenced movements into their Tribal Improvisational repertoire. We hope you enjoy seeing this unique dance influence in our next performance!
Belly Dance, Weight Loss, and Body Image
by Maya Zahira
In 1998 I was 100 pounds heavier. My self-esteem was poor and I was uncomfortable with my body. I had tried all sorts of exercise plans and special diets, but I just wasn't able to lose the weight. I was going through a divorce, so I decided to do something nice for myself and sign up for a belly dance class at the local community center. I was immediately hooked! I started dancing all the time and it changed me from the inside out. I began to feel more comfortable with my body, I began to walk with more grace, and best of all, I developed a new-found sense of self-esteem and confidence. And, as a wonderful side effect of the dancing, the pounds started to melt off, seemingly with no effort. After 6 months, I had lost 80 pounds, and after another 6 months, I lost the final 20. I felt like a new woman!
Today I teach belly dancing full-time to women of all ages, shapes, and sizes. I love to see women gain self-confidence, get fit, and learn to love themselves through this transformative dance. Many women are inspired by my weight loss story, but I always try to emphasize one very important thing--Belly dancing was not a quick fix weight-loss pill that created instant self-esteem. Instead, belly dancing helped me to appreciate and love myself completely for who I was. I finally got over my personal hang-ups with being non-slim. I grew to appreciate my beautiful womanly curves. My first teacher, Ferdoas, was a beautiful woman with large shapely hips; she was a great inspiration to me. I also began to notice other non-slim women who seemed to exude beauty. The graceful, sensuous movements of belly dance helped me to tune into my body and to love it more for what it was at that particular time.
I find it ironic and funny that in learning to love my womanly-shaped body, I actually ended up losing a significant amount of weight. My health and general well-being improved so significantly after losing the weight that I was very encouraged to take on additional healthy habits. I began eating a healthy diet, getting plenty of rest, keeping my stress to a minimum, and getting regular exercise. These were habits I adopted AFTER losing the weight. I now enjoy how I feel in a slender body. I feel healthy and strong, and full of stamina.
My hope is that all women who learn to belly dance will learn to love themselves more. Each woman should know that she is a beautiful, sensuous, graceful goddess.
Overcoming Physical Obstacles in Belly Dance
by Maya Zahira
All of us have had to overcome obstacles in belly dancing. Some of these obstacles may include physical challenges like bad knees, stiff neck, arthritis, a bad hip, fatigue, and scoliosis to name just a few. In addition, many students have great difficulty maintaining the tucked pelvis position because of years of standing with an unhealthy sway back posture. And yet other students cannot even complete hip and rib cage slides due to years of inactivity and inflexibility.
Many dance students quickly assume that they will never be capable of doing certain dance moves because of their physical obstacles. Why do we give up so quickly? If only we could see these obstacles as projects to be tackled!
So, how can a student overcome their physical challenges? The answer is certainly not simple and will be unique from person to person. First and foremost, it will take commitment, hard work, and patience. Depending on the physical issue, some people may experience physical improvement from medical treatment like physical therapy, medications, or surgery, or alternative therapies like massage, yoga, acupuncture, chiropractic, etc. Other students may benefit from merely taking better care of their personal needs including diet, sleep, exercise, and stress-reduction. The important thing to remember is this: Be patient and don’t give up! It may take months or even years to overcome some obstacles, and it may take a multitude of different methods and therapies.
Easier said than done? Maybe so, but if I can do it, so can you! When I first started belly dancing, I could not do even the tiniest rib cage slide because I have two large scoliosis curves in my spine (33 and 28 degrees!). The scoliosis also made it very difficult to perform any moves with my left hip. In addition, I couldn’t even stand with correct dance posture (tucked pelvis) due to lordosis, a condition in which my lumbar spine actually curved outward to create a sway back. On top of all that, I had also been diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome (comparable to chronic mono) and hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), which made it difficult for me to make it through even the mildest of belly dance classes.
In the last several years, I have used a variety of methods to overcome my obstacles. Stress-reduction, diet, sleep, and exercise have helped to dramatically improve the chronic fatigue syndrome and hypoglycemia. Stretching, yoga, and chiropractic have greatly improved my flexibility and range of motion in my spine. I am still not able to perform a backbend in my belly dance routines, but I haven’t given up on that one yet!
My current physical obstacle in belly dancing is my knees. Ever since I was a teenager, I have not been able to level change down to a kneeling position without piercing pain. This, of course, puts great limitations on my ability to perform floor work. Instead of assuming that I will never ever be capable of doing floor work, I am convinced that I will eventually work past this obstacle. I am currently using acupuncture and specific yoga stretches to help me.
So, just wait! One of these days you’ll see me perform a fabulous floor work routine, and maybe I’ll even do a backbend!
Napolean
by Amara
Next time somebody asks you why you bellydance, just answer: “Napoleon.”
Seeking his own fame and fortune when Europe had grown tiresome, Napoleon set his sites on what he called “the East, the fountain of glory.” Fancying himself a modern-day Alexander, he gathered around him a huge army and organized a Commission of Arts and Sciences to participate in an expedition to Egypt. They set out in 1798, and didn’t leave until 1801, when the French army was forced to accept British surrender terms. In that short time, so much information about Egyptian culture and life was brought back to Europe that Orientalism was in full swing by the beginning of the 1800s.
Orientalism – a word that means many things but refers here to the popular craze for all things “Eastern” or “Oriental” – affected Europeans and Americans as well. Many people who had the money to travel made their destination Egypt, and brought back fantastic tales of a culture so different from European culture it was hardly to be believed. Souvenirs and stories from the “Orient” were in high demand. When Napoleon’s Commission of Arts and Sciences began in 1809 to publish Description de l’Egypte, an enormous series of volumes which collected all the information obtained by study and scrutiny during the occupation of Egypt, it only served to further the West’s obsession with everything Eastern.
Part of what the French, and later, other travelers, encountered that they found so fascinating was the culture of women’s dance in Egypt. The soldiers and scholars of Europe encountered the Awalim and the Ghawazee dancers. The Awalim, a group of learned women who were singers and poets as well as occasional dancers for private audiences, actually left Cairo during Napoleon’s occupation in order to avoid the soldiers. However, the Ghawazee, a traveling tribe of people who earned their living by dancing in public, stayed in Egypt to take advantage of the new audience.
Filtered down through many channels, bellydance comes to us partially from these women that the Europeans encountered in Egypt. Napoleon’s personal fascination with the “East” led to a widespread European and American obsession with the same. Our own current love of the culture and dance of the Middle East can be traced to many sources, but if you want to simplify it, just say “Napoleon!”
The Constant Grind
by Margo Abdo O'Dell
Would it surprise you to know that from 25,000 to 40,000 BC, goddess
cultures flourished around the world and women were revered?
Women’s bodies were even considered sacred because they
represented the very essence of life. Evidence of these
well-endowed figures can be seen on statuary, reliefs and ancient
vases.
Today, the bitter truth is that the curvaceous and fleshy female
figure is constantly disrespected by the media and pop culture.
Women are repeatedly bombarded with messages and methods
to become thin, thinner, thinnest. It’s a constant emotional
grind to stay above the ubiquitous assertion that we are not good
enough.
How would you describe your own body? Do positive words come to mind?
Probably not. As for many women, the negative messages for me began
when I was a young girl shopping in the chubette department. Anyone
out there remember similar horrifying shopping experiences?
How could they use that word, chubette?
I’m not saying we shouldn’t watch our weight. In fact, I’m very
into health, exercise and weight management. But I’m also
concerned about the emotional scars these negative words
and images perpetrate on women and girls.
Let’s get real with a few facts from a recent Stanford University
study:
The average American woman is 5'4" tall and weighs 140 pounds.
The average American model is 5'11" tall and weighs 117 pounds.
On any given day, 25 percent of men and 45 percent of women
are on a diet.
Each year Americans spend more than $40 billion on dieting and
diet-related products.
80 percent of women are dissatisfied with their appearance.
I could go on, but you get my drift. Because there are extremely
unrealistic images of the “desirable woman” thrust upon us
(just pick up a fashion or women’s magazine), it’s no wonder
the vast majority of women are dissatisfied with their looks.
In response to those images, we sometimes engage in self-loathing
rather than self-loving behavior such as beating our bodies into
submission at the gym, starving ourselves, overeating for comfort,
wearing baggy clothes to hide our hips, and feeling generally
ashamed, unhappy or detached from our physical being.
Several years ago I was moved to action when I received an
expensive, glossy advertising piece for the women’s department
of an upscale store. The models in expensive, designer clothes,
with dark circles under their eyes, looked as if they’d been
shooting heroin and hadn’t eaten in months. Their skeletal
frames were draped on top furniture in provocative positions.
Disgusted, I wrote to the store and described my concerns.
They responded with a professional looking letter of little
content. No subsequent advertising piece from that
store caused me any where near the consternation.
Did my letter have an impact? Who knows?
On a recent trip to New Jersey, I asked a group of dance
students to give me one adjective to describe their hips.
Their responses included “powerful”, “expressive”,
“sensuous”,
“big – but in a good way”, “flexible”, and “strong”. Not
the
responses of a typical group of American women.
Other students report the dance helped them recover from breast
cancer, divorce and sexual abuse. It improved their self-esteem,
confidence and grace. And it helped them shed pounds – up to
100 pounds in one year for a dancer in Kansas City.
Now, I’m not recommending everyone sign up for my dance
classes, but you certainly can if you’d like! My purpose in relating
these experiences is to demonstrate women’s empowering
emotional and physical transformations and the fact that they
were the masters of those transformations. They didn’t look to
something or someone outside themselves for validation of their
femininity.
Dance is not for everyone and I firmly believe it doesn’t matter
whether
its dance, sports, walking, or gardening. What does matter is that we
move.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) determined that f
Tribal and Cabaret
by Amara
American Nightclub and Tribal Style Belly Dance
by Amara
The Maya Zahira School of Belly Dance
There are countless styles of belly dance, from ethnic dances which originate in just one area to new modern styles which fuse many styles. Our School offers classes in that focus on two varieties of belly dance: Cabaret and Tribal. Both of these types of classes also often draw influence from other styles of dance, for instance, in our Cabaret classes, Romani (Gypsy) fusion and Ancient Egyptian Pharoanic dance are used, among others. In Tribal class, Indian, Spanish, and modern dance are all very influential. Cabaret style and Tribal style are very different in many respects, but also similar in some important ways.
Cabaret style, sometimes called American Nightclub style, is an amalgam of many different kinds of belly dance, from Egyptian to Turkish, with influences drawn from modern dance and new American additions to belly dance, such as extended veil dancing and sword balancing. It’s look is glitzy, with beaded and sequined costumes similar to Egyptian belly dance costumes. The look can range from floaty and graceful to dramatic and powerful. Elements important to performance at restaurants or parties are often very influential – for instance, solo dancing is emphasized, as often is a playful, flirtatious style of movement and attitude. This style of dance has been evolving and changing since 1893 when Little Egypt performed at the World’s Fair in Chicago, bringing belly dance to the New World and exposing it to the influences of American society. Hollywood in particular had a large influence on Cabaret style, as Orientalist movies portrayed belly dance in an ahistorical but highly glamorous way. The fictional but very popular Hollywood fantasy of beautiful harem women dancing for the Sultan helped spark America’s obsession with this ancient but ever-evolving dance form.
Tribal style belly dance is also an melting pot of many styles. It was born in the 1960s, when Jamila Salimpour and her group Bal-Anat used a completely new image – Salimpour called it “ethnic” – for their performances. They dressed in antique textiles, cloth, tassels, and fringe, and wore antique jewelry from the Middle East. Rather than specifically dancing any particular traditional ethnic dance, though, they mixed influences as freely as Cabaret style did. bringing in influences from the Middle East, Africa, and India, as well as modern dance. The feel of Tribal style is earthier and less overtly performance-oriented, often focusing on a group of women dancing together, sometimes even facing each other (and not the audience). This is an example of the stylistic influence from ethnic dances where women danced as part of the cultural life, rather than as a performance. Today, Tribal style continues to exist in this form, and has also grown to include “Tribal Fusion” style, which draws less influence from ethnic dance and more from popular culture influences such as hip-hop dance and the Gothic culture.
These two styles of dance, both of which include many subcategories, continue to evolve and change as new dancers bring new influences and ideas to the arena. These two forms are sometimes even fused together in “Glamour Tribal” or “Tribaret” style. In American belly dance today, only personal creativity is the limit to what you can do, which gives this art form valuable freedom of expression and a power to communicate beyond boundaries of culture.
Envy, Admiration, and Inspiration
by Maya
Envy, Admiration, and Inspiration by Maya Zahira, Director
Every one of us is human, and therefore we can feel the emotions of jealousy and insecurity. The belly dance community is the perfect breeding-ground for such emotions, since most of us, in our heart of hearts, wants to be a beautiful, talented dancer. We can feel threatened by someone we perceive as better than us.
When I was a student, I overheard many indications of envy and jealousy in comments like, “Oh, I hate her, she’s such a good dancer,” or “She’s such a show-off in class, she’s not even that good!” The list of comments goes on and on.
Now, not all comments of envy are mean-spirited. Sometimes they take on a more insecure tone; such as, “I’m no good at belly dancing. I wish I could dance more like so-and-so,” or “I hate standing by her in class. She’s so good and it makes me feel bad.”
Why do people make such insecure comments? The answer is simple, but may take some of you by surprise. People make negative comments like this not because they dislike the person, but because they admire what they see and want that for themselves.
So, now I have a truly groundbreaking idea! Instead of expressing negativity, why not say to yourself, “I like what I see! I want to have that for myself, too!” Let yourself be inspired by that person. Of course, it is easier to complain. But let me ask you this, would you rather feel bad, or would you rather feel good? Of course, we’d all rather feel good! So, it is worth it to break free of our jealousies.
Now you might be grumbling to yourself, “That is SO unrealistic! I’ll never dance as well as so-and so.” Well, you might be right, you might be wrong. But you can aspire to dance as well as so-and-so and continue to practice. Perhaps you’ll even become a better dancer than her, perhaps not. Either way, you’ve allowed yourself to be inspired by someone. What an empowered place to be!
And you may as well accept that there will always be a better dancer out there. Even if you were to become an infamous “dance diva”, there will still be some dancer who can execute certain moves better than you. So, it doesn’t make sense to become jealous of more talented or experienced dancers!
The next time you notice yourself feeling jealous, try asking yourself, “What is it that I admire about that person?” Allow your envy to melt away and be replaced with inspiration. In the end, you will become a better dancer and a better person.
A Bedlah for Every Body
by Gaitri
A Bedlah for Every Body by Gaitri, Assistant Director
I think most dancers would agree that costuming is an essential part of belly dancing. But when it comes to buying or constructing your own costume, it can quickly get overwhelming as you start looking at the many options available. So I’ve compiled some tips to help you narrow down the choices and choose an ensemble that will truly flatter your figure.
One of the first things to do is to determine your body shape. Keep in mind that each shape has its own beauty. There are five shapes: the triangle, the inverted (or upside-down) triangle, the rectangle, the double triangle or hourglass, and the oval. In order to determine which category you fall you, I suggest finding a clean, full-length photograph of yourself where you can clearly see an outline of your body. Next, mark the key points of the body: the outside edges of the shoulders, hips, and waist. Then you just connect the dots and see what shape you get!
Now, let’s see what to do with each shape. If you fall into the triangle category, your hips are wider than your shoulders. To de-emphasize (make the hips and shoulders look more even), there’s two things to do. First, play up the shoulder area by incorporating vests and more elaborate decorations and/or jewelry to draw the attention up. Second, downplay the hips by using fringe that’s longer in the center.
Next is the inverted triangle, where the shoulders are wider than the hips. To balance this look out (making the hips look wider), you want to draw the eyes down to the edges of the hips. Keep the shoulders simple, and think about adding fringe on the top that hangs down the center to draw the eye down. For the belt, try either something that’s wider on the sides and thinner in the middle or that has a pair of focal points that draw the attention outward.
We’ll approach the double triangle or hourglass shape differently. This is actually the shape that most dancers are after, so we want to emphasize this, making the waist look even more narrow. V-shaped fringe on the top will act like an arrow to the waist. Straps on the belt that come up over the hips or actually wrap around the waist are another handy trick.
With the rectangle (where the shoulders, waist, and hips are all basically even), we’ll go back to de-emphasizing. This body shape has strong vertical lines that you can soften up by adding curves to the costume. Even if the costume itself isn’t curvy, it can have swooping color and/or beading patterns. Setting focal points asymmetrically can also help soften things up.
The oval is the reverse of the hourglass, with the waist being wider than the hips and shoulders. Try wearing the belt higher on the hips to de-emphasize the tummy. Using long and/or wide belly drapes will give the audience just a peek of this area during dancing. Gowns are another good choice for this figure, whether it be more loose and flowing, or something more sleek.
The biggest key with all the body shapes is wearing something that you feel comfortable in. When you feel like a queen in what you’re wearing, it will make your inner beauty shine through even brighter!
*referenced: Dawn Devine Brown and Barry Brown
Tribal Belly Dance
by Amara
Tribal Belly Dance by Amara Duende, Assistant Director
As a newer form of belly dance, Tribal style has caused a lot of strong reactions: some see it as a new step in the natural evolution of the dance form; others see it as something inauthentic that detracts from traditional varieties. Here are some answers to common questions about Tribal style.
Where did Tribal style come from?
Tribal style originated in the 1960s with Jamila Salimpour and her group Bal-Anat. Their dance was influenced by ethnic dances and clothing, and a very modern sense of creativity and experimentation. Two decades later, Carolena Nericcio and her group, Fat Chance Belly Dance, revitalized the Tribal dance scene with American Tribal Style (ATS). This was the origin of the “group improvisation” style that continues to be very popular. Today, the term “Tribal style” can encompass many things – from ATS to the newer Tribal fusion styles of dance such as those performed by the Indigo of San Francisco.
Why is it called Tribal style? The word “tribal,” rather than being a specific reference to tribal ethnic groups, is a reference to dancing in a group or “tribe” rather than as a solo performer, which is more popular in other styles of belly dance.
Is Tribal Style authentic/traditional belly dance?
It is difficult to define “traditional” or “authentic” in terms of dance – each person’s idea is different. Tribal style pulls its influence from many styles of belly dance, and even other styles of dance, such as Classical Indian dance, African dance, and modern dance.
As such, it is not an accurate representation of any one traditional form of belly dance from times past. While there are people who study and perform traditional ethnic dances, many forms of belly dance that are popular today are also constantly evolving, like Tribal Style – the Egyptian Oriental style and American Nightclub styles changed drastically in the late 1800s and early 1900s and continue to change today. As a beautiful form of belly dance and a powerful form of self-expression, Tribal Style is indeed “authentic.”
There are many wonderful resources where you can find out answers to your own belly dance questions, including our own new column, Ask Isis! Take a look at www.mayazahira.com’s list of recommended websites for a good start.
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