Bellydance Revisionist History

 

 

Bellydance Revisionist History?

 

Debke,A Brief History by Tasha Banat from gildedserpent.com

 

I really enjoyed the above linked article.  Finally someone who seems to have a good grasp of bellydance history.   A point I would like to highlight is that,
 
"Belly Dance is only one type of dance in the Middle East so it cannot be called Middle Eastern Dance – that is completely wrong so please, do not use the term 'Middle Eastern Dance' to replace Belly Dance."
 
If you check my history and perspectives on bellydance page you'll see that I have said the same thing.  I know that in this country we often use the term Middle Eastern Dance to avoid the so-called 'exhibitionist' history of the word, not to mention the negative connotation that the world still has today.  Its probably true that people associate bellydance more with selatiousness than the term Middle Eastern Dance, but the reality it that it doesn't authentically define our dance.  Ultimately its mis-representation which leads to misunderstanding which is probably one of the reasons why bellydance already has a bad reputation.  Furthermore, if this article is correct there is an Arabic term 'raks b'tn' meaning stomach dance then bellydance is a very authentic gloss for the original Arabic.  Very interesting, we might have to rewrite our own history of bellydance at the Chicago's Worlds Faire.  What will we do without Sol Bloom to blame for the fact that the American public sometimes does not appreciate bellydance?  I guess we will just have to focus the cultural aspects of the present day which still make people uncomfortable with bellydance rather than simply blaming the past.  I wonder what we will find.  Perhaps that elements of our culture are really just as prudish as they were in the 1890s.  Perhaps that Orientalism is alive and well or rather other forms of Middle Eastern/Arabi prejudice.  Perhaps that feminine sexuality is still frightening when presented without a complementary male sexuality.  I don't really know what the relevant issuare are but I'm fascinated.  I am sensing a project coming on!
 

 

Truly Numinous Dance

Although I have had a great deal of dance training, I feels that it is essential to reach out to the dancers without training or even the dancers that would not traditionally be called dancers.  Dance is intimately connected with life.  Dance is defined as rhythmic movement.  If you listen to your body, you discover that the body is all about rhythm. The heart beat and the steady inhale and exhale of the breath are the basic rhythms of life, and in this rhythm we live and move and have our being.  In other words, if you're alive you're moving to the rhythms of the body, and if you're moving in rhythm you're dancing.  Life is dance.  We are all dancers.  I want my life's pursuit is to be about sharing a dance which heals, inspires, and enlightens.  Some people might assume that this article means I'm a dancer who focuses more on the wellness and religious aspects of bellydance rather than the artistic side.  I prefer to think of it as an expression of the spiritual within art i.e. the numinous.

A reaction to "Gaining Respect for Bellydance Artists Manifesto Ask Yasmina, Column #15 by Yasmina Ramzy posted January 5, 2011"

 Original Article

Interesting article and there are many points here that I agree with.  There are several points however that I feel inclined to comment on. 1. "learn the subject matter until you fully comprehend it" I'm not sure what this refers to.  The dance history/ethnography? The dance move itself?  I'm not sure its fair to say anyone fully comprehends these things.  I also think everyone is guilty from time to time of repeating facts that appear to be correct only to encounter some evidence to the contrary later.  Its sorta the nature of scholarship and learning.  But generally I agree there should be standard of competency for a belly dance teacher, but its not in anyway spelled out or enforceable in our community.  2."Do not begin to teach unless at least one of your own teachers says that you are ready." This sounds like a really nice guideline but in my experience its completely impractical.  I have encountered teachers who send there intermediate students (as in they have an advanced class too) out to teach simply to make more money for their belly dance empire.  I have also met teachers who were so completely absorbed in their bitter jealousies that they didn't believe anyone who studied under them was every qualified to teach.  You can not simply rely on someone else in the community to decide if you are ready to teach or not.  I believe its a complex question that requires a lot of research into what is acceptable in the belly dance world as a whole and also what is happening locally.  These things need to be balanced very carefully and there are no easy answers. 3. "never admonish" and "never diminish" good point.  Hopelessly idealistic but nice none the less.  At this point I don't think I know any teachers with proper conduct (hopefully myself ).   Certainly I don't know any that follow all 9 of these rules of conduct.  Moving on to the nightclub performer section.  I am confused if this is intended to be just about nightclubs or if it also applies to restaurants.  I am going to assume it applies to restaurants and that my experience therefore is relevant since I dance at a restaurant.  Several of these points are intended to make the dancer more aloof especially say not sitting at peoples tables.  I tried this when I first started working at the restaurant and I discovered that people where hurt and offended that I did not make myself present after my set so they could chat and talk and tip me.  It is a family establishment after all why would it not have a family atmosphere with the belly dancer.   However, I do agree with part of the implication behind this guideline which I would describe as not flirting after your show. The last point I want to address here is the point about never undercutting the going market rate in your community.  I have been concerned about this for a long time.  To determine the going market rate of my community I need several data points grouping around mean with a reasonable  standard deviation.  In my community it ain't happening.  People dance for anything and everything.  When I started dancing at my restaurant I had been trying to book a restaurant gig for 6 months to no avail so I began to worry about my prices.  I asked everyone what they would charge and I received everything from about a 4th of  my asking price to double my asking price.  Finally I just had to chuck all the advice and ask myself what am I willing/needing to work at and how do I negotiate that out of the restaurant owner.   Anyway my real world experience was messy and no single set of guidelines would have got me through it.