First off thanks to Salome for such a clear and percise explanation. I totally agree. I see the Amercab style as the American born child of Egyptian and Turkish parents. Like all first generation kids, it has elements of its parents culture, but expressed with the flavor of the country where they are born. Am I making sense?
Aziyade also makes some good points about the music. There are different types of contemporary music. There is the jeel, Shabbi and what I've heard referred to as Shababi'eh music. Perhaps Uti could shed more light on this. UTI, PAGING DR. UTI, PLEASE REPORT TO THE ELEMENTS OF BELLY DANCING THREAD!
***Dear Aziyade,
I like techno music, but do not find it conducive to or having the same meaning as belly dance music, which is very dfined in its ethnicity regardless of musical instruments, etc. Techno is another thing, not related.
I totally agree with A'isha and Aziyade. Personally I hate it when a DJ overlays a techno beat over an Arabic song whether Shabbi, pop, folk or Classical Arabic because it just kills the spirit. Its like drowning french fries in katsup, (Sp?).
***For me, since the dance is about the interpretation of the music through the dancer's personal response, as defined by ethnic qualities, I would agree that the music is the dance in esoteric form and must have certain qualities to be succussfully belly danced to.
Exactly.
***I think these days, too, that many people are confusing professional belly dance with shaabi, and this is creating a new set of problems. I find nothing in most pop muisc that lends well to a professional belly dancer's complexity, though there are exceptions, like Hani Shaker's pop stuff.
This is true. This is why I call the dance done to classical music, classical Raks Sharki, The dance done to contemporary music, contemporary and the dance done socially or on stage to Shabbi or Baladi Raks Baladi.
***It goes without saying that if one is dancing to pop, a lot of movement and expression must fit into the singularity of the pop message in the song.
Exactly. Each of these musical styles has its own distinct flavor which will dictate the way you dance to it. For example I wouldn't do a lot of arabesques with a very lifted carriage, or enter doing veil or cape work to a really deep Shabbi song, its too earthy for that. The general movement vocabulary might, for the most part be the same, but the flavor of how the movements are expressed will differ depending on the music used.
In my class I start by teaching the basics to Shabbi or pop because I see the social dance as being the foundation of the Egyptian style dance. With this they can learn enough to dance socially at a club, wedding or party. It's important to me that they understand the professioanl dance has its roots in the social tradition and this is why it really is undeniably the product of a culture and as such it has a definate set of qualities that must be adhered to in order to call it a Midlle Eastern dance, as versus a strictly artistic expression. Once I see the students at least understand the concept that this dance uses the technique to express the feeling and emotion of the music, I then use classical music and explain the difference in the nuances of Classical Raks as versus Raks Baladi.
***On the other hand music meant for belly dance is a lot more like a tapestry of many colors and different textures, rather than one message. ( I often find this same lack in some of the 70s American/Arabian stuff.)
Regards,
A'isha[/quote]
Yes. The classical orchestration allows you to express a greater depth of emotion. It is much more elegant and refined. I always start my routine with music which reflects the classical Sharki. I think a routine should always start this way because nothing else alows you to present yourself to the audience in quite the same way. I then move into more contemporary music. This is especailly true if I'm in a club where the intent is to interact with the crowd and get them going.
|