SaraKat

I guess what I was trying to say re: the soloist thing was not that groups are "out" and soloists are "in" or that tribal fusion is only for soloists, but more that several years ago solo work (especially at festivals) was really rare, as far as I can tell from the videos and shows I saw during that time.
It is interesting that you make the point that soloists are more represented in videos as being "tribal fusion". I think that's important, because not everyone is fortunate enough to be able to make it to big tribal festivals or even study with a tribal instructor in their area. I think a lot of people are getting their idea of what "tribal" is from videos in which troupes are fairly underrepresented. Maybe eventually these same people make it to the festivals to see what's happening in the community at large, but until then the videos might represent the bulk of their exposure.
It seems like this is especially true for corporate-produced videos, whereas many troupe videos seem to be self-produced. I wonder why? Is it just easier to pay for solo dancers or what?

I agree that too many people identify as tribal when what they are doing should really be called fusion. I have seen performances that were called tribal fusion that only vaguely resembled bellydance at all.