Salome

This is a bit of a spin off from the Help me understand Tribal... thread and... in our site instructors directory, in the submission process, we ask the teacher to list the style(s) she teaches. It seems that a good many people list several styles. There are thousands of listings in our directory so it's a good sampling of what, at least, part of a community is doing.

So do you think that a dancer can master multiple styles of Oriental dance (or dances inspired by Oriental dance) perhaps in addition also different folk dances with mastery? Why or why not?

Q-Tip

I think that if you are passionate about something that you have very few limits on what you can achieve and therefore could master more than one style.

I am not in any way saying that if you stick to 1 style that you aren't passionate - I don't mean that at all.

There are people who are so passionate about music that they can play several instruments with perfection. Why is dance any different?

Passion is like a river that flows through your soul. It doesn't really matter what the passion is for. (IE: music, dance, poetry)


just my rookie opinion.....

sedoniaraqs

I think its not so much that knowing one style keeps one from or detract from the ability to learn another -- I think the human brain and body of most people has potentials that most of us never fully tap.

Its a time thing. I don't practice my Egyptian dance enough as it is; how could I possibly take up another style that is significantly different until such a time as I can significantly increase the time I have to spend at each.

For the same reasons, I almost constantly think about taking up violin study again, and constantly talk myself out of it.

Sedonia

Maria_Aya

If we speak about "Mastering" it goes only to one style if we speak special for Arabic/Egyptian style. There are so many things to learn that even one life time is not enough !!
But because to master this you got to know also some of the folk dances of the specific countries i can add these folk dances also.

Now about the other styles not sure as I feel (i dont know them more than a viewer) that are much more limited from arabic style. So maybe someone can do more than 1 same time.

Maria Aya

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Gia al Qamar

I have been blessed to study Egyptian, Turkish and American style with some of the best teachers from 'here' and 'there'! It's not a far stretch to know the variations of a moment as it pertains to style once you have a good solid foundation in classic Middle Eastern dance of any kind!
Gia

Salome

Hi Maria,

In what ways do you feel Lebanese, Turkish, American etc. are less complex - more limited than Egyptian?

Maria_Aya

Because of the massiveness of history of contaimporaine Egyptian dance, that even if we all agree that have a life of just 100 or even less years cant even compaire with the KNOWN history of the other styles.

I'l explain:

Lebanese dance: what we know about this style?
The today dancer knows mostly the Lebanese dancers from the last 10 years of LBC shows. From the people that KNOW lebanese these forms of dance are not considered authentic lebanese but a mish-mash of sexual/tv promotion for mostly Saudi clients.
Kind of earlier dancers as Samara (who is Iraqi) and Amani (Lebanese) are the ones to study for. (Samara is in jail actualy now as accused "kidnaping" her son and getting out of Lebanon (bad divorce case)).
Nadia Gamal was actualy greek-egyptian even if in the mind of most of us (and yes indeed) she is the epitomy of older Lebanese style.
Before her what we have to study as footage?
Styles? Beduine Lebanese and Dabke (personal dont know more, i would love to explore it).

Turkish style:
Beside the today turkish dancers that actual all turks complain that they dont dance turkish style but a mix of turkish/arabic/jazz we have the unbeatable Nesrin Top Kapi to study for Oryental Tanzu, and Selma Yildiz for more oldish styles and a type of Romani Havasi.
As styles there are Oryental Tanzu, Ottoman (who really knows how it was as we dont have footage?) and types of Romani Havasi. Karsilama and Zeybek are more folk dances.

American Cabaret style:
Pls correct me and inform me more if I have it wrong.
Started evolving after the Rain Fare back 100 years ago.
Have a big history in States with many different formats but the Am Cab routine for dancing is one, even if each dancer had her/his different.
Sword, Veil / Double veil, great Cymbal Playing and more, and its evolving.

Egypt:
Where to start from???????????
For me mastering means this:
Learn the bellydance styles that we can learn today from the thousends of footage that exist, and from teachers that still live and can pass bits of their knowledge.
At least the way I feel it and think of it, for someone to know and dance Egyptian dance have to know various styles of Egyptian that are connected with egyptian bellydance style:
Awalim style (Mohamed Ali's street 30's style)
Ghawazee
Saidi with and without assaya, from the raw style of the Saidi's, to the refined reda style
Golden era style studying the dancers of that Era
60's style
80's style
the last 15 years Cairo modern style.
Each style have 70 % different movement vocabulary than the others and way to approach the music and the dance.
We are speaking about more than 60 dancers that each one of them needs years to study them.
To have the knowledge in ear, in mind, in culture to respond to the music as a native (if possible) to the taqasims of the ney, accordeon, kanoon, saxophone. To react to the drum's in a physical/mental and not teqnical way.
To be able to understand full the egyptian rythms (basic rythms more than 10, not getting into more up to 80 for egypt only)
To know and recognize the styles at least:
Simsimaya, Melaya Leyf, Sha'aby, and more.
Reda style is a whole different story but someone even if dont practice it have to know about it.
To have studied egyptian music not to play it but know what is what and who is who, songs, composers what they meant for their era and the egyptians.
To be able to sense the uniqness of Oum Kolthoum and what this woman meant for all the arab world and more for the egyptians.
To know how the egyptian audience react to specific dance gestures and what make them wrong or correct to use them.
To know even the last sylabus of our lyrics and what they mean (dont even getting into the subject we have to know at least basic arabic).
A style of dance that is sooooooooo connected with the culture that we have to know it.
Its not about studying with a teacher egyptian style, you got to feel/sense like an egyptian to do it correct. There is no imitation here, no teqnick needed, the most beautiful egyptian dancers are in the people and have no teqnick but you see them and cry.
Thats why for me its not even comparable in difficulty of mastering with other styles.
And many times I wish i had never met this style cause now i just dont have life out of it. And feel that one life is not enough to capture the beauty of this dance form. I feel that I just have done the first step in this huge Avenue and I dont even see the end of it. Dont know still what this road have to give. Everyday speaking with natives, at forums, at my trips at Egypt I discover more and more mysteries...
Just my opinion

Maria Aya

p.s. funny greek saying:
You cant fit 2 watermelons under one armpit lol (and not even one manytimes lol)

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janaki

In my opinion style is like your invidual personality. There is only one style a dancer can master if you are serious about dancing and wanna do it properly like a true artist. As Maria said it where on earth do you have so much time to learn other styles.

Kashmir

The different oriental styles don't seem to be that widely apart. Many seem to be down to where the weigh is, minor variations in movement vocab and posture, attitude and prop use. Given time and inclination, I think a good dancer should be able to perform a range of oriental styles very well.

Folkoric is a whole different area. I've been told there are over a hundred variations in debke alone. I've personally decided to concentrate on Egyptian folklore (cutting out debke, shikkat, Tunisian etc etc to start with). But just in Egypt there is sa`iidi (minor variations by region, big variation by sex), ghawazee (multiple styles), Bedouin (yes there are Bedouin living in Egypt) including Haggalah (ie as per Mersa Matruh), fellahi (as far as I know only info has been filtered via Reda and Firqa Kawmiyya - but it is there), Bamboutiyeh (Port Said), Nubian (many styles), tanoura and zar, then there's the old ‘awâlim style, a range of things thrown in the "beledi" basket, the brand spanking new meleya lef (multiple styles), the slightly older raqs sham’idân ... a person would have to dedicate their life to master this one country alone. And then you see people offering "all styles" - grr

Aisha Azar

Dear Forum members,
If we look at dance as a small part of the picture of an entire culture, then I think it is difficult to become a master at more than a few kinds of dances. For example, I have studied many, many different kinds of Middle Eastern/ North African dance and fusion offshoots, including but not limited to Greek folkloric, Turkish Kashlama and other other folkloric dances, Turkish Rom, American Oriental, Egyptian, Turkish and Lebanese belly dance, Lebanese and Palestinian Debke,. various styles of Raqs Beledi including assaya, shamadan, and dancing with sagat. I have studied Ouled Nail, Persian classical dances, Shikhat and Tunisian... to name SOME of the styles that I have delved into.
I consider myself to have enough knowledge to be considered some kind of an "expert" in exactly two areas of dance; Egyptian belly dance and Gulf/ Saudi dance.
No, I do not believe that anyone can have true expertise in dozens of kinds of dances, because the cultural issue alone would stand in the way of a true understanding of all of these different types of dance. And, without the cultural essence and spirit, we are simply not doing the dances!
Regards,
A'isha