Tera-Byte

Hi everyone. I decided to register a username after someone on Yahoo! Answers posted here to help me find answers. Here's my story. It's a long post and I don't expect everyone to read it all. But I wanted to share anyways.

Years ago(but not that long ago) I used to perform with Lee Ali, if you've heard of her. It might have been 2002 or so. I'll have to look up the exact dates. I was in the troupe the Berber Ballet when she had that. If anyone has seen it, I was the guy with the long hair. The other guy was Jafar who stayed in the troupe longer and eventually did dual dances with Lee Ali and made a name for himself. My name at the time was Cliff. I had a legal name change since then but sometimes I'm still remembered by that name.

I first met Lee Ali in a choreography dance class at a community college. I was majoring in dance there and usually did ballet, jazz, and modern dance. That sort of thing. Set choreography on the stage, everything pre-set. Counts of 8. Running back and forth across the stage and doing athletic jumps and stuff. Because we were always told, "gotta use the space, keep moving around!" Of course later, which would be recently as of right now, I found out that's not always necessary. A good Bellydancer can stay in one spot and captivate an audience.

Anyways, that was the kind of dancer I was at the time. Like an ice skater without the skates. I was alright. I wasn't a Mikhail Baryshnikov but in modern dance I definitely held my own.

So we did the choreography class and throughout the semester, Lee Ali comes up with the most amazing and bizarre stuff. For the mid term presentation, she did a performance where she's pretending to slice a pre-cut watermellon with a prop sword. She prepared the props, including the watermellon, for this. She had a white dress if I recall correctly. Her dance movement was the sawing motion and upper body movement. Eyes flickering and rolling up like she was in a trance. I don't recall the music but it was some recorded surreal stuff. And the finish was a fake spider creeping out of her mouth and blowing a kiss at me. Yeah, we were captivated. Especially me. Remembering now, I realize she has a thing for connecting with audience members personally, being the kind of performer she is.

For the semester final, she brought the dancers of her troupe in. At the time it was called Lee Ali and the Gypsy Drummer Girls. Full costume Belly dancing. Wow! The presence they had was intense. Lee Ali was also dressed with them and danced with them. No regular clothes or casual dance wear. No sort-of costuming with a half-assed effort like you see in a kids studio recital. Not even tights or leggings like you get with ballet dancers and ice skaters with some cartoonish time period theme. These Belly dancers had some really serious costuming on. Every single bit of their bodies was either really intricate cloth-work, metal jewelry, or skin. They held nothing back and went all the way. I think some of us were blown away while the rest were just not sure what to think because they weren't into this sort of thing. At the time it didn't make me think, "that's it, I wanna do that!" But I definitely didn't blow it off. I was fascinated. That would be the best way to put it.

It might have been the next class day when we had other presentations from students when she asked if I'd be interested in joining a performing thing with her. She said something about a cane dance. I thought maybe it was a cultural presentation thing and I was up for performing opportunities and said sure, I'm interested. So I go to her place at the scheduled day and time and see the same Belly dancers there! And I'm thinking, "whoaaa! I'm performing with them?"

And I met Jafar, the other male in this troupe. So I joined the troupe. Awesome! Throughout our rehearsals, it went so that Jafar and I did a cane dance with Lee Ali as part of the whole troupe presentation. We also did dumbek drumming as a whole troupe ensemble. We all did a line dance for a finale, which looks similar to one of the steps in the Desert Wanderers video with John Compton, which I only saw recently. Jafar and I wore these really cool Aladdin pants, loose pirate type of shirts, and vests. The vest I wore had intricate cloth work. See the attached photo ssf.jpg. I'm the one on the left with orange pants. Eventually Lee had us do quick solo parts. The two moves I remember doing was a traveling body wave(I don't think I had a name for it at the time) and a Dervish spinning thing where I hold a leg out and hopped on my standing foot. I had my arms out and spin as many times as I could, then had some finish I don't remember. Jafar did a glow stick rave dance, but without the glow sticks. It looked pretty cool with his costume and Lee approved. She gave us quite a bit of freedom in those parts.

I didn't do the belly dancing the women did or even take classes. I don't think I even thought of doing it that much, although Lee once showed me a video of a male dancer with the stage name Arturo. I was still doing dance at the college and only had time for rehearsals and the shows we did. At the time I saw it as a fun thing to do. Dress up in costumes and perform. I didn't know much of any of the historical significance of the dance or music we did. I didn't get the feel of the whole Bellydance and similar community. I simply didn't fully "get it" at the time.

I was able to do what I was set to do when we performed our set. But I still didn't have the mindset about this that I do today. I didn't have the knowledge and feelings about this at the time that I finally have right now. By rights I wasn't the best candidate for the position I got, but I was a male who was available and sometimes that does happen. I wish I did take a deeper look at this form of performing art after being picked up and placed in it. I was brought in and rehearsing and performing right away.

It's funny how at that time, I was given an opportunity to perform with an actual troupe with no experience in that type of dance. And now I'm actually taking classes and progressing at a certain pace, while keeping an eye open for a performance opportunity but not finding one yet. Just one that's fit for someone at my level. Not a spot on a major production. But something more casual so I can perform for people and get better at it. I wish the opportunity Lee Ali gave me could have happened to me now instead of back when it really did. I would definitely catch the ball and run with it if it were to happen again.

Eventually I moved on and discontinued performing with the Berber Ballet. We did our commitments show by show and I made my arrangements with Lee Ali a couple shows ahead of time. So we parted on good terms and interacted a number of times after that. Everything was cool. I liked it but the fascination phase wore off and I still didn't take a really good look to "get it." I thought it was a type of medieval fair sort of thing. I thought that dressing up and pretending as a hobby was part of the whole thing. Of course we know and I now know it's much more serious than that. But at the time I guess I either didn't spend enough time in it or I was kinda ignorant.

I still liked it and hopefully I'll get access to the VHS footage and transfer some of the footage to my laptop to document my participation in that.

Flash-forward to 2008. I don't recall what thoughts and what experiences led me to develop a desire to do Bellydance. At some point I finally got to a point where I kind of "got it," as in understanding the reasons and desire behind this form of performing art. Bellydance, Middle Eastern dance, ethnic dance, cultural dance, any of those and any similar terms apply. Hanging out with some friends, one of which is a Bellydancer, was definitely a factor. I might have said something like "I used to perform with Lee Ali, do you know her?" Of course she knew who that is. And I remember seeing Angelika Nemeth perform at a party at Lee's place. And I was told she is one of THE teachers in California and I decided to take her class at Orange Coast College. I did exactly that and had a blast. I took her class in the Fall of 2009, just last year. I was one of the only two males in there. The other guy was Alberto, who was there for his second semester.

To show that I'm serious, I wore a scarf around my waist like the women did. Angelika saw how serious I was and gave me corrections one on one and showed me how to dance like a male would. She knew it was more than a recreation for me. I want to pursue this.

I was also experimenting with hand drumming. I still have the dumbek I bought from a festival vendor to use in Lee Ali's troupe. I drove down to San Diego to take Frank Lazzaro's drum class at the World Beat Center. He's a fantastic teacher and had the rhythms printed on paper for us. Then after class he asked if I'll drum with them for the dance class. Drum for a dance class? Sure! I was told just do the basic rhythms or do the bass beats however I can. So we sit down and the dance class starts and that's when it hit me...

That's when I first witnessed Sabrina Fox teach her Tribal Bellydance class. I was amazed at the strength and power she displayed just by walking. And the movements she taught going across the floor looked more ground settled, sleeker, and smoother than the class Angelika taught. Those were my thoughts at the time because that's all I knew. I didn't know things like ATS or Fatchance Bellydance language or Fusion or anything like that. All I knew was the term Tribal and what this class looked like. My impressions of this class stuck with me.

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Tera-Byte

Whenever I was in Angelika's class, I loved it but at the same time, I was thinking about this thing called Tribal. Sometimes before class started, I would do snake arms in front of the mirror but bend my knees to a more grounded position. I imagined dark background colors around me and my face with a mask or wearing eye liner and black lipstick. If I had elaborated, I might have done something like a really slow and low jazz walk while doing basic snake arms until someone looked at me funny. I didn't know about the improv and cue stuff. I thought it was a different style with slower, sleeker moves. I looked up videos on YouTube listed as Tribal Bellydance and was amazed. And saw solo performers doing dances with a dark, gloomy flavor. Dancers with stage personas. That was it. I want to do this.

I tried looking for a Tribal Bellydance teacher in Orange County. I found a couple that only taught in studios that allow females only. I figured it wasn't the teachers, it was the studio they were teaching at. I didn't know if there was any option for males in Orange County. So I decided fine, I'll drive to San Diego if I have to...

I emailed Sabrina Fox about taking her class and she replied positively and invited me to take the class. I thought it might be weird for the guys in Franks drum class to see me, who used to be in their class, up there now with the ladies doing the dancing. But whatever, I still had to do this. I arrive with my black martial arts pants, a waist scarf, and my black polyester sports shirt. I tied the waist of the shirt in a knot on my back so that it fits tighter. I used to do that in ballet classes. I do the class and it was great! I did better than I thought for my first time. Of course when doing hip shimmies, I still had the beginners habit of shoving my hip and butt out, side to side(Madam Raine corrected me on this in my second class there). But otherwise my time in Angelika's class did help me get a bit of a headstart and Sabrina commented me very positively. It's a long drive down to San Diego for the class but for me it was worth it.

I thought thinking about Tribal dance in Angelika's class was bad before. But now that I had actually done a Tribal class, my mind was really wandering in there! I still liked Angelika's class and she's one of THE teachers to take classes from. But this was just me finding a style that I like. I even did some of the moves Sabrina taught in the solo part of the final routine for Angelika's class. I even had someone use my camera to get it on video for me. I guess I wanted to get myself on video doing the final for the class and using the solo part to document my transition to learning the Tribal style. I've shown the video to people but I won't put it on YouTube because I still look so beginner-ish in it!

So I continue Sabrina's classes and it goes to this day. I was in the class last night. She saw how serious I am and became like a mentor to me. She let me borrow her Tribal Bible book, which I'm reading cover to cover, and some videos. The videos are a couple of Amara Presents showcases, a couple of Gypsy Caravan instructionals, a FatChanceBellyDance video, and a video called Desert Wanderers that has John Compton in it. I'm currently reading the Tribal Bible and I'm almost up to the chapter for costumes. I read the interviews with people like Carolena Nericcio. I took notes on the criteria of Tribal Bellydance and the ATS style. I read about the improv and cues and eye contact. I took notes on the specific views of each person interviewed and featured in the first few chapters. Now I understand some more! Infact I saw Sooz perform with her troupe not long ago and thought it was choreography. But now I realize the circle formation they did was probably improvisation.

Yesterday I asked Sabrina about the ATS and FatChance formats. She said to learn the basics that she teaches and it will all eventually come together. A specific path for me to progress through as I train and learn. Filling the cup as she described it. She also said that while ATS may have been a female thing before, it's changed and open to males now. That put my mind more at ease. I doubt I'll ever want to be certified in the ATS format but I'm more comfortable with learning that style now. I'm not sure what styles I'll focus on and how much of each style I'll use when I'm at a certain point later on. But I do know that it will involve shimmies, chest movements, stylized arm and hand movements, and the occasional Berber walk.

Last week I took her Tuesday classes also. Vinyasa Flow, then beginner Tribal. It took place at some large art place and the atmosphere was all females. Some with tattoos. Some Gothic. Actually I think most had tattoos. I was the only guy there. But by now I don't look like an ordinary guy in class. I have a couple of concept logos sewn onto my pants. I wear a tight stretch black shirt that's pinned up so my stomach is exposed. That way the teacher can see my movements there and correct me if needed. And a better hip scarf. Sometimes I wear a belt with multiple scarves to emulate the belts with hanging fabrics I see other people wearing in the classes. See the second attached photo labeled 1778.jpg. They seemed to see how serious I was and this was when a female in front of me asked me if I wanted to trade places and move up front. That had me thrilled and honored and I could have been in tears if I had let myself go. Apparently at some point they must have figured I wasn't some random guy who thought taking the class would be like an Axe Bodyspray commercial. I was concentrating and focused in that class and they must have seen that.

A funny thing is I finally found a teacher near where I live in Orange County who is glad to teach males. I paid for the 6 classes and tomorrow is the 3rd class. I still go to Sabrina's classes of course. But it's funny how I drive a couple hours to Sabrina's class on Monday, then ride my bike to Sashi's class on Wednesdays. Sashi is also an excellent teacher and I like the Gothic style she performs. I'm very thankful for her for offering to teach males.

Well that's what's going on with me so far. Right up to today. This has me motivated big time. When you get in this mindset, you're set to go. I eat better and use the community pool almost daily. I tread water vertical for 25 minutes. Then swim back and forth the best I can. I walk and ride the bike. I'm almost 20 pounds lighter than I was two months ago and also stronger. Eventually I want to get back into modern dance also(been out of dance for a couple years before taking Angelika's class). I still have to seek options with a broad view.

Anyone know a good mask maker in Southern California?

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Mosaic

WOW! that is the longest and most comprehensive intro I have read to date and an interesting read,
& good luck with all your endeavours.
~Mosaic

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onela

I look forward to reading your posts

Sita

Like Mosaic said Wow. That was quite an amazing introduction
and Welcome to the forum. I too look forward to reading your future posts.
love Sita

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Shahrnush Parsipur and Shirin Neshat's masterpiece: Women Without Men

Tera-Byte

Thanks everyone. I definitely like these forums already.

Shanazel

Welcome.

Prusilusken

Hiya!

I'll start by welcoming you without reading your introduction since it appears that my brain is currently on strike, but I am very much looking forward to reading your posts in this thread and the "Are male tribal dancers welcome...?"-thread especially, sometime during the next couple of days. I have only skimmed them yet, and I can tell you have a lot to offer us here on BDFS, so I am very happy that you decided to join us!

Welcome, Tera-Byte!
Happy posting!

Tera-Byte

Thanks. I didn't expect everyone to read all that. The short version of it would be that I take Tribal classes in San Diego, California.

Maria_Aya

Welcome ! its very interesting to read how we all started and the paths we have taken to lead us to today ! welcome !

Maria Aya, Greece