Am I still a belly dancer if I dance to fusion music?

[IsmailaGodHasHeard]

The reason I ask is because I cannot deny my love for multiple forms of music. I will give you an example. My ideal music is a cross between Classical Arabic Music (any country will do), and Classical Hindustani Music (India). I do not want to be kicked out of the belly dance community for this. Am I still a belly dancer?

 

[Avariel]

Many people will have differing opinions on this, but I would say no, it doesn't mean you're not a bellydancer, and any community that kicks you out for doing this is no community at all. Even classical dancers who don't want to call fusions actual bellydance normally still allow fusion performers to perform, and even invite them to shows as guest dancers. Just make sure that your audience knows it's a fusion of different styles and what those styles are! Most of the general public don't even know that modern bellydance as we see it came from Egypt IMO, it's bellydance, and if you want to know why I can go more into that, but that's not what you're asking so I won't. What's important is that you maintain your own artistic integrity, and realize that no one "owns" bellydance; we can only make these decisions for ourselves, not other people.

 

[IsmailaGodHasHeard]

Many people will have differing opinions on this, but I would say no, it doesn't mean you're not a bellydancer, and any community that kicks you out for doing this is no community at all. Even classical dancers who don't want to call fusions actual bellydance normally still allow fusion performers to perform, and even invite them to shows as guest dancers. Just make sure that your audience knows it's a fusion of different styles and what those styles are! Most of the general public don't even know that modern bellydance as we see it came from Egypt IMO, it's bellydance, and if you want to know why I can go more into that, but that's not what you're asking so I won't. What's important is that you maintain your own artistic integrity, and realize that no one "owns" bellydance; we can only make these decisions for ourselves, not other people.

Thank you. I will do that.

 

[Shanazel]

True, no one "owns" belly dance. No one "owns" baseball either but if you see a guy out on the mound tossing a basketball at a guy holding a bat, anyone with any training at all is going to realize this isn't baseball but some kind of fusion.

Ismaila, you apparently want to be told it is perfectly okay to dance to whatever music you like and still call it belly dance. Sorry, it doesn't work that way. I love the band Silly Wizard but I don't call dancing inspired by Celtic music belly dance just because I throw in some hip drops and three quarter shimmies.

If one chooses an appropriate dance vocabulary, middle eastern music, and appropriate costuming, one can probably call the result belly dance. Take away any one of those essential ingredients and one has something all together different.

There's nothing wrong with fusion; do it and be proud of it for what it is. No one is going to burn you at the stake for it but referring to fusion as belly dance will make you appear appallingly uneducated to those who recognize the difference.

 

[Amulya]

Ismaela, there are already several threads on this topic, do a search and post in one of the existing threads please

 

[IsmailaGodHasHeard]

Ismaela, there are already several threads on this topic, do a search and post in one of the existing threads please

Okay Hun. Let me look.

 

[IsmailaGodHasHeard]

Okay I found them. Thank you for reminding me to look.

 

[Kashmir]

This is slightly different from the threads about what is belly dance (which for me is a movement vocab, a musicality and a link to its Middle Eastern/North African roots). This is what is a belly dancer?

Are you automatically a belly dancer if you belly dance at any level? Some say "yes", some "no". Personally, I don't think you can claim the belly dancer label until basic vocab is automatic and if someone puts on some suitable Middle Eastern music you can make a good fist of it ie I don't think you need to be pro but you do need to be able to dance as a belly dancer - and that means improvising to Middle Eastern music.

Are you a belly dancer when shopping? driving? gardening? For some people it is a huge part of who they are - so maybe. Are you a belly dancer when in a Salsa class - I would hope not (I know I've had problems with Salsa dancers in my belly dance classes - doing Salsa in belly dance classes is not belly dance!)

So will you get "kicked out" for liking fusion music? It depends. If you are asked to perform straight belly dance and you do fusion (ie belly dance moves to fusion music - let alone double fusion - bellydance and Indian moves to fusion music) then yes, this is inappropriate and you can expect not to be asked again - or even have your item pulled. If you insist that you are doing straight belly dance while doing fusion - again expect a negative reaction. If you only ever do fusion (in appropriate situations) also expect to eventually get labelled as "that fusion chick" rather than a belly dancer.

 

[Aniseteph]

Are you automatically a belly dancer if you belly dance at any level? Some say "yes", some "no". Personally, I don't think you can claim the belly dancer label until basic vocab is automatic and if someone puts on some suitable Middle Eastern music you can make a good fist of it ie I don't think you need to be pro but you do need to be able to dance as a belly dancer - and that means improvising to Middle Eastern music.

:clap:

You wouldn't take up the piano and start calling yourself a pianist straightaway - pianist implies a certain proficiency. Or start learning French and call yourself a French spreaker. Why is belly dance any different?

 

[IsmailaGodHasHeard]

This is slightly different from the threads about what is belly dance (which for me is a movement vocab, a musicality and a link to its Middle Eastern/North African roots). This is what is a belly dancer?

Are you automatically a belly dancer if you belly dance at any level? Some say "yes", some "no". Personally, I don't think you can claim the belly dancer label until basic vocab is automatic and if someone puts on some suitable Middle Eastern music you can make a good fist of it ie I don't think you need to be pro but you do need to be able to dance as a belly dancer - and that means improvising to Middle Eastern music.

Are you a belly dancer when shopping? driving? gardening? For some people it is a huge part of who they are - so maybe. Are you a belly dancer when in a Salsa class - I would hope not (I know I've had problems with Salsa dancers in my belly dance classes - doing Salsa in belly dance classes is not belly dance!)

So will you get "kicked out" for liking fusion music? It depends. If you are asked to perform straight belly dance and you do fusion (ie belly dance moves to fusion music - let alone double fusion - bellydance and Indian moves to fusion music) then yes, this is inappropriate and you can expect not to be asked again - or even have your item pulled. If you insist that you are doing straight belly dance while doing fusion - again expect a negative reaction. If you only ever do fusion (in appropriate situations) also expect to eventually get labelled as "that fusion chick" rather than a belly dancer.

Okay. Thank you for telling me. I will keep that in mind.

 

[IsmailaGodHasHeard]

:clap:

You wouldn't take up the piano and start calling yourself a pianist straightaway - pianist implies a certain proficiency. Or start learning French and call yourself a French spreaker. Why is belly dance any different?

This is true.

 

[IsmailaGodHasHeard]

Sometimes I like to do straight up belly dance, sometimes I like to to do Bollywood dance, sometimes I like to do hip hop, and sometimes I like to mix it up.

 

[Lara]

How long have you been learning belly dance? Sometimes, we come to a new discipline with all our baggage and what we already know & want to do, without giving the new discipline a true chance. I would encourage you to take the time to really explore the music of belly dance in depth before you start taking off on another tangent. I listen to & love & even dance to other forms of music, but the time I have spent with Middle Eastern music has really brought me to love that music for what it is, and I think understand the dance itself more deeply. Otherwise, it's a bit like seeing a cake but only tasting the frosting, then deciding to frost a cookie and call it cake. Maybe it tastes good, but it's not cake. Go on, take a big old bite & learn to savor it!

Mmmm. Cake.

 

[Kashmir]

Sometimes I like to do straight up belly dance, sometimes I like to to do Bollywood dance, sometimes I like to do hip hop, and sometimes I like to mix it up.

So, some times you are belly dancing - and some times you are doing other dance forms. No problem.

But - if you want to improve your belly dance you need to put the hours into learning and practising belly dance. There is the movement vocab - but also knowing how to interpret the music - and knowing how to interpret different types of music - Golden Age, Classical, (urban) beledi, sa`iidi, shaabi, ghawazee, Turkish genres, Rom, Khaleegi, AmCab and so on and so on. Personally, although I do other dance genres in social situations I don't have time or money to study any other dance forms - in fact after 20 years I haven't mastered all the belly dance forms (I've had to specialize).

 

[Greek Bonfire]

Why not just call yourself a dancer since you dance so many other forms?

 

[LunaXJJ]

Belly dancers don't listen to only ME music. You're still a belly dancer, you're just dancing to something else at the time. You can be a belly dancer, but it doesn't mean every dance you do is, or must be, belly dance.

 

[Greek Bonfire]

I do other forms of dance too. One dance does not take away from the other. In fact, as a human being I am composed of many parts which comprises the whole.