Irrelevant relic?

[Jane]

I'm laying here with a fever and horrible sore throat. First time I've ever canceled class. I've always been able to get a sub if I'm out of town or unable to dance. Feeling guilty.

Anyhow, I'm laying here in bed thinking about staying updated in dance style. Is it important? What if you don't like the current trend? Is it legitimate to be a classic style dancer without jumping on the latest style bandwagon? I'd rather dance like Suheir or Fifi than Randa. Not that I don't like Randa, I just don't think her style suits me. I add in new Egyptian style movements that I like, but I usually stick to a classic format with new style costumes and newer recordings of classic songs. Does this make me look dated? If I look dated does it matter? I'm not dancing in fancy places in Egypt. I've been comfortable up until now with what I'm doing, but I'm over-thinking and getting weirded out thinking I'm some sort of irrelevant relic.

Mid-dance-life crisis anyone? Maybe it's the cold medicine

 

[Ariadne]

Definitely the cold medicine.

Sure it's important to know about the latest styles but there is no reason you have to perform or teach it yourself. It's the wide variety in BD that makes it so great and it would be terribly dull if we all danced the same. Stick with what inspires you.

Don't feel guilty, do keep hydrated and rest.


Much love.

 

[Mosaic]

Follow your heart I say. I don't think your preferences are dated and don't think they ever will be. I like to watch the new stuff ( well some of it) but my heart is with the more traditional/classic & that is where I'll stay
~Mosaic

 

[Marya]

I'm laying here with a fever and horrible sore throat. First time I've ever canceled class. I've always been able to get a sub if I'm out of town or unable to dance. Feeling guilty.

Anyhow, I'm laying here in bed thinking about staying updated in dance style. Is it important? What if you don't like the current trend? Is it legitimate to be a classic style dancer without jumping on the latest style bandwagon? I'd rather dance like Suheir or Fifi than Randa. Not that I don't like Randa, I just don't think her style suits me. I add in new Egyptian style movements that I like, but I usually stick to a classic format with new style costumes and newer recordings of classic songs. Does this make me look dated? If I look dated does it matter? I'm not dancing in fancy places in Egypt. I've been comfortable up until now with what I'm doing, but I'm over-thinking and getting weirded out thinking I'm some sort of irrelevant relic.

Mid-dance-life crisis anyone? Maybe it's the cold medicine

There aren't very many Classical (or Modern for that matter) Egyptian Dancers in Eastern Washington, Western Montana or Eastern Oregon, the few there are (and you are one) are unique and as such have an obligation to carry the torch through the morass of fusion and free form everything wierd that shows up at haflas and stage shows around here. Unless I am in Spokane I am usually one of 2 or 3 Egyptian BDs out of 20 or 30 fusion dancers. sometimes I think I am on another planet.

Marya

 

[Jane]

Thank you guys! <3

Marya, perhaps you're right, we stand out more by not going with the herd.

I think this is bothering me due to my current dance insecurities. I'm feeling like not having stuck with adult ballet is starting to bite me in the butt at workshops and belly dance related shows. Things seem to be getting more and more ballet focused in modern Egyptian style dance and I am getting more and more lost in the ballet terminology, body positioning, and foot patterns "everyone" seems to already know. It's like I'm not keeping up with the cool kids.

On one hand, I realize that most of this is coming out of Egypt and is totally legitimate in the modern style. On the other hand I question why it's becoming so pervasive and wondering why we can't just dance in an Egyptian style without an overlay of another dance form. I don't mind a little influence, it's gotten far beyond that anymore. Just feeling frustrated and insecure.

An easy solution would be to sign back up for adult ballet, but I don't want to be a ballerina- I want to be a belly dancer!

 

[Shanazel]

One good thing about being classic or retro" is that my style and costumes come into fashion big time every few years and the youngsters think I am all sorts of amazing for being on the cutting edge of belly dance fashion.

You're just sick, Jane m'dear, and too weak to fight off all those nasty old doubts and fears. All will become clear when the cold medicine wears off at which time you can comfort me because I suspect my cold is developing just a few days behind yours.

 

[Daimona]

Anyhow, I'm laying here in bed thinking about staying updated in dance style. Is it important?

It is important to know what it is about. So you can teach your students about various trends. This doesn't equals teaching and performing all of them.

What if you don't like the current trend?

No problem. Everything isn't for everybody.

Is it legitimate to be a classic style dancer without jumping on the latest style bandwagon? I'd rather dance like Suheir or Fifi than Randa. Not that I don't like Randa, I just don't think her style suits me. I add in new Egyptian style movements that I like, but I usually stick to a classic format with new style costumes and newer recordings of classic songs.

Certainly. I think this is the wisest thing to do. You will look better doing the classic style, than trying to be a Randa-look-alike if this style don't suit your body. And you are still updating your reportoire on new combinations both for your own performances and for teaching your students.

Does this make me look dated?

For some, maybe, but most people aren't educated enough on various styles and trends to know what is what as long as you have a good performance.

If I look dated does it matter? I'm not dancing in fancy places in Egypt.

Unless the audience asks for the latest fashion in dance style (which I believe in your part of the world would be tribal fusion, not Randa-style), this doesn't matter.
Your students wants to learn your style, and when you are hired for a gig, they want to see your style of dance.
Why change that?

I've been comfortable up until now with what I'm doing, but I'm over-thinking and getting weirded out thinking I'm some sort of irrelevant relic.

You are over-thinking, as you have too much time to think about it when you are being sick and have to stay calm.

One of my teachers went to Cairo to learn the real thing late in the 90ies/early 2000. She still stays up to date on what is happening there, but prefer the 90ies style of dance. Compared to the trend of dancing like Dina and Randa the last couple of years, this makes her slightly outdated in style (if one cares about the trends), but she has also said that she don't dance like that because she don't like the new aestetichs. And it seems like most of her students think this is fine. She is still a sought-after performer and teacher, and it seems like most people around here prefer her style than the more up-to-date ones.

 

[Marya]

The "Modern" Egyptian style is really not that different from the Golden era of black and white movies. There are some differences yes, based on the music and costuming but the fundamentals are still there. And there are contemporary Egyptian dancers who are more like the Golden age dancers, I am thinking of Aziza (clips below) I would love to be as modern as Aziza.

I was watching a video of Katie a B&W movie era dancer and she did high kicks, Hind Rostrum has the similar almost falling over movements that Dina has. Samia Gamal kept her legs straighter than Sohair Zeki. And then there are those 70's 80's stars with their own inimitable style: Nagua, Mona, Lucy, Trends and styles come and go, but the fundamentals stay the same and will always be there.

If you could watch Katie on fast forward she would look a lot like Randa.

I found a few clips of Katie I couldn't find the one I wanted where she had several high kicks but in the second one she does one at the entrance. The first clip she is dancing very fast and I put it here to illustrate my comments.

belly dance in the old egyptian movies katy 2 - YouTube

Kitty: Who was that masked dancer? - YouTube

Aziza:

Aziza, Cairo, April 2010 - YouTube

Aziza Egyptian Belly dancer in Cairo- Balady and tabla solo Semiramis Hotel Cairo - YouTube

 

[Yame]

Even modern styles are rooted in the classical. If you look at the big-name Egyptian dancers of today (whose style some of us call "modern Cairo"), the farther you go back in their careers the less "crazy" and more classical their styles (and costuming!) were. Then they modernized and developed their style and persona, and it became a bit different, but the root is still the same.

You can't go wrong by studying the Golden Era dancers and the dancers who came between then and now. In fact, I find this gives me more insight about modern Egyptian belly dance than just watching our current dancers. And it definitely gives me more insight about Egyptian belly dance in general and its essence. It tells me how the dance evolved and who might have added what... and if you have a solid grounding you can pick and choose who to be influenced by, and decide where you want to go from there.

 

[Jane]

This is all true. I'm starting to feel better about this and my cold is getting better too. Correlation? Likely! I spent most of my day sewing. Sedentary but at least I'm up out of bed. Hooray!

 

[AndreaSTL]

I'm late to the party, but I have to agree. It seems like dancing has become about doing tricks rather than interpreting the music. I much prefer the fluidity of the older, skeletal driven style rather than the sharp muscular movements that many people are teaching/performing now.

I'm glad you aren't feeling like you have to do everything anymore. If it isn't what you prefer then you won't enjoy it and your performance will suffer. I think you should continue to take workshops and play around, but I don't think you should try to become an expert in all of the various styles. There's nothing wrong with specializing. I would be extremely skeptical of a teacher who claimed to be proficient in AmCab, classical Egyptian, modern Egyptian, Turkish, Greek, Lebanese, tribal fusion, and ATS.