Do I have to be a Tribal/ Fusion dancer to wear Tribal clothing?

Dunyah

New member
Indeed, Ansuya's costuming is something of a throwback to the 70's style of costuming, blending ethnic elements like kuchi jewelry with chiffon skirts and such. I personally like that style, and she has made it a signature style for herself.
 

LuLu

New member
Guilty...

I mix and match costumes like crazy, if people don't like it oh well. It is fun to me.
 

nitewindz

New member
I think the right costume depends on the goal. If the goal is to provide an authentically ethnic show for an ethnic audience, then it's best to stick to that style in costume, movement and music.

Otherwise, you can wear whatever you want. Ansuya is an excellent example of a dancer who mixed-n-matched to create her own unique retro style. I'd call her costuming a great example of Tribaret.

I don't have any links handy, but I have seen lovely cabaret costumes with bra tops and flare pants instead of a skirt, in bright colors like purple.

For awhile in cabaret, it was trendy to be minimalist, with little beading and no fringe.

If I were to combine Tribal Fusion and Cabaret, I'd start with a bra top and flare pants in an exciting color and rich fabric, then add just a few Tribal decorations, and maybe long fishnet gloves. IMHO, there's way tooooo much black in Tribal Fusion. I love color!

Turbans and Hair Gardens are trickier. They do not belong in authentic folkloric womens dance. In some parts of the Middle East only men wear turbans. Some tribes wear their turbans a specific way and different wraps have meaning. Hair Gardens are very western. Middle Eastern women traditionally keep their hair covered with scarves, making elaborate Hair Gardens impractical. But you could incorporate chopsticks, flowers, tiaras (rustic or blingy), or a pretty scarf or two into your hairstyle.
 

AyaKara

New member
I really love all of the posts that are coming in ever since the thread was revived! :dance:

Since I was thinking about this last night, I want to discuss Rachel Brice's style of costuming. She's tribal fusion, but her clothing is very reminiscent of oriental since she always has a bra top (sans choli) with a belt and a skirt, with lots of tribal jewelry & accessories all about. Is she 'allowed' to do this because she's a tribal fusion dancer? Same with other tribal fusionists like Jill Parker & Zoe Jakes:



And of course, like someone mentioned, Ansuya's blend of tribal & cabaret.


Bra & belt, skirt, plenty of jewelry & accessories. How are they 'able' to do this? RB & ZJ are tribal fusion, but Ansuya is oriental.
 
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Farasha Hanem

New member
Because the bra and belt are the basic costume pieces for both cabaret and Tribal fusion---they're not exclusive to either one or the other. It's the embellishments that determine whether they are Cabaret or Tribal. Same with skirts or pants. Cholis are Indian, although they are sometimes worn in ATS/IT'S/Tribal Fusion.
As for Ansuya Rathor, she calls her style Tribaret, which is a mixture of both Cabaret and Tribal.
 
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Aniseteph

New member
It's not so much about "allowed" as about sending out confusing messages to audiences. If you are dancing within a particular genre with a recognised costume aesthetic, like it or not you send messages when you step outside that. People who know what they are looking at will be wondering - is there an artistic point to the mismatch? Does she not know about costumes matching dance styles? Is this a student performance where things can get a bit random? Does she know but not care - what I want to wear is more important than confusing my audience? :confused:

Those costumes might look more oriental compared to the older tribal styles with big skirts and turbans, but I agree with Dunyah - there's a 70's retro AmCab vibe to Ansuya's style, and for me that other pic says TF through and through. I'd be thinking eh? if someone did Egyptian style in either of those.
 

AyaKara

New member
What I'm getting from all of the posts about tribal & costuming is that I probably should learn tribal too, not only to enhance my understanding of belly dance, but also to fulfill my costuming desires by performing the two separately :lol:
 

Dunyah

New member
My dance roots are in American Cabaret style belly dancing. There were always two strains in that style back then (70's), we called it "cabaret" or beads and chiffon costuming, and "ethnic" or coins, kuchi, cotton or rayon skirts, etc. The music might be different for each style but not necessarily the steps (although the costume you are wearing does influence the way you move.) Here is a recent picture of me performing at an outdoor festival, in coins and cotton/rayon "ethnic" style look. It is similar to tribal but not exactly. I've never studied actual ATS or ITS, beyond a class or two, just because the style doesn't call to me. But I still love this type of costuming, I guess you can call it "tribaret" if you want, but I don't include any moves from the ATS/ITS repertoire in my dance. So far the belly dance police haven't issued me a citation for costume violation:
 

nitewindz

New member
Dunyah I think what separates your look from ATS/ITS and makes it Tribaret is coordination. Your top and double skirt are all part of the same set and that gives it a kind of, cohesion or "formal" or "stage" quality. The matching coin belt and chest drape also tie the top and bottom together and could work as "retro cabaret" if paired with the right pieces. Putting those two elements together makes the difference, I think.
 
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