How do you know if....

[DancingArabian]

....you're mixing styles?

This was a thought I had while reading some threads (here and elsewhere) regarding fusion. This probably applies to everyone, but especially to belly dancers who have other "traditional" dance styles under their belt (ballet, jazz, etc.).

(I'm trying to think of how to best word this...)

How do you know you're not accidentally fusing? If you're a ballet dancer, isn't that going to sneak in to your belly dance? Or maybe flamenco, or something else?

Is it even possible to only use belly dance vocabulary and NOT be influenced by other dances?

Some mixing is going to be very blatant, but some mixing may be a little more subtle. Maybe just expressed in the turn of a foot, or the way you use your hands, or any number of other things.

 

[Kashmir]

When I started belly dance there was a lot of jazz fusion in my performance. Most obvious was the hands. One day I decided to fix it and worked on un-jazzing my hands for some weeks. These days they are one of my best features .

I guess the way to tell is to watch video of your performance - BUT you have to have a good sense of what belly dance IS - which many people are lacking. If you have a knowledgeable teacher it helps heaps.

You also have to be open to listen. There was one student I had who was a very good dancer - but every thing she did had a jazz overlay. When I tried to point this out to her she insisted that was how she wanted her dance to look. When it finally gor through to her she actually gave up the belly dance - because she actually didn't want to do belly dance - she wanted to do jazz wearing a bra and belt.

So, can you get rid of your accent? Yes, if you want. But you have to want to and you have to have examples to follow.

 

[Zumarrad]

Is it even possible to only use belly dance vocabulary and NOT be influenced by other dances?

Some mixing is going to be very blatant, but some mixing may be a little more subtle. Maybe just expressed in the turn of a foot, or the way you use your hands, or any number of other things.

Whatever your bodily habitus is, it is betrayed, if you like, when you dance. There ARE some people who can compartmentalise to such a degree that they really can "do" Egyptian dance one day, flamenco the next, ballet the next. But I don't think many of us can do that. I have ballettastic feet, for instance, despite only having really quite minimal ballet training in the grand scheme of things. I grew up watching western TV and movies so certain dance conventions of those media are reflected in how I like to move, because it is what my body thinks performance dancing is. If I try to turn on my heels, my body, due to prior training, says "don't be ridiculous" and refuses to do it. I might be able to retrain, but it's not VITAL that I learn to turn on my heels, so I might... not.

It is very very VERY difficult ultimately to determine exactly where we can or should innovate, and where we should not, with this dance form. I think it is very common earlier in one's belly dance career to get very bogged down in what one "should" or "should not" do, in what is or is not belly dance. It's really hard. Because in this dance form I maintain there are no rules, only guidelines, and you will ALWAYS find someone, some dancer in the Middle East somewhere, who does what is "not right" and yet somehow makes it right.

All I can say is, over the years, your own dance will start to consolidate and deepen if you keep pursuing study of the root dances. It doesn't mean you can't play with theatricality or athleticism or snazzy showbizzy things. Only that the more profoundly you get to understand the root dances, the more readily you will be able to innovate from a place of knowledge.

I think my own dance is deeper than it was, but still much more superficial than I would like it to be. I often look at dancers who are far more talented than I and see that superficiality. I know, though, that if they GET the training and the experiences and are open to their lessons, their dance WILL deepen.

I don't think there's anything wrong with having a charming accent. It's not the same as spouting a bunch of unrelated words, mispronounced.

 

[Aniseteph]

...I have ballettastic feet, for instance, despite only having really quite minimal ballet training in the grand scheme of things...

I've only got minimal ballet training too, but I resort to balletastic travelling when stressed.

I think it's like Kashmir said. You need to have an awareness of the style you want to achieve, be able to recognise that something else is going on - either working it out yourself or with the help of a teacher - and be able to pinpoint what you need to do to fix it - ditto - and then work on it.

 

[Daimona]

I've only got minimal ballet training too, but I resort to balletastic travelling when stressed.

I think I need to take a break from the screen - I just read:
"I've only got minimal ballet training too, but I resort to ballistic travelling when stressed." :lol:

Sorry for being off topic.

 

[Monica]

How do you know you're not accidentally fusing? If you're a ballet dancer, isn't that going to sneak in to your belly dance? Or maybe flamenco, or something else?

Is it even possible to only use belly dance vocabulary and NOT be influenced by other dances?

Some mixing is going to be very blatant, but some mixing may be a little more subtle. Maybe just expressed in the turn of a foot, or the way you use your hands, or any number of other things.

People do "accidentally fuse", of course, and it is not inherently bad. In my opinion, if you care about or are interested in these sort of things, it takes a lot of time and a lot of observation to figure out, and maybe a lot of willingness to sit back and not perform or put yourself out there, but to watch and listen and synthesize and think critically. In my experience it also took purposefully limiting input, as well. I chose to limit who I took classes and workshops from for a long time (close to a decade), and even what dance I watched. I really, really wanted to figure out and learn and do particular things, and (for me) it meant figuring out what it was first. There is so much "noise" in belly dance I had to turn some of it off to hone in on the style I wanted to learn and reflect.

I think it worked, but it had drawbacks. It meant limited participation in some community events as all my resources and focus were tied up. It meant not being perceived as particularly cool or trendy. It meant leaving behind old habits and teachers (respectfully so). It meant sometimes feeling like a mimic or a fraud until my body *and* my brain came to terms with what was happening. It meant learning new languages, instruments, and ways of seeing the world. It meant shutting up a lot, and it meant biting my tongue when a lot of fantasy and wishtory was offered as true fact. And for many people this method goes against the 'feed your head' idea of all input being valuable for creativity and artistic expression, and they sometimes get annoyed by it! But the benefits were worth it as I genuinely feel I have a sense of what is and what is not part of the style I focused on, and am able to confidently say why, teach why, and (perhaps most importantly!?) admit when I am wrong based on new evidence. For me, limiting input to pull things apart and learn has ultimately been, and remains, extremely liberating, and the doors choosing this path has opened up are ones I would not have even seen or known to look for had I not made these choices. It's not for everyone, and I respect that.

I've finally been poking my head out and trying some new things the last two years, and it's been fun and rewarding. I feel much more solid in doing so now because I rooted myself so deeply. I still need my touchstones though, because (IMO) it is easy to fall into whirling pools of performance art expression as belly dance, which is fine, but I find such a large amount of freedom of expression and joy and meaning in traditional styles that I don't want to lose all that work I did. To me the idea of 'authenticity' as a dancer from outside source cultures means doing the hard, sometimes boring, and often challenging work to learn all that, and then keeping 100% true to *yourself* in your chosen style as well, which doesn't have to negate choosing to do a ballet turnout here or accidentally doing a flamenco hand floreo there while doing raqs--as long as it is done thoughtfully and meaningfully and with purpose, and rooted in something real in the world and real in you.

 

[Aniseteph]

I think I need to take a break from the screen - I just read:
"I've only got minimal ballet training too, but I resort to ballistic travelling when stressed." :lol:

I do move about rather a lot... And now I have a phrase to help me stop it - thank you!

 

[Amanda (was Aziyade)]

I don't think there's anything wrong with having a charming accent. It's not the same as spouting a bunch of unrelated words, mispronounced.

Love that.