Dance History: Your Questions

[Amanda (was Aziyade)]

Andrea, I'm SO glad you visited our forum! I miss your articles in the old Habibi.

My questions seem to center around the Phoenicians (and I'm sure I'm going to spell that wrong.) Supposedly Nadia Gamal said that the dance originated with the Phoenician slaves brought to west Africa. I'd like to know more about this theory.

Also, Barbara Siegel once gave a talk about the Jariyyah (again spelled terribly wrong) and I'd like to know if they contributed heavily to the dance as we know it today. (I don't know if that's after your time period or not.)


BTW, wasn't it you who coined the term SITA for dances like bellydance? I use that term a lot to distinguish what I call "bellydance" from folk and line dances, so thank you for that!

Thank you for asking us!

Amanda

 

[Andrea Deagon]

Hello, everyone -- and I thank you for your comments. It's a pleasure to see so many people thinking critically on this issue.

The first chapter of the book is entitled "What is Belly Dance" and is based on my 2 Habibi articles from about 3 years ago, looking at the technical, historical, and aesthetic factors that define what I call "Solo-Improvised Dance based on Torso Articulation" or SIDTA for short. It is a more general phenomenon than raqs sharqi, and different from Western belly dance in many ways, but it is a lot more than just hip movement. Hip movement is not an adequate defining factor for dances, any more than "leg movement" is a specific category of dance, though it characterizes many dance traditions. SIDTA is a cultural phenomenon that really deserves more attention. I think the integrity of this dance phenomenon is underappreciated because people think of "belly dance" when they look at it, and therefore don't take it seriously. Anthony Shay's work (esp. Choreophobia, 1999) has been very important in defining the modern phenomenon. I look at the historical forces that created it, and further define it as a historical phenomenon.

Although there is not abundant evidence for ANY dance technique in antiquity, the definition of SIDTA allows the researcher to investigate the phenomena of hip articulation and solo-improvisation as dance aesthetics, and draw conclusions about the dance that are not apparent if you are just looking for "belly dance." One of the things I try to do in each chapter is create a picture of the culture as a whole, and the dance culture in particular, and set the evidence in that context. Often it is possible to find a very illuminating context for at least some of the elements of what we think of as belly dance. This issue of the wider culture is something that only comes with years of exposure to and study of the primary sources for each area of inquiry. You can do a lot with "quivering thighs" (for example) if you understand the socio-cultural backgrounds to both Syrian-Roman interaction and female entertainers in the Roman Empire. I have also had abundant help from specialists in other fields, for example, the Egyptologists who are helping me with interpreting the role of the courtier Neferesres, sixth dynasty "director of the dancers of the palace," whose dance technique can't be determined but whose role is certainly an interesting one in the dance cuture of ancient Egypt.

Another thing I want to do is introduce into the dialog the central ideas about dance and its uses, from the societies which may have had SIDTA as a part of their dance culture. I think we can learn from these things for our own dancing, rather than following our tendency to project ourselves into the past.

However, a substantial part of this book has to be correcting the mistaken ideas about this dance that exist. One of the things that pushed me to write this book was reading an article on belly dance in an *academic publication* that put on its historical timeline of belly dance, "destruction of the Goddess Tribes in the Middle East." What "Goddess Tribes"???? The problem is, the only book out there with any pretensions to being a standard history of the dance is Buonaventura, and while I respect Wendy immensely, and think she has a lot of good things to say about 19th century matters, she is not an ancient historian and her work is riddled with inaccuracies in that dimension. And don't get me started on the "history" in *Grandmother's Secrets,* not to mention all the imaginative histories that are out there on the Internet.

How will all that stuff end if someone doesn't give something like a true assessment of the issues? I'm a dancer since my teens, Duke Ph.D., professor of Classical Studies and Women's Studies, and I figure, guys, it is up to me.

I am not that interested in writing something that just blasts away at misconceptions -- like I said, I want to make the cultures live so what we do know about dance can take shape in a full context, and I am always honest about the uncertainties involved. I do have special chapters on Birth Ritual and Matriarchy, because those are areas that seemed to require special treatment. Some chapters, such as the Paleolithic one, discuss the shortcomings of the evidence and interpret what ethnological comparison might or might not indicate about dance among "stone age" foragers.

I want to include an appendix that deals with some of the popular culture historical issues that people want to know about, that may not appear in the main part of the text. That's why I ask "what would you like to know?" What have you heard about ancient belly dance that you would like to see confirmed, denied, or explained? I don't want to leave unaddressed any issues that the average reader would wonder about, but I might not be very sensitive to what those would be. (Thing is, I guess y'all aren't really average readers ...)

I am expecting to complete the draft by January, and what happens after that will depend on finding a publisher. That's my timeframe. For those who would like an example of my work, keep an eye on Gilded Serpent. I am planning to send Lynette an article (adapted from an "Egypt" chapter) which I will probably (provocatively) entitle, "Naked Belly Dance in Ancient Egypt," which deals with the issue of what dancers wore in performance, and why the famous dancers of Nebamun's tomb are wearing so little. It's an example of the broader cultural context illuminating a specific, dance-related issue.

Anyway, thanks for comments & questions, I'd love more, and best wishes,

Andrea

 

[Shanazel]

Dear Shanazel,
I agree that this is getting far afield, so if you would like, I will start a costuming thread if you have any specific questions about my theory for costuming dancers. It's pretty simple, though and won't be a very long thread!!
Regards,
A'isha

It only takes a short thread to securely attach the button that keeps your pants from falling down, but it is an important thread! Will you start the thread under costumes or shall I? Thanks.

Andrea, we will now quit hijacking your thread. I look forward to reading your book. I am, by the way, interested in the social standing of dancers down through time.

Shanazel

 

[Aisha Azar]

Costume Thread

It only takes a short thread to securely attach the button that keeps your pants from falling down, but it is an important thread! Will you start the thread under costumes or shall I? Thanks.

Andrea, we will now quit hijacking your thread. I look forward to reading your book. I am, by the way, interested in the social standing of dancers down through time.

Shanazel

Dear Shanazel,
I need the practise, so I will start it now!!
Regards,
A'isha