Let's Talk Tribaret

[Amulya]

I was reading this thread about tribaret on another forum but the idea they had of it didn't make sense to me, they were talking about cabaret style in a tribal costume and tribal in cabaret costume. That's not what it is to me, it's much more mixed, costume and dance wise. So I started looking at YouTube clips, there is one dancers in there doing tribal in a modern Egyptian costume, that just doesn't work for me, too odd.

I think that the costumes need to be a blend of glittery and tribal elements and the dance should also have elements of both (like at least do the tribal fusion arms) What do you think?

 

[Dunyah]

I don't know, really. What kind of music would be "tribaret"? I usually pick my costume and dance according to the music.

 

[Darshiva]

For me, the distinction between tribaret & tribal fusion is that the fusion skews more to cab/oriental with tribaret and more towards tribal with tribal fusion. I think that the costume styling differs strongly as well, with tribaret taking on a swooshy sort of earthy glam and tf taking straight lines & hard edges in costuming and combining them with a more earthy aesthetic for jewellery & accents.

So for me when choosing my music I go with something more lyrical for tribaret - that way I can take advantage of the big swooshy glam. Whenever I feel like skewing more towards tf, I choose music with a more industrial edge to it.

I guess years of honing my ears to the subtle differences between regionalities in the various oriental styles has influenced the way I choose my music associations for the two.

 

[Amulya]

Here are my tribaret costumes:

This one got fringe now too, so it is a lot more glittery:
bellydanceforums.net/album.php?albumid=456&attachmentid=9167

this one got tribal jewelry combined with sequins and beads:
http://bellydanceforums.net/album.php?albumid=456&attachmentid=7363

For music, I used fusion music (but with Turkish or ME influences) but that would be different each time, depending on where the gig was and what the theme of the show was (I did tribaret for two theatre groups),

 

[Amanda (was Aziyade)]

I like the idea of tribaret being considered more of a theatrical kind of dance. Amulya, those costumes are beautiful, but they really just remind me of old-school 70s patterns and styles we saw in the US. Before sequins, Americans danced in coins and yes, cowrie shells!

Do you guys think Bal Anat is in any way tribaret? They're sort of faux folklore, like Hahbi Ru was, but I'm not sure how to characterize that style.

I don't see why Tribal HAS to avoid sparklies. I've seen rather interesting tribal done in Sharifwear pants and tie tops and thought it gave a cool effect.

 

[Amulya]

Thank you I do like those old styles with lots of coins. I always wanted to make a gold coin costume too, I bought the coins 19 years ago, still haven't used them!

In a theatre setting there is so much more freedom, because you're part of a theme and a show, not the main thing and having to represent something specific. My dancing didn't even need to be called belly dance per se, which helps give more freedom. In a hired setting it's so different because people expect a 'proper' belly dancer. Which is fun too of course, and that's what I mostly did. But I like to experiment with dance as well and do different things.
I still wonder, what gigs do ATS/ITS, tribal fusion and tribaret dancers generally get? There doesn't seem to be a market for them, I generally saw them in their own shows or part of a belly dance show that had differet styles represented. Maybe as tribaret dancer you can get away with more when you stay closer to cabaret style.

I don't think Bal Anat is tribaret or tribal, not sure what it is, but when I watch some old clips it looks so different, yes fake folklore. Or maybe I'm mixing it up with Habi Ru?

Am cab is specifically American so to people from other countries like me tribaret might not remind them of Am cab, but I know what you mean, there is a similarity. Do they do 'tribal arms' in Am cab? I can't remember, not seen many Am cab clips, they don't seem much available.

 

[Mosaic]

Interesting thread ladies, keep talking I know little about Tribaret, but I'm interested to know more, the differences, the costuming, which you ladies have just started to discuss. I have watched a few videos & do like what I've seen, both the swoshy glam & TF glam. I just wasn't sure if they were both Tribaret or what. The swoshy glam is the most confusing for me, I think I'm watching Am-Cab, so have difficulty separating the 2
~Mosaic

 

[Darshiva]

Maybe there isn't a difference? Or if there is, it's subtle.

I know I'm pretty much making it up as a I go along, from whatever research I can find on the subject, and I'm always open to new information that will totally change my point of view.

 

[Amulya]

I haven't been able to find any clip that represents it, I have been looking on YouTube and it's generally tribal fusion in a cabaret costume what I can find, but nothing that would really show what I think tribaret is, not even anything that looks am cab like. I used tribaret as search word in YouTube btw.
Mosaic could you share the ones you have seen?

 

[Amulya]

Here is a clip of Serena Wilson, it's labeled Am Cab, it looks different from other Am Cab styles I have seen, this is more fusion like:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?list=PLE0ACFB2BB541FE25&v=cuUx4rbUsaA
But this is not how I envision tribaret though

I guess tribaret is more what Ansuya does, but she leans more heavily on the cabaret site.

 

[Ariadne]

I like the idea of tribaret being considered more of a theatrical kind of dance. Amulya, those costumes are beautiful, but they really just remind me of old-school 70s patterns and styles we saw in the US. Before sequins, Americans danced in coins and yes, cowrie shells!

From what I have seen that is the style of costuming that is now being called Tribaret.

I think that the costumes need to be a blend of glittery and tribal elements and the dance should also have elements of both (like at least do the tribal fusion arms) What do you think?

Well it depends. I've seen it done two ways, one where they did merge cabaret and tribal together (some more successfully then others) a the other where they used cabaret style dance with the tribal group call and response. I think the one DVD on the subject does both. Tribaret Belly Dance with Carrie Konyha

 

[Amulya]

I don't have that DVD but from the clip I saw I didn't see a tribaret costume, that's a cabaret one in my humble opinion. Also the dancing in the clip is cabaret, BUT it's such a short clip it's impossible to judge, Darshiva has seen the whole DVD and she agrees it's tribaret.

It's a shame there are no tribaret performance DVDs out yet. That would be interesting!

 

[Amulya]

Btw Am Cab is a style only known in America, this style didn't exist in other countries (maybe does now, who knows), tribaret is done in different countries, so maybe tribaret just coincidentally is similar. Or maybe because ATS and tribal fusion are inspired by Am Cab?

 

[Zumarrad]

American Cabaret has existed in NZ for as long as I can remember, though it's very oldfashioned now and a lot of people don't differentiate any more. Things had gone more Egyptian by the time I started, but the style was definitely known and people claimed that they performed or could perform it.

I must say I'm surprised anybody is still using the term "tribaret" - tribal fusion pretty much covers anything and everything not ATS/GC or orientale/folkloric these days.

 

[Ariadne]

I must say I'm surprised anybody is still using the term "tribaret" - tribal fusion pretty much covers anything and everything not ATS/GC or orientale/folkloric these days.

I think the difference is that Tribaret is the blending of ONLY Tribal and Cabaret style BD. With the softening of the flamenco influences found in Tribal it is more of a fusing of Tribal into Cabaret then the other way around. Tribal Fusion on the other hand is the fusing of other styles into Tribal and if it is missing that strong tribal feel (especially that flamenco attitude) I personally don't consider it Tribal Fusion but World or Urban Fusion.

When I consider the roots of ATS, and that softening of the flamenco arms and attitude, perhaps that is why the tribaret performances I've seen by serious dancers has reminded me very much of Classic American Oriental with a slight Tribal influence. Perhaps that is why the style of costuming that is used with it is so very Classic as well. Mind you the Tribaret costuming came first. :think: hmmm... Maybe the costuming was so popular dancers just wanted a style to match.

To be entirely honest, it's exactly the style that I had wished existed back when I first started and before I discovered Turkish. I'm kinda glad it does now.

 

[Aniseteph]

I think the difference is that Tribaret is the blending of ONLY Tribal and Cabaret style BD. With the softening of the flamenco influences found in Tribal it is more of a fusing of Tribal into Cabaret then the other way around. Tribal Fusion on the other hand is the fusing of other styles into Tribal and if it is missing that strong tribal feel (especially that flamenco attitude) I personally don't consider it Tribal Fusion but World or Urban Fusion.

I haven't a clue about tribaret except for the impression it's an AmCab offshoot with tribal stylings. But what I've experienced of Tribal Fusion tallies with this though; the feel and attitude is like Tribal, a long way from Egyptian and I'm guessing from Turkish and AmCab too.

And then there's pick and mix at the belly dance style-buffet, which isn't really a style but seems to be a thing

...cabaret style in a tribal costume and tribal in cabaret costume.

Yeah, that's not a style, it's confusing/ irritating/ clueless (delete as applic.).

(Runs back to safety of Egyptian style, clutching sequinned security blanket).

 

[Ariadne]

And then there's pick and mix at the belly dance style-buffet, which isn't really a style but seems to be a thing

A really really annoying thing. IMO

 

[Darshiva]

For me, tribaret is a fusion of oriental and tribal, but with more oriental aesthetic. Because of my oriental background, my posture and hands are oriental, although I do use tribal-ish arms.

I find myself orientalising my favourite tribal "combinations" and tribalising my favourite oriental combinations. It may well be that I am coming up with my own style subgenre of tribaret and I'm quite okay with that. After all, I'm developing it out here on my own, without workshops to guide me in tribaret, just a handful of dvds that give me the clues on how to fuse.

I am using a LOT of Keti's A-Z style as the basis of my tribalised oriental combinations, as well as some of my favourites I've come up with on my own. I'm having a lot of fun developing this, and am incredibly excited to see where it goes.

 

[Amulya]

That was the same for me, I was already busy with tribaret when I still lived on Holland and that's so long ago, there weren't even any tribal or ATS dancers in Holland yet, that took a very long time, most dancers just refused other styles, lots of crazy puritans in Holland hehehe. I remember going to tribal workshops in Germany at festivals and seeing fellow dancers looking down on me while they did the whatever they found acceptable workshop in the studio next door.

There never was much Am Cab in Holland because the people who brought belly dance to Holland were immigrants. Only later we had an American bring her style belly dance to Holland, but I can't remember exactly what style she was, might have been Am Cab, but she wasn't the main influence in the dance community, so that's why it never took that much hold.