Where do you draw the fine line

[Dev]

Hello Everybody

I was looking at a lot of Belly Dance videos lately, One thing I noticed that there are lots of fusion kind of Belly Dance, Even modern music is quite common in many Belly Dance performances, Dina may be one of the famous Belly Dancer at current date. But many times i fail to see her appearance resemble traditional Belly Dancers. So one question to all Belly Dancers , where do you draw the fine line, when it is Belly Dance and when it is not. There are threads about other Belly Dance styles (ex-Gothic, Tribal , etc .) And I know many dancers have different opinions, But it seems because there is no particular governing body for Belly dance, Belly Dance is becoming a free style dancing.

 

[Moon]

Sorry if I understood the question wrong, but I don't see why there should be yet anohter thread about this topic. "Bellydance or not" has already been discussed in already five threads or so. What do you mean with "fine line"? Do you mean what can be considered bellydance or not when it comes to dancers from Middle Eastern countries?
Sorry but I don't see what is so different about this thread.

 

[Aisha Azar]

Drawing the line

Dear Dipali,
In many ways, belly dance has always been "free style" dancing.Many of the dancers that we have seen forever are not choreographed, and hardly any of them are choreographed in the very precise way that westerners generally think of the word.
What has consistently made something specific ethnic belly dance, then, is the approach to the music and the way in which movement is used, staying within the perimeters of specific movement families which seem to be shared across the Middle East and North Africa, the connection on the emotional and cultural levels with the music; in general, the "essence" of the dance. Dina does all this. She is not one of my favorite dancers, but she is getting better, I think, with experience in both life and dance. I tend to have a preference for more complex dancers than Dina generally is, but I think she does bring something of value to the table.
Regards,
A'isha

 

[Yasmine Bint Al Nubia]

Oh Yeah Dipali we've been down this road before! Oriental dance as a performing art has always included some type of non-Oriental elements fused with it. Tahia Carioca used Brazilian moves for example. I think it really comes down to the music. An expressive dancer will visualize the music, so as music styles and instrumentation changed one can see subtle changes in the dancers.

Modern Arabic music uses more electronic instruments that creates driving rhythms with less emphasis on the melodic call and response features heard in more "traditional" music. Even musicians like Hossam Ramzy fuses Latin & Jazz in his compositions, so even if you danced to it one is almost forced to fuse those type of dance elements as well.

Yasmine

 

[Dev]

Sorry if I understood the question wrong, but I don't see why there should be yet anohter thread about this topic. "Bellydance or not" has already been discussed in already five threads or so. What do you mean with "fine line"? Do you mean what can be considered bellydance or not when it comes to dancers from Middle Eastern countries?
Sorry but I don't see what is so different about this thread.

Moon , You have a valid reason to get upset regarding my question which had been asked many times in the past, This thread is not special at all, I dont really want to discuss about any particular style whether they are belly dance or not , i am aware about the fusion element, But where this fusion thing ends . How far can you really go, a Dancer who can dance really good, but wears a warrior costume , dye their hair Green and dances with Chemical brother , would it still be regarded as belly dance?

 

[chryssanthi sahar]

Dear Dipali.

Since the term "belly dance" had been created by Westerners who didn't know how to name this exotic dance they saw at the Middle East, it is a very wide term. So somehow you are right, when you tell, that belly dance is becoming a "free style dancing". The only way to distinguish a traditional ethnic belly dance style from a modern or fusion style, is to call it by the name it has in the country it comes from. So, when you call a dance Raqs Sharqi, it is Egyptian or Lebanese style (or at least it should be. There are dancers though, who claim to dance Raqs Sharqi, but dance American Cabaret or other fusions). If you call it Göbek Danse it is Turkish style, if you call it Chifteteli it can be Turkish or Greek (you have to precise the definition), but if you call it Tsifteteli, then it is Greek. The fusions usually have also their own names and definitions, like Tribal, Gothic, etc.
So the term belly dance is getting more and more the generic term for dances who use a lot the hips and pelvis, opposite to the past, when it was mainly used to describe ethnic dances from Middle East countries. At least this is my observation to the subject.

 

[Aisha Azar]

Fine Line

Dear Dipali,
I see the defination of belly dance as much more concise than many people do, as you probably already know. When westerners saw the dances of the Middle East at first, they were IN the MIddle East and referred specifically to the dance that is known as Raqs Sharghi or Oriental Tanza, but that is not here or there in this discussion of if the Egyptians are retaining that quality of Egyptian essence in their dance. It is their culture that decides for them, not just their intention! They are all proud to be Egyptian and usually are not trying to "copy" the West, no matter what anyone might try to say about that. (Remember the comment Dina made about how an Eygptian would definately win if they entered a dance contest in Egypt?? She was not kidding. Egyptian dancers LIKE their Egyptianness!!)
To reiterate, movement in and of itself is not Egyptian, Turkish, Spanish, Norwegian, Russian, etc. And, while some movements are specific to some dances, you often see the same movements in other types of dance as well. Movement is ubiquitous. In dance, it is the cultural message and essence combined with the movement and its message, that makes the dance what it is. The Egyptians continue to dance in a way that is uniquely Egyptian no matter what influences may creep into their dance.
Regards,
A'isha

 

[Dev]

Dear chryssanthi sahar,
Thank you so much , At the moment i am going through all the debate threads. And trying to learn more about the different opinions regarding the subject.

Dear Aisha , In one of your articles you said
belly dancing is the physical and emotional interpretation of a piece of music and how that music makes the individual dancer respond or feel. From ” What Is "Phrasing?” I understand it better now.

 

[miss_shimmy]

hmmm

no line to draw...how can you draw whilst you dancing!?