American bands can make great Arabic music

Or so it turns out.

I just purchased the two releases from House of Tarab (a.k.a. HOT) – a band in Seattle that works closely with Delilah. Their CDs are available from Visionary Dance. I love them both from head to toe. They both have good instrumentation and singing and it feels like dancing to live music, with a smaller band, very different from the big orchestra sound of the music from Cairo, but still very Arabic. The instruments used include mismark, nay, oud, violin, and a variety of percussion.

Their first release is bellydance classics from the golden ages and old films, Hebbina, Zeina, Aziza, Lamma Bada, and a variety of taqsims with different instruments including a fun table solo. Their second release is called Beledi and has a more earthy feel, with classics such as Ya Aziz Aini – done in more contemplative style than I've heard on other releases – and old Syrian and Lebanese folk songs appropriate for debke or cane work. There are two drum solos on these release, as well as a folkloric Turkish piece and a 10/8 Muwasharat.

We will be using this music in our upcoming show – Raks Nativity – so I will be getting to know a lot of it very intimately. It's amazing how many of these songs fit perfectly into the scenes we had envisioned, and the band was kind enough to allow us to use the music for our dancing in the show.

I'm watching Belly Dance Show for Beginnres with Tanna Valentine. This video is such a little gem. I rented it from Netflix. Now I was lucky enough to study with Sabrina and Amira Jamal, both of whom taught me the 5-part routine and how to do either a restaurant show or a bellygram. But often, I think this information is hard to come by. It's full of tips like how to recover from veil mishaps, cute things to do for photo-ops if you have a special guest, veil wraps, even makeup tips. It goes through each part of the American Cabaret routine and then has extras on floorwork, makeup, costumes, staging, and so forth. Each little section is packed with information, the sort of thing we would have spent entire classes on in Amira Jamal's class. These World Dance New York videos are always packed with information, so that you can work with them for a long time, revisiting. I do that with my Ranya Renee Baladi video. But anyway, I am glad I got it from Netflix. I would say it's probably a nice complement to Secrets of the Stage.

Her voice and demeanor reminds me of my own voice. She sounds to me almost exactly how I sound when I watch myself on video, with that same frank, straightforward way of speaking. Also the gestures, facial expressions, cadence. This is exactly how I talk when I'm giving speeches. Since I took a public speaking course last semester, I am intimately familiar with my own voice.

The only change I would have made to this video? I would have filmed it with a "fake" party guests, in a party situation – either a pseudo restaurant or a living room set up. Because it would have been nice to be able to demonstrate some of the situations she's talking about, particularly the audience participation section.

I totally agree with her comments on ciftelli/taqsim section. Those movements – the snake arms, belly rolls, and hand articulations – are what people think of when they think of bellydancers. Contrary to popular belief, it's not boring – it's what people have been waiting for. I really liked how she described that.

The only thing I find a little odd is that it's very much taught at a beginner level, especially the technique (ex: breaking down snake arms), but by the time most people are ready to dance professionally, they should have already learned their technique. So it's almost like the video has two audiences. I'm mostly skipping the technique sections and just watching the concept sections. Not tha the technique sections don't contain a lot of interesting information too (I sat through one), but they also describe what an arabesque is. So, I don't think that if you need to learn snake arms, you should think that if you do this video, you can now go out and get a restaurant gig. This video is just a taste, just a preview, of the kinds of things a professional needs to know. But it's good, you know, because this information doesn't necessarily get out there. We're so lucky in Boston to have so many teachers that have had long professional careers, but that isn't true everywhere.

Why Amira’s Student Recital is so Important to Me

Recital marks my May like a holiday, with anticipation, preparation, the gathering of friends and loved ones, and a festive, joyful atmosphere. Amira Jamal has a gift for developing performers – from the shyest among us. Each year, it is a joy to see how people have grown. What challenges have they undertaken? What have they finally conquered? What new things have they learned, inside or out? What beautiful new costumes are to be worn? People's lives change as we see them from year to year, the long-time students of Amira, from young college students, to new moms, to women entering retirement. Perhaps because of the camaraderie in the classes, these students tend to stick around for a long time. I believe this was my 6^th recital and I am one of the newer regulars.

 

I love it as a time to see my classmates perform, all in one show, with a supportive audience that we need not stress over (but some of us do!) - as the audience is mainly performers and their families. I love it because it's a place where you can see bellydance not as a competitive sport as it has become in some cases, but as the empowering self-expression that is serves for so many people as. As sisters dance together, as daughters watch and eventually join in, as friends create duet choreographies - spending their time both practicing and laughing together - this aspect is one of the best aspects of bellydance. It is a place where people can come together to be creative, in a way that isn't always accessible in our day jobs.

 

As much as I loved a polished performance from a professional, and even better, an Egyptian dancer who is in touch with the music and the culture (the dance that in its highest form of art is not for everyone, more than a folkdance that all can do, it becomes like ballet, something only a few can do very very well) -- I also love this aspect of bellydance where it IS a folkdance that everyone can do, that it's a joy to see people do it at any level, at any amount of commitment, or years of training. I love the (American?) spin of self-empowerment and fulfillment. It is, of course, the reason why many of us were ABLE to learn bellydance, why classes are filled, and why it continues on with such popularity. American life offers us very few opportunities for creativity and self-expression (although this appears to be changing rapidly of late due in no small part to the internet culture of generating your own content) As I've observed in the past, we tend to leave that up to the experts. We listen to singers, but do not sing ourselves. We love to watch Dancing with the Stars, but people are often bashful to dance themselves. So when you see a woman in her sixties, grooving to a clarinet taqsim (solo), eyes closed and connected to the music - there's just something beautiful about that.

 

Anyway, I was moved today, to be at such a warm and supportive event, led by the teacher who brings out the best in all of us, Amira Jamal.

this blog has moved

I had to move off of FTP and I couldn't figure out how to get a subdomain to work, so my new blog URL is now http://bellydancernepenthe.blogspot.com.

Please redirect your RSS feeds if you had them set up.

A Tribute to Souhair Zaki

My current bellydance project is creating a Tribute to Souhair Zaki piece. Of all the dancers from past generations, she has always been my favorite, from the first time I saw her. The standard description for Souhair is "sweet". When I was in Egypt, some of the people I met did not admire bellydancers, but no one could say a bad word about Souhair Zaki. She really does come across that way, like a girl next door, like she would be a really nice person if you did talk to her. She doesn't appear to be strong or threatening, nor does she seem weak. It's somewhat amazing how much personality each dancer has, what comes across when they dance. When Souhair dances, you see that she is in enraptured by the music. She also had a tremendous figure, a distinctive style both in movement and appearance, and the music she chose to dance to is some of the best in the world.

I chose the song Leylet Hob, because she is famous for dancing to it and there were several videos where I could study how she related to that music. Poor timing, of course, for Youtube to take down all but one of the Souhair Zaki videos where she dances to Leylet Hob. One has been made private, the cute one with Souhair in a pink beledi dress. Another has been removed for terms of service violations.

The easiest part is the costume. I was born with long dark hair and generous hips. I can easily wear a simple bedlah with a chiffon skirt and matching body stocking. It will be a daring move for me to expose so much of my legs. Nevertheless, this is the EASY part. The hard part is the dance itself.

I am facing several challenges:

The first is artistic. How much do I include of myself? The version of the song I chose is 6 minutes long. There are plenty of Souhair movements that I can do. I can imitate the way she uses her hands and arms, softly flipping and twirling them, making arm paths. I can imitate her most frequently used movements – hip downs, figure 8s. I can perform one of her signatures, using the circle skirt as a veil and holding it as I twirl. I can also avoid movements that she never does, movements that became popular in modern Cairo style. I could, after all, just copy her entire dance although I think that would be less of a challenge and not cool at all. At some point, I need to bring in my own improvisation, and maybe even do a few of my own signature moves. It is still, after all, me dancing. I haven't seen a lot of tribute dances, but I know that when I read a book that is a retelling of an old tale, I am expecting a retelling, an update, something that both harkens back to the old but also offers something of the new.

The second is the realization that, to be a tribute to Souhair, you must not just emulate the gross movements (I call them this because they are the large physical movements, not the fine details) – the aforementioned figure 8s and downward hips. You have to get the essence, the way that she angles her head, smiles, the way that the hands and arms are held. She is very distinctive. Without attention to these details, one could repeat her dance exactly and not evoke Souhair at all. But with the proper details, no one could miss it. Generally if I choreograph at all, I leave the details up to my personal style and improvisation. In this case, I need to leave the gross movements up to improvisation with a loose idea of what fits – but I have to internalize the fine details until they are almost instinctual.

Finally, it is a personal dance challenge, slowing down and savoring a single movement. Like many modern dancers, I tend to dance in a series of combinations and rarely repeat the same movement for more than a measure or two. Souhair tends to repeat a movement, with variations. If you are a really good dancer, you can repeat a movement again and again. This requires excellent technical execution skills, to make something simple look divine. How do you keep the audience engaged without a lot of flash? That's really the challenge that all those who would emulate Egyptian style will face. One of the keys, of course, is engaging all those internal and core muscles at the root of our dance, to give the smallest of movements more oomph and strength. Also, one must develop confidence and charisma to present those movements. If the brain is thinking "Am I boring people?", it is broadcast through the face and body.

This blog has moved

This blog is now located at http://bellydancernepenthe.blogspot.com/.
You will be automatically redirected in 30 seconds, or you may click here.

For feed subscribers, please update your feed subscriptions to
http://bellydancernepenthe.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default.

Party Time

In the past, I would have been incredibly nervous right now. After all, tomorrow I am the surprise at a 49^th birthday party! I used to get all worked up about private gigs. After all, people were paying me to entertain them and not only did I have to be good, I also had to figure out how to please them. This year, perhaps because of the baby, I have a whole new attitude. First of all, I don't have time to get worked up! Secondly I have so much more confidence in myself as a dancer. I no longer bother trying to be someone I'm not. I figure, people have access to my website, my youtube videos – they know what I look like and they know what kind of dancer I am. If they didn't like me, they wouldn't be hiring me. I'm not hiding anything.

For one thing, I've decided that the best way to please my crowd is to be myself. Instead of picking out music – either BDSS-style fusion or American Cabaret classics – that I think is what you're supposed to use – I chose fun, fast upbeat EGYPTIAN music. Because that's what _I_ love. And if I love it, then I am going to radiate that love out to my audience. I have realized that you cannot rely on the audience's feedback to get you going – you have to produce it yourself – starting with music that makes you feel happy and utterly confident in yourself.

On my last two bellygrams, I also realized something else! Most of the time, the music matters NOT AT ALL. First, most of these people – unless they are Arabic, Greek, or Turkish – don't know anything about the music, or care. They just want a sparkly, "exotic" and beautiful woman to show up and make their party fun. It's like being a guy in a gorilla suit or a clown. On my first bellygram, which I did with Sabrina, we didn't really follow the music at all. We even did sword balancing and floorwork during a drum solo! We basically were party tricksters and entertainers. At my next party gig, I couldn't HEAR my music at all because their sound system was in the house and the party was outside. Not to mention, the guest of honor was blindfolded – until I took off his blindfold. I remember the most fun at that bellygram was all the little girls there, who all gathered around me to ask me questions afterwards. Now, there's always a chance that the people are going to stare blankly at you, or just sit and watch politely. In that case, wouldn't it be better to be dancing to one of your favorite songs, so that you can have fun – even if you're the only one?

Now I totally get why you don't break out Lissa Fakir at a party – and I'm not doing that. In fact, I hardly slow down at all except for a 2 minute Chiftetelli for sword balancing. For people who don't know much about Arabic culture, I often do sword balancing because it impresses people and it adds some variety to the show. It does let you slow down and catch your breath (not that I get out of breath), but without boring an audience who doesn't know a Hijaz from a Bayati. Of course, I end the show with a drum solo and then a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday, during which I really hope I can get the guest of honor up to dance – or at least take pictures – since the music itself is uninspiring. Sometimes I wish I could sing because that would be a great addition, but my singing – well – they might just demand a refund!

The only thing I'm nervous about is my entrance. The party is at a small Chinese restaurant. I'm a surprise, so I'm supposed to arrive in costume (I'll wear a cover-up and hopefully get nearby parking!) and come in dancing. I'm going to meet the person coordinating it outside, hand him my boombox, and trust that he can start my music. Somehow I have to come in with my sword, and my veil – forget about zills at this point. Now I know why a certain local dancer starts her restaurant set balancing a sword on her head with her veil draped over it holding her canes – she has mastered the art of getting on stage with all of your props.