Beginning dancer: knows nothing.
Intermediate dancer: knows everything; too good to dance with beginners.
Hotshot dancer: too good to dance with anyone.
Advanced dancer: dances everything. Especially with beginners.

LOL. This sounds like a tango bar to me. "Dance with"? What does that have to do with bellydance?

Dear Shira,
Zorba and I are friends. I consider him to be one of those people with whom one can have a debate without it turning ugly. He is ever the gentleman, never calls names or slights a person's character, and I respect that to no end, considering some of the things that I have been called!
I am one of those that people often refer to as, "the Belly Dance Police". Zorba loses me in his opening paragraph, because he intimates, as do many others, that there is no joy or innovation or life in authentic ethnic belly dance, of which there is plenty of all. In fact, without those qualities, it is not belly dance.
I disagree with those who want to tack the words, "belly dance" on to anything they create in the name of dance, merely because there is a movement or two that also happens to be seen in belly dance. In fact, there is no such thing as a "belly dance movement" that can not be found in some other dance as well. Movement alone is not what makes dance what it is. My stance is that belly dance is a very specific ethnic dance, and so other forms need to be defined in a different way than is currently the fashion. Some people like to pretend that I "hate" American innovations in dance but that is not true. You will find many kinds of dances in my shows, and each performance offering will be clearly defined for our audiences so that there is no confusion as to what is belly dance and what is ATS or fusion or Bollywood, etc. I respect ALL good dance, but if it is not belly dance, please find a different definition for those dance creations. I think that is not too much to ask for the education and benefit of our students and audiences, and the dance itself.
Regards,
A'isha

Beginning dancer: knows nothing.
Intermediate dancer: knows everything; too good to dance with beginners.
Hotshot dancer: too good to dance with anyone.
Advanced dancer: dances everything. Especially with beginners.
-Attributed to Dick Crum, a folk dance teacher


this SO reminds me of when I first started. i was SO gung ho and figured that since I could dance a set of 20 minutes, non-stop, to 4 - 5 choreo-ed pieces, i was a DANCER. Not a good dancer by any means, but my jewel-blazing costume and glittering grin would make up for the rest. Ah, youth. I was braver than I am now..... some greek restaurant owner got my number and real name (i still don't know how) and wanted me to do a small celebration gig. I know I made a million mistakes; the customers at the restaurant seemed to like me for the most part and I even got one extra special bit of praise from a lady whose daughters I had fussed over..... I think the best part of it was when my teacher found out, she cared enough that I had a proper costume and knew what might lay ahead. I would still dance with anyone -- courses, hafflas, etc, quietly and shyly I suppose.....

I think that the article misses the opportunity to talk about the balance that one needs to attempt to strike when sharing any art form. Artists have the responsibility to learn the history, culture and as much of the context of the as art form that they are presenting. At the same time, I believe that the very essence of being an artist is bringing yourself to the stage, not just mimicking what is already known. Yes, this is indeed a huge gray area and in bellydance I've seen plenty of dancers who go to either extreme of technology/culturally accurate, but with little personality and spark, or all ego with little resemblance of the original form. For me, this is what keeps the dance interesting. In the last year, I've delved deeply into middle-eastern music, falling completely in love with OM and such. At the same time, I can't fully embrace the music in the dance unless I bring some of my own flavor as an African-American to it. I can't leave me behind. Yes, I know that's a bit vague, but my larger point is that I believe that there is room enough for both respect for roots of the dance and the creative essence of the artist.

Tammy

This is a topic I find quite fascinating, and one that could be debated in the highest quality for centuries to come. I would like to add my own opinion about purists. First of all, I am in no way a purist in any form of belly dance. However, I do think that they are a huge part of the dance. These dancers are the ones who will pass on the tradition of authentic belly dance (as closely as they can). It would be so tragic if we lost the origins of cabaret and the lines between Egyptian, Turkish, and gypsy rom became so blurred they could not be separated. I do believe that as in any art form boundaries must be pushed and innovation is absolutely necessary in order for an art to survive time. If an art form does not change and adapt to the world it will petrify and become extinct. This would also be horribly tragic.
With the ancient art form of belly dance it is most important to me that the origins of the emotion remain intact. I feel that if the dance evolves outside its original intention of female empowerment and connection than it has evolved into something that is not belly dance.
In order for the art form to survive we need both the purists and the innovators to acknowledge that each other exist and at least know that BOTH are needed in order for belly dance to thrive.

I like the title, it's funny!

Aside from that, I really wish that GS would have a journalism column and a separate opinion column, and that they would focus more on the journalism one. I find that the quality of writing and information on GS is very poor, and it is just becoming a forum for people to bash others whom they have a grudge against, or who hold different opinions or whatever, whether it's being done in general terms or in reference to specific people.

I'd rather read reviews of workshops, DVDs, shows, and competitions, read about what's going on in the scene all over the world, read about research that dancers are doing on topics that are relevant to this dance, interviews with famous dancers, etc, than hear what someone thinks of someone else's opinion. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but I already get plenty of it on bhuz and tribe. When I go on GS, it's because I want to learn something new.

I thought the comments at the bottom of the page were mostly excellent.

Marya

First of all, thank you to Marya and A'isha, because one of the comments on the GS page was mine. :-D

Secondly... I have many problems with Zorba's article (including the handful of quotations, which I feel are out of place). But I want to ask a question. Yes, I have heard the label "belly dance police" many times. I've heard it applied to dancers with international reputations and to small-time local show organizers. My question is: has anyone here actually run across someone with a true "police mentality" as opposed to just preferring more authentic dance over fusion?

Do you have personal knowledge of someone PREVENTING someone else from studying/performing because they are a fusionista?

In the dance community you hear many opinions, ranging from "well, that's not to my taste" all the way to "that absolutely isn't bellydance and she should find a different audience." But other than on grounds of bad taste, I have yet to hear of anybody being actively thwarted from dancing as they wish. Have you run across such a situation?

I think one of the issues I have with Zorba's original article is that the tone of the article appears to put the personal gratification of the performer above all else. For example, there's this quote: "If someone finds fulfillment dancing "for the Goddess" in a troupe which is all about "empowering strong women", why should the self-annointed Belly Dance Police tell them they have it all wrong? They have a vision, a passion, a joy, a completeness in their quest for beauty. Who’s wrong are the self-righteous who "rain on their parade".

The issue I have with his comment (which applies to ALL dance forms, not just belly dance) is that there's a HUGE difference between dancing in a private situation (such as your own home) with no one to watch you versus dancing in front of an audience. There's also a HUGE difference between dancing in that private situation versus teaching your "stuff" to students.

I think when you're dancing in private, with no one to watch you except your pet cats, then it's perfectly fine to dance in whatever way allows you to find fulfillment.

HOWEVER, the instant you step in front of an audience who is expected to watch you, then it's no longer enough to seek your fulfillment. Once you entrap an audience who must sit through your performance, you have an obligation to that audience. They are giving you their attention, you in turn must give them a satisfying experience. If they expect entertainment, then you must make it a priority to entertain them, and that should be a higher priority than finding your personal fulfillment. If they expect high art, then you should try to craft something artistic to present to them. If they expect professional-level dancing and you're not yet at that level of skill, maybe that's not the right show for you to be performing in. And so on.

Yes, everyone has a right to pursue personal fulfillment. But they don't have a right to make strangers sit through their quest.

Similarly, when teaching, a teacher has an obligation to teach whatever they are claiming to teach. Again, this isn't limited to belly dancing, but to any dance style. It's called "truth in labeling". I strongly feel that even if a dancer's personal preferred style for performing is fusion, she should teach belly dance fundamentals in classes labeled "belly dancing", especially at the beginner level.

Well I think there's a big difference between sharing information, and telling someone they're wrong. It's Ok to approach and share, for example, Tribal Fusion Gal has parts from a Kuchi headpiece on her belt. One option is to play Belly Dance Police; walk up to her, tell her how wrong she is. Another is to ask her, "What are those?", and if she doesn't know, tell her nicely.

Evolution is never easy and I think we're seeing evolution in action, in language and in dance. A hundred years ago, the word "Orient" meant the Middle East. But today most Americans associate the word "Orient" with "Asia". The world didn't change but the average persons understanding of the word did.

I remember back in the 90s when I first discovered the old MED list, lots of fiery fights over ATS - the Belly Dance Police felt it wasn't belly dance at all. Now, I think most (not all) dancers would agree that ATS is a kind of Belly Dance. I think Tribal Fusion is dragging the term Belly Dance along with it as it pushes forward.

Naturally at some point Tribal Fusion is no longer Middle Eastern. If you're wearing Western costuming and using Western music and incorporating a lot of Western moves, from Jazz or Hip Hop or whatever, eventually, at some point, there's just no more "Middle Eastern" in it. But is it still Belly Dance? ... Maybe...!!! It's very possible that the umbrella term "belly dance" can evolve to encompass American Tribal Style, Tribal Fusion and Middle Eastern dance, as three clearly separate subgroups.

I wonder how long will ATS and Tribal Fusion styles will survive? Fifty years from now, will ATS be considered form of folk dance? Will dancers still be listening to techno music, dancing in flare pants, leather bras and hair gardens? Or will the style fade into old video and photos resting on library shelves?