Un-Choreographed

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Delilah

By Delilah

The old fashion belly dance, the way I learned it, was not by choreography. It was live in a cabaret environment. The party atmosphere made things come up spontaneously that made choreography not very realistic. Sometimes the dance would stay on the stage and other times it was someone’s birthday and the dance moved around the room. Audience members made song requests and sometimes would sing low yearning poems into the microphones during my dance.  The audience loved when the dancer came out into the audience and interacted with them. Most of the parties and restaurants I danced in hosted families and little kids were encouraged to put tips in my waist band. Many performances were sacred sacraments of divine grace under a mirror ball and some, down right rowdy and profane, with Greek sailors showering dancers with hundreds of dollar bills. In the 70’s I danced for 45 minutes per show. There was not one hair on my head that wasn’t soaked in sweat. My stamina was incredible and I felt like a cosmic astronaut, rocketing into out of this world trance spaces. In tribal society the trance is a big part of the dance. Dance is a means of prayer from the beginning of time. The tarab is divine ecstasy the listener gets into as part of the experience of the music. The dancer is a vessel; a container of the human interface.

This unique experience is valuable and transfers something vital to our soul experience. Today’s technical world is sadly lacking, as we sit addicted to our physically passive computer screens.

You use what you know and you create your dance in the moment. You can do this effectively if you know 5 moves or 500 moves. To me, this wildness is an exceptional opportunity in dance that should be revered and held on high. Not that it negates choreography. It’s just that at this point in society we have many dances that are contained and choreographed and fewer options that are un choreographed and free. Improvisational dance holds essential skills that benefit our life experience in important ways.

Improvisational dance doesn’t mean you don’t study rhythms, music, learn moves, develop your skill set, practice combos, condition the body and work to increase flexibility and endurance. It doesn’t mean you don’t have an intended destination either. You just navigate differently. Your moves become your paints. When we as the audience watch an improvisational belly dance, we are witnessing the painter painting. The dancer shares the live creative process with you. She listens carefully to the music and opens her heart and soul to be like a tuning fork and resonate with the vibrations in the air, using time and space. With each breath she is inspired to unfold the next movement in time. The spirit provided the force behind the motion. We call this dynamics. We all are individuals and this is an opportunity for individuality to shine. The challenge is to be relaxed enough to allow the exhibitionist to step forward. There lies the hitch. We are told at an early age not to show off. Don’t indulge yourself. This comes from our old puritan roots. However all artists are indulging the stuff that makes up their lives. We call this expression. The “don’t touch your own body policy” is just a stupid lack of appreciation for the marvelous gift of life you have been given. So check to see if that’s in the back of your brain and get rid of it, if you want to really dance. Whether you are dancing for yourself or for an audience or both, you must be open and susceptible to your emotions. Available, vulnerable and shameless.
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To Understand Baladi is to feel the heart of Oriental Dance!

I have often been asked over the years to explain  Baladi ….

The word Baladi…also transliterated as..Beledi..Balady..etc…literally means ‘My Country’ yet refers to not only the country but also the village or region of origin. As people left their villages to go to cities for economic reasons, they still held  ’baladi’  in their heart.

Baladi is also a ‘Style’ of dance. It is the dance of the people. In Egypt, Baladi is the type of dancing you will find in village and urban weddings and parties. It is also classically part of the Raks Sharki show.

  The costume is usually a ‘dressy’ form of ‘Thobe’ or Gallabiyah’ which is the long straight robe with sleeves and often slits on both sides. A scarf or belt is worn over it at the hips. The variations on this theme are limitless and each one is beautiful and expressive of the ‘regional culture’ of the music and dancer. 

Here is a short clip of Egyptian Superstar FiFi Abdou doing a ‘Baladi’ section of her show in an outdoor venue in Ismallia Egypt. Fifi was known in the beginning of her career as a ‘Baladi’ Dancer or as often quoted, ” a dancer for the people”. In this show she comes out with the ‘malaya’ a heavy,usually black, wrap that is a prop used in ‘Malaya Leff ’ a  “street dance ‘ of Iskandaria ( Alexandria) Egypt….( you will see it on her exit) and then she picks up the cane (Assaya)…Just a taste of Baladi, Fifi style… Read the rest of this entry »

Ahlan Wa Sahlan

Baalbeck Lebanon

Welcome to Belly Dance Adventures and Belly Dancer’s Blog!

If you are new and exploring or if you have been dancing for awhile, you are cetrainly having an adventure!

Why are we doing this dance?

What is it that just takes a hold of your heart and whirls you? You are drawn in and consumed and you are passionate because it feels sooo GOOD!

There are so many aspects of Belly Dancing that we are exploring.

We are on this adventure together. We are a festival of beauty and color, music and movement, a collective joy and sisterhood.

We dance around the Globe and share this ancient movement of Middle Eastern Dance. We call it different names…Belly Dance, Raqs Sharqi, Fusion.American Tribal and more. Yet, it is one collective sisterhood of women that Love to Dance.

Our travels take us to many places within and without. Through the experience of this dance we connect with our timeless eternal selves.

We are beautiful, strong, soft, sensuous, and VERY colorful.

Wherever and whenever we dance we participate in an experience of Joy.

The adventure of Belly Dance is never ending. It is always morphing and changing yet it is rooted in the exotic, rich and fragrant music and culture of the Middle East. Read the rest of this entry »