Gina Smith paper
Canadian Belly-Dance Culture: The Liberty of Artistic Creation and its Origins in the Ancient Arab World.
The belly-dance genres of North America are social constructs derived from the dance traditions of the Middle East and North Africa. These westernized forms are primarily categorized as emanating from the Egyptian Raqs Sharqi; however, the diversity of North American belly-dance genres demonstrates influences inclusive of other folk dances with Bedouin, Tunisian, Iranian, Moroccan and Turkish roots. The origins of North American belly-dance can be traced back to the oriental exoticism fanfare of the late 19th century. The popularity of exoticism among Western countries created a demand for the importation of arts associated with the Orient. In contemporary times, this trend continues with an emphasis on the duplication and the modification of foreign dance traditions. These folk dance traditions have undergone westernization, incorporating the individualistic flare of each unique performer, teacher and student. As with any art form, belly-dance is open to artistic creations and genre fusions. The result is a dance culture that embraces both foreign and local contributions while establishing a niche for a variety of exotic dance styles. This paper focuses on the development of different genres of belly-dance in North America while recognizing and validating its strong presence in Edmonton, Alberta.
A Hoochy-Koochy Past
Arab folk dances first arrived in North America with a series of performances at American world fairs: the 1876 United States Centennial International Exhibition in Philadelphia and the 1893 World Columbian Exhibition in Chicago. The 19th century‘s “Scramble for Africa” (Griffiths, 1986, pg. 214) by European colonizers, mainly the English, French, German and Spanish, penetrated societies with unfamiliar social culture. In Egypt’s case, the English occupied Egyptian territory as early as 1882. European artists began to capture images, which were often exaggerated, from Africa, the Middle East and Asia, by means of literary works and visual arts. Europe's fascination with the Orient was coined by the scholar, Edward Said, as “Orientalism”. Orientalism can exist in European representations of Orient societies as explicitly derogatory; however, it can also manifest inconspicuously when Orient culture is merely eroticized. (Dirks, 2004, p.39) Thus, oriental dancers and musicians became special "eroticized" features at world fairs, such as the Paris Exhibition Universelle and shortly thereafter, the American world fairs.
Of particular importance was the type of belly-dance introduced during the Chicago Exhibition in 1893. Sol Bloom, “the leading planner and organizer of the Midway Plaisance entertainment”, (Roth, 2000, pg.4) developed a feature show that combined his own catchy rhythmic tunes with females performing the “danse de ventre” (dance of the belly). In Sol Bloom’s autobiographical account, he states “that the danse de ventre, while sensuous and exciting, was a masterpiece of rhythm and beauty. Almost immediately, though, the dance was imitated in amusement parks around the country, and became associated with debasement and vulgarity as a crude suggestive dance and known as the “hoochy-koochy”.” (Roth, 2000, pg. 5) Sol’s original idea to include exotic dance forms from Arabic ethnic groups stemmed from his 1889 visit to the Paris International Exhibition. At the Paris Exhibition, he witnessed such displays as the Algerian Village, which presented “dancers, acrobats, glass-eaters and scorpion-swallowers.” (Roth, 2000, pg.3). Sol Bloom became convinced that Americans would become infatuated with the talents of Orient performers. He was right.
Following “danse de ventres” introduction to American culture in the late 19th century, there was an increase in belly-dance performances in Cabarets and Hollywood productions, which sparked further enchantment with the dance form in North American society. By the middle of the 20th century, belly-dance had become a widespread phenomena, with a notable presence in most of the major American and Canadian metropolitan centers. The influx of Arab culture was notably explained by Anne Rasmussen, “according to Arab-American musicians, patrons, audiences, the first Middle Eastern nightclub, “Club Zahra,” opened in Boston in 1952. The Lebanese-American couple who assumed ownership of the club organized a Middle Eastern floor show with continuous musical entertainment provided by a “house band” that included musicians of Lebanese, Turkish, Armenian, and Greek heritage.” (Rasmussen, 1992, pg.66). The great popularity of Club Zahra later motivated the owners to open “”Club Morocco, named after Morocco, a co-owner and professional dancer and singer from Lebanon. Morocco sang Arabic, Turkish, and Greek songs and danced “Oriental style”.”(Rasmussen, 1992, pg.66) Arab song and dance, both inside and outside the Arab diaspora, had become a common fixture in restaurants and nightclubs by the middle of the 20th century in North America.
The 1960s and the 1970s sought to transform the social connotations associated with “danse de ventres”. Second-wave feminism embraced belly-dance as a form of female empowerment and spirituality. Sellers-Young wrote, “women in the 1960s were also influenced by the “flower children’s” renunciation of a puritanical approach to the body. They believed in freeing the body’s natural expressiveness.” (Sellers-Young, 1992, pg.143) A common phrase, still used today, encouraged women to venture into the world of belly-dance training by suggesting they “explore the inner goddess”. Dance has been closely associated with female deities throughout history. Even in the earliest records of civilization, the binary relationship between the goddess and her empowerment through dance has been tarnished by the assignment of harlot-like behaviors. In ancient Mesopotamia (3000 BCE, the goddess Ishtar represented these sexual overtones found within dance culture. As Uri Gabbay stated, “dance plays an especially important role in the cult of Ishtar.” (Gabbay, 2003, pg. 104) Felix Guirand further emphasized that: “Ishtar was above all associated with sexuality, her cult involved sacred prostitution; her holy city Erech was called the town of sacred courtesans, and she herself was the courtesans of gods.” (Guirand, 1968, pg.58) Second-wave feminism endeavored to dispel these prejudices associated with belly-dance. Both housewives and career women, from urban and rural locations, welcomed belly-dance classes into their local community centers. The shame that often accompanied Sol Bloom’s “hoochy-koochy” “danse de ventres” was no longer as prominently imposed upon performers and students of belly-dance. Instead, belly-dance became known for its affiliation as a forum for women to celebrate their feminity.
The Kaleidoscopical Present
The most recognizable form of contemporary belly-dance is the cabaret dance. North American cabaret style mimics the technical movements of the Egyptian dance, Raqs Sharqi. In Canada, Raqs Shaqi training is offered in most cities and towns. There is, at minimum, a dozen professional training companies existing in Edmonton. The instructors often teach under a company name that is synomous with their stage name. This is the case with the well known Edmonton based dancer, Aurora, whose dance company is also simply designated "Aurora". Aurora‘s dance biography outlines her professional history, as “a member of Toronto's Arabesque Dance Company from 2002-2004, Aurora performed in company tours and performances such as Dance Ontario Dance, In Search of the Almeh, Descent of Ishtar, and numerous corporate and gala events.” and solidifies her authority as a teacher, “Aurora has studied extensively with Arabesque's founder and artistic director Yasmina Ramzy and other Arabesque Academy instructors” and she has “completed both the Teacher's Course and Professional course provided at Arabesque.” (http://www.danceaurora.com) As well, many of these professional Cabaret belly-dancers strive to become traditionally taught abroad by ethnic Arab dancers. Anemone, an Edmonton dancer and the owner of Isis Dance Productions Ltd, verifies that “she has traveled to Egypt and Turkey to study Middle Eastern dance and culture.” (http://www.isisdance.com/AneBio.htm) Both Anemone and Aurora have diversified and authenticated their dance skills, which has enhanced their individuality as dancers as well as their professionalism as instructors.
Cabaret dance is often performed to the traditional instrumental music of the Middle East and North Africa, as well as to the synthesized pop music of Middle Eastern and North African. The type of music a performer utilizes in her dance is dependant on the venue of her performance and the social role she aims to project to her audience. For example, dressed in a “bedlah” (Kinney, 1990) costume, a cabaret dancer may dance to synthesized music in a restaurant performance or she may use traditional Arab folk music in her repertoire while dancing at a festival. The traditional drum solos of the cabaret dancer are produced by the Middle Eastern and North African goblet drum, the doumbek. Drum solos are used to display a Cabaret dancer’s hip shimmy movement; the hip shimmy is accentuated by sharp rib cage slides, head slides, hip slides, shoulder shimmies and framed with hand and arm technique. Most Cabaret techniques require the dancer to consistently keep her pelvis tucked tightly under her abdominals; this is referred to as the “tuck”. The “tuck” helps to facilitate clearly defined movements that resonate from the dancer’s reliance upon her “core” (abdominal) muscles. Softer movements such as the Maya, a horizontal figure-eight produced from within the hip region, are techniques often demonstrated in the more melodic proponents of Arab folk music, as played with instruments such as the ud, lute and lyre. These subdued movements are occasionally accompanied by veil handwork. As well, cabaret dancers must learn how to play the finger cymbals or zills with a required level of skill. Finger cymbals are most prominently employed when a dancer is performing with an accompanying band or to synthesized nightclub music. Other common cabaret dance styles are the sword dance, candle dance, cane dance and wing dance. Moreover, different venues allow for different freedoms during performance. Improvisation is used in restaurants, nightclubs, rites of passage ceremonies and festivals, where the music programming is flexible and spontaneous. In contrast, stage performances require choreographed routines to a fixed music repertoire. Thus cabaret has become the traditional belly-dance style in Canada, but even so, the cabaret style is a broad category. Importantly, this enables dancers to represent their individual taste in their preferred dance specializations.
Another popular form of belly-dance in Canada is the tribal genre. Relatively young to the dance field, tribal is credited with originating from the American west coast troupe “Fat Chance Belly Dance”, and is therefore, often labeled 'American Tribal Style'. (http://www.fatchancebellydance.org/about/) Tribal differentiates from the cabaret style in both its insider and outsider social roles within Canada. Participants or professional dancers partake in tribal dance as a form of sisterhood celebration, and the dance is generally performed by a small group of like-minded women. Dance techniques consist of flowing earthy movements descending from a loosely held abdominal and hip region of the body. The tribal costume is an easy identifier between the belly-dance genres; the tribal costume incorporates large flowing skirts or billowing harem pants, embroidered and elaborately decorated hip belts and bra tops with layers of colorful skirt wraps and shoulder covers. Nostalgic of the nomadic Bedouin tribes of the Arab World, many women will use head scarves and add dreads or braiding to their performance hairstyles. The colors and decoration of the costuming resembles “mother nature” themes with the utilization of shells and bold autumn colors. Thus the costuming of the tribal dancer is distinct from the typical cabaret costume of a tightly fitted two-piece sequined dress. Despites its American origins, tribal can be similar to or inspired by the folk dances of Middle Eastern and North African cultures. Some of the folk dances that tribal resembles are evident in the Moroccan Shikhat and the Bedouin tribes. The Moroccan Shikhat “enacts the carnivalesque body of plenty, moving her hips rhythmically and displaying a minute control of the musculature of the “lower body strata”” while “waving her loose hair back and forth before her face, her feet beating the floor”. (Kapchan, 1994, pg.86) The North American tribal dancer frequently incorporates many movements comparable to the Shikhat's dance in her repertoire, such as the foot stomp and the rotational swinging of the hair. The forerunner of the tribal dance scene in Edmonton is the Raq-a-Belly dance troupe, who maintain that their dance style will “take you from the smoky perfume of Egyptian cabaret performances, along Marco Polo’s spice route, to the fusion of the exotic tribal Indian dance with side trips to the Bedouin camps of North African tribal dance.” (http://www.raqabellydance.com/pages/home.aspx) Furthermore, one of the Raq-a-Belly troupe members, Denise A Leclair, has recently started to promote her newly founded Edmonton company “Bedouin Beats”. The company advertises students instruction in the different genres and fusions located within the artistic framework of belly-dance technique.
The contemporary belly-dance scene within Canada is spawning numerous genre fusions and collaborative styles. One inventive fusion incorporates aspects of hip-hop within the framework of belly-dance. Hip-hop movements in unison with belly-dance techniques creates a unique hybrid. This form utilizes, but is not limited to, the R&B and hip-hop songs produced in North America. Movements include skilled foot-work and flexible floor-work, with the influence of the cabaret technique aiding the overall fusion effect. However, it is important to note that the artistic goal of an individual dancer may change this generally upbeat dance fusion to mesh with the smooth laid-back side of hip-hop culture, and as such, mirroring this image with corresponding choreography. The final production, therefore, becomes a representation of the artistic originality of the performing and choreographing dancer(s).
In addition, the development of gothic belly-dance, also frequently referred to as tribal fusion, is another stylistic hybrid; importantly, it is steadily increasing in popularity among the belly-dance community. The gothic persona is most commonly depicted by dark, gloomy and medieval undertones. The gothic movement enjoys a strong presence in the musical community, fashion scene and, more recently, in dance. A definition by known innovators of this genre fusion state, “Gothic Belly Dance, or "Raks Gothique" merges the styling of the Gothic or "Goth" subculture from the last 20 years with the beautiful expression of Middle Eastern Dance in both cabaret and tribal formats." The definition further explains, “Gothic fashion embraces Victorian, 1920's/Art Nouveau, Renaissance, Punk, Cyber, and Ethnic-Primitive influences, creating a distinct and dramatic look that is both modern and antique.” (http://www.gothicbellydance.com/gothicbellydance/defined/about.html) A characteristic gothic dance movement includes snake-like arm movements, which is responsible for establishing an eerie sentiment within the choreography. The costuming of the dancers tend to be reminiscent of a thematic underworld with netted, torn and fringed clothing pieces in black and dark red hues. The same authorities on the definition of gothic belly-dance conclude that “when it comes to Gothic Belly Dance, the artists who choose this means as their form of expression bring to life the music through their costuming, expression, and choreography.” (http://www.gothicbellydance.com/gothicbellydance/defined/about.html) Another similiar to, if not another hip hop influenced hybrid depending on the interpretation of the performing artist, is the classification of "Tribal Fusion" instead of "Raks Gothique" or otherwise.
Belly-dance is not a craft solely represented by women. Males seldom venture into Canadian training studios as students with aspirations of professional careers; however, there are a few men who have crossed the gender boundaries. In fact, belly-dance culture celebrates the contribution of male expertise. Skilled male dancers are often headliners at showcase events. Two such dancers in the Canadian scene are Nath Keo and Valizan. Valizan dances with the Toronto American Tribal Style troupe the “Shades of Araby”, and is a teacher with a general skills certificate from completing courses with Fat Chance Belly Dance. Victoria’s own, Nath Keo, is perhaps one of the most well-known male belly-dancers in North America. Of Cambodian descent, Nath Keo has incorporated his Asian influences into his own specialized style called the “Sacred Centre Method”. (http://www.bellydanceconference.com/instructors.htm) Nath’s website offers a brief portfolio, “In the past 8 years, Nath has performed 7 tours in 51 cities, and over 1000 performances. Back in February 2006, Nath was ordained as a Bikkhu Theravada Buddhist Monk at Wat Tuol Taong, Cambodia. His influences both in entertainment and spirituality have kept him a unique and inspiring artist.” (http://www.nathkeo.com) With his expertise in traditional Cabaret, hip hop fusions and his own Cambodian collaborative productions, Nath Keo is an excellent example of Canada's individualistic belly-dance scene.
In Canada, the premier belly-dance event is the International Belly Dance Conference of Canada. The conference is located in Toronto, Ontario during the early spring season for four days.(http://www.bellydanceconference.com/) The project of Yasmina Razmy, a world renowned belly-dancer, the conference aims to train students and professional dancers in a variety of modern and traditional belly-dance techniques through the workshop format. As well, this event displays showcase performances of the traditional Raqs Sharqi form, the American Tribal Style and includes the established and upcoming fusions of belly-dance. Not only is the conference an excellent source of information and study, but it typifies the contemporary social role of belly-dance within Canada; that is, a dance culture that embraces the artistic interpretations and creations of individual performers by utilizing the abundant supply of traditional Middle Eastern and North African dances solitarily or in combination with other dance genres. Belly-dance is no longer restrained by the prejudices associated with its North American burlesque past. Its development over the course of the last century washes away the disgraceful connotations associated with the Occident’s enchantment with the eroticism of the stereotyped Orient song and dance. The entrepreneurial spirit of the west infused with the folk traditions of the Arab World has birthed this notably creative atmosphere. As the 2007 Culture Capital of Canada, Edmonton benefits from an especially ethnically diverse arts scene; Isis Dance Productions Ltd. boasts the largest teacher and student body in Canada. Today, Edmonton belly-dance culture enjoys both the professional aspects of innovative performance and employment alongside with the amateur aspects of training and study.
Visual Aids
The first dance group is performing a Gothic/Hip Hop/Tribal Fusion hybrid; the second dancer is performing a Cane Dance; and the third performer is Nath Keo performing his unique dance style incorporating Cabaret, Cambodian and Hip Hop technique. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbOtxgCO_ug
Fat Chance Belly Dance
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S52T9Zq2fYU
Gothic Belly-Dance
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvcGKFiO-xs
Cabaret Drum Solo: Sadie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YamDoDK71Ds
Wing Dance: Rania (Note Rania's belly rolls at the beginning of the performance)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91oT_IbxzPs
External Links
http://www.zaghareet.ca/index.html
http://www.bellydanceconference.com/
http://www.shira.net/advice.htm
http://www.fatchancebellydance.org/
http://www.gothicbellydance.com/gothicbellydance/
http://www.raqabellydance.com/pages/home.aspx
http://www.chicagojewishhistory.org/pdf/CJH.3.2000.pdf
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