American Tribal Style Belly Dance
American Tribal Style Belly Dance is a modern group dance of American origin, which adopted and changed many elements of oriental dance . Over the past few years, American Tribal Style Belly Dance has established itself internationally as an independent dance form.
The roots of the dance lie in the late 1960s and early 1970s, in the area of San Francisco in California . The real beginnings of the American Tribal Style Belly Dance, however, go back to the late 1980s, when the dancer Carolena Nericcio incorporated the most important element, the cues , into the dance. The name American Tribal Style Belly Dance (or ATS) is an established term that denotes an independent dance form with fixed rules. It is therefore important to distinguish between the individual subspecies of the dance generally known as Tribal Style Dance and the American Tribal Style Belly Dance.
The terms tribal style dance , tribal style or just the word tribal are incorrectly used in Germany for a large number of derivatives of the American tribal style belly dance, but usually represent completely unique and modified dance versions that differ from group to group .
Origin and development
The American dancer Jamila Salimpour is known as the "founder" of tribal style dance. With her group Bal-Anat , she appeared in the USA as early as the 1970s, mainly at American Renaissance Faires (something like medieval markets ).
Jamila built the group Bal-Anat and their dances based on the model of circus performances, as they are for example. B. be shown by artists. Artists also appear as a group; during the performances, individuals or couples repeatedly break out of the group for individual performances, which reintegrate into the group after the solo without the group dynamics being disturbed. The first demonstrations of this type of Bal-Anat lasted five minutes and showed a cross-section of the folklore of North Africa and the Middle East. Some of Jamila's students represented musicians from Egypt and Morocco , Ouled Nail dancers from Algeria and Turkish dancers at these performances .
The new style of Bal-Anat was not perceived or taught as an independent dance in the initial phase, as each member of the group represented a different regional folklore style and accordingly also dressed up. Only over time did the boundaries between the previously strictly separated costumes and folklore dances blur, as the dancers influenced each other. This was the reason and the moment, according to Jamila Salimpour herself, in which the American Tribal Style emerged. Under the influence and model of Bal-Anat , other groups soon formed across the United States, who themselves did not know where this new tribal dance came from, but who were based on folkloric dances, movements and costumes and, detached from the various countries of origin and from Bal-Anat , each created their own mix. Even if the audience was given a believable, authentic impression of the dances and costumes, nobody knew which part of the performance was folklore and which part was pure fantasy. Although Bal-Anat described her performances at the Renaissance Faires as a mixture of different folk dances, the term tribal dancing was probably coined by the audience, which Jamila suspects to this day.
The term American Tribal Style Belly Dance (short form: ATS) was introduced by the American belly dancer Morocco. According to Carolena Nericcio, Morocco used the term ATS for the first time and named this new dance style around the new dance style of oriental fantasy dances , folklore, classical oriental dances and others , which was developed from the group Bal-Anat and significantly further developed by Masha Archer and Carolena Clearly distinguish dances of the Middle East .
Another dancer who had a lasting impact on the American Tribal Style Belly Dance was Jamila's student Masha Archer. She danced briefly with Bal-Anat and had lessons with Jamila for two years. This enabled her to use and develop her own ideas of dance for her own troupe, the San Francisco Classical Dance Troupe .
Masha Archer took up the first idea of her teacher, but brought her own ideas into the design of the dance. She standardized the costumes of the dancers into a recognizable tribal costume and brought a new self-confidence and a sense of togetherness to this new dance. In their opinion, the countries of origin of belly dance (Maghreb, Egypt) are not open enough to preserve and develop belly dance as an art form due to their discriminatory attitude towards women and belly dance. For Masha Archer, the American dancers honored and upgraded belly dance through their adaptation and further development , not alienated it. The newly created tribal group feeling also goes back to Masha Archer. She did not want the dancers to try to outdo each other, but rather they should learn to support one another and learn to respect one another.
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Masha Archer was, in turn, the teacher of the American dancer Carolena Nericcio, the founder of one of the most famous American dance groups of the ATS, FatChanceBellyDance (short form: FCBD) . FCBD (founded in 1987) is referred to in the contemporary review as the group that significantly influenced and developed the American Tribal Style Belly Dance in its present form and expression.
Carolena designed the dance in its typical and authoritative form based on group improvisation and cues. To this day, many established and new groups and soloists around the world have followed the example of FCBD . Carolena Nericcio on her creation of the ATS:
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Two other students of Jamila Salimpour and former members of the Bal-Anat group were the American dancer John Compton and the American dancer Rita Alderucci. In 1991 they founded the group Hahbi'Ruh , which placed greater emphasis on the folklore dances of oriental ethnic groups (e.g. from Yemen , Lebanon and Kurdistan ); while Carolena Nericcio (FCBD) oriented herself more towards the cultures along the old Silk Road (from Rajasthan to Afghanistan to Jordan , Egypt , the Magreb to Andalusia ). Both groups (FCBD and Hahbi Ru) used the original music from the respective countries for their performances for a long time.
To this day, Hahbi'Ru describes itself as the Old World Folkloric Style , not an ATS group. The group is often attributed to the Tribal Style Dance because it is stylistically descended from Bal-Anat and they also appear again and again at the Tribal Fest (USA). Hahbi'Ru places a very strong emphasis on authentic oriental folklore dances and equally authentic costumes, but does not use improvisations within the group or the typical cues. John Compton describes the Hahbi'Ru style as follows:
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Other important representatives of the American Tribal Style Belly Dance are: Paulette Rees-Denis ( Gypsy Caravan ) and Kajira Djoumahna ( BlackSheep Bellydance ).
Dance theory
American Tribal Style Belly Dance is a dance style that is not an ATS without the following five elements. All elements together are stipulated in the ATS and must be used unchanged.
The five "pillars" of the ATS :
- Dance in a group (tribe)
- improvised group dance
- extracted solos, duets, trios
- a specific movement vocabulary that differs from classical oriental dance
- Cymbal game of the dancers
It is important to completely master the movement vocabulary from FCBD before a tribe makes its own changes to the movements. The purpose and aim of the ATS is the non-verbal collaboration of various dancers and tribes using the specified cues. Individual changes to the specified ATS movements, combos or cues within a tribe are entirely legitimate. However, these individualized movements change the established ATS repertoire so much that the meaning of the ATS is lost and every change also represents a complete alienation at the same time. An improvised and common dancing of different tribes is no longer possible with such alienations. These individualized dances no longer represent ATS, but are generally referred to as ITS ( Improvisational Tribal Style ). Accepted ATS developments are mainly Tribal Fusion, SGI (BlackSheep BellyDance Format for Synchronized Group Improvisational Tribal Style BellyDance) and Tribal Style Dance as a collective term for various group-specific derivatives.
The dancers' cymbal play is a typical and integral part of every ATS dance performance. Usually only fast passages of music are cymbaled, with slow music cymbals are only used in exceptional cases. The most commonly used is the gallop or triple strike (also called triplet). Different cymbal patterns are either linked to certain dance movements (e.g. the "Military Zill Pattern", "3-3-7" to the "Up2Down3" movement), or the cymbals are only played by the chorus.
In the ATS, the focus is always on the group (the tribe ), from which solo dances, duets or trio performances can emerge. The solo is danced in the ATS as an additional element within the group.
The dance movements and sequences of the ATS were fused with elements from the folklore of North Africa , Egypt and Magreb with dance movements from flamenco and Indian dances. Only in the tribal fusion style are dance influences from modern dance , jazz dance , Polynesian dance and other dances taken up. In the meantime, the movements and processes of the ATS have been determined to the extent that they are passed on by Carolena Nericcio to the Certified FCBD ATS Teacher Level 1 she has trained .
In order to announce changes in the movement sequences in the group, certain commands ( cues ) and also combo arrangements (combos = defined movement sequences) are set. Solos, duets , etc. can be discussed in advance to ensure that a performance runs smoothly, and FCBD in particular often practice this, but it is not absolutely necessary. The small groups can just as easily break away from the chorus spontaneously. Acoustic signals or other extra cues are not used for this solo effort. FCBD do not use acoustic signals at all, with the American tribal group BSBD (Black Sheep Belly Dance) verbal cues are only used in connection with certain dance movements.
Among the cues are hand movements, changes in the dancing posture, glances and head movements. Some groups also use acoustic signals, although these are not used in FCBD. In most of the ATS dance performances, part of the group is positioned as a resting background in the chorus (semicircle). Based on the background of the group, the individual performances are then shown in the foreground. Many groups, especially smaller or tribal-fusion-style formations, often forego the chorus entirely and appear almost exclusively in stagger formation (two staggered rows of dancers standing one behind the other).
The aim of every “tribe” is improvisation based on agreements and signs. An improvised performance is the goal of intensive collaboration within a group. However, stage and musical drama are also taken into account in the ATS. Therefore, many groups work with choreographic elements. Working with cues - these contain combinations of certain movements and sequences of movements - always results in a small part of a choreography.
In summary one can say that FCBD ( FatChanceBellyDance ) does not use any verbal cues. Verbal cues are only used by the GC ( Gypsy Caravan ) and BSBD ( Black Sheep Belly Dance ) groups. GC and BSBD show almost exclusively improvisation and little agreement in their dances. In the tribal fusion style, a chorus is almost never used, but with other formation options. Tribal fusion style is preferred to be shown as a solo, less often with a large group.
Another theory of the dance feeling in the ATS is: The tribe (the dance group) reconstructs what could have been . The basis is an oriental dance style, which gives itself the touch of the ethnic, without necessarily trying to be "authentic". The migration area of nomadic tribes often covers (e) a large area, so each tribe took on "borrowed" elements of clothing or dance styles of other cultures with which it came into contact. In this tradition of constant development, the most diverse tribes live and create their own dance of the ATS, as well as their own personal costumes and symbols, according to their “gusto”.
For the audience, the attraction of ATS lies primarily in the very authentic-looking, imaginative costumes, the strong presence and harmony of the group and in the synchronous movements. The dancers show a picture of proud women who perform with their tribal sisters and thus form a community. Each group, each tribe, forms a community with its own symbolism and design of the costumes. The characteristics of the tribal style are therefore just as different as the individual groups and cannot be described in general terms.
Other styles based on ATS
In the meantime there have been other derivatives of the ATS. These are called: Tribal Fusion , Neo Tribal , Urban Tribal , Gothic Tribal Dance , African Tribal Style , Asian Tribal , Nordic Tribal or Indian Tribal Dance .
Tribal fusion style
The Tribal Fusion style is in a way a further development of the Tribal idea towards individuality and glamor. While groups and communication are in the foreground in classic tribal, tribal fusion is represented by small groups, couples or soloists.
Due to the stronger stage presence of the individual, a more sophisticated dance technique was necessary, which is typically expressed in dance movements within the body. Rapid tempo and dynamic changes, deep back and sidebends with and without body wave, breaks (short stops within a movement) and locks (abrupt end of a direction of movement through accelerated termination of the movement) are emerging from modern / jazz / breakdance and hip- Hop borrowed and make up the typical character of this dance variant. The physical challenge for every dancer is extreme body tension , which continues into the tips of the fingers and toes and which is the prerequisite for performing the movement from hip-hop, modern, etc.
A student of Carolena Nericcio, Jill Parker, who worked with FatChanceBellyDance for a long time, went a step further in the development of the dance and mixed the ATS with new elements again, which was initially perceived as unorthodox and crazy. The choice of music to be danced to (rock, blues, soul, new age music), costumes, dance technique (modern dance, jazz dance, flamenco) and the movement repertoire (yoga) was expanded again to include a more modern and contemporary variation. The tribal fusion is also known as the dance of the younger generation , who grew up with ethno-stuff and belly-dancing mothers and found it natural to mix musical styles, as well as the costumes (...) and the movements .
The Tribal Fusion style follows the trend of a world without borders and the fusion of all styles that are perceived as suitable. Due to different artistic views, Jill Parker split from FatChanceBellyDance and founded her own group Ultra Gypsy . The American soloist Rachel Brice, a student of Jill Parker, made the Tribal Fusion style very well known through her amazing body control and excellent dance technique; Especially in Germany, Rachel Brice, along with Sharon Kihara, is named as the most important representative of the Tribal Fusion style.
The American dance group Urban Tribal from San Diego under the direction of dancer Heather Stants also belongs to the Tribal Fusion style . She produced this style, which was also named after the group. Urban Tribal style traditional dance elements from different cultures with the personal experience of the dancer of modern urban are (urban = Engl. Urban ) mixed life. One could casually call this dance style big city multicultural tribal .
In contrast to the ATS, the costume of the Urban Tribal is rather simple in order to emphasize the body and the dance movements of the dancer. Lush jewelry and other decorative means are deliberately avoided in order not to distract the viewer's eye from the dance movement. Electronic music without singing and hardly any folk music is mainly used for this dance. The Urban Tribal is seen as an individual and very personal means of expression that is individual and is interpreted depending on the dancer, neither imposes rules nor influences the character and expressiveness of the individual dancer, but rather emphasizes their uniqueness.
The most important representatives of the Tribal Fusion style are: Jill Parker ( Ultra Gypsy ), Rachel Brice and Sharon Kihara ( The Indigo and Bellydance Superstars ) and Amy Sigil ( Unmata ), Heather Stants ( Urban Tribal ) and Darshan.
Another form of the Tribal Fusion style is Neo Tribal or Neo Tribal Belly Dance . This style was developed by the American dancer Jane Archer in 1996 as a reorientation (Greek neo = 'new', understood here as a “new reorientation” ) of the traditional American tribal style to its original oriental and folkloric roots. The basis of the Neo Tribal is the American Tribal Style, which honors women, community and the earth. The movements, costumes and music are borrowed from different cultures , but with an emphasis on the movements from gypsy dances and the movements and footwork of flamenco .
In contrast to the American Tribal Style, which is based exclusively on improvisation, the Neo Tribal uses mini-choreographies. These so-called combos can be short and long movements or other combinations of movements. A Neo Tribal Combo should be repeated at least two times. A standard combo has to be repeated four times (according to the so-called archer rule ). In the Neo Tribal, as in the ATS, there is dance in the chorus and a combo or a change in the movement pattern is signaled on a cue of the leader, which the chorus must implement. In contrast to the ATS, the chorus always dances with its face towards the audience, not towards the leader. In the Neo Tribal, solos are possible that can do without the combotypical repetitions ( Archer Rule ).
Costumes and accessories
The basic costume of the ATS is largely based on Masha Archer.
Masha Archer was bothered by the “meat inspection” in belly dancing and decided to “de-sexualize” the costumes so that the dancers would no longer be perceived as “sex objects”, but as artists. That is why the dancers in their group should not show more bare skin than is absolutely necessary. The legs were covered with harem pants because the sight of them was not so important for the dance. The viewer's attention should be drawn to the abdomen and hips. The stomach remained free and the hips were particularly emphasized by a layered or tiered skirt. Originally, the dancers at FCBD were supposed to have used straight-cut, ruffled-up skirts made from 10 yard fabric. But because this was too bulky at the hips, they were soon replaced by the typical tiered skirts. The choli covered all of his arms. The original FCBD choli with the deep V-neckline is Masha Archer's own creation. The hair that is typically always worn open in belly dancing should also be covered in the ATS. This was also an idea from Masha Archer. At Masha Archer, the dancers primarily wore scarves or shawls around their hips, more conspicuous hip jewelry was only added to the costume through FCBD, as did the extremely wide swinging skirt that is typical for all ATS dancers today.
The costume is inspired by traditional clothing and jewelry from North Africa and Asia. Very often you can also see typical "gypsy jewelry" or Indian clothing. Usually bloomers , a wide skirt, a choli (short blouse) and a belt with tassels , decorations and silver jewelry are worn as the basic costume . When it comes to costume colors, black is still predominant, as it - based on the Moroccan Berbers and Indian Gypsies - was the color of the first FCBD dancers and because black has a dramatic stage effect. In the meantime, the costumes of most tribal style dancers have become more colorful and bright colors and color combinations as well as clothing made of synthetic fibers are used - among other things, the so-called white tribal costumes have come into fashion in the USA and Europe over the last three years , costumes in one muted white.
The dancers' jewelry should be as lavish to over-rich as possible, ie if it looks rather overloaded to the audience, it is the right number of chains, rings, bracelets, earrings, hair accessories and bracelets and anklets . As a rule, silver jewelry is mainly worn, and natural materials such as shells, polished stones, woolen threads or felt are also used. The silver jewelry in tribal style dance is so widespread because it is the traditional jewelry of most of the peoples of the oriental culture and was worn by the first tribal dancers from the USA. Many dancers wear a coin-embroidered bra, as was worn by the first dancers in the FCBD group. Rich to lavishly embroidered and decorated turbans are worn on the head of the dancers . In the meantime, helmets, folkloric headgear from Iran, rasta braids with lush hairpieces and hairbands, silk flowers and jewelry worked into the hair have come into fashion.
A compulsory dance accessory of the ATS are cymbals . Even if German ATS dancers rarely used cymbals, cymbals are an absolute must for all American ATS groups.
Other dance accessories are sabers , veil fans, baskets, spears, veils, scarves, knives, pois or Indian dance and fighting sticks.
The costume of a tribal fusion style dancer differs from that of an ATS dancer in its much more modern, body-hugging and strongly individual character. Some Tribal Fusion style costumes are very puristic (e.g. Heather Stants) so that the muscular work can be seen better and an unadorned costume offers greater freedom of movement. Typical of the Tribal Fusion style is the omission of the typical ATS Cholis.
In contrast to the classic costume of a tribal dancer, leggings or jazz pants (e.g. the so-called melody pants) are worn and little or no skirt. The classic bra embroidered with coins is combined with a fringed belt made of viscose or felted wool or a chain belt. A turban is seldom worn, instead elaborate hairstyles are designed using own and artificial strands of hair, wool, chains, shells and pearls.
Depending on your preference, the trousers are decorated with suspenders or disappear entirely. Combinations of fishnet tights with combat boots are also not uncommon.
Make-up and tattoos
In addition to the costume and jewelry, make-up represents a very important part of tribal costumes. In the USA, some tribal dancers reject the use of make-up because it supports the patriarchal mechanism and contradicts feminist views . Despite these objections, strong make-up has prevailed in the ATS and Tribal Fusion style.
Tattoos or body paintings are a very typical form of body jewelry in the ATS as well as in the Tribal Fusion style . Especially painted face “tattoos” or (also painted) tattoos on hands, feet, stomach and back are popular means of showing individual symbols or tribal symbols as authentic body decorations. Typical ATS "tattoos" are facial drawings in simple patterns that are based on the tattoos of women in the Maghreb . Most tribal dancers' facial “tattoos” are non-permanent paintwork with kohl pencils or waterproof eyeliners. These tattoos are used to support a dramatic effect, to reinforce the ritual character of the dance or for purely aesthetic reasons. The original meaning and the cultural reference of the pattern and drawing used should always be observed and preserved. Many dancers use their tribal symbol as their main "tattoo", some of which are purely their own creations and show that they belong to their (dance) family, their tribe.
Many ATS and Tribal Fusion dancers, especially in the US, wear real tattoos on their bodies, as well as piercings or brandings . The practice of permanent body jewelry has no origins in the ATS, is not necessarily part of dance and is decided individually from dancer to dancer. In a special article in Skin & Ink Magazine , Carolena Nericcio reports on the tattoos of the FatChanceBellyDance dancers as follows:
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In fact, most of the FCBD dancers were already tattooed before they started dancing.
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Even so, the Tribal Bible author says she suspects that the majority of dancers who love body jewelry are also drawn to ATS, as this is a new form of dance expression she calls the "return to the tribal" feeling and understood as an alternative look. The tribal tattoos tribal style dance dancers also be understood as a signal that the woman accepts her body and with the wearing of body jewelry that celebrates . It is equally the self-image of an outside of the normal and mundane social standing and highly individual personality wear out.
music
Depending on the orientation of the tribes, any music that best expresses the tribal feeling can be used for the dance. Usually the music used is more folkloric with continuous rhythms. European groups now like to use medieval music, but heavy metal or meditation music can also be used. Almost everything is allowed in tribal style dance.
literature
- Kajira Djoumahna: The Tribal Bible , Exploring The Phenomenon That Is American Tribal Style Bellydance, Santa Rosa 2003, ISBN 0-972-84860-6
- Carolena Nericcio: The Art of Bellydance , Bellevue, Washington 2004, ISBN 1-932855-04-1
- Anthony Shay, Barbara Sellers-Young (Ed.): Belly Dance: Orientalism, Transnationalism & Harem Fantasy , Costa Mesa (California) 2005, ISBN 1-56859-183-7 , from it: Barbara Sellers-Young: Body, Image, Identity : American Tribal Belly Dance
- Arzo-Carina Renz: Tribal Signs , Styles and Techniques in Tribal Style Dance, Braunschweig 2008, ISBN 978-3-938922-18-7
Individual evidence
- ↑ Interview with Carolena Nericcio (1996) ( Memento of the original from August 23, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b c Comp. Kajira Djoumahna: The Tribal Bible
- ↑ a b c d comp. Archive link ( Memento of the original from July 4, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b cf. Audio commentary by Carolena Nericcio on: Tribal Basics, Vol. 1 Dance Fundamentals
- ↑ cf. Kajira Djoumahna: The Tribal Bible , Chapter 1 - Genesis, p. 11.
- ↑ a b cf. Tanz Oriental , No. 82, April / May 2006 edition, pp. 55–56
- ↑ See: Archived copy ( Memento of the original from April 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ cf. Carolena Nericcio: The Art of Bellydance
- ↑ cf. Zaghareet Magazine , March / April 2003 issue, The Circle Dance Company and Neo-Tribal Bellydance
- ↑ cf. Kajira Djoumahna: The Tribal Bible , Chapter 1 - Genesis, pp. 12-13
- ↑ cf. Kajira Djoumahna: The Tribal Bible , Chapter 4 - Costume and Adornment, 126
- ↑ cf. Skin & Ink Magazine: FatChanceBellyDance and tattooed bellydancers , September 2001 issue
- ↑ cf. Tattoo magazine, April 2007 issue, Huber Verlag, Mannheim, statement by Carolena Nericcio
- ↑ cf. Kajira Djoumahna: The Tribal Bible , Chapter 4 - Costume and Adornment, 134
- ↑ cf. Kajira Djoumahna: The Tribal Bible , Chapter 4 - Costume and Adornment, 135
Web links
- Bal Anat Studio recording from the early 1970s
- Bal Anat performing live, Renaissance Pleasure Faire USA, 1974
- Images of the San Francisco Classical Dance Company from the early 1970s ( Memento from May 4, 2007 on the Internet Archive )
- Example of a tribal fusion dance, 25-minute video report
- Tribal-DACH - Association for the active promotion of the dance styles understood under "Tribal" in Germany, Austria and Switzerland