The world's oldest century-old dance

One of the publications I copy-edit for has interviewed a local belly dancer for a few recent articles. The dancer maintains that bellydance is an ancient art form that originated 20,000 or so years ago as a fertility dance. One will find variations of this claim repeated fairly often by dancers in books, on websites, told to reporters, etc., seeking to present an unbroken line from ancient times - when women, and their sexuality, were celebrated - to the present day.  One will also find dancers who are absolutely appalled by these claims - insisting there's no evidence whatsoever that anyone was "bellydancing" until about a century or so ago, and any statements to the contrary should be dismissed as "wishtory," as the dancer Shira puts it.

So who's right? Well, obviously, cave-people weren't going to cave-restaurants to watch dancers in bearskin bra-and-belt sets perform 5-part cabaret routines, and I don't think the "world's oldest dance" advocates are suggesting such. I think it's fair to assume that ancient fertility dances involved pelvic moves, such as circles and figure-8s, that wouldn't have been substantially different from what is found in bellydance today. And there are a few accounts from Roman times that appear to be describing other "bellydance" moves such as shimmies.

Of course, one would have to be using a very broad definition of the term "bellydance" in order to fit those ancient moves under that description. I see bellydance as being a lot like the English language - although today's English can be traced back to Old English, there have been so many alterations, additions from other languages, etc., that what we speak today would be unrecognizable to "English-speakers" in 500 A.D., and vice versa.

What would be more accurate is if dancers would tell reporters something like "Although certain moves in the dance likely date back to ancient times, bellydance as we know it originated about a century ago, when the West was introduced to the dances being performed in the East at that time. Bellydance today is a mixture of Eastern and Western influences ..." and hopefully have time to give a little bit of the dance's 20th century history. 

At any rate, since I think the "world's oldest dance" line in newspaper articles is an improvement over the "lascivious dance of seduction"-type write-ups of previous decades, I won't complain too much about it.

Finally - a book review!

OK, I'm supposed to be writing about books here, at least sometimes. Problem is, I haven't had much time to read lately - and when I do read a book, it often takes me close to 2 weeks to finish it because I'm only reading 30-60 pages a day. So if I'm going to spend that much time with a book, it has to be something I'm really in the mood for.

One subject I'm always interested in reading about is bellydance, and I've read plenty of non-fiction on this topic over the years. I've also kept my eye out for bellydance fiction, but there's not much available (not that I would expect otherwise; it's a very specific niche). I passed up on reading a comic romance novel (since I don't normally read romance novels) called "Bad Girls Don't" a few years ago that had a bellydancer on the cover; based on the reader reviews on Amazon, the heroine's profession as a part-time bellydance teacher doesn't seem to be an important part of the book.

Last year another romance novel, "The Belly Dancer" by first-time author DeAnna Cameron, caught my eye. It takes place during the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago where Middle Eastern dancers introduced the U.S.  public to what would eventually evolve into American cabaret-style bellydance. Despite the anachronistic cover, where the dancer is wearing a modern-day costume, I decided to give this one a chance (although it took me over a year after I bought it before I finally read it).

So what I got was - a romance novel; not a bodice-ripper, but lots of lavish descriptions of "dresses and tresses" at the expense of character development. The plot description from Publisher's Weekly is as follows: Newlywed Dora Chambers goes to great lengths to keep her banker husband, Charles, happy, even ingratiating herself with a dreadful group of snotty socialites who oversee the decorum of the fair's more exotic exhibits, like the popular Egyptian belly dancing attraction. Dora is given the task of toning down the Egyptian dancers' act, strikes up a friendship with the troupe, and together they appease the outraged female population by modifying their dance and adding scarves to disguise their curves. Dora's husband, impatient with her virginal fear of the marriage bed, quickly resumes relations with his powerful and rich mistress, a widow who despises Dora and knows the secrets that can ruin Dora's social standing.

The best part of the novel is Dora's developing friendship with one of the dancers, Amina, a bold young woman not afraid to speak her mind, and who agrees to teach Dora how to dance and to be seductive, as Dora attempts to win her husband back from his mistress. Here we get a little history about the Egyptian dancers as well as some flavor of the fair itself. We also begin to see sparks fly between Dora and Hossam, the dance troupe's handsome Egyptian manager. While I didn't find Dora's growing assimilation into the dancers' lives all that realistic, it was entertaining from the point of view of a fan of bellydance.

Unfortunately, the characters outside of Dora are poorly developed; the husband's mistress, especially, comes off as a cardboard villain. And Dora herself is a bit too much of a sad-sack; she goes from a lonely, unhappy childhood in New Orleans to a lonely, unhappy marriage - all the better to make her empowerment more inspiring, I guess, but it doesn't help endear one to her. And if the reader hasn't guessed Dora's "dark secret" by about page 35, she just isn't trying.

So, would I recommend this book? Romance-novel fans will enjoy it (nearly all of the 14 customer reviews on Amazon gave the book four or five stars, and the plot would fit right in with those Lifetime Channel movies that I was subjected to over the holiday weekend, so there's certainly an audience for this sort of thing). For the rest of us, if you're in the mood for a "bellydance novel," you can take this book for what it is, and enjoy the peek inside the "dancer's tent," at least.

It's showtime

From student haflas to the Bellydance Superstars, I've seen any number of "theater-style" bellydance shows over the years. Some have been quite enjoyable, regardless of dancer skill level, a few not so much. I thought I'd quickly point to two things I expect from these types of shows (Note: I'm not talking about the traditional restaurant-style show where 1 to 3 solo dancers perform 20-minute sets to live music; what I mean are shows where a number of solo and group dancers perform a variety of dance pieces, usually to recorded music and often with an overarching theme).

First, the skill level of the dancers should be appropriate for the venue, and the show should be advertised accordingly. If the event is primarily a "student showcase," the best place to hold it would be at the teacher's studio or a rented hall, or possibly a restaurant, as long as the audience knows what to expect. If the show is touted as a professional-level show, then all the soloists should be professional-level, and in group pieces (usually a professional dancer backed by her students), the backup dancers should be as close to professional-level as possible.

The other thing I expect is variety. I enjoy all different styles of bellydance, from traditional to experimental, but I don't want to see two hours of the same thing, no matter how talented the dancers are. Maybe this is a sign of my short attention span more than anything, but no matter. Student/semi-professional shows are pretty good in this regard, since there's usually no "theme" set for these events, but I've been a bit bored a few times by productions that were nothing but fast-paced Egyptian cabaret, or nearly all tribal fusion, etc.

If a show meets the above criteria, it's a pretty sure bet that I will enjoy it. Of course, there will always be a few minor gripes (the piece that just went on too long, a jarring choice of music or costume, etc.) and I guess I should also mention "keep things in good taste" (although in all the shows I've seen, I've almost never seen anything that was outright vulgar), but otherwise, as a consumer, if the dancers' skill level meets my expectations and I get to see varied types of performances, I'm happy.

Mirror, mirror

I've been working this week with a new instructional dance DVD, which I'll write more about once I've made my way to the end.  I do want to take the opportunity, however, to air a minor pet peeve about some of these DVDs that I've found.

When you're in dance class, the norm is that you're standing behind the instructor and looking into a mirror. This means that you can see the instructor from both the front and back, as well as yourself from the front. (Assuming you're not in a workshop with 50 other students, in which case you can't see much of anything.) What this means is, when the instructor, say, steps to the right, you see her moving to the right in the mirror (and yourself moving right as well.)

Watching a DVD, however, often means the instructor is facing you. And when she says, "Step to the right" and moves to her right, she's also moving to your left. And, being accustomed to following movements in a mirror, it can get a little confusing.

Some instructors compensate by having themselves filmed standing in front of a mirror, providing the same effect as you would get in a class - seeing her from the back as well as her mirror image facing front, so when she moves to her right, it is also your right. A few instructors will provide their own mirror effect by moving to their left (and thus, your right) while saying, "Step to the right." Many, however, don't bother with such helpful touches (except perhaps to perform the move from several angles to give you a better look).

Now, I don't know if others are particularly bothered by this; maybe I'm just more directionally challenged than most. Like I said, it's a minor pet peeve, and I can do my own compensating when necessary. If an instructor on a DVD says "Lift your right hip" and I see the hip on the left side of my TV screen lift, then I'll just lift my left hip so I'm mirroring. Moves are generally repeated on each side, so it really doesn't matter, as long as I learn the basic mechanics of the move. I just have to make sure I don't get so accustomed to this that I forget which side is my right and which is my left ...

Shimmying off to Somerset

Spent a few hours today at Rakkasah, the big bellydance festival on the East Coast. I usually go with a friend, but she had family issues to deal with, so I went by myself this time. The drive isn't that onerous; it takes me just about exactly the same amount of time to drive to Woodstock (an hour and 45 minutes) as it does to the "bellydance Woodstock" held every October in central N.J., although for some reason the N.J. drive is somewhat more tedious (OK, I am a bit "Hudson Valley-centric"). 


Rakkasah has been held here for just over a decade (and longer on the West Coast, where it started), but it felt like some of the "juice" has gone out of the event lately. Maybe it's the recession, or it's that people do more of their shopping online now, or because there's now an additional "Spring Caravan" held in May or June that's diluting attendance at the October event, but there were noticeably fewer people at the event than in the past - there were actually seats available to watch the performances!


 I hope this isn't a sign of things to come - yes, it can be much more convenient (and cheaper) to buy your costumes, music, etc. online, but there's something to be said for mingling with your fellow dancers, and getting to examine merchandise up close and talk face-to-face with the sellers. 


As for my own shopping, I kept myself reasonably in check - I looked longingly at all the tribal-Gothic-Victorian costumes and accessories, but since I would almost never have the opportunity to wear such a costume in performance, I really can't justify buying any of it. I did make one exception - I bought a hip belt from Geisha Moth, with the justification that it went with several costumes I already had, and needn't be reserved for one specific dance style. I passed up the Victorian-style chokers at a nearby table, though - You know, you can make these yourself. Yeah, yeah. No really - just go to Michael's to get the jewelry-making basics; you've got lace and velvet scraps at home, you can make one of these in a couple of days. We'll see. Maybe, just maybe, I'll find the inspiration to create my own unique piece. And if not, Spring Caravan is only seven months away ...

Podcast review: Radio Bastet

Radio Bastet is one of the "indispensables" in my podcast collection - Hosted by Marisa, it consists of an hour-plus of "vintage" bellydance music from the 1950s through the 1980s, nearly all of it played on the original vinyl! It's a great place to hear classic (and mostly still in print) artists such as George Abdo, Eddie "The Sheik" Kochak, Ozel Turkbas and others, but I think my favorite part of the show is the mostly-out-of-print, bachelor-pad "exotica" from groups with names like The Sheik's Men and The Seven Players (check out Program 61 to hear what I mean; it's basically an "all-lounge" show with songs like "Rebecca From Mecca" and "A Night With Cleopatra" along with five versions of "Caravan"). Cheesy goodness indeed!

Adding to the kitsch factor are the snippets from various "How to Bellydance"-type albums that feature an instructor explaining how to do a step (I can only imagine those poor 1970s housewives trying to follow along with little or no visual instruction - thank goodness for DVDs!). There's also a "full-length bellydance routine" in each episode - a 20-minute-or-so piece containing the elements of the traditional multi-part dance routine.

Radio Bastet started out as a streaming Internet radio show; Marisa started releasing the archived episodes as podcasts a few years ago. They're usually released in groups of three every few months; she's currently up to Program 66 (out of, I believe, 77 total episodes). Unfortunately, about halfway through this process, Marisa lost the spoken-word sound files that served to introduce each episode, the full-length routine intros, etc. So now each episode has the same generic intro and closing (thus, no information on the songs being played).

I am pleased to report, however, that the LP Cover Gallery is back on her website! Marisa has posted her vast collection of vintage bellydance album covers here; many innocuous, some kitschy, some cringe-worthy (Marisa adds commentary where appropriate). You can also find larger versions of some of these albums accompanying the podcast list.

If you're a long-time bellydance fan, you probably already know about the podcast, or already have a lot of this music. But it's a great resource for those new to the dance, or for those curious about "bellydance music" but unsure of what to purchase. The best part is that there's almost no repetition of songs among the episodes, which means I've got over 66 hours of free bellydance music on my iPod!