Dance as language.

I've been encountering the metaphor of dance as language recently... Mira Betz told us during one of her workshops here in DC that performing is like telling a story. Every movement should add to a cohesive whole. It's one thing to have beautiful technique, but if the movements don't flow well together and if they don't fit the music, then all you're speaking to your audience is gibberish.

Performing lots of beautiful technique without a story or without flow is like going up to someone and saying, "Conceptual lucrative implement ameliorate."

WHAT?

Sure, those are all difficult words that are cool on their own, but when you put them together, they don't mean anything. They're just a string of difficult words.

It seems that recently in the tribal fusion community dancers have been praising other dancers who speak individual words very well (i.e. executing particular movements cleanly and precisely) without tying all of them together into a larger, complete performance. It's like applauding someone giving a speech because they said, "ameliorate" really really well. But what did the word "ameliorate" have to do with anything they were saying? Were they saying anything at all?

This is, of course, not to say that clean technique isn't important. Of course it's important. But technique alone is not the essence of dance. One must look at their performance as a whole, a complete presentation that flows seamlessly from beginning to end.

I leave you with two articles from two dancers and artists I respect very much: Shems and Tempest. Both have written eloquent articles on the importance of a cohesive performance.


"Learning the Language of Belly Dance" by Shems

Learning to belly dance is like learning a new language. Just like a baby learns how to shape her mouth to create new words, a dance student learns how to shape her body to express herself through dance. A child masters language as she grows and as she matures to adulthood eventually uses language to communicate more fully and even inspire.

"The Age of Storytelling" by Tempest

Really, it comes down to every dancer has a story to tell. And if they can stop for a moment and consider what it is and what it means to them before they get on that stage, then it will show in their dancing.

Having a good vocabulary is one thing... knowing how to use it is another thing entirely.

Amy from Kallisti's Fantastic Post.

I like to support my fellow bloggers, and Amy, the Right and Kind Reverend of Kallisti Tribal (I'm a fan of these ladies, in case ya didn't know), posted a fantastic entry recently about performance, honesty, and matching your performance ideas to your skill level.

Amy tells it like it is. I strongly encourage you to take a moment and read her thoughts.

(And, of course, I want to hear what YOU think... leave a comment if you have anything to add or refute. I love a good, civil debate.)

Undercutting is bad, mmmmkay?

There's been some talk amongst DC-area belly dancers about undercutting, and frankly, there's no excuse for charging less than the going rate.

Some of my fellow dancers have posted some thoughtful entries on the subject matter, and I'd like to bring these to your attention:

Brooke/Lyra: "So you wanna go pro"
Shems: Mostly directed to DC-area dancers, but non-DC dancers might find some useful information here.

I just want to add my philosophical 2 cents. Undercutting is not only detrimental to the community, but also I believe it is unethical. Why? Because it causes harm. It does service to no one, and ultimately hurts everyone involved:

• the dancer who lost a gig because her client hired someone else charging less than the going rate;
• the client who doesn't get a quality, professional performance if they hire an undercutter;
• the undercutter who does herself a disservice by not charging what she's worth;
• the audience who sees another mediocre bellydance performance by someone not ready to dance;
• the dance community who suffers writ large when the general public believes that this dance is nothing better than the mediocre undercutter.

I'll leave you with this, one of my favorite comic strips, Freelance Freedom (click to enlarge):

Tribe.net - Separating the Grist from the Chaff

I'm sure many of you are familiar with and are perhaps members of tribe.net, an online social networking website that is just chock full of bellydancers. Tribe.net can be a great resource if you just know which tribes to join, however there are a lot of fan tribes that don't offer much substance, and personal/troupe tribes that mostly offer performance and class information for a particular city or area.

To save you some of the hassle of finding the tribes worth paying attention to (in my not so humble opinion), here are the ones that I find the most useful and informative.

• The Biz of Belly Dance
• This tribe is a fantastic resource for dancers who are either dancing professionally or who are seeking to do so in the near future. Moderated by Samira Shuruk--who has been an activist for professional ethics and standards in the bellydance community for several years--this tribe and its members provide quality discussion that rarely becomes uncivil or destructive.
  
  
• Bellydance Health, Fitness, and Anatomy
• I've turned to this tribe several times seeking advice and input from other dancers in regard to anatomy and health. While this tribe, of course, is hardly a substitute for seeing a physician, moderator Aubre and its members are chock full of knowledge on the human body and how bellydance affects it.
  
  
• Bellydance Feedback
• This tribe, unfortunately, is greatly underutilized. I'd like to see it grow a little bit more. This tribe offers dancers the opportunity to post their own performance videos and solicit constructive feedback from other dancers. Sometimes responses can be confusion, as each dancer might have a different opinion of what would improve a performance, most of the time the responses are honest, helpful, and--as far as I've seen--never hurtful.
  
  
• Belly Dance Legacy
• Know your history! This tribe is another great untapped resource. This tribe mostly focuses on the history of bellydance from the 1970s and earlier. I highly suggest you check it out, if only for the amazing photos in the gallery.
  
  
  
• DCTribal
• Created by community maven Mab, just Mab, this tribe serves the DC-area tribal and fusion bellydance scene, but its members span from all over the country. If you're not in DC, then you might not find this tribe as helpful as I do, but if you're ever in the area, this would be the first place to check for upcoming community events, performances, and workshops. This tribe really helped bring together disparate dancers from the area to launch a community in the true sense of the word.
  
  
• Suhaila Method Resource Group
• This tribe is limited to those who are at least Level I certified in the Suhaila Salimpour format. If you are Level I certified and haven't joined yet, let moderator Kitiera know that you're interested. It's a fantastic resource for anyone involved in the format.

There are many other tribes out there, but these are the ones that I check the most often and the ones that consistently have some of the best discussions and content.

Are there tribes that you frequent that you feel have helped your dance? Leave a comment. :)