What Am I Doing?

[shanmonster]

I'm a dancer. But what kind of dancer am I? When I do my own thing, incorporating elements of Middle Eastern, modern, jazz-lyrical, modern dance, martial arts, tumbling, yoga, and flamenco, I always refer to it as experimental dance. That's not my usual variety of dance, though. I'm mostly hired out as a "belly dancer." Now, I really dislike that term. I think "belly dancer" is very misleading, partially in that I use a whole hell lot more of my body than my abs when I dance, and also because the term is fraught with stereotypes. A belly dancer is seen by the vast majority of lay people as a Hollywood hoochie-coochie dancer, mesmerizing her (and it's always a her) audience with lascivious looks, sensual wriggling, and a big ol' plastic gem in her navel.

Now, I do my damnedest not to fulfill those stereotypes when I dance. When I dance at multicultural events, I choose music from Lebanon, Turkey, Algeria, or Egypt. I usually perform raqs sharqi (Egyptian, with more than a hint of Turkish). I generally wear costuming representative of dancers from those regions. On occasion, I wear American Tribal Style tassel belts. Whenever anyone asks about these belts, I'm always sure to tell them it's representative of a North American style of Middle Eastern dance.

But doesn't that seem odd? To say North American Middle Eastern dance, I mean? It's either one or the other, isn't it? So what exactly am I doing when I wear these costumes yet use a Middle Eastern vocabulary of movement?

So what the hell am I doing up there on stage, anyhow? Is it still raqs sharqi even if I'm wearing North American costuming? I'd love to call what I do just plain ol' dance, but that's just not specific enough. How can I do a decent job educating the populace when I don't know how to describe what I'm doing?

Comments

[swirlingchaos.livejournal.com]

To say North American Middle Eastern dance, I mean? It's either one or the other, isn't it? So what exactly am I doing when I wear these costumes yet use a Middle Eastern vocabulary of movement?


Just say you're doing a 'cover' of a Middle Eastern dance. In today's music generation of Shania Twin's and Road Apples people ought to get where you're coming from. :)

They also seem to get the word 'Tribute' too, so a more elegant way would be to say its 'a tribute to various styles of Middle Eastern Dance, emphasizing XXXXX with a YYYYY flavour.' That should be fairly accurate, not too drawn out, and educational enough that people can look up the pure forms if they want to. And it can be tailored to each number too, in case the flavour changes from dance to dance.

Just a thought.