Olde Town Fall Festival

Every year the city holds a Fall Festival in the historic old town district. There are vendors, food, and two performance stages as well as a children's area with games and such. It's a small festival, but usually lots of fun.

For the past several years my student troop, Halleyah Raks, has performed with the dance school where I teach my class - Dominy School of Performing Arts. We've always enjoyed performing at the festival.

This year I branched out a bit and a new group that I'm dancing with, Daughters of Djinn, also performed at the festival. So I was doing double duty - performer and mama hen. The process of getting there was a bit rough, with DOD having to re-choreograph our performance pieces after we got moved from one stage (large and flat) to the other stage (small and high) about six weeks out. Frustrating, but we made it work.

The day was beautiful. Sunny and breezing. Not hot, but not too cold. You could smell Festival foods as the wind blew - popcorn, cotton candy, hot dogs, etc. Since DOD performed at 12:45, none of us had eaten and the stage was downwind of the food vendors so we were hungry! The wind had us worried - our first number had lit candles, sword and fan veil! All difficult props to work with in the wind. Bella, the member dancing with the fire, is a professional fire performer, so all precautions were taken and she was confident she could manage the flame. And low and behold she made it through her section without a candle going out until the very end! About the best one could ask for under the circumstances. Next up was Stacia with a large and sharp scimitar. She managed very well and made it through with no bobbles! Then it was my turn. I picked up the fan veil with a sigh. I had planned some really neat moves, but the wind was whipping by and I just figured that at some point the darn thing would eat me! But I made it through without being wrapped up in my veil and when I watched the video latter was quiet surprised at how wonderful it looked!

Our next song was a new choreography - the one we'd had to do in six weeks. Well 5 weeks really since I was out of town for my sister's wedding for one of those weeks. Lots of turns and my shoes were sticking to the stage horribly! I made it through with only one bobble, that I can see on the video, but probably few others noticed. Poor Stacia flipped too soon at one point, but other than some minor polishing stuff - it went off really well. When I watched the playback, it was so funny to hear an audience member say, "We have this in Conyers, GA!?" Yep - you sure do!

Then it was pack up everything, help Bella and Stacia change for the Halleyah Raks performance, and run over to the other stage! A whirlwind and there were lots of folks I wanted to visit with that I just didn't have the time to do so and when I caught my breath they had left! Sorry about that! We made it to the second stage, got everyone together. I turned into mama hen and pinned belts, checked hair and make-up and got everyone together to mentally walk through choreography before they had to go onstage. We were second to last in the line up and the girls did beautifully! Watching my students perform and excel is one of the wonderful things about being a teacher. One of the newer girls, Heather, had her first solo and she was terrified - but she looked cute and cool as a cucumber! The audience loved it and after a few minutes of adjustment started clapping and enjoying the peppy energy. Whew - they were done and it was great!

We spent some time in the small gardens taking some nice photos for everyone to remember the day and then walked around the festival handing out class flyers, etc. A really successful day, but I've got to remember that just because it's not hot - doesn't mean I don't need sunscreen! Oh my aching cleavage!

Halleyah :)

History of the Dance - 2

So last time we stopped with the advent of Islam ...

This truly affected the world of the Middle East. Islam spread and with it came new ideas and feelings about women and dance. I'm not interested in discussing whether there was some ultimate "right" or "wrong" about these ideas. The ideas simply "are". The effect was to contain and marginalize women's roles in a changing society and that directly affected their dance.

Since women became more contained, the examples of public dancing became more scarce. Islam completed the removal of dance as a sacred and religious experience and moved it firmly into the secular realm. Certainly there were fringe examples of dance being associated with the sacred ( think Zar and the dancing that took place at weddings and the Saints tombs), but by and far dance became firmly secular. Women continued to dance in the privacy of their homes, "proper" women did not dance in public. There are always exceptions, but in general this still holds true today with female public performers being looked down upon and even in certain cases being sued by others for "inciting men".

So, during the middle ages, secular dance moved into the streets and into the "hands" of the street prostitute. Much of our information from this period is from sources who only had access to street performers and prostitutes and their movements and life. The images begin to move from those of graceful performers with sweeping arm gestures to the intensive hip orientation that is found today in belly dance. Certainly there were hip movements prior to this time period - Roman writers describe them and their are depictions from the ancient world that show hip work or a hip emphasis in costuming. But the writings and the images become more hip oriented once the dance hits the streets.

As the Renaissance starts more and more European travelers begin to comment on the "dancing girls of the east" and the beginnings of the fascination with them can be found. Still most of these women are street performers, courtesans, and prostitutes. I haven't found any accounts of the average woman performing in front of the visitors. Not to say it never occurred, just that I haven't found such an account. Please share if you know of one!

But the height of the "dancing girl" accounts comes during the Orientalist period of the 1800's. And with it comes much insinuation of the sexual aspects of the street prostitute and courtesan. Those images and stories greatly affected how the Western World viewed belly dance. The dance became intricately tied to the sexual aspect and the long lost folk and sacred aspects were left to history.

My point with this very abbreviated generalist history is that there were many things that affected what we know today as belly dance. By the time the West discovered the dance, it had already been through many incarnations. So while the bones of the dance, the soul of the dance might stretch back through time to a place where it held religious and sacred aspects, by the time it reached the West those days were long gone.

Just as the purpose of the dance had changed, so had the movements. While some were similar being hip driven and body driven verses footwork and sweeping arm movements as many Western dances were, much was added. Life is change. Artists are influenced and adopt the new trends and street performers more than court performers use what is popular and trendy. They must keep the interest of the populace and don't generally concern themselves with maintaining a cultural purity unless that is what is popular. So as the cultures blended with each Empire change so did the art of belly dance. New musical phrases and dress were introduced and this influenced the movements. Conquered entertainers were imported and were all the rage for their exotic differences and so the locals adopted those differences in order to keep their customers.

Now here is the hard part. It is simple enough to see that both purpose and movements changed - but HOW had they changed? This is the difficult if not impossible question for a dance historian to ask themselves. As the dance comes to the notice of the West, how "pure" is it? What forces have already influenced it?

Next time, we'll look at the changes that happened once the dance was introduced to the West...

Computer Crash

Well, I've done it again and killed yet another innocent machine! Electronics and I do not get along. I have a computer geek friend who swears I should work on them from behind a lead shield.

So I did it again and killed my desktop. I'm now the proud owner of my first laptop! However,at the moment, I've lost ALL my data. :( I'm in negotiations with the manufacturer of my hard drive to attempt a data recovery, but it looks grim. Of course, I don't have a recent backup - don't yell at me! I hated burning tons of Cd's and didn't own a zip or a portable hard drive to do backups on. I do now and this will not happen again!

However, that still leaves me to rebuild everything. I've lost at least 3 years of photos, some I've got stashed but many may be gone forever. I think I've got most of my text files, but there is a whole folder of JSTOR articles that is gone and those puppies are hard to come by!

So no belly dance news right now - I'll get back to the history post soon. Wish me luck and send me some good vibes! I need them!

History of the Dance - 1

I've spent years studying belly dance throughout history. Where did it all begin? Has it changed? How has it changed? Is it the same everywhere it's danced? Etc, etc, etc. You know - those questions that historians ask. ;)

Most performing arts are very poorly documented throughout most of history. The art itself does not survive past the performance until the invention of video - so historians are forced to rely on artistic representations and written description. Both are poor sources for what was actually done. In addition to that is that in many cultures no one bothered to record in any way information about dance. So most of the early ages are pure theory. Now this doesn't mean that I believe that you just throw up your hands and go and do whatever you want. There are many areas of history and in science where theory is all we have. So you base your theory on solid facts and be prepared to rethink your position as new information becomes available. Nothing wrong with that at all.

So what facts do we have about the beginnings of belly dance? Good Question! The answer is not many. We know that dance of some kind was done as a part of religious worship in the the same geographic area. Some of the descriptions and very few depictions give us the idea that this early dance was related to belly dance. This seems to be a commonly held belief among most of the scholars doing research in this area. Most dance historians of any kind believe that dance in general began as part of spiritual and religious beliefs. So it's not really a great surprise that belly dance might have begun in a similar way. However there is little documentation that the dance done by the priestesses in that geographic area was the same (as in unchanged) from what we do today and know as belly dance. After all wild maize (corn) doesn't look anything like the genetically domesticated corn that we eat today! So why should the dance which is even more fluid and easily changed than a plant?

So we leave the myst of the ancient days and move into more documented times. There were many early cultures in that area of the word Sumerian, Babylonian, Egyptian, Persian that were fairly well documented. Unfortunately none of the ancient cultures left much direct information on dance. That they danced is a definite. How they danced is the question. This is the era that I believe where the sacred dance began to change and be used in a secular sense. The sacred and the secular lived side-by-side. This was the first large sweeping change to what eventually became known as belly dance. There are artistic depictions of dance in some of these cultures. Ancient Persia has many vases and murals from this period that depict dance and they regularly imported Greek dancing girls. Ancient Egypt has some wonderful artwork that depicts dance - but it doesn't particularly look like modern belly dance. For examples of Ancient Egyptian dance read Irena Lexova's book, "Ancient Egyptian Dances". The dance appears to be more angular and more acrobatic than modern belly dance. There are ancient texts that discuss "quivering thighs" and this definitely sounds more like what we know as belly dance, so I definitely believe that the dance existed. The question is in what form? What music did they dance to? This has to affect the dance! It certainly affects dance today. At this point we know that women were still dancing publicly. Did men dance this dance during this period? Did men and women dance together? All good questions and mostly the answer is it depends on the culture. Just like today, belly dance or it's form at this time, was greatly affected by the culture. Men definitely danced in the ancient world even the bible discussed Solomon dancing in the streets and the temple. The question isn't did men dance - the question is did they belly dance? Did they belly dance with women? Men and women were often segregated in the ancient world. There are still placed today where this is true. Certainly it was true in history. All good questions and all important when tracing the dance.

For the Middle East, the next period is the one where even more specific information on belly dance becomes available. The birth of Islam and it's spread across the area affected belly dance in a most significant way. The world changed dramatically and all of culture and society was affected by that change. Women and their role in society was perhaps affected most of all.

To be continued . . . . .

The Art of Teaching

Teaching is an art - a talent - and a learned skill. We all can remember one amazing teacher that touched our lives and changed how we viewed a subject. We got it - the light bulb came on and we were excited! That is a good teacher.

Anyone can hang out a shingle and begin teaching anything they want. They can ask folks to pay them money and there it is. Academic teachers usually have to prove they know how to do this and have been trained if they choose to teach through a school or organized institution - however, if they choose to offer their services as a tutor or private teacher there isn't any governing organization that requires that they be trained or licensed - although the potential employer can do so.

Dance teachers have even less requirements placed on them. There is no organized state or government board that licenses the average dance teacher (for those teaching in the academic world there is a certification process, but most dance teachers don't go that route). The average dance teacher has taken lessons and achieved a certain skill level and then begins to teach. Each dance discipline handles this in a different way. Belly Dance has very little structure for this process.

Many belly dance teachers take lessons and start getting requests from friends and audience members to "teach them". And so they begin teaching. Many belly dancers consider the question of whether they are qualified to teach, but many more don't. They are flattered and see a need and start teaching. Some of them are naturals. They luck out and work at it and become even better and all is good. Many are not naturals and they don't luck out and woe be it to the student who ends up in their class. Being a talented performer or a knowledgeable dancer does not make one a good teacher.

The old adage of "those who can do and those who can't teach" is a bunch of malarkey! Teachers in any subject need training and skills and to be great they need passion and talent, just like any other field or occupation. That old adage is one of the reasons that classroom teachers make so little money and have so little respect, but I digress.

I've set in and lurked through many online discussions on what the qualifications of a good teacher should be. What skills should they know? How many years of experience as a dancer should they have? What makes a really talented teacher? The varied opinions on this cut a pretty wide path.

Some people think that no one should teach unless they have been performing professionally in the restaurant trade for X number of years. Hmm - that one leaves me out. I don't perform in restaurants - not my cup of tea. Don't enjoy it and have no intention of doing it. So I'm not a big proponent of that one.

Some people think that no one should teach unless their teacher says they can/or are ready. Now this one has some merit. Your own teacher is a really good judge of your strengths and weaknesses. She/He will know whether or not you can break down moves well, can perform moves and choreography with excellent technique, are well versed in the culture and history of the dance form, and whether or not you have good performance skills. This is an age old method of deciding whether someone is ready to teach in many other occupations and I think a valid consideration for belly dance. Many of those bad teachers skip this step because they know their teacher wouldn't "sign-off" on them so to speak. So they drop out of class and suddenly the teacher hears that their student has started teaching across town. It's disappointing and fools no one. People in the community will ask the teacher, "Did you know X has started teaching?" And the teacher always answers "Yes, but without my blessings." This does nothing for the new teacher's reputation and causes much ill will in the community. Now here's where I disagree with many folks. I don't think it's the experienced teacher's job to go to her now ex-student and say, "You can't teach" or some other version of that sentiment. There is no regulatory board and the student already knows her teacher wouldn't approve or she wouldn't have been so sneaky about it. Many folks feel it is the experienced teacher's job to police her students. While I wish that the original teacher had some authority in this matter that just isn't the case.

Some people think that a dancer should have learned specific technique/styles/etc before they should teach. Belly dance has grown beyond a one style dance. There are a variety of styles that any good teacher should be familiar with and know who the experts are so as to be able to refer students to the experts in other styles. However, I don't necessarily believe that all belly dancers should be experts in all styles. For one, some of them just aren't every one's cup-of-tea. I like certain traditional styles, but I choose to perform and teach in the tribal genre'. Even in ballet there is the Russian School and the American or Western School. Ballet teachers don't usually cross schools as teachers - they know the difference and know who the good teachers are in the other discipline, but they teach in one or the other. I see no reason for belly dance to be any different. Now I'm not saying that a teacher couldn't do it all - but I don't think it should be a requirement for her/him to do it all.

All of this leads me to the following. My own list of what makes a good belly dance teacher. Consider all of this as you look around for someone to study with. . . .

1. Good Solid Technique in their chosen style and knowledge of technique in other styles.
2. A curriculum that is thought out and constantly being revised. Goals and objectives. A time line for accomplishing the curriculum. Organization in presentation. Thought to how the movements build upon one another and consideration for learning styles or modalities.
3. Solid knowledge in the cultural history, current culture, and community of belly dance. Learning this art form goes beyond just the moves.
4. Costuming knowledge and skill. This needs to go beyond - "you can find it at www.costume.com".
5. A relationship with the local belly dance community. The teacher should be able to recommend other instructors in other styles and know where/when upcoming events are happening.
6. Patience, passion, and purpose. Consideration of the student's needs and what is best for them even if that conflicts with what they want today.
7. Health and safety. A knowledge of anatomy and basic injury risks is necessary. Good warm ups and cool downs, how to protect the student while they learn and when to not attempt something.
8. Performance skills and experience. Belly Dance is a performance art. The good instructor takes the student beyond technique and into performance. Choreography, Improvisation, stage work, and restaurant work. It all has it's own set of dos and don'ts and it's own set of needs. Performance opportunities for students should be provided. How often and where can vary, but they should happen regularly and be appropriate for the students level. Choreography should be designed for the student performer - not a professional unless the student is a professional.
9. Time and Ethics skills. Teachers should manage their classroom time to benefit all the class. Spending a bit of extra time on something, but not getting sidetracked. Being prepared for each class and not just "winging it" (this goes back to number 2). Creating an environment where everyone is welcome, not just the really talented people, or prettiest or youngest, etc. Not tolerating behavior that works against any of this. Teachers should be in charge of their class. This is class - not girls night out at the local pub. While friendships will and should develop between students, that shouldn't be the basis of attending class, but a fringe benefit.
10. Fun. Teachers should try to make sure that students enjoy and have fun in class and with their performances. The teacher is only half of this - the student has to put forth effort on this as well.

These are my top ten. I could go on and on about this topic. Outside of belly dance I hold a Masters of Education and I've taught many subjects including dance for almost 18 years. I could turn each of those numbers in the list into individual papers on that subtopic! But I think you can get the drift from the short version. ;)

DragonCon Review

Well, Labor Day weekend is over and I've survived another Dragoncon! It was a whirlwind and very fun! My recovering feet managed to make it through the weekend without too much trouble and I saw tons of great costumes.

Steampunk was all the rage! My son and some friends did a steampunk night of costuming and had a great time. Some of the steampunk was amazing with glowing bits and pieces and elaborate copper fittings! Really enjoyed them this year.

There was a great Dr. Octopus from Spiderman who looked really good. And I even say an Almighty Isis! It was really odd since some friends and I had been talking about that Saturday morning show not long ago. Blast from the past!

As usual, I was too busy people watching and shopping to attend many panels. I did make it to the SG1 Costume contest and that was fun! Saw a really great Knox! She was very shy and was just perfect. I walked through the Walk of Fame, but there weren't a lot of celebrities that I wanted to see this year and autographs have gone up to $30.00! Good Grief!

Made a few purchases and saw some of the drum circle. I didn't make it to the Dance Expo since I was feeling under the weather at that point. :( I was really bummed about missing that!

I did make my yearly Dragonwriters Meeting and that was awesome! I make that a priority every year.

The highlight was getting my picture taken with one of the alien muppets from Sesame Street. You remember the ones that go yip-yip-yip and imitate the phone ringing! He was just really cool!

Today is recovery day and then tomorrow it's back to dance classes and regular life!

DragonCon!

Dragoncon is one of the largest S-F/Fantasy/Pop Culture conventions in the southeast. I've been attending (since it's in my backyard) for almost 10 years. It happens every year on Labor Day Weekend and is one hell of a party!!!

If you like to people-watch it is the extravaganza of people-watching! Beats Mardi Gras in New Orleans any day of the week (I'm from Louisiana). You can see everything from high Opera costumes to cardboard box leggo costumes!

On most nights they host a dance/drum circle. It started out being very small and very quiet and then it moved out to the pool and got crazy and then it moved back indoors and was small and quiet and now it's held in one of the larger ballrooms and is crazy. At any given time - once the drummers get going - you can hear three or more different rhythms being played as you dance around the circle. This can make for some interesting transitions!

Everyone comes to dance - belly dancers, club dancers, goth dancers, drunken gay pirates, fuzzies, jedi, - you name it they will probably show up at the drum circle. Some years I make it and some I don't - this year it's not scheduled to even start until mid-night.

There is also dance and costume tracks held in the Silk Road panels and a dance expo on Sunday in one of the smaller ballrooms - thank heavens! Last year the dance expo was overflowing and we definitely needed a bigger space.

In spite of the fact that Dragoncon is not a belly dance convention, there is plenty of belly dance stuff going on!

If you happen to make it there - look me up! If you can find me ......