History

The history of Oriental dance is such a huge subject!

I will give you a brief summary and some great links, also something more in depth about Tribal style in America. 

Oriental dance covers so many forms and types of dance. It includes the folkloric dances of the Eastern peoples from India, to Greece, to Morocco. It encompasses the traditions of the nomadic peoples (and many of the settled peoples of today were receintly nomadic), the city dwellers and the village traditions in between.

The Persians came down from the Aral sea and into India. These two cultures influenced each other heavily before the Persians migrated West. Their empire, at one time, covered all of Afghanistan, parts of Pakistan, Mesopotamia and parts of Anatolia. By the time that the Persians reached Mesopotamia, there was a flourishing culture already in progress that itself had seen several changes (Sumer, Akkad, Elam, Assyria). The dances of these places were then influenced by the  Persians who ruled them for a while.

The dances of the Turkic tribes were not so heavily influenced, at this time, as they were nomadic and often farther North. Though later they were heavily influenced by Persia. Farther to the West is Syria, Lebanon (Phoenicia, Ugarit,...) and down into Egypt.

It has been documented that the Eastern Mediterranean coastal people and the Egyptians had mutual influence as it seen in their religious mythologies. The Egyptians are also documented as having congress with Sumer through business records, marriage records and religious mythologies. It is safe to say they influenced each other mutually. And later, surely the Egyptian and Persians influenced each other mutually. But one must remember that in these times, the Egyptians were not an Arab/Semitic people and Islam was quite a way off in the future.

Again there is documentation not only of similar religious mythologies, but of trading, and travel from the Southern Mediterranean, the islands, Anatolia, and the further Mediterranean coast. From the times before the arrival of the Ancient Greek (Caucasian) people, there is documentation of dance in ritual, temples and grottos. This has been disparagingly described (the Greeks, the victors who were trying to change the religion and power structure) in ways that are so reminiscent of the movements of  what we know of as Belly dance, that we can surely see a clear path into the past that branches out to encompass the entire region.

What dances were done had much to do with who was in power. Which invaders had come in, bringing their dances and what dances they would allow from the existing peoples. The cities were the easiest to regulate. So some villages were able to hold onto far older traditions. The same can be said of the nomadic peoples. It was common that the city dwellers held themselves above the villagers and their practices, as can be easily said today (across Europe as well as in Egypt, Anatolia, North Africa, Near/Middle East,...).

There is also the oft talked of migration from India west, splitting into three groups. One group going into Eastern Europe, another Southern Europe and the third into North Africa. These people are commonly called Gypsies, thought their preferred name is Rom, Roma, Romni, or whatever local title they claim (Oulid Nail, Ghawazee,..). The music and dancing of these people also had a big influence on the area. Previously, the Persians brought with them influences from India. So there is more than one layer of Inidan influence as well a many layers of different influences.

What is very clear from all the cumulative research that has been done by women, by musicians, by the people traveling to these places, is that the origins of the dance do not lie in central or southern Africa (just  listen to the music). There may have been pockets of it there and some surmise that where the matriachal religion was, so was this dance.
It is clear that this was not originally a dance of seduction. This is a Western idea and is used by Westerners in this fashion. The origins of this dance are firmly rooted in women's traditions. There are health issues surrounding birth and strength, there are birth rituals and rituals including ancient temple dances. Women dancing for other women, for themselves, for God and lastly for men, in the cultures and times where it was permissible.

 I will pass you on to good authorities for Egyptian and North African histories

www.shira.net (Lots of good information here!), 

www.casbahdance.org (Morocco is a well known adventuress, dancer and historian. Great site!)

My specific historical interest lies in the Pre-Christian ancient cultures and religions which I some day hope to have more time to write about. 

Tribal style

 Tribal style, as it is popularly known and danced, originated in California. In the 1970's  Jamila Salimpour's group, Bal Anat (the name is a pre-Christian Goddess and her consort/brother/God), began to do something a little different. She had all the troupe on stage during the  show even when they were doing solo dances. They did traditional dances from different regions and in the styles of different peoples. Dancers played the zills and some also drummed for the other dancers. They wore a folkloric style costume made of Assyuti and other traditional fabrics where the body was completely covered and she used tribal markings on her face. Jamila was the first American to show the traditional Oriental dances along with Egyptian Cabaret/mix that was popular.

She also included male dancers in her troupe. This was unusual at a time when Cabaret style and the idea of Belly dancer as brainless, seductress or stripper was common.

Masha Archer, one of Jamila's students, took off with the concept. She was originally classically trained and she played fast and loose with tradition. She was very focused on the strong posture and the uplifted chest. She felt that anything she mixed with the oriental style was fine as long as it added dignity to the dancer and women in general. She pushed her students to perform in venues other than restaurants and night clubs. She wanted to legitimize the dance form. She made popular the ideas of strong women, strong dancers and the women dancing for themselves or each other (which is traditional).

Carolina Nariccio, who was a student of Masha's and danced in her company, mixed the philosophies of these two women together. She is focused on the posture, the strength and that which benefits women in general. At the same time she gives much more weight to the origin of the dance,  the traditional movements and where they fit into the Orient.

She also took the idea of  "Tribe" farther. She imagined what it might be like to live closely with other women and thought of how they might dance together. Through this, she created a system of leading and following that would allow dancers accustomed to each other, to dance together without fixed choreography.

She did this by simplifying the arm movements, using a firmer structure in the dance and setting sight lines that enable dancers to see the leader easily. All of this was originally, primarily based on Egyptian belly dance, Ghawazee and the dancers of the Oulid Nail with later influences from other traditional Oriental dance styles as well as Flamenco and Indian dance.

This became American Tribal Style.  She worked very hard to promote it and now it is one of the more popular styles in the USA. It is becoming more and more popular in Europe as well. In the large picture of Oriental dance in America, ATS is very important. It de-sexualized the dance, focusing it on relations between women, opening it up to women who would not otherwise be interented. It also helped to legitimized the form by bringing it farther away from the stripper image.

Many people assume that this is Tribal Dance, that is, a traditional dance from some tribe of the Middle East or North Africa. It is a common misconception though it has never been promoted as such. It is based on the very real idea that the women dance for each other, are connected together by tribe and family and they are strong in themselves and their positions in that structure. But this style is a fantasy of what those tribes might have done as well as a mixture of different cultures, peoples and their traditional dances. It utilizes tribal traditional music, jewelry, clothing and dance. It is often commented on by people of these regions, that it is very familiar. Without limiting themselves to one tradition, American Tribal Style has managed to capture the flavor of Oriental dance.

Tribal style has grown and changed as it takes on more influences. Tribal Fusion or Urban Tribal, is now very popular. It utilizes a broader set of influences as well as a looser structure and more choreography. They use Egyptian, Indian, Afghani, Persian, Uzbek, Tunisian, Turkish Roman and other dances of North Africa and the Orient. The idea of the strength of woman and the power of the energy of woman is predominant. Tribal style, in all it's different forms, seeks to unite us as women and make us stronger.

 I was there when this movement started. I would watch Jamila Salimpour and Bal Anat every weekend with my mother during the historical festivals in the autumn. This was my initial inspiration to do Oriental dance.

I began studying the dance in 1974, after my first season watching Bal Anat. It was through observing these performances that I learned to dance with the sword.

The teachers in my area were teaching Cabaret style. So I studied mainly Cabaret for six years before branching out to different kinds of dance both Oriental and other traditional dances.

I found Carolina Nariccio's classes in 1993, through a friend who later became one of her principle dancers. I have studied with John Compton. He was one of Jamila's students and principle dancers who has had his own troupe, Hahbi Ru, since the early 1980's. In 2000, I started studying with Jill Parker. She was one of Carolina's principall dancers when FatChanceBellyDance started and she is one of the originators of Tribal Fusion.

I have had the good fortune to study with Sharlyn Sawyer, an amazing Cabaret style dancer and now,  an authority on Persian, Uzbek and Afghani dance, as well as to participate in Amel Tafsoot's seminars on Algerian dance, and with Kharia Mazim, the last Ghawazee dancers in Egypt. I have taken classes from Suhaila Salimpour's acredited teachers, who do a strong style of Cabaret.  More recently, I have been studying with the Turkish teacher Reyhan Tusuz, in the Turkish Roman style as well as with Elizabeth Strong, an American authority on this style.

I continue to study with these teachers, each year when I am in their region as well as with others in a variety of styles and traditions.

 I have studied this dance for more than 30 years, on three continents and was involed in the beginnings of Tribal style dance in America. I was also the first Tribal Style dancer and teacher in the Czech Republic. It is by chance that I am living here in Czech, teaching and performing in Central Europe.

I teach a variety of styles and movements and offer a range of different seminars. Contact me by email for more details. bjhurley@hotmail.com.