Checkin' out my dance style...

I was just re-directed to an intriguing article on Gilded Serpent (not mine, of which more later), where the dancer Leila tries to lay out what she feels Middle Eastern audiences expect from a dancer.  What I wanted to do, for once, is talk about me, in relation to this article.  Obviously, the article's not perfect, but she does hit some key points that I do find missing in much of the Western offshoots of Raqs Sharqi, and hope to bring to audiences myself.  :)

She makes 7 points, and I'll interleave my thoughts with those points:

1.   Middle Eastern audiences expect the dancer’s appearance to represent an archetype of feminine beauty.

Well, I'm a zero in that regard.  :)
I think this is true, and is part of why men are rejected as professional dancers.  The older architypes of dancers got replaced with "all female, all the time"; A'isha Azar gives this as a primary reason for raqs sharqi being a female focused (I think she uses the term "essence") dance form, a point I disagree with.  But there is a strong expectation, among both Arab and western audiences, that the dancer will be female, and should appear "feminine". Even in tribal, it's rare to find a dancer who emphasizes "traditionally masculine" aspects.  This is, of course, with the caveat that people differ on what's masculine...

2.   A dancer is expected to have a certain amount of sex appeal, or dela.

I'm told I can be quite sexy when I dance. I don't mean to be, and I point out to those folks that if I'm so sexy, why am I still single?
But I think "sexy" is true of the dancers I've seen from "over there".  At the same time, I think her point about there being multiple forms of "sexy" is really an aspect of the audience's reaction to Point 6.  Raqs sharqi is a very emotive dance, and it's easy, in my experience, to conflate that kind of connection with the audience with flirting, with sexuality.  Dancers have often heard tales of being called "sexy", when there was nothing in what they did or said that was meant as such -- that happens to me a lot.

3.   A dancer must know generally what the song she is performing to is about.

Which is a major factor for why many dancers perform to Western music, somewhere below, but connected to, "familiarity". We tend, in my experience, to want to dance to the songs we know, and a lot of raqs sharqi's movement vocab springs from the way music is expressed in "Classical" Arabic Orchestrated modes.  Not only is it tough to emulate that in Western music, it's hard to bridge that gap between what the music "says" to a Egyptian raqasa, and an American bellydancer
For myself, I tend to be a "bigger" dancer than I want, both in terms of sheer physical moves, and in terms of how I interpret my music -- which itself tends to be more bombastic than most ol skool Arabic music.  I like it, but I'm investing time and energy into breaking all that back down, and seeing what "small" can give me once again.  I think part of the issue is that I grew up singing gospel, a very enthusiastic musical form (at least, the way we did it), and that carries over into my dancing.

4.   An emotional connection to the music is key.

So damn true it's not funny. So missed by many dancers -- including myself, sometime. A lot of the quibbles with "fusion" (what a horrid word for such an outpouring of creative energy!) is predicated, in my mind, on not just "look and feel", but this.  A disconnect between the dancer and the music isn't western, but there is a...void between the dancer and the audience and the music that's very much of the Ballet mode, and hard for me to put my finger in.  Ah -- it's the intimacy thing, the same thing that makes staging raqs so damned hard.
I'd also say that it's no coincidence that the first unique Western offshoot of raqs sharqi, American Tribal, succeeds in keeping a certain level of intimacy with the audience, while also pulling back into the fellow dancers, and in establishing a one-step-removed connection with the music, with concepts like arrhythmic slow movements.  Instead of "feeling the music", the music is a jumping-off point for working with your fellow dancers, and (to a limited extent) the audience.
(look at me, doing the ramble thing!)

5.   A dancer must be relaxed and confident on stage.

...and it's hard.  I know dancers with 20+ years experience who still get the woobiles before they go on.  I'm lucky that I had lots of early experience on stages, performing, and the like.  But it is critical if you're going to pull off Points 4 and 6, to be relaxed enough to flow into the music, especially if you're improving. 
 
6.   A dancer is expected to communicate with her audience—there is no invisible wall at the edge of the stage.

This is my single biggest quibble with many dancers.  Flowing back to Point 5, many dancers act scared of their audience, and thus don't open themselves up to the joy of being in front of the audience.  To me, that's a great part of being spontaneous...but I also understand the importance, and joy, of building a great dance edifice
all I can think, is that such a edifice should not be a crutch for not being able to dance on the spot, in the moment, with joy and fierce pride, or whatever emotions you like to bring.  That is the true power of improv, and what improv brings to the dancer is the ability to generate new dance on the fly.  Much in the same way as many of the best rappers can freestyle like mad, dancers who can improv have more, and easier, access to the main tools of dance-building.
And, of course, dancers who can connect to the audience make much more in tips -- not to mention tend to get better recommendations for more gigs.  It's worth the work.

7.   Personality and style.

A little too vague, but the point I think she's trying to make -- that dancers need to pay attention to how they look, and have a game plan on a unique feel -- is true, and something I subconsciously did.  I'm larger-than-life, with loud music and powerful moves.  And that, plus the gender thing, has gotten me a lot of recognition and word-of-mouth.
I'm not sure how to do it deliberately, yet I'd say that it's critical to being any kind of dancer.  It was her unique POV that led Carolena to create Fat Chance, and that led to much in the way of sales, and a franchise that'll last well past her passing.
If you want the same, keep it in mind as you grow as a dancer.


...wow.  Well, I didn't talk about myself a lot, but I sure did talk.  *smirk*