Thoughts on Dance
In a discussion with other long-time teachers, we were sharing our concerns about the growing lack of awareness about the differences between dance forms in our genre, and the quality of teaching and performance craft. Because we have been vocal about standards in dance, we are sometimes criticized as being “judgemental”.. but here’s the thing: these teachers care passionately about the art, and as such, have a right to express concern when they see flaws. They also enjoy watching the creativity of dance! However, there is a difference between creativity and creating quality with that creativity, just as there is a difference between the imagination and translating imagination into a representation of something with integrity.
I UNDERSTAND why some people want to just dance to express themselves… I do not have a problem with that.
I understand why some people just want to have fun and dance for sheer joy- I do not have a problem with that.
I understand why some people want to dress up and feel beautiful, and accepted, and express their passions- I don’t have a problem with that.
I understand why some people have a need to create and invent, and let their imaginations fly- I don’t have a problem with that.
I love dance in all its forms- my range of experiences in dance and movement studies include folkdance, African dance, raks sharqi, bellydance (raks sharqi, Turkish, Iraqi, Greek), Fusion (1970s, NOT the Synthesized dance of today), Flamenco, ballet, Dance Theatre, NIA,and Tribal Synergy
BUT, as a dancer, a former performer and instructor, AND as a member of many audiences,
I object to those who don’t want to accept the discipline of dance yet call themselves dancers, while presenting poorly to the audience (no musicality), and executing movements poorly and showing no stagecraft.
I object to those who are not trained to be performance-ready, yet pass themselves off as Dancers (if you are students, BE students), seemingly unable to recognize the difference between what they present as a student and what a Dancer presents as a Dancer
I object to “dancers” who don’t even know enough to know what they are performing, and don’t care enough to find out, because they create confusion among students, among audiences
I object to “dancers’ who can’t even tell you why what they do, or how what they do- the way they use the stage, the way they relate to the audience, the music they use and the movements they use etc- is different from other forms of dances… the defining elements of a dance form
I object to those who market themselves to public audiences as a type of dancer that they are NOT- if you do not know what you are actually doing, don’t use the name; because it is dishonest towards both other dancers and the audience
And this is not BEING judgemental it is USING judgement and discernment to assess what is being presented – every dance form I know does this, rightfully so, for all good reasons: to keep quality up, to make mastery of an art the goal of excellence, and because dance is an art, and an art must be mastered to remain art
And in the meantime, I hope the bellydancers and the serious dancers in the new forms of dance(American danse orientale*/AmCab; Fusion, Synthesized, etc) will work collaboratively to educate, separate and cooperate in projects designed to grow knowledge and audiences for our art forms
* Though I use it as a defining name, I have mixed feelings about the term “American danse orientale”, which has been used for so long to define “American bellydance”…I happen to understand why American bellydance is NOT bellydance, and I understand the term “oriental” has negative connotations, but so, too, does the word “cabaret”… the Turkish name for what they do is written as orientaler tanz, tanz orientale and tanz oryentale, so the issue becomes even more confusing.
Because i write articles on how to define these new forms of dance and how to tell them apart from bellydance, I have used the “American danse orientale” since the 1970s… but is there any kind of growing consensus on what the old-style Amercian dance could be called? I’d happily convert to a new name if it made sense and still relate dot the dance form being performed…
