TORI KING
  • Home
  • About Tori
  • Gallery
  • Classes
  • Testimonials
  • Contact
  • Workshops
  • Blog

Tori Types Thoughts

Tori's very average blog

Arab Dance Seminar and Authenticity

11/9/2018

 
I guess this post is dedicated to the beautiful Jessi, who has been my partner in learning and workshops this year.  She didn't know it - but I knew she'd be my friend right when we first met all those years ago.  When you meet Jessi or see her dance, you know she is a special and unique person: never let the people that make you go "WOW" escape your love! Jessi approaches challenges with the heart of a scholar, the magick of the ancients, and the sense of humor of... well I'll let you decide for yourself!  Follow her journey (and that of her kitty, Tiberius) here.  
Picture
Jess being, like, really pretty. 

Picture
StarBelly reppin' in the center of the photo. My raptor arm came out to PLAY. 
The Arab Dance Seminar (ADS) happened during the first weekend of November in beautiful, sunny, inspiring LA.  Jess and I stayed at a cute spot within walking distance to EVERYTHING, including the studio, and we had some interesting adventures along the way. The theme of this year's ADS was Authenticity, which is a loaded term in the beautiful land of belly dance in America.  The phrase "belly dance" itself is in many ways inauthentic, for (paraphrasing the instructors) how can an entire country and history of dance get minimized to a single body part? In addition to incredible discussion about this topic, we learned from native instructors Karim Nagi (who organizes the ADS), Amel Tafsout, Nashwa Cahill, and American scholar Kay Hardy Campbell. The ADS website hosts short bios of the instructors, which I strongly encourage you to look at. They are all incredible teachers, performers, and human beings.  www.arabdanceseminar.com

I could easily summarize the discussions we had or break down the moves we learned in the courses, but I think this would dilute the lessons and minimize the experience as a whole.  How can you convey the passion of a group of people that can sing along to every single folk song they hear?  How could I effectively share the dismay of seeing the songs of your ancestors and relatives minimized to a sexy stage performance by someone who hasn't seen the face of your homeland?  It is hard enough to take on the challenge of defining my own authenticity... or to do the synchronized clapping thing that Kay taught us during our khaleegi class. I may never get that. 

In my opinion it all breaks down to is a single thought that Amel shared during the Q&A portion of the seminar on the last day.  I asked something about Fusion and Tribal dancers and the teachers paused (my question wasn't that great, but this is a big topic). After some comments, Amel said, "keep Arab voices in the conversation."  I think that says a lot... it may even say everything.  You really dance better when you honor the past of the dance you're performing and practice a craft with love and humility. When you study dance history, every figure that you've learned about will be with you on stage when it comes time to perform. You cannot innovate without the foundation set by those you'll never know. Respect them. Actually, let's respect everyone (within reason). 

Shameless Self-Promotion :
Come to the Taj every Second Saturday!
Come to Tidwell Service's Fundraiser 
​Come dance with us! 

Picture

Comments are closed.

    Author

    Tori King is a belly dance artist, culture enthusiast and general weirdo. Is this a good biography?  Do you like me yet? :-) 

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018

    Categories

    All
    Dance
    Poems
    Promo
    Thoughts

    RSS Feed

© 2023 Tori King | All rights reserved 
  • Home
  • About Tori
  • Gallery
  • Classes
  • Testimonials
  • Contact
  • Workshops
  • Blog