Tori Types Thoughts
Tori's very average blog
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 :
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For those of you who missed it, Myra Krien was in town. We danced with her at the Sapphire Room in the Riverside Hotel (the best hidden gem venue in the Treasure Valley), and took a whopping five workshops from her on Saturday and Sunday at the new StarBelly Studio and at Idaho DanceSport, where we also had a dance party with the amazing students of StarBelly School of Dance and a few wonderful local belly dancers! To the left is the only picture of the workshops we grabbed, because we were too busy learning! |
I don't know know why these workshop weekends are so magical, but I know the people around you are a big part of it. 10 hours of learning mixed with friendship does something to you. I think it makes you an artist. Thank you everyone for letting dance be a part of your life and for displaying such beauty. Of course, thank you to Myra too for being an inspiration in and out of the studio and performance space and to Cecilia and Chad for making things happen and inspiring your students to be creative and brave. Pictures of the show to come! |
Summer is very busy for the dance troupe - and for a long time we were always missing a member! I was one of the more absent members of the troupe this year and it was wonderful knowing that I had an oasis of dance waiting for me just around the corner! My non-dance job is very demanding and now that I am of an age where there are important events I cannot miss (weddings, birthdays and funerals), it is more important than ever for me to schedule dance for myself for my sanity. I'm not sure if there is a point to this post beyond When in doubt, dance it out... but I don't think there needs to be one. | Why do kids always kneel when I'm trying to go down to their level? This is at Art in the Park. |
This year one of my dear friends and fellow StarBelly Dancer, Gessika Mareena, and I have sort embarked on what I'm going to call our Workshop Odyssey! Individually we've taken workshops from several talented dancers (check out my bio for a list), but by the end of 2018 we will have learned from Zoe Jakes, Myra Krein (sign up here) and all of the amazing teachers at the Arab Dance Seminar... not including some of the classes we'll be taking from local modern/contemporary and hip-hop dancers! We also have our amazing homebase in StarBelly School of Dance, so we are always challenged and growing. I am beyond thankful... especially to Gessika Mareena for joining/guiding me through this path of high-level learning we are on! All of the amazing teachers I have learned from, regardless of their differences in style, typically say a few simple truths that apply to anyone who studies artistic movement. Is there a saying that if enough people believe something, it is true? Oh there is, but it doesn't mean what I want it to mean. I'm getting distracted - Here are the lessons I keep on hearing over and over from the top belly dance professionals that I know: | Gessika and I as the Moon and Sun, respectively. This photo isn't in my gallery because I'm doing that thing with my eyes! |
Tori King is a belly dance artist, culture enthusiast and general weirdo. Is this a good biography? Do you like me yet? :-)
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