[Mid] The Name Game

Greetings to the Bridge,
I would like to end this glorious year with sharing a bit
of knowledge pertaining to a subject dear to my heart.
It has come to my attention that an improper Out of Period
term has been cropping up on this Bridge. I refer to the use
of the word BELLYDANCE. This term should really be put to
rest along with other slang from the turn of the century.

Within the S.C.A. the most common used term is Middle
Eastern Dance. Naming it this way prevents confusion
with eastern dance of India and far eastern dance of China
and Japan. Middle Eastern dance comes from the areas
of Egypt, Arabia, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Turkey and North Africa.

There are many forms of Middle Eastern dance & to help you
get a grasp on this, I will briefly touch on each form & name.
These are not complete explanations. If you have questions
please e-mail me privately & I will go into more detail.

First those that don't have anyplace in the S.C.A. & why!

       1. BELLY DANCE - both the term & the style developed
outside of our time periods. In 1893 A.D., Sol Bloom brought
oriental dancers to the Chicago World's Fair. The Algerian
Village with it's featured Ouled Nail dancers was part of the
Mid-way. There the hawkers "coined" the new descriptive
term BELLY DANCE ! Since that fateful day, around 100
years ago, many Americans have embraced belly dance.
>From the famous founder of Modern dance, Ruth St. Denis,
to the many original infamous strippers who took the name
of Little Egypt. They have all contributed to American
Belly dance. Now it has reached a point that it is a distinct
style of Art & a dance all itUs own.
        2. CABARET - This is another example of Americans
coining their own terms. Cabaret refers to the style of
dance done in a nightclub or stage setting. This style
features a dancer in a very flashy costume with the midriff
bare. Often the costume includes a decorated bra & belt
set with sheer skirts. Cabaret has come along way - in
the 1950's if a belly dancer wanted to work in many
upscale New York clubs, she was required by the
management to wear pasties! With the liberation
movement of women in the 60's & 70's this practice
was soon to fade into history. The term cabaret when
used about the Middle Eastern dance scene, is unique
to the States & first appeared after 1930 A.D.
        3. American Tribal - American tribal has been
around since the 1960's. In the 1980's it reappeared.
AT FIRST GLANCE ONE would think that it should belong
in the S.C.A. However, this style features the liberal
blending of many different cultures. Carolena Nericcio,
director of one of America's troupes who specializes in
this style, states clearly that American tribal is not any one
ethnic style. It is not a recreation of Middle Eastern
tribal dancing. Rather dance moves are pulled from the
rich heritages of West Indian, African, Cuban, Moorish,
Persian, & Arabic. She states that even their costuming
is the best of all worlds! It features West Indian chlois
(short top worn under sari ), full Turkish shalwars,
gypsy style skirts, large colorful wrapped turban, heavy
use of North African jewelry & Berber facial tattoos.
        4. Oriental and Danse du venture - These are
the terms that European travelers used to describe the
dancing girls that they saw on their trips to the Middle
East. I have not yet found these terms used in journals
before the 1700's. Oriental was by far the most popular
term during the 1800's to the early 1900's.

For S.C.A. purposes the larger catagory of Middle
Eastern dance can be broken down into many styles.
To make it simple I prefer to group the styles into two
catagories. These are Folkloric & Mother Goddess.

        1. Folkloric is a term that is applied to both
ethnic & tribal. AS IT IMPLIES IT IS DANCE DONE
BY THE PEOPLE ! This includes those of celebrations
Flolkloric dances often feature women or men's
groups - seldom do they mix together. Here you
would be able to place some of the "props" used in
Middle Eastern dance - sword, cane, jug, tray, and
basket. There are many styles, once you start to
explore them you will find the possibilities limitless.
There are Ghwazee, Almee', Greek, Persian, Tureg,
Turkish, Moorish, Saidi, and many forms of Gypsy.
Here I also place the historical religious dances of
the Dervishes and the Isralies.
        2. Mother Goddess dancing reaches deep
into the roots of Middle Eastern dance. Back to the
worship of the great mother by temple dancers.
Around 5500 B.C. the Mother Goddess religion
was practiced in the Middle East, by 5000 B.C.
dancers appeared in tomb paintings. Records of
Ancient Egypt enlighten us that the dancers did
worship both in & out of the temples. There are also
records of dancers connected to Goddess temples
throughout Rome. Some important dates to remember
include 300 A.D. when the closing of Goddess temples
began under the Byzantine emperor Constantine and
in 500 A.D. the recording of the closing of the last
Goddess temple. Like many other religions, the
Mother Goddess religion went underground after the
last official temple closed. This was a violent era in
it's history, it was soon to be persecuted by the two
major emerging religions - Christianity & Islam. The
dance continued to be taught from mother to daughter
throughout the generations to come. Unfortunately,
many of the religious beliefs represented in dance
were lost.

Here are some of the Arabic terms connected to
Middle Eastern dance. . . Cengi - Turkish dancer;
Chikkat - Moroccan dancer; Fellaheen - Country
dancer; Ghwazee - Egyptian tribal dancer; Raks
al-baladi - dance of the people; Raks al-hawanem
 - Dance of the ladies; Raks al -sharqi - Dance of
the East; Zhagareet - Ululation. A cry of approval
or encouragement in response to a gifted dancer.

I would like to close by saying that this dance takes
years of training to become an artist. When you
travel to events you will see many different levels
of dancers within the S.C.A. - beginners, intermediate,
advanced, professional - they all are part of the weave
that make up the rich tapestry that is known as
Middle Eastern Dance.

        As ever Peace be with you,

                Thais Banu
*******************************************************
thought for the day. . .
        Change your thoughts and you will
                change your world.
********************************************************
From: tseitz@heartland.bradley.edu (Teresa Seitz)
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Received on Tue Dec 31 21:34:30 1996