Cabaret Isn't "Just" Cabaret

(This article was also tweaked and posted to NWBellydance.com)

We tribal dancers are well known for our ongoing debates about what is and is not tribal, but beyond that we debate the minutiae of what sub-set of tribal best defines what we do or see: ATS, ITS, Tribal Fusion, Gothic Tribal, Modern Interpretive Slapstick Gymnastic Dark Theatre...??  So it should come as no surprise to anyone who has studied bellydance any deeper than the shallow surface that cabaret isn't "just cabaret" any more than tribal is "just tribal".  Cabaret is a simplistic term which for many encompasses a rich and varied collection of artistic choices.  Turkish, Egyptian, Goldern Era Nightclub, American Cabaret, Lebanese, Greek,  not to mention a plethora of folk dances for both social dance and stage performance, all get lumped unceremoniously under the term "cabaret".

This article doesn't necessarily offer any suggestions or resolutions to the question "So what do we call it, then?" but it gives some succinct and thoughtful insight into the issue, and I think provides some perspective to dancers of all styles on the question of names.


http://www.examiner.com/article/cabaret-the-most-mis-used-word-modern-american-bellydance

The word Cabaret no longer refers to 'All bellydancers performing ethnic styles in sparkly costumes' — but many dancers who haven't kept up with the changing scene still use the term that way. Dancers who have never studied or performed in the American Cabaret style are often referred to as Cabaret-style dancers, which is very confusing to everyone involved.

What is ATS? A video from CN

Really listen to how Carolena describes ATS. Hell Yes.

"When you rehearse together with the common goal of cooperation, the steps and movements become so second-nature that you can really 'see' the other person..."

Article: Tribal Fusion Bellydance on Gilded Serpent

Have a read, and let me know what you think:

http://www.gildedserpent.com/cms/2010/11/03/jasmine-june-intro-tribal-fusion-belly-dance/

"The “fusion” in Tribal Fusion Belly Dance makes this dance genre elusive and tricky to define. Two dancers could have nothing in common except a few core movements and a couple costuming pieces, and yet both could define themselves as Tribal Fusion dancers. While this can be confusing, both to outsiders and to Tribal Fusion belly dancers, the freedom that fusion grants is exactly what makes the genre so attractive.

The other side of the coin is that sometimes Tribal Fusion Belly Dance is interpreted to be completely open-ended. This can lead to dancers changing or ignoring technique, musicality, and proper training. 

Since Tribal Fusion Belly Dance is a relatively new dance form, it is especially important to treat the genre with a level of professionalism, or else one runs the risk of discrediting the work of dancers who have dedicated their lives to creating and elevating Tribal Fusion Belly Dance."

ATS Old/New - Another take

Nancy Young posted a really articulate and well-considered response to Carolena's message, and I wanted to share my favorite part of it:

"By giving this gift, you have, it seems to me, officially acknowledged ATS, your baby, as a mature art form with a life of its own and sent it off with your blessing. For me—and maybe this is just me—the gift also feels like your official acknowledgment of us, the ATS community, not just as acolytes practicing your dance but as artists inspired by your vision."

See the rest of her post on Monday, September 27th, HERE.

ATS Old/New - My Take

I have been engaged in many discussions about the New/Old ATS announcement, on Tribe and on Facebook and in mails with friends, and even had a chat with Carolena today. I haven't said too much about my thoughts on this publicly, as I have wanted to let them percolate a little while. I didn't want anyone to feel shut down or otherwise distracted from feeling what they felt, or add to their mental burdens as they try and figure out quite *what* they feel.  And of course, I wanted to figure out what I felt, and try to speak from my heart and mind in tandem, rather than purely from one or the other alone. Sorry it's so long, but it's been a week of deep discussion with a lot of awesome women, and a lot of meditation on what this all means to me personally.  Let me start with a leetle story...

My last troupe, inFusion Tribal, performed in collaborations at several high-profile events with another ATS-based troupe from Bend, OR, Gypsy Fire directed by Quinn Fradet (hi Quinn!). Both of our groups were not strictly ATS troupes, though we were each well versed in ATS terminology (Quinn started many years ago in FC classes in SF, and she and I  have completed not only General Skills, but two levels of Teacher Training, and teach ATS-based repertoire in our classes and in our troupes), but we each had robust languages of our own, as well as some minor variations on the ATS vocabulary we had made to suit our tastes.  Since we lived so far apart, we directors would discuss music and staging through e-mail, but we only had one rehearsal all-together, 2-3 hours in length, the day before or the day of the performance itself, to prepare a half an hour set using both our troupes separately and together.