Faisal Zedan and Rachel Brice - solo at the DeYoung Musem

Jane Hall's amazing mentor on doumbek; Rachel Brice on belly. Enjoy!

Mm Mm Monday - Aida Al Adawi

One of Suhaila Salimpour's proteges, a famous member of Bal Anat, Aida has been an inspiration to thousands of dancers over the years. She continues to teach workshops, and is generous and enthusiastic in sharing her knowledge online as well. She has begun posting some of her personal performance videos on YouTube, and here is one to get your zill fingers wriggling!

Dramatic Hair for Tribal Bellydance

One of two in a follow-along video series where I share one of my routines for getting dolled up for performance. Ladies with short hair take note, this one is especially helpful for you! Hope you enjoy it.

Mm Mm Monday - Nana Candelaria, Rachel Brice's Roots

Here at Deep Roots Dance, it doesn't take a genius to figure out we value the roots from which we all came. Nobody sprung fully formed from Zeus' forehead (though I joke to my students all the time that I have). Every dancer is the product of another dancer's inspiration and training.  So, too, with the ever-beloved Rachel Brice.

Here is a video of one of RB's earliest and most influential instructors, Nana Candelaria. A precise and playful dancer, you can clearly see her powerful influence on today's most famous fusion dancer.

Mm Mm Monday - Dragonfly Tribe

There are no words. I know you will all "get it". *moved* Get ready... 3...2...1...

Mm Mm Monday - Nawar Troupe Slovenia

These ladies SELL the sass. So joyful, so committed to their movement, their energy was completely infectious. All the way from Slovenia, I present to you: Nawar and their Saidi and Iraqi folk dance.

Mm Mm Monday - Students of Deep Roots Dance Featuring Nomaditude

I interrupt this regularly scheduled Mm Mm Monday to bring you my beloved students. They performed at Serpent's Muse at Cues & Tattoos over the weekend, and I am a proud momma. They worked hard and climbed over stumbling blocks to create this performance together. They come from various dance backgrounds to find a common dance language and share it in joy.

I am so warm and fuzzy after a family reunion of my tribal sisters and brothers. I am thrilled my little family got to be a part of it. I hope you enjoy their performance!

Zill Drill Video

Just in time for Finger Cymbals week! A video from Afsana helping you get your triples up to snuff, as well as an ingenious way to get you to start working with the "1" in your music!

Reminds me of my old walking drills from back in the day. Time to pull those out this week!

Mm Mm Monday - Dahlia Moon

Dahlia is a lovely local dancer here in Seattle. She is incredibly versatile, dancing both classical Oriental styles (as seen here), and also studying and teaching Hot Pot ITS. My favorite is when she goes old school on us, as in this piece where she gives a very moving performance to a live oud solo by Steven of House of Tarab. Yummy and inspiring.

Mm Mm Monday - Kalbeliya Reunion

A dance from Rajasthan, India which is part of the fusion roots of tribal bellydance as we know it today. Enjoy the movement, the sounds, the colors, the energy of this amazing dance!

Mm Mm Monday - Cirque de Demain

Sebastien Soldevila and Emilie Bonnavaud in an act for Cirque de Demain in a Montréal festival. Truly one of the best acro-dance routines I have ever seen. They are well balanced as a team, and the man also acts and dances himself--so often I see the man as a thrower/catcher who doesn't contribute as much to the story, if you will. I loved it. French has the very best circus...

Mm Mm Monday - Ujbaba ATS in Moscow!

This video is of Ujbaba from Moscow, the first FC Sister Studio in Russia.

Right near the beginning of this performance (in Beijing, China!) is one of my favorite examples of the "lazy susan" turn that I talk about in class--the idea that you are on a smooth turntable, no attention brought to the feet, smooth, level, graceful turning. Their posture is so lovely, and it is interesting to see little nuances in interpretation--the "telephone game"--that naturally occur when time and distance separate an ATS group from the source, combined with an individual director and/or troupe's personal aesthetics. It showcases the versatility of the ATS format, and the room for personal voice within even a "strict" ATS presentation. Isn't that exciting?

Mm Mm Monday - Belly-Tango Fusion!

Now here is fusion done really really well. It is what fusion should be--a seamless blending of two styles, in which each style is gently massaged so the two styles become closely entwined. It should minimize the sense of "a bellydance move, a bellydance move, a fusion move, back to a bellydance move". The two styles should play well together throughout. And the music and costuming should also serve the message of the performance. After all...it takes two to tango! <---I am groaning at that one myself, folks.  Anywho, enjoy this beautiful performance!

Mm Mm Monday - Fat Chance Bellydance at the Museum

Rockin' it old school for the Ethnic Dance Festival at the deYoung Museum. Turbans and live music by Helm. Need I say more?

Bruce Springsteen on Creativity

This year, Bruce Springsteen was the keynote speaker at the Austin music festival, South by Southwest (SXSW), and delivered a great talk about the evolution of music in his lifetime.

What really resonated with me was when he talked about authenticity:

"The genesis and power of creativity... it's all about how you're putting what you do together. The elements don't matter. The purity of human expression and experience is not confined to guitars, to tubes, to turntables, to microchips. There is no right way, no pure way, of doing it. There's just doing it.

We live in a post-authentic world. Today authenticity is a house of mirrors. It's all just what you're bringing when the lights go down. It's your teachers, your influences, your personal history. And at the

end of the day, it's the power and purpose of (your music) that still matters."

I love this sentiment. Truly. I would argue there is nearly always a pure or authentic way to do things. Inasmuch as we have access to the source material, anyone who is moved to re-create what was can take that knowledge and do so; and I think that is an amazing and beautiful art and skill in and of itself. But not everyone desires to re-create, not every desires to emulate, not everyone desires to preserve. Some are more motivated by creating something new, using various influences and inspirations from these original sources (or not!).

Some artists are more interested in the intersection of multiple influences--whether it is an exploration of their similarities, or highlighting the contrasts of their differences, there is room for all these approaches to art and creativity. So long as we are honest about what we are creating, there is a place for everything and everyone in the pursuit of our art.

Ideally, we do our creating with understanding of the Root of what we are doing. Rather than just grabbing this and that and shoving them together, instead really digging into the nuance of the material, and making a conscious choice about the creative decisions we arrive at makes for the very best performances. It is by understanding what came before us that we are best prepared to push the envelope and evolve gracefully into the future.

So which are you? Do you prefer to re-create the source? Or innovate and remix? Neither one is better than the other, it's all about what moves you...

See the whole fabulous speech here:

Mm Mm Monday - Mira Betz

Mira Betz is one of those dancers whos name I hear all the time, but have had very little opportunity to see dance in person. A couple Tribal Fests maybe and that's about it. But whenever I do see her, in person or on video, I am impressed by not only her grace and control, but her stage presence and stagecraft. She uses her space so thoughtfully, and knows the power of white space and subtlety can be harnessed to convey emotion as much as any crazy power move ever can. This video from Tribal Alchemy in 2009 demonstrates so much of what I have come to appreciate in Mira Betz's performance style.

What do you see and love in this clip? I love to hear your comments and feedback!

Mm Mm Monday - Improvised Zill Jam with Jamila and Suhaila!

Oh finger cymbals, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways!

I so adore these simple metal disks, because there is so much musical possibility held in such a simple form factor. The rhythms that move me to dance also move me to play, to sway, to bop, to jam. That instinct is so reflected back at me in this awesome clip from Rakkasah 2005. The grandmama of American bellydance, Jamila, and her iconic daughter Suhaila take the stage to show us how it's done.

Mm Mm Monday - Datura at Tribal Fest

I knew from the moment this piece started, with the costuming, fingers cymbals, and music (not to mention the lineup of dancers I admire) that this was going to be an Mm Mm Monday that had to go up immediately. Datura is made up of the teachers and dancers at Rachel Brice's Datura studio in Portland, OR. Mixing elements of old school tribal, ATS, and what I would consider RB/Indigo style choreography, they bring back to the stage the magic that is tribal bellydance for me. Enjoy!

Mm Mm Monday - Sabine + Sword = Mm!

Sabine is known for her double sword. Her coming on stage and not doing her double sword would surely cause a riot. It's like not playing Freebird. Come on.  Here is an example of her luscious sword work:

Mm Mm Monday - Devi and Acushla Duet

Posture, body line, technique! Everything we aspire to, demonstrated in a duet.