Way Back Wednesday – djinn – Arabic name for spirits.

http://www.ketisharif.com/article-glossary.html

Menu Monday – Check out this nut filled pastry!

http://mideastfood.about.com/od/dessertssweetspastries/r/maamoul.htm

Monday Class Happenings – 4:15pm Intro to Belly Dance, 5:30pm Level 1 (intermediate), 6:45pm Intro to Belly Dance. Remember if you’ve “liked” us on Facebook your first class is free!!! Hope to see you in class soon!

Hi ladies! Remember Student Troupe Auditions are THIS Wednesday the 6th at 5:30. Please contact me if you’re interested. There is still time to get you signed up!

Well we got too busy to post yesterday but want to be fair to our more cabaret dancers since we got our tribal post up today. ghawazee – Gypsies, from the term ‘invaders of the heart’. Also a vibrant gypsy dance with finger cymbals and focus on hip moves. A kaftan or shirt that is tight fitting on top, with wide skirts and pantaloons.

http://www.ketisharif.com/article-glossary.html

Tribal Thursday – Continuing from the Tribal Bible. Last week we discussed the definition of Fusion and Authentic under the “tribal” umbrella. Today we discuss Interpretive and Fantasy. Interpretive can have elements of many of the above categories (see entries from the previous weeks). Performers can do their interpretations for the theater or stage of folkloric or authentic tribal dances, for example. Other times the interpretive part might be artistic – or necessary – leeway with costuming. Theatricalized folkloric dances may fit under this heading as well. This category would also contain any group that performs choreography primarily for its group dances but in other respects appear to be Tribal, such as the groups I referred to earlier when mentioning those who simply wear the costume. To make matters potentially even more confusing, this term could also apply to ATS.

Fantasy – dances are dances with little or no basis in reality. This means that little or no actual movements of the people, little to no actual costume elements and perhaps entirely unrelated music. This style is close to modern dance, and in some cases it may be difficult to tell the difference where “fantasy” ends and “modern” begins. Unfortunately that doesn’t mean it cannot pass for “belly dance” to an uneducated audience. Which is misrepresentational, unprofessional and irresponsible unless it is properly titled and presented, in my opinion as an educator in the field. (all taken from The Tribal Bible)

Next week we finish up our discussion on “types” of tribal according to The Tribal Bible. From there we begin to look at the roots of “tribal” belly dance in the U.S.

Thursday Class Happenings And One Time Schedule Change – 5:30 Student Troupe, 6:45 Private Event I.T.S is canceled tonight only, 8 Intro to Belly Dance. Remember if you “like” us on Facebook your first class is FREE! We hope to see you in class soon!

Schedule Change – This week only the I.T.S. class at 6:45 is canceled for a special event in the studio. Thank you!

Youtube Tuesday – Here is a group veil piece for you! Good group dynamics. It’s challenging to get all dancers on in a veil piece, I think these ladies did a great job!

Tuesday Class Happenings – 4:15 Intro to belly dance (beginner), 5:30 Level 1, (intermediate). Remember if you’ve “liked” us on Facebook your first class is FREE! Hope to see you in class soon!!!

Menu Monday – Well instead of a recipe I found this article listing the top 20 middle eastern foods. They give great short descriptions of each. SO… if you are unfamiliar with Mediterranean food this is a great start!

http://travel.cnn.com/20-best-middle-east-dishes-324556

Monday Class Happenings – 4:15 Intro To Belly Dance (beginner), 5:30 Level 1 ( intermediate ), 6:45 Intro To Belly Dance (beginner). Remember if you “like” us on Facebook your first class is FREE! Hope to see you in class tonight!

Thursday Class Happenings – 5:30 Student Troupe Rehearsal, 6:45 Intro to Unmata Style I.T.S., 8:00 Intro to belly dance technique (Beginner). Remember if you “like” us on Facebook, your first class is FREE!!

Tribal Thursday – continuing from the Tribal Bible. Last week we covered the terms folkloric, theatricalized folkloric and Tribal. We established that there was a lot of confusion on what the term “tribal” encompases. We also established that American Tribal Style is not the only style that falls under the “tribal” umbrella. Today we will cover what the book calls “authentic tribal” and “fusion”.

Authentic Tribal is a dance or ritual that is performed in a specific manner, in specific attire, with specific music and under specific circumstances by a specific tribe of people. These tribal people can trace their personal genealogy and are related by bloodline. One cannot choose their tribal affiliation – one is born into it. An example of authentic tribal dance could be one by the Kelaa M’gouna of the Maghreb, and of authentic tribal ritual, the Guedra blessing of a Tuareg tribe of the name who are from Morocco.

Fusion refers to a hybrid style that has carefully been constructed from research of two or more traditional or authentic dance styles. American Tribal is a fusion style, but not all fusion styles are ATS. An excellent example of other popular fusion styles today that are not ATS are Dalia Carella’s “Dunyavi Rom Dance” (a fusion of Turkish, Spanish, and East Endian [Primarily] Romani dance forms) and “El Mundo: (a Spanish-Arabic fusion) as well as the Suhaila Dance company’s presentations (Middle Eastern – American Jazz fusion) Directed by Suhaila Salimpour.

Next week we define Interpretive and Fantasy under the tribal umbrella.

Taken from the Tribal Bible.

Ballet Arm Position Video –  Students here’s a great video for practicing ballet arm positions!