Wow...what a crazy weekend this was!!!!!! We had so much going on that it seemed like it was completely non-stop from one day to the next.
The rest of the girls & I had worked hard for and looked forward to our performance Saturday: Troupe Talameez was dancing at 4 on the International Stage as part of Mirana's show. Previously, the stage had been adjacent to the Peabody in a small grassy area which made it extremely easy to pop out, dance, pop back in, change & get cool, pop back out & dance again. However, the Peabody or the city of Little Rock (in their infinite wisdom) deemed that the grassy area was no longer fashionable and there is now a sculpture garden there!!!
Imagine, if you will, trooping through the usual River Fest crowds wearing a belly dance costume and the corresponding make up...yeah. That was interesting!! The show itself was great- everyone danced beautifully despite the heat and humidity.
I had, quite fortunately as it turned out, finally gotten myself a pair of dance shoes. It was a really good thing as it turned out because that black stage (which had gotten full sun all day long) was so hot it literally burned blisters on the feet of several of my fellow dancers. That stage was damn hot WITH shoes so I can only imagine how much it hurt to dance on it barefoot...but they did it & smiled the whole time-what can I say, they're awesome!!
Several of us stayed afterwards to watch two other groups dance. I know it's predjudiced but with a couple exceptions, our group- thanks to Shannon's tutelage, attention to detail & technique, work ethic and choreography- outperformed them. But it goes deeper than that- yes, we had superior technique but there's also a persona that you put on with your make up & costume. Tribal Motion had it, Traveling Hips really didn't.
Yes, I know that the style between Oriental and Tribal are vastly different & that the differences extend to costuming and expressions. For example:
Tribal Motion/TM(as their name implies)dances ATS- which stands for American Tribal Style, made immensely popular by performers like Rachel Brice- and wears the corresponding costume. The persona presented is usually more serious/somber than those of us who dance Oriental/Middle Eastern style. You may see a slight smile or two but not like what you'll see when you watch Oriental.
Traveling Hips/TH calls their style Fusion- which means that they could perform any number of styles rather than any one particular type. Performances would reflect this blend in styles, persona and costuming with the dancers dressing to indicate what style they're performing.
That's not exactly what happened Saturday: TM came out in full ATS regalia with music & attitude to match. TH came out dressed in Oriental style & played appropriate music but missed the persona by a mile. With the exception of one dancer, they looked like they would rather have been anywhere else but there- you can't do that and expect your audience to believe that you're enjoying what you're doing.
It's a little odd to look at them from the point of view of two years under Shannon but I can see the difference now and appreciate it-because I used to dance with two of the TH ladies. I don't know if I looked like that while I danced with them but I don't look like that now!!
Shannon's method includes teaching you that your facial and body language should reflect the music you dance to. For example- you're not going to smile like an idiot to an ooey gooey piece of music anymore than you would look like you're trying to be super seductive to a fast bouncy piece.
I know that they would be probably be too proud to go but the best thing that TH could do would be to swallow their pride, admit that they could use it and go to Shannon's class. They wouldn't have to stop being 'them' but it would improve their technique, their performances, their teaching and their appreciation for the art of bellydance.
