Ok, this is a random post about dance in general. Yes the focus is still more on belly dance but it has the overview of just dance and its progressions.
It is amazing to see the level of athletics in dance now, not that dance never was an athletic "sport" or art form, but the heights that are reached and are pushing the human boundaries go way beyond anything we imagined even as little as 20 years ago.
When I sit a watch shows like "So You Think You Can Dance" - I am astounded at the abilities and the drive that dancers have now. Now this is no way diminishes the likes of Baryshnikov and such. Those dancers actually were way before their time even, but because of those types of dancers we have dancers now that just seem to defy gravity, and physics as well as the constraints of their own body. They truly soar and excel. So, what does the future bring...omg.
I have to say there are times I wish that I had followed my dream more to the letter, but in all honesty...I did - just in a slightly different way, but I am digressing here.
The one thing that I am a bit bothered by in dance when it comes to belly dance is the feeling of getting lost in a time period. I love the fact that people experiment with costuming and try to bring the looks forward to the present and future, but with it comes a "genre" tag. (i.e. Gothic, ATS, Tribal Fusion, Baltic/Gypsy Fusion, etc.) But when traditional belly dance appears it looks like it just stalled in the past...somewhere around the 70s. In all honesty, it looks cheezy to me and that is sad when the dancing is quite good...the cheeziness of the retro costuming (when not meant to be Retro) overshadows the dance.
Now, that might seem an odd statement cause "traditional" means "such and such." But yet when I see what I interpret as traditional it doesn't look like it crawled out of the 70s, it has a more ethnic feel or geographic stamp to the period or region it comes from around the world. Traditional (to me) is not hot pink with maribou feathers and tons of glitter and sequins...while yes, some of that is what is considered performance attire even in the Middle East where ever it is an accepted dance form...it still looks like it never grew up into the present time.
I do like, as I stated, those trying to bring belly dance to a fashion forward arena but even in efforts to be edgy it can be over-the-top and honestly distracting. Or is that the point? The costume is to shine not the dance ability or lack of ability?
I love costuming, I love to have fun in costuming in whatever means the costume applies but the old word "edit" keeps coming to mind. Some times less really is more even in belly dance, but I am not meaning the amount of costuming coverage but more the aesthetic of the costume itself. :)
It is a hard thing to try to legitimize an art form, it is even harder when it looks like it is still in the 70s and people try to associate it with the overtly sexual dancing of striptease, especially when it has been brought into striptease as a theme. So, while belly dance is slowly gaining acceptance via ATS and some of the edgier genres that have emerged, it still has a stigma attached especially when viewed in what seems to be a time warp.
I don't have a solution, nor would I ever profess to have one. I just know it is difficult at times to see something you enjoy...dance, and a specific dance form that I participate in be caught in this time warp.
Something to consider and think about? I would hope so, but for now, I do what I enjoy doing. I support all other dancers in their efforts to express, even if they are in a time warp. ;)
Personal opinion only here and observation.
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