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Abbey Studio Winter Hafla 2015

December 08, 2015

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Tribal Roots and Armenian Women's Dance

More and more I am interested in studying and performing women's traditional dances from the Middle East and Central Asia, particularly the Caucasus Mountain area. My time studying with Helene Eriksen, a dance ethnographer based in Seattle, definitely fueled that fire. For many years I have studied, performed and taught 'belly dance' both folkloric and fusion styles including American Tribal Style aka ATS and 'Tribal Fusion' belly dance. ATS and Tribal Fusion are modern forms of 'belly dance' that draw randomly it seems from folkloric dances of the Middle East, India, and North Africa, as well as Flamenco. ATS belly dance was created by FatChanceBellyDance director, Carolena Nericcio, and is clearly defined and documented with the primary characteristic being that of group improvisation. Tribal fusion belly dance is the further evolution of ATS, it is usually choreographed not improvised and, blends elements of ATS with other styles of...

TRIBAL ROOTS part 3- Amazigh, Amazons, La Kahina and Kabyle dance

In the dark cold of Winter, sustained shimmies and reading have been keeping me warm, body and soul. I've been re-reading a classic book on the subject of women's dances from the Arab world, Serpent of the Nile by Wendy Bounaventura and rediscovering many jewels like the following quote- "The dance is a showing rather than a showing off, a showing of the physical self in the best setting of all, an atmosphere of encouragement and appreciation. It is assumed that all of us, rather than the specially gifted few, are dancers; that everyone can do something, even if it's only two or three movements, and that there is no need for a girl to feel embarrassed or inferior if she is not as skilled as her friends". Wendy Bounaventura is talking about how women grow up dancing together traditionally in the Arab world, much like how in many cultures everyone sings whether you are a 'singer' or not. Singing and dancing together are ways we can connect a...

Celebrating Spring- Ederlezi, Hidirellez and the Feast Day of St. George

The arrival of Spring is widely celebrated and has ancient roots across the globe. Many ethnic and religious groups celebrate this event on May 6th in the Gregorian calendar, approximately 40 days after Spring equinox. Ederlezi is the 'Gypsy' or Roma name for the Feast of Saint George , which is widely celebrated in the Balkans and beyond. It is called Đurđevdan in Serbian, Gergyovden in Bulgarian or Jurjevo in Croatian . A similar celebration called 'Hidirellez' is celebrated in Turkey and throughout the Turkic world. Hıdırellez is celebrated as the day on which Prophets Hızır and Ilyas met on the earth. Hızır and Ilyas , the names of the two prophets, fused together, forming the name of the festival, Hıdırellez. A Turkish friend of mine told me that in Turkey people hit themselves and/or each other with nettles on this day. I'll be sure to bring her some next year as I ...

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