Tribal Style Belly Dance has many faces today and it can be quite daunting to figure it all out.  We have ATS, Tribal, Tribal Fusion and we can even break it down further by Tribal Goth or even Tribal Steam Punk.  As the dance grows the different teachings and formats even emerge which can make it even more confusing.  We find ourselves asking ok so were did the base of all of this start?  This is what we are going to cover today.  So grab a cup of coffee and enjoy immersing yourself in the richness of Tribal Belly Dance!

ATS also Known as AMERICAN TRIBAL STYLE:  American Tribal Style started its creation in the mid 1980’s by Carolena Nericcio who started this style and is the founder.  Carolena incorporated movements that were inspired by the folkloric dances of not only the Middle East, but India.  It is rich in textiles of not only fabric but, jewelry that can be found in North Africa and India.

ATS is improvisational which means nothing is choreographed.  This is done by using very natural dance movements and cues that allow the other dancers to follow the leader.  ATS is always a group it is never done solo a group is most generally perceived as 3 or more.  The cues are what allows the dancers to communicate with each other without talking!  How cool is that!  Being in the moment is definitely needed and you must be aware at all times.  Eventually Carolena’s group became known as FatChance Belly Dance that started in San Francisco and is now known worldwide.  So with this said, all and any movements come from Carolena only.  ATS is very specific on how you hold your arms and placement of movement and is also right sided.  Which means that you dance on the right side only the left hip is often left out.  American Tribal Style is not an old dance; it is new hence American.   American tribal style is new with an old look and feel.  The cues and formations are what make American Tribal Belly Dance the leader is always to the left and the other dancers are to the right so that they can always see the leader and watch as she cues for the next movement.

Carolena started dancing in 1974 with Masha Archer and the San Francisco Classic Dance Troupe.  This was a blend of classical Egyptian as well as folkloric.  The group broke up and that is when Carolena started teaching on her own.  How did the group get coined “FatChance”?  This came about when one of the Carolena’s friends played upon the question that we often get about getting a private show.  The answer would be:”Fat Chance for a private show.”  Fat Chance Belly Dance is known worldwide today and is trademarked and a style that will stay for many years to come.  This is what we know as American Tribal Style today, but there where others before FatChance Belly Dance such as Jamilah Salimpour and Masha Archer.  Jamilah Salimpour and Morocco.  Morocco was the one who named it American Tribal based on a fusion more Westernized and not based on one folkloric style.  Jamilah Salimpour was the originator of this style along beside her troupe Bal Anat.  Her approach was more fusion and was often found dancing at Ren Faires.  She did not tie herself to just one style but, wanted to show others that there were many styles.

Tribal Style Bellydance: Tribal Belly Dance this is were it becomes tricky.  First of all most of the Tribal dancers began dancing with Jamilah Salimpour, Masha Archer and Carolena.  They all eventually branched out a created tribal belly dance but their own style.  Tribal Belly Dance is a collection of ATS along with other forms.  Tribal is more of a general term and quite alot can fall from it.  Tribal is more relaxed and can very more of a anything goes. Tribal is a fusion of ATS but, it is not considered fusion.  Tribal belly Dance still does go by some cues and may have some formations it is more about the look and feel. Tribal Style stems from ATS and alot of the Tribal Dancers such as Paulette Rees Denis started with ATS before coming up with her own style of Tribal Belly Dance known as Gypsy Caravan Style.  The movement and vocabulary may be similar to ATS but in tribal you will see that it is different it comes about on technique and execution along with posture and placement being different as well as using both the right and left hip in tribal.  If you take a ATS class and then a tribal class you will find it somewhat confusing as to the movements are similar but cues and posturing and even names are different.  This can be very challenging to say the least.  Music is different too.  In tribal all different rhythms and timings are used such as very slow, slow medium, fast and very fast.  In regards to Fat Chance they use slow or fast.  In ATS it is very apparent that there are movement for fast music and slow music only which means you can not do a fast movement to a slow piece or vice versa.  In Tribal the movement is based on the rt hymn  and timing of music.  Also know in FatChance Belly Dance the use of zills are a must as you will see in the video below.

Tribal Fusion:  Tribal fusion can be choreographed or improv or have a mix of both.  Tribal fusion can be done as a group or soloist.  Tribal fusion is the most modern form very westernized.  Tribal fusion came from ATS and Tribal Belly Dancers.  Rachel Brice a tribal fusion dancer started out with Jamilah Salimpour and Carolena before coming up with her own format and style.  It can involve Cabaret and American Night club dancing with other influences in the mix such as Indian, Flamanco and African Fusion as well as modern day dances.  This is where hip hop falls into place as well as steam-punk and Gothic because it is fused with belly dance so its a fusion a collection of more then one dance form.  Tribal fusion is general and a catch all this is why it becomes tricky and is not as defined.

Out of all of these you now have East Coast Tribal, Urban Tribal, Triberet, Combo based Tribal and Alternative Belly Dance or Alternative Tribal.  Wow is your head spinning yet?  I am not going to talk about any of these the 3 major important ones are up above.  To make a long story short without ATS Fat Chance Belly Dance, Gypsy Caravan Tribal Style and Tribal Fusion would not be around.  ATS is the root of all of these styles.  You will see below how each one is very different and I hope you now have a better understanding of Tribal Belly Dance.

Here are a few videos below:  Enjoy!

http://youtu.be/Xrf6Oia46rI

What does society have in mind of belly dance? What do you think the average person thinks of a belly dancer? Everyone has a certain image in mind. Even my students have a certain image in mind when they first start classes but as the go that image slowly changes and they become the image of belly dance. It is like with anything else when it comes to media, entertainers, models, musicians, actors and actresses. For each group we set a certain standard and or image and the image of a belly dancer is included.
So what does society think a belly dancer should like like by their standard? One of the first images that come to mind is Barbara Eden the actress who played on I dream of Jeanie. But, it goes deeper then that we often think that belly dancers have to have a certain frame or be a certain age, height and even hair or skin color. We often have an image of what the perfect belly dancer is which is someone with long dark hair, beautiful olive skin and one who has curves in all the right places. Sounds like I just described Barbie!
Thing thing is belly dancers come in all shapes and sizes, different backgrounds and ethnicity. Age does not matter either I have had girls as young a 7 up to 74! Belly Dance is for all women. It is one way women can get together and create a bond with others and learning about a different culture and enjoying the emotional and spiritual aspects of the dance.
Here is a list of frequent questions that are often asked by those who what to find out more about belly dance.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
How old is to old to belly dance?
Belly Dance has no age limit like some other dance forms such as ballet. Any women no matter how old or young can belly dance. This is because most of the movements are very natural to a women s body. In fact, this is one dance form where we have more professional dancers still dancing or even just starting out in their 30’s and can continue dancing as long as they can move or until they desire to retire. I have had so many women and girls come to my classes at many different stages of life. I have taught those who are as young as 3 years of age all the way up to 74! I have many friends who are dancers and their ages range as well. You really truly are never to young or too old to start!

Helen Vlahos who is a young age of 66 and is still dancing professional and a very big part of the dance community.

Jammilah Salimpour is another icon in the world of Belly Dance she is 88 years old. I will talk more about Jamilah later in another blog. Jamilah Salimpour picture is shown above and also pictured below with her granddaughter and daughter Suhaila Salimpour.

I don’t have the right body type for belly dance too fat or thin?
Belly dance is for everyone and you do not have to have a certain type of body. It is truly for any body type. It is a great way to get into shape very low impact. We are all different sizes and different backgrounds. Size truly does not matter and belly dance can benefit everyone. Belly Dance looks beautiful on each and every women and it will teach you not only how to accept yourself, but how to accentuate your body type.

Don’t you have to show your belly?
The answer to this is no. Belly dance is not about showing your belly or about the belly at all. The thought of showing the belly is what stops most women from even trying it. They think or say: I could never do that or know one wants to see my belly jiggle. This is more of a misconception of the dance as a whole. Baring the belly is not necessary at all. I have had alot of women in my classes who have performed and did not show their belly. I have performed myself and I have not shown my belly either. In fact, still to this day dancers in Egypt can not show bare belly. It has to be covered in some way by either wearing a balady dress or a tummy cover.

It is never too late to start belly dancing and you can never be too old!  This dance is for everyone no matter your shape, size, background or age! Belly Dance is empowering and you will create some very special and everlasting friendships with other women!  For more information about Najla’s classes you can contact her at www.najlasdance.com via the web or your mobile phone!

Like everything else as technology broadens it changes everything; including music then and now.  Our world has changed how we listen to music as well as how we purchase it.  I am not going to lie; this was one of the hardest blogs I have written.  I started out one way but then ended up completely different.  I have had numerous redrafts too many to count!

I am first going to talk about the then.  Growing up there where only several ways I could listen to music; on the radio, albums, 8 track tapes, cassette tapes or what about going to a live concert?  Now for the Now.   Today, we have our phones where we can download apps to play music but one of the most widely used is YouTube.  You may be wondering what this has to do with belly dance and I will answer that very soon but, here is my question to you:  You are surfing YouTube in search of a song you want to dance to.  Lets say you find this particular song; you have fallen in love with it, your connecting to it, your even dancing to it so what do you do?  Do you find out where to purchase it or do you just use the music off YouTube?  This all comes down to an ethical question is it OK just to use the song over and over again off YouTube or any other downloadable site without ever paying for it and giving credit to the artist where credit is due.  I am by no means attacking YouTube it is there for a reason to share but at what point does sharing hurt these artists?  In fact, YouTube does have a licensing but it only covers you in certain areas and not on everything.  Here is the information I gathered below:

YouTube Licensing

Most of us that perform whether we are professional or a student take video and then put it up on YouTube for viewing.  To a point we may or may not be covered.  If we are dancing in our home and post the video on YouTube and the music we are using is copy righted then YouTube takes care of the licence which is known as “User generated content”.  If we have a video for commercial use or any type of monetary gain we may not be fully covered or even if we are performing out in public we may not be fully covered.

YouTube has a  content Management system known as CMS.  ” CMS is YouTube’s Content Management System. It’s the system on the YouTube web-site into which you upload your video. CMS tracks the ownership of various types of Assets supplied to it by content owners, including Video Assets, Composition Assets and Sound Recording Assets.” Taken directly from YouTube.

What happens to video with music used in it?  “At some time after the upload of your video, CMS may notify you that your video may contain music owned by a third party. This will indicate that CMS believes that your video contains either Composition(s) and/or Sound Recording(s) that are controlled by Music Publishers and/or Record Labels. Assuming that you agree that you do not control the rights to the Composition(s) and/or Sound Recordings, you can Acknowledge the third party’s ownership within CMS.” From YouTube FAQ.

Here is a screen shot below of my YouTube Channel and of one of my most recent video’s.  Notice on the bottom right hand corner you will see the album, name of the song and where you can buy it.  This is how YouTube matches and approves the content of music that is copy righted.  What this is for if someone watches my video and they like and want to buy the music they can with just one click!

When I started out belly dancing my teacher made a CD of music for us; initially I thought this was great because I had music I could use at home and I thought my teacher was doing me a favor by sharing her music.  When I first started teaching I did the same thing but I stopped because I realized first of all this was wrong and second I was not really helping my students learn what music was out there.  I was not educating my students and this was totally wrong of me.  Today, when a student asks me what music I listen to in class I will let them know what cd it is off of and where to get it.  Choreography class is the same way I will make sure students know what the music is so they can purchase it this is the right way and the ethical way.

Belly Dancing, Performing and Music

When it comes to Belly Dancing and performing always use music that has been purchased!  It does not matter whether you are a student or a professional use music that you have paid for support the artist for their work.  Realize though just because you purchased it does not necessarily mean you have the rights to use it outside of your home.  Most of the time you will not get in trouble for using music, but know it does and can happen and you just need to be prepared.  There are numerous sites other then YouTube where you can listen to music such as Spotify, Pandora and YouTube to find out what is out their and if you like it enough to purchase it.  They all have licensing which covers you the listener in your home, but not always outside of the home.  Purchase your music and support the musicians.

A few weeks ago my mobile app Belly Dancing By Najla went live!!  I am very excited about this and it was all possible due to Daniel Lamtrimurti and all of his hard work and dedication to get it going and live.  I am so grateful and I cannot thank him enough from the bottom of my heart!  Technology continues to advance and so it was important for me to have a mobile app.  It is also important to know that all websites are not mobile friendly which means that you cannot get the full content of the website on your phone.  The Belly Dancing by Najla Mobile App allows you to now take me wherever you go!  The mobile app is quick, convenient and one of my students; Watseka told me,  “I like it, very easy to use.”  That is really the whole point of a mobile app you want it accessible and user friendly.

If you have not checked out my mobile app yet here are things that you can do:

• Here are some screen shots that you will see from your phone; the first shot is my home page where you can contact me, go to my YouTube Channel or just need directions to all my classes it is right there at your fingertips!  On my home screen you will also find an article tab; these are all articles I have written myself over the last 2 to 3 years.  Notice on the far bottom right of the home screen you will find a tab that says “more”  Click on that and it will even give you  more options.  The screen shots underneath are what you would see if you were needing directions, YouTube Channel or the article section.  On the article section just click on the arrow of the  article you want to read and it will take you to that article! You can also share articles that you find interesting via Facebook, Twitter or Google! Want to come to a class and check it out?  Wondering when my classes are we have you covered! This is all very cool and allows you to be interactive while keeping up to date!

The More tab holds Class Schedules so you can check if when my classes are when you are out and about and what is even better you can even sign up for a class and pay by your phone!  I am one of the few that you can actually do this with this is a big thing and it really makes it easy and convenient for you the student!  By doing this it gives you more time to relax before class and really enjoy the moment rather then standing inline waiting to pay for your class!  As of right now I only have 2 options which is the drop in rate or 4 week session but we will be adding more to it soon!  I also want to point out that the transaction is very secure just add the item you want to your order and to cart, confirm your payment and your done!  It is so cool I am tempted to buy a class myself!  I honestly do not know how it can get any easier!  Also notice on the menu choices the Fan Wall.  I want to talk about this a little to you.  The fan wall is a place where you can go to comment on your experience with Najla.  Did you come to class and have a good time or have a good work out, made new friends?  This is is the place to do that!  What if you just want to tell people you love belly dancing or just love class! Was there a move or combination that you loved or did you learn something new or challenging? This is where you would go!  You may ask why would I want to comment?  The more people see that you are having fun it will bring more students into class which will make it more fun for you and give your more opportunities!  Find me on social media by clicking the arrow and from there you can go to my Facebook, Google or twitter page!  You will never be without me.

• Do you want to keep up to date on what Najla is doing?  Do you have a special celebration coming up and are looking to hire a professional belly dancer?  Do you want to know more about Najla and how she got started and who inspires her and what she has been up to?  To Keep up to date you can go to her booking page this will show you where she is performing as well as some information on packages.  Do not see what you are needing? Contact her and she will come up with a very unique package just for you!  Get to know her by going to her about me page.  As you can see Belly Dancing By Najla is truly at your finger tips at a moments notice!  It is very easy to use and to navigate and it will keep you up to date on everything you need to know!  Tell me what you think I would really love to know!  Please feel free to comment and share!