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Abby Stein (Dance and Performance Studies Major and Near Eastern Studies Major)
“Shimmy, Shake, and Undulate: A History of Belly Dance in the United States and the Development of Its Many Fusion Forms”
Sponsor: Professor Elizabeth Wymore, Dance and Performance Studies
Project Description
Shrouded in mystique and controversy, the U.S. development of belly dance remains tied to appropriation, orientalism and popular entertainment. Abby Stein’s written thesis will examine the dance phenomenon within the context of 20th and 21st century American culture and values. Through a survey of existing scholarship, interviews with influential belly dance artists, firsthand training experience, and analysis of video and live performance and instruction, Abby will analyze how Western thought has adopted and transformed this Middle Eastern tradition. She will attempt to explain the development of the dance form’s many contemporary permutations, including the popular “belly dance fusion” practiced in today’s Bay Area. She will also create a collection of materials (such as articles, photos, video footage, interviews, etc.) to serve as a foundation for a future public archive, capturing an important but mostly undocumented segment of popular entertainment history.
Scholar's Photo
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Abby demonstrates a "reverse turn" from the FatChanceBellyDance vocabulary
in a tribal fusion folkloric outfit: ghawazee coat, turkish vest, and
kuchi afghan jewelry with lapis lazuli.
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Scholar's Journal
Sunday, June 18th
Today I attended a drum solo workshop and evening restaurant performance with Ansuya. While I’ve seen performances on DVD and once live in Belly dance Superstars, this was the first time I’d taken a class from her. Ansuya incorporates multiple styles, but I was interested in her “Cabaret” background – specifically “old school Cabaret,” having learned from her mother, a popular dancer in the 60s & 70s. The choreography we learned was fierce and fast, and her performance later that night was even more so. She was a captivating performer and a fabulous dancer. It was an interesting dynamic having mostly belly dancers in the audience who were absorbing her every movement. I’ve really started to think about venue and audience as a factor in analyzing performance in belly dance. The show contrasts significantly to a matinee “theatricalized” folkloric performance in Ethnic Dance Festival at the Palace of the Fine Arts, as well as the late night double billing with Bay Area musicians at a San Francisco bar and club.
Monday, July 31st
As I plow through the my stack of performance theory books, I’m once again struck by the “unwanted step child syndrome” dance so frequently suffers – in scholarship, funding, and general societal support in the U.S. (And I’m just referring to popular Western dance (i.e. Ballet and Modern), not even classical forms of world dance, much less belly dance!) Even though the area of performance studies is supposed to encompass all varieties of performance, I can’t help but notice a heavy representation and referral to theater. Dance is severely underrepresented when discussing the many aspects and approaches to performance theory. Now more than ever, I’m determined to make my project meaningful, hopefully adding something substantial to dance scholarship. Now that I have spent a significant amount of time reading about oral histories, I am really excited about this component of my project, and I can’t wait to dive in…. But first I have to get my interviewees to actually commit to a time to meet with me. This is easier said then done, as two of the artists I want to interview are rarely even in town, much less available to meet with me. Nevertheless, I think I am in good shape and have done all my preparation work. If they’ll just respond definitively to my inquiries I’ll be good to go!
Monday, Aug 7th
I just returned from “Tribal Quest” in Portland, OR. I’ve been to similar festivals in the Bay Area, but one of the trends I noticed is the increasing popularity of “tribal fusion” belly dance and its ever-encompassing vocabulary of movement. More than half of the workshops included belly dance fused with some other form of dance – Indian (Odessy, Bharatanatyum, Bhangra, Bollywood), “Gypsy” (Flamenco, Turkish Roman, Rhjastani), North African (Tunisian), and Hip Hop to name a few. This is definitely an area I will explore on American influence on belly dance here in the U.S.
Saturday, August 12th
What have I gotten myself into???? I took the Suhaila Salimpour technique Level II certification test last night. This morning, to get into my car, I literally had to lift my left leg with my arms because I couldn’t lift my foot/knee with my leg muscles – it was just too excruciatingly painful I’m so sore. Nonetheless it’s amazing what adrenaline and drive will do. I also went to an Algerian dance workshop today which I absolutely loved. (Thankfully this was much less physically taxing.) It was taught by Amel Tafsout, a fascinating woman and international dancer. She was born in a Berber tribe, lived throughout Europe, now lives in the U.S. and has a degree in linguistics and dance anthropology. Her approach to teaching contrasted starkly with some other approaches. While just as challenging, it felt much more informal. There was a greater emphasis on mimicry, call and respond, and the use of visual and aural metaphors.
Friday, Aug 25th
I just finished my Level III Weeklong Intensive with Suhaila Salimpour. I wish I could’ve started my summer experience with this “bootcamp,” but it is only the second Level III offered in the past 2 _ years because that’s how long it has taken to get enough Level II certified dancers. (Suhaila’s Level 1 – 5 differ drastically from other belly dance labels of Beginning, Intermediate, and Advanced.)
The mornings were physically and mentally exhausting. Each day, the teachers literally had to mop the floor halfway through the morning drills because everyone was so drenched and dripping in sweat. The afternoons were emotionally and mentally exhausting as we explored performance and choreography preparation. (Each dancer was given her own Kleenex box.) And the evenings were spent attempting to finish the 5-8 hours of homework given every night while completely wiped from the day. It was incredibly tortuous and one of the best experiences ever. Very meaningful. I can’t believe I have to start school on Monday.
Sunday, Aug 27th
It’s the last night of summer before school has started, but my persistence (i.e. 9 weeks of email & voicemail inquiries) in pursuing the oral history interviews has finally paid off. In the next two weeks I have four interviews scheduled.
Today, I interviewed my first artist and performer, Rachel Brice, the “tribal superstar” of Belly Dance Super Stars. It gave me lots more juicy stuff to think about – including culture clashes and culture mashes, the American value of novelty in entertainment, community and social construction on the internet, and globalization. Who knew?
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