If you develop a case of the summertime blues, Erie, Pennsylvania is a place to go to find the cure. The unique venue found there is belly dancing, and there is a lot more to it these days than watching pretty girls bare a midriff.
A large belly dance gala was held on July 8, 2011 at the Bel-Aire Clarion Hotel off West Eighth Street, and attending was a pleasant surprise.
While this type of dancing might not be for everyone, keep an open mind. For the $20 ticket price, the audience was treated to a 13-act show covering the spectrum of belly dance, complete with acts like Moquette Volante, which included Hakan, a male dancer who helped his group bring Silk Road Folklore into the dance routines, along with music, swords, and the spoken word. For the evening’s highlight act; a San Francisco guest artist, Carolena Nericcio, of Fat Chance Belly Dance, (FCBD) commanded the stage for the grand finale. In addition was a hallway full of vendors, offering the crowd handmade jewelry, perfume items, dancewear, accessories, books, DVD's and CDs.
The American Tribal Style Belly Dance has grown in numbers
Carolena appears to American Tribal Style (ATS) Belly Dance as a Derek Jeeter appears to the Yankees. The difference is that Carolena travels about to teach, entertain, and enlighten her soul-sisters, whose numbers have increased, mostly through the 200 sister-studios now open world-wide.
According to the popular Zaghareet! Magazine, a bi-monthly publication, Carolena has developed an offshoot for belly dance Teacher Training; and she travels around the world to personally present intense, 5-hour workshops, generally for two to five days each, where dancers learn the steps, and help to teach one another. On the second day they present what they have learned in a colorful, enticingly happy ATS performance. This particular style of dancing was fashioned by Carolena in 1987, when she departed from the classical beledi style (which she danced since 1974) and made the American distinction of dancers working together following the leader’s cues in a more improvisational, tribal style.
This ATS dance style is adaptable to large or small groups
Because no choreographer is necessary, the ATS dancers adapt to performing within the space made available, and can “flip the lead” as long as they stay in a formation to keep the leader in sight. It is the cues and the formations that anchor the ATS style of dancing. The elaborate costuming and beauty of the individual dancers simply enhance it.
The Lake Erie Belly Dance troupe, (LEBD) helped host the belly dancing gala to bring Carolena into the area; a cooperative business event supported by the Long’s School of Dance, The Fleming School of the Arts, (soon to become another of Carolena's sister-studios) and other local enthusiasts.
Belly dancing is fun and good exercise
Several of the dancers admitted joining a belly dance class hoping to lose a few pounds. One felt she just needed something more exciting than going to the gym to work up a sweat.
In a local magazine called Her Times, participant Melissa Rogowski described her belly dancing experience in this way: "I was hooked from the first class," Rogowski said. "I fell in love with the history, culture, costuming and sisterhood. It felt noncompetitive."
Almost anyone can learn to belly dance
Carolena's book, The Art of Belly Dance, A Fun and Fabulous Way to Get Fit, includes an accompanying instructional DVD where almost anyone can learn the basic steps from home. At the show there were other books and magazines available, along with several informative DVD's for home study and practice. Several musical CD's were also there to accompany practice sessions. Yet the group experience is the highest rated among participants, due to the esteem building and camaraderie among the students.
At the Erie gala, one dancer added to the LEBD troupe’s performance by singing and playing guitar for two original songs written to accompany belly dancing, entitled, “Flowers In Their Hair,” a tribute to Carolena, and “Aiwa,” an arabic cheer similar to the American, "You go, girl!"
Amid the sparkle and glitter, these contemporary, family-friendly shows offer a unique vision of peaceful surrender to musical flow, and an insight into the emotional joys of dance performing.
Sources:
- Accessed on 7/09/11,goerie.com.
- Belly Dance Gala Show, 7/08/11, program featuring Carolena Nericcio, Erie, Pennsylvania.
- Zaghareet!, March/April 2009, Article by John Crow,pgs. 6,7.
- Accessed 7/16/11,HakanDances.com.
- Accessed on 7/18/11, TheFlemingSchool.com/CarlaFlemingMusic.htm
- Nericcio, Carolena, (2004). The Art of Belly Dance. New York: Barnes & Noble, Inc.
- Her Times Magazine, 2011, Article by Nancy Irwin.
