Gothic bellydance
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. http://www.gothla.co.uk
History
Originating in the Middle East, South Asia (India), and North Africa, the art of belly danceBelly dance
Belly dance or Bellydance is a "Western"-coined name for a traditional "Middle Eastern" dance, especially raqs sharqi . It is sometimes also called Middle Eastern dance or Arabic dance in the West, or by the Greco-Turkish term çiftetelli...
arrived in the West with the trend of Orientalism
Orientalism
Orientalism is a term used for the imitation or depiction of aspects of Eastern cultures in the West by writers, designers and artists, as well as having other meanings...
. Exotic to the Western eye and mysterious in its roots, belly dance has always attracted interpretive dance
Interpretive dance
Interpretive dance is a family of dance styles that seeks to translates particular feelings and emotions, human conditions, situations, or fantasies into movement and dramatic expression combined...
artists who have woven it into many trends of Western culture. The new millennium brought a revival of popular interest in Goth subculture
Goth subculture
The goth subculture is a contemporary subculture found in many countries. It began in England during the early 1980s in the gothic rock scene, an offshoot of the post-punk genre. The goth subculture has survived much longer than others of the same era, and has continued to diversify...
and Gothic art
Gothic art
Gothic art was a Medieval art movement that developed in France out of Romanesque art in the mid-12th century, led by the concurrent development of Gothic architecture. It spread to all of Western Europe, but took over art more completely north of the Alps, never quite effacing more classical...
motifs in dance, and a new interpretive style, Gothic belly dance, was propelled to prominence.
Dance publications started exploring this new phenomenon, thousands of Gothic belly dance enthusiasts have subscribed to online discussion groups dedicated to this genre, leading artists started traveling across the US and overseas with workshops and tours, DVDs featuring Gothic belly dance performances, and instructional materials have appeared on retail shelves.
Gothic belly dance was born in the 1990s in US urban centers as a blend of Goth and world music, the movement vocabulary of belly dance
Belly dance
Belly dance or Bellydance is a "Western"-coined name for a traditional "Middle Eastern" dance, especially raqs sharqi . It is sometimes also called Middle Eastern dance or Arabic dance in the West, or by the Greco-Turkish term çiftetelli...
and other dance forms, and Gothic fashion
Gothic fashion
Gothic fashion is a clothing style worn by members of the Goth subculture; a dark, sometimes morbid, eroticized fashion and style of dress. Typical Gothic fashion includes dyed black hair, black lips and black clothes. Both male and female goths wear dark eyeliner and dark fingernails. Styles are...
and aesthetics. Performing at Gothic-theme events and Goth clubs, dancers started to explore Goth music and adopt costuming styles incorporating Victorian
Victorian fashion
Victorian fashion comprises the various fashions and trends in British culture that emerged and grew in province throughout the Victorian era and the reign of Queen Victoria, a period which would last from June 1837 to January 1901. Covering nearly two thirds of the 19th century, the 63 year reign...
, vampire, dark cabaret
Dark Cabaret
Dark cabaret may be a simple description of the theme and mood of a cabaret performance, but more recently has come to define a particular musical genre which draws on the aesthetics of the decadent, risqué German Weimar-era cabarets, burlesque and vaudeville shows with the stylings of post-1970s...
, silent-movie vamp, industrial, and other visual themes related to Goth subculture
Goth subculture
The goth subculture is a contemporary subculture found in many countries. It began in England during the early 1980s in the gothic rock scene, an offshoot of the post-punk genre. The goth subculture has survived much longer than others of the same era, and has continued to diversify...
.
Although the concept of 'Gothic belly dance' may have originated in the US it is not just a US phenomenon. The UK has had Gothic belly dancers for many years as in Goths who are also belly dance teachers and performers and have been 'dancing darkly' at haflas and other events for a long time. These dancers didn't have as much of an outlet for their styles as they do now and perhaps not even a label for what they did. Partly thanks to links through the web and the Gothla festival, Gothic belly dance is recognised in many countries.
The 21st century
As a modern and versatile world dance genre, belly dance has yielded an array of interpretive dance sub-styles compatible with modern music and imagery. Dancers performing Gothic belly dance usually retain their preferred technique — mostly modern cabaret and tribal fusionTribal Fusion
Tribal Fusion Belly Dance is a modern form of belly dance which has evolved from American Tribal Style belly dancing, blending elements of ATS with any other style of dance...
belly dance — but also bring new emphasis to the dramatic and theatrical features of their dance to match the intensity and vibe of Goth music.
Gothic belly dance discussion groups hosted by tribe.net
Tribe.net
tribe.net is a website that hosts an online community of friends, similar to other social networking sites. The site name is always spelled in all lower case.-History:...
, MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
, and other online community sites connected dancers from around the world, making possible workshops and tours, and helping this new genre to solidify and gain recognition within the larger dance community. In addition, the rapidly expanding global access to free online video resources at YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
and similar sites has allowed artists to unify and combine their efforts in promoting and developing their genre — unconstrained by national borders, scarcity of funds, or lack of support from their local communities.
In 2007 Southern California-based dancers and instructors, Tempest and Sashi, launched the annual Gothla, described by the L.A. Weekly as "a 'gothic hafla' that combines weekend-long workshops with a Saturday festival featuring twelve hours of performances and merchant booths where dancers can find costumes and accessories." Gothla US 2009 took place March 6–8 at Cal Poly Pomona
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, or Cal Poly Pomona, is a public university located in Pomona, California, United States...
.
Gothla UK was also first held in 2007 in Leicester, England and is now a highly successful festival covering three days, usually in July. International teachers are joined by UK teachers such as Her Royal Hellness Lucretia (Christine Emery), Fulya (Lynn Chapman), and Akasha (Heike Humphreys) to offer a range of themes not often covered by general belly dance events from Steampunk and 1920s to Zombie and Vampire Belly Dance.
See also
- American Tribal Style Belly DanceAmerican Tribal Style Belly DanceAmerican Tribal Style Belly Dance or Tribal Style Belly Dance is a modern style of bellydance created by FatChanceBellyDance director, Carolena Nericcio. American Tribal Style Belly Dance is clearly defined and documented with the primary characteristic being that of group improvisation...
- Improv Tribal Style Belly DanceImprov Tribal Style Belly DanceImprov Tribal Style belly dance is a group of dancers with tribal style bellydance traits composing choreography on the spot through previously arranged cued moves. Solos are performed, but are generally supported in a group environment. Improv Tribal Style is a sub-group of Tribal Style bellydance...
- Tribal Fusion (dance form)Tribal Fusion (dance form)Tribal Fusion Belly Dance is a modern form of belly dance which has evolved from American Tribal Style belly dancing, blending elements of ATS with any other style of dance...