Thread: main steps of american bellydance cabaret

which are the main steps that distinguish the am cab among the others???
....in arms, legs, steps, movements, placement on the stage.....,r:;
i trust u ;)

Originally Posted by heneras

which are the main steps that distinguish the am cab among the others???
....in arms, legs, steps, movements, placement on the stage.....,r:;
i trust u ;)

Heneras, describing and distinguishing styles is too complex to boil down to a list of "steps". The best thing to do is watch different styles and learn to see the difference.

Shems has put together many great playlists on her youtube channel; here is one for American Cabaret (which some call Vintage Oriental): YouTube - shemsdance's Channel

Lauren has started a really good description of some belly dance styles. Unfortunately, she hasn't gotten to American Cabaret yet, but she does have excellent articles, with lots of youtube clips referenced, for Egyptian vs. Turkish. Belly Dance Styles - Egyptian, Turkish, Romani, Tribal, American Cabaret, Fokloric

There is great info about American Cabaret on the site below (Vintage Oriental) written by Artemis.

But I agree with ssipes, its more than "Steps" that make a style. Many styles use very similar movement vocabularies, but the music choices, the costuming, the attitude and mood, and the props used (or not used) often are as defining of a 'style' as the actual steps.

May I add the missing link: Turkish Dancing ;-)

The documentary American Belly Dance legends produced by Amaya also gives a nice history of the dance combined with videos, see DVDs for purchase, belly dance, bellydancing,

Oh yeah Steffi, LOL. . . wasnt nice of me to refer to something and then forget to paste in the link, was it? Thanks!

Originally Posted by steffib

The documentary American Belly Dance legends produced by Amaya also gives a nice history of the dance combined with videos, see DVDs for purchase, belly dance, bellydancing,

Ooh! Thanks for that, Steffi. I wasn't familiar with this DVD, but I'm adding it to my wishlist!

Originally Posted by steffib

May I add the missing link: Turkish Dancing ;-)

The documentary American Belly Dance legends produced by Amaya also gives a nice history of the dance combined with videos, see DVDs for purchase, belly dance, bellydancing,

Agreed! And this DVD is essential IMO for any Bellydancer!

Yup the stuff from Artemis and the American Legends dvd are both excellent resources.

As far as movement goes, I can only speak about what I learned back in the 70s and what my teachers were doing then. Other people in other places were probably doing other things.
We did the usual moves - hip drops, lifts, circles, fig 8s and the same with the chest. We did a lot of arm movements, some big and quite stylized, like large Snake Arms. We did a lot of camel variations, like a double chest - single hip kinda camel. Traveling moves like step-slide, step 2 3 slide, Debke and Grapevines and variations. We did a few sharp hips snaps, but nothing like the popping and locking dancers do today.

We did not use the Tribal Fusion posture that pulls the shoulder blades together and the elbows in towards the body. Elbows near the body were labeled "chicken wings" and considered bad technique.

Over all the style was softer, more about expressing the music that showing off technique. We used a lot of Turkish and Greek music, along with a few classics. Eddie the Sheik, George Abdo, Omar Korschid. Dream Dancer and Ramal Lamar was "new style music" :) We used a lot of different rhythms, including Rumba which isn't heard much anymore.

Costumes were mostly home made and some stuff was pretty cheesy, even for the day. Full skirts, often with sheer "naked" harem pants were popular. A "straight" skirt was usually a full, pleated skirt, sheath skirts were rare. Silk was expensive and not easy to find, so we used a lot of lame, brocade and chiffon. Costumes were always a belt and top or bra, sometimes a sheer chiffon top was worn over a decorated bra. We didn't wear the decorated skirts that define modern Egyptian cabaret costumes.

We used a lot of coin or beaded jewelry. We didn't have ATS, but some teachers taught and performed authentic folkloric dances. We didn't have any Kuchi or Afghani jewelry; that part of the world was under Soviet control and very little was exported. We used saris and Indian jewelry, like Tikkas.

Originally Posted by nitewindz

Yup the stuff from Artemis and the American Legends dvd are both excellent resources.

As far as movement goes, I can only speak about what I learned back in the 70s and what my teachers were doing then. Other people in other places were probably doing other things.
We did the usual moves - hip drops, lifts, circles, fig 8s and the same with the chest. We did a lot of arm movements, some big and quite stylized, like large Snake Arms. We did a lot of camel variations, like a double chest - single hip kinda camel. Traveling moves like step-slide, step 2 3 slide, Debke and Grapevines and variations. We did a few sharp hips snaps, but nothing like the popping and locking dancers do today.

We did not use the Tribal Fusion posture that pulls the shoulder blades together and the elbows in towards the body. Elbows near the body were labeled "chicken wings" and considered bad technique.

Over all the style was softer, more about expressing the music that showing off technique. We used a lot of Turkish and Greek music, along with a few classics. Eddie the Sheik, George Abdo, Omar Korschid. Dream Dancer and Ramal Lamar was "new style music" :) We used a lot of different rhythms, including Rumba which isn't heard much anymore.

Costumes were mostly home made and some stuff was pretty cheesy, even for the day. Full skirts, often with sheer "naked" harem pants were popular. A "straight" skirt was usually a full, pleated skirt, sheath skirts were rare. Silk was expensive and not easy to find, so we used a lot of lame, brocade and chiffon. Costumes were always a belt and top or bra, sometimes a sheer chiffon top was worn over a decorated bra. We didn't wear the decorated skirts that define modern Egyptian cabaret costumes.

We used a lot of coin or beaded jewelry. We didn't have ATS, but some teachers taught and performed authentic folkloric dances. We didn't have any Kuchi or Afghani jewelry; that part of the world was under Soviet control and very little was exported. We used saris and Indian jewelry, like Tikkas.

Ditto. But there was also a great emphasis on veil and floorwork and slow work with the chiftitelli rhythm. Fast was fast but slow was slow.

With fast music a lot of traveling steps with shimmy. You HAD to shimmy! Hip drops, spins, etc. With slow standing work, camels, side to side figure eights, Side to sides with walk, ab work, rib cage circles, level changes. With floor-Turkish drops, berber walks, side plank poses, etc.

Shows were very physically demanding.