Tribal Fusion

Tribal Fusion Belly Dance, performed in New York, USA in 2011.

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. It frequently incorporates elements from Popping, Hip Hop, Breakdance, 'Egyptian' or 'Cabaret' belly dance, as well as from traditional forms such as Flamenco, Kathak, Bhangra, Balinese, and other folkloric dance styles.

History

Tribal Fusion is a form of bellydance that began in America in 2000. It was created by the pioneer dance company Romani led by Frederique Johnston, with Beth Masse, Mishell Burt and later Sue Erokan. Tribal Fusion is a member of the Tribal Style bellydance movement that began in the San Francisco bay area in 1967, founded by Jamila Salimpour. Jamila Salimpour taught Masha Archer, a feminist and visionary who sought to remove the sexist stigma that had been attached to bellydance since the colonialist era of the mid 19th century. Masha Archer taught Carolena Nericcio who would later go on to become the innovator behind American Tribal Style bellydance, also known as ATS. Carolena Nericcio went on to teach ATS to Jill Parker who in turn taught ATS to Frederique Johnston, Beth Masse, and Mishell Burt.

In 2000, Frederique Johnston, Beth Masse, and Mishell Burt began formally creating the dance form that would one day be known as Tribal Fusion in the San Francisco Bay area after breaking away from the ATS group, Ultra Gypsy, directed by Jill Parker. To distinguish the form from ATS Romani introduced world music, electronica and Classical music to Tribal Style movements. This changed the shape and pace of the dance from ATS to a smoother urban primitive and avant garde feel. Popping and locking was introduced as it fit naturally with the new electronica beats. Romani also introduced a more toned down costuming aesthetic from its ATS parent form. Where ATS dancers were known for wearing turbans, choli tops, full skirts, pantaloons and tassels the emerging Tribal Fusion form dropped the turbans in lieu of a smooth head scarf, dropped the full skirts and tassels in favor of simple pantaloons, and reintroduced the coin top and belt that the form is recognized for today. Tribal Fusion was introduced to fellow bellydancers at the first Tribal Fest in Sebastopol, California in 2001 though it had been performed in the Bay Area by Romani since 2000.

Stephanie Barto, a student of Nerriccio, brought ATS to the Midwest with a group called Read My Hips, founded in Chicago with Heather Stants. During the early development of Tribal Fusion, Heather Stants also worked to introduce new elements to Tribal Style bellydance, including a minimalist aesthetic, underground electronica music and elements of modern dance. In 1999, she formed Urban Tribal Dance in San Diego, largely influenced by hip hop and street dance styles. In contrast to many other tribal fusion performers, Urban Tribal dance company was known for their minimalist costuming more traditional to modern dance than to Tribal Style.

In 2001 many Tribal Style dancers jumped onto the Tribal Fusion bandwagon and became involved in its early development leading to chaos and confusion surrounding its origins and founders. In the early years of Tribal Fusion the dance form was simply called urban tribal style bellydance.

Tribal Fusion was largely popularized by Rachel Brice and the Indigo (formed in 2003), who became internationally renowned as they toured with the Bellydance Superstars. Heather Stants refers to Rachel as the "adoptive mother" of Tribal Fusion. Rachel Brice studied with Jill Parker and performed briefly with Ultra Gypsy in 2001. Mardi Love, a pioneer in Tribal Fusion, was an early member of Urban Tribal with Heather Stants, later joining the Indigo with Rachel Brice. Rachel Brice describes her personal dance background as a combination of techniques from Suhaila Salimpour, Fat Chance Belly Dance, and Mardi Love. Rachel Brice also greatly contributed to the popularity of movements similar to popping, though she credits former troupe mate Ariellah Aflalo as the source. Initial members of The Indigo performance group were Rachel Brice, Mardi Love, Michelle Campbell, Sharon Kihara, Shawna Rai, Janice Solimeno, and Ariellah Aflalo. Rachel Brice initially studied Tribal Fusion with Jill Parker, who in turn had learned it from Frederique Johnston. Sharon Kihara also studied with Frederique and performed with Ultra Gypsy. Currently, the Indigo is composed of Rachel Brice, Mardi Love, and Zoe Jakes, who have been touring their own show "Le Serpent Rouge" since 2007.

The term Tribal Fusion is used to describe any Tribal Style dance form that incorporates the use of solo performances, utilizes world music, classical music or electronica, and involves the fusion of Tribal Style bellydance with any other kind of dance.

Music

Tribal Fusion dance evolved closely with developments in the electronica and world music genres. Early Bay Area DJs who contributed to the form include Cheb i Sabbah & Bassnectar. The movement carried over into the music produced specifically for bellydancers, also called Oriental music, giving rise to the creation of the electronica Oriental genre. Artist Jeremiah Soto of Solace and Eventide Musical Productions produced some of the first Electronica Oriental albums, quickly followed by Turbo Tabla artist Karim Nagi, and beatboxing champion Pete List. Many more names followed suit creating a rapidly growing musical outlet for the budding new dance form. Producer Miles Copland contributed greatly to the electronica Orienal movement signing many musicians and dancers who would become forerunners of the Tribal Fusion movement.

Some popular musicians associated with Tribal Fusion bellydance are:

• Amon Tobin
• Squarepusher
• Pentaphobe
• Tobias Roberson (drummer)
• Solace (Jeremiah Soto)
• Maduro (Musician)
• Helm (Band)
• Beats Antique
• Jorge Sacco
• Djinn (Band)
• Raquy & the Cavemen (band)
• August Hoerr
• Natalie Brown and the Alternacirque Shorkestra

Costuming

Many tribal fusion dancers use the ATS "uniform" as a basis for costuming, but usually not all together. Additional elements of the costume are strongly influenced by the nature of the fusion - flamenco fusion dancers will wear flamenco skirts, burlesque fusion dancers will wear feathers etc. Costume are often very elaborate with layer on layer of fabrics, jewellery, fringing, hair ornaments etc. At the other extreme, where the fusion has a strong contemporary influence, the costume is pared down to a sleek minimalist style.

Mardi Love pioneered many of the most popular elements in tribal fusion costuming. Despite being part of the more minimalist Urban Tribal, she helped sculpt the intricate, vibrant, and complicated costumes worn by The Indigo. She is credited with being the first one to make contemporary cowrie falls, using colorful, hand dyed yarn to braid cowrie shells together. She also created one of the most popular belt styles by using 2 pieces of an Indian (frequently Kuchi or Banjara) belt bases as the front and back, adding 4 beaded medallions (1 to each end of the belt bases), and adding colourful yarn fringe (such as Colinette Pointe 5).

Pants are now worn by almost every tribal fusion belly dancer. They are often characterized by their large flare that is split up to the knee along the outside seam, and finished with a lettuce edging. Basic pants come in many colours of cotton lycra with a mini skirt, sash, or fringe attached at the waist. Pants can also be made from a variety of mesh, slinky, or velvet fabrics.

Tattoos, seen on ATS dancers mainly on the midriff, are often more prominent among tribal fusion dancers and spread to other parts of the body.

Vaudeville Bellydance

Vaudeville bellydance is an up-and-coming style of tribal fusion bellydance that uses cultural elements of the mid 1800s through the 1930s. The rising popularity of this style is partially due to The Indigo and their show Le Serpent Rouge. Vaudeville bellydance often uses jazz, Balkan, or Middle Eastern sounding music. The costumes are perhaps the most recognizable feature of vaudeville bellydance because they almost always incorporate style influences from the Jazz Era and earlier. As the name vaudeville bellydance suggests, this style is deeply inspired by pre-WWII vaudeville acts, often incorporating comedy into performances. Vaudeville bellydance can also be called tribal vintage style, although vaudeville bellydance is typically inspired by a more narrow time period.

Other Sub-Genres

Tribal Fusion is closely related to Dark Fusion pioneered by Ariellah Aflalo, and International Tribal Style (ITS) bellydance. Tribal Fusion and ITS are both descended from American Tribal Style (ATS) while Dark Fusion is a combination of Tribal Fusion and Gothic Bellydance.

See also

• American Tribal Style Belly Dance
• Improv Tribal Style Belly Dance
• Bellydance Superstars
• Rachel Brice