Tribal Odyssey Bellydance Format structured group improvisation, Egyptian style

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TRIBAL ODYSSEY Bellydance ~ Group Improv For Those Who Love Egyptian Dancing

Fun, funky, yet flowingly elegant
Tribal Odyssey is versatile enough for any size dance group

Where two or more dance in synchronicity, "tribal" happens!

Tribal Odyssey Bellydance ™ is a popular "follow the leader" or group improvisation style of dancing. This unique group improv format uses natural posture and both sides of the body in combinations based primarily on Egyptian beledi-style movement. Compared to other ITS or *ATS® formats, the arms are less busy and are held closer to the body.

The leader can change the group formation, lead the group in travel, or give the lead to another dancer. Tribal Odyssey's unique Staggered Line formation allows the group to face any direction - useful when dancing in the middle of an audience or in other unusual performance spaces.

This format, with an extensive repertoire of over thirty dance combinations, includes Veil work, Skirt moves, as well as accompanying Finger Cymbal patterns. This repertoire is unique to TOBD; the combinations are not derived from any other group improv format such as Fat Chance, Black Sheep, Wild Card, etc. This gives Tribal Odyssey dancing a look all its own.

Other unique attributes that set TOBD apart:

the format uses physical AND vocal cues for changes
the group formations work with ANY number of dancers
the basic posture is a natural spine position without excessive arch or lifting of the ribcage
six different finger cymbal or zill patterns are played

Level One covers everything a group needs for an authentic tribal improv performance including three stage formations, seven combinations and cues, endings, entrance, and exit.

Level Two includes more combinations for the Staggered Line and Circle formations, finger cymbal patterns, and two additional endings.

Level Three introduces trios and quartets as Center Dancers, more finger cymbal patterns, and more combinations including skirt and veil moves.

Level Four focuses on advanced stage presence and music intepretation, and is still evolving.

What are the benefits of group improvisation?

More performance opportunities. Scheduling shows is easier because all the dancers know the same structured improv, while only some dancers may know the same choreography.
Synchronized group improv helps dancers learn graceful transitions, finger cymbals, confidence, rhythms, music interpretation and more.
Memorized choreographies can look dull and lifeless onstage, but group improv bellydance is always different, fresh, and fun.

How Our Tribal Odyssey Began...
by Kawakib

After viewing FatChanceBellyDance* videos and studying their "Improv & Choreography" video, I attended Kajira Djoumahna's workshop on American Tribal Style* bellydance, aka ATS, sponsored by Artemis in Maryland. I was not immediately in love with the style, it seemed "Intermediate level" and rather boring. But I wanted to learn about this new concept.

I learned a lot from Kajira's workshop! Experiencing the group dynamic was a big eye-opener, something that hadn't come through while watching the videos. Now I understood the allure of tribal dancing!

Kawakib (right), with Student Performing Group PRISM

A Collaboration Between Friends
I let the information percolate for a while, then asked my dance friend Miramar (Winchester VA) if she wanted to work up a common repertoire we could both teach to our students. I wanted to develop a movement style that felt comfortable to my Egyptian-based foundation, but also include a taste of Miramar's American bellydance style.

That was in late 2000. For the next two years the members of my troupe, Pearls of Rhythm, and I refined and developed the combinations, cues, lead-throwing, and group formations as we danced together. It seemed like every time we danced, there were more questions to answer! Without the active participation of my dancers I doubt that I could have developed this group improv format. Miramar also provided feedback and suggestions from working with her students.

After two years of development, Tribal Odyssey had about twenty combinations (including five of Miramar's) and my troupe knew the format well enough to enter the (2002) East Coast Classic bellydance contest in Virginia Beach and take home the 2nd Place trophy, competing against troupes performing choreographed routines!

Refining and Streamlining the Method
During the years I was developing Tribal Odyssey with my troupe, I was also teaching it in every class, and organizing the material into a syllabus that introduces students to the combinations and staging in a way they can easily process and understand. Eventually this became the three progressive levels Tribal Odyssey has today; and ten year after beginning this journey, I've added six finger cymbal patterns, six veil combinations, and eight skirt combinations to the repertoire. Tribal Odyssey currently has about three dozen combinations.

I also compiled the Tribal Odyssey Reference Manual so my students could find answers to any questions they had when dancing outside of class. I even use it myself to make sure I teach the material correctly!

Loving Something Means Letting Go
Ever since the beginning, Tribal Odyssey has been a part of my weekly classes, a unique addition to the curriculum I've always taught: classic bellydance technique, finger cymbals, props, and various folkloric styles of Mideastern Dance. I feel Tribal Odyssey group improvisation helps my students develop and understand the art of bellydance in a wider and deeper way than either choreography or solo improvisation alone. That's why I've opened the doors to let others experience and even teach this format without restriction; the soft, yet strong and earthy feeling of the movements are unique among standard group improv bellydancing, and Oriental dancers, especially those who love Egyptian style, may find this format quickly feels like second nature to them.

"We dance for ourselves first, each other second and the audience last." - Carolina Nericchio, director of FatChanceBellyDance*

Is group improvisation bellyance a "folkdance"?
La Meri (who coined the term "ethnic dance") writes of folkdance:
"The folk, or communal, dance is a dance to be done; a dance in which the joy lies in the doing; and a part of the joy is in the unified purpose that moves a group of persons intent on the same end....the folk dance you see on the stage has already made the transition into art dance, for it has become dance to be seen."

She further defines applications within ethnic dance, and ITS seems to fall into the category of the "creative neoclassic or renaissance" or even "creative departures". Of the former she writes, "...the scope is broader and more difficult to define. The artist may take liberties with costume, music, and form. Only techniques remain constant. The creative artist stays within tradition in style and motivation."
The latter category is much the same, only "certain liberties are taken. Techniques remain traditional but may be mixed as to school or handled more freely. The music may be completely alien, but the general aura of motivation is kept intact."

Thank you, La Meri, for having the foresight to envision how future generations might experience and adapt the dance of their ancestors.

* FatChanceBellyDance®, FCBD®, ATS® and American Tribal Style®, are federally registered trademarks of FatChanceBellyDance, Inc. For more information, please visit www.fcbd.com/about/legal.shtml.