ATS by Amy 
What is American Tribal Style Belly Dance? American Tribal Style Belly Dance is a style of belly dance invented here in America in the 1970s on the West Coast. It takes elements from group dances from different cultures, mainly middle eastern, and combines them to make a style of dance that looks and feels "authentic" and yet it is a totally modern dance.
You won't be able to go to a village in Egypt or Morocco and see this style of dance, but what you would see is elements of this dance and you would see women dancing together in joy. That, in my opinion, is what ATS is all about.
Find me on MySpace and be my friend!Below is a short summary of the differences between ATS and cabaret belly dancing.
ATS |
Cabaret |
|---|---|
| Dance as a group | Dance as individual |
| Ethnic-looking clothing | Beads, sequins |
| Non-verbal signals between group members | Choreographed group moves only |
ATS is based on non-verbal communication within the dance group. Each member of the group learns a vocabulary of moves. For example, we all learn moves A, B, C, and D. We also learn the non-verbal cues, such as a hand twist, that go with each move. Then, during the dance, the leader can string together the moves any way she wants and the rest of the group automatically knows what t o do.
For example, the leader will signal a sequence such as B-C-D-A using non-verb
al cues. The next time she dances, though, she could decide to do the sequence as C-D-A-B. It wouldn't matter to the other ladies in the troupe because they would know what
was coming based on the non-verbal cues. One of the best features of ATS is that one single person isn't the leader all the time! In fact, in the most integrated troupes, you cannot tell who is the "leader" as everyone has a chance to lead the group if they want. There is no pressure to lead, though. Some people prefer to follow. I prefer to lead, which is why I teach.
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Copyright Amy Hale-Janeke 2006. | Last updated July 2006. |
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