The general category Tribal Style is accredited to Jamila Salimpour who fostered a fusion of costumes and folkloric dance styles and began teaching what she knew and performing all over California and the West Coast.
Jamila Salimpour
Utilizing traditional folkloric dance elements and costumes inspired by traditional and ethnographic traditions, she presented on stage through Bal Anat a colorful dance company which included musicians, singers and dancers to create a “souk” or almost circus feel. Taking what she herself had learned from native dancers from Morocco, Algeria, Turkey, Egypt, Syria and Lebanon who were dancing in the United States, she began to catalogue “bellydance movement” and began creating a basic repertoire terminology which is still the basis for Tribal Style and American Tribal Style® repertoire.
Tribal Style today represents everything from Folkloric inspired dances to a fusion of ancient dance techniques from North India, the Middle East and Africa. As a general category, Tribal Style covers many flavors of American bellydance both the folkloric inspired and fusion and cross over styles which explore modern, jazz, dance theatre, and hip hop with belly dance, as well as fusion with traditional classical ethnic dance forms like Bhangra, Bharata Natyam, Flamenco and now even Polynesian and West African Dance.
Improv Tribal Style
These are a group of dancers with tribal style belly dance traits composing choreography on the spot (i.e., improvising) through previously arranged cued moves. Can have solos, but generally supported in a group environment.
Improv Tribal Style formats
American Tribal Style® (ATS®)
BlackSheepBellyDance Format (BSBD)
Gypsy Caravan Tribal Style Format (GC)
Combo-based Tribal Style
Combo-Based Tribal Style is a dancer or group of dancers with Tribal Style bellydance traits composing belly dance through planning and arranging the movements, steps, and patterns of dancers. Dancers then practice and perform the set composition. (group & Solo, Choreo, Traditional Tribal & Tribal Fusion).
Combo-Based Tribal Style groups (ex.)
UNMATA (Combo Based Tribal)
Solstice Dance Ensemble (East Coast Tribal)
Tribal Fusion
Tribal Fusion style is a dancer or a group of dancers with predominantly Tribal Style bellydance traits using other dance disciplines along with world and contemporary dance styles to enhance the core style of Tribal Style bellydance. Improvisational choreography with cues is fundamental to the composition of Tribal Fusion choreography, but the final product is most often choreographized.
Tribal Fusion dancers and groups (ex.)
Rachel Brice
Heavy Hips Tribal Belly Dance
Zoe Jakes
Ultra Gypsy
Source: Wikipedia
