What Is Mystique Gypsy Tribal?
The issue of "Tribal" bellydancing has always raised questions. Is Tribal dancing something that is backward, something that has evolved? Are we going to the roots or our dance form? Is this the authentic "traditional" style of bellydance? Moreover, how does the term "Gypsy" connect with this? Is this Gypsy style or Romany dancing?
For the Mystique Gypsy Tribal Style, it is none of the above. I will try to explain.
First, lets look at the terms "tribal" and "gypsy".
Tribal means solidarity, mutual support, collective survival, discovering that you gain more as a group. The dance concentrates on the form and movement rather than on building exclusively toward personal goals or seeking to support an individual dance focus. Thus tribal refers to working as a group as opposed to performing solo. It has nothing to do with dancing in the style of any particular tribe.The Roma or Romany people are a distinct ethnic people whose origins began on the Indian subcontinent thousands of years ago. They have been known as entertainers wherever they have travelled including the Near, Far and Middle East. They are made up of many different groups of people and have been known by many names, including Gypsies (or Gipsies). They were thought by early Europeans to be from Turkey or Nubia or Egypt, or anywhere roughly thereabouts, and they were called among other things, Egyptians or Gyptians, which is where the word "Gypsy" comes from. It is written that their origins began long ago in India.
We, at Mystique, do not claim the honor of being part of these people, we use the term in the sense of dancing nomads. We wander from palce to place, culture to culture, gathering snippets of beautiful folk dance styles, costume, body arts and movements seeking to present them as our stylised version of their original form.The Mystique Gypsy Tribal style of bellydance is a philosophy. It is a uniquely Australian contemporary stylisation of ideas, dance movements and techniques influenced by the dances and cultures of the many dance arts of the Near, Far and Middle East. Particularly the Berber tribes, the Bedouins, the Ghawazee Gypsies, the dancers of Northern India, the Moroccan dancers such as the Touareg people and Carpet dancers, the Shikhatt dancers and American Tribal Bellydancing as originated by Carolena Nericcio of Fat Chance Bellydance. The flamboyant and colourful costumes, the face and body decorations used in our performances are inspired by the traditional costumes, dance and body art of these groups. The sense of being part of a supportive collective, of understanding and being able to respond to each other's dance movements, of being sensitive to, and reinforcing each member throughout any dance performance, is The Mystique Gypsy Tribal dance style and philosophy.
The Mystique Dancers.
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