A few weeks ago I published a post on Belly Dance and Feminism. As the premise was based on the individual/soloist, I said I would touch on group dances at a later stage. Well, it's later...
Egyptian dance is not supposed to be danced as a group choreography, but more choreographers are using traditional songs in non-traditional ways (myself included, don’t hurt me).
Group dances are about uniformity and synchronicity. This is directly in opposition to belly dances’ expressionism and subjectivity. You can’t have a group of dancers dancing to their own tune. Well, you could but it wouldn’t look very good. Thus teachers and choreographers require the dancers to dance to a beat rather than what they feel in the music. The dancers become objects moving around as they have been told to do so and the subjectivity of the dancer is lost. The only subject in the choreography is the choreographer.
How can we solve this? Well, I have 2 suggestions. Firstly, we can use a chorus line and solo dancer, where the soloist is switched regularly, kind of like in ATS but a choreographed switch. This will allow each individual to have a chance to express the music in their own way. The chorus line can either dance with them or have a lesser roll only picking up on accents in the music. Secondly, you can choreograph as a group. We do this in my studio where the dancers all contribute to the choreography (See Choreographing as a Group). This allows a constant connection to the music and (in my experience) a better connection between dancers.
What thoughts do you have on group dancers and subjectivity?