Musicality
In Egyptian Oriental dance, the dancer should in a very real sense act as a visual representation of the music – a physical manifestation of the aural experience. To achieve this, a dancer must have a strong sense of musicality. But what is musicality and how can we develop this aspect of our dance?
Before starting this article I tried to do a little research on this subject online and quickly found a definition of musicality: “sensitivity to, or knowledge of, music” (Merriam Webster). Great! But searching further, I found lots of articles referring to musicality and its importance in dance, but little or no practical advice on how to develop it.
Thinking back, I also struggled to draw on my own experiences, as I could not remember expressly being taught musicality. How did I learn this myself?
Going back to our definition, we can see two aspects to musicality: “sensitivity to music” and “knowledge of music”. Well in terms of the latter I studied a couple of instruments and learned a little music theory when I was younger, which certainly helped.
I have also been lucky to learn about Middle Eastern music from a number of very knowledgeable teachers, notably Kay Taylor, Houda Amrani and Yasmina of Cairo, as well as undertaking my own research.
But whilst the knowledge side is important, for me I feel there was an inborn sensitivity – an instinctive understanding of music, of how it works, what it is trying to express – that helped me.
…And so for the bad news. I do believe that whilst you can improve your music knowledge, musicality is to a large extent something you are born with. Something that you have or you don’t have. Some people just aren’t musical! They can’t hear if a note is sharp or flat, can’t sing or hum a phrase back to you, can’t beat a steady rhythm.
The good news (phew!) is that I firmly believe that most people, whatever they may think, do have at least a basic feel for music and can learn to develop and build on this. And most people who are attracted to belly dance are likely to be musical, because they are drawn to music, and to move to music – to dance.
Musicality begins with that natural impulse to move to music. People who instinctively have a strong sense of musicality will often feel that the music “tells” them how to move, but those who find this less instinctive just need to take the time to understand what the music is telling them and how to respond.
Even if you are naturally musical, this doesn’t mean you get off the hard work totally! When interpretation comes naturally it is easy to go for the obvious thing, making your dance predictable. Yes there are rules, but rules are there to be stretched, bent, re-interpreted, ignored or even outright broken! Adding personality and humour will also help keep your dance interesting and fresh.
The final element to musicality is both the simplest and yet often the hardest to achieve. We must let our own emotional response to the music shine through, however vulnerable that makes us feel. We need finally to let go and respond to the music naturally and truthfully, with commitment, with enjoyment, with love, with soul…and DANCE.