Study notes
American Cabaret
American cabaret, also known as American restuarant style, is, as the name suggests, the style of belly dance that developed in America. Its origins are both American and pan-Middle Eastern, with the melting pot of cultures in America resulting in a dance form that combines moves from multiple Middle Eastern cultures, combined with a distinctly American sensibility.
The earliest American dancers often learned the style from first generation immigrants from the Middle East. As America is some distance from the Middle East, it was rare for dancers to be able to visit the Egypt or other Middle Eastern countries, so as the dance evolved in the US it developed separately.
Many dancers in the US have backgrounds in Western styles such as ballet, jazz and contemporary dance and these have influenced the American Cabaret style.
As the audience for belly dance opened up beyond an immigrant audience, the dance naturally began to focus on drama, tricks and prop work to retain the interest of a Western audience who had little or no understanding of Middle Eastern culture, music and language.
For
example, where an Egyptian style dancer will discard a veil after her entrance,
American dancers will often enter with a veil wrapped around them for a
fast entrance piece and then unwrap the veil to perform a full veil dance.
Other innovations have included the addition of one or more veils for multiple veil work and the Vegas inspired "Isis Wings".
The American style is flamboyant and showy, leading some critics to say that it lacks the emotional depth and personality of the Egyptian style.
While it is true that some dancers in the US seem to focus on technique at the expense of emotional depth, this crictism certainly cannot be levelled at all American style dancers and the popularity of this style cannot be denied.
Famous dancers in the American Cabaret style include belly dance twins Neena and Veena, Jillina and Suhaila Salimpour.