Missoula News

Stumbling the Walk

The Durga Tour Will Blow Your Mind

By Chris La Tray, 5-26-09

If you saw the Yard Dogs Road Show when they played Missoula last year, then you remember their opening act, Indigo. Indigo is the troupe put together by Bellydance Superstar Rachel Bryce, and if you saw the show odds are these three women knocked your socks off. In many ways, this outfit captured the very swagger that I have found missing from rock n’ roll for some time; the style, athleticism and enthusiasm packed into their set unleashed a drubbing on pretty much every live rock show I’ve seen in recent memory. Rock music has been simply rehashing or phoning it in for the last decade-plus; these bellydancers are bringing something altogether new to live, high octane performance.

For my money, ATS – American Tribal Style – bellydance is one of the most exciting and innovative forms of physical, visual art happening today. Troupes like Indigo, Unmata, and scores of others are combining the shapes and discipline of a centuries-old art form and taking it to exciting, and controversial, new places. For many participants it is a way to perform and learn a respected technique; for others, it is a spiritual expression that spans centuries. 

Fresh off multiple workshops and performances at Tribal Fest in Sebastapol, CA – this year being the 9th iteration of the first ever Tribal BellyDance Festival in the world, an event spanning 5 days, 60 classes, 39 instructors and scores of performances – The Durga Tour is rolling through Missoula on Thursday, May 28th, for a workshop and performance at the Crystal Theater.

The Durga Tour is the brainchild of Laura Schmidt, aka Tempest, a Gothic Bellydancer originally from New Jersey. Think of the Durga Tour like you would a rock band, touring the nation, or the world, from inside a van, tying cities together with booked performances, and, in Tempest’s case, workshops. It’s a tried-and-true method to take an old tradition to the people, gathering fans and aficionados the traveling vaudeville way: from the road. Tempest was kind enough to take time out of a busy Tribal Fest schedule to answer a few questions.

First of all, Tempest, how did you get into bellydance? Why bellydance and not hip hop, or something more “mainstream”? Particularly, why gothic bellydance?

While attending RISD (the Rhode Island School of Design), I made friends with a gal from California who upon her return to the Bay Area told me about these amazing dancers called ”Fat Chance BellyDance”.  I checked them out and was enthralled by the movement, music, and costuming.  Locally, in RI I found classes (only in cabaret/folkloric, this was before Tribal/ATS had hit the East Coast), and was hooked.  Prior to that, I was primarily a visual artist, and this was the first form of dance to interest me.  Gothic Bellydance came later, as I brought my aesthetic and natural stylings to the dance, and from there - and people took notice.  Looking to find more people working in the same vein, I founded the Gothic Bellydance Resource to document, research, and shape the developments, and the rest is history.

When people think of “bellydance” they tend to think of the more Hollywood/Las Vegas version, all glittery and more cabaret style. Yet there are numerous different flavors, including yours, Gothic Bellydance. What are the differences, and what are the similarities?

All bellydance styles should feature a base in bellydance movement and musical application (following Middle Eastern music rules/guidelines), but from there, their purpose and presentation can vary greatly.  Folkloric Bellydance depicts traditional dance from the people of the Middle East/Mediterranean/North Africa.  Cabaret Bellydance can be Turkish, Lebanese, Egyptian, American Cabaret - the most visible styles of bellydance.  Tribal bellydance spawns from American Tribal Style, which blends traditional bellydance with Flamenco and classical Indian flavorings in a group improv dance.  Fusion takes any of these styles and blends them further.  Gothic bellydance can be tribal or cabaret based, and presents the Gothic aesthetic in a dramatic story-telling application

Can you talk about American Tribal Style bellydance a little bit? This is a genre that seems to be growing in popularity, with American troupes touring not only the states, but internationally as well. What makes it special, and is it particularly “American” in its influence?

ATS was founded by Carolena Nerrichio in San Francisco (Fat Chance Bellydance) in the early 1990’s.  Due to the area of its birth, it’s very open to more alternative individuals - tattoos, piercings, crazy hair color - women of all sizes - where cabaret dance had called for more clean-cut, traditional-looking, media-friendly types.  (Though this is changing as well).  It’s this accessibility/acceptance of more kinds of people that brought bellydance to a wider audience all over the world.

How have you seen the acceptance, awareness, and popularity of bellydance change since you started? I know you have worked internationally as well; is there a difference in acceptance or popularity overseas?

It’s definitely become something that’s more common, that more people know about.  The internet has been a huge asset in bringing the community together and getting the word out.  There’s still ignorance out there, but it’s growing everywhere.

Talk about the Durga Tour. What made you make the leap to do this, and is it becoming more or less difficult to pull off?

The Durga Tour is named in honor of the Hindu Goddess Durga, an aspect of Devi, whose name means “invincible” and who represents a balance between the creating force (Shakti) and the warrior/destroyer force (Kali). “Durga exists in a state of sva-tantrya (dependence on the universe and nothing/nobody else, i.e., self-sufficiency) and fierce compassion.”

We have chosen Durga (or She chose us) because to us, she embodies the struggle of art - be it music, dance, ideas, etc - to both be a force of creation and destruction. To be passionate, yet be tempered in approach, to inspire without constraining, and to lead without demanding followers.

The first Durga Tour took place in September-October 2006 and hit 25 states in 40 days. Basically it was created to be an extraordinary solution to a logistical problem.  In the end, it was an amazing experience and very successful.  My husband and I enjoy touring very much, so we made the plans to do it again.  It’s not an easy thing, and there’s trials every time, so I would say the difficulty level is about the same.

What can people expect from one of your workshops? Do dancers need some experience, or do they open for people new to bellydance?

My workshops are geared to help dancers learn more about a style of dance, while invigorating their own dance style, helping them to be their own unique dancer, with a distinct voice.  People with absolutely no dance experience (bellydance or otherwise) will find the workshops difficult, because one needs to understand basic concepts of posture and movements, but anyone from newbies to pros will gain immensely.

How about the performance, what can be expected?

Tim Rayborn will be presenting live music - Tim is a virtuoso, he plays over 30 instruments from around the world, and plays Classical Medieval to Middle Eastern and beyond.  We will do a live set together, and I will present a Nouveau Noir/Gothic presentation to mixed music as well.

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There is still time to get in on the workshop! The cost for the workshop is $35. Doors will open at 1:00 pm and the action will happen from 3pm to 6pm. Call 370-3917 if you are interested!

At 6:30, the doors will re-open for an informal Hafla, with an admission price of $7 (which also gets you into the evening’s main performance). There will be light refreshments and live drumming for anyone who wants to dance. Vendors will also be present, including original designs from Tempest.

At 8:00 PM the performance will begin, beginning with performances by Montana dancers, as well as featured performers Geneva Bybee and Jen Hepner. Then, from 9:00-10:00 pm, the main event! Tempest and Tim Rayborn will take the stage.

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