By Cory Zamora Why such a fuss?
When I was a child, and we saw an image of a belly dancer , in print, in a cartoon, etc. what really caught our attention was the fact they they were all musicians as well!
When we were taught history by our teachers , we understood the importance immediately!
If you did not have a drummer, and were dancing in public for whatever reason..dowry?...you played your percussion instrument and danced!
Where did they come from???
...so I am at the bar at FYI airport waiting for a dancer to fly in from KS. for a 4 day intensive .
They have the HUGE TV on ESPN..not my jam, BUT WAIT
"The History Of The Marching Band"..ok, it grabbed me. I love " Stomp The Yard"!
We all were taught about bagpipes leading the Scots into battle...this documentary is teaching that!...
Then they get to the Turkish, and how the huge crash of the cymbals put their enemy off kilter...so wonderful to be validated!
So glad to see the importance return , even not pertaining to dance....
It hit me that we need more zill importance !
You had no choice where you started class in the 1960s, 70s...you learned to play WHILE DANCING!!
We became what we grew up seeing and what a high percentage of the general public expect when they hire a dancer .
I have seen the disappointment in the house when a dancer does not play, and how the mood changes the min. a musician dancer hits the floor !...
SO WHAT HAPPENED?
Lets start with $$$.
A few felt they would get larger classes if they took all the hard study out...or modify the pattern or turn it into a rhyme of some sort...having studied classical voice , non musical takes on patterns does not work for me....if they work for another, I would HOPE it was also explained in music terms...where is the dum, and the tek, the ka?..rolls and peals does not mean much to me.
Even if we do not like something, shouldn't we at least know it?..can teach it if asked ?
Perhaps a dancer is of a style where another plays for them...but shouldn't you at least know how?
Most of us older dancers learned on 1 holed sets...or Sagat..we did not get doubled slotted , Dancers Zills until the early 1980s....they were a bit easier with the veil , but we knew how to play both...I feel we were better for it. ( in AMCAB we do not remove for veil & we play with the drum solo))
When an art is connected to so many cultures, we must know the history as well.
This goes with other skills thought to be " too hard"and supposedly no longer taught, veil ties, floor work zills with drum solo....in art , nothing goes out of style...BUT things can be pushed aside to make it easier to fill a class for more $$.
I am not here to push a certain brand...most know what I play, and I own 2 sets..yes just 2.. 1 thick, the other thin..one does not need others if playing a real instrument .
I do specialize in teaching seasoned dancers how to zill and dance , but 9 times out of 10, they just give up..sad.....I have included a piece on Zildjians for our further educational pleasure!
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