When Goth Meets Dance
Black clothes, cemeteries, pierced bodies and tattooes; dressing for funerals. Goth, as a subculture, is too often dismissed as the rebellious phase of youth or it is reduced to a mere style easily stolen and repackaged for mass consumption in films like The Matrix and Underworld. Gothic Bellydance serves as a much-needed reminder that, fundamentally, the essence of goth doesnt lie in superficial trappings but in art. Music, which, arguably, started the whole thing as we know it, literature, painting, photography, film and, in the right hands, fashion (as the art of self-expression); the capacity for goth to move through different artforms makes it unique and special for those who can also relate to its funereal sensibilities.
Of course, where there is music, there are also bodies in motion. This is true even with goth music. The stereotype of unsmiling goths standing stiff as corpses is easily disproved by a night out at the clubs what few there are left in this waning phase. Fluid and angular motions, rhythm; I cant dance, but I sure appreciate those who can. Enter projects like Gothic Bellydance, which aims to present the kind of artistic dance that requires considerable technique and study, as well as talent, to master. Specifically, Gothic Bellydance strives to do what any artist does: Combine elements in novel ways and try to evolve art into new forms. In this case, we have the sensibility and aesthetic of goth blended with Middle Eastern Bellydance and other influences an endeavor filed under the categories of tribal or fusion, and also referred to as raks gothique.
Intentions? Great! Execution? Well
How disappointing, then, that great intentions arent matched by consistently good execution. While some dancers, like the phenomenal Ariellah and Neon, deliver the DVDs highlight performances with clear mastery of their bodies and dances their shimmies are impeccable, whereas some of the other dancers seem to have all-too-stiff hips others dont fare so well. It wouldnt be entirely fair, however, to assign blame for the DVDs shortcomings on apparent differences in the performers skills. Artistic interpretations and choreography choices tend to hinder rather than enhance the dances themselves, which means that its probably too easy to underestimate their talent. Some fall victim to the head-scratching evoked by modern interpretive dance choreographies. Gimmicky movements and props, not to mention repetitiveness, prove a burden to others, like Ya Meena and Ravens joint dance in which they enact a mock dagger duel.
The soundtrack offers little help. Without there being a kind way to put it, the music ranges from pleasant, though pedestrian, to downright awful. Instrumental and vocal scores settle either for fulfilling the function of providing rhythm to guide the choreography or end up sounding like an amateur effort performed on toy shop keyboards. Considering the Golden Rule of Soundtracks music should be strong enough to stand on its own and demand an equally strong cinematic counterpart to keep things balanced Gothic Bellydance has nothing to offer. Theres no real goth music, or industrial or EBM. No classics likes Sisters of Mercy and Siouxie, or current generation bands from record labels like Metropolis, Projekt or Cleopatra. Theres not even a Cure song to be found, let alone an original composition worth rushing to the store to buy.
But by far the worst disservice to the dancers and the overall project are the DVDs production choices, which can be described as lazy goth. With the bulk of the budget seemingly spent on lighting, which is admittedly striking and dramatic, the absence of sets or environments is filled with overlaid cut-and-paste graphics of tombstones and the like. True, any culture or subculture will have its symbols and imagery. But what is often an essential visual language can be overused to the point of creating clichés. Sadly, its been the trend, even among goths, to assume that a few pictures of cemeteries and gargoyles are enough for gothic art. In this vein, Gothic Bellydance suffers for making the mistake of confusing artistry with excessive and clichéd ornamentation.
Its hard to stay disappointed for long, however, as Gothic Bellydance represents an invigorating effort to bring goth up from being just another night at the clubs. Gothic Bellydance, for all its awkwardness, does feature stand-out performances to make projects with this kind of ambition deserving of support. It not only presents something unconventional to a wider audience, it lays the foundation for more raks gotique dancers to push the envelope of the genre, reach new heights, and dazzle goths and non-goths alike. Perhaps it even offers a lesson to an ever waxing-and-waning goth subculture in need of inspiration to resist the mainstreams easy stereotyping.
