Raqs Nerd: dance art 🤝 visual art

I have written a lot in this newsletter about the connection between dance and music - and how that connection is at the heart of everything we bellydancers do, as far as I am concerned.

But... How often have you thought about the connection between dance, and visual arts?

Specifically, the connection between Egyptian Raqs Sharqi, and traditional visual arts - and especially the geometric and arabesque pattern designs, and stylised calligraphy, used everywhere from monumental architecture, to mediaeval manuscripts, to khayameyya textile art, to shop signs and wall murals and everyday objects...

Whenever I'm in Egypt, I get very excited about seeing art and architecture, almost as much as I do about going to dance shows, and I feel like this is sort of a part of my dance learning too.

It seems clear to me that music, visual arts, and dance (and other movement arts) all are informed and connected by aesthetic values and principles that go deeper than any one specific art form

I see the following shared values between traditional Egyptian music, raqs sharqi, and traditional visual art styles in Egypt:

Rhythm and repetition

We all know rhythmic patterns (iqa' / إيقاع) are immensely important in Egyptian music - along with their subtle variations, ornamentations, and textures. And on top of them, melodies repeat over and over, the same and yet different every time, drawing out different shades of feeling... Our dance, of course, reflects this, in its hypnotic repetition and "same but different" micro-movements.

But have you ever noticed how this sense of rhythm extends into visual arts too? From simple repeating patterns, like the tempo of a drum beat, to complex geometric motifs or curling organic patterns where you have to really look to see where one repeat ends and the next begins, reminding me of the complex rhythmic cycles of muwashshahat... And even the flowing shapes of Arabic calligraphy carry an internal rhythm built by their strong upward lines, echoing the patterns of speech or the meters of poetry

If you're a visual person, this can provide an interesting way of imagining the structures and patterns in our dance, too

The constant interplay of rhythm and flow

Look closely at the carved door panel above, and you'll see that within every shape of the bold interlocking geometric stars, there are tiny organic designs, of flowing leaves and stems.

You'll see this all the time - the juxtaposition of crisp geometric forms, sometimes simple and sometimes awe-inspiring in their complexity, with sinuous vines, leaves and flowers, and perhaps soft and graceful animal and human figures... Or with calligraphy that seems to flow like water, next to the crystalline patterns.

And in dance, this contrast is always there too - in our flowing infinities and undulations, juxtaposed with rhythmic shimmies and accents - just as it is in the music's weaving between rhythm and melody...

Patterns within patterns within patterns

In dance, we know this as "layering" - perhaps a shimmy, on top of a gentle pelvic undulation, on top of a slooooow figure of 8... In music, as "ornamentation" - the ever-shifting textures and improvisations that turn a basic melody into something magical.... But what would it look like if we represented it visually?

Maybe something like this:

So in summary:

Rhythm and repetition, everywhere

Rhythm intertwined with organic flow

and

Patterns within patterns within patterns

In art, in music, in dance...

Do you see it?

And, what new inspiration might you find for your dance by exploring visual arts, calligraphy, architecture, and more, from the source cultures?

With Love,

PS - every part of this newsletter is written by me, a flesh and blood human being, using my own thoughts, feelings, opinions, and writing style - now and always. This is a generative AI free zone 🚫🤖