Moving Forward

HISTORY

It is past time to take an honest look at the history of FCBD Style to acknowledge the inspirations, examine the missteps, and discard practices that are harmful. Heavily based on Jamila Salimpour’s format, this style draws heavily from dancers (and dances) from Egypt and North Africa.

Removed from the source cultures, and based in the United States, FCBD Style added stylizations from Flamenco and Kathak, along with elements that aided the improvisational aspects of this group dance.

These elements were used without recognizing the teachers and sources of influence, or giving specific acknowledgement of their origins. The absence of that background information erases the origin cultures and practitioners, making it difficult to understand how to respectfully approach fusing their art and making it impossible seek out and acknowledge innovators.

The following artists taught, influenced, and inspired FCBD Style:

  • Sitara Devi: a legendary Kathak dancer, Sitara Devi was the guru of Antonia Minnecola, the Kathak instructor that introduced Carolena to the Kathak Namaskar, which is the influence and origin of the meditation done at the beginning of FCBD Style classes.
  • Rosa Montoya: born into a family of world-famous flamenco guitarists, Rosa was the instructor of Jim Murdoch, the friend and dancer that taught Carolena floreos and braceo, the wrist rotations and dramatic arm positions found in FCBD Style.
  • Yaelisa: choreographer and director of Caminos Flamencos in San Francisco, the group Rina Orellana danced with before moving to Madrid to study Flamenco. Dramatic slow turns were inspired by Rina’s flamenco training and incorporated into FCBD Style vocabulary.

MOVEMENTS

The movement vocabulary draws off a system that reduces a whole culture or people into one movement. Deeper acknowledgement and credit has been absent in our instruction and we are working to develop an understanding of sources that inspired these moves. In addition, we are reworking classes and workshops to include that history, and to give context and credit back to the source.

We have personally revised movement dialect names that were distorting and erasing culture, and implied there was a connection to a source culture that didn’t exist. We are in the process of updating descriptions in online classes to reflect the updated terminology for Scarlet Thistle vocabulary as well as FCBD Style vocabulary.

COSTUMING

As a troupe, and as individuals, we are moving away from the costuming look generally associated with FCBD Style. This combination of unrelated cultural markers, as well as the use of elements with religious or cultural significance, results in erasure and misrepresentation.

Along with modifying our costuming, we are educating ourselves to understand what elements we have used and understand their history, use, and cultural relevance. Specifically we are no longer using facial markings or bindis in our costuming, as Ouchem and bindis are cultural markers that we want to respect and not use as dress up.

INSPIRATION

Instructors and educators that we support and recommend for a deeper knowledge of the source dances and cultures that have inspired fusion dance styles:

INCLUSIVITY

DANCE IS FOR EVERYONE: We are committed to cultivating an environment of inclusion in our classes and workshops, welcoming all individuals, regardless of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, or ability. We require this also from event hosts and sponsors we work with, as well as studios we utilize for classes and workshops.

RACIAL JUSTICE

The backdrop to our dance includes many injustices that have not been rectified, a history of white supremacy, and the effects of systemic racism. We are making the active and conscious effort to be antiracist, support Black Lives Matter, and understand this requires continuous education and work. Part of this effort is to promote and learn from source dancers and instructors, as well as dancers of color.