Tribal Fusion
Tribal Fusion is often misunderstood, because the word “tribal” implies some kind of ancient origin – which couldn’t be further from the truth! In fact, Tribal Fusion belly dance grew out of American Tribal Style (ATS) belly dancing, itself a totally modern and uniquely American style of dance. ATS does draw on influences from many styles of ethnic dance, but those influences have more to do with Western impressions of those styles, than authentic research.
Because ATS itself was such a modern and vibrant style, with an emphasis on dance improvisation, it bred dancers who were keen to innovate and explore. So not surprisingly, many of them split away from the defined syllabus, and began to add their own influences – and Tribal Fusion was born.
Probably the best known Tribal Fusion dancer is Rachel Brice. Here she is in action:
However Tribal Fusion is not just the style practised by Rachel. The genre has expanded into a dizzying variety of sub-genres. Belly Burlesque, Tribaret, Gothic (see video below), Steampunk, Flamenco Fusion, Chinese, Bollywood – the list is constantly expanding. Personally, I find some styles have become so “fused”, they no longer bear much resemblance to belly dancing at all – but then, they are new styles of dance, so is that a problem? I don’t know.
Everything Old is New Again with Karaoke
If you were around for the first wave when karaoke hit America, you might remember it as a fad. Some people tried it and had some fun, but eventually turned to other hobbies. Other people on the other hand stuck with karaoke through thick and thin and continue to be fans today. If you are one of the people who gave it a shot but eventually lost interest, you might want to revisit it again. With new technology and bring new music, it’s something entirely new completely. Of course certain elements remain the same, but the whole experience has been taken to a whole new level thanks to new machines and great ways to enjoy them.
People who purchase old karaoke machines might remember record players and lyrics that came out of songbooks. Technology was rather limited back then, and you basically use a cassette player with the microphone coming out of it. Of course singing was still fun because it was a novelty that you could do by yourself or with all of your friends. For the first time ever, you could be a part of the action and pretend to be a singing star.
If you take a look at current technology, there are many devices to choose from that take advantage of things like iPods, the Internet, and USB ports. There are systems with music already built into them so that you don’t even have to use karaoke CDs if you don’t want to. You can record your performance through audio equipment, or even make your own videos with some systems that come with cameras attached on the front. And if all of this sounds expensive, you can rest assured that singing karaoke is actually more affordable than ever.
The best thing about buying a machine is being able to set up the perfect party station for your friends and family. That’s what karaoke is all about after all, it gives you a chance to spend time and sing with a large group of people. If you already have a sophisticated entertainment room, then it won’t take long for you to connect your machine with your television and speaker system. Or if you’re starting from scratch, you can get a standing karaoke pedestal that serves as its own singing station. By revisiting this hobby that’s been around for several decades, you might just discover a brand-new way to enjoy your leisure time.
Clasical Music Concerts At Home
I attended a couple of property auctions the other week (both in the same place) and as a result I now own a pair of stunningly good Bose speakers. I’m a long time lover of classical music (and don’t mind me a bit of jazz thrown in) and I honestly believe that the only way to listen to any of the classics is by way of an orchestra.
That said – us mere mortals tend not to have enough room in the lounge for a full orchestra and conductor set-up, and so we’re relegated to trying to replicate the sound quality by way of modern technology. I’ve previously been a fan of Sony equipment, but my trip to the auction house got me to rethink my long term musical relationship with Sony.
The fact is that when I was wandering around the auction, there was some background music playing. I asked about the speaker system, simply because it was that good, and was informed by an attending staff member that they used Bose. Wow. As if some middle-of-nowhere repo company understood the way that music can be affected according to the quality of the speakers that it’s fed through.
Needless to say I didn’t buy a new home, I ended up (instead) with a Bose Acoustimass system. I did some surfing around on the internet, wwww google, ebay, amazon to name a few, and managed to get what I was looking for at a price I wanted to pay.
Acoustimass deliver a full surround-sound concert experience – crisp clear high notes with a fabulous resonance on the bass notes. Bear in mind that my music of choice is classical music – and I also prefer live concert renditions – and so the only way I’m ever going to truly enjoy one of Mozart ‘s symphonies or one of Brahms concertos (at home) is by way of beautifully created home stereo equipment.
My biggest problem now is the volume level. Luckily my neighbors aren’t sat on top of me but I do live in an area known for it’s flat, uninteresting landscape and there’s also nothing around us to absorb the sound. Still, in winter, there’s never anyone around to complain so … !