A Technical Definition: Bare feet and Modal music

4. It can be danced barefoot. There other forms of dance which are done barefoot, but most
do not meet all of the criteria which will be mentioned. It's no accident that another relevant
dancestyle is Spanish dance, particularly the Zambra Mora, danced. in the Moorish style. Most
Flamenco dance is done with shoes on, but the long history of domination by the Moors, an
Eastern conqueror, left this dance which is associated with Gypsies dancing in the caves of
Granada - the sacred home of the Gypsies. As a modern example, La Chunga was a popular
Flamenco dancer in the 1950's who danced barefoot because she was a Gypsy and learned to
dance that way. In modern times, famous Egyptian nightclub dancers may perform in high heels
as a way of showing their audiences in a very poor culture that they can afford to wear shoes.

5. Belly dance grew out the traditions of Middle and Near Eastern music.
Although modern Oriental dancers use music which is western-influenced to varying degrees, the
rhythmic influences of near and middle eastern music created a music form that was
fundamentally different from that which developed in the west.

Western music came to depend upon the natural sense of tension and relaxation, a regular rhythm
of in and out, and melodies which built upon a progression of chords. Eastern music, however,
has relied on the rhythms which lead the melody and lend variety to the patterns. Whereas the
even flow of Western music relies on changes in tempo for variety, the Eastern musician hardly
mentions standard tempos of music. In addition, eastern music typically begins with an
arrhythmic, or free rhythm introduction known as "taqsim" (or division). The dancer may either
work to this music, or simply wait for the rhythm to begin. This also explains why choreography
has traditionally played a less important role in eastern dance; if the musicians are playing for
long periods of time and all of them are improvising within the melodic and rhythmic
framework, it makes no sense at all for the dancer to attempt "choreography" in the sense of a
piece which is planned out step by step.

Vocal music in the east is allowed complete freedom from standard tempo or rhythm when not
accompanied by a rhythm instrument. Moreover, Curt Sachs explains, western rhythms are
multiplicative or divisive whereas eastern rhythms are additive. This means simply that western
rhythms break down evenly into so that a 4/4 is twice as long as a 2/4. By contrast, Eastern
rhythms are a series of smaller patterns strung together and cannot be evenly divided as in the
following examples: 3+2+2=7, 2+2+2+3=9, 4+3+3=10. Middle Eastern rhythms vary from
country to country, so that an Egyptian drummer will learn a different set of rhythms than a
Turkish drummer. However, perhaps ninety percent of all the music one hears will be a variation
on the basic maksum (balady) rhythm, translated into drum-speak as "Dum Dum, tek-dum
tek".The rhythmic patter drives the music and gives it a very different feeling from Western
music. As musician Ishaq ibn Ibrahim (767-850 A.D.) said, "He who makes a mistake is still our
friend; he who adds to, or shortens a melody is still our friend; but he who violates a rhythm
unawares can no longer be our friend." Curt Sachs explains that the difference lies in the total
absence of harmony in eastern music.
ifference lies in the total absence of harmony in eastern music.