The Routine Rollercoaster

This was professionally transcribed, but it probably still has some errors. If you catch any, drop me a line at info@bellydancegeek.com. I’d love to hear from you!

Entertainment is the art of manipulating your audience. Now, usually, we think about manipulation as a bad thing, but that is not true when you’re in a performance context. Manipulating the audience is our job. A good belly dance show takes the audiences’ emotions from excited highs to intense lows. Without manipulation, our show would feel pretty bland. Those highs and lows are what keep the audiences’ attention. It’s what they’re there for. If we perform the entire show on the same emotional level, even the best dancing would get old fast. That’s why the old school Am Cab routine structure is designed to alternate fast and slow tempos at high and low energy levels. The routine is like a rollercoaster. It’s all about the ups and downs. Let’s take a closer look at those ups and downs.

The six part routine is the traditional format for American cabaret and it’s what you’ll usually see in a lot of the old school venues like Greek and Turkish supper clubs in the US. It also has its roots in older Egyptian style dancing, at least according to our very first Belly Dance Geek Clubhouse guest, Yasmin Henkesh. Now the six part routine includes six sections, duh. The first is the introduction. This is a high energy, splashy entrance piece, and the goal is to greet the audience, get them warmed up and ready to enjoy the show. The second part is the veil section. This is when we dance to a slow lyrical song using a veil or a piece of fabric. The goal here, is to deepen the emotional experience by slowing things down, and exploring more tender emotions.

Third, we have the middle section. This is a medium to medium-fast tempo piece, which is often danced with a more folkloric or earthy feeling, and it’s pretty common to use a cane here. Now, the goal of the middle section is to be the main course of your show. It’s when you show off all your regular dancing. Particularly your juiciest hip work. The fourth part is the chiftetelli, this is a slow, to very slow song with a sneaky feeling, danced to a chiftetelli rhythm. And typically, soloist in the band do improvisational solos or taqsims over that rhythm.

The dancer may include prop balancing or floor work in this section, depending on the site lines and traditions, but it’s also common to do standing slow moves and arms. The goal of the chiftetelli is to mesmerize the audience, and draw them into your inner experience. Part five is the drum solo. This is a high energy duet between the drummer and the dancer. The goal here is to build drama, show off a little, and create a high energy climax. In part six, we have the finale, this is a medium-fast to fast section, with a triumphant feeling. In some parts of the country, and for some venues, it’s common to use a song in 9/8 time.

The goal of the finale is to resolve the dramatic tension created by the drum solo, and say goodbye to the audience. Did you catch that rollercoaster pattern? Fast, high energy intro. Slower, more calm veil section. Medium tempo, moderate energy middle section. Very slow, very sticky chiftetelli. Very fast drum solo, super high energy. Then a fast, high energy finale. All of those ups and downs keep the audience on their toes. By alternating different tempos and energy levels, we hold the audiences interest. Just when they’re getting use to that higher energy level, we slow it down. As soon as they get comfortable with slow, we crank it back up. We always keep them guessing, and we increase the intensity throughout the show.

The earlier lows and highs, as in the veil in the middle, are less intense than the later lows and highs; the chiftetelli and the drum solo. By increasing the intensity, we are increasing the stakes. We’re not just alternating fast and slow, we’re building drama, and that is some sophisticated manipulation. The great part about all of this, is that you don’t have to be an expert in audience psychology to accomplish this. It’s built right into the structure of the routine. Just by following the traditional format, you can play the audiences emotions as if they were an instrument, and they will thank you for it.

Now, of course there are always exceptions. The six part routine doesn’t always have six parts. Depending on the venue, the band, or if you’re dancing to recorded music; the recording, plus the length of the show, you may get a variation on this format. Sometimes you get a five part routine. In some routines, one of these sections will be omitted, and what it is, it’s usually the middle section or the chiftetelli. It’s less common for other sections to be left out, but it does happen. In fact, I was originally brought up calling this a five part routine, and I didn’t realize it was six parts until I started teaching this curriculum.

Now, sometimes there’s also a seventh section. In some places, and some venues, there may be an additional audience participation, or tipping section after the chiftetelli, which would make this a seven part routine. Now, at venues like the one I dance to, audience participation is usually rolled into the finale, instead of having its own section. The reason for that, is the audience is most impressed with you right after your drum solo, and so that’s when they’re the most generous with tips. Sometimes, the structure can be even shorter. When you need a shorter set, like for a bellygram or a hafla, you can leave out a few sections to create a mini routine.

Usually these follow a fast, slow-fast format, such as intro, chiftetelli, finale, or fast-slow, fast-fast, like intro, veil, drum and finale. I’ve seen this mini show format in a lot of shorter recorded routines, such as George Abdo’s a Raks Mustapha. The general structure is always the same, regardless of how many parts are included, or left out, the overall structure of the routine is the same. The remaining parts appear in the same order, the aesthetics of each part don’t change, and how you dance to each section doesn’t change. Now there are always exceptions to the rule, so this is not 100%, but by and large this holds true. We’re always working within the same framework. Even when we leave a part or two out, we still maintain the ups and downs in aesthetic. It’s still the core of the structure. You can pick and choose which sections to include in your rollercoaster, as long as you keep those ups and downs.

Let’s summarize. As performers, our job is to manipulate the audiences emotions. Don’t feel bad, that’s why they’re there. The basic structure of the six part routine is introduction, veil, middle, chiftetelli, drum solo, and finale. Some routines may omit parts, or add an extra participation or tipping section. You might get a five, six, or seven part show, or even a fast-slow-fast mini routine. This doesn’t change how we approach the routine. The tempo and energy changes built into the full routine create an escalating rollercoaster effect that helds the audiences attention, and builds drama and momentum. You don’t have to be an expert in audience phycology to create those effects, it’s built right into the structure.