Tattoo Adventures of a Tribal Farmgirl
By Paulette Rees-Denis
The Community of Tattooing and Tribal Belly Dance
Paulette
Which came first, my tattoos or my belly dance? Back in 1985, I started both, getting my first itty bitty tattoo on my upper arm and taking up dance again, this time belly dance classes, while living in San Francisco. These two things became huge for me, more tattoos and more belly dance—that was what I wanted! The dance was to become famously known as tribal belly dance, and gathered momentum not to be believed. My new troupe of dancers, most of us tattooed, started performing at many underground, subcultural-type gigs—tattoo festivals and street fairs. We were an exotic site, ornamented in colorful swirling skirts and choli tops, doing this exquisite dance together, us tattooed women. We danced for a few years together, becoming notorious for being different, tattooed, mystical, powerful and strangely gorgeous. This crazy belly dance troupe was to become Fat Chance Belly Dance.
Then my husband and I moved to Portland, Oregon and I sadly left my dancing sisters, but I had to keep dancing this dance, so I began looking for my own tribe, troupe, community, in my new town. There was nothing like the style dance that I wanted, so I started dancing and teaching my own version, and this dance became known as Tribal Belly Dance. The genre was new, adapted from ancient art and ritual dance forms, influenced from many cultures, tribes, music, and history, but with a modern adaptation.
My style called out to all the gorgeous freaks and hippies and artists, as well as the secretaries, doctors, and lawyers. Women saw the power, the beauty, and the connection and wanted it too. I laughingly told all my new students that they had to get tattooed, in order to dance with me. Since one of my new sister/dancers was a hot, up-and-coming tattooist in Portland, Amanda Myers, (now from Infinity Tattoo), that was an easy feat!
What is the magic behind tribal belly dance? It is about dancing together with an improvisational structure, raising energy, creating magic, being feminine and strong, being in a like community and wearing ethnic and exotic ornamentation. The magic was growing, the women were ornamenting themselves with tattoos, but also with tons of north African jewelry, dramatic makeup, face ornaments called bindis, henna, that beautiful plant dye that is painted on the skin like a tattoo but eventually fades out. Henna is traditionally used as a celebration ritual, where women would gather and be hennaed, in anticipation of their wedding. We dancers use henna the same sort of way, gathering to adorn each other, taking the time to slow down, pay attention and anoint oneself. (Something that we don’t do a lot of these days!)
My first performance video featured me with all my dancers and hand henna! My troupe, the Gypsy Caravan Dance Company, grew with intense energy from those early days. I have been blessed to have fabulous opportunities to travel the world over teaching and performing, celebrating life and art with women (and families) around the globe, bringing people together to create communities, tribes, troupes, within their own circle. It is about the gathering, no matter age, background, size or income. The dance is art, ornamentation, creativity, along with a good, hard and often sweaty physical workout. Tattoos are still a big part of the dance, but not a requirement. There are women being tattooed to highlight their costuming, or the other way around, making their costume show off their ink.
Henna
You will undoubtedly hear more about my dance adventures. This next month I am off with Gypsy Caravan to dance and teach at an annual didgeridoo festival in Oregon, with my musician husband, Jeff (a big part of the dance troupe) and several of my dance partners. Then Jeff and I are off to California to perform in several bands from our past. We are having a reunion of our band from the ’80s, Fade To Black, at the club Slim’s, for a weekend event in San Francisco called Deathstock! I will be scouting for tattoos for sure, as well as sharing all the art that I love—music, dance, and tattoos. Till then…
—Paulette
