MURMURATION ~ WHY?

 WHAT THE HECK IS MURMURATION?  Besides being one of the wonders of our world, it is just one crazy lady's journey through a life with so many connecting dots.  To be honest, I only learned what it was a few short months ago.  Thank you Mr Google!  

Forty years ago, when I thought of myself as a painter, I saw them.  The bleak cornfields of an Ohio autumn/winter season came alive with the mesmerizing phenomenon above.  We did not have the starling populations of Europe but their numbers were adequate to create a dynamic flow.  After that first encounter I was always on the look out.  I would call out "BIRDS IN FLIGHT!" for my family while we were driving. My appreciation splashed onto the canvas with some realistic work.  Finally I just turned to the abstract painting to try and express what I was seeing.  The passion was real, even if no one else understood.

So these life dots do seem to be out of order.  As I struggle through arthritis and other aches and pains of being 67,  I laugh.  I should have been a Fat Chance Belly Dancer in my 20s and a painter in my 60s.  But that was not meant to be.  Fat Chance had not even been born yet!  

The first time I read the explanation of my newfound word, MURMURATION, the connection jumped off the page.  According to Andrew King and David Sumpter, "murmurations exhibit a strong spatial coherence and show extremely synchronized maneuvers, which seem to occur spontaneously, or in response to and approaching threat, like hawks or peregrine falcons."  Yes, and more...  " Each starling in a flock is connected to every other.  When a flock turns in unison, it's a phase transition.  At the individual level, the rules guiding this are relatively simple.  When a neighbor moves, so do you.  Depending on the flock's size and speed and its members' flight physiologies, the large-scale pattern changes."  

Another cool finding says that it seems the birds may work in small teams of 7...just like FCBD focuses on the quartet as its largest block of dancers.  The difference comes with the spreading out of the movements with the starlings in contrast to the surrounding support of the stationary FCBD chorus.  

Science continues :  According to esteemed biologist and author Rupert Sheldrake, "morphic resonance is the idea of interconnections and collective memories within the species. " He states that it's a process in which " self-organizing systems inherit a memory from previous similar systems".  Hmmmmm, our collective memories are the harkening back to dances of the past are all part of Fat Chance Belly Dance.  I thought of the film recommended by Carolena - Romany Trail.  This dance celebrates a strong noble group who migrated and touched every area they inhabited, from India- north to Spain and south to Northern Africa. Over the years this dance has grown, incorporated and celebrated new steps.  I cannot wait to research all that.

What started as American Tribal Style has been adored world wide.  I am not sure there are 750,000 of us, like the starlings above, but who knows how many are dancing in their living rooms to you tube videos!?  When the pandemic was in high gear in 2020, I danced every day with my "imaginary friends" I called them.  I just did the Fat Chance Belly Dance Friday Flow #22 today again with Michiyo.  Just try it!  Even if you do not know the names of the steps or cues, following as best you can does bring a serious endorphin rush! 

I am happy to report that now I have real life dancers creating with me.  Here is a short video from our class last night at Patricia Ann Studio on Friar Tuck in Dunedin where we practiced in duets.

 Other comparisons of my life dots...  The murmurations of starlings are in response to a threat, they confuse the predator with their movements. Well the patriarchy certainly is confused these days.   Hasn't all of womankind been under threat, especially since we managed to gain a few rights to control our own  lives?  Maybe it wasn't an accident that our dance formed because a shy young girl did not want to wait for a man to ask her to dance.  It gives me goosebumps.!!  WE ARE STRONG LADIES.  We need to bond together and fly.  Fat Chance Belly Dance can enable that connection.

I leave you with my favorite video of the afternoon.  Be happy, be strong.  We are part of an evolution!

Notes from a baby dancer

 In 2022 this baby dancer graduated to become a toddler dancer.  That is the moment when you realize that the tiny gurgling bundle of joy has an actual little person who is getting pretty good at figuring things out.  In our chosen dance of American Tribal Fat Chance Belly Dance Style, the baby dancer presents most clearly in the lead position.  Words to describe those first experiences in the lead are fear, confusion, lack of confidence, need for reassurance, and TOTAL loss of memory.  "Did I just have an Alzheimer's attack??"  

But I am here today to offer hope and encouragement!  At some point we graduate to the next level, I call it the toddler dancer.  We know stuff, we may not always get it right, but when we do, we are pretty proud of ourselves.  I want to explore the when and why of how this happened to me.

The when:  It happened this past summer when my in person classes were on break.  Lacey Sanchez was offering a 3 month guided study on FCBDU called "All in the Family".  It was phenomenal!  She emailed every Monday with our homework, then we had an in person zoom chat once a month to evaluate.  The homework consisted of 2-3 FCBDU classes, studies and writings about the history, music and costuming of FCBD, and usually we were asked to make a dance video each week inspired by our topic.  We concentrated on the Pivot Bump family, but to learn the steps we needed to explore the FCBDU website and find them.  Since there were many steps in the family I did not know yet, I had extra classes each week to take.  It was so inspiring to view the videos of the other dancers in the class, who were from around the world!  Since I was new to many of the moves, there were many mistakes in my videos, but I just put it out there along with my assessment of 3 good things, and 3 things that needed work, in my opinion.  Self evaluation is nothing to be afraid of and it turned me into a toddler dancer.  To overcome the memory loss during the lead I always included a list of the steps just outside the camera's view.  Sometimes you can notice me studying it with a concentrated frown.  (not cool, baby dancer).  I started posting the list right underneath the camera.  It accomplished a two in one~I was smiling (or frowning) at my audience, and avoiding my empty brain syndrome.  And so,  Sometime during that repeated process of learning and filming some confidence came, and also a blessed excitement to lead!  When you solo for your audience, or the camera, it is on you, there is no place to hide in the back, catch your breath, and relax by following.

The why of this transition is more spiritual to me.  The steps themselves became my friends.  I could stop by and take them out for a good time.  As my body learned all the components of each movement, I came to have a great respect and awe at how powerful they made me feel.  Each step held its own grandeur and adoration of the divine feminine.  During our exploration of the PULSE turn last Tuesday Katia asked us to stop and appreciate the pause and pose before the turn.  This accentuation of certain poses during a step brings me to why I love it. There are so many examples, and I have pictures, of the elegant feminine sculptural quality.  The dance makes it a moving sculpture of the grace and dignity of our femininity.  In one of Carolena's classes she tell us, "if the choice is between beauty and common sense, beauty wins."  That is why the movements are my friends.  I want to honor them, respect them, share them and demonstrate them as often as I can.

Now, multiply those feelings by a studio or stage full of dancers who know how to weave, fade, circle, spin and smile, all while totally supporting each other, and you will find the magic we celebrate together.