Origins Of The (Chico) Four Corners
A couple of the workshops I taught in April were Devyani Modern (volume 7) and Devyani Dialect (volume 9). I love telling the stories behind the creation of these steps. They bring back memories of late night practices in our studio and I think it really showcases the many reasons new moves are created and the thought process around them.
Gaining an understanding of the why helps me better appreciate the step and feel a deeper connection to our dance history.
Devyani step creation process was no different from FatChanceBellyDance’s process. Sure, some of the classic steps came from Masha, and ultimately Jamila, but most steps in our vocabulary came from things like:
Happy accidents while performing at café Instanbul: like half turns, diagonals and eh-hem…café style.
Pieces of choreography for a show that ended up working great for improv.
Seeing other dance styles or taking classes and getting inspired to create something of your own based on the elements you like. We see this in our floreos and even gratitude.
All creativity is inspired by something, someone, or some need.
We see something that is so beautiful and inspiring that it sparks an overwhelming need to use what we love about it and create something of our very own.
Think of a time you created something… a costume piece, choreography, painting, performance, or even a recipe. Something inspired you and you used those elements, mixed it with other inspirations you’ve had throughout your life and created something that was uniquely yours.
The Four Corners, aka Chico Four Corners, is a step that falls into the overwhelming inspiration category.
The Making of a New Dance Step written by Nadia in August 1999 (Tribal Talk: A Retrospective) is such a great way to see the thought process and the trial and error that went into creating the Four Corners step.
The Four Corners movement was inspired by a Raks Sharqi (the article uses the term Oriental dance) step that Nadia and Karen saw and learned from Kendra McLean at the Chico Festival of Music and Dance in Chico, California.
Nadia says, “We fell in love with a dynamic, turning movement that they did, with one arm and gaze downward while the hip bumps and slides in a diamond shape – it had a very Oriental feeling.”
She goes on to say, “Karen and I quickly incorporated it into a more Tribal Style move, with one arm extended up and the other arm held out at shoulder height. We practiced it and the next day threw it into our set at the festival.”
They took it back to the studio and tried incorporating it into the vocabulary, including a logical cue so they wouldn’t have to talk about it before every set.
The article ends with a lovely summary of pretty much what happens any time a new step is created:
“It’s a process every time we make a new step. At this time, we are still not ready to perform it without discussion, let alone teach it. But like other FCBD movements, this one will feel and become part of the repertoire. And maybe next week we’ll come up with a better way to cue it, or even a name for it.”
I love that this step was so fresh they still hadn’t even named it yet.
Ultimately the Four Corners came from overwhelming inspiration. They loved the shape and concept of a movement and used that to create something uniquely their own.
Of course, since 1999, SO many more steps, variations, and combinations have been added to the official FCBD®Style vocabulary. Not to mention the many new dialect steps being created every day by dancers all over the world. But I’ll talk more about those next week.
For now, please enjoy Liz’s new class on the (Chico) Four Corners with Modern and Dialect variations coming later this month!