Boundary Pushing Bellydancing With Inko di Ö’s Odd Cabaret

There’s body language, and then there’s conveying entire narratives with your moves. Few dancers are adept enough to step, swerve and shimmy their way toward such feats, but Inko di Ö knows that committing to such an elusive take pays dividends for audiences. That’s why the ever-ambitious belly dancer is sashaying her way onto Modernista’s stage on Sep 21 with a boundary-pushing new act called Odd Cabaret. 

Inko (who will also perform her take on Italian dancing at this year’s Roman Holiday themed Beijing Pizza Festival; stay tuned for more coverage on that saucy, cheesy happening; click here for the latest info) says Odd Cabaret will not only include her mesmerizing moves, but also find her collaborating with artists of other mediums for a project that is her most eclectic yet. As she puts it: “Odd Cabaret is an unconventional tale of love and desire, that the Lunatic Moires will tell you through tribal bellydance, live singing, poetry and more.”

A promo for the show promises audiences will be immersed in a noirish narrative scored with not only the type of aged, uber cool jazz you might expect but also music from genres as varied as swing and cyberpunk. Some of the music will be live, some of it blasted from speakers; poets will push the narrative forward at one moment, followed by singers, and belly dancers as well. That promo adds that “this show will take you on a cinematographic journey of desires without rules, through a world which has nothing to lose.”

It’s a laudable leap forward for an artist already renowned in Beijing for her talents. Talk radio Nancy Jenkinson Brown, who once interviewed Inko popular talk radio show Touch, Beijing tells the Beijinger that the belly dancer is among the very best guests she has ever invited on the program. “It was fascinating having Inko on to talk about tribal belly dance, and her impact on Chinese belly dance troupes, and how it's not just about dance but also really showing your identity. That was amazing.”

That much and more was apparent to anyone who saw Inko’s transfixing performance at this year’s inaugural Hot and Spicy Festival this past May. Ahead of that event, she reflected on how she got her start in the form: “It's been an eight-year adventure for me now! I started practicing in 2010, teaching in 2012 and performing with my own tribe the Lunatic Moires in 2014.”

Indeed, Inko is arguably as well known for those inspired classes as for her performances, telling the Beijinger during that pre-Spicy Fest interview about some of the wisdom she imparts on students: “When you start tribal belly dance, you might first struggle to control your muscles. But to reach the best level in this dance discipline, you must be able to deeply relax your muscles so that your dance looks effortless.”

“Also, I would say that it's crucial to cultivate your own artistic personality, your own approach of this style, and to actually tell a story through your dance, instead of showing off a set of skills,” she went on to say about a lesson works to impress on her students, which she clearly utilizes herself. “The technique must serve the poetry. Personally, if I am watching an amazing dancer, I’m not analyzing her or his moves anymore, I’m just lost in the world these moves are sewing for me.”

Ahead of the Sep 21 Modernista show, Inko also says that she's more than keen to try something new. And as much as Odd Cabaret seems like a boldly eclectic departure from other forms of bellydance that Inko is known for performing, she points out: "Actually, tribal bellydance is in itself a fusion style, which naturally brings me to dance on either very ancient and traditional sounds or very modern and potentially industrial music." And the benefits of forging into that new territory are about so much more than staying sharp and warding off complacency. As she puts it: "My dance technique is always tribal bellydance, but its versatile nature allows me to explore very different worlds that actually haunt me. The diversity of my work is not an effort to stay vibrant, it is a necessity and a thirst."
 

Don't miss the curtain call! All of TBJ's theatre and live performance coverage can be found here.
 

Inko di Ö’s Odd Cabaret will be performed at Modernista on Sep 21 at 9pm. Tickets range from RMB 120, 190 and 240, and any tickets bought today (Sep 18) will be eligible for an RMB 50 reimbursement. The WeChat contact for that is 186 1815 5635. Also, don't miss Inko's performance, along with a range of other entertainment and swaths of sizzling pizza, at this year's Roman Holiday themed Pizza Festival. For more information on that, click here.

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Email: kylemullin@truerun.com
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Photos: courtesy of Inko di Ö