On NPR last night, I was listening to an interview with Arlo Guthrie, and he was talking about musical traditions, and how there is a swing back to folk traditions in the US today. He talked about the difference between folk tradition, which is handed down verbally and evolves with each retelling, and a classical tradition, which has been codified and written down and is handed down somewhat strictly in the same way from then on.

It made me think of ATS' evolution in recent years: coming from bellydance, which is a folk tradition; and today being strictly codified to mean one very specifically documented form and format...is it becoming a classical tradition? Will dancers one day claim being "classically trained in American Tribal Style?" Will it become like ballet, where it will be a given that one must study the roots first, much like dancers usually begin in classical ballet as the roots of moving out into jazz and modern dance? What is happening today, and how will it affect ATS 10 years from now?

What do you think?