Styles of Bellydance defined

Kind of nice video from yotube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHsErY-5rNs&search=rachel brice

What do you think about this opinions?

Styles etc.

Dear Is'adZahira,
Wellllllll. I'd say that it was pretty much glossed over and inaccurate....
Regards,
A'isha

Hmmm. VERY vague and I agree with A'isha that it's glossed over. A layman or beginner dancer would never be able to apply that information to a performance and identify the style they are seeing. Too vague. Too much of an umbrella.

A'isha Azar said:

Dear Is'adZahira,
Wellllllll. I'd say that it was pretty much glossed over and inaccurate....
Regards,
A'isha

Click to expand...

I agree

Well, as a person who has been bellydancing for about a week and a half, I would have to say:

"Eh?"

What I got out of that was:
Egyptian Style = influenced Hollywood and influenced BY Hollywood. Beads and Sequins.
Cabaret Style = eclectic. Great because it mixes with Indian and Spanish moves as well.
Tribal Style = earthy. Great because it ALSO mixes Indian and Spanish moves - along with hip-hop. Snake-like.
Tribal Eclectic = combines Tribal with other influences....which I..um...thought WAS the definition of Tribal.
Interview Portion = "...a big problem in the BD community is that people are combining BD with other styes....it is REALLY a folkdance!"

Wow! Confusing! I would recommend to fellow beginners:

The great dance style definitions on this very site:
http://www.orientaldancer.net/articles/styles.shtml

This is also very informative:
http://www.shira.net/styles.htm

And what would I do without Wikipedia?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belly_dancing

I still can't tell what someone's dancing by "sight", but I'm learning!

AT

tim'ema said:

Well, as a person who has been bellydancing for about a week and a half, I would have to say:

"Eh?"

Click to expand...

Wow, was that some people trying to justify the BDSS tour as 'authentic bellydance'? Cause it kinda sounded like that.... but I'm not going to get into that now....We've beaten and rebeaten that horse to death!

Tim'ema, luckily you have a few more resources.... I'm sure that there are some girls out there who take this as "the word" on bellydance. My suggestion to you and to all beginners (and what I have been doing) is to continue to research on your own. Don't just take people's word for it because they appear to know a little more than you.

I aslo like the Dutch site www.bellydancing.nl.
Unfortunately for most of you the info is in Dutch

i think it was confusing and non informative.

First, they don't distinguish Egyptian style/Lebanese/Turkish/etc styles. They go right from saying Egyptian is inspired by 30/40's American movies (only costume aspects no? Did they even mention anything about the dance style??????? Style over substance, I see you silly youtube clip!).

Then bam we are hit with cabaret...... with a lady from BDSS shaking her chest saying you can fuse anything with cabaret, and that it is very "Las Vegas showgirl" blahblahblah.

OKay, then onto "Tribal"...we see a picture of Rachel Brice who says she does tribal (I think tribal is confused anyhow, because she doesn't do "original" LA tribal...whatever*grabs hair*). Where she goes on to say how cabaret is flighty and tribal is very earthy and snakelike (again, she's talking about her style, and not "traditional" tribal). OKay, my problem with that is my teacher teachers Egyptian style which is very earthy and grounded..... OH! THHeenn she says she doesn't more "tribal fusion" because she adds all sorts of types of dance including hip hop and club style (?) and does a certain "pop and lock" style and originated with "someone" but she isn't sure... I know break dancers do pops and locks, so may be she got it from them : )

Not hating on Rachel, I think she is a great performer, but this whole clip sucks the big one! No wonder there is so much confusion...... they also shoul have added that "tribal" is a misnomer (sort of) because it comes from no real tribe, mixes lots o dance types, etc. Thhougghh perhaps they are CREATING their own tribe...and dance style...umm. Again! No hating, just lots of shadey confusingness.

And then at the end Morocco (I believe) definatively states that it is/was a folk dance. Again, which is...interesting. As I feel the same way as others on this forum, a dance takes on a new form when it becomes a profession/for stage. People in cuba may do salsa or some other type of wicked dance, but it is far removed from the professional version.

iris/aod

PS. I think teachers should hand out a manual with the ACTUAL history of the dance/s, important people to know, descriptions, etc to all of their new students. Then again, I wonder if that is done with ballet or other uber formal dances? I've read the belly dancing bible and tribal bible (I can't remember the name of the first) and still I feel like I don't have good enough information. Help uuusssssssss historians!

Angelofdance said:

I think teachers should hand out a manual with the ACTUAL history of the dance/s, important people to know, descriptions, etc to all of their new students. Then again, I wonder if that is done with ballet or other uber formal dances? I've read the belly dancing bible and tribal bible (I can't remember the name of the first) and still I feel like I don't have good enough information. Help uuusssssssss historians!

Click to expand...

Oh, Iris honey, I couldn't agree with you more! So many people start dancing, build professional careers, and then turn around and teach without ever having any real solid knowledge of the dance's cultural background. It makes me kinda sick.