Amulya
Moderator
Ok, I'll risk being called a bitch, but as I belong to the BOB I'll risk it.
Yesterday I went to a Eastern music festival. It included ME and Indian music and some belly dance as well. Now the belly dancing was rather bad, other dancers agreed with me, but there was one thing in particular that I like to discuss.
There were tribal dancers as well, but they were dressed up in such a mish mash it didn't look quite right. Next to me there were 2 Arab ladies sitting and they were all the time giggling and seemed very amused by it all. They were trying to get my attention as they seemed curious what I thought of it all, so I smiled at them and they knew what I thought. Worse they were most amused by a dancer who was brought from another state to dance to this festival and teach a workshop. This dancer had the most ridiculous way of teaching how to belly dance. The movements she did were rather strange and the way she explained it too (holding your navel, plucking apples). The other dancers who were there did think it was strange too, but it is such a pity that belly dance was shown like this to the general audience.
This made me think: how far can you go with crazy made up combinations, where does it become funny or even insulting? I am all for fusion, I really like it, but this and a resent experience at a gig I had made me think. This gig was a Bollywood theme and the people at the party were dressed up so weird that my husband was greatly insulted.
Yesterday I went to a Eastern music festival. It included ME and Indian music and some belly dance as well. Now the belly dancing was rather bad, other dancers agreed with me, but there was one thing in particular that I like to discuss.
There were tribal dancers as well, but they were dressed up in such a mish mash it didn't look quite right. Next to me there were 2 Arab ladies sitting and they were all the time giggling and seemed very amused by it all. They were trying to get my attention as they seemed curious what I thought of it all, so I smiled at them and they knew what I thought. Worse they were most amused by a dancer who was brought from another state to dance to this festival and teach a workshop. This dancer had the most ridiculous way of teaching how to belly dance. The movements she did were rather strange and the way she explained it too (holding your navel, plucking apples). The other dancers who were there did think it was strange too, but it is such a pity that belly dance was shown like this to the general audience.
This made me think: how far can you go with crazy made up combinations, where does it become funny or even insulting? I am all for fusion, I really like it, but this and a resent experience at a gig I had made me think. This gig was a Bollywood theme and the people at the party were dressed up so weird that my husband was greatly insulted.