The Babybliss girls

[PersianHungarian]

cool never heard of them I like it!

 

[Belly_Dance_By_Deniz]

Hi all - When I moved to London last year, the first class I took was from Melissa who is the director of Baby Bliss Girls. I was trying to get a feel for the belly dance community in London so I tried to take many different classes. She formed her new dance company last year and I performed one of her choreographies at the start of their debut show called "Fusions."

Melissa is very enthusiastic and energetic, and her style is fused with hip hop and some latin flair. Her company members are quite proficient in hip hop dance which forms a strong foundation of their style. Some of the comments about their style being similar to "Pussycat Dolls" is really accurate. They compare themselves to Pussycat Dolls, Beyonce, and Shakira in describing their style.

I come from a background rooted in more traditional styles, including folkloric, but I enjoy trying new things. I think learning Melissa's style has been helpful and encouraged me to become more proficient dancing in heels. She is also really fabulous at isolations and challenged me to layer, layer, layer with my isolations! I think it's enhanced my skills and I appreciate Melissa for challenging me.

I think they have been successful in finding a niche that is able to be commercialized. They have been on TV/music videos already. I appreciate their work, and equally, I recognize that I prefer to remain closer to the traditional styles (but I do become inspired to do a bit of fusion every now and then). If you are interested in seeing them perform live or take a class from Melissa, check out their website: Baby Bliss Girls

 

[lizaj]

Obviously if we go to see them we are not to expect too much belly-dancing then?
Mind you I don't think we here are necessarily the market they are looking for.I am sure the GP will find them entertaining but as for belly dance aficianados.no.:think:

 

[BellydanceBelles]

Hi there,
The Babybliss Girls are a very modern belly dance fusion group. Melissa teaches classes in all sorts of styles from traditional belly dancing, samba, hip-hop etc.
Her classes are very energetic!!! I have taken a few classes with her and she's great. But if you're looking for a very Traditional class then I would try elsewhere.....

 

[BDanceGirl]

What makes a good fusion?

I'm not going to call anyone the bellydance police. I'm actually glad my video came through on the forum last summer as it reminded me the importance of staying culturally appropriate when doing both traditional and fusion, and most importantly that you are not just representing yourself but the dance. It sucked at the time, but it was a good eye opener lol.

I love a GOOD fusion, where you can see the blending of the two styles and costuming, where something new develops and there is a presence of technique of both the styles. Flow from movement to movement as well as overall fluidity are very important to me.

I completely understand the viewpoint of the "bellydance police" since bellydance isn't overly well understood still in many places and is often misrepresented which makes it harder for people to understand it.
I am pretty open minded when it comes to dance and support fusions,but I support them when they are balanced and well done if that makes sense. I'm all for people expressing themself, and for dance evolving. But in order to move forward I think you have to know where to start, if that makes sense.

I went on youtube after watching the original posted clip, becauseI don't trust highly editted clips, makes it hard to see technique and what is really going on.



To me, I was not a fan. Fusion or not fusion, the lack of musicality is what really killed it for me.

Miss Vega, I would like to ask your opinion and also of others on the forum on what really makes a good fusion. I am really curious as I really liked your videos from last year and I checked on your youtube channel and I still like your videos this year. I am trying to understand the realizations that you have come to since the episode on the forum last summer. I had a look at this video

YouTube - Cassandra Fox's Caribbean Fusion Solo at Mayada's Student Showcase in Toronto

which you called Caribbean Fusion Solo and I wonder if this is the reason you have left out the 'bellydance' out of this title or am I reading too much into things? Also I noticed that the costuming had a more caribbean influence which I liked.

I might be setting myself up for forum suicide being a newbie but i am just trying to understand as i like fusions and want to learn to do them 'properly'

IMO a dance like that should be called caribbean bellydance fusion as it has elements of both caribbean and bellydance, i dont see anything wrong with that.

 

[Sweet_Romance]

less Dance Too hot & too much sex apeal

 

[brittaz]

My thoughts on the Babybliss Girls

An inspirational and international best-selling writer and author once said 'Everyone seems to have a clear idea of how other people should lead their lives, but none about his or her own'...

This, I believe is true of many of the negative comments made above about the Babybliss Girls. No disrespect to any of you, but shouldn't dancing and belly dancing especially, be about freedom of expression and of femininity and to enhance ourselves as human beings.

The featured part of belly dance, is the hips, however every part of the body is used in this dance form, therefore to say that these girls are not 'belly dancing' is not true. They are different, yes, but they push beyond the norms of what normal people would expect from belly dance and had this not been done thousands of years ago, belly dance wouldn't even be what it is today as we all enjoy it.

I feel very strongly about the notions made because, I have attended some of the troupe members classes and have done my research on them. They are magnificent in their belly dance technique, know the history and culture of the art form and some of them have even been training for over 7 years by the most well-known traditional bellydance teachers out there. They can do a variety of styles, know the movements thoroughly and can layer immensely.

Furthermore, one person made a comment saying ...'They couldn't make it as belly dancers or hip hop dancers so they fused the two' - Again VERY UNTRUE. Melissa Pina herself was a professional hip hop dancer before becoming a professional belly dancer. She has danced for hip hop fitness DVD's, boyz to men concerts and more. SO in fact she mastered both art forms, which is more than some can say for themselves. All the girls in fact have backgrounds in other forms of dance on a professional level and have been mastering them since they were children. You just need to see their bios and what other people say about their teaching methods and solo/group performances. They just enjoy fusing the styles and being different, extraordinary and not the usual norm.

Lastly, most of the troupe members I have met, are beautiful on the inside as well as the outside and I wonder if they would ever have anything negative to say about your dancing - probably not.

I guess we are all entitled to our opinions, but I suggest look a little deeper and don't judge so easily. Its better to be abnormal and ridiculous than normal and boring.

Peace and Love.

 

[Darshiva]

On the whole a beautiful rebuttal, but I do take issue with just one thing.

This, I believe is true of many of the negative comments made above about the Babybliss Girls. No disrespect to any of you, but shouldn't dancing and belly dancing especially, be about freedom of expression and of femininity and to enhance ourselves as human beings.

Unfortunately, you do disrespect a significant contingent of this board with this statement, those whose dance is not about femininity. They include a large portion of the male dancers here and they also include myself. For me the dance is about the music and how it appeals to my soul, and frankly that's what comes out in my performances. It's sometimes sometimes flirty, sometimes cheeky, sometimes dominant & often friendly. People bring their experience into their dance and that's not always feminine.

Now I shall have to go see these girls in action because they obviously engender such debate that they must be something to be beheld!

 

[Salome]

An inspirational and international best-selling writer and author once said 'Everyone seems to have a clear idea of how other people should lead their lives, but none about his or her own'...

This, I believe is true of many of the negative comments made above about the Babybliss Girls. No disrespect to any of you, but shouldn't dancing and belly dancing especially, be about freedom of expression and of femininity and to enhance ourselves as human beings.

Sometimes negative comments about another person's effort are motivated because that person is insecure and jealous. That does happen. However, sometimes when a person looks at another person's effort they do not like it because it simply does not measure up. There is so much coddling and ego stroking in this field, that any critical comment about someone... is met with... I don't know, this emotional response of 'how dare you sir!" I am not accusing you of trying to state that with your post. But it brought it to mind.

Belly dancing is not about freedom of expression. It is about expressing the music, both in making the sound 3 dimensional and the emotion, and doing so within the cultural spirit of the style of Oriental you are performing. The vista of that personal creativity is vast. I am a second generation Oriental dancer, and have pursued it all my life and I have never once felt the well was dry. Rather, the deeper I delve the more is revealed.

Also, this idea that because Oriental dance evolved in countries of origin (over the last approximately 100 years, not thousands of years) is a permission slip for anything goes because I am evolving the art form is bogus. Something we all would do well to remember is that this is not 'OUR' dance form. Not unless you are a native dancer of Lebanon, Egypt or Turkey. The evolution that the dance styles have, and are, experiencing are happening in countries of origin, with native dancers and musicians. We (foreigners) collectively have an attitude that 'this is mine', when in fact it is not. And i think it is that attituide that allows people to do the pick and choose. To pick and choose what it is, what fits my agenda best, what i am using it for.

I was in a workshop once with a native teacher, and he was defining the building blocks of Oriental dance. And a student argued with him, because what he was saying was not what she wanted to hear. We would all be better served to do more listening, studying, trying to understand... and less focused on this entitlement that 'it's all about me'. I get checked... A dancer made a statement about how knowing maqamat deepened a dancers ability to express the music. And my response was something like, I don't see how knowing the modual scales help a dancer to express the visuality of an instrument. But you know what, I don't know maqamat and she does. She took the time to learn it. So who is in a better position to say how applicable it is?!

All of that is said about those who are after an artistic endeavor. Because there are commercial products and there are artists. This group is a commercial product. Over the years I have had contracts in dozens of countries and have seen a hundred show ballet dancers like this. Usually sport dance is the base... but... I know a commercial product takes work, effort, good choreography, training, good costumes, exciting show, fit bodies, good marketing... I don't diminish it at all. I've done plenty of shows for GP that were packaged as a commercial product. So I know all about that. But I also know the difference between an artistic product and a commercial product. They are not the same thing, they do not come from the same place and they do not have the same end goal.

 

[Roshanna]

I've seen them in shows a couple of times, and although I can appreciate that they are very fit and work hard and all the rest, they don't really do much for me. If I wanted to watch that type of dance, I'd go watch MTV, not go to a hafla. Although they do 'bellydancey' moves, the general feel of the dancing does not seem at all Middle Eastern to me, as they tend to move very aggressively and it's all very big and showy and a bit acrobatic - it feels more like hip hop with some extra hip isolations than bellydance with a bit of Western influence.

I can imagine them going down well with the GP, but their dance style is just too far removed from anything I recognise as bellydance to hold my attention for long - none of the things that make me love bellydance are there (musicality, emotion, subtlety, spontaneous individuality, tarab..). I'm also uncomfortable with how overtly 'look at meee I'm so sexxeeee' their image is - I've nothing against sexy dancing, but I don't really like seeing it under the label of bellydance, same as I'm not keen on seeing burlesque presented as bellydance .

Finally, I'm not that fond of the name - as others have mentioned it sounds like a brand of electrical goods, and I have a visceral dislike of the words 'baby'/'babe' or 'girl' used to refer to grown women...

Edited to add: I don't doubt that some of the the troupe members may also be good bellydancers who I'd enjoy watching as soloists, but I've not seen much/any of their solo work. I'm just referring to their troupe work here.