Ew? Miles Copeland's Latest Diss

[Sophia Maria]

Ugh. I do see his point on most of these (except for his poo-pooing of folkloric. Easy?!!), but this entire article was just so arrogant. Arrogant, arrogant, arrogant. He would do better at convincing me if he just didn't talk like Mr. "I've lived with the Arabs so I know ALL of them and no one can hope to know as much as me"

 

[DancingArabian]

Oh, honey, how negligent of you: you forgot the stilts. What's a belly dance without stilts?

Here you go!
[video=youtube;ABFPQ2QEPLs]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABFPQ2QEPLs&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DABFPQ2QEPLs[/video]

 

[gisela]

Here you go!
[video=youtube;ABFPQ2QEPLs]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABFPQ2QEPLs&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DABFPQ2QEPLs[/video]

NO, surely NOT!? well she's pretty bad stilts or not. I kept hoping for a turkish drop at the end though *snicker*

 

[Yame]

Ugh. I do see his point on most of these (except for his poo-pooing of folkloric. Easy?!!), but this entire article was just so arrogant. Arrogant, arrogant, arrogant. He would do better at convincing me if he just didn't talk like Mr. "I've lived with the Arabs so I know ALL of them and no one can hope to know as much as me"

Yup. He always begins with a reasonable premise that could be built into a decent point, but then draws the most extreme conclusion imaginable from that premise, and it all just devolves into ridiculousness, which we're supposed to believe because he's a self-proclaimed expert on belly dance and the Middle East.

 

[ezmasiddiqah]

that video shows one bellydancing "prop" I've never seen used, and never want to see again :shok:

 

[Kashmir]

Decades back I remember two very good belly dancers that had a stilt act in Sydney. Looked pretty impressive on stage but later I saw them use them in a restaurant gig! Why so impressive? Because they were very high stilts and one came through the door on them - ever see a stilt walker doing a backbend through a door?

 

[Shanazel]

Okay. Stilts has been done well and poorly.

Can anyone find a belly dance on pogo sticks schtick?

 

[shiradotnet]

I want to "like" this post twice, but i don't think I can!

Ah, but you CAN double-like! First click on "like", then off the the left lower corner of the message you'll see a little 6-pointed star - click on that to give "reputation" to the person who posted it!

 

[AndreaSTL]

Miles has always been about the money, pure and simple. He's a business man and nothing more. Living in Arab countries 40 years ago doesn't make him an expert. He's had experiences most of us never will, but that doesn't mean he knows everything about the area and the art form. This article has no point as far as I can tell, and I'm not surprised about anything he's said to justify his actions.

What I am surprised by is how dancers fall all over themselves to be a part of it; they attach prestige to their participation that just isn't there. What is so prestigious about being chosen based on your Google ranking? If they approach a studio who opts not to work with them will they just give up in that city? No, they'll just go to the next one until someone accepts. The locals have to book a venue, take care of advertising, and book the local talent. The budget they have for these items is restrictive in larger cities, but I'm not sure if there is any revenue sharing based on ticket sales. If so then the local group might be able to recoup some expenses, but I wouldn't guess it's a real moneymaker for them. Since the local troupes book half the show BDSS has no control over quality. There's no way in Hades that many of the local dancers are on par with the touring dancers, so if BDSS isn't concerned with presenting a quality show what's left? Money.

Pardon me, is my cynicism showing again?

 

[seona]

I saw the bdss show about 8 or 9 (?) years ago and basically the huge venue was empty apart from a group right down at the front of the theatre, embarrassing! There was no atmosphere ,so I can see why he has now started club belly dance, good business move! I imagine a smaller intimate setting would work better as from my experience the show just didn't fill the theatre. He could probably see that and I believe this was his motive for club belly dance.

To add - ok, so he has opinions on folk dance, but why divorce them from the show completely? It would be nice to see some included in a show, I'd much prefer to see that than the awful grass skirted pot dance I saw at the bdss show!

 

[Belly Dancing Housewife]

I apologize if it has already been posted. I could not find this discussion anywhere.

I just found this on Gilded Serpent today... Miles Copeland dishing out some more opinions about belly dance, folkloric dance, and what makes a successful show.

Gilded Serpent, Belly Dance News & Events , » Make New Friends & Keep the Old

That was one of the worst articles I have ever read about belly dance. He's taking it and making it into something it was never meant to be. I think the only reason it is shunned in the Mid East today is because the West has taken belly dance and made it into a dance of seduction instead of something beautiful that females of all ages can do to keep their bodies fit and healthy, especially for pregnancy and childbirth.

 

[Jane]

That was one of the worst articles I have ever read about belly dance. He's taking it and making it into something it was never meant to be.

Agree with you there!

I think the only reason it is shunned in the Mid East today is because the West has taken belly dance and made it into a dance of seduction instead of something beautiful that females of all ages can do to keep their bodies fit and healthy, especially for pregnancy and childbirth.

Not sure I'm following you on these ideas though. :think:

 

[Aniseteph]

I think people in the ME are quite capable of having opinions on their home-grown belly dance and dancers without giving a hoot what goes on in the name of BD in the West. Not that some of them are not going to have collective WTH? moments at some Western takes on it, but that's a different issue IMO.

 

[Farasha Hanem]

That was one of the worst articles I have ever read about belly dance. He's taking it and making it into something it was never meant to be. I think the only reason it is shunned in the Mid East today is because the West has taken belly dance and made it into a dance of seduction instead of something beautiful that females of all ages can do to keep their bodies fit and healthy, especially for pregnancy and childbirth.

No, that's not quite it. For them, it is a social dance, and when they see things like "fusionists" dancing while balancing on top of beer cans, for example, they have that "What the *cough!*" reaction.

 

[Aniseteph]

And that it's not the dance that's got the bad rep as much as the doing it in public for money in costume. :naghty:

 

[Amulya]

I haven't read the whole thread, but I was wondering who requested folkloric dance for the BDSS when there are already good big folkloric shows out there organised by other people.

 

[Zumarrad]

People who think a bit of folkloric dance better reflects the wide range of interesting and entertaining things that exist in our bellydance world than hula fusion on stilts?

 

[Zorba]

... than hula fusion on stilts?

ZUM! You just gave away my next show! :lol::lol::dance:

 

[Greek Bonfire]

It's amazing how after all these years creating the BDSS, he never becomes more educated! And yet, I myself have to say that without the BDSS, I never would've entered that big door to the danse du ventre world and found out there was so much more. However, I did start with tsiftitelli to a live Greek band, but to pat myself on the back, I do believe I have furthered my own education immensely more than this dude.

 

[Farasha Hanem]

I guess people who see $.$ can't see anything else. >.>