Dancers You Don't Like

Farasha Hanem

New member
Dislikes:
Dancers whose expression is contrived, fake, insincere… leaves me cold.
If you got slick technique and that’s all... Boring!
Doing something different just for the sake of being different, not because there is a real artistic vision you are communicating.
Masturbatory performing - when it’s all about that dancer, her ego or whatever and there is an underwhelming level of respect for the dance, the culture, the process, the audience etc.

*reps you and adds "masturbatory performing" to my growing bellydance glossary* xD
 

Amulya

Moderator
Masturbatory performing - when it’s all about that dancer, her ego or whatever and there is an underwhelming level of respect for the dance, the culture, the process, the audience etc.

:lol::lol::lol:! I call that diva behavior, but this is much more funny, we can add that to the OD dictionary!
 

Shanazel

Moderator
Huh. And here I thought M* Performing occurs when a dancer just sits on her own thumb and spins aimlessly.
 

LadyLoba

New member
I'm not knowledgeable enough to explain this but....

....the performances I personally did not enjoy were the ones where it looks like the dancer is basically prancing around the stage.
 

seona

New member
....the performances I personally did not enjoy were the ones where it looks like the dancer is basically prancing around the stage.



You saying this reminds me of a (so-called) professional dancer I viewed on youtube recently. Everything about her was professional - costume, look, music...apart from the dancing! I couldn't watch it all but I did observe that she mainly spun and galloped around her performance space like a giraffe! I say giraffe as she reminded me of that awkard looking gait of a giraffe running across the plains lol. I like to see a dancer make use of floor space -if that's what the music is telling you to do, but just galloping and turning turned me off!

As for the spins and turns the thing that stood out to me straight away was that she couldn't keep her centre/balance. Imo a pro dancer shouldn't loose balance whilst turning - that stands out like a sore thumb to me.

I would never name the dancer as it dosent matter and I know I'm not perfect but this is a professional dancer. Maybe her dance did calm down/improved towards the end - I don't know as I didn't want to waste anymore time watching lol...lifes too short!


an after thought - I really don't like a large hip circle done whilst the dancer is facing away from the audience. That really turns me off, it's like here we go big deep slow circle and a giant arse in your face lol...to each there own but I really don't like that.
 
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charlieL

New member
You saying this reminds me of a (so-called) professional dancer I viewed on youtube recently. Everything about her was professional - costume, look, music...apart from the dancing! I couldn't watch it all but I did observe that she mainly spun and galloped around her performance space like a giraffe! I say giraffe as she reminded me of that awkard looking gait of a giraffe running across the plains lol. I like to see a dancer make use of floor space -if that's what the music is telling you to do, but just galloping and turning turned me off!

As for the spins and turns the thing that stood out to me straight away was that she couldn't keep her centre/balance. Imo a pro dancer shouldn't loose balance whilst turning - that stands out like a sore thumb to me.

I would never name the dancer as it dosent matter and I know I'm not perfect but this is a professional dancer. Maybe her dance did calm down/improved towards the end - I don't know as I didn't want to waste anymore time watching lol...lifes too short!


an after thought - I really don't like a large hip circle done whilst the dancer is facing away from the audience. That really turns me off, it's like here we go big deep slow circle and a giant arse in your face lol...to each there own but I really don't like that.

Very funny:) O`d really like to see that clip.
 
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seona

New member
charlieL said:
Very funny:) O`d really like to see that clip.


lol, maybe one day you will come across it ...and confuse it for a wildlife documentary :lol:

I think maybe in her world this dancer thought she was a professional... Thats all I'm saying....knew I shouldn't have crept back into this topic lol
 
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AndreaSTL

New member
The problem with listing certain things I don't like is that I've probably done them all at one time or another.
Poor costuming? yep
Flit show (just doing a lot of moving around)? yep
Not properly matching music and dance styles? yep
Big hip circle away from the audience? yep, and I was in the middle of it thinking "WTF am I doing?!" :shok:
Some of these are because I simply didn't know any better, and some were just bad accidents. I have some performances I've loved, and there have been some I wish didn't exist on video.

There are some dancers who, while I can appreciate their passion and technical abilities, I just don't get. There are others where I will love one performance and be left unmoved by another. Suhaila falls in the latter category for me (only using her since she's already been outed :mad:). I need to see her live to get the full impact, and I most appreciate when she's not doing fusion work. I once saw her do a taxim with just her violinist and was moved to tears. It was absolutely beautiful. There was another performance that felt (to me) more focused on pageantry and didn't have even a tenth of the impact. Of course, YMMV. ;)

As with all things artistic, some people's work will resonate with you and some won't. It's just not possible to appeal to everyone all the time. I've never met Bruce Willis, but the guy just gets on my last nerve. Plenty of folks love him and think he's hot, but not I. I find contemporary decorating cold and impersonal while others find it clean and modern. These aren't moral judgments so they're much harder to say what's right and wrong, which is the long-winded answer of "yes" to the OP's question of are there famous dancers you don't like? :)
 

LadyLoba

New member
Actually that was a great answer! And I agree on Bruce Willis...I don't find him enjoyable to watch as an actor or physically attractive...but clearly a lot of people do...

One thing this brings up...I noticed I like a LOT more well known belly dancers than other artists. I love Shakira, Springsteen, Dylan, and the band Train but other than that am not a huge "rock star" enthusiast. And in Hollywood Anthony Edwards, George Clooney, Kevin Spacey, and a few not very well known people from TV are all that really impress me....sports...I can barely name 5...though I do like American football when I'm in the right mood. But most of the professional belly dancers Ive seen Ive really liked.
 

charlieL

New member
In your opinion, what`s the worst "sin" of a bellydancer?

bad technique?, hideous costume?, tipping? dancing with heels?(for me it`s ok to watch a dancer with heels but for many is a sin) dancing sexually? another that is not in the list?
Those are one of the most common sins but there is one sin that any dancer dont dare to do, do you know what is?
 

Nejmeh

New member
Well. I am betting on trowing your sword into the audience. No? Well, in that case, your probably aiming at an ancient profession?:rolleyes:
 

charlieL

New member
Well. I am betting on trowing your sword into the audience. No? Well, in that case, your probably aiming at an ancient profession?:rolleyes:

Hahaha. Well, i`ll tell you what is the thing that most bellydancers dont dare to do; it is to say her age, i am sure most of them will do all the things i wrote insted of revealing the age.
 

Shanazel

Moderator
I'm fifty-five. I'm thinking of having my birthdate tattooed prominently on my body so my audience won't interupt my performances by whispering, "Good lord, how old do you suppose she is?"
 

Nejmeh

New member
And there is shanazel to our rescue!!!:D (seriously, you remind me of my mom, same attitude, love that!)

Ok, I don`t have much to reveal just yet, but for others, I have yet to come across the bellydancer who didn`t want to share her age. I actually think bellydancers are a little less spastic about their age then 'normal women'.
 
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