Dubstep + belly dance

[Trisha]

Hi! What do you think of such untraditional style and what are your opinion on using this kind of music which is quite far from traditional Eastern rhytms? Added my video. your comments are welcome
Patricia bellydancer Chasing Shadows - Amirah - YouTube

 

[Darshiva]

It's a good choice of music for the fusion and you're dancing well.

However, I'm 2.5 minutes into your choreography and you have thus far neglected one half of the audience (to your right when you were performing & facing them). I understand the limitations of space when practicing - you need to mentally account for that when writing a choreography and give yourself time in the choreography to really make it to centre stage so you can give all of your audience love.

In this case I'd probably have tacked on a short 'intro' to the song to allow you time to move to where you needed to be. It was obvious that your choreography was balanced but that the stage was a lot larger than you'd anticipated in your choreo.

 

[jjj]

I'm not a belly dancer but as a watcher I was very entertain. I give her a thumbs up. But I do like fusion.

 

[Sophia Maria]

I'm personally totally open to fusion, and I think dubstep affects bellydance interestingly. However, I usually am not so gung-ho for dubstep bellydance only because there's usually very little rhythmic variation in dubstep (I am obsessed with rhythm and I need my rhythm changes ). But I think you made a good song choice and I definitely heard variation. I like what you did starting at :50, it really reflected the progression in the music!

 

[Taslin]

I enjoyed watching you dance.

I dunno how i feel about dubstep+bellydance specifically though...i mean fusion is fusing things so ... have at it, i guess.

I dont really like dubstep though, but i did like watching this so that says something about your ability to dance/entertain :0)

 

[Shakti]

You are very good! I like what you have done here.

In your floor section,I maybe would explore the idea of staying a few more counts in the Turkish drop postion once you reach the floor. Your descent was very impressive, just felt you came up to quick. Floor work is a time to let the audience watch you, the more you loose yourself in the moment the better.

Spins where my favorite part...really cool!

 

[Jane]

You asked for opinions. Here is mine.

As dancing it was fine.

Speaking as a belly dancer who believes belly dance is an ethnic dance form, I wouldn't label it "belly dance" anything. It's too far afield from the original dance and does not look like actual belly dance anymore.

Why not come up with another name for your creation? World Fusion, Theatrical Club or something. The name belly dance is not a term meaning "free form dance to whatever I like". It is a cultural dance from North Africa and the Near and Middle East with specific music, movement vocabulary and musicality. I don't see anything Middle Eastern about your performance, so why are you calling this belly dance?

I also don't think I'd dance at a function called "exotic dance" anything. Exotic dance in my area implies dancing in underwear. I have issues with the name of the performance on several levels, it's in very poor taste.

Others will applaud your creativity, but I think you need to hear the opinion of the other side as well. Hearing it here openly and honestly is better than having people snark behind your back, or give you silent disapproval for your lack of cultural connection.

 

[Aniseteph]

I have to agree with Jane in belly dance terms - impressive moves but it's another one of those times I look at a performance and think that this is soooo far from what I understand belly dance to be about, why does it all still have to have the same name? :wall:

 

[Sophia Maria]

I enjoyed watching you dance.

I dunno how i feel about dubstep+bellydance specifically though...i mean fusion is fusing things so ... have at it, i guess.

I dont really like dubstep though, but i did like watching this so that says something about your ability to dance/entertain :0)

This is basically how I feel--but I think you've really got something here, so you made the dubstep worth it for me

What Jane is saying may come off a little harsh, but she does have a legitimate point. In my opinion, I would disagree just because Bellydance, as it is danced today (even Egyptian style) is itself a world apart from the cultural dance forms it was inspired by. Our dance has a very complicated history!! I would just say that if you're a tribal fusion dancer, be prepared for this kind of critique and make sure you're well-versed in bellydance history and cultural knowledge. I think you've got a artistic right to dance however you want, and personally I just choose not to care about the various names of things...but also learn a lot and respect the history of where it comes from.

Well anyway, I very much enjoyed your dancing, especially those spins! Dizzying!

 

[Jane]

In my opinion, I would disagree just because Bellydance, as it is danced today (even Egyptian style) is itself a world apart from the cultural dance forms it was inspired by.

Huh? Egyptians in Egypt are still doing Egyptian belly dance to Egyptian music last I looked.

I really like dubstep music and I believe that everyone has the right to dance to what they like the way they want to. If you call doing club/American Jazz dance and throw in a couple hip movements to dubstep music *belly dance*, I reserve the right to think you are clueless.

Naming things is important. A chair is not a table even if both are furniture.

 

[Jane]

That was not harsh. That was honest. If you present something in public and then ask for opinions you will get a real answer from me and not a gratuitous pat on the head.

Creative endeavors that significantly branch off from the original sources deserve their own name. Not agreeing to call everything belly dance does not negate the validity of a well done artistic performance.

If you are creative enough to make your own dance up, you are obviously capable of coming up with an original name for it.

 

[Sophia Maria]

Huh? Egyptians in Egypt are still doing Egyptian belly dance to Egyptian music last I looked.

My point is just that belly dance is by its nature a hybrid artistic form, and some of its roots are not inherently Egyptian but are also due to colonial influences--the bedlah, for instance, and the fact that it started to be performed as a solo performance art instead of a group dance. It has always been constantly evolving. An Egyptian from...1900, say, might look at how Egyptians dance Raqs Sharqi today and find it a little odd. My point is that art changes quickly and constantly and it cannot be kept in check.

That being said, I most definitely agree with you in the sense that we as dancers need to respect where this dance has come from--as you have said, this dance is very far afield from its origins.

I only said it sounded harsh because your original comment sounded abrupt to me--that may have been misinterpretation, because unfortunately some aspects of communication are lost through text and the internet. I just mentioned that to Trisha because I wanted her to really consider what you were saying, instead of being frustrated and brushing your comment off, because what you're saying is completely valid.

Other than that I think we'll just have to agree to disagree. I'm not really up for another Egyptian vs Tribal discussion...

 

[Kashmir]

My point is just that belly dance is by its nature a hybrid artistic form, and some of its roots are not inherently Egyptian but are also due to colonial influences--the bedlah, for instance, and the fact that it started to be performed as a solo performance art instead of a group dance.

Yes, but it was the locals who decided what they would incorporate into their dance and how. For instance, they did not add high kicks which was entertainment at that time. For it to remain belly dance and not become something else the changes need to come from the source - not from without.

Belly dance by definition is solo - hence the use of SITA (Solo-Improvised dance based on Torso Articulation) by Andrea Deagon. For some venues group pieces are used for variety, space use, getting beginners up on stage etc - but these are the understood exceptions; not the rule.

 

[Ariadne]

Well now that you've heard from the traditionalists.


With all the to do I went back and watched your performance again in case I had missed something but I didn't actually see anything that isn't fairly standard in Tribal Fusion dance. I had to look up what dubstep was but the music is pretty similar to the sort of music that I have seen many professional Tribal Fusion dancers use so the only criticism there would be the lack of variation that has already been mentioned. Even with that you did a great job of adding variety and interest in your performance and I enjoyed it a lot.

Your movements were recognizable Tribal Fusion movements with Tribal/BD vocabulary combined with the pops and locks that help define the style. I didn't see any weird additional dance style mixed in under a pseudonym so I don't see any issues with calling it what it was, Tribal Fusion. Not "Dubstep + belly dance" just Tribal Fusion.

If you want to add richness to your movements you might want to consider taking classes in ATS and Egyptian Oriental (assuming you aren't already) but you show a great deal of skill already so you have nothing to be ashamed of.

As for whether or not it counts as BD I just use the chart below by Nadira Jamal.


In summery, well done.

 

[Birdlight]

That chart is really rather interesting. Like it!

In regards to dubstep/bellydance, YES! Myself and my dance partner are about to take out a performance to Eastern Jam by Chase&Status which I'm very excited about. I think it works for this style of dance rather well. You get the drawn out gooey sections of music and the rhythmic drums that follow a similar pattern to oriental musics to my ears.

I thought your piece was technically proficient tribal fusion. I'd maybe slow it down a little in places, add some more pauses and 'pretty squishies', just to contrast with your locks more? But thats my own taste mind you!

So yes, it works imo, BUT you do have to prepare for the fact that it is very different from traditional bellydance, and a lot of people doing the 'root' form of this dance as it stands today will not like it, or will not like it being called bellydance. As someone who dances 'fusion' AND 'trad', I can see both sides but try not to debate it too much. You can't make yourself dance to something that isn't 'you', and I think that this style suits you well from what I can see in your video.

 

[Jane]

So what happened to Trisha? Gone after one post? :think:

 

[Yame]

So what happened to Trisha? Gone after one post? :think:

I'm noticing a lot of people lately coming here and even on Bhuz, posting one video of themselves (or a blog post) and then disappearing forever. Come on people, if you're going to self-promote, at least TRY and be a part of a few discussions on the forum. This is a community, not a vehicle for marketing yourself and/or boosting your ego.

I do appreciate watching videos of our actual members, though. You know, people who actually try to contribute something other than just videos of themselves.

 

[Aniseteph]

I'm noticing a lot of people lately coming here and even on Bhuz, posting one video of themselves (or a blog post) and then disappearing forever. Come on people, if you're going to self-promote, at least TRY and be a part of a few discussions on the forum. This is a community, not a vehicle for marketing yourself and/or boosting your ego.

Oh ITA with you there - it is very tiresome. Is it just for the YouTube hits? For validation? Do they even come back to read the comments? If they don't care about what we think why post it here? Maybe we are just supposed to be grateful for the chance to see their awesomeness...

There's one I saw on Bhuz recently that I'm sort of hoping gets posted here because it went rather WTF in the middle and I'm too polite to comment over there. Hmm... maybe if they turn out to be in the shameless self-promoter category I will give them a bit more publicity and post it here too.

ETA: Well WHAT do you know, fancy that... it's already been posted here! On the plus side they did more than just the one post on Bhuz, they started three threads. On the minus side all three are just the same clip.

 

[Sophia Maria]

I'm noticing a lot of people lately coming here and even on Bhuz, posting one video of themselves (or a blog post) and then disappearing forever. Come on people, if you're going to self-promote, at least TRY and be a part of a few discussions on the forum.

Agree. I was wondering if she was ever gonna post again. In my opinion if you're dancer or an aspiring one like me, you have to try to learn as much as you can and get involved with lots of people! C'mon Trisha, we don't bite!

 

[Jane]

People are funny. Maybe these drop in posters are only looking for a quick un-biased opinion :think: