Miranda Phoenix
New member
Folks have expressed their weariness at constantly having to define and defend "real" bellydance from all the Western wannabe dancers... well, I'm just as tired of being told only real Egyptian dancers are capable of bellydancing. :think:
As to the original clip, I don't really like it. It looks like a bad fusion of the beauty and excitement aspects of Cabaret bellydance (to me, a playful, soft, exciting and beautiful dance) with the strength and power moves of Tribal (to me, an intimate, warm, exciting and powerful dance).
I can't really tell if the lack of the playful aspect of Cabaret or the intimate aspect of Tribal is the problem, or that the emotion that is shown is jarring against the particular fusion of elements chosen. Either way, I don't care for it.
Some of her combinations and pops look like they might even be painful to execute. And, yeah, wow, that 3:07 move is totally a cat hacking up a hairball. :naghty:
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Going back to the topic of feeling, I believe part of why Western dancers are so often labeled "unemotional" by Eastern dancers is the difference in venues and the impact that has on the dancer's connection with her audience.
All of the clips of Eastern dancers are filmed in small, intimate settings (with Samay's stage being the largest, but still with an intimate feel to it), as opposed to the large staging and brighter lighting so often used in Western performances (as in the OP clip). Since connecting with someone who's nearly within arm's length would come almost naturally - and doing the same with an audience on the other side of a bank of lights would be much more difficult - it follows that a "colder" Western performance no more reflects a lack of emotion on the part of a Western dancer than a "charismatic" Eastern performance reflects a secret, culturally-born talent of an Eastern dancer.
My .02 worth. (Of course, by the reckoning of many on this forum, my Western roots naturally reduce the value of my input, so perhaps I should simply say, my opinion, for whatever it's worth.
)
P.S. I totally "faved" Samay's video. Awesome performance!
As to the original clip, I don't really like it. It looks like a bad fusion of the beauty and excitement aspects of Cabaret bellydance (to me, a playful, soft, exciting and beautiful dance) with the strength and power moves of Tribal (to me, an intimate, warm, exciting and powerful dance).
I can't really tell if the lack of the playful aspect of Cabaret or the intimate aspect of Tribal is the problem, or that the emotion that is shown is jarring against the particular fusion of elements chosen. Either way, I don't care for it.
Some of her combinations and pops look like they might even be painful to execute. And, yeah, wow, that 3:07 move is totally a cat hacking up a hairball. :naghty:
- - - - -
Going back to the topic of feeling, I believe part of why Western dancers are so often labeled "unemotional" by Eastern dancers is the difference in venues and the impact that has on the dancer's connection with her audience.
All of the clips of Eastern dancers are filmed in small, intimate settings (with Samay's stage being the largest, but still with an intimate feel to it), as opposed to the large staging and brighter lighting so often used in Western performances (as in the OP clip). Since connecting with someone who's nearly within arm's length would come almost naturally - and doing the same with an audience on the other side of a bank of lights would be much more difficult - it follows that a "colder" Western performance no more reflects a lack of emotion on the part of a Western dancer than a "charismatic" Eastern performance reflects a secret, culturally-born talent of an Eastern dancer.
My .02 worth. (Of course, by the reckoning of many on this forum, my Western roots naturally reduce the value of my input, so perhaps I should simply say, my opinion, for whatever it's worth.
)P.S. I totally "faved" Samay's video. Awesome performance!