Lots of food for thought!

[PracticalDancer]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlDMcHO0b0s&feature=related

Found via Daily Bellydance quickies, this clip is worthy of discussion. We frequently see "bellydancers" dancing to non-trad music as fusion. This (MALE!) dancer performs a very nice drum solo, with just a little hip hop fused in. I actually really like the result, I must say.

Enjoy!

 

[Shanazel]

I'd call it more hip hop than not but it's hard to beat cute and entertaining all wrapped up in the same guy. Well done and great fun! :clap:

 

[Safran]

I kept wondering why he was wearing that pendant-thingie, until at 2:30 I got the answer :lol:

 

[jenc]

I have to say that I thought it was mostly hip hop with a bit of BD thrown in - and I didn't like it. It reminded me rather of the 1st act on here



Strangge to think that in the 60s he won Opportunity Knocks the Britain's Got Talent of those days 6 weeks in a row and went on to feature in cabaret all over the County!!

 

[Avariel]

Loved it! He's very talented, and his shimmies/hip locks/all BD movements are deliciously precise!

 

[Amulya]

Good dancer indeed, got to get used to the different dancing though! The shoes are very distracting though. Makes it harder to dance (look at the hip drops)

 

[Sirène]

His muscle isolations are amazing, I'm impressed. Ditch the sneakers though!

 

[Mosaic]

I really enjoyed that, the fusion was very well done. Superb body isolations. (cute chap as well) As for the sneakers, I believe he wears them because some of those hip-hop moonwalkish moves need the shoes to be executed correctly, bare feet would very likely grab the floor and could cause abrasions on his feet. Imagine bare feet grabbing floor when pressure is placed on the ankles in a twist move - ouch!
~Mosaic

 

[Amulya]

If he needs them, it's better to combine with jeans and a hipscarf I think

 

[Duvet]

The musical muscle man! Thank jenc, I'd forgotten all about him.
I enjoyed the young chap dancing. Hip hop always amazes me. A bit overly chesty for my taste, but then I can't do it, so I'm still very impressed. Some great moves.

 

[indrayu]

Not a great fan of hiphop but he is easily forgiven
The Musical Muscleman was hilarious!

 

[PracticalDancer]

So, I only made it though 30 seconds of MMM; sorry Jenc. Somehow, it felt . . . creepy to watch.

And, so here is where I make a confession: I haven't quite figured out what it is, but there are some dancers who focus on isolation and I enjoy it, like Fabulous Russian Guy, and some that make me think "ick," like MMM. There are also some male dancers that I really enjoy, like FRG, and some that make me think "ick" -- not gonna name names, because this is some gut reaction that I have that I cannot articulate my way through. It has something to do with the movement vocabulary, I know. I think it is that somehow, for some reason, I expect male dancers to be "crisper," if that makes sense.

Wish I could figure out what it is . . . :think:

 

[jenc]

Don't worry I posted it for the creep factor. It was a different world back then wasn't it?

 

[Shanazel]

The most amazing thing about MMM was that plastic hair.