The Saga Belly Dancers at large

[lizaj]

Yes I know we have been there before..like when do I give up?
So being positive and using the inspiration of the Blessed Helen who prompted a guy on the TV to say !Ah but 60 is the new 40!"


http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/07/15/article-1035510-01F6B66400000578-963_468x962.jpg

Exploits of the seniors please (50+) acceptable

What should you wear ?,...no burkha-type suggestions
Where are you wanted?
How can you make the best of yourself?
Make up, grooming?
Colours?
Examples to hang on to?
Life after dance.... but still involved.
Worthy of pay..money to top up the pension?
The advantages
NOTHING NEGATIVE required thank you

 

[Marya]

Yes I know we have been there before..like when do I give up?
So being positive and using the inspiration of the Blessed Helen who prompted a guy on the TV to say !Ah but 60 is the new 40!"

Helen Mirren? On her 60 looks like 30!

 

[Aisha Azar]

After 50

Yes I know we have been there before..like when do I give up?
So being positive and using the inspiration of the Blessed Helen who prompted a guy on the TV to say !Ah but 60 is the new 40!"


http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/07/15/article-1035510-01F6B66400000578-963_468x962.jpg

Exploits of the seniors please (50+) acceptable

What should you wear ?,...no burkha-type suggestions
Where are you wanted?
How can you make the best of yourself?
Make up, grooming?
Colours?
Examples to hang on to?
Life after dance.... but still involved.
Worthy of pay..money to top up the pension?
The advantages
NOTHING NEGATIVE required thank you

Dear Lizaj,
Go to my dance company's website and look at the photos to see what dancers over 50 look like. Barharat!! In those photos we have myself, Janine, Hadijeh and Amina a who are all over 50.

No burqas unless they will enhance the show in some way.

/to see where people want us to dance, go to our events calendar. We also end up doing private performances at weddings and other types of celebrations, as well as some corporate vents that are not publicized since the general public can not attend.

We make the best of ourselves by being the best dancers we can be and by having a very large repertoire of dances in order to do shows geared to our audiences' needs


Make-up/ grooming- We have specific requirements for company members. No grey hair, no going on stage without full make-up, show up at any event looking professional.

Colors- We believe that anyone can wear any color as long as it is the right shade. We also understand the effects that stage lights have on color, where certain types of lighting gather on the face, etc, in order to try to look our best.

Examples to hang on to- Well.... we like to think of ourselves as an example since we are a successful, mixed age dance company.



Life after dance- We will let you know when we get to it. So far, we are still dancing!!



Worthy of pay- Absolutely and we do only two free events a year. One is a huge community event where the public is allowed in free of charge and no one gets paid. The other is a charity of our choice. We are a professional dance company and payment is part of being professional. We lose several gigs a year to dancers who are willing to dance for free, but we would rather not dance than be treated like our artistic contribution is worthless. We still get plenty of work!!



The advantage to being over 50- The main advantage is that most of our worst dance mistakes have already been made!! We have a wealth of experience to guide us in making the company a successful venture on many different levels.

Regards,
A'isha

 

[Marya]

Make-up/ grooming- We have specific requirements for company members. No grey hair, no going on stage without full make-up, show up at any event looking professional.
Regards,
A'isha

No grey hair? What about white? I am rather proud of my natural look. my grey period was also so attractive that people asked me how I got my hair to look so pretty.

I am not sure I would want to color my hair under any circumstances. It is expensive for one thing.

Marya

 

[da Sage]

Some of our best local dancers have grey/white hair. Although I'm pretty sure some of the dancers in our biggest/oldest troupe color theirs. I wonder if it's a requirement for them, too?

 

[Aisha Azar]

Grey hair

No grey hair? What about white? I am rather proud of my natural look. my grey period was also so attractive that people asked me how I got my hair to look so pretty.

I am not sure I would want to color my hair under any circumstances. It is expensive for one thing.

Marya

Dear Marya,
We do not try to impose this rule on guest dancers, as you know, but for the company itself we have a firm rule about not having grey or white hair because it does not fit the image we are trying to portray. If we invited anyone who was against dying their hair to join the company, they would have to agree to wear wigs when performing any dance that let their hair show. One of our members did not dye her hair before she joined the company but she has agreed to do so and she understands the reasoning behind it. We have never had anyone decline to join for that reason, but if that ever happens, we will respect their right to decide against becoming a member because of that particular requirement.
Regards,
A'isha

 

[Marya]

Dear Marya,
We do not try to impose this rule on guest dancers, as you know, but for the company itself we have a firm rule about not having grey or white hair because it does not fit the image we are trying to portray.
A'isha

What is the image you are trying to portray?

Marya

 

[Aisha Azar]

Dance etc.

What is the image you are trying to portray?

Marya

Dear Marya,
Look at out website. What do you see? Hopefully agelessness and a certain cultural allure and vitality rather than any clue that gives you age to focus on. We want to cultivate a feeling of vitality and while we do not try to be younger than we are, we also want to portray an image of looking the very best we can as a group. It is not about the individual, but about the company as a whole and grey or white hair would not enhance that feeling for our target audiences. We have to look beyond our own personal wants and use the tools to best market us. Maybe that is why we are dancing and getting paid more than most dance groups in the region. We have looked outside ourselves to the people we want to reach.
Regards,
A'isha

 

[Marya]

Dear Marya,
Look at out website. What do you see? Hopefully agelessness and a certain cultural allure and vitality rather than any clue that gives you age to focus on. We want to cultivate a feeling of vitality and while we do not try to be younger than we are, we also want to portray an image of looking the very best we can as a group. It is not about the individual, but about the company as a whole and grey or white hair would not enhance that feeling for our target audiences. We have to look beyond our own personal wants and use the tools to best market us. Maybe that is why we are dancing and getting paid more than most dance groups in the region. We have looked outside ourselves to the people we want to reach.
Regards,
A'isha

My question to you was not meant to ask why grey or white hair was not acceptable but rather to learn more about what image you are trying to portray.

Thanks for your answer.

Marya

 

[jenc]

i think I look ageless and vital with silver hair.......... Although I have been told I could look 10 years younger if I dyed it. Can't I pretend it's platinum blonde!!!

 

[Aisha Azar]

Dance etc.

i think I look ageless and vital with silver hair.......... Although I have been told I could look 10 years younger if I dyed it. Can't I pretend it's platinum blonde!!!

When I am marketing my dance company, it is not about what we think of how we look. It is about creating a certain feeling, a certain look and a certain appeal for our target market in order to let them know we are a company that has something special to offer THEM. I actually took marketing classes in college in order to learn how to better sell myself to the public and learned about things like "affective component" as they call it, or the feelings and emotional reactions of the target market.
Belly dancers sometimes approach their audiences as if the dance is all about themselves, rather than about sharing something with the audience and about doing something FOR the audience. They sometimes tend to do the same thing in marketing themselves. If I have fabulous grey hair and it is not a good selling tool for the product I am trying to sell, then it needs to go so that my company can look as good as possible for our product's sake. I do in fact have shimmery, soft looking grey hair, but I keep it dyed right now. When I quit dancing, I will have plenty of time to enjoy it unless I keel over dead five seconds after I stop!

 

[jenc]

Ok well i'm never going to be in your troupe, or probably not in any other. Can't think of any hair colour that wouldn't make me look sad and trying too hard (it used to be dark brown but thst is NOT now an option.) i think it's so sad that the only reason i would look younger with dyed hair is that 90% of other women my age already dye!!

 

[Aisha Azar]

Hair

Ok well i'm never going to be in your troupe, or probably not in any other. Can't think of any hair colour that wouldn't make me look sad and trying too hard (it used to be dark brown but thst is NOT now an option.) i think it's so sad that the only reason i would look younger with dyed hair is that 90% of other women my age already dye!!

One of my students in her mid 40s just did her hair fuschia. Believe it or not, it looks fabulous!!

 

[jenc]

there's probably a little difference between mid 40s and 59. i could have dyed my hair any colour at 45. now almost any colour will conjure up BAG LADY!!

 

[Aisha Azar]

Hair

there's probably a little difference between mid 40s and 59. i could have dyed my hair any colour at 45. now almost any colour will conjure up BAG LADY!!

Haha!! I once referred to a very rich friend of mine who had no sense of style as my "Yves St. Laurant Bag Lady ". She loved it!!

 

[Marya]

Ok well i'm never going to be in your troupe, or probably not in any other. Can't think of any hair colour that wouldn't make me look sad and trying too hard (it used to be dark brown but thst is NOT now an option.) i think it's so sad that the only reason i would look younger with dyed hair is that 90% of other women my age already dye!!

Jenc,

I feel the same way, I think dying my hair would actually accentuate all the wrinkles I have.

I acknowledge that certain dances are associated with certain looks. I have used fake braids before and would actually like to find a good quality wig that I could use for Persian dance and Khalegie. I even considered a temporary dye color for when I did the Persian dance performance, but time ran out and I didnt do it. I don't want to have to change my entire life for a few performances. I would consider dying my hair with dye that washes out in a few days but not something that requires constant, expensive upkeep.

I would also be likely to want to do something crazy like using fuschia dye. just to be obnoxious.

Marya

 

[Aisha Azar]

Hair

Jenc,

I feel the same way, I think dying my hair would actually accentuate all the wrinkles I have.

I acknowledge that certain dances are associated with certain looks. I have used fake braids before and would actually like to find a good quality wig that I could use for Persian dance and Khalegie. I even considered a temporary dye color for when I did the Persian dance performance, but time ran out and I didnt do it. I don't want to have to change my entire life for a few performances. I would consider dying my hair with dye that washes out in a few days but not something that requires constant, expensive upkeep.

I would also be likely to want to do something crazy like using fuschia dye. just to be obnoxious.

Marya

Dear Marya,
There are always wigs. Sahar who occasionally joins us for shows always wears one, Hadijeh sometimes does for belly dance. My dancers wear braids when we dance to Jedilee for Debke. All of the dancers who are doing Ghawazi need to have long dark hair, so we often wear wigs for that. Namva has curled up braids on either side of her head for Ouled Nail. ( She got taught the dance because the costume I inherited fits her!!)
Regards,
A'isha

 

[jahbie]

Well, if your hair is pure white isn't that the perfect base for all the soft shades like mink and golden blonde, particularly the temporary wash-out ones? Maybe you can be any colour you like for as long as you like. But only if you wanted to of course!

there's probably a little difference between mid 40s and 59. i could have dyed my hair any colour at 45. now almost any colour will conjure up BAG LADY!!

 

[jenc]

silver at the front - dark at the back, so even if the blonder shades suited my skin tones it would look weird. Also as a beginner at my age I will never be professional - but I hope to eventually transcend what I look like through dancing. My husband recently said to me You walk like a girl. Nicest thing he could have said to me at my age!!!

 

[jahbie]

I know what you mean! I don't know what colour my hair is because I have dyed it for decades, long before I started dancing. But I do know that some of it is grey and some isn't, it means that my golden blonde isn't the same all over, but it looks OK. Most of my dancing is done in nursing homes anyway, so they won't mind if I eventually let it go natural!

silver at the front - dark at the back, so even if the blonder shades suited my skin tones it would look weird. Also as a beginner at my age I will never be professional - but I hope to eventually transcend what I look like through dancing. My husband recently said to me You walk like a girl. Nicest thing he could have said to me at my age!!!