What Grinds your Gears?

[eden eyes]

describe an experience you had at some kind of function where someone tried to do some "Belly dancing" and it made you want to claw your eyes out. As in, you go to a play and one of the scenes is a harem scene and they are belly dancing for the sultan, etc.

just last night i went to DCI Competition (Drum Corps International) which is like a big half time show, one after the other. it was awesome.

one of the band's name of their theme was "The Art of Temptation" and nearly all their songs had some American-made ME flavor to it. they had a doumbek but didn't play it at all. the girls were dancing as they should, doing flag stuff and sabre stuff but then close to the end, they all sat on the ground waving their arms around and slithering (miserably) around the guy dancers. then near the end they all got up and started belly dancing for them and then beat them up.

now i am not easily offended and the BD was done a bit distastefully, but the fact that they promoted this dance in a seductive theme and manner just really grinded my gears....

 

[lizaj]

describe an experience you had at some kind of function where someone tried to do some "Belly dancing" and it made you want to claw your eyes out. As in, you go to a play and one of the scenes is a harem scene and they are belly dancing for the sultan, etc.

just last night i went to DCI Competition (Drum Corps International) which is like a big half time show, one after the other. it was awesome.

one of the band's name of their theme was "The Art of Temptation" and nearly all their songs had some American-made ME flavor to it. they had a doumbek but didn't play it at all. the girls were dancing as they should, doing flag stuff and sabre stuff but then close to the end, they all sat on the ground waving their arms around and slithering (miserably) around the guy dancers. then near the end they all got up and started belly dancing for them and then beat them up.

now i am not easily offended and the BD was done a bit distastefully, but the fact that they promoted this dance in a seductive theme and manner just really grinded my gears....

Well thank you for planting that image in my brain. I understand that you needed to get that off your chest but I shall likely have nightmares tonight:lol:

I have seen things I would rather not at belly dance events put thankfully not as horrific as that...my symphathies.:shok:

 

[Caroline_afifi]

I shouldnt laugh... but it sounds hilarious!!! in a terrible way of course :lol:

 

[PracticalDancer]

a healthy heaping of pet peeves

Ok, it wasn't a stereotype, like what you described; but, there was one show I went to where the performers (all part of the same school) hit every pet peeve I had at the time, to the point of a pounding headache. Each one of them followed this exact sequence, in order:

1) they announced their affiliation with uber-cheesy school / troupe name AND 2) that they were excessively proud of being a part of
AND
3) they had not really practiced AND 4) it showed AND 5) the number was over 5 minutes long ("God, will it ever end?!?")
AND
6) The costuming did not fit the props (bare belly with cane) AND 7) the costumes didn't fit them, either
AND
8) they all had a hideous and frozen expression, whether the smile that looks like it is about to crack, or the glower, or the startled look. Not one whit of stage presence among them.

And, you know, I think the reason why I was so put off was that, after the second performer, I began to think that these offenses were actually what was being TAUGHT by the school, since all of the students demonstrated them so consistently. I was offended that the school just didn't know any better; therefore, the students did not know what they were doing.

I still shake my head thinking about it . . .

 

[alosha]

Anything that plays into the harem dancer image and ideal really irks me. Especially at events where one or more people don't know that isn't what belly dancing is about.

 

[Kashmir]

Nile Cruise

My worst ever experience was on a cruise down the Nile. Not the official dancers - who were very ordinary and one did do the tit shaking in the male guest's face thing - no, it was the belly dance competition.

Imagine it, may they'd had a lesson or two in the past - or maybe they were taking notes from the paid entertainment. Down to the boat shop to buy a grossy overpriced tacky tourist costume consisting of metal bra, coin belt and a few wisps of chiffon. Shake it, shake shake it, baby. In the face to start. Legs wide waiting for a tickle (cricket joke). No, how can that be topped - simulated sex with the boyfriend on the floor!

The crowd went wild. Unsurprisingly the grossest won. Now, no doubt, she has added "won a belly dnace competition in Egypt" to her CV.

 

[alosha]

My worst ever experience was on a cruise down the Nile. Not the official dancers - who were very ordinary and one did do the tit shaking in the male guest's face thing - no, it was the belly dance competition.

Imagine it, may they'd had a lesson or two in the past - or maybe they were taking notes from the paid entertainment. Down to the boat shop to buy a grossy overpriced tacky tourist costume consisting of metal bra, coin belt and a few wisps of chiffon. Shake it, shake shake it, baby. In the face to start. Legs wide waiting for a tickle (cricket joke). No, how can that be topped - simulated sex with the boyfriend on the floor!

The crowd went wild. Unsurprisingly the grossest won. Now, no doubt, she has added "won a belly dnace competition in Egypt" to her CV.

That is horrible! Ugh.

 

[khanjar]

Anything that plays into the harem dancer image and ideal really irks me. Especially at events where one or more people don't know that isn't what belly dancing is about.

I wholeheartedly agree with you, the Hareem fantasy needs putting to rest. Most I know who learn of what I do picture a hareem and wonder where I fit in as a dancer. Those that know a bit more offer the eunach as a dancer for the delight of women. Either way, it is not right, ancient ideals of the levels of society, hardly applicable to the life we lead today. BD is not a re-enactor idea, a thing set up to feed the imagination of Hollywood or other. Understand that if the Hollywood or ancient romantic ideal is proffered and suported, many in the west will see those of the ME as two facded given current western feel on what they understand of another of shoot branch of christianity.

 

[Shanazel]

A personal unfavorite that grinds my gears AND frosts my apricots is the dancer who as a part of her dance graphically displays - er, ah, shall we say: private ecstasy? No, no. Too graphic. How about extreme physical satisfaction? Oh, lord, no; that's even worse. I think I'll just slip quietly away and pretend I didn't even bring the matter up.

 

[alosha]

A personal unfavorite that grinds my gears AND frosts my apricots is the dancer who as a part of her dance graphically displays - er, ah, shall we say: private ecstasy? No, no. Too graphic. How about extreme physical satisfaction? Oh, lord, no; that's even worse. I think I'll just slip quietly away and pretend I didn't even bring the matter up.

Yet you can't say 'booger'....

 

[Shanazel]

Oh, yuck, Alosha- never!

 

[alosha]

Oh, yuck, Alosha- never!

Real-life rep to you Shanazel for making me laugh on this most crappy day.

 

[Shanazel]

You're welcome, sweetie.

 

[adiemus]

TWO images that just won't go away - go on the two of you....! I shall haunt you in my dreams.

My least favourite, most likely to curdle my cream is the person who watches a student performance then says 'Oh that wasn't hard, I reckon I can do that - when do you learn how to dance like Shakira?'

 

[Aniseteph]

The most gear-grinding thing I saw was a group who.. how to say it nicely?.. over-sold themselves in their publicity. Like they were some sort of local BDSS, but in reality they were very, very amateur.

I have no beef with people who aren't very good dancers (yet?) getting together and having fun, forming a troupe if they like and not being that great.... it's when it is presented as belly dance to people who don't know any different.

When it's presented that way at a belly dance event... :shok: :wall:

 

[eden eyes]

oh geez shanazel! that was too much for my young and innocent eyes. congrats you've just corrupted a member of the nations future. be prepared for public displays of SEX like never before! ha ha just kidding, i don't wanna be a politician :lol:


Caroline that gave me shivers just thinking about it!! i hope those girls tell these stories to other dancers to show off and then get slapped in the face with a beaded belt.

at a birthday party the other week i was doing a little mini lesson for the bday girl. we started on the hip drop and one of her friends got up and said, "Oh i know this one! I learned some bellydancing from Shakira videos." at that point i shot a look at my boyfriend who just started laughing either at my expression or at her comment, or both. so i said, "okay then, what else do you know?" Nothing.

THough she wasn't a dancer, it still grinded my gears.

 

[shiradotnet]

Yet you can't say 'booger'....

Speaking of "booger", when I was in Cairo with Caroline Afifi recently the 8-year-old twin daughters of one of Caroline's friends taught me an important vocabulary word in Arabic. "Barbour". It means "booger".

Aren't you glad I shared that?

 

[Shanazel]

Ecstatic.

 

[maria_harlequin]

The title of this thread reminds me of a Family Guy episode!!

What really grinds my gears? Girls posting home videos of "belly dancing" in a pair of low-rise jeans to hip hop.

Anything Shakira-belly dance related.

People saying that what we're doing isn't entertaining enough, so plz, throw in some backflips, fire, and super fast music.

Mother Goddess-Celtic-Mists of Avalon-belly dance history.

 

[lizaj]

The title of this thread reminds me of a Family Guy episode!!

What really grinds my gears? Girls posting home videos of "belly dancing" in a pair of low-rise jeans to hip hop.

Anything Shakira-belly dance related.

People saying that what we're doing isn't entertaining enough, so plz, throw in some backflips, fire, and super fast music.

Mother Goddess-Celtic-Mists of Avalon-belly dance history.

YouTube - Mia Serra on the origin of belly dance


Just for you Maria :lol: