No hope

[khanjar]

Hello, I am a male and interested in learning oriental dance, and have found no one seems interested in teaching a male in my area, so, could anyone please direct me to a DVD which is available offline, so that I may learn that way.

I am sorry to say that though I have heard on various forums dedicated to ME dance that the majority would like to see more males involved, in practice, that is not the case as all I have received in my quest is that males are not wanted, we are perceived as a threat. So much for an equaliterian society.

I believe in equal opportunities for all, it is a sore pity not everyone else believes the same. I have no qualms about employing women and believe as long as the job is done, who cares what they are, everyone has something to give and variety is the spice of life.

Sorry if what I have written appears as a rant, but never have I experienced such discrimination and never did I think it possible in the twenty first century western world.

 

[Yasmine Bint Al Nubia]

Welcome Khanjar to ODN!! We do have several male members(no pun intended) on this forum who are well known in the BD community. In terms of DVD's there are millions on the market. My personal favorites are from IAMED(international Association Of Middle Eastern Dance).
However, video learning can't provide a well rounded dance education. I truly believe one needs a live teacher for that. Don't give up, keep trying maybe private lessons from a patient and open-minded teacher. I'm sure others may have suggestions as well. Good Luck and Happy Dancing
Yasmine

 

[Brea]

...

 

[khanjar]

Thank you for your reply Yasmine, I was wondering if I would get a reply as negativity is kind of rife at the moment with what I have experienced so far. I do understand Women's point of view about males, but we are not all predatory, and we are not all interested in seeing learning to express oneself artistically as a dating game or a quick thrill. I feel any man who wishes to put himself in a predominantly female enviroment to learn something which is largely seen as a female pursuit has a great deal of courage ,and I do admire those males here who have managed to suceed where many would fail.

As to a DVD, that I see as my only course of action, but I would be interested in something which would suit a male form of expression. I have been using what I can find on Youtube, some things I find so far ok to do, as I am also a yoga and Tai Chi student, the flexibility helps. The music, is ever on,as one has memories of middle eastern countries.

 

[khanjar]

Hi, welcome to the forums!

Next year I will be in Scotland and I teach men, if you are interested.

My thanks to you for your kind offer Brea, but alas, I am in the land of far far away, the South West.

 

[sedoniaraqs]

Hi Khanjar:

Welcome to the forum. I am sorry to hear about your troubles finding a class. This seems to be a much worse problem in the UK than elsewhere, from what I have gathered.

I have never heard of a US teacher that refuses to teach men (I'm sure there are a few, but it is not the norm here).

As far as DVDs go, I do not think you need instructional DVDs specifically aimed at men. The movement technique is the same for men or women. I'm not familiar with what is available in the UK, but if you post some DVD titles here, you can probably get some reviews.

If it helps, I have some youtube playlists that I keep for my students. One of them is male dancers I think are great:
YouTube - sedoniaraqs's Playlists

 

[Brea]

...

 

[taheya]

Where abouts do you live Khanjar?

 

[Caroline_afifi]

Hi there!

You are very welcome!!

I dont know about other threads but there is only one person on this forum who has any real objection to issues relating to men dancing.
The rest I am sure will welcome you with open arms.

Come to the Liverpool Arab Arts Festival in July!

 

[Suheir]

Hello, and welcome khanjar! I'm so sad to hear about the discrimination you've experienced in the UK. I'd suggest that you write to UK belly dance magazines to inform people about this continuing discrimination:

Mosaic Magazine

Taqasim - Britain's Old Middle Eastern Dance Magazine

The Editor of NADA magazine is lizaj on this forum

 

[Caroline_afifi]

Hi again,
I have just had a man attend a workshop I did in the South West and I think he was a student of a woman called Aliya Birch. I think she is around Glastonbury area but there are also teachers in Frome who will accept men.

Good luck!

 

[khanjar]

Hi again,
I have just had a man attend a workshop I did in the South West and I think he was a student of a woman called Aliya Birch. I think she is around Glastonbury area but there are also teachers in Frome who will accept men.

Good luck!

Thank you for your wishes of luck, it is much appreciated. The teachers you mention alas, are far from me, as I reside of the Cornish Border with Devon, near the sea port of Plymouth.

With all thus pullaver about classes, I did last night wonder why I seek to do this, as it is definately odd for a male to desire. On reading more in various corners of the web, I happened upon my reason, for it is spiritual expression through art and is tied in with my Yoga exploits. Also, I am kind of shy, it might help with that, positive body image and so forth, where the body just becomes a tool of creative expression.

 

[Suheir]

Thank you for your wishes of luck, it is much appreciated. The teachers you mention alas, are far from me, as I reside of the Cornish Border with Devon, near the sea port of Plymouth.

I take it you've contacted Rosie Mockler?

 

[Reen.Blom]

Hello, I am a male and interested in learning oriental dance, and have found no one seems interested in teaching a male in my area, so, could anyone please direct me to a DVD which is available offline, so that I may learn that way.

I am sorry to say that though I have heard on various forums dedicated to ME dance that the majority would like to see more males involved, in practice, that is not the case as all I have received in my quest is that males are not wanted, we are perceived as a threat. So much for an equaliterian society.

I believe in equal opportunities for all, it is a sore pity not everyone else believes the same. I have no qualms about employing women and believe as long as the job is done, who cares what they are, everyone has something to give and variety is the spice of life.

Sorry if what I have written appears as a rant, but never have I experienced such discrimination and never did I think it possible in the twenty first century western world.

You know very often 'all female' dance groups or excersise groups will not want a male member due to low self-esteem... learning new dance especially the one that often percieved as 'oh la la' by society can be very challenging for a person that struggles with self- acceptance... that could one of the reasons, and it really does not matter that the male will be 'in the same shoes', suppose many are 'formatted' like that...

Sorry to hear about your trouble though and I hope you find a class soon! ( Hmmm I wonder if the instructors are just so unsure on how to handle a new situation?) How sad is that...

Here, have a hug:

*hug*

PS I Think that the best DVD for beginners is Jenna's "Basics and Beyond", its available from Jenna's site and from Salome's shop. Its a good idea to get a DVD, even if later you join a class.

BTW we have a huge hread with DVD reviews somewhere.....

 

[Reen.Blom]

I dont know about other threads but there is only one person on this forum who has any real objection to issues relating to men dancing.

Who is that? :think:

 

[khanjar]

Well, thankyou all for your help, it is much appreciated by me. In fact I have recently learned that there is a class starting this coming week in my city and I know someone who is going to that class. So I have charged her with bringing up the subject of tutoring males and this subject coming from a female might have a different reply to what I have found, I will wait and see.

 

[Zorba]

This really seems to be a continuing problem with the Brits, there was a guy there who was able to affect some change - as a result, here is a directory of UK based teachers who will accept males:

Belly dance for Men Male dancers

I also invite you to visit my website where there's all kinds of articles and encouragement for males!

 

[Caroline_afifi]

This really seems to be a continuing problem with the Brits, there was a guy there who was able to affect some change - as a result, here is a directory of UK based teachers who will accept males:

Belly dance for Men Male dancers

And there is Afrah in Devon and she is hosting Tarik Next year!

 

[Zorba]

And there is Afrah in Devon and she is hosting Tarik Next year!

Yes, she's in the directory!

 

[Tarik Sultan]

Hi there!

You are very welcome!!

I dont know about other threads but there is only one person on this forum who has any real objection to issues relating to men dancing.
The rest I am sure will welcome you with open arms.

Come to the Liverpool Arab Arts Festival in July!

Really? Who ever in the world could that be???:think: