young male dancer

[Jeanne]

Have you seen this performer? (sorry if this has been posted before, but I didn't find it anywhere) He has pretty good stage presence and skill for his age.


YouTube - Al Hassan: Belly Dance Drum Solo

 

[onela]

I've been thinking about this post and something bothered me about this video (and others with this lad) and I've finally figured it out- how can he be that good at dance, but permitted to wear his glasses on-stage? When we were kids (and when the tap kids at the other dance school, the folk dancers in a local troupe, etc) we would never have been allowed to wear non-costume pieces while performing... I think it's important to teach kids good stage etiquette and practices from the outset.

 

[Moon]

I don't believe you Onela :shok: Do you realise that some people see next to nothing without their glasses? It's not something they choose to wear, but HAVE to wear and thank god there is a lot of choices in models. A friend of mine has a pair of purple glasses which look very nice on her face and with her purple costume.

 

[onela]

Yeah, a lot of my dance friends are glasses-wearers, with varying degrees of sighted-ness. Maybe I'm just an old-school ballet snob, but I feel very strongly about this! Since we were 5 we couldn't wear glasses on-stage! He's doing a solo piece, and on a big stage like the one in the vid that's clear of obstructions, what does he need to see? He can wear them to backstage, take them off, do his piece, exit, and stick them back on. Somebody's letting this kid develop bad performance habits.

 

[gisela]

I think there are many way worse performance habits to develop than wearing glasses. I don't mind it. If he can dance with them and they stay on, then I'll leave it up to himself to decide.
It is very nice to be able to see the audience. Just the stagelights create a bit of disconnect and not seeing people at all might not be an alternative for him. One could even argue that not connecting with the audience is a bad performance habit... hehe
I myself would never wear glasses on stage but I just hate my glasses, period :lol: I see ok without though.

 

[onela]

I think there are many way worse performance habits to develop than wearing glasses. I don't mind it. If he can dance with them and they stay on, then I'll leave it up to himself to decide.
It is very nice to be able to see the audience. Just the stagelights create a bit of disconnect and not seeing people at all might not be an alternative for him. One could even argue that not connecting with the audience is a bad performance habit... hehe
I myself would never wear glasses on stage but I just hate my glasses, period :lol: I see ok without though.

There are definitely worse performance "bad habits" than glasses wearing I agree, but for some reason, it's an issue that really divides people. Lady that works with me is a figure skating coach and has similar views to mine about glasses wearing (but in her context, in competition) and a co-worker of ours was floored that she'd expect her girls to skate without their glasses. I hope that when he gets older he takes up wearing contacts for performance, because especially with him being on a stage with proper lighting, I personally find it distracting!

Anyhow, I don't want to hijack the thread- I think this lad's a pretty good dancer. He has a very upbeat, enthusiastic, joyful quality in his dance. I tihnk it's hard for young boys to study dance, they get a lot of weird pressure and teasing from their non-dancing peers. I hope he sticks with it.

 

[nightdancer]

That was something that my group had to deal with, too. Both sides of the camp feel very strongly, too. I know people that feel they perform better without their glasses, people that only wear their contacts to dance in, and people that simply suck it up and deal with it. I usually wear contacts, but if I have to wear my glasses, I wont if I am dancing solo. If its a group choreo, I have to have them, or the girl beside me is at risk, lol.

 

[Jeanne]

I agree that wearing glasses onstage looks kind of odd and clashes with your stage persona. I know someone who, the first time I met her, wore her glasses onstage, and I found it really unsettling -- fabulous costume, beautiful performance, and that one out-of-place element. Since then I've seen her perform often, and I've only seen her with the glasses one other time. My guess is that she occasionally has a problem with her eyes that makes it impossible to wear contacts at the time, combined with having vision so bad that she can't make her way around the stage without correction.

So yeah, I don't like the look of it, but you could make a case for there being extenuating circumstances that make it unavoidable. In the case of this dancer, he's pretty young and probably not ready for the Wonderful World of Contact Lenses yet, and maybe he can't see at all without his glasses. I for one hope that in time he goes for contacts, at least for stage use even if he doesn't want to wear them for everyday.

 

[Aniseteph]

To me it's about context.

If you are dancing for the general public as a professional dancer, or in a competition, then maybe lose the glasses - appearance matters and it doesn't fit the image for many people.

If you are at some school where they are training you up for that, maybe it needs to be taught as a rule early on.

But if you are dancing for fun, or at an open stage at a dancers' event, or in a student recital, I think it's up to you, whatever makes you feel most comfortable.

 

[zena]

I really enjoyed his performance. The glasses didn't bother me as he is a child and for that reason I cut him some slack.

I do however expect more from an adult and would not expect to see them wearing glasses while performing.

 

[Darshiva]

I don't wear glasses to perform because it interferes with my dance persona. I don't discourage anyone else from wearing them when they perform because they aren't me.

 

[jenc]

I wear my glasses I have thought about taking them off but I am scared I will fall over - although I am not going for a glamorous image - except perhaps Glamorous Grannie (I wish - come on kids a grandchild for when I retire - that's not too much to hope for is it!!! lol

 

[Belly Love]

I realize glasses don't exactly fit into the look, but he's a kid, so I could care less. He could be wearing his pj's and I would think it's good! Maybe he was too scared to dance without them... there could be many reasons but they really shouldn't matter. Kids get slack

He is a very talented dancer & has great musicality.*



*I didn't realize the vid was of a child (skimmed over title) otherwise I wouldn't have watched it. Seeing as I am now against people posting vids of their kids online for the public, I think it's hypcritical of me to watch them.

 

[Greek Bonfire]

I wonder who came up with the rule that wearing glasses is a no-no. Personally, I think it's time to revise that rule.

 

[SidraK]

Without my glasses, I'm a danger to myself and those around me.

 

[Daimona]

I wonder who came up with the rule that wearing glasses is a no-no. Personally, I think it's time to revise that rule.

I agree, particularly when the glasses aren't too dominating in the face such as these:

 

[Greek Bonfire]

I agree, particularly when the glasses aren't too dominating in the face such as these:

:lol::lol::lol::clap::clap::clap: You have to admit that some moron will try and wear these!

 

[Sara]

That kid is AWESOME! I didn't even care about the glasses. I was too busy absorbing the amazingness.

I think that for children especially, who cannot wear contacts, glasses are cute and really the only option if you have poor sight. I'd rather see glasses on the dancer than see them fall off the stage ^_^

 

[da Sage]

I think that as this is likely not a paid performance, it's not a big deal at all.

I do think it would be completely unprofessional for a pro dancer (who perhaps has publicity pics shot w/o glasses?) to dance on stage or at a private gig wearing glasses if she has created an expectation that she won't be wearing them. I imagine if there are any pro dancers who will only perform while wearing glasses, that they let people know that when they're booked?

But at any kind of a festival or hafla gig, I expect dancers to wear clothing that they feel comfortable in, and I don't expect them to remove their glasses. I WANT to see my friends who don't care to remove their glasses perform.

 

[da Sage]

I've been thinking about this post and something bothered me about this video (and others with this lad) and I've finally figured it out- how can he be that good at dance, but permitted to wear his glasses on-stage? When we were kids (and when the tap kids at the other dance school, the folk dancers in a local troupe, etc) we would never have been allowed to wear non-costume pieces while performing... I think it's important to teach kids good stage etiquette and practices from the outset.

I think it is more important to encourage this child to continue to increase his interaction and chemistry with the audience (which he clearly has a strong base in right now), than to teach him that his glasses are unacceptable on stage (at the cost of making the audience an impersonal blur).