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That first picture came out FABULOUS!! :yes:
That’s so awesome you made the professional troupe! Congrats! And thanks for the video links. I always love watching the dances. Every now and then I watch the clips from Tribal Fest. 😳 One day I’ll get into it. lol
Congratulations! You look absolutely stunning! I love the colors on your outfit. I’m watching one of the videos on Youtube now…I’m amazed that it’s all improvised!
Thanks! 🙂 Yep, it really is a neat form of dance. We rehearse the moves and cues, have a general idea of what our drummers will be playing for rhythms (for example, fast troupe, slow sword, skirt; all of these have rhythms that are appropriate) but then we go from there for performances!
We do some choreography sometimes but not as often; sometimes it’s mixed into songs (like the second half of Ya’halla was choreo to recorded music). My troupe leader wants to do more of it this year with the Pro Troupe so we’ll see! 🙂
Watched a few vidoes. Very, very cool! Ok, more questions…did you design and make your own costume? I love all of your back tassels..they really accentuate the hip swaying. Are there guidelines for the costumes? Are there guidelines for how each move is performed? It seems that the moves are more suggestive than erotic…imagine a pole dancer doing the same moves? That may sound odd, but you’re performing to cultural norms, I assume?
Anyway, you all look great and I give you 5 stars! I probably couldn’t balance the sword standing still, or sway like that w/o putting my back out. lol
lamortefille wrote:Watched a few vidoes. Very, very cool! Ok, more questions…did you design and make your own costume? I love all of your back tassels..they really accentuate the hip swaying. Are there guidelines for the costumes? Are there guidelines for how each move is performed? It seems that the moves are more suggestive than erotic…imagine a pole dancer doing the same moves? That may sound odd, but you’re performing to cultural norms, I assume?
Anyway, you all look great and I give you 5 stars! I probably couldn’t balance the sword standing still, or sway like that w/o putting my back out. lol
It depends on what costume you are talking about. I make some of the pieces and buy others but I put everything together; you cant just buy a whole set of what I wear somewhere. 🙂 There are guidelines for the costumes set forth by our troupe leader so we look cohesive. Yes, there are guidelines on how each move is performed as well; we rehearse the cues and the moves to get them down and then use them in the dance.
As for the second part of your statement I’m trying hard not to be upset; not at you but at the general misconceptions on belly dance. My Husband sometimes has the same ones so it’s a bit of a sore spot and an ongoing battle for me. :p
Most belly dance is *NOT* supposed to be erotic. Most belly dancers are not strippers. Not even close. We have to worry about things like showing the bottom of our foot or which way we are facing when we open our knees a little to plie in case we will offend someone (middle eastern culture has a lot of weird quirks). We aren’t trying to be suggestive or erotic. We aren’t trying to turn people on. I think the closest we get to that would be ‘cutesy’ or even ‘coy’ sometimes but that’s it. Our dance IS a dance form just like ballet, tap or jazz or whatever; we aren’t doing it to be sexy but to take part in an art form and to enjoy ourselves.
Don’t get me wrong; I’ve got nothing against strippers. Have had quite a few friends who are strippers. I’ve even dabbled in burlesque myself but have kept belly dance and burlesque VERY separate for fear of enforcing misconceptions.
Here is a link to Wiki on belly Dance for a little more information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belly_dance
Anywhoo… thank you for your compliments. Sorry to rant a bit; it just hurts
Cool pictures and you look stunning! I used to belly dance myself years back and was part of a troupe. I remember those times fondly as some of the best times I had. We had a neat bunch of women and we got along wonderfully! One day when I find them and feel brave, I’ll post those pictures. It is a fun form of exercise and I used to make most of my costumes as well.
Crimson Vision wrote:lamortefille wrote:Watched a few vidoes. Very, very cool! Ok, more questions…did you design and make your own costume? I love all of your back tassels..they really accentuate the hip swaying. Are there guidelines for the costumes? Are there guidelines for how each move is performed? It seems that the moves are more suggestive than erotic…imagine a pole dancer doing the same moves? That may sound odd, but you’re performing to cultural norms, I assume?
Anyway, you all look great and I give you 5 stars! I probably couldn’t balance the sword standing still, or sway like that w/o putting my back out. lol
It depends on what costume you are talking about. I make some of the pieces and buy others but I put everything together; you cant just buy a whole set of what I wear somewhere. 🙂 There are guidelines for the costumes set forth by our troupe leader so we look cohesive. Yes, there are guidelines on how each move is performed as well; we rehearse the cues and the moves to get them down and then use them in the dance.
As for the second part of your statement I’m trying hard not to be upset; not at you but at the general misconceptions on belly dance. My Husband sometimes has the same ones so it’s a bit of a sore spot and an ongoing battle for me. :p
Most belly dance is *NOT* supposed to be erotic. Most belly dancers are not strippers. Not even close. We have to worry about things like showing the bottom of our foot or which way we are facing when we open our knees a little to plie in case we will offend someone (middle eastern culture has a lot of weird quirks). We aren’t trying to be suggestive or erotic. We aren’t trying to turn people on. I think the closest we get to that would be ‘cutesy’ or even ‘coy’ sometimes but that’s it. Our dance IS a dance form just like ballet, tap or jazz or whatever; we aren’t doing it to be sexy but to take part in an art form and to enjoy ourselves.
Don’t get me wrong; I’ve got nothing against strippers. Have had quite a few friends who are strippers. I’ve even dabbled in burlesque myself but have kept belly dance and burlesque VERY separate for fear of enforcing misconceptions.
Here is a link to Wiki on belly Dance for a little more information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belly_dance
Anywhoo… thank you for your compliments. Sorry to rant a bit; it just hurts
First, let me say that I’m very very sorry if I upset you. That really wasn’t my intention and I was (am) genuinely curious about the whole thing. That’s why I asked the questions about guidelines and cultural norms. Just watching the dances/dancers, you can see that you aren’t strippers…that isn’t what I meant. *sigh* Yeah, I could look for info online. I always think it’s more interesting to talk to somebody that has a passion for the subject though. Again, I apologize for upsetting you. 🙁 🙁
It’s ok; I’m totally not upset with ou but rather the whole situation. My family looks down upon me for dancing my Hubby likes it for the wrong reasons (well to an extent). it’s just frustrating. I apologize for getting upset. I know it wasn’t your intention to upset me at all 😳
I would be *very* happy to talk more on the subject with you. 🙂
Unfortunately, most people do have the wrong idea about belly dance and there are some unfortunate belly dancers who feed that as well! The troupe I used to belong to had ages from 19 to 60! I remember being told not to tell people that I belly danced because it would reflect negatively on me. It can be a sore spot–it is an ancient and ethic dance. I no longer dance but it isn’t because of the ‘negative’ stereotyping of the dance–you can pm me and I’ll tell you–just don’t want to hijack a thread.
I enjoyed my time with the troupe–like I said, I think back on those times with very fond memories. It isn’t easy trying to coordinate finger cymbals, foot and body movements and sometimes balancing something on your head as well as making up the dance as you go along–especially with live musicians. It’s fun and I encourage anyone with any body shape, any age to go for it if that’s what you want to do. It certainly brings out the feminine and creativity in you! 🙂
That’s sad that there is such a negative stereotype associated with belly dance. It was something I wasn’t aware of, so I blundered right into that one! Sorry! On the other hand, I am pretty opened minded when it comes to females and female dance in general, so I was viewing the questions through my own perceptions. I have been to strip clubs and topless shows with my husband and I don’t find anything wrong with it. Everybody has their own tastes, moral standards and opinions, though. *shrugs* Judge not, lest ye be judged and all that. 😉
Anyway, the costume I was talking about had tassels across the back, with diminishing rows as they went to the bottom of the skirt.
Very interesting as to the moves, and what body parts can and cannot be shown. Thank you for the info. 🙂
Yep, I made that. The tassels are actually on a long triangle shaped piece of fabric that I tie around my hips over the skirt. 🙂
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