An Unintentionally Intentionally Mean Post

This is going to be one of things that we don't like to say out loud...at least when it is not whispered behind our hands and preempted with a pseudo-pitying "Ahhhh shame....". I am nervous about this post sounding mean-spirited, and I want to assure you before I get into it that it is not. Or at least not intended that way. Or maybe if a post is mean and the writer knows it is mean then it is intended as mean-spirited...but surely...ok enough waffling, I will just get to it, shall I?

How this came about is that the weekend before last was the International Oriental Dance Festival. This festival is a huge event on any Cape Town belly dancer's calendar- and even a few international ones- and one we start working towards pretty much from January. This year we were lucky enough to perform on both the Saturday and Sunday and although I didn't get to see as much of the performances as I would have liked, it was still a great day.

However, there was one performance I did see. I am not exaggerating when I tell you that it was one of the most abysmal things I have ever seen in my life. I would never mention who the dancer was (to be honest I didn't get her name) but her dancing was absolutely shocking and watching her performance made me die a little inside. The worst thing (or maybe the best thing?) was that she was completely unaware of the fact that her performance was atrocious. She was having a great time and thoroughly enjoying herself- in fact, she seemed to thrive on stage.

It was not that I didn't like the style or the music or that it just wasn't to my taste. No, I wish it was one of these things and I could diplomatically say: "It was not my cup of tea". It was her dancing itself that was terrible. I am sorry, there is just no way to sugarcoat it.

So my issue is this- at what point in our dance career do we feel we are good enough to take the stage? And if that point never comes, do we say: "To hell with it!" and take it anyway, or should we sit on the sidelines, never allowing ourselves to enjoy our moment in the sun?

I am in two minds about this. Have you ever watched someone auditioning on Pop Idols, X-Factor or one of those dreadfully addictive reality shows and thought, "Hell...why didnt her parents/ friends/ boyfriend tell her she couldn't sing and save her embarrassing herself in front of the whole country? Surely if your loved ones can't be honest with you, then who can? And I am not talking about those singing slightly off tune...I am talking about the ones that cause you to crinkle up your face with equal parts horror on their behalf and equal parts morbid fascination, as they belt out an unrecognizable rendition of Whitney's "I will always love youuuuuu" Of course, these are the very same people that always glare at Randall/ Simon/ Hated (yet usually bang on the money) Judge in shocked defiance when they are told that they are, in fact, not going to be the next Adele and that they should maybe re-look at their future career. This is usually followed by them cursing the judges and storming off with an unsolicited, "You will be sorry! I will never give up on my dream!"....and you kind of hope that somewhere down the line they, in fact, do.

Now this woman was a strong contestant for the belly equivalent of the Idols Bloopers awards. But she didnt seem to realise it. In fact, I have seen her do this dance before and she seems to thoroughly enjoy it. There is definitely no lack of confidence there.

Although there is a time and a place for new dancers to perform, I firmly maintain that to take on a stage is an honour. Being allowed to perform for an audience is an honour, and with that priviledge comes responsibility. You are representing the art form as a whole. I am not talking about a troupe dance or dancing for fun at a haffla- this will change the dynamics- I am talking about performing as a solo act on an international stage.

There is a fine line between having big dreams and believing in yourself and being realistic about your talents of lack thereof. The question is, where do we draw this line?

There are varying standards in belly dance, and everyone has their own taste and opinion of what they find to be good. I definitely dont think I am the world's best dancer, or that I am God's Gift to my audience. I constantly doubt myself and my ability. But I do think I am realistic about what I can and what I cannot do- of my strengths and weaknesses- and if I am performing for an audience I make sure I play within my areas of strength and what I feel I am good at, and stay away from my murkier areas. There are different contexts and occasions where one can experiment and try something new...and sometimes, it works. But I do feel that unless we are 100% confident about our performance, it is maybe not fair to inflict it on our audience.

And then, the other side of me (the much nicer little angel on my shoulder) thinks that I am being a bit of a self-righteous biaaaatch. If someone loves to move, who am I to say that they cannot get up on a stage and dance their heart out?  If it makes them happy and they are doing it for them, who cares what I, or anyone else for that matter, may think? And even a hard-assed critic like myself always loves seeing the joy light up someone's face when they are doing what makes them blissfully happy.

I guess the bottom line, and why I feel the way I do comes down to this: For me, performing is actually about giving. You are giving of yourself to your audience and you are doing it for them. Great if you are enjoying it too! But they are your first and foremost priority and dancing for them should be treated like the honour it is. Performing for an audience is actually a favour they are paying us- they are giving us their undivided attention and we better damn well make it worth their while...because they dont have to watch us.
And that is something that we should never forget.

Benefese Performance

Well helllooooooo dear readers...are there any of you left?!!!

I am not going to moan and do my usual the-dog-ate-my-homework-so-I-couldn't-blog excuses, cause I know you get it :) In fact, I was extremely touched by the comments on my last miserable post and want to give you all a big virtual hug for being such sweethearts! Your kind words really did help and I am trying out a few of the suggestions (especially the one from Susie about eating lots of yummy food heeeheee!) Slowly I am beginning to feel more positive and I am sure things will pull together in the end, like they always do.

Just in case you have forgotten I do actually dance inbetween all this whinging, I have finally managed to get the video of my performance I did at the BellyRing haffla for you all to take a peek at if you are bored. For once, I am kind of happy with this performance (well as much as I ever am with a video of myself) despite a few obvious mishaps, including a near stumble at the beginning when I do my drop, and of course, the obligatory in-performance earring loss (one would think by now I would have learnt my lesson and not wear that confounded pair?!)

The choreography is not my own (thank you Ruby from Cheeky Girls) but I love performing this- it is such a fun, happy piece of music. I adapted it slightly- I cut the original piece of music down because at 6 minutes I thought it went on a bit...and I chucked the Turkish drop shimmy, which, I am very sorry to say, looks like a dog in heat- and replaced it with the classier Egyptian shimmy...not 100% authentic I realise but much more to my taste.

Anyway, would of course love to hear your feedback on any areas of improvement and I promise to take it on the chin!

Mwah xxx



And a big thank you to this week's gorgeous Birthday Girl Alex, for filming!

Where is my mojo?!

This will be a whiney post. I am warning you. So if you are adverse to whining, please shut your browser window now.

BAMMMM there goes my readership.

Ok, so this is not a happy, inspiring post, and will not inform, educate, entertain or be of any use to anybody. But someone said to me today that one should always write to express not impress, and there is just something I need to get off my chest (well not those...I kind of need the little bit I have ;)

Because this post sure as hell wont impress anyone.

Sooo...I have a confession to make.

I have lost (temporarily, I hope) my dance mojo.

Ughhhh it is so horrible to admit it! I am not sure what is wrong with me? We have had some fabulous dance events lately...our Haffla, Syncopate dance festival last weekend (blog post still to come so keep watching the BellyRing blog) and Asmahaan Festival this weekend. Ample opportunity to dance, lots of inspiring performances to watch, and being surrounded by pretty, sparkly things 24/7.

And I just don't care.

The strange thing is, all the elements are there- I should be more motivated than ever. I am loving my troupe so much! We had such a good weekend in Joburg- we bonded, laughed, acted silly, drank wine...you know...all the things girls do when they are together. I got to know all of them so much better and I truly love those ladies. Not only that...I can finally- wait for it- DANCE WITH ZILLS!!! I never thought the day would come when I could actually clang out a fairly decent rhythm on the little buggers without looking like Simple Sam in my movements. I mean, I am still no Ansuya- there is a longgggg way to go- but compared to where I was, I should be VERY proud of myself.

So why aren't I?

I just don't seem to care at the moment. Going to class is an effort. I have not done any obsessive YouTube dancer voyeurism in ages (although with J constantly moaning about my internet usage it does tend to take the joy out of web surfing) and I haven't gone weak-kneed at the site of a beautiful costume since I can remember.

I could say I am extremely busy. And that would be true. Would it help if I also told you I havent been to gym in weeks and that I have been shovelling junk down my mouth every single day? So it is not just dancing. I have lost my balance.

The problem is, once you start down that slippery slope, how do you climb back up? How do I re-inspire myself? I have gone through stages like this before, and they always pass, but never this bad.

So I guess, what I really need is some advice. What to do what to do what to do when your heart is just not in your dancing? How do you find it? How can I motivate myself again?

I want the joy back when I dance. I want to feel the freedom when I spin and the comfort in the gentle shimmies and undulations that seem to fit my body so well. I want to care again.

So please let me know...what do you do when your dance mojo is gone?

(almost) Wordless Wednesday: BellyRing Haffla Photos

Right so I know I haven't posted in a while but I have been busy (getting tired of that old one, I hear you mutter) and I really do have a lot to share but it is late, and I am tired, and let's face it, at this time of night you probably dont want to hear my waffling anyway.

So I thought I would share the photos from our BellyRing Haffla this past Saturday with you, and other than a caption here or there from me- that would be it. As they say, pictures speak a thousand words so I think with such beautiful photos as these (taken by the fantastic Martin van Niekerk) I can get away with keeping my mouth shut. Trust me, it makes a refreshing change :)

One thing I will say though, was that it was a truly fantastic event, and without being biased, I think the nicest haffla I have ever been to. In fact, with the fantastic snacks, drinks, desserts and rather intimidating stage, it was a bit more of a show than a haffla. Jamilah did an amazing job of pulling it together and I am extremely proud to be part of the BellyRing!

So without further ado...

First ever performance by the Beginners class...beautiful!

Stunning performance by Alex of Maya, and also of The Bellydance Blog (which you should be following if you are not already)

Me performing my solo: Turkish-style Benefese...other than a near dive into the splits and losing both my earrings while spinning across the stage, I was very happy with how it went. Will post the video soon!

Spin, spin, spin

Guess who

Strong ending pose...ta da!!!

Beautiful Tenille, doing amazing things with a sword

Surika, who to me is as authentic a belly dancer as they come

Jamilah, doing a lovely Egyptian piece

Natasha, the queen of Turkish-style

Visually arresting dance by Maya studio, done in the dark with white veils and UV lights

Gypsy dance by Palance of the Winds (unfortunately I missed this one...I was too busy downing copious amounts of bubbly backstage)

Our final Bollywood number...such a fun dance to do and the crowd really enjoyed it. And I am mad about these costumes!

Martin has asked me to do a personal shoot with him and I am excited to see what we come up with as his work is fab, as you can see!

So I guess this post wasn't so wordless after all... ;-)

Alive & Kicking!

Just a quick update to let you know I am still here (because I know you were losing sleep over my absence ha!) I have just been very busy- between my studies, preparing for my new job which I start on Monday (SO EXCITED!), finishing up at my current job, training my replacement, buying my new car and selling my old car, dancing (not that I have had too much time for that…!)…and, well, you get the point! But don’t worry, I there will be back shortly with some more of my long-winded, self-righteous posts, just as soon as I get some room to breathe.


Until then…

MWAH!!!

To Pop or Not? (and not the kind you do with your tummy!)

This is a post I have been thinking about writing for a while but haven't until now as I don't really have concrete justification to back up my contradictory opinions- only what I feel. But today I decided that since it is my blog I can write what I damn well please, so if you disagree, please feel free to give me hell in the comment box below and we can have a claws-retracted debate ;-)

So something that has been annoying me is the increasing use of pop music in a few belly dance performances I have seen recently. Justin Trousersnake, Akon and of course, the ever-synonymous-with-bellydance (ahem!) Shakira are just a handful of the artists which have snaked their way into belly dance lately.

Now, what I don't want is for this post to digress into a debate about fusion...which I have a sinking feeling may be inevitable. With regards to fusion, I stand very much in the middle. I love well put-together fusion: I have seen some great Tribal, Spanish and Bollywood numbers that have been so different and stunning. However, there is an equal amount of fusion pieces which I don't like and I have also seen some very horribly executed experiments done in the name of "art".

One would imagine that the primary reason behind dancers selecting pop music for their performances is to make it a bit more palatable for a Western audience. It is a lot easier to get your average, non-belly crowd cheering and clapping along to "Hips Don't Lie", than say, "Warda". It is far simpler to hold the short attention span of a modern audience using music that they can relate to- which is why they don't perform to Irish music in Egypt, for (bad) example. My point is that it is not what their audience know and can identify with.

So this is where my hypocrisy comes in: I don't mind beautifully performed arty pieces to non-Arabic and non-cheesy pop music. I was blown away by a stunning fan veil dance I watched recently to Sarah Brightman's 'Harem'. I have seen a very cute duo performance to The Cure's "Lovecats" which I adored! No, I have no problem with any of these. All of my irritation is reserved solely for the cheesy pop artists of today: Britney. Justin. Akon. Beyonce. Rihanna. Shakira...the list goes on.

To throw another contradictory element into the works, please do not make the mistake of thinking that I feel this way because I don't like the above mentioned artists' music. No! The sad fact is that I am the biggest pop tart around! Put me on the dance floor of any club and I am the first one shaking my behind to "Single Ladies", or, Heaven forbid, "Smack That"!

So why, may you ask? "Why would you be such a hypocrite that you have no problem wiggling away to Kanye on the dance floor but you turn up your nose at me belly dancing at a haffla to 'Gold Digger'?"

My snubbing of these artists is reserved solely for use in Middle Eastern dance because I feel that making it too easy is cheating. It is a piece of cake to get anyone bopping away to Britney on full blast even if your dancing leaves much to be desired, but can you do the same with an upbeat Arabic song? Can you get the average Joe Soap so engaged by your performance and your interpretation of the music that, although he may never get to playing it on his MP3 on the way to work, he will at least appreciate it in context?

Here's what I think: part of the reason why belly dance is so compelling for so many of us lies in it's mystery and sense of the exotic. For me, I fell in love with the sensual movements, the beautiful costumes and the essence of the East which shrouded everything I experienced. I loved the whole package: the dance, the music which was initially so alien to my ears, the various theories about the muddled origins...Hell, I even loved the damn tea light candles and smell of cheap incense that were always present at belly dance shows.

Now you add pop music to a belly dance performance, and that sense of mystery completely disintegrates. Sure, your audience knows the song and has probably heard it on 5fm's Top 40 for the past 6 weeks, but what is special and unusual about that? With such a vital ingredient of what we know as Middle Eastern dance gone, it cheapens it somehow.

All you are left with is a lady in a revealing costume showing off sexy-looking hip rolls.

The magic is gone.

Please let me know your thoughts and your viewpoints for or against using pop music in belly dance- I love to hear differing opinions!

Stuff

Yes, I know; not a highly creative or enticing title but I thought it fitting enough for a general update post to fill you in on some stuff that has been going on…

Totally Turkish

I am not going to do a proper review of this DVD (you will have to ask Kali to do one of her entertaining Happy Drunk reviews if you want that) but I will say that I am absolutely in LOVE with this DVD! The more I see of Turkish style, the more obsessed I become- I think it definitely comes a bit more naturally to me than Egyptian (but the jury is still out on whether I prefer it). The DVD contains a Turkish technique section (lots of spins, kicks and big saucy shimmies) a Roma tutorial (which I find fascinating- my only experience of Roma having been Didem’s interpretation of the Roman Havasi) and the choreography itself. I adore this choreography- it is challenging but I believe you should always try learning a choreo that is 1-2 levels out of your comfort zone. When drilled enough, it becomes second nature, and that way you can gradually grow and improve. This choreography can be performed with or without zills (there is an additional zill section) but let’s take it one step at a time, shall we? The choreo is difficult enough! However, it is broken down into manageable chunks, so it is not so daunting. The choreo is done to a popular 4/4 Turkish song called “Benefese” by Hasan Isakkut (don’t even get me started on what a mission it was to track down that song- fortunately I am like a persistent pitbull when I want something!) and I love this lively piece of music. My goal is to dance it at our studio Haffla in August so I am aiming to learn and drill 2x sections a week (the dance is broken down into 8x sections) which should give me plenty of time. I am dying to perform this.

I cannot recommend this DVD enough! Buy it!

Casablanca Nights

Juanie, Annemari, Jamilah, me, Monica and Leiro

Our troupe performed at Anita’s (my Belly Godmother) show a few weekends ago, called Casablanca Nights. I will be posting a full review of the night shortly on the BellyRing blog so look out for that. I was especially excited as I got to debut my brand new troupe costume (mine was not completed at the same time as the others’ as I was not able to attend International Belly Dance Day, so they had their's made first to save time…which, as you can imagine, killed me)

On stage

Our new costume is purple (the camera makes it look more royal blue, for some reason)- which matches the BellyRing logo- and the costume is super slinky with a clingy mermaid skirt. It was designed and made by Jamilah and I do feel rather goddess-like in it! It is beautiful!

And yessssss this is the same costume I was supposed to bead! Well that never happened…I managed to avoid my beading duties up until the last minute, and by that stage Jamilah had completed everyone else’s, so she was able to trim mine with the excess from theirs. So I effectively got away with it but I suspect next time I won’t be so lucky!

Studies

I had a bit of an epiphany this year and realised I missed learning. Sure I love my job (“by day” I am a Marketing Co-ordinator) but I miss stretching my brain with a constant influx of new information…hell, I think I even miss writing exams! Although at 26 I am no spring chicken I do believe you are never too old to learn and I also believe it will benefit me in my current position. I cannot afford to work part-time and finance my studies and lifestyle so I will continue working full-time and studying part-time via correspondence. It may take me a bit longer to finish my degree but I am not worried about that.

And what am I studying, may you ask? I have decided to do a Bachelor of Arts degree in Languages and Literature with specialisation in Creative Writing- a choice that was made by my heart and not my head- which I am completely okay with. As my second language I have chosen- wait for it- Arabic! What else?! Which I can imagine will be extremely hard via a text book, so I think I will need to track down a tutor soon!

I begin my studies in the next few weeks starting with Semester 2, and I cannot wait!

Teaching

Helloooo class, my name is Miss Foxy and I am going to be your teacher!

My teacher, Jamilah is going away on holiday to Belgium and Ireland (where she will be visiting my old teacher Lara) and has asked me to take her Beginners classes for her twice a week for the next three weeks. I am flattered, excited and of course, a little nervous. Jamilah is an excellent teacher- she teaches a really solid technique and has a great understanding of the dance, culture and history. She has high standards but is also extremely patient and attentive to all of her students. These are big shoes to fill. I am hoping that they will accept me and appreciate my way of teaching as it is a great experience for me. I will be teaching them a choreography of Jamilah’s which I haven’t had too much time to learn, but I feel fairly confident about. As they are beginners, a lot of the class will consist of technique drilling. I am a big believer in starting with a flawless technique and building on from there. Even after dancing for a few years, I often find these little gremlins creeping into my basics…at the moment in my Egyptian shimmy. The only way to fix it is to drill, drill and drill some more- whenever and where ever you can get away with it (without being whipped off to Valkenberg)

I will let you know how it goes- my first class is tomorrow!

That is about all for now…I am actually really inspired at the moment and practising a lot- and I also have the Yasmina workshop to look forward to this weekend!