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Originally Posted by adiemus
Now for the question about other props - and how a 'decision' is made as to whether a prop is OK or not. What i'm thinking of now is animals (yes, the snake, but probably not a poodle!), and fans.
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I haven't seen a lot of bellydance with fans -- Meleah is the only person who comes to mind, and it's been ages since I've seen her videos.
I have seen some Ottoman-Tableau like pieces, where the dancers have held and manipulated a fly-whisk (which is sort of a fan). The prop was not the focus of the dance, though.
Fans have a long history in Spanish dance, and they got absorbed into Flamenco some time ago. Actually, most of the fan dancing bellydancing that I can remember had a definite Spanish flavor to it.
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dogs don't dance with elegance IMHO!!
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Oh but you haven't seen my baby do a Conga with me! LOL. I've been trying to get him to perform with me for ages, but we're still negotiating his MilkBone per diem.
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What about dancing on top of a large drum?
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Classic old black and white movie concept. Huge drum acts as your stage. Think about all the goofy stuff in the old American movie musicals. If we did it, the Egyptians did it in their movies.
A more practical version of this is dancing on the head of a 17" tabla. Sort of like the old dancing on water goblets concept. I think this is cute. In small doses.
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Or dancing with a water jug (large earthen one)?
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Tunisian, authentically. I was told (by Habiba) they did this to show off the quality of the magnificent pottery, more so than the dancer's skills.
The rest of the "pot dances" I think we chalk up to Reda, and we can argue for days whether or not (and the degree of which) those are "authentic" ethnic dances.
Today you see dancers using the pot as USUALLY some part of a beledi or "folk/fellahin" style dance. I think they use the pot as a symbol of the peasant class, and all the wonderful simplicity and honesty of that lifestyle. (Insert sarcasm here.) But I think that all stems from Reda, and the driving impetus of the Reda Troupe to portray Egyptian culture as harmless and sweet, and very very open to the West.