Quote:
Originally Posted by fatinah
When your watching a performer what captures you??
* People who are sooo 100% technically sound
* People who have passion even if not technically that amazing
* People whos personality and enthusiasm and humour shine through??
I love watching passionate people sometimes those that are amazing at technique are a bit boring as if they are concentrating dead hard
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Dear Fatinah,
I like the dance to be very well rounded and what I refer to as "holistic", which means there is a balance of personal feeling, good technique, understanding of the music as a vehicle for expression, the right cultural or form content as stated in an introduction or clear for the purpose and meaning, costumes for the dance, etc. For example, do not call it "American Tribal" if you are doing it in a Burlesque costume to techno music. Do not call it "Egyptian belly dance" just because it has a couple of downward locks. Do not call it Turklish Rom just because you are swishing your skirt around to Turkish rhythms. A truly good dancer puts all elements of the dance into a balanced perspective. One who is just emoting on stage with no technical skill is having a personal moment on stage and not dancing. One who is all technique is doing an exersize program. One who has the cultural perspective but not the dance skill is not a dancer. If I costume belly dance in a gorilla suit, I am still not dancing as I am missing one of my important tools. If I belly dance to Mozart, I am missing the musical cultural element that is needed in order for what I am doing to BE belly dance.
Holistic dance means covering all the bases in order for the dance to be what it is supposed to be.
Regards,
A'isha