Fire Lily

I’m taking on a whole new side of bellydance soon. And considering I’ve never done this before, I need a little help from those who might be a little more experienced.

What am I on about?

‘Gothic bellydance’

Now. I need to know what sort of thing to expect.
Is it more like ATS with a dark flair where the movements are slower and more internalised?
Or can it be a darker version of fusion cabaret with over exaggerated costume, make-up and music?

I’m a petite blonde. So what tips would you give to help me ‘look the part’?

My alter ego (…or dance persona) is ‘fire lilly’ Or as my teacher called me ‘Little fire cracker’ So I let the little dominatrix out when I perform. It’s a hoot!

My signature colours are Black, red, orange, and yellows.

Any thoughts?

staranise

I'd check out Gothic Belly Dance - tribe.net

Gothic bellydance as I understand it draws aesthetic inspiration from a wide variety of sources, so I'd suggest looking at what other people have done, and doing lots of research, to find an aesthetic that suits your stage persona.

Hyacinth

Hi Fire Lily,

you could also check out The Gothic Bellydance Resource: The Gothic Belly Dance Resource

and Raqs_Gothique@yahoogroups.com (you have to join this one to get access to message boards, etc)

meddevi

Welcome to the dark side Besides the wonderful links posted above, here's some thoughts direct from the gothmutha

GBD can be based on either tribal or cabaret movements (or both!). In both cases, movements can take on a harder edge (for a more industrial feel) or a more dramatic, slower feel (for more romantic goth). The types of movements and combinations I teach in my workshops focus on taking familiar movements and giving them a new twist, usually with an element of surprise/suspense incorporated. High use of theatrical drama, stage presence, and interaction/story telling (GBD is NOT having a personal "angst-gasm" on stage! Leave that to your bedroom!).

And you can look elegantly dark with blonde hair (check out Gothic Beauty Magazine. The key thing is to consider how your music and movements relate to your costume, and resist the the "I just went to the Halloween store" look.

And most importantly, take some time to research what you're doing and your look. Goth is a subculture - there is art, literature, music - to consider...treat it the same way you would if you were to study Turkish BD or Lebanese! Understand the culture, and then it helps you best interpret the dance.

Fire Lily

The co-moderator/ owner of the yahoo group is actually my current teacher.
And I am a member of that group.
But thanks.
I was worried that if i posted the question to that group, that she would read it and think i have OCD when it comes to bellydance.
We're not even back from Christmas break yet

Aziyade

Taletha (of taletha.com) does some AMAZING goth dance using a modern Egyptian movement vocabulary and aesthetic. You might check her out on youtube.

Choose music that really moves and inspires you. I think that's the foundation.

Aziyade

I know this is just an advertising post, but how does this relate AT ALL to Goth bellydance?

I am SO SICK of seeing ads disguised as posts for this so-called "e-book" -- if the book is so great, why isn't it in print? Why can't I look through it at Borders?

Sample pages, a table of contents, the text from the back cover -- all this would be nice, instead of random shots of preteen kids with poor posture posing for the camera. I can't tell what this book is about from the website, and so therefore I doubt it's ANY better than The Inner Game of Music or Dance Conditioning, the two "greats" in the dance/music field.

For Goth bellydance, pick up Tempest's dvd and the dvd "Secrets of the Stage" by Michelle Joyce. Reviews of these dvds are available on amazon and pretty much everywhere in the bellydance internet world.

Salome

I deleted that spam...