Helena Bellydancer

As far as sword goes there do seem to be odd hints that the occasional dancer performed sword balancing, though I have never seen anything conclusive - has anyone else? Certainly balancing has always been pretty traditional so I don't think it unreasonable that at some stage a dancer may have balanced a sword.

But hey, I personally think it would be a shame to dismiss a prop that works well and adds something to your dance performance on the grounds that it isn't traditional. How long ago does something have to be used to count as traditional anyhow? Samia Gamal was to my knowledge (feel free to correct!) the first dancer to use a veil so that doesn't exactly have a far-reaching history. Or is this ok because the innovation came from an Egyptian (albeit under influence of a Russian ballet teacher!)? Same goes for shamadan dance too.

Everything becomes traditional if it sticks around long enough, and the things that end up a regular part of a belly dance act tend to do so because they look good, blend with the whole act well and get a good reaction from the audience. Maybe in a hundred years poi and fan will have become and accepted addition to the dance, maybe it will fall by the wayside - who knows?

In the meantime, my own opinion - for what it is worth - is that it would be a shame to stifle innovation in the dance. A living entity is always changing and growing so to preserve something exactly is to kill it. So long as we are educated in and aware of appropriate prop use for when we are presenting "Egyptian" or "Middle Eastern" belly dance, why not experiment?

However I have to say that I can find that too many props - authentic or otherwise - can make a performance a bit....well, gimmicky. When used sparingly to add a little variety, the wow factor or for a grand finale it's great! But some dancers do seem to overdo it. "Hey, here I am dancing with four veils whilst playing zills and balancing on a drum!!" That's not dance, that is a circus act..

To me this dance is about emotional connection with the audience and props can distract from that a little. But, if used sparingly - why not? I am not a personal "fan" (see what I did there ) of using poi and fans etc but I am happy to watch a skillful performance that incorporates them.

Animals seem a little different for me as they certainly aren't props and shouldn't be treated as such, as Serpentessa said...I personally probably wouldn't dance with snakes but I can see snakes fit in with the oriental mystique so long as the snake is well treated, why not? The eagle sounds amazing too! But I can't see how dogs would fit in, I must say - does anyone have any links?

Talking of "animals", has anyone ever seen the Egyptian pantomime-style horses? The UK-based Tarab troupe have the only UK-based horse of this kind that I know of, we call her "The Great Desiree"! Now that takes working with animals to a whole new level!

Desirees~adventures

Suheir

Ferrets-down-the-bedlah would be appropriately English.

Jane

That was Interperative Tribal Dabke dontcha know.

Mya

Interpretive Tribal Dabke you say...oh boy.

Shanazel

Bellydance Oz

I agree. Especially as it takes a skilled dancer to use some of these props and actually dance. For instance, once you've got those huge Isis Wings on, all you can really do is waft around - which gets boring pretty quickly, IMO. Some veil dances are not much more than running around the stage and twirling.

And don't get me started on fans - as a former flamenco dancer, I'm appalled at some of the awful "fan dances" I see from belly dancers. They don't know how to use the fan at all apart from opening and closing it. I wish they'd watch some Chinese or Spanish dancers and learn, before they use a fan!

Part of the problem is that some dancers use props to cover up their shortcomings as a dancer. It may not be a conscious thing, but I've seen students introduced to props early on, who have taken to them at the expense of learning to dance properly!

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Aniseteph

Me too. I just don't get the bellydance/fan connection, and with the big burlesque ostrich-feather ones you are heading for Belly-burlesque territory, don't get me started...

Mosaic

Hi Lydia just saw this about the photos of Daniella. Each member has a photo gallery you can upload photos to and if you want you can attach them into the thread, I don't see how they wouldn't be appropriate, especially when you are dancing If you are not sure how to attach pics, I'd be happy to help, if you would like to post the pics.
~Mosaic