Moon

A'sha, that sounds like exactly the right word for that kind of behaviour, I must remember that one

nicknack

Good job I'm going to be under the humanities faculty and not social sciences because I should have remembered that word

__________________
Cause I'm not here to let you down. But the costume makes the clown.

Aisha Azar

Dear Nicknack,
I did take some anthropology classes in college. When I was younger, I wanted to be a paleoanthropologist, but never did get anywhere nearly far enough along those lines of study. I am, however, still fascinated by old dead guys!!
Regards,
A'isha

sstacy123

I could be wrong but I'd be willing to bet money that more people know who Shakira is then those bellydancers you named...I know I couldn't name ONE bellydancer prior to becoming involved in it...and I was having to explain to one of the girls in the class who Morocco was just the other day...

Aisha Azar

Dear Stacy,
Are you making it into some kind if contest? My point with that list of names was not how well known they are, but that these are people who are doing quality authentic dance. More people may know Shakira within certain circles, but there are some people who do not know who she is, nor do they care. She is mainstream entertainment here, but let me assure you that some people know their belly dancers just like we know our pop stars, okay? Maybe among the people you know, nobody knows belly dancers, but in plenty of places they do. The whole world does not revolve around what you or I care about. It really depends on the culture. In some countries both belly dance and Shakira videos are banned and people may or may not know about either. The point is not who is more famous, it is the relevance of the medium to people's lives, okay? There are places where you can say Soheir Zaki and get way more response than you do if you say Shakira, because you might be talking about the next door neighbor for all they know. Sorry, but she is not the foremost thought on everyone's mind. We need to be looking at things a little more macrocosmically, here.
A'isha

sstacy123

Responses in bold

And just for clarification, I love Shakira and like I said I consider her a bellydancer even if she is not bellydancing on stage but do I think Shakira should be the mascot for bellydancing? No, but she does bring it to the attention of the public.

Aisha Azar

Dear Stacey,
When people make remarks like, "Shakira is more well known that so and so belly dancer", they are making a statement that they can not really relate to anything other than their own personal experience. I knew who Fifi Abdou was way before Shakira was even around. So do millions of Arabs throughout the Arab world. She has been working for at least 30 years and is extremely well known in her own corner of the world. To not recognize that might make me wonder if the larger picture was being considered.

As far as Shakira getting "belly dance" out to the public, she would have to first BE belly dancing. Her use of movement that some mistake for belly dancing is a double edged sword. Since she is not belly dancing, she gives people a false idea of what the dance is and that is NOT a positive thing, as some of the dancers on this forum have already testified to.

Regards,
A'isha

sstacy123

Yes, I make that statement from my personal experience but you don't know how limited or how broad that experience is. The world is getting smaller and smaller everyday. But I never said it was a fact more people knew Shakira than bellydancers, just that I would bet money on it. I'm perfectly willing to admit I could be wrong. I think most have agreed she is not "bellydancing" but several seem to feel like she does BD moves. I think it's a shame that the other bellydancers don't get more recognition but even with any false ideas people may have I think more good is probably being done by generating interest in bellydance...ah, look at me I have a Spanish test in a couple of hours and here I am debating about Shakira when I should be studying.
STACY

taheya

Hi all, i dont actually think that shakira does a good thing for bellydance, I think what she does is so far from what true bellydance is that what she portrays is not a good image. I dont think that any publicity is good publicity in this case. From what i have seen she can isolate movements but she has no sense of what goes with certain bits of music. She looks crude and jerky to me, not a good combo!!
Not to mention she doesnt dance to the right music...Saying that she is a good singer, i think she should stick to that, but the dancing is sort of what helps her sell records...she is viewed by the mass media as a belly dancer but the learned eye can see she clearly is not.

Moon

But did she ever claim to be a bellydancer? If not, I think it's the public's own fault to think she is one. Or maybe Shakira should tell the audience just before the start of every concert that she isn't a bellydancer.