what belly dance style is Shakira? - Page 2

gwinity · 03-23-2007, 05:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by A'isha Azar

Please do not confuse what Shakira does with belly dance. I know its easy to do this, but I swear to you that she is not a belly dancer, no matter what movements she is using, because the dance is much more than movement.

(This post is not drected solely at A'isha, despite using her quote.)

So what, I wonder, makes a person a bellydancer? What is that fine line a person must cross from being someone who dances in their spare time to being able to say "I'm a bellydancer"?

Is there a certain number of performances one must do? Is the title only for the pros who earn a living from dancing, or are students also entitled to add "bellydancer" to the list of things-they-are?

Regarding Shakira, she obviously has a huge love of the dance, and appears to have studied it (given the sheer number of different clips in which she uses BD movement), so what makes her less of a bellydancer than, say, any of the non-professional dancers (are we even considered bellydancers?) on this very forum? Is it simply because she fuses bellydance with other danceforms, or what? And if a 'true' bellydancer did the same, would she be stripped of the "bellydancer" title?

*runs from exploding can o'worms*

Lydia dubai · 03-23-2007, 11:35 AM

Shakira shakira!! you know how many teenagers come into my classroom and say ,,i am new today and i want to learn bellydancing i want to be like Shakira...or can you teach me what Shakira is doing?? keep in mind that in the country where i live bellydancing is still something that is never on tv ...it is in nightclubs but most lady,s and special young girls can never go there...so for them Shakira is a bellydancer ...when they start to attend classes then they see the differance,...the good thing is that before Shakira was known in this country what is about 3 years now,things have changed and many many local girls now come to classes in a way Shakira gave them a taste to see a little bit of ,,bellydancing,,.....they leave the Abaya in the dressingroom and come and dance,sometimes even bringing mom with them to have a look and to make sure it,s all ok...so Shakira did a great thing in her way she put a differant but nice light on ,let me call it her style of dancing and i love her for it,simply because all the girls i am talking about would have never tought about going to bellydance classes simply because it is still so misunderstoud in this part of the world....have a nice day everybody , oooo bdw, Shakira is performing today in Dubai!! i am sure half my class is attending the concert!! Lydia

Aisha Azar · 03-23-2007, 01:02 PM

Dear Group,
Yet, how many people who are not educated about the dance ( and how many who are)THINK that Shakira is belly dancing??

Dear Gwinity,
Please read my other two posts here to get more of a description of why Shakira is not a belly dancer.

Dear Lydia,
I may like Shakira and she may spark an interest in the dance, but she, herself is not belly dancing. I would hate for all of the young girls in your classes to think that she is what the dance is all about when there is so much more depth to the real thing. I am sure you are teaching them the differences!!

Regards,
A'isha

Violeetsidhe · 03-24-2007, 12:16 AM

YouTube - Shakira - Ojos Asi (Oral Fixation Tour)

YouTube - shakira

i was only wondering and i hope i haven't offended anyone sorry if i had i'm still learning and are really only a baby when it comes to belly dancing and it wasn't shakira that inspired me to begin we did a belly dance piece in a ballet i was in and a teacher came in and taught us

Lydia dubai · 03-24-2007, 07:24 AM

Hi Aisha ...o yes that is why i say in my post when they come and start the classes they see and know how differant it realy is...but specialy for people that dont know anything about bellydancing many of them think shakira is a bellydancer...of course for us dancers we al know that she is not ,but i still like her she is so much loved in the middle east and i think she is cool !! have a great day Lydia

Lydia dubai · 03-24-2007, 07:32 AM

bdw, there was a thread like 2 weeks ago where some of us discussing shakira her dancing, but i can not find it back in the forum...it was very simular to this . is she or is she not a bellydancer......Lydia

Aisha Azar · 03-24-2007, 01:43 PM

Dear Violeetsidhe,
I think your question was a really good one and there was nothing offensive about it. One of the best ways to find the answers is to ask the questions. I am an old dancer now aqnd I still have plenty of them!!

Dear Lydia,
Shakira is wonderful fun and I like her, too. One reason why we need to be so clear in defining what is being done on stage; even a lot of belly dancers think Shakira is a belly dancer.

Regards to you both,
A'isha

Suheir · 03-24-2007, 01:55 PM

Shakira's a singer who uses some belly dance moves in her act - like Natacha Atlas. Although, Natacha Atlas has apparently worked as an Oriental dancer at some point. I prefer Shakira!

nicknack · 03-24-2007, 05:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by A'isha Azar

One reason why we need to be so clear in defining what is being done on stage; even a lot of belly dancers think Shakira is a belly dancer.

This is one thing that really annoys me, but for different reasons. I love Shakira and her incredible set of lungs, and all the vibrato that comes from them, I also love the lyrics and the musical arrangements. Knowing all the hard work that she has been doing for around the past 15 years it really annoys me when people think of her as "the hip shaker"

While I'm here everyone should know about Shaks duet with
Miguel Bosé: Si Tu No Vuelves, which is on his new album Papito

Aisha Azar · 03-24-2007, 05:39 PM

Dear Nicknack,
I certainly see a lot of that as Shakira's own doing. She does not HAVE to crawl around seductively in the mud to sell herself...she chooses to. I agree that she could stand on her voice alone, but she is selling herself as a "hip shaker".
Regards,
A'isha

03-23-2007, 01:02 PM	#13 (permalink)
Aisha Azar Moderator Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Pacific Northwest USA Posts: 4,058	Shakira Dear Group, Yet, how many people who are not educated about the dance ( and how many who are)THINK that Shakira is belly dancing?? Dear Gwinity, Please read my other two posts here to get more of a description of why Shakira is not a belly dancer. Dear Lydia, I may like Shakira and she may spark an interest in the dance, but she, herself is not belly dancing. I would hate for all of the young girls in your classes to think that she is what the dance is all about when there is so much more depth to the real thing. I am sure you are teaching them the differences!! Regards, A'isha Last edited by Aisha Azar; 03-23-2007 at 01:07 PM.

03-24-2007, 12:16 AM	#14 (permalink)
Violeetsidhe Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: New Zealand Posts: 53	YouTube - Shakira - Ojos Asi (Oral Fixation Tour) YouTube - shakira i was only wondering and i hope i haven't offended anyone sorry if i had i'm still learning and are really only a baby when it comes to belly dancing and it wasn't shakira that inspired me to begin we did a belly dance piece in a ballet i was in and a teacher came in and taught us Last edited by Violeetsidhe; 03-24-2007 at 12:20 AM.

03-24-2007, 01:43 PM	#17 (permalink)
Aisha Azar Moderator Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Pacific Northwest USA Posts: 4,058	Shakira Dear Violeetsidhe, I think your question was a really good one and there was nothing offensive about it. One of the best ways to find the answers is to ask the questions. I am an old dancer now aqnd I still have plenty of them!! Dear Lydia, Shakira is wonderful fun and I like her, too. One reason why we need to be so clear in defining what is being done on stage; even a lot of belly dancers think Shakira is a belly dancer. Regards to you both, A'isha

03-24-2007, 05:39 PM	#20 (permalink)
Aisha Azar Moderator Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Pacific Northwest USA Posts: 4,058	Shakira Dear Nicknack, I certainly see a lot of that as Shakira's own doing. She does not HAVE to crawl around seductively in the mud to sell herself...she chooses to. I agree that she could stand on her voice alone, but she is selling herself as a "hip shaker". Regards, A'isha

03-23-2007, 11:35 AM	#12 (permalink)
Lydia dubai V.I.P. Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Dubai United arab emirates Posts: 1,260	Shakira shakira!! you know how many teenagers come into my classroom and say ,,i am new today and i want to learn bellydancing i want to be like Shakira...or can you teach me what Shakira is doing?? keep in mind that in the country where i live bellydancing is still something that is never on tv ...it is in nightclubs but most lady,s and special young girls can never go there...so for them Shakira is a bellydancer ...when they start to attend classes then they see the differance,...the good thing is that before Shakira was known in this country what is about 3 years now,things have changed and many many local girls now come to classes in a way Shakira gave them a taste to see a little bit of ,,bellydancing,,.....they leave the Abaya in the dressingroom and come and dance,sometimes even bringing mom with them to have a look and to make sure it,s all ok...so Shakira did a great thing in her way she put a differant but nice light on ,let me call it her style of dancing and i love her for it,simply because all the girls i am talking about would have never tought about going to bellydance classes simply because it is still so misunderstoud in this part of the world....have a nice day everybody , oooo bdw, Shakira is performing today in Dubai!! i am sure half my class is attending the concert!! Lydia

03-24-2007, 07:24 AM	#15 (permalink)
Lydia dubai V.I.P. Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Dubai United arab emirates Posts: 1,260	Hi Aisha ...o yes that is why i say in my post when they come and start the classes they see and know how differant it realy is...but specialy for people that dont know anything about bellydancing many of them think shakira is a bellydancer...of course for us dancers we al know that she is not ,but i still like her she is so much loved in the middle east and i think she is cool !! have a great day Lydia

03-24-2007, 07:32 AM	#16 (permalink)
Lydia dubai V.I.P. Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Dubai United arab emirates Posts: 1,260	bdw, there was a thread like 2 weeks ago where some of us discussing shakira her dancing, but i can not find it back in the forum...it was very simular to this . is she or is she not a bellydancer......Lydia

03-24-2007, 01:55 PM	#18 (permalink)
Suheir V.I.P. Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Europe - London Posts: 1,227	Shakira's a singer who uses some belly dance moves in her act - like Natacha Atlas. Although, Natacha Atlas has apparently worked as an Oriental dancer at some point. I prefer Shakira!