Aisha Azar

Dear Nicknack,
What part of "belly dance" do you see in her dance?? Her movements are too exaggerated to be correctly called "belly dance". Her approach and the music and essence and spirit of what she is doing is not belly dance...what part of Shakira's performance do you see as belly dance? I see the "fusion" there as being the fact that she fuses Latin and Anglo concepts together, more than belly dance concepts. ( Lived in So. Cal for a number of years and have some close freinds who are Cuban, Mexican and Argentine, so I feel that I have some small idea about Latin cutures, though not like I do Arabs.) My ethnic heritage is French, American Indian and Norwegian. None of it makes me any more one than the other. I am so far removed from any of the three culturally (even though my mother and her family all speak fluent French) that to say I am those things is really not accurate at all. I am, in many ways way closer and more understanding of the Arab cultures around me than I am any of those three cultures. I feel that Shakira, in her performances at least, is so far removed from belly dance that what she does can not correctly be called that on any level.
We agree to disagree on this. If you really can't see that sheis not a belly dancer, then I guess I will not change your mind no matter what I say, what my experience with the dance, or any other qualification.
Regards,
A'isha

nicknack

I was talking about what the audience percieves as that dance. But it's also the way her body reacts to the sound of a doumbek and traditional rythms(maybe it's the way my tongue reacts when hearing Ladino songs, it just sings along even though it doesn't know all the correct vocal techniques). I think that's were the spirit is.

Maybe the moves are exagerrated for show, maybe it was choreographed that way for tour. I do remember that Bozenka did somw choreo for Tour of the Mongoose.....it's hard to know

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

sstacy123

What would make her a belly dancer? That may not be her occupation but just because belly dance isn't your occupation I don't think that means you're not a belly dancer, or am I wrong?

Bonnie

I hope I don't offend anyone here but I like to think Shakira is belly-dancing.
In the Live and Off the Record DVD she even calls it belly-dancing herself because she says something like ''Belly dancing requires use of your feet, your waist, your back,all your muscles. ''

However I do accept the fact she often combines it with other dance movements (well, most of the time! ) But what else is she doing in Ojos Asi/Whenever Wherever than belly-dance!?

What defines belly-dancing? The movements? I know that just because someone does snake arms or shakes their hips, it's not belly-dancing.
But I'm pretty sure Shakira belly-dances.

What defines belly-dancing? The music? Shakira has arabic music in Ojos Asi, the live version of Whenever, Wherever, and the Sahara Remix of Whenever, Wherever.

What defines belly-dancing? The love of the dance? I think Shakira has this.

Please can someone explain what makes a belly-dancer??? It's so confusing!!

But that's just my viewpoint. . .

Bonnie

This will sound like a contradiction but I hate it when pop stars shake their hips while exposing their bellies at the same time and everyone says, 'That's belly-dancing'. Grr!!

Recnadocir

Since Miles Copeland, that big chicken, declined my challenge last year...

I hereby challenge Shakira to a belly dance smackdown!

Kharmine

Well, there's the contradiction, Bonnie. If it's any kind of dancing with some belly dance movements thrown in, is that "belly dancing"? Would you say the same thing about, say, flamenco or tango or the polka?

Read some of the other threads and you get various opinions on what 'belly dancing" is, but what most people seem to agree on is that for it to be a distinct form it can't get so far from its ethnic roots into a "fusion" with other styles that it loses its character.

__________________
What if the hokey pokey is really what it's all about?

nicknack

Ok just to clarify things a little I've collected together clips in which Shakira is percieved as bellydancing, just so ya'll can make your minds up.....I'll follow up with reggaton, latin, fusion etc

12 year old Shakira 1.00 min into this Premier Imapacto bit ShakiraMedia.com - Videos, Gallery, News & more

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

Moon

omg.. what an outfit for a little girl

just remembered a funny fact i once heared: when Shakira was little she wanted to join the choir, but the choir lady didn't want her because she thought Shakira's voice sounded "too sheepish", lol! I wonder if she knows Shakira is now one of the most famous and popular singers.

nicknack

Ok here goes. First off Regaton inspired



Latin fusion, carnival inspired


Here be Latiness


Just small dancing to match the music


Inspired by the wings of isis


And finally a performance containing undulations but no bellydancing

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