Dancers You Don't Like

[Mosaic]

Yay! for the matriarchal wise women bellydancers ... I am 62!

The only thing I don't like about being an older dancer is the fact I might run out of time before I have danced enough:lol: Then again would it matter how old you were ... there is probably never enough time no matter how old you are! Oh I also sometimes wear sparkly shoes with low heels when I dance, not high ones I might break my neck I've shoes with indoor soles and ones with outdoor soles. I personally don't mind dancers wearing shoes or not not wearing shoes that is personal choice. Actually - just a bit of trivia - all the dancers I saw in Egypt wore quite high heels. But I am sure there are some who don't wear shoes, I just didn't see any
~Mosaic

 

[Corylus]

when her facial expression look like she's having an orgasms.
- I've seen that!

This is one of my hates. Showing emotion in your facial expressions whilst dancing is a good thing but when that emotion crosses into 'climax face' territory it's gone too far!

The only performance I have ever seen that I dislike strongly enough to comment on it is Dondi's 'Marilyn' belly dance from the Belly dance Superstars' Folies Bergere DVD. I just cannot watch it all the way through. I dislike it as both a belly dancer and a Marilyn fan. I do want to stress that it is this one particular dance I dislike, not Dondi as a dancer.

 

[Greek Bonfire]

Hahaha. Well, i`ll tell you what is the thing that most bellydancers dont dare to do; it is to say her age, i am sure most of them will do all the things i wrote insted of revealing the age.

Many women don't state their age, and not just in bellydance, but in most areas where they make their living. Why? Because the world still hasn't learned how to treat a mature woman. And as for dancers, I love the mature ones the best because they have so much to express from their own lives.

Those who are mature that are very well known and who do state their ages are Morocco (70+), Cory Zamora (60), Amaya (60), just to name a few. These women are my dance idols.

 

[Shanazel]

I personally don't mind dancers wearing shoes or not not wearing shoes that is personal choice.

I am a dedicated barefoot dancer but wore soft soled black slippers for a performance Wednesday night. It is winter in Wyoming, the stage was drafty, the offstage floor was cold tile, and I was afraid that without slippers my toes would freeze and break off during an Egyptian drop. Audiences are really grossed out by dancers who accidentally fling toes into the front row.

 

[Greek Bonfire]

I am a dedicated barefoot dancer but wore soft soled black slippers for a performance Wednesday night. It is winter in Wyoming, the stage was drafty, the offstage floor was cold tile, and I was afraid that without slippers my toes would freeze and break off during an Egyptian drop. Audiences are really grossed out by dancers who accidentally fling toes into the front row.

I'll bet! :lol::lol::lol:

I'm a lover of barefoot dancing too but sometimes I have to give in and wear shoes myself. The thought of stepping on vegetables grosses me out, not to mention getting splinters in my tootsies!

 

[charlieL]

Many women don't state their age, and not just in bellydance, but in most areas where they make their living. Why? Because the world still hasn't learned how to treat a mature woman. And as for dancers, I love the mature ones the best because they have so much to express from their own lives.

Those who are mature that are very well known and who do state their ages are Morocco (70+), Cory Zamora (60), Amaya (60), just to name a few. These women are my dance idols.

In my opinion i think women dont state her age most are bellydancers among the artist women, if you look in famous performers most of them reveal her age; Madonna(52) Shakira(33) Liza Minelli(64) Beyonce(29) But my point is not only on age but most bellydancers dont even give a proper biography in their websites but they describe their style and achievements but they dont even say where are they from, when did they started and why they chose bellydancers as a career and something like that,that is the point of a biography. I dont see any bad thing about it but it strikes me that only belly dancers do that.

 

[Greek Bonfire]

In my opinion i think women dont state her age most are bellydancers among the artist women, if you look in famous performers most of them reveal her age; Madonna(52) Shakira(33) Liza Minelli(64) Beyonce(29) But my point is not only on age but most bellydancers dont even give a proper biography in their websites but they describe their style and achievements but they dont even say where are they from, when did they started and why they chose bellydancers as a career and something like that,that is the point of a biography. I dont see any bad thing about it but it strikes me that only belly dancers do that.

They do this in the corporate world as well. And from the names that have been stated, sometimes I think only very successful women can afford to state their age. But many times I have seen this omission in many other professions as well, particularly because the world is very hard on maturing women moreso than on men.

 

[Shanazel]

Well, the world better get out of the way because maturing women are liable to kick its butt. Old ladies of the world unite! We have nothing to lose but uncomfortable foundation garments and social invisibility!

 

[Corylus]

The thought of stepping on vegetables grosses me out, not to mention getting splinters in my tootsies!

I am a barefoot dancer too, although that does mean having filthy feet sometimes after dancing on restaurant floors.

I had never trodden on anything painful until the other day in class when I got a broken glass bead in my foot I'm guessing it came off someone's hip scarf.

....maybe I should start wearing shoes!

 

[Greek Bonfire]

I am a barefoot dancer too, although that does mean having filthy feet sometimes after dancing on restaurant floors.

I had never trodden on anything painful until the other day in class when I got a broken glass bead in my foot I'm guessing it came off someone's hip scarf.

....maybe I should start wearing shoes!

That is what convinced me to! OUCH!

 

[LadyLoba]

The more I watch, the more I know what I do and do not like...and the one thing that gets on my nerves is hard to describe...but I would say it's when a dancer has a conceited look on her face and dances in a way that gives the impression that she thinks she's hot and expects everyone else on the planet...not just the audience...the world...to think she is hot too.

There is one dancer I was watching earlier today....and the woman's technical skill was very good..I saw a lot of moves I only wish I could do...and she was dancing well to the music....no "real" problems at all...but just the way she moved and the look on her face put me off. It went so far beyond confident it was unreal.

Maybe it's because I don't often see this in belly dancers...most people who belly dance are confident....they've gotten a lot of compliments on their appearance, they know most people find them attractive, and they see themselves as attractive (or at least that's the impression they give off to me)

But that attitude is very different than "I think I'm gorgeous and everyone who looks at me is required to agree." ...and that just screamed out of this woman I was watching today. It made me not even want to watch her, even though the technical skill was good.

 

[Shems]

Just wondering...does anyone have any particular dancers they just flat out don't like? I'm not asking people to list names...that can get mean and start arguments...but are there dancers that you acknowledge have solid skills...just doyou n't like their style or don't care to watch them perform?

*you just don't

yes.

 

[charlieL]

yes.

Why the fear of naming the dancers we dont like? Is this forum bellydance leaks or what?

 

[Shanazel]

Perhaps because some mothers tell their children if you can't say something nice or at least constructive it's better to remain silent. Perhaps because some people think naming dancers one doesn't like can too easily turn into a slam fest. Perhaps because a thread based solely on deriding sister and brother dancers is of questionable taste, not to mention determinedly and inherently unkind.

It is one thing to critique each other, to weigh and balance, to examine and come to a conclusion about a dancer's particular performance or style. One can prefer Fifi over Dina or Isadora over Jamilla, and state why without declaring dislike for the less favored dancer. But to say, hey let's get together and pan dancers we don't like is not constructive.

 

[charlieL]

Perhaps because some mothers tell their children if you can't say something nice or at least constructive it's better to remain silent. Perhaps because some people think naming dancers one doesn't like can too easily turn into a slam fest. Perhaps because a thread based solely on deriding sister and brother dancers is of questionable taste, not to mention determinedly and inherently unkind.

It is one thing to critique each other, to weigh and balance, to examine and come to a conclusion about a dancer's particular performance or style. One can prefer Fifi over Dina or Isadora over Jamilla, and state why without declaring dislike for the less favored dancer. But to say, hey let's get together and pan dancers we don't like is not constructive.

Shanazel; i dont think is a too bad thing if in this thread we name dancers we dont like, i get your point but i think you are exaggerating about the slam fest thing, why is good if we call x dancer a godness but a bad thing if we open our minds and call the bad things the way we think it. We wont start WWIII if we do that.

 

[Shanazel]

Another Momism: before making a remark ask yourself:

Is it true?
Is it kind?
Is it necessary?

I can go on like this indefinitely.

 

[charlieL]

Another Momism: before making a remark ask yourself:

Is it true?
Is it kind?
Is it necessary?

I can go on like this indefinitely.

Momism? Why do you say this is another momism?

Is it true? Nobody owns the absolute true.
Is it kind? The answer of that question is relative
Is it necessary? Yes it it, this forum dont have to be so restrained, so censored to the thoughts of its members.

 

[Shems]

I personally, just wanted to say to the original poster that I understand where she is coming from. There are dancers out there who are very highly regarded and who are skilled and capable performers who just don't do it for me. But then again, I also am not a big fan of mango juice. I can say that because mango juice's feelings wont get hurt. And mango juice isn't intrinsically bad either, I think it is just a matter of taste.

I know there are dancers out there who love my dancing and others out there who don't care for it. That is why I moderate all comments on my youtube videos. So potential clients don't have to sift through the thoughts of people who don't like my flavor of juice.

As far as naming names, I have been known to be a little too blunt on occasion. I have openly critiqued dancers I didn't like or respect once or twice in the past out of frustration on a similar kind of forum, but I always regretted it. It feels catty and I think reflects worse on the one giving the criticism than the one receiving it, even if the criticism is valid. I have learned that if I have a real problem with a dancer, I need to contact that dancer directly to hash it out.

If I don't have a problem per say, I just don't like a dancer's style, well, just saying a dancer isn't to my taste isn't particularly nice or particularly useful, so why put it out there? Who knows a year from now I might be working with that dancer I didn't care for. And she might be a real sweetheart and I'll feel like a jerk because I had to tell the world I didn't like her dancing, when I could've just kept it to myself.

Dancer to dancer criticism in open forums is very different to me than a professional critical review of a show or dvd. The former not so great, the latter good and necessary.

Even discussing aspects of what makes or breaks a performance for you with out picking on a particular dancer as bad example can be useful, and there has been a lot of that in this forum.

There is a place for direct critique, like when you are referring somebody to a client or teacher. I will give my personal recommendations and even tell folks who to avoid, but privately, not in an open forum. Or if you are trying to teach you students by showing them both good and bad examples of something, but that would temper things a little, you would be unlikely to be showing a lot of bad examples on an open forum like this, this would be directed at a class (a more private situation). Also it wouldn't be specifically to call out a dancer you don't like, but to show specific reasons why one dancer's interpretation might not be as authentic or effective as another in the teacher's opinion.

And my post has mysteriously turned into a novel. All the best to you dance world. <3

 

[PracticalDancer]

Rep to Shems, for always being the professional!

There are a lot of comments I could react to in this thread; but, since I have a full agenda today, I will just add my few cents on this.

There are a lot of "things" I do not like in the dance: backbends with the crotch to the audience, large hip circles or "the butt wipe" to the audience, costumes that look like they will fall off or gap to show something they shouldn't, skirts peeking out above belts (pet peeve), ignoring the audience, and (my own demon I need to exorcise) "showing your hand" when things go wrong by "telling" the audience you forgot the step or missed a cue, etc.

There are a lot of dances I do not like: dancing drunk, dancing off beat, dancing cane with a bare tummy, exhausting the audience (someone mentioned over-dancing to the music; this is the result), and (gonna get things thrown at me for this one) -- trying to turn belly dance into dance theatre -- belly dance should not have a "plot" or a "statement."


But, when it comes to DANCERS I do not like, it is more rare, because they will manifest the things above all the time. In order for me not to like them as a dancer, they must consistently do things I do not like. After a quick mental tally, I have seen hundreds of performances live at this point. I have never gotten up and walked out. I may have escorted my young child to the bathroom, decided to freshen up my own costume, or taken advantage of the vending offered. But, I was reared to smile and say something nice when asked. And, when another dancer asks me what I thought of so-and-so -- and I really did not like so-and-so's number -- I try to think about what learning opportunity can be offered from this. If the dancer is more experienced than I, I may pose a question to her that can help me learn from her about some positive aspect that I see in the performance. If the dancer is less experienced than I, I will strive to comment on one positive element of what I saw in the performance, pulling out the good in it. And by that point, it is time to smile and clap, and see what the next dancer will offer.

Regards,

Anala

 

[Greek Bonfire]

Shanazel; i dont think is a too bad thing if in this thread we name dancers we dont like, i get your point but i think you are exaggerating about the slam fest thing, why is good if we call x dancer a godness but a bad thing if we open our minds and call the bad things the way we think it. We wont start WWIII if we do that.

Apparently, you have never seen some of the nastiness this type of thing can turn into. I've seen plenty on other fora; in fact, I've been the subject on other fora and it's not constructuve nor given in a loving way, but just a chance for a lot of other people who are dying for a reason to do some major mudflinging. That is why I like this forum better, because everybody "plays nice."

No, thank you to a nasty forum.

@LadyLoba - you mean when they act like they are too sexy for this song??? :lol: