Yay Male Student!

Yasmine Bint Al Nubia · 01-10-2007, 02:38 AM

Hi Brothers, I was just notified by my teacher/boss that my next new class will have the school's first male student. Although I don't plan to teach him any differently than the female students, do any of you have any tips to share? Thanks
Yasmine

Dipali · 01-10-2007, 10:08 AM

Hello Yasmine
Thank you for bringing up this topic, I was thinking of asking exactly the same question to all the Teacher/instructors who have or had male students . I had a very interesting discussion with a great lady who teaches belly dance locally and according to her she will never take a male student as she is not sure her curriculum is suitable for male students. She does not have any prejudice about male belly dancers but she is just not sure, although she has been teaching for the last 7 years.
Yes it would be nice to get any tips if available.

..

Moon · 01-10-2007, 10:13 AM

I'm not a teacher but I had a male fellow student last year and there's also a male student in the advanced group.
The teachers don't treat them differently. Only when we had a lesson in cane dancing, the teacher brought a larger, thicker cane for the male student. And if I remember right, she corrected his moves more verbally, she toutched female students more.
And when there's a performance they wear a slightly different costume

Dipali · 01-10-2007, 10:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moon

And if I remember right, she corrected his moves more verbally, she toutched female students more.
And when there's a performance they wear a slightly different costume

Lol . We can guess that bit.

Yasmine Bint Al Nubia · 01-10-2007, 06:20 PM

Well long before my teacher made this announcement, I had read several articles regarding males in dance(thanks Zorba, Sharif and Tarik). However I ran across one article by Stefan that describes certain issues unique to males. One is posture and hip moves. Here's the link to the article. Tell me what you think.Masculine Belly Dance.
Yasmine

Sharif · 01-10-2007, 07:50 PM

I just re-read Stefan's article; his is a valid viewpoint, but there are others as well. I still think you should teach a male dancer like any other dancer, with minor if any adjustments. In the long run everyone will have to find their own style, be they male or female. Stefan seems to want to express power and confidence more than anything else. Other male students may prefer the direction of male ballet dancing, modern or show dance, and allow themselves more freedom in poses and gestures. And like Stefan says himself, if you adhere to all the rules he gives all the time you will look pretty restrained. Your male student will simply have some more homework to do than most dancers to find his preferences and define his style.

Good posture is important for everybody, nothing new here. Yes, there are some differences in the anatomy of the hips, but nothing major. I doubt that males are more susceptible to injury in the case he mentions, but just to be safe: if it hurts bad, don't do it!

As for being true to the style, the Middle East is a big place with many local cultures and this dance has evolved over centuries. As a result, if a male uses a lot of classical belly dance moves and avoids switching to a completely different movement repertoire (like inserting some tango or break dance moves), he will fit right in. Studying the styles of other dancers and watching videos of male dancers from the ME does not hurt either. Ultimately, his own preferences and the response from the audience will shape and polish his style.

Zorba · 01-10-2007, 11:34 PM

Sigh...

I'm going to go out on a limb here and make a rather strong statement:

That article by "Stefan" is 95.6892% hogwash, and the rest is suspect. Even Tarik has said that it isn't the greatest. I wish it would just "go away". It has been around for 1.2 forevers and is unfortunately quoted as "gospel" whenever the subject comes up. I've even found it translated into Russian!

His "information" on back injury with regards to side-to-side hip movements is the EXACT opposite that I've found to be true with my particular body at least (I told my Chiropractor about it, he said it was bunk too). And the rest is the same, tired old masculinizations which have little or nothing to do with Belly Dance.

And apparently, this "Stefan" isn't even a dancer, from what I am given to understand.

-Zorba
"The Veiled Male"
Zorba, "The Veiled Male"

Aniseteph · 01-11-2007, 12:03 AM

Oh dear, do you mean you guys aren't always projecting your power and directness...?

Well I'm still going to be looking out for those slow fierce gazes over the crowd in sync with big, slow front arcs of hip circles (ooh, can't you just picture it? I think we should have a competition...). If I see any on YouTube now I'm going to splutter tea all over my keyboard. And share with the forum

of course.

Yrs moving diagonally

A xxx

Zorba · 01-11-2007, 03:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aniseteph

Oh dear, do you mean you guys aren't always projecting your power and directness...?

Well I'm still going to be looking out for those slow fierce gazes over the crowd in sync with big, slow front arcs of hip circles (ooh, can't you just picture it? I think we should have a competition...). If I see any on YouTube now I'm going to splutter tea all over my keyboard. And share with the forum

of course.

Yrs moving diagonally

A xxx

HA! The kind of crap I'd expect to see on YouTube!

I don't get it - the diagonal movement has nothing to do with male/female or even "masculine/feminine" - and everything to do with showing off the dance & dancer to the best advantage.

I'll see ya on the flip side of that diagonal...

-Zorba
"The Veiled Male"
Zorba, "The Veiled Male"

Sara · 01-11-2007, 07:13 PM

I think he might have had a few issues when he was writing this...

Otherwise, what a laugh!

I like the, 'no limp wrists bit' oh and the feirce gazes.

I wonder if he put's stuff up on shelves if he feels that vulnerable n all...

But seriously...either he's too caught up in being a 'man' or he's living in the past

01-10-2007, 02:38 AM	#1 (permalink)
Yasmine Bint Al Nubia V.I.P. Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Akron, Ohio Posts: 1,132	Yay Male Student! Hi Brothers, I was just notified by my teacher/boss that my next new class will have the school's first male student. Although I don't plan to teach him any differently than the female students, do any of you have any tips to share? Thanks Yasmine Last edited by Yasmine Bint Al Nubia; 01-10-2007 at 02:39 AM. Reason: typo

01-10-2007, 10:08 AM	#2 (permalink)
Dipali Moderator Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Sunshine coast,Australia Posts: 859	Hello Yasmine Thank you for bringing up this topic, I was thinking of asking exactly the same question to all the Teacher/instructors who have or had male students . I had a very interesting discussion with a great lady who teaches belly dance locally and according to her she will never take a male student as she is not sure her curriculum is suitable for male students. She does not have any prejudice about male belly dancers but she is just not sure, although she has been teaching for the last 7 years. Yes it would be nice to get any tips if available. .. __________________ Australian Belly dance store - Belly Dance Costumes, Bollywood & Tribal outfits.

01-10-2007, 06:20 PM	#5 (permalink)
Yasmine Bint Al Nubia V.I.P. Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Akron, Ohio Posts: 1,132	Well long before my teacher made this announcement, I had read several articles regarding males in dance(thanks Zorba, Sharif and Tarik). However I ran across one article by Stefan that describes certain issues unique to males. One is posture and hip moves. Here's the link to the article. Tell me what you think.Masculine Belly Dance. Yasmine Last edited by Yasmine Bint Al Nubia; 01-10-2007 at 06:21 PM. Reason: typos-lots of 'em

01-10-2007, 07:50 PM	#6 (permalink)
Sharif Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Santa Cruz, CA Posts: 40	I just re-read Stefan's article; his is a valid viewpoint, but there are others as well. I still think you should teach a male dancer like any other dancer, with minor if any adjustments. In the long run everyone will have to find their own style, be they male or female. Stefan seems to want to express power and confidence more than anything else. Other male students may prefer the direction of male ballet dancing, modern or show dance, and allow themselves more freedom in poses and gestures. And like Stefan says himself, if you adhere to all the rules he gives all the time you will look pretty restrained. Your male student will simply have some more homework to do than most dancers to find his preferences and define his style. Good posture is important for everybody, nothing new here. Yes, there are some differences in the anatomy of the hips, but nothing major. I doubt that males are more susceptible to injury in the case he mentions, but just to be safe: if it hurts bad, don't do it! As for being true to the style, the Middle East is a big place with many local cultures and this dance has evolved over centuries. As a result, if a male uses a lot of classical belly dance moves and avoids switching to a completely different movement repertoire (like inserting some tango or break dance moves), he will fit right in. Studying the styles of other dancers and watching videos of male dancers from the ME does not hurt either. Ultimately, his own preferences and the response from the audience will shape and polish his style. __________________ ~SHARIF~ www.bellydancersharif.com

01-11-2007, 12:03 AM	#8 (permalink)
Aniseteph V.I.P. Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Sussex, England Posts: 1,687	Fierce gazes! Oh dear, do you mean you guys aren't always projecting your power and directness...? Well I'm still going to be looking out for those slow fierce gazes over the crowd in sync with big, slow front arcs of hip circles (ooh, can't you just picture it? I think we should have a competition...). If I see any on YouTube now I'm going to splutter tea all over my keyboard. And share with the forum of course. Yrs moving diagonally A xxx

01-10-2007, 10:13 AM	#3 (permalink)
Moon V.I.P. Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: the Netherlands Posts: 3,627	I'm not a teacher but I had a male fellow student last year and there's also a male student in the advanced group. The teachers don't treat them differently. Only when we had a lesson in cane dancing, the teacher brought a larger, thicker cane for the male student. And if I remember right, she corrected his moves more verbally, she toutched female students more. And when there's a performance they wear a slightly different costume

01-10-2007, 11:34 PM	#7 (permalink)
Zorba Moderator Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 857	Sigh... I'm going to go out on a limb here and make a rather strong statement: That article by "Stefan" is 95.6892% hogwash, and the rest is suspect. Even Tarik has said that it isn't the greatest. I wish it would just "go away". It has been around for 1.2 forevers and is unfortunately quoted as "gospel" whenever the subject comes up. I've even found it translated into Russian! His "information" on back injury with regards to side-to-side hip movements is the EXACT opposite that I've found to be true with my particular body at least (I told my Chiropractor about it, he said it was bunk too). And the rest is the same, tired old masculinizations which have little or nothing to do with Belly Dance. And apparently, this "Stefan" isn't even a dancer, from what I am given to understand. -Zorba "The Veiled Male" Zorba, "The Veiled Male"

01-11-2007, 07:13 PM	#10 (permalink)
Sara V.I.P. Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Wales/Yorkshire Posts: 1,160	I think he might have had a few issues when he was writing this... Otherwise, what a laugh! I like the, 'no limp wrists bit' oh and the feirce gazes. I wonder if he put's stuff up on shelves if he feels that vulnerable n all... But seriously...either he's too caught up in being a 'man' or he's living in the past