An interesting article by Ankh

khanjar · 05-28-2008, 09:15 PM

I found this website and though here would be a good place to share it with others who are interested. Though the site is a bit bitty, there is some information on male portrayal of the dance, costumes etc.

About.com: http://welcome.to/Zaida

Click the 'For Men' button on the upper left hand side

Ignore the bit in the middle about custom swords,(unless you are into that) there is more below and links to other sites with information on male dancers.

Aisha Azar · 05-28-2008, 10:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by khanjar

I found this website and though here would be a good place to share it with others who are interested. Though the site is a bit bitty, there is some information on male portrayal of the dance, costumes etc.

About.com: http://welcome.to/Zaida

Click the 'For Men' button on the upper left hand side

Ignore the bit in the middle about custom swords,(unless you are into that) there is more below and links to other sites with information on male dancers.

Dear Khanjar,
......I hope that you will take what this article imparted with a big grain of salt.
Regards,
A'isha

Aniseteph · 05-29-2008, 12:16 AM

Sounds like more rules from the clenched fists/fierce gaze department - How to be Manly with a capital M. According to this article that is what the female audience wants to see....

sedoniaraqs · 05-29-2008, 03:38 AM

I thought the whole website was pretty terrible, personally. I didn't agree with that man's essay on men's dancing.

jenc · 05-29-2008, 06:41 AM

Quote:

A gracious lady and a dashing man are introduced and are expected to shake hands. The lady offers her hand palm down with the wrist bent displaying the beauty of her hand, wrist and forearm. The man meets her hand palm to palm, softly but with implied strength, softly speaks a pleasantry and gracefully bows to kiss the back of her hand. The lady blushes, with a tittering giggle and hides her lower face with her fan.

Says it all really - his description of being feminine is so tacky also

Aniseteph · 05-29-2008, 09:24 AM

Quite. I suspect quite a few of us would not pass off the tittering giggle test of femininity. Which is a really good thing, IMO.

khanjar · 05-29-2008, 11:02 AM

Ok, if this is a bad example, where might one find something which is more realistic?

Perhaps I should just instead of searching for information, see what comes, but you understand, sometimes we just feel the need to seek information before doing something. Perhaps even look before one leaps.

Outi · 05-29-2008, 08:00 PM

oh, nothing...

Brea · 05-30-2008, 03:20 PM

Khanjar- I feel that Tarik Sultan's articles, the videos he has posted, and many articles on Zorba's site are pretty good. I feel that articles like this one are missing the point: in the Middle East it's NOT 'feminine' for men to dance. That's entirely a Western construct. The problem with internet information, especially (for some reason) about this dance, is that it tends to be very inaccurate and sometimes completely made up. I sympathize with you as a researcher; it's tough when you have to slag through a ton of BS to get to the truth.

From the article: some colors are feminine! Ha! Tell that to my barfighter dad who loves wearing pink and is the proud owner of a lavender trailer!

And to Aniseteph- I certainly would not pass that test, for reasons obvious to all by this point.

Aisha Azar · 05-30-2008, 03:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brea

Khanjar- I feel that Tarik Sultan's articles, the videos he has posted, and many articles on Zorba's site are pretty good. I feel that articles like this one are missing the point: in the Middle East it's NOT 'feminine' for men to dance. That's entirely a Western construct. The problem with internet information, especially (for some reason) about this dance, is that it tends to be very inaccurate and sometimes completely made up. I sympathize with you as a researcher; it's tough when you have to slag through a ton of BS to get to the truth.

From the article: some colors are feminine! Ha! Tell that to my barfighter dad who loves wearing pink and is the proud owner of a lavender trailer!

And to Aniseteph- I certainly would not pass that test, for reasons obvious to all by this point.

Dear Khanjar,
In fact it IS considered feminine for men to dance belly dance in the Middle East, though social dances are considered to be both feminine and masculine pastimes, and some of them have the same basic movements as belly dance. This huge bit of truth is often left out of the equation when people discuss Middle Eastern dance. It is when men become professional belly dancers that they are considered to be crossing the line into female territory. This is the general consensus but some few people are more relaxed about it.
Regards,
A'isha

05-28-2008, 09:15 PM	#1 (permalink)
khanjar Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: England Posts: 380	An interesting article by Ankh I found this website and though here would be a good place to share it with others who are interested. Though the site is a bit bitty, there is some information on male portrayal of the dance, costumes etc. About.com: http://welcome.to/Zaida Click the 'For Men' button on the upper left hand side Ignore the bit in the middle about custom swords,(unless you are into that) there is more below and links to other sites with information on male dancers. Last edited by khanjar; 05-28-2008 at 09:18 PM.

05-29-2008, 08:00 PM	#8 (permalink)
Outi Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Cairo, Egypt Posts: 251	oh, nothing... Last edited by Outi; 05-29-2008 at 08:08 PM.

05-30-2008, 03:20 PM	#9 (permalink)
Brea V.I.P. Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: USA Posts: 1,283	Khanjar- I feel that Tarik Sultan's articles, the videos he has posted, and many articles on Zorba's site are pretty good. I feel that articles like this one are missing the point: in the Middle East it's NOT 'feminine' for men to dance. That's entirely a Western construct. The problem with internet information, especially (for some reason) about this dance, is that it tends to be very inaccurate and sometimes completely made up. I sympathize with you as a researcher; it's tough when you have to slag through a ton of BS to get to the truth. From the article: some colors are feminine! Ha! Tell that to my barfighter dad who loves wearing pink and is the proud owner of a lavender trailer! And to Aniseteph- I certainly would not pass that test, for reasons obvious to all by this point. __________________ www.breamorgiane.com Last edited by Brea; 05-30-2008 at 03:26 PM.

05-29-2008, 12:16 AM	#3 (permalink)
Aniseteph V.I.P. Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Sussex, England Posts: 1,570	Sounds like more rules from the clenched fists/fierce gaze department - How to be Manly with a capital M. According to this article that is what the female audience wants to see....

05-29-2008, 03:38 AM	#4 (permalink)
sedoniaraqs Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: cultural wasteland of the midwestern US Posts: 569	I thought the whole website was pretty terrible, personally. I didn't agree with that man's essay on men's dancing.

05-29-2008, 09:24 AM	#6 (permalink)
Aniseteph V.I.P. Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Sussex, England Posts: 1,570	Quite. I suspect quite a few of us would not pass off the tittering giggle test of femininity. Which is a really good thing, IMO.

05-29-2008, 11:02 AM	#7 (permalink)
khanjar Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: England Posts: 380	Ok, if this is a bad example, where might one find something which is more realistic? Perhaps I should just instead of searching for information, see what comes, but you understand, sometimes we just feel the need to seek information before doing something. Perhaps even look before one leaps.