Shanazel

I confess: I not only had one of the very first Barbies from 1959, but I still have her and several related dolls. Both my grandmothers sewed and made me an entire case of clothes. My Barbies had all sorts of adventures: being bucked off wild horses, falling into deep gorges, getting lost in trackless deserts. I played with them for years and still turned out reasonably normal (hey, no debating that last statement and DO NOT listen to anything my children may tell you- it is all lies).

Makeda Maysa

I loved Barbie and still do. I am a Barbie collector and have been for years. I also loved My Little Pony, Care Bears, Strawberry Shortcake, Rainbow Brite. I preferred She-Ra over He-Man. I watched G.I. Joe, but only because I liked the two girls (I think one was named Lady Jane?). Of the X-Men, my favorite was Storm - she was a girl *and* Black! My favorite color is pink. I like flowers. I wear a full face of makeup every day and am hardly ever seen without heels. I love nothing more than a chick flick and a cry, or screaming through a horror flick and clutching my dude's arm. I am an unrepentant girly girl. I am not ashamed of it. My young daughter is very much a similar type of girl.

Yet, I could drink many a man under a table and also have been known to kick a*s when necessary. I don't think there's anything wrong with being girly. And a few of these posts here are walking a really thin line, seems to me. I mean, none of us want to be treated as "less than" because we're women and our way to justify that is by saying, "I liked all the things the boys did!" Well, I didn't. Does that make me weak or weird or backward?

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The Niraja Dance Company www.thendc.net

lizaj

Well all I can say is what lucky girls you alll were.
I had a stick to pop tar bubbles with

Are we a tad off topic?

Brea

Makeda- of course not! My point isn't that you CAN'T be those things. I'm just tired of the assumption that we ALL are those things, you know? Men or women, etc. The gendered-ness can do a lot of harm, for instance in the case of male rape...they aren't taken as seriously because they're *men* so that's not supposed to happen to them, right? I think it's a lot more insidious than people would like to believe.

Back on topic: all male dance shows. I am not threatened by them, I just would like to see the day when everyone is equal, regardless of race/gender/etc. I did want to ask Tarik (if he's still reading this) where the fine line between acting male and acting macho is, and if one could teach that?

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Makeda Maysa

I do understand that, Brea, and I am all for each of us finding our interests in life, be they Barbie or rough-housing. I was just seeing a pattern of "Oh my God! I don't like the 'womanly bonding' thing! Barbie - the horror! Pink - oh no!" and it was getting a bit tiresome. Anyhow ... back to your regularly scheduled programming ...

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The Niraja Dance Company www.thendc.net

Brea

Well, I own a cream puffball Pomeranian. How's that for girly.

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Tarik Sultan

Yes indeed I am reading all the latest posts in the male dance section. However,since you guys were doing such a good job, I figured I'd let talk. Sometimes its good to just sit back and listen. You can hear better if you're not always distracted by the need to say something.

So to answer your question. I guess the term acting masculine is problematic. A guy shouldn't have to ACT masculine, he IS masculine. Its just a matter of relaxing and letting what is already there come out. This is why the body needs to be conditioned and the technique perfected so that the body facilitates the expression of the inner being and not block it.

Most guys are masculine, meaning they just have a way of being that we recognize as manly, a regular Joe etc. In other words they don't carry themselves in a manner that we would consider feminine, womanly, swishie, delicate, effeminate, whatever adjective you chose to use. However, there is no one type of masculinity just as there is no one type of femininity. There is a very big difference between someone like Will Smith and Prince Charles, but they are both masculine. Or look at the difference between Justine Timberlake and Jackie Chan. Better yet look at the difference between Fred Astair and Gene Kelly. Very different energies/personalities, but both possessed an essence we recognize as masculinity.

Macho is just really over the top. It's taking masculinity to the farthest extreme. I guess Hulk Hogans persona in the ring or any WWF wrestler is macho. Its a very rugged and aggressive energy. This over the top energy is inappropriate for Oriental Dance and Baladi because these dances are light hearted, fun loving, and emotionally expressive in nature and intent. It would be appropriate for Tahktyb, Debke, or other dances that are derived from martial arts or traditionally done by warrior societies.

I guess in training a man to dance Oriental or Baladi you have to look to make sure their movements are graceful and fluid. That they enhance and express that person's being rather than looking awkward, insecure and uncomfortable. This is why I think it's very important that men coming to the dance who have not grown up in the culture, be able to see images on men from the culture who know how to dance. King of youtube that I am, here's another video clip. It's an interview, so the dance segment is very short. But look at how graceful, fluid and comfortable he is in his body. He looks natural and although he moves very sensually with feeling and emotion, he still has that natural air about him that we recognize as masculinity.


This is what guys need to bring to the dance, otherwise they distort the dance and its cultural foundation.

Shanazel

Macho is masculinity on steroids and/or testosterone overdose.

Tarik Sultan

That's exactly what I was trying to say, but it wouldn't come out!

khanjar

It is interesting in the video that interviewee says that the music inspires dance, and this being perhaps because of the hot sun, I would say, the music, without the sun, inspires movement, not sure it would be called dance in my case, but it does make me move and in a way that feels natural. So with this, a feeling on this form of dance being natural, then why not learn the dance moves, it can only enhance the feeling of natural relaxation. And from what I remember, people like to be around relaxed others, I certainly do.

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I am a dream to some...and a nightmare to others.