Aniseteph

Voice whispering into pretty little girly ears..."there have been women belly dancing for so long and where has it got you eh? Nobody takes you seriously, it's about time that some men got on the scene and showed you how to do it properly."

That's a sarcastic font, BTW. Or ironic or something. (actually it's Book Antiqua).

Bellydance Oz

To answer the question seriously, I think it depends entirely on your definition of "talented".

Male belly dancers are definitely not more talented than women. Talent is a gift and entirely independent of gender. Being a talented dancer is not just about technique, or just about charisma, or just about grace - it's a total package.

However, if you mean "are male dancers technically superior?", the answer is yes, they can be. For the same reason that male tennis players will generally defeat female players, or male sprinters will outrun female sprinters, male belly dancers can out-shimmy a woman any day.

Note I'm not saying all male dancers are technically superior to female dancers - any more than you would expect a male social tennis player to defeat Venus Williams. But the belly dance equivalent of Roger Federer will always be technically superior to the equivalent female tennis champion, because more muscle power means more control.

Shiva - male belly dancer extraordinaire Belly Dance Oz


Having said that, I have to confess I never feel comfortable watching male belly dancing.

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Sirena : Belly Dance Oz video blog + shop

Mya

Now see i agree with you to a point on this one. Everything you said above is true however i don't think that superior muscular control will necessarily make a better dancer if the person is incapable of interpreting the music and capturing the essence of the dance. To me basing a better dancer on muscular control focuses on movement and ignores the other equally important characteristics of this artform and as such results in a superficial judgement on the dance. Oh, to be clear - i'm not accusing you of doing this , i'm just using you as a point of reference to move forward from.

AngelaJP

I am totally fascinated watching male belly dancing! Probably because it's something so new to me?

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Carpe diem!

karena

Of course I forgot about how sheer strength was what technical ability in belly dancing was about. Silly me, I think I was daydreaming about Brad Pitt or something.

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"Nothing is black and white, it's all shades of grey" Me

AngelaJP

Makes me wonder how Brad Pitt, Colin Farrell or Russell Crowe will look like belly dancing?

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Carpe diem!

Aniseteph

What Mya said about it's so not just technique - .
I don't agree with this either. Technique isn't just a strength thing, it's about how you do something, and I don't believe that how is related to the brute force you can put into it.

Belly dance equivalent of Roger Federer may have the strength to shimmy for 3 years and do floorwork supported on his little finger, but I've just seen that clip of Taheya Carioca dancing to Tahtil Shibbak, and testosterone-boosted muscle power has nothing to do with that.

Russell Crowe belly dancing, oh dear oh dear oh dear...

Zorba

I'm going to put an end to this debate. Males are superior? Why? 'Cause the very best Belly Dancer in the world is a male - so by definition males must be better! Who is this male? Why, you even have to ask? That'd be me, of course!

{Grinning, Ducking, and Running!}

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-Zorba
"The Veiled Male"
http://www.doubleveil.net
"There is nothing sadder than a veil, that is for sale."

Aniseteph

Of course, it's all so obvious now!

Pirika Repun

Zorba



Don't make Tarik and Mark to jealous you! LOL.