Presenting at Science fiction conventions - Page 2

janaki · 07-02-2008, 01:27 AM

My dearest QAA or would I say my royal highness QAA,

I am not an expert on this matter but I am sure you will do a damn good job of it. Can't wait to hear all abou it when it is done. All the best to you.

Hugs
Janaki

Aisha Azar · 07-02-2008, 01:37 PM

Dear Gang,
Thanks for responding and helping me out with some great ideas, and for the encouragement! I am looking forward to the event.
Regards,
A'isha

Jane · 07-02-2008, 03:52 PM

Star Trek collector card with Tonya as Fire Sculptor

Here's another interesting tie-in!

Having been a Con goer, a Renn Fair junkie, SCA member, and belly dancer...

I'd wear normal business style clothes and beautiful make-up with some fantastic Middle Eastern jewelry for the lecture. Authors and other lecturers have worn professional clothing at the Cons I've been to which were on the East Coast. I don't know what they wear on the West Coast, but you might ask around. I think you will have enough warm bodies in costumes.

To set the hook, maybe start out with a light hearted look at belly dance in popular American culture. (Star Trek, ATS, Harem girls, Gor, etc.) Then jump into dispelling the myths about how they came about. Then give them the real history.

Remember that a lot of people there take their personal fantasy ideals very seriously. You don't want to alienate (HA) your audience by telling them right off the bat, "Hey, you're wrong!" Identify with the Con culture, validate their 'play aspect" (if you are comfortable doing that), then tell them the truth about the origins. The important thing is to get people to listen. I hope you have a great time!

Aisha Azar · 07-02-2008, 03:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jane

Star Trek collector card with Tonya as Fire Sculptor

Here's another interesting tie-in!

Having been a Con goer, a Renn Fair junkie, SCA member, and belly dancer...

I'd wear normal business style clothes and beautiful make-up with some fantastic Middle Eastern jewelry for the lecture. Authors and other lecturers have worn professional clothing at the Cons I've been to which were on the East Coast. I don't know what they wear on the West Coast, but you might ask around. I think you will have enough warm bodies in costumes.

To set the hook, maybe start out with a light hearted look at belly dance in popular American culture. (Star Trek, ATS, Harem girls, Gor, etc.) Then jump into dispelling the myths about how they came about. Then give them the real history.

Remember that a lot of people there take their personal fantasy ideals very seriously. You don't want to alienate (HA) your audience by telling them right off the bat, "Hey, you're wrong!" Identify with the Con culture, validate their 'play aspect" (if you are comfortable doing that), then tell them the truth about the origins. The important thing is to get people to listen. I hope you have a great time!

Dear Jane,
Great advice on all counts! Thanks!
I was thinking of opening with telling about some of the Sci-fi /Fantasy "Future" dancers and then following a line of reverse history from modern belly dance in the East and West, to the origins of the dance as a social development in Egypt and other countries, to the folkloric root dances whose pasts are shrouded in the clouds of the ancient past.
Regards,
A'isha

Moon · 07-02-2008, 04:17 PM

Lol, sorry but I still don't understand what reason a scifi/fantasy convention has to ask a bellydancer to give a lecture?
Did they ask you what they could expect or anything?

The last thing I would expect at such a convention is a serious informative lecture about the history of bellydance.
Not saying non of the visitors would find it interesting, but I don't understand why they asked you and what bellydance has to with scifi/fantasy.

Aisha Azar · 07-02-2008, 04:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moon

Lol, sorry but I still don't understand what reason a scifi/fantasy convention has to ask a bellydancer to give a lecture?
Did they ask you what they could expect or anything?

The last thing I would expect at such a convention is a serious informative lecture about the history of bellydance.
Not saying non of the visitors would find it interesting, but I don't understand why they asked you and what bellydance has to with scifi/fantasy.

Dear Moon,
I am not a Sci-fi regular and do not know the reason that they want such a lecture. From my end,I will take any reasonable opportunity to educate the public about belly dance and this is one of them.
Belly dance seems to have long been a staple in Sci-fi and Fantasy, as can be witnessed by Tonia's appearance on Star Trek in the 60s and by my own experience of being hired to perform at Sci-fi events in the 70s.
Regards,
A'isha

Jane · 07-02-2008, 04:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moon

Lol, sorry but I still don't understand what reason a scifi/fantasy convention has to ask a bellydancer to give a lecture?
Did they ask you what they could expect or anything?

The last thing I would expect at such a convention is a serious informative lecture about the history of bellydance.
Not saying non of the visitors would find it interesting, but I don't understand why they asked you and what bellydance has to with scifi/fantasy.

I think "orientalist harem girls" are definitely a fantasy; and for some even a fetish! Maybe it's an American pop culture thing, but a lot of BD myths get perpetuated in the Fantasy Fandom circles. It's a good place to lecture and stop a few.

Moon · 07-02-2008, 04:54 PM

Ofcourse, but I wouldn't expect people coming from that scene to... want to stop the fantasy.

Jane · 07-02-2008, 05:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moon

Ofcourse, but I wouldn't expect people coming from that scene to... want to stop the fantasy.

True. Some will, some won't. Fortunately, many of us are also trivia geeks! Belly dance trivia for people who also speak Klingon and Elvish- Wooo Hooo!

teela · 07-02-2008, 05:14 PM

Having been involved in many many Science Fiction Conventions, Belly dance is a reasonable topic to talk about. Up in the North West area (Seattle, Portland) there have been belly dancers performing as entertainment on a regular basis. Years ago, there was a entertainment group of Klingons who sang, and belly danced. There are other groups that provided belly dance as part of the half time entertainment at Masquerades (costume contests). There have even been belly dancers participating in the Masquerades. In San Diego, they had a belly dance class in the morning before the day started and at other conventions there have been beginning belly dance classes. There has been some talk of having a few belly dance things next year at the Westercon in Phoenix. I can think of three main reasons they would schedule a talk on belly dance. First, there is a huge interest in it by the people attending. Second, it shows up in Science Fiction/Fantasy media such as in FireFly, Highlander and Highlander:The Raven, etc. Third, most of the Science Fiction/Fantasy is grounded in Earth and its history, rules, etc. There are usually panels dealing with everything from planet building, to using religions, to building histories of the people you have in your story. But the material is all based on our planet, histories and cultures. I"ve even taken some belly dance skirts (circle style) and created a fantasy gypsy look out of them. Hope this helps a bit.

07-02-2008, 01:37 PM	#12 (permalink)
Aisha Azar V.I.P. Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Pacific Northwest USA Posts: 4,176	Sci-Fi Dear Gang, Thanks for responding and helping me out with some great ideas, and for the encouragement! I am looking forward to the event. Regards, A'isha

07-02-2008, 01:27 AM	#11 (permalink)
janaki V.I.P. Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: hong kong Posts: 1,191	My dearest QAA or would I say my royal highness QAA, I am not an expert on this matter but I am sure you will do a damn good job of it. Can't wait to hear all abou it when it is done. All the best to you. Hugs Janaki

07-02-2008, 03:52 PM	#13 (permalink)
Jane Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: In the mountains Posts: 348	Star Trek collector card with Tonya as Fire Sculptor Here's another interesting tie-in! Having been a Con goer, a Renn Fair junkie, SCA member, and belly dancer... I'd wear normal business style clothes and beautiful make-up with some fantastic Middle Eastern jewelry for the lecture. Authors and other lecturers have worn professional clothing at the Cons I've been to which were on the East Coast. I don't know what they wear on the West Coast, but you might ask around. I think you will have enough warm bodies in costumes. To set the hook, maybe start out with a light hearted look at belly dance in popular American culture. (Star Trek, ATS, Harem girls, Gor, etc.) Then jump into dispelling the myths about how they came about. Then give them the real history. Remember that a lot of people there take their personal fantasy ideals very seriously. You don't want to alienate (HA) your audience by telling them right off the bat, "Hey, you're wrong!" Identify with the Con culture, validate their 'play aspect" (if you are comfortable doing that), then tell them the truth about the origins. The important thing is to get people to listen. I hope you have a great time!

07-02-2008, 04:17 PM	#15 (permalink)
Moon V.I.P. Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: the Netherlands Posts: 3,556	Lol, sorry but I still don't understand what reason a scifi/fantasy convention has to ask a bellydancer to give a lecture? Did they ask you what they could expect or anything? The last thing I would expect at such a convention is a serious informative lecture about the history of bellydance. Not saying non of the visitors would find it interesting, but I don't understand why they asked you and what bellydance has to with scifi/fantasy.

07-02-2008, 04:54 PM	#18 (permalink)
Moon V.I.P. Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: the Netherlands Posts: 3,556	Ofcourse, but I wouldn't expect people coming from that scene to... want to stop the fantasy.

07-02-2008, 05:14 PM	#20 (permalink)
teela Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Alaska Posts: 272	Having been involved in many many Science Fiction Conventions, Belly dance is a reasonable topic to talk about. Up in the North West area (Seattle, Portland) there have been belly dancers performing as entertainment on a regular basis. Years ago, there was a entertainment group of Klingons who sang, and belly danced. There are other groups that provided belly dance as part of the half time entertainment at Masquerades (costume contests). There have even been belly dancers participating in the Masquerades. In San Diego, they had a belly dance class in the morning before the day started and at other conventions there have been beginning belly dance classes. There has been some talk of having a few belly dance things next year at the Westercon in Phoenix. I can think of three main reasons they would schedule a talk on belly dance. First, there is a huge interest in it by the people attending. Second, it shows up in Science Fiction/Fantasy media such as in FireFly, Highlander and Highlander:The Raven, etc. Third, most of the Science Fiction/Fantasy is grounded in Earth and its history, rules, etc. There are usually panels dealing with everything from planet building, to using religions, to building histories of the people you have in your story. But the material is all based on our planet, histories and cultures. I"ve even taken some belly dance skirts (circle style) and created a fantasy gypsy look out of them. Hope this helps a bit.