da Sage

You should check out the video. Conan can be a real jerk sometimes, but he actually treated Dolphina with a lot of respect. She was the "straight man", he was the clown. The set-up was that she was going to teach him how to dance. He danced badly (a lot of the same spastic moves and dorky facial expressions he pulls all the time on his show, anyway), she danced reasonably well. There were silly jokes (mostly on her part), but they were arch, not crude.

I agree she took a big chance, but I don't think she did the dance any harm with her appearance.

selenaluna

Dolphina was fantastic on the Conan show! She is hilarious and all her charm came through. I'm not a fan of Conan, but he was really funny with her. They had me laughing so hard I was crying! Dolphina is such a positive addition to our belly dance community. She's always so supportive of all women from every walk of life, and uses belly dance to heal and empower. Kudos to Dolphina!

Gia al Qamar

Oy.

gypsy8522

For some reason I find it very difficult to believe this. The last time I saw a belly dancer on an english program was on the show Sex and the City, I remember during the short dance scene Sarah Jessica Parker was saying: "I went to a Middle Eastern restaurant last night, blah blah.. while I watched the belly dancer give my boyfriend a lap dance".

And who can forget Boy Shakira? I found his/her "belly dance performance" quite repulsive and an insult to any form of dance. In the end, all of these programs air on networks that are run by the same coorporations, whose frequently negative portrayal of Middle Eastern culture is nothing new. I am certain if this dance was part of American culture, it would have been portrayed in a much more dignified manner.

I have watched these late night shows over the years and I know how hosts like Jay Leno and Conan O'Brian like to mock people, but they also do keep a balance when they ask their guests questions about their upcoming projects etc.. plus their art speaks for itself anyway. However, I doubt very much that show producers were interested in MED, that Dolphina was brought in soley for her belly dancing skills or that her "interview" was intended as anything more than a joke. I really wish someone could prove me wrong though.

da Sage

It is a comedic show. Dolphina came on to promote her product, just like everyone else does. The interview/demonstration was set up to be slightly sexy and very funny, but it also demonstrated the difficulty of the dance (although D. didn't say that you would need more than just her video to master it!).

Dolphina was not expected to be any more "sexy" than any other female guest on a late-night talk show. She also made the point that anyone can begin to learn this dance, and that in the Middle East both men and women dance this way.

It's a light entertainment show, focusing on show-biz. It's not an educational show, so my expectations for content are different than they would be for, say, a news show of any type.

gypsy8522

Yes, I am well aware that it is a comedic show, for this reason I mentioned two other type of programs I saw that featured belly dancing. Despite the different nature of the show(s), the dancing was still presented in a mocking way in all of them.

I still stand by my first comment and I don't blame some of the reactions here saying that it is too painful to watch. It doesn't surprize me knowing that it was the usual pathetic and cheesy presentation seen previously on other shows.

lizaj

Gosh I wish I had the power to heal..save the NHS a fourtune!

da Sage

Did anyone else besides me actually WATCH the clip (besides selenaluna, whom I don't know yet)?