Bellydancing on chairs and table tops

janaki · 07-30-2007, 04:02 PM

Few months ago we had a famous bellydancer/instructor visiting from USA. In her honour we organised a performance in a cosy, upscale restaurent. In the first part of her performance, she pulled a chair near a table and she danced whole drum solo part on the chair. She did the same in the second part when she was doing the Tribaret (cabaret + tribal) sorry but

. This was the reaction we got here in Hong Kong;

1.Most of the bellydancers/ bellydancing enthusiatics thought it made the dance and the dancer looked cheapish.

2. People that never saw bellydance before, droooled by the buckets!!!

3. Many men asked me if she is nightclub/exotic dancer. I thought this group were suppose to drool by the buckets

I thought it was not necessary to get up on the chair to show people how good you dance. ( I think this is waht she was trying to pull but I am not sure though).

What do you think??? Have you seen belly dancers get up and dance on chairs and table tops? Do you think this will make the dance and dancer not professional???

Love to hear your comments.

Ariella · 07-30-2007, 06:06 PM

It probably depends on the setting. If she's in a place where it's really really hard to see her, jumping on a chair to do a drum solo could be a good idea.

You can probably tell her motives from the way she danced. Was she just doing the drum solo from someplace high? Was she putting her leg around the chair and grinding with it? Would her drum solo have been different had she been standing on the ground?

Shanazel · 07-30-2007, 06:17 PM

People dance on everything from stages to crystal goblets, but dancing on restaurant chairs and tables has a "look at me, I'm more than slightly tipsy" aspect to it (thanks to old movies), and goes better with lampshades on the head than with belly dance.

Lydia dubai · 07-30-2007, 06:52 PM

I dont know ...in the middle east it is very normal...even in weddings where dancers perform all the relativs will clear tables and beg you to dance on top of the table sometimes we go from table to table like that for 15 minutes...like in the maksoum part.....people love it...like its special that you picked that table and they are very proud that you danced on there table....sometimes this weddings have 2 or 3 tousand people so perhaps they like it to see better i dont know...even when it is a only lady wedding still they ask pleaeaeaese come on our table.....?????????????? my 2 cents Lydia

Amulya · 07-30-2007, 07:08 PM

I don't know how it is now, but it used to be common in restaurants in Holland as well that people asked dancers to dance on the table. Depending on the audience the dancer does it, or not, if it's a sleazy audience.

Reen.Blom · 07-30-2007, 07:49 PM

I agree that depends on what a dancer puts in it! It it looked sleazy then what more can you say???

slinks · 07-30-2007, 08:53 PM

that leaves me with not much to say .. I agree with all of the below !!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ariella

It probably depends on the setting. If she's in a place where it's really really hard to see her, jumping on a chair to do a drum solo could be a good idea.

and thanks to the ol' movies but prooves you're having a good time

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shanazel

People dance on everything from stages to crystal goblets, but dancing on restaurant chairs and tables has a "look at me, I'm more than slightly tipsy" aspect to it (thanks to old movies), and goes better with lampshades on the head than with belly dance.

If the atmosphere is all the rage and fun

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lydia dubai

...even in weddings where dancers perform all the relativs will clear tables and beg you to dance on top of the table sometimes we go from table to table like that for 15 minutes...like its special that you picked that table and they are very proud that you danced on there table...even when it is a only lady wedding still they ask pleaeaeaese come on our table.....?????????????? my 2 cents Lydia

So then you have if it looks sleazy

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reen.Blom

I agree that depends on what a dancer puts in it! It it looked sleazy then what more can you say???

So all in all if every one had fun and the dancer was a genuine dancer and no sleaze dance was danced .. I think that's all part of it, particually if it was so every-one could see .. and a drum dance is usually danced in one spot so yeah a chair is as good a place as any part of the floor to dance

...

Yshka · 07-30-2007, 10:03 PM

Hi, I kind of agree with all of you who have said it depends on the setting. I've seen dancers get up on chairs and/or tables as well here in the netherlands, and it doesn't always have to do with sleazyness, though IMHO I feel it does make a dancer look a bit cheap'ish.
I cannot dance on a table due to this feeling (that plus having a weird fear for even the smallest heights). I wouldn't ever make myself or the dance look cheap/sleazy, but I think as Lydia said in the Middle East it's quite normal, and honestly, I have danced on a chair before in ME/Turkish restaurants. Sometimes because people feel it is, as Lydia said, special for you to dance at people's table (I've noticed that Turkish people encourage you to get on the table, but usually don't understand why I don't do it), or just in a place that had practically no space to dance or move around in (and by dancing I mean really DANCING, wearing a non-see-through skirt, shorts underneath, and not grinding with my legs too far apart).

If situation calls, I think dancing on a chair with the appropriate approach CAN be alright. Though if I don't have to, I'd rather not do it.

Shanazel · 07-31-2007, 03:29 AM

One of the things I really value about this forum is reading aboutworldwide customs. What is slightly tawdry in one location is the height of class in another!

maariku · 07-31-2007, 10:21 AM

Yes, it very much depends... On whether the dancer does it just to show off or just to enjoy him/herself... whether they're doing it on their own or encouraging other to join (on or off the table) ... whether they are graceful or you constantly have to fear about wine glasses being broken and the dancer slipping over a tzatziki

07-30-2007, 04:02 PM	#1 (permalink)
janaki V.I.P. Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: hong kong Posts: 1,211	Bellydancing on chairs and table tops Few months ago we had a famous bellydancer/instructor visiting from USA. In her honour we organised a performance in a cosy, upscale restaurent. In the first part of her performance, she pulled a chair near a table and she danced whole drum solo part on the chair. She did the same in the second part when she was doing the Tribaret (cabaret + tribal) sorry but. This was the reaction we got here in Hong Kong; 1.Most of the bellydancers/ bellydancing enthusiatics thought it made the dance and the dancer looked cheapish. 2. People that never saw bellydance before, droooled by the buckets!!! 3. Many men asked me if she is nightclub/exotic dancer. I thought this group were suppose to drool by the buckets I thought it was not necessary to get up on the chair to show people how good you dance. ( I think this is waht she was trying to pull but I am not sure though). What do you think??? Have you seen belly dancers get up and dance on chairs and table tops? Do you think this will make the dance and dancer not professional??? Love to hear your comments.

07-30-2007, 07:08 PM	#5 (permalink)
Amulya Moderator Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Byron Bay, Australia Posts: 920	I don't know how it is now, but it used to be common in restaurants in Holland as well that people asked dancers to dance on the table. Depending on the audience the dancer does it, or not, if it's a sleazy audience. __________________ Blog: What Were They Thinking?

07-30-2007, 07:49 PM	#6 (permalink)
Reen.Blom V.I.P. Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Between Heaven and Earth Posts: 2,262	I agree that depends on what a dancer puts in it! It it looked sleazy then what more can you say??? __________________ Join WORLD BELLY DANCE DAY! www.worldbellydanceday.com

07-31-2007, 10:21 AM	#10 (permalink)
maariku Moderator Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Estonia Posts: 1,146	Yes, it very much depends... On whether the dancer does it just to show off or just to enjoy him/herself... whether they're doing it on their own or encouraging other to join (on or off the table) ... whether they are graceful or you constantly have to fear about wine glasses being broken and the dancer slipping over a tzatziki __________________ "[A good bellydancer] must express life, death, happiness, sorrow, love and anger, but above all she must have dignity." -Tahia Carioca,

07-30-2007, 06:06 PM	#2 (permalink)
Ariella Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: someplace far too cold Posts: 204	It probably depends on the setting. If she's in a place where it's really really hard to see her, jumping on a chair to do a drum solo could be a good idea. You can probably tell her motives from the way she danced. Was she just doing the drum solo from someplace high? Was she putting her leg around the chair and grinding with it? Would her drum solo have been different had she been standing on the ground?

07-30-2007, 06:17 PM	#3 (permalink)
Shanazel Moderator Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Rocky Mountains USA Posts: 4,563	People dance on everything from stages to crystal goblets, but dancing on restaurant chairs and tables has a "look at me, I'm more than slightly tipsy" aspect to it (thanks to old movies), and goes better with lampshades on the head than with belly dance.

07-30-2007, 06:52 PM	#4 (permalink)
Lydia dubai V.I.P. Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Dubai United arab emirates Posts: 1,338	I dont know ...in the middle east it is very normal...even in weddings where dancers perform all the relativs will clear tables and beg you to dance on top of the table sometimes we go from table to table like that for 15 minutes...like in the maksoum part.....people love it...like its special that you picked that table and they are very proud that you danced on there table....sometimes this weddings have 2 or 3 tousand people so perhaps they like it to see better i dont know...even when it is a only lady wedding still they ask pleaeaeaese come on our table.....?????????????? my 2 cents Lydia

07-30-2007, 10:03 PM	#8 (permalink)
Yshka Moderator Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 1,250	Hi, I kind of agree with all of you who have said it depends on the setting. I've seen dancers get up on chairs and/or tables as well here in the netherlands, and it doesn't always have to do with sleazyness, though IMHO I feel it does make a dancer look a bit cheap'ish. I cannot dance on a table due to this feeling (that plus having a weird fear for even the smallest heights). I wouldn't ever make myself or the dance look cheap/sleazy, but I think as Lydia said in the Middle East it's quite normal, and honestly, I have danced on a chair before in ME/Turkish restaurants. Sometimes because people feel it is, as Lydia said, special for you to dance at people's table (I've noticed that Turkish people encourage you to get on the table, but usually don't understand why I don't do it), or just in a place that had practically no space to dance or move around in (and by dancing I mean really DANCING, wearing a non-see-through skirt, shorts underneath, and not grinding with my legs too far apart). If situation calls, I think dancing on a chair with the appropriate approach CAN be alright. Though if I don't have to, I'd rather not do it.

07-31-2007, 03:29 AM	#9 (permalink)
Shanazel Moderator Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Rocky Mountains USA Posts: 4,563	One of the things I really value about this forum is reading aboutworldwide customs. What is slightly tawdry in one location is the height of class in another!