What dance style does Sadie dance?Is

Ariadne

Well-known member
Modern American Oriental/Cabaret. It has more Egyptian influence then Vintage American Oriental and is more technique driven then either.
 

Jane

New member
I always thought her style looked like an Egyptian style dance vocabulary done with American Jazz Dance technique and musicality. Just my personal observation.
 

jenc

New member
Egyptian is not so much about style or technique. lorna who went from Scotland to Cairo told us she had to forget 3/4 of her technique when she got there. An Egyptian dancer interprets the music, and will choose to follow different themes and strands. for the Egyptian dancer, her body is an instrument and like any instrument in the Orchestra, she will not try to dance thw whole thing and respond to every note. She knows the effect of a dramatic pause whilst the music is still playing, she konws how to give her dance texture by sometimes doing something different to the music, for example a slow move where you would have expected a fast, varying the intensity to add impact at other parts of her dance.

For me, Sadie tries too hard to BE the orchestra, I find that she dots every i and crosses every t in the music - and therefore although I agree that all dancers today are looking toi egyptian dancers for inspiration, I wouldn't say that Sadie shows any Egyptian style as I understand it.

I understand that there are many people who like her style very much, and I must say that I appreciate her control of her body and her ability to do what she does - it's just that I prefer a bit of egyptian mystery
 

Taslin

New member
Modern American Oriental/Cabaret: i could see where this may be a fit.

But the egyptian driven part got me confused.

I am the opposite of an expert, but personally when i watch her, it is the last style that comes to mind as i watch her usual performances. I feel she overdances the music, period, especially for what i think of when i think of egyptian.

I say this even though im a fan. i want her technique, but i think it could be used more sparingly and less overtly. I feel at times she is frantic to show all the moves shes got before the song is over, while egyptian dancers tend to seem to be savoring the music, moment, or emotion-regardless of what or how many moves or combos they can get in there before the song ends.
They are a different kind of energetic as well. She also doesnt have a coy playfulness to her face, i dunno.

Her style confuses me frankly. She is entertaining, and beautiful, but i dont know about categorizing her.
 

Yame

New member
Sadie does Sadie style :D

Really, I don't think the way she dances is representative of a wider style. Anyone who wants to dance like that can go ahead and take her classes, follow her DVDs, and watch her videos for it.

But the closest actual style to what Sadie does, IMO, is Suhaila style. Whenever I watch Suhaila dance, it looks to me like something Sadie would do (as in, the way she hears the music, the types of moves she does and the way she strings them together), except Sadie has bigger and more defined moves, whereas Suhaila's isolations are much smaller.

Kaya reminds me even more of Suhaila... the faces she makes, the hair touching... I don't know if either Sadie or Kaya have been at all trained by Suhaila directly (Sadie's website doesn't say anything about it, so I assume not), but to me there definitely looks like she may have influenced their style in some way.
 

Ariadne

Well-known member
Modern American Oriental/Cabaret: i could see where this may be a fit.

But the egyptian driven part got me confused.

The thing that defines Modern American Oriental/Cabaret is that it's any combination of different styles AND more technically driven. At the moment it covers a wide range of dancing styles with an influence from modern/ballet/jazz dance technique (many of the performers in this style are cross trained). Maybe in the future certain specific styles will separate out and Suhaila/Sadie's style may become their own but right now they're under the same umbrella.

If it helps any think of it this way. As you pointed out Egyptian dancers have a different tempo to their dance and a different energy. Sadie may be heavily influenced by the Egyptian style but her tempo is very much like what you find in jazz dance. She also heavily emphasizes the technical aspects which is opposite the way Egyptian style is danced. Suhaila, while different in her base style, is likewise heavily influenced by her cross-training in modern American dance styles and is extremely technically focused.

Many of my favorite Modern American Oriental/Cabaret dancers dance in a combination of bellydance styles, an updated version of the Vintage style, or with a heavy Turkish accent but the one thing they have in common is the "American" accent from the modern/ballet/jazz influenced technique and the tendency to be technically driven in their performance. What separates the true artist from the merely skilled is their ability to be expressive, to emote, and not just be technically precise.


With all that said I am going to agree with Yame and say that Suhaila, Sadie, Kaya, etc. (does anyone know anyone else?) have a style that is very different from the styles developing from other Modern American Oriental/Cabaret dancers we just don't have a name for it yet.

Is it possible the development of a competition style is having an effect on the modern style? :think:
 

Amanda (was Aziyade)

Well-known member
I don't know if either Sadie or Kaya have been at all trained by Suhaila directly (Sadie's website doesn't say anything about it, so I assume not), but to me there definitely looks like she may have influenced their style in some way.

Sadie was certified Level 2, I think, some years back. She has let her certification lapse, but she hasn't forgotten the training :)
 

Taslin

New member
Adrienne, thanks for your response. i appreciate the insight and i'm grateful for how well you explained your take on it.

Well, all the comments have been pretty insightful actually.
 
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