What do you think of male "belly dancing"?

[HothouseSalsero]

Sometimes I think this is secretly my calling in life. The rhythms of raks sharki are very hard for me to resist. I sometimes do pseudo-belly dancing in the privacy of my apartment. But I once saw a male belly dancer and wasn't all that taken with the performance. The female style of belly dancing seems to fit the music better: less linear, more arabesques. Maybe I should be a tranvestite belly dancer? But I'm not really attracted to the idea of impersonating a woman. That's not my thing. I just think it would be great to dance to this music, but without having to do the sort of ultra-macho movements I saw this male belly dancer doing.

[Sarah]

I've seen video of two male belly dancers - one great and one terrible. There's definitely precident out there for blokes dancing, paticularly in the more traditional pre-Hollywood-oriental stuff, the names of which elude me - I'm on holiday and away from my usual sources of information - ie my teacher and her library. I say if it interests you, find yourself a teacher and persue it. With study and practice thers no reason that you can't develop a style that suits you as a man without the things you consider ultra-macho

Let us know if you do.

Cheers
Sarah

[Spitfire]

I think this is the first time I've ever heard of a male belly dancer. From what I understand it's great excersize for the abdominals by anyone doing so.

[vey]

HothouseSalsero, go for it :!: :!: :!: :!: :!:

Nothing should stand in the way of one's artistic expression, including sexual prejudices of other people.

A potential bonus is incorporating belly dancing in other dances, such as salsa, I've seen women do it but I'm sure men can also incorporate short samples of it, say 2 or 4 beats long, without looking like a tranvestite :)

[Sagitta]

Great HothouseSalsero. Go for it!! I have wanted to try belly dancing, but not with the same intentions as you. During belly dance performances I saw how I could incorporate some cool moves into my other dancing. :) So it is added to my ever growing list of dances to do. Oh life is way too short!! :headwall:

[pygmalion]

I also think you should go for it. Personally, I think male belly dancing is a totally cool idea. Who cars what others think? Try it. The worst that can happen, as Sagitta said, is that you learn some cool new moves you can incorporate into your salsa. But if you think it's your calling, you definitely should try it and find out. :D

[HothouseSalsero]

Thanks for all the encouraging responses. I'm not entirely serious about it being my calling. The one bad thing is that I don't really enjoy watching belly dancing that much. It makes me nervous. The way it's done is a little too close to go-go dancing sometimes. I'm not sure it needs to be approached that way. (I'm not prudish, I just don't enjoy being teased.)

I did once call a belly dance studio to see if taking classes was possible. The teacher said she would talk to her students about how they felt having a male in the class. I never heard back from her. I suspect I would need to take private lessons with a male belly dancer.

[dancersdreamland]

A few points of information, some good research sites, and encouragement:

INFORMATION
Belly dance is designed with the female body in mind. It was first introducted as a fertility dance done only by females for females. That being said, you won't find a great deal of male belly dancers.

RESEARCH
After a quick bout of research, here are some male belly dance website you may find useful:

The Male Belly Dance Site - http://raqstar.com/table_of_contents.htm
Eduardo - http://members.aol.com/eduardojp8/myhomepage/business.html
Masculine Belly Dance - http://www.bdancer.com/Masculine.html
Zorba - http://www.doubleveil.net/

ENCOURAGEMENT
You can do anything you put your mind to. If you truly want to belly dance, then go for it. Don't let anyone tell you no or that it can't be done. If you're not able to find a dance class in your area, checkout belly dance videos and begin learning by tape. Eventually, the door will open and you will be able to fulfill your dream.

[borikensalsero]

As long as the guy doesn't have a hairy, beer belly I wouldn't mind watching it.

[Swing Kitten]

As long as the guy doesn't have a hairy, beer belly I wouldn't mind watching it.

but a beer belly without hair would be okay?

[HothouseSalsero]

As long as the guy doesn't have a hairy, beer belly I wouldn't mind watching it.

but a beer belly without hair would be okay?

I was wondering the same thing.

[pygmalion]

Um. Beer bellies can be appealing :shock: ... in a weird, avuncular sort of way. :lol:

[Swing Kitten]

insert raised eyebrow smilie

[borikensalsero]

As long as the guy doesn't have a hairy, beer belly I wouldn't mind watching it.

but a beer belly without hair would be okay?

Hmmm, hmmm, yeah, that would be prefectly ok. I hear ladies love a bare chest and stomach. :lol: :lol:

[Swing Kitten]

well I guess it's a good thing that there are as many different preferences to body types as there are body types.

[HothouseSalsero]

Belly dancers don't have to use fake tanning solution do they?

[dancersdreamland]

If a belly dancer wants to have a tan looking body, then he/she could use fake tanning solutions or use a tanning bed. I personally have never done so.