Belly Dancing

[lily]

Does anyone on DF Belly Dance? If so, how do you find that the partner dance you do effects your Belly Dancing?

I took up Belly Dance a couple of years ago mainly because it's so beautful but also because it's a dance that I don't need a partner for. However, I'm having a real problem "thinking for myself". I find that I can do most of the moves the teacher shows without any problem. I can copy her really well - but when it comes to the end of the class and we all dance to the music however we like, I'm totally lost :cry:

I was wondering if the swing dancing I've been doing for years (as a follow) could have blocked my ability to think of movements for myself? Has anyone else found this when going from being led in a partner dance to being 'free' in a solo dance?

[Sagitta]

I've never done it though I've flirted with the idea of taking a belly dance class now and then. I know that ddl, dancersdreamland is a big fan of belly dance, though I haven't seen her around on df recently...Hope things are going well with her... :?

[Pacion]

I've never done it though I've flirted with the idea of taking a belly dance class now and then.

:shock: Men belly dance too? Hey Sabor! What do you know about this? Can we have a demonstration please :wink: :banana:

[lily]

I've never done it though I've flirted with the idea of taking a belly dance class now and then.

:shock: Men belly dance too? Hey Sabor! What do you know about this? Can we have a demonstration please :wink: :banana:

I saw a man belly dance once and I was really impressed. He used his face and body to express the emotions of the song he was dancing to and he seemed lost in the movements and the music. It was very well done and the style was slightly different to the way women dance even if the concept is the same.

[ShyDancer]

Ive considered belly dancing a few times...the only thing stopping me is the $$ ...usually when I have spare money it goes straight on something for ballroom , lessons, clothes, shoes... :lol: :lol: :lol:

I think it would be a sensational help with cuban motin though...

Also arm styling..

[lily]

I think it would be a sensational help with cuban motin though...

Also arm styling..

It's true that when I swing dance I've often been asked where I learnt my graceful arm and hip movements. I think that they must have come from the Belly Dance classes :)

[Sabor]

I've never done it though I've flirted with the idea of taking a belly dance class now and then.

:shock: Men belly dance too? Hey Sabor! What do you know about this? Can we have a demonstration please :wink: :banana:

some men do it but only for a few moments.. but its more for fun or laughs .. it is viewed as a strictly female dance art in its culture .. it is originally a form of seduction dance where women are made to show off their feminity to the highest extent and hence the moves and made around that idea.. the art of seduction through dance .. and hence a man doing it that way would not be viewed favorably in a culture that does not accept sexes acting opposite to their gender..

However, a male dancer could definitely join a belly dancer but his moves and motion will be totally different than the female.. he would typically move in a very masculine form and dance more with shoulders, arms and leg hopping motion.. and sometimes uses a wooden stick which he will do dance tricks with and play with it artfully infront and around the belly dancer.. looks pretty neat actually.. but it is a cultural dance form and thus obeys tradition to a large extent.. but it still remains a very rich and complex dance with a lot of subtleness and depth.. and provocation

[lily]

I've never done it though I've flirted with the idea of taking a belly dance class now and then.

:shock: Men belly dance too? Hey Sabor! What do you know about this? Can we have a demonstration please :wink: :banana:

some men do it but only for a few moments.. but its more for fun or laughs .. it is viewed as a strictly female dance art in its culture .. it is originally a form of seduction dance where women are made to show off their feminity to the highest extent and hence the moves and made around that idea.. the art of seduction through dance .. and hence a man doing it that way would not be viewed favorably in a culture that does not accept sexes acting opposite to their gender..

However, a male dancer could definitely join a belly dancer but his moves and motion will be totally different than the female.. he would typically move in a very masculine form and dance more with shoulders, arms and leg hopping motion.. and sometimes uses a wooden stick which he will do dance tricks with and play with it artfully infront and around the belly dancer.. looks pretty neat actually.. but it is a cultural dance form and thus obeys tradition to a large extent.. but it still remains a very rich and complex dance with a lot of subtleness and depth.. and provocation

I'd always been told that Belly Dance was originally a fertility dance which is why so many of the moves are from the belly and hips. So I had a quick google and found this!

http://www.bellydance.org/about.html

[Sabor]

interesting.. thats the first time i hear about the 'fertility' story.. hmm.. never would have crossed my mind actually.. well, i of course may be wrong in my interpretation as opposed to the 'origins of the dance'.. but judging from what i've seen.. live.. i would never have thought that this is not a dance/art of feminity celebration and attraction, unless it eveloved into one at one point or another down the line of history..

of course, i didnt see belly dancing done in other parts of the world where its big.. only Egypt.. so i definitely dont have the knowledge

[lily]

I agree that however the dance originated, it is a very beautiful and sensual way of moving and certainly extremely feminin. Anyway, seduction and fertility are somewhat linked so they could both have originally inspired the dance!

[pygmalion]

I know that a lot of traditional dances originated as fertility rituals. I don't know about bellydancing, specifically, but there are many other dances, even some done today (in some cultures), for fertility purposes. 8)

[Pacion]

I've never done it though I've flirted with the idea of taking a belly dance class now and then.

:shock: Men belly dance too? Hey Sabor! What do you know about this? Can we have a demonstration please :wink: :banana:

some men do it but only for a few moments.. but its more for fun or laughs .. it is viewed as a strictly female dance art in its culture .. it is originally a form of seduction dance where women are made to show off their feminity to the highest extent and hence the moves and made around that idea.. the art of seduction through dance .. and hence a man doing it that way would not be viewed favorably in a culture that does not accept sexes acting opposite to their gender..

However, a male dancer could definitely join a belly dancer but his moves and motion will be totally different than the female.. he would typically move in a very masculine form and dance more with shoulders, arms and leg hopping motion.. and sometimes uses a wooden stick which he will do dance tricks with and play with it artfully infront and around the belly dancer.. looks pretty neat actually.. but it is a cultural dance form and thus obeys tradition to a large extent.. but it still remains a very rich and complex dance with a lot of subtleness and depth.. and provocation

I am sure that it looks 'pretty neat'. I find a lot of traditional dances are preciously that = interesting due to the 'hidden' messages either in a flicked wrist or timing of an eyelash flutter :D

[Sabor]

I find a lot of traditional dances are preciously that = interesting due to the 'hidden' messages either in a flicked wrist or timing of an eyelash flutter

how about them belly waves then :shock: :mrgreen: