bellydancing...

highpriestess · Post by **highpriestess** » Thu Feb 07, 2008 3:55 am

some of you expressed interest when i said something about bellydancing in another thread... fairly positive it was all guys, but still... since it is a subject that is so near and dear to my heart... and it IS music related.... i thought i'd compile a little list of links to some cool bellydance videos that i really like. enjoy.

this is American bellydance.. the style is called "tribal fusion" but i've got to tell you, this particular bellydance company, The Indigo, seem to really have a style of their own, very burlesque, circus gypsy, vintage, roaring 20's-ish. And because of their uniqueness, I'd have to say they are probably my favorite... to me - Rachel Brice is a goddess. Having said that...

my all time favorite, i'm in love with this video. Rachel Brice (music is Prenzlauerberg by Beirut): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JoTGklpzsw

Rachel Brice drum solo. The muscle control is just INSANE, people. INSANE I tell you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keN17yEUIDo

Rachel Brice and Mardi Love - The Indigo (music is Tsiftetelli by The Toids) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5btJc1awds

Rachel Brice, Mardi Love, Zoe Jakes - The Indigo (music is Opa Cupa by Brass Manazerie): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZtQa8bU ... re=related

Rachel Brice, Mardi Love, Zoe Jakes - The Indigo (the cute little tune is a can can-ish number by Man Man called Spider Cider, dontcha just LOVE it?): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bltwxaTi02s

Sadie. This is one of the BEST drum solo bellydances i have seen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YamDoDK7 ... re=related

i have no idea who this troupe is, but i love, love this sword choreography. it's just really nicely done IMO (not sure what the music is, sorry): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJWdPAGWOf8

This is one of the performing troupes from the studio where i dance - they are called The Wings of Isis and this is a clip of one of their performances at Scarborough Faire last year. The blonde in yellow is Sarafina. We kidnapped our precious Randy Perry this weekend... okay, not kidnapped, but texted him and said hey, you want to go eat Lebanese food and watch a bellydancer? anyway, i digress... the blonde... her significant other is the singer for a doom metal type band here called Solitude Aeturnus and he is also the singer for a Swedish metal band (even though he lives here in fort worth) called Candlemass. He drums at our studio as well. Anywho....

Wings at Scarborough Faire http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iut6ZfJo4lI

m'kay. anyway... not everyone's cup o' tea, i know, but this was for those who expressed interest. hope you guys enjoy these - it's just a few of my personal faves.

Y'all will have to ask Randy if he liked the bellydancer... i don't know if he saw much of her since he was so busy attacking the Baba Ganush and his "Lebanese meatloaf" as he called it. *laughs*

i hope these stupid URL tags worked.

highpriestess · Post by **highpriestess** » Thu Feb 07, 2008 4:24 am

oops. forgot two. lol

Petite Jamilla first one is an excellent number with zills (the finger symbol thingies. lol) and the second is an awesome veil routine. Petite is top of the line with the veils. just awesome.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVwEztD9xnU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUIlb-QxBa8

Cpt Matt Sparrow · Post by **Cpt Matt Sparrow** » Thu Feb 07, 2008 7:40 am

Hi B

Thanks I love belly dancing!

What country does it originate from?

I tell you why I ask...because I have seen it in Indian culture and Spanish. Interestingly the Spanish people have mixtures of Indian and arabic blood in them.

Flamenco dancing and music seems to have similarities too. (both visually-dancing and harmonically -music)

Thanks again for these. I would say one of the most interesting posts in a while!

Matt

Post by **Trigger** » Thu Feb 07, 2008 11:41 am

I think it comes from Arabic/Turkish culture. However within Arab society it is considered a high art form and conveys stories and moral issues that Islam cherish's.
I love Arab history and culture I have been to the middle east and I can truly say they have a lot that we can learn from.

Ian

siro_angel · Post by **siro_angel** » Thu Feb 07, 2008 1:07 pm

My mum's friend belly dances, she does it quite well but she is quite an interesting character..

I don't lol *shudders* I prefer to dance when im tipsy cos then i dont care, which is kinda scary considering I always wanted to learn the Tango, mainly the argentinian tango.

Simon

highpriestess · Post by **highpriestess** » Thu Feb 07, 2008 6:04 pm

well, Matthew, the origins are really unknown, that's how far back it goes. It's definitely middle eastern in origin, most people agree on at least that much. There are drawing in egytian tombs depicting bellydancers, and also paintings from 12 and 13th century Persia depicting bellydancers.

Ther are several different forms of bellydance... Turkish bellydance, Egytian bellydance (this is what most people refer to as "traditional bellydance"), there's Oriental bellydance, Spanish bellydance, the Gypsy bellydance (Romini), etc.

The big difference in American bellydance and bellydance from ALL other countries is the use of the veil. In other cultures the dances, if they use a veiwl, will walk out with it drped on them, or covering their faces, and they will use the veil as more of an entrance to the room and then drop it and go on to dance... American bellydancers use the veil as an actual prop throughout an entire routine... like Petite Jamilla above.

Simon, funny you should mention the Tango... a friend of mine, a bellydancer as well, and I have been wanting to get a male friend of ours (who is a former exotic dancer from LaBare) to do some sort of three-some tango-ish bellydance with us to Fleetwood Mac's "Tango in the Night" - we do not have all the choreography work out yet, but when we do... it's going to be hot, hot, hot, i assure you.

highpriestess · Post by **highpriestess** » Thu Feb 07, 2008 6:20 pm

my keyboard at work SUCKS ASS, y'all... so when/if it appears that i cannot speak or write, i assure you i really can. LOL.

I have no excuse for why i sound like an idiot when i post from home, other than i should probably shake the seeds out of my keyboard *snickers*

siro_angel · Post by **siro_angel** » Thu Feb 07, 2008 6:20 pm

highpriestess wrote: Simon, funny you should mention the Tango... a friend of mine, a bellydancer as well, and I have been wanting to get a male friend of ours (who is a former exotic dancer from LaBare) to do some sort of three-some tango-ish bellydance with us to Fleetwood Mac's "Tango in the Night" - we do not have all the choreography work out yet, but when we do... it's going to be hot, hot, hot, i assure you.

I always wanted to film a tango scene, hehe, i mean i keep listening to music and think, that would make a great dance scene, i mean when i listen to Bon Jovi's The Price Of Love it just gave me a shiver and made me imagine an intimate dance. Kinda like Moulin Rouge's El Tango De Roxanne set to well... Roxanne by The Police.

Simon

highpriestess · Post by **highpriestess** » Thu Feb 07, 2008 6:32 pm

ahh. now you're thinking like a bellydancer. you know, there are male bellydancers... their costumes kind of make them look like Alladin, though... you have to be pretty secure in your sexuality, i think, as a guy, to do bellydance.

siro_angel · Post by **siro_angel** » Thu Feb 07, 2008 7:31 pm

highpriestess wrote:ahh. now you're thinking like a bellydancer. you know, there are male bellydancers... their costumes kind of make them look like Alladin, though... you have to be pretty secure in your sexuality, i think, as a guy, to do bellydance.

lmao i dont fancy belly dancing but tango is good enough for me, and im pretty comfortable with my sexualityish.. not gunna say how i mean.

Simon

highpriestess · Post by **highpriestess** » Thu Feb 07, 2008 7:37 pm

and i'm not going to ask

siro_angel · Post by **siro_angel** » Thu Feb 07, 2008 7:50 pm

highpriestess wrote:and i'm not going to ask

lol lets keep it at that

So how are you?

Simon

Dan · Post by **Dan** » Thu Feb 07, 2008 9:09 pm

Not that familiar with the art but I sure can appreciate it. My wife and I ate at the Restaurant Marrakesh at Epcot on our honeymoon years ago. The belly dancers there were outstanding. I really had to keep my eyes straight forward as my new bride probably would not have appreciated my appreciation of those ladies.

Yes they were beautiful but I have to say I really was fascinated by the art form.

Pretty amazing how a woman can move her body, Shakira not withstanding.

highpriestess · Post by **highpriestess** » Thu Feb 07, 2008 9:19 pm

indeed. when you are first learning it takes a while to train your body and muscles to do certain things, like pushing your belly out really far before you pull it back in (belly roll) - the reason some of these motion are hard to do is because they feel akward at first because as women we are conditioned our whole lives to NOT makes these motions... never are you supposed to push your belly OUT, you're always supposed to suck it in!!! (Barbie culture, i call it) lol.

the wonderful thing about bellydancing is that it looks just as cool when a larger women or a woman with more curves does it as it does when some slender woman is doing it. it actually helps to HAVE a belly when bellydancing. there are women in my troupe who are significantly larger than the rest of the troupe, and they still look amazing when they dance. it's definitely more about the art and the movements then it is about the sensuality of it... but it CAN be very sensual as well.

i love it. wouldn't trade it for anything else in the world.

Dan - next time, just rattle off some of the facts you have learned from this thread while you are watching the dancers, that way you can watch, but it will appear as if you are watching in a scholarly way as opposed to the pervy way you think your wife would perceive. lol. you might even impress her!

hey, if you ever wanna get one past a chick, ask a chick how to go about it. lol.

Post by **Trigger** » Thu Feb 07, 2008 9:21 pm

Dan wrote:Not that familiar with the art but I sure can appreciate it. My wife and I ate at the Restaurant Marrakesh at Epcot on our honeymoon years ago. The belly dancers there were outstanding. I really had to keep my eyes straight forward as my new bride probably would not have appreciated my appreciation of those ladies.

Yes they were beautiful but I have to say I really was fascinated by the art form.

Pretty amazing how a woman can move her body, Shakira not withstanding.

Arab culture is stunning, the buildings in the Middle East are beautiful and the culture is amazing I love it there. I think everybody should visit there once to see what it's really like.