Modern "Bellydance" Archetypes

On the Barbie in a bedlah theme arrgh,
thanks for adding that :

This just in- How about "Ugly Betty" in a bedlah?
(the actress in "real life" & in the show is actually quite lovely
but they want us to think she is ugly- weird eh?)
(Oh don't forget the "I Dream of Jeannie" imagery)

I think we can create some "newer" or revived archetypes
by feeling & being beautiful from the inside out,
breaking some of these codes and cultural conditioning
negative programming & "The Beauty Myth" (title of a book too).

Ancient (and modern) art depicts Woman in many shapes/sizes.
We can imagine and channel some into our dance
like Isis, Durga, Tara. Through the dance in some
ways we become a modern archetypal embodiment
of the ancient roots of dance & myth.
I feel the pre-Classical periods of the Near, Middle, Far East, India,
Africa, Greece, Turkey, Persia still stand. What magnificently rich
histories that will never be again...........sigh.
Young dancers should study that, all Oriental dancers
should draw from that in part.

Just a Ques. How many have seen "an average looking dancer"
(not referring to anyone in particular, nothing personal)
who wins the crowd with her amazing dance skills &
spirited attitude, and then an absolutely "drop dead beauty"
(not mentioning any names & nothing personal)
who may be nice to look at but yet lacks refined skill & substance
somehow, perhaps because they haven't ever had to or chosen to develope that.
That is one extreme to the other, but then there is a grey
area as there always is........that's where most of the modern dance is I reckon.
As people move farther and farther away from personal contact, that diminshes
in the arts too, including dance.
"Everyone proceeds accordng to their true Nature"
Then I would add "according to how much they break away from the status quo".
Whoa- nope I won't be crossing the Cdn. border anytime soon hehe.

I am still trying to figure it out- to wear false eye-lashes or not to wear them...
how far do we need to go or do we want to go there because it is kinda fun
getting all dressed up living a dream (ahlam) fantasy for awhile......Hmmmm........
yadda yadda yadda : )

"It's your thing, do what you wanna do.."

Oh, the usual. I got hired by the World Bank on a project involving the move to halt the progression of the AIDS pandemic in Africa. It's stressful - grueling, really - but it's one of the most ethically solid and morally right jobs I've ever had in the video field, and that feels good.



I think there is an archetype emerging - as you can probably guess, I'm really not enthused by / happy with it. I'll focus on one particular video I've seen with two of the fresh ersatz-"belly"-divas at play:

I have no problem with Shakira. I have no hate for Beyonce. None at all. However, I don't think they're *in control* of what they're creating; I don't think they're the ones manipulating the symbols we're seeing. Obviously, there's a certain inevitability to that, an inexorable nature to the change...

....and a definite familiarity to what they're embodying.

Let me see if I can trot this out without getting too many tomatoes thrown at me:

They look like whores.


All right, seethe for a minute and consider what I'm saying (remember, too; I'm a totally (wwweeellllll, you know, *predominantly*) hetero guy with a libido the size of NY (the state). I *love* watching women dance.

I'm also aware of history enough to know that sexual servitude is closely involved with the history of "bellydance" per se, and that "skin dancers" were largely responsible for importing and maintaining this area of forms that grew into what we now think of as Belly, per se.

I don't even care about the costumes (although the same'ol' same'ol shiny pants and heavily produced makeup does kid of bore me) all that much. I think variation in the costuming is really necessary at this point, actually, because I've definitely grown tired of seeing the same gear (goth variation on bosnian wedding gown, harem togs, 1950s star trek hats, the "twin-poof" hairballs &c.) but, when on video:

*Must* they *always* be the same costumes whores wear?

I'm not trying to take away women's power, I'm not trying to say femininity is vulgar - I'm asking "what is the impact? What is the message? What will people be calling 'bellydance' in the years to come, now?"

Shakira knows a few moves. Beyonce is picking them up, I guess. But:

they suck at it. No flow. No string. No line. No *connection* to the dance, just:

move / edit / move again / edit / that same move / edit / edit / cut. LAME. Their arms suck. Their faces are slack and not engaging. They look, frankly, *drugged* - the way (see the pattern?) that whores in vegas look: slack, uninterested, dolled up but graceless, untalented, disconnected from *life* -

bah. So, yeah: that's the New Archetype, as I see it. It isn't "prostitute" or "sex professional" or "empowered woman embodying her sensuality as a source of strength" - it's whores, on drugs, trying to be titillating, and failing at it. A shame, because I thought both of them were pretty hot once upon a time. Now I just smirk and hope the fad dies out so that really disciplined and dedicated dancers might get some attention. The best dancers don't get enough attention: the most whorish get more than is healthy.

"Without trying to speak for her, I get the sense we share a great deal of concern about the trends that the "tribal" movement is promoting. For me, it's insensitive, and in some cases shockin