Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe's topics - tribe.net

It's not for sale!

ShiraDotNet — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 23:56:15 GMT

I received the following email today:

Hello Shira!

I love your site and have been looking to create my own like it. I was wondering if you might be at all interested in selling it to me. I'd be prepared to make you an attractive offer to reward you for your efforts on the site.

Don't worry, it's not for sale!

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 13 replies

Cross over songs...

Nina_Nazir — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 13:01:43 GMT

I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for cross over songs. I am trying to add da section in my class with a piece or two of what i consider good cross over (Middle Eastern to Western or vice versa) songs, basically to keep my super nubie dancers excited and to make middle eastern music not seem so forgien. To help you understand my meaning I'll explain what I have done so far.

First/Intro class I did a sort set wich included Misirlou by the Hachig Kazarian Ensemble, then after some instruction I played Misirlou performed by the Beach Boys, to which we did some shimmy drills (the Dick Dale version would have been too fast for my beginers). This went over well so for the second class I had Khusara Khusara (Hossam Ramzy) and played Jay-Z's Big Pimpin' for the class to hip work to.

I'm running out of ides though for more songs. I know Sting's Desert Rose, and Led Zepplin's Kashmir are/can be cross over songs, but are there others? I know that Natcha Atlas has done some covers of Western songs with a Middle Eastern twist ("I Put a Spell on You"), But are there more? Please let me know of anything you can think of. My class loves the cross over song section. It really helps them get into Middle Eastern music.

So Please any suggestions?

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 14 replies

Things I did in Egypt this year

ShiraDotNet — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 17:40:54 GMT

Here's some of the stuff I did on this year's trip to Egypt:

* Sprained my foot. I didn't notice I was stepping off a curb, you see. I went splat on my face. Ice became my friend. Fortunately, I have strong connective tissue, so the sprain wasn't severe, and I was walking normally again after about 3 days, and able to run after about 4. But some stuff, such as pivoting on that foot, is still not a good idea.

* Went to the new Hassan Hassan show at the Ramses Hilton. This is more of a comedy show than a dance show, but still very entertaining. The music is absolutely fabulous. The show starts with music at 8:00 pm. The comedy/dancing starts after 9:30. After the comedy/dancing there was music for open stage dancing, which ended about midnight. Price is 250 Egyptian pounds (about $50 US) and includes supper, but you have to pay extra for drinks. I had a lot of fun, and would gladly go again my next time in Egypt.

* Went to visit Mahmoud Reda at his home. I had some issues of Zaghareet magazine to deliver to him that contained the articles I had written based on the interview I did with him in 2006. I told him that a German magazine has approached me about translating the articles into German, which he cheerfully approved. He then led me to a computer and made a CD for me containing photos of him and Reda Troupe that I could use for the German edition.

* Went to Alexandria to see the show The World Dances with Mahmoud Reda. It was a 2-part show (ie, half of it one night, half the next), and my schedule allowed me to go to only one of the two nights. It was a wonderful show. The 12 male dancers in the show were Egyptians. Then, for the women's parts, there were dancers from five European countries - Spain, Italy, France, Finland, and I forget which the fifth country was. It was a wonderful show. Reda accidentally told me the wrong start time (he'd said 7:00 pm, turns out it was 9:00 pm), so we filled the extra 2 hours with a trip to the beach and watched the waves of the Mediterranean sea roll in. It was beautiful and peaceful, and the cool sea breezes were a welcome relief from the heat of Cairo. The air smelled so fresh!

* Went to the nightclub El Leil on Pyramid Street. The singer Saad al-Sogheir was supposed to perform, but something came up and he didn't. Oh well, there were several other bands throughout the evening, and all of them were enjoyable. It was an evening of excellent music and we had a good time partying on the dance floor during the sections where open dance was welcome. But we were cautious - the crowd was dominated by Gulf Arabs, so we were careful to dance facing away from the audience, keeping our movements within the social dance range (rather than "performing"), etc. The guide who accompanied us there cautioned us to NOT order alcohol.

* Went to my guide's home for dinner one evening. After the meal, it was time to dance with his wife and sister-in-law! His sister-in-law, in particular, was really in a party mood! We didn't stay long, because we were tired from going to the nightclub the night before, but we had fun. Our hostesses were wearing the typical at-home gallabiya (loose-fitting dress). When it was time to dance, they reached behind them and tucked the backs of their gallabiyas into the leg holes of their underwear before putting the hip scarves on! I've since been told by someone else that this is common. It's the first time I'd seen it. It was cute! Can you imagine if I did something like that at a hafla here? hee hee!

* Went to a small hole-in-the-wall cafe at Khan al-Khalili one night to hear music. There's a band there that plays every Thursday and Friday, and is fabulous.

* Hung out a lot with Leyla Lanty, which is always a pleasure.

* Hung out all the time with Saqra, who was my roommate. We had so much fun together!

* Took some classes at Ahlan wa Sahlan.

* Enjoyed the opening night gala at Ahlan wa Sahlan, which featured Soraya, Randa Kamel, and Dina. What a show!

* Did the Nile cruise for the third time. I love the archeological sites!

* Bought a new costume from Hannan Mahmoud, and ordered another to be custom-made which I hope to receive in early August.

* Went shopping at al-Wikala (of course). Bought 3 dresses.

* Visited the home of another Egyptian family (some of you probably know Memo) one evening. By this time, it was near the end of my trip and I was really tired from all my activities, so I didn't stay long, but it was a pleasure to see his wife Salwa and the rest of his family again. And this time I knew a wee bit more Arabic than last year, so I could practice it!

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 2 replies

WELCOME HOME!!!!

Azeeza — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 14:29:06 GMT

Shira, it's good to have you back home!

You've had quite an interesting trip and we'd love to hear all the details if you would like to share them with us.

I was interested in your post about Arabic music being played in a restaurant in Turkey with dancing. Could it be for tourists or could it be that Arabic music is popular in Turkey? I too would have been disappointed having gone all the way to Turkey to see Turkish dancing to Turkish music, but to hear Arabic music being played instead.

If and when you feel like posting, I'm all ears! I'd love to go to the Middle East sometime soon. My husband has been asking me a few travel questions such as "Cairo or Istanbul, which would you prefer?" "Both!" would be my answer!

Azeeza

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 2 replies

The Turkish dance scene

ShiraDotNet — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 23:15:53 GMT

I went to the Kervansary nightclub in Istanbul, Turkey tonight. It's one of the nightclubs that caters to tourists in particular. This is the third time I've been to this club. In previous years, I've also been to Orient House and Gar Gazinosu as well, but this year I had other adventures instead of going to them.

The trend of using Egyptian music seems to continue. I originally experienced that when I came to Turkey in 2000, and it still seems to be the case. Dancers tonight were performing to such songs as Enta Omri. I was wishing they would use Turkish music. Oh well.

Tonight, there were four dancers. One was Asena, I don't know the names of the others. Asena seemed to be phoning it in, and came across as being rather bored. I actually thought two of the others were better dancers than her. A friend of Morocco's who lives in Turkey told us that she was shot in the knee 5 years ago by an ex-boyfriend and hasn't danced nearly so well ever since. I guess it's amazing she's still dancing, in that case.

I had a fabulous time visiting Bella's costume boutique yesterday. Not only was it full of beautiful costumes, but there were cats everywhere! So the whole time I was costume shopping and waiting for my fitting for my two custom-ordered costumes, I had furry animals to play with! It was great fun!

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 9 replies

Bellydance competitions - any advice?

divasoma — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 16:54:59 GMT

Okay, so I've decided to enter a competition. Any advice?

1) What should I ABSOLUTELY remember to do?
2) What should I absolutely NOT do?
3) What little tid bits of advice can you offer?

Not looking for free instruction or years-worth of training packed into a simple post, just whatever words of wisdom anyone can lend.

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 16 replies

Making it Egyptian

ShiraDotNet — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 12:16:27 GMT

I recently attended a workshop in which an Egyptian dancer taught a choreography, and at the end had one of her students (who had learned it in the past) demonstrate it for the group. The demo was for the purpose of letting class members videotape it to help them remember the choreography that was taught. (The instructor didn't want to be taped, but was ok with her student demo-ing it for taping purposes.)

Anyway, the instructor was Egyptian, and the student was not. Seeing the difference between the instructor leading the run-throughs and then the student's demo dance really drove home the difference between Egyptian and Western styles of dance.

Since then, I've been thinking about what I saw, and trying to figure out how to put it into words. I think our responses to art are generally very personal, so I realize that someone else who was in the same room I was may have experienced the situation in a way completely different from how I did. So please take my comments with a grain of salt.

This time, it wasn't a case of saying, "Egyptians do these moves and don't do those moves," because both dancers did the identical same choreography (which had been created by an Egyptian), and yet the difference between East and West was vividly apparent in how they interpreted the very same dance.

One thing I noticed was that the Egyptian dancer's face lit up from within with genuine joy in the act of dancing, causing the impression she was dancing for her own personal enjoyment. She wasn't smiling constantly - sometimes her expression was more contemplative, while other times when the music picked up she smiled brightly, but it all seemed like natural, emotional responses to the music and the choreo. Interestingly, as I watched the run-throughs, I noticed that every time she reached a certain point in the music, her face would light up with joy, and she made me, as the observer, light up with joy as well. It was interesting finding myself smiling along with her. But I don't think she choreographed that smile, I think she just had a consistent response to the song and the choreo. In contrast, the non-Egyptian dancer's facial expressions seemed contrived or forced, and there was usually an artificial half-smile that didn't reach her eyes.

Although the choreography had some sections with crisp moves to match accents in the music, it seemed as though the Egyptian dancer's interpretation of those accents was to "tap" them with her body, while the non-Egyptian dancer punched each one hard.

Throughout the dance, it seemed as though the non-Egyptian dancer was trying for maximum range of motion, maximum energy going into each move. In contrast, the Egyptian dancer maintained a much more subtle range of motion. On the soft, introspective parts of the music she did small, subtle moves, whereas on the more energetic sections of the music she allowed more energy to go into the moves but still kept them small and controlled.

It seemed as though the non-Egyptian dancer was blasting energy out of every pore from beginning to end. In contrast, it seemed as though the Egyptian dancer was letting energy seep out in small, controlled amounts, with more being allowed out on the energetic parts of the music and less on the quieter parts. The non-Egyptian dancer seemed to create a one-way flow of energy, from her to the observers. In contrast, the Egyptian dancer would occasionally seem to gather energy back into herself, and other times release it.

Now, please don't take my comments to be critical of the non-Egyptian dancer. It was clear to me that she was an experienced dancer, and she knew the choreography well. Her technique was fine. She was interpreting the choreography according to what her culture had taught her about dancing skillfully. By non-Egyptian standards, many would consider her to be an excellent dancer, and actually her interpretation of the choreography had a definite aggressive hiphop vibe to it that would win her praise from people who are accustomed to enjoying hiphop.

I'd be interested in other people's thoughts on how Egyptian dancers use energy, and how they interpret the very same music/moves differently from us Westerners. Comments?

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 30 replies

OT digital photo prints?

Lyla — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:34:18 GMT

where is a secure website to have digital photos printed? kodaks site isn't https:// when you are suppost to type in your e-mail and password....is that safe?

what do you use?

i have bellydance pictures that want to exist in the real world.not just on my computer...

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 4 replies

Energy transfers. a segue from "making it Egyptian"

Kirvo — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 21:19:05 GMT

magdalene said:
"It all goes back to who are we dancing for? Are we dancing to get approval from others? Or because something is stirring inside us and we want to move in response to it? I prefer the latter, but have been getting sucked into the former in recent years. I'm really working at pulling myself back out of that and just dancing because I enjoy it. "

you are my hero! it has been bugging me that i can dance a choreography that I know with exact precision and energy whether I am in front of an audience or alone. I was an actor long before a dancer and being "in the moment" comes naturally to me in the reguards that I consider attitudes and energy transfers as another layer in the choreography that I modify and play with.

When I go in front of an audience my impulse is to be insanely high energy and spend the four minutes being AMAZING. Luckily I am very choreography-minded and will execute with precision all of the changes in energy that I specifically put into the dance to 1-give the sudience variety in the show and 2-give myself a chance to recover.

When I try to freestyle in front of an audience I never have those automatic breathers inlaid because they are not choreographed. It is because of this that I often start very high energy and then dwindle down from "WOW, LOOK AT HIM" to "what is this crap?" At the end of the month I am performing in Philadelphia to Trans-Siberian Orchestra's version of "carol of the bells" and I will be freestyling to it (Christmas in July!). The 2 times over winter I performed this piece went very well in front of a secular audience that knew nothing about MEDance. By the end of the piece the time the audience was excited and into it I had resorted to choo-choo shimmies going down stage and couldn't think of anything else and I was out of ideas. The person I look up to more than anyone else in the dance community, Jim Boz, will be at this performance. So I have 9 days to figure out what to do.

As I have no other chances to dance in front of an appropriate audience before the show in order to test theories I offer out a call for advice in what I should focus on for the next nine days

1-Focus on the music. Learn the music better (ad nauseum for those of you who are musically inclined) as a better understanding of the music will allow me to know what is musically coming when and will allow me to dance to all those accents better.

2-Focus on the energies. By sorting out when the energies in the music are high and low I will be able to anticipate when I can give myself breathers.

3-Focus on combos. Anyone who knows the "carol of the bells" knows the rhythm is unusual for non-middle-eastern music. Focusing on combos that will work well amongst fast rhythms will allow me to have more options when I dance.

4-Focus on choreography. Taking #1-3 farther would be to take the entire song and choreograph it. This is the easy way out for me as I can easily choreograph my own material and work out the kinks in 9 days.

5-Focus on nothing. the opposite end of the spectrum would be to just dance it on the 26th and let the music take me away and hope that my dancing is AMAZING. This is the most risky one and scares me to think about it.

so sound off ladies and gentlemen. what is your advice to me.

Much Love
-Kirvo

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 8 replies

Live-in belly dance apprenticeship with Delilah

Delilah — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 16:24:05 GMT

My kids moved out and I have a huge house. I really want to pass my knowledge and skill on. This opportunity is great for someone who wants to write a book or paper on belly dance for their degree. I have had mostly international students interested in this but Americans are more than welcome.

Seattle Apprenticeship Opportunity
I do have another option for dancers who want to apprentice with me. I have a house across the street from my studio and will take on live in apprenticeship for 4-6 weeks.

They get a room, their own bath in a shared living situation in an old world large Queen Anne style house located across the street from VDP Studios in a beautiful neighborhood 5 minutes from downtown. It’s on a great bus line. The house has a hot tub, garden and cats. Restaurants, market and shops are all in walking distance. The apprentice can take daily classes, private classes and use the studio for practice. Opportunity for dancing to live middle eastern music as well since the band “House of Tarab” is closely aligned with the studio and this is irreplaceable experience.
Cost starts at $850 per month. . . plus private class and special workshops. maybe some performance opportuniies.

To do this

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 6 replies

Raja Tune Used On Veda Sereem's Belly Gram DVD

WitchMedea — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 02:52:40 GMT

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone knows on which of Raja's CDs the tunes used on Veda Sereem's Belly Gram Choreography DVD can be found? I bought the DVD used on Ebay and it did not come with the print out.

Thank you!

Medea

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 0 replies

Instructors Intensive, Delilah Style with Certificate

Delilah — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 16:18:53 GMT

Instructors Intensive, Delilah style / with certificates

I can’t speak for other peoples teaching courses but here is a little about mine.

I have offered 2 “Instructors Intensive” courses so far, the next one I’m offering is in January 2009. Registrations are now open to 15 people. These courses are highly inspirational, challenging and growth producing. I conduct the course for 10 consecutive days, in Hawaii along side of my regular annual belly dance retreats of 8 days. The current format is as follows:
The instructors arrive 24 hours before the general course. I spend this time with instructors first to get off to a intimate level. We are all viewed as colleagues and each participant has something to teach all of us. It is not just about one perspective since Delilah’s perspective is to be a perpetual student, learning from all those around you. However, Delilah hopes you will learn some of her visionary concepts and ideals and pass them on to your students.

The regular 8 day retreat is full of the meat and potatoes of belly dance. Techniques, drills, drum classes, workouts, creativity exercises, and performance work. Dancer of all levels are invited. The regular course is cheaper, shorter and has more leisure time to spend in Hawaii around the pool and beaches. Reminder: Just because someone is a teacher doesn’t mean they have to take the instructors intensive either. They are more than welcome to take the general retreat. It’s a nice mix of belly dance and hawaiian vacation.

The next 7 days at the retreat are divided into periods. The mornings, late afternoon and evenings have workshops and performance opportunities for both the regular retreat participants (which are of all levels form beginning to professionals) and the instructors. The last day is for instructors alone again and we work on drum solos and a fun little test. Part of the instruction is to learn to play the middle eastern drum. This is very important for all instructor. We will also have the opportunity to dance to live music.

Who is qualified to take the instructors course?
Anyone who who has been belly dancing for a year or two and is driven to know more about belly dance. 1 year doesn’t seem like very much but some dancers come into belly dance with a lot of dance knowledge and advance quickly these days. So I leave it up to each individual to choose if they are ready to come. No one is turned away. Of course seasoned belly dance instructors come for new inspirations. Also dancers come who don’t intend to pursue teaching belly dancing but just want the immersion or are thinking about it.

Months before the course begins the instructors are given homework. It’s a list of subjects they maybe called on to teach 10-15 minutes at the retreat. If they don’t know a subject then we advice they search it out and gain some knowledge about it. We suggest they make sure they have studied all of Delilah’s instructional DVD’s if they want to get the most out of their “live” course experience, but thats up to them. The registraunts are given discounts for DVD’s.
What we do during the first instructors classes is review certain body alignment techniques that are essential to understanding the dance’s bodily construction, teach the Power Belly format of dance instruction and at some point, we have a candid group discussion about the business of belly dance pro’s and con’s. My goal as an instructor’s guide is to help dancers clearly see into the body and understand what they see in each others dance movements.

At the beginning I give each participant a rare copy of my unpublished manuscript about belly dance and a second one about the biz of belly dance. They can read it during their spare time at the retreat and it’s theirs to keep (but not reproduce in any way).

At the end of the retreat they receive a certificate that describes the elements covered in the program as well as other instructors or musicians that may have been a part of that retreat program.

What the certificate means, and doesn’t mean
It doesn’t mean you are a great teacher or even that after the course you are now considered a qualified instructor. It just means you took the course. The certificate is suitable for framing so you can show your students that you have sincere dedication to the art of belly dance and have put forth the time and money towards higher learning. It gives the public a bit of back ground as to what makes up your personal experience as a teacher and can be used in your educational resume. It is not a certificate for physical fitness or first aid.

Note: The instructors course is about 20 hours in addition to the 22 hours of the general course retreat.

I hope this explains a bit more about my program. It’s truly a wonderful laboratory for dancers. I get email all the time from dancers asking me if I have a teachers program and I am at a loss for how this is seemingly undiscovered aspect of my web site. Instructors courses in extreme demand these days.

Seattle Apprenticeship Opportunity
I do have another option for dancers who want to apprentice with me. I have a house across the street from my studio and will take on live in apprenticeship for 4-6 weeks.

They get a room, their own bath in a shared living situation in an old world large Queen Anne style house located across the street from VDP Studios in a beautiful neighborhood 5 minutes from downtown. It’s on a great bus line. The house has a hot tub, garden and cats. Restaurants, market and shops are all in walking distance. The apprentice can take daily classes, private classes and use the studio for practice. Opportunity for dancing to live middle eastern music as well since the band “House of Tarab” is closely aligned with the studio and this is irreplaceable experience.
Cost starts at $850 per month plus private class and special workshops.

There it is.

Delilah

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 0 replies

Greetings from Egypt!

ShiraDotNet — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 15:50:50 GMT

Hi all! I'm at the Ahlan wa Sahlan festival in Egypt and thought I'd give you a quick hello! Here's a quick list of stuff I've done:

* Shopping (of course)
* Going to the nightclub El Leil last night with Saqra. Our driver picked us up at midnight, and brought us back around 7:30 am. (Yawn)
* Visited Mahmoud Reda at his home. (I took him copies of the issues of Zaghareet that contained the articles I wrote based on our 3-hour interview in 2006)
* Taking classes with Shahrazad from Germany (the schedule said she taught tribal) and Hassan (Saidi with stick)

There's lots of other stuff we still want to do, and we obviously won't have time to do it all. So we'll fit in what we can, and let the rest go.

Hope all is well with all of you!

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 14 replies

NEW BELLY DANCE COSTUMES FOR SALE ON EBAY

Bustan worood — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 03:29:08 GMT

I'm starting a new venture on ebay selling brand New Egyptian DEsigner costumes. Please check me out under seller name "bustanworood", or check out my first costume "Sensational professional belly dance costume DiamondRed"

You can reach me at fieldofroses1@hotmail.com if you have any questions, all costumes are made to fit for your measurements, costumes are 350-$400 on ebay. They usually retail for 550-600. Plus size dancers are welcome. the best part your purchase will benefit a non for profit, you can choose the one closest to you to be included in your sale.

Good luck, I look forward to working with all of you

Sincerely,

Bustan Worood

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 2 replies

Bellydancer on ABC's Wife Swap this Wednesday

Farah — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 00:14:47 GMT

I just got Jehan's newletter (via Bruce Hathaway) in my e-mail box and from what I gather she is going to be on ABC's "Wife Swap" show this Wednesday night at 8:00PM. ( I hope I got the details right)
According to the newsletter, the switch involves a pig farming family from somewhere East of nowhere (which sounds a lot like where I was born...)

This could be reealllly interesting.

BTW - This is a X-post.

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 8 replies

Style differentiation tribe

MunaRain — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 18:34:12 GMT

Hi all.

Is there a tribe you guys know of that's focused on discussing the differences between Bellydance styles? Learning more about this is on my list of things I need to work on. There's a lot of good articles out there, but sometimes I have questions or I see a video clip and I still just have no clue.

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 13 replies

Just got this spam on my e-mail

"E" The Smart Ass — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 00:03:02 GMT

Anybody else got this? Creepy. It came from an adress at orientaldancer.net. Methinks that site got hacked.

************************

Subject: ksA
Tuesday, June 3, 2008 2:38 PM
From:"webmaster@orientaldancer.net" <webmaster@orientaldancer.net>
Add sender to Contacts
To:elisa's email@yahoo.com

Was the penetration

By
Mister divx
The Mister F-15

To continue through Msn
Mr.DiVx @ HoTMaiL.Com
Mr-F15@HoTMaiL.CoM

Or
Via mobile phone
966550888927

***********************

it's the first time I get this kind of spam from a bellydance related address.....

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 4 replies

Dolphina..............

Asia — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 11:10:28 GMT

Does anyone agree that the belly dancer Dolphina is degrading the art form? I personally think she is. On her new DVD she has on stripper outfits dancing. Not that I'm a prude or whatever but i think the art form shouldn't be anymore degraded than what it already is..........Does anyone disagree or agree with anything I just stated?

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 54 replies

nomenclature

Fariha — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 13:48:07 GMT

so today was the first time i had been back to this dance studio since i went back to school last summer. (nothing wrong with the studio, i loved it, but i was 3 1/2 hours away, so i took class in the nearest town to my school) in addition to taking classes (am. rest. at school, tribal fusion at home) i have been using several dvds, (Rachel Brice and Michel Joyce, mostly) to practice at school.
from some of those i have learned the "basic shimmy" as a hip shimmy with one bump on each hip. I've heard some people call it an "Egyptian shimmy", some call it a "rocker shimmy", and others call it a "piston shimmy" but today we learned a "basic shimmy" as what i had formerly thought of as a 3/4 shimmy. the explanation of the 3/4 shimmy that made the most sense to me was on Michel Joyce's "drills drills drills" today we learned up twice on each hip, per weight change as a "basic shimmy" (up right, up right, shift weight to left foot, up left, up left, shift weight to right foot) and our teacher considered a 3/4 shimmy what i had thought of as a 3/4 with a hip twist. (when you travel with it by twisting you hip on weight shifting down hip) this is what sparked my question (a little long of a trip for this, isn't it? sorry)
i have always thought that each style of dance, and indeed each teacher, using their own vocabulary for movements is great. i still do, really. it lets teachers visualize and describe things differently, and therefore teach them to students differently, and you'll eventually be able to understand someone's explanation. i've also felt that it adds to the uniqueness and individual expression of each person's dance by calling a move something that makes sense to how you feel it and use it. but as a beginner, i can't help but be confused, and a little overwhelmed by the different names for all the moves. i guess when the same move is called many different things it isn't as confusing to me as when two different moves are called the same thing, because i wonder if it's really the same move, or if my beginner mind is just trying to simplify an incredible amount of information. for example, snake arms, and parallel arm undulations seem very similar until you really really really break them down. the wayS that i learned (maybe it would simplify things to stick with one teacher until i am more experienced?) snake arms begins in the shoulders and ripples out threw the elbows and hands, and parallel arm undulations are.... well, the way they are described on Rachel Brice's dvd- pushing the hand and moving the shoulder up and in at the same time, then shoulder down and hand down while elbow goes up. i got my self to be able to do both, as separate things, but they are so similar that i'm confused as to what is a different move, and what is a stylistic difference. today, we learned snake arms going forward and back, rather than up and down. how do you know when the same move is being called something different and explained in a new way, or if it really is a similar, but different move? i sortta wish i could know what someone means when they talk about a move- not try to figure out if it's the same as something else, if it's what i thought that name meant, or if it's similar so something else, with neuances that i'm not picking up.

i'm posting this because i would love to know how some more experienced dancers feel about people bringing up "belly dance should have a standard set of names like ballet". i feel that we would loose some of the innovation, and some of the expression and glorious variety we are blessed with ("did God paint you?" "yes" "why" "because Allah loves wondrous variety"- Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves). at the same time, i understand how confusing and frustrating it is to be constantly translating. what are everyone's thoughts? any recommendations for understanding nomenclature of different teachers?

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 5 replies

Wearing white to a wedding

cristinadance — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 15:36:56 GMT

Hi all,
This might be a silly question, but I will ask it anyway. Is it tacky to wear a white costume at a wedding? One of my dance teachers says yes, but other dancers have told me that they have worn white costumes at weddings. I have also seen various clips of dancers at wedding and they are wearing white costumes. What are your thoughts?

Thanks,

Cristina

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 17 replies

Is the exotic the enemy of the great?

Maura — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 10:22:37 GMT

I've been pulling together workshop and concert data for a project and am struck by the number of concert / show names that include references to the Mysterious East, exotic far-away lands, oasis/oases, Arabian Nights, magic carpets, dunes, harems, veils, etc. In short, all the little word devices that Lowell Thomas sprinkled so generously (and unnecessarily, IMO) in his post-WWI book on Lawrence of Arabia as a way to 'set the stage' are still setting the stage for the dance concerts of the 22nd century.

The presence of the these words was not a reliable indicator of the quality of the dancing, so I assume that their use indicates a desire to appeal to a market that concert-givers KNOW already exists. But, it wonders me, is it possible that using the same marketing pitch that the carnies in the early 21st century used is one way MED/belly dancers keep their work from being considered 'real' dancing by the larger world? Or, even worse, does choosing and working towards an exotic concert theme distract the dancers and choreographers from doing their best work?

No, this is not a rhetorical question. Yes, this is a genuine question :)

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 3 replies

President George W. Bush is coming HERE to Iowa City!

ShiraDotNet — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 06:20:05 GMT

George W. Bush has decided to come to Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, and Coralville tomorrow to inspect the flood damage. Or so we were told on the evening news. It warms the cockles of my heart, to know that the President of the United States is coming to inspect me. I'm all a-twitter.

We'll have plenty of water for him to look at, at least here in Iowa City and Coralville. As of this moment, the flood waters are still at 29.37 feet, which is higher than the previous flooding record (set in 1993) of 28.5 feet. Flood stage is 22 feet. So yes indeedy, we have plenty of water for him to exclaim over.

And that's today's report from Noah's ark...

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 5 replies

Free Online Video: How to Play the Zills - Part I

Inanna — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 07:01:01 GMT

This is the first installment in a series I'm putting together for my students:

http://www.revver.com/video/951901/how-to-play-the-zills-part-1/

And I thought others might be interested.

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 0 replies

Belly Dancing and Feminism

ShiraDotNet — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 16:19:13 GMT

I've been a feminist all my adult life. I have always believed that if a woman and a man have comparable education, skills, and experience, they deserve comparable opportunity to get hired and comparable pay. I have worked my entire career in a male-dominated field (computer programming, high tech) and always been comfortable doing so. I view belly dancing as being very empowering to women - not only has it helped many psychologically build their self-confidence and improve their body image, but it has provided a valuable source of income for many women. In some cases, as a second income, in other cases as their full-time employment. I think it's wonderful that so many dancers have been able to generate incomes for themselves as costume designers, vendors, teachers, performers, and event organizers - money is empowering. Belly dancing also provides women with a vocabulary for expressing themselves, through creativity, and it provides a framework in which they are free to explore feeling sexy.

So, to me, belly dancing is very empowering for women on multiple levels, and therefore very compatible with feminism. I have always felt this way.

And yet, every once in a while someone asks, "Isn't belly dancing at odds with feminism?" I personally probably haven't heard this more than half a dozen times over the 27 years I've been dancing. But I *have* heard it. And just now, I saw someone mention in a message on bhuz that they are sometimes asked this.

How many other users of this tribe have heard that belly dancing is at odds with feminism?

Is this question common?

It hasn't been common in my personal experience, though I have heard it.

What has YOUR experience been?

Also, in what age group was the person who asked? I'm wondering if there's any chance of it being more common in one generation than in another.

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 32 replies

I think I've blown a fuse....

Farah — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 18:00:22 GMT

What do you do when, no matter how hard you try, you just plain suck at something? Here’s my problem – I can’t seem to do tribal fusion belly dance to save my hips.

I’ve been dancing for four years now, having started my training in classical Egyptian style. I decided at some point to “branch out” into Tribal Fusion. I promptly bought all the pre-requisite dvds to study (ie Ariellah, Sera, Darshan, Asharah, Kassar – you name the dvd, I own it) and even tried dancing with a fusion troupe for awhile but....after a couple of years of nothing but frustration, I’ve finally come to the conclusion that I just am not cut out for Tribal Fusion. I guess it doesn’t “speak” to me in the same way the Egyptian, Am Cab and real “old school” ATS does.

The worse part is, I am starting to feel like there is something “wrong” with me for not being able to connect to Fusion. Everyone else seems to love it, so why not me? Are there any other dancers out there in the same boat or am I sailing these waters alone? HELP!!!!

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 14 replies

Lady... Keep Your Effin hands to yourself ...

Valizan — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 19:07:26 GMT

(This will be crossposted)

:(

I had an incident in one of my classes last week, and I've been stewing about it (because that is what I do. I don't let it go, I turn it inward and stew and it either comes out like vomit at the wrong time or it sits there like a big wad of swallowed bubble gum.)

I was teaching one of my classes which, natch, is all women. At the end of the class, I asked people to put their loaned tassle belts back into the bag I carry them in. One student took hers off, and as she was putting the belt in the bag said to me "You have a good night now, hear?" as she slapped my butt. And her hand was there just a bit too long for my comfort.

I was kinda shocked. The other students present registered some shock as well.

My reaction was to turn and say politely but loudly "if I were a male student with a female teacher, THAT kind of behaviour would NOT be tolerated. Please don't violate my personal space again!"

She flushed red with embarrassment and I immediately felt really bad. All of a sudden I thought I had maybe made a bigger issue out of nothing. It wasn't like she jumped me and ripped all my clothes off. But at the same time, she made me uncomfortable.

So...

This week I taught again. She was in class and smiling. We do a warm-up at the beginning of class where we lift our chest. I was counting it when I looked in the mirror and this same woman was grabbing her boobs and lifting them with her hands (as opposed to using her muscles to lift them).

My mouth fell open and I gasped loudly, but before I could say anything one of the other students called her on it.

"WHAT are you doing? You don't use your hands to lift them, you are supposed to be using your back muscles. THAT just looks rude!!"

Girlfriend flushed red again. "I just wanted to see if they would go any higher, because he can lift his chest really high. I didn't think anyone could see me."

Other student: "We're in a studio surrounded by mirrors and you're in front... we can ALL see you!"

This time Girlfriend apologized for disrupting the class and promised not to do so again. At the end of class, she came up to me and I sort of cringed because I was now afraid of what she was going to say.

"I just wanted to say, I really enjoy this class. It makes me feel great and I love this style."

All I did was smile, but I am worried that I should apologize for humiliating her in class.

Am I wrong here?

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 31 replies

Some chance I may be offline for several days

ShiraDotNet — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 04:31:38 GMT

The town I live in (Iowa City, Iowa) is flooding. Some neighborhoods have been evacuated. The river is currently at 28 feet (flood stage is 22 feet) and still rising. They expect it to crest on Tuesday, at 33 feet. The record was 32 feet, and that was set in 1851.

Some people here are no longer able to get online, because their Internet Service Providers' equipment was in flooded parts of town. So far, my provider is still working. But if the water rises another 5 feet, it's hard to tell how much longer that will be the case. So if you don't see me online for several days, that's probably why.

My house is high on a hill, and the likelihood of floodwaters reaching our house is remote. However, we could lose some of our utilities - electricity, running water, phone, etc. And, of course, Internet access. So, we might be safe, but we'll also be cranky and uncomfortable.

Right now, there's a big thunderstorm raging outside which has already been going for several hours, dumping lots more rain on us. Yeah, right, just what we need right now.

Even though things are bad here in Iowa City, I'm really feeling for the people farther north, in Waverly, Elkader, Waterloo, Cedar Falls, Vinton, and Cedar Rapids. It's much worse for them, at least so far. Then again, it could get pretty bad for us in a few days if the forecasted 33-foot crest comes to pass.

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 13 replies

Art. Ahhhrrrrtttt. Art with a capital A.

ShiraDotNet — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 20:49:34 GMT

Many of us dancers like to think about ourselves as artists.

Realistically, I don't think every performance of mine is "art", though. Often, I just see it as entertainment - and that's perfectly fine, if the performance is an environment in which I am being paid to entertain. Now, admittedly sometimes a performance crafted to entertain can also meet the test of being art, but often it can't.

So when is a performance "art" as opposed to something else?

I'd love to hear your thoughts. Here are some of mine:

* One big criterion is the primary message the performance is trying to convey. If the message is one that invites or nudges the viewer into contemplating something about the world that is bigger than either the viewer or the artist, to me that is art. If the message is merely, "I hope you're having fun," that's entertainment, but not art. If the message is, "Look at me! Look at me! I'm doing something calculated to offend you simply because I want you to remember me and talk about me, " that's neither art nor entertainment, it's just self-centered aggrandizement. In other words, when a 2-year-old throws a temper tantrum, that's not art, and the adult equivalent behavior of doing something obnoxious simply for the sake of being the center of attention isn't art either.

* Tightly tied to "message" is "motive". If the motive is to communicate, it *might* be art, but maybe not, depending on the message being communicated. If the motive is to entertain, it could still be excellent dancing and showmanship, but probably isn't art. If the motive is to show one's friends and family what one has learned in belly dance class, it's probably not art, although in some rare cases it might be. If the motive is to gain experience in performing skills, it probably isn't art because the dancer's *focus" will be on the craft of performing, but in some rare cases it might be. If the dancer's motive is therapy for her/his inner demons, it *might* be art because its message might fit my definition above, but then again it might not be.

* Another criterion is that the dancer must put careful thought into selecting the components of the performance. Ie, carefully selecting the music, the costume, the dance style all with thought and consideration for how well they fit together, what role they play in communicating the message, and how well they match the motive of the performance.

* Yasmina Ramzy said something at the 2008 IBCC that I thought was great - she said that it's art if it leaves the viewer changed after experiencing it. I love this comment.

Other thoughts? When do YOU think it's "art"? When do YOU think it's entertainment but not "art"? When do you think it's beneficial for other reasons (such as students learning the craft of performing) but not "art"? When do you think it's just crap, an emperor with no clothes?

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 6 replies

Double standards

Suha — Fri, 30 May 2008 21:37:06 GMT

posted by Dina in the Habibi magazine thread:

''I mean, from what many ppl share as experiences in many different aRab countries - and not just the worst theocracy - is people with authority, especially police and other officials, gravely abuse their power in many many cases. ''

________________________

I know all about people who abuse their power from first-hand experience, and it wasn't in the Arab world. The last time I visited the UK (and I travelled on my Australian passport, so I am a commonwealth citizen born in Lebanon) I was harassed by a certain seedy official working for the Home Office, who claimed that it was a 'random' security check. This 'random security check' involved him asking a lot of intimate personal questions and bizarre questions about my physical appearance and fashion - as though he was trying to gauge how high-maintenance I was. This has also happened to me in the United States, where bored sleaze-bags working for Homeland Security also 'randomly' singled me out for questioning - questions including 'so where do belly dance moves come from? the stomach?' and 'can you show us a bit of belly dancing' and 'how fast can you shake it' (while doing a mock belly dance himself) I've also had officers line up to compare heights with me (I'm 5' 10'' and I wear heels) behind my back while another went through my intimate apparel, all the while snickering amongst themselves as though they were teenage boys thrilled at the arrival of the stripper. One officer also called a female officer to search my hair and examine my breasts with her hands to make sure my bra contained under-wire and not 'concealed weapons' while he leered and addressed me as 'mamacita' (Hey Mamacita, lift your hair) - all this made me feel like I had accidentally walked onto the set of a soft-porn movie. Now, I got off lightly with a bit of sexual harassment that lasted a few hours - others have been detained for days or longer for no specific reason. If you're worried about grave abuses of power, then Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo stand out as the most appalling examples of hypocrisy. Don't patronise Middle-Easterners by pretending to be concerned about the state of civil rights in their countries while ignoring the fact that glaring abuses happen in the West as well, often to the very people you are lecturing about lack of civil rights in their native countries.

Now, how did I deal with this harrassment? I did not write some wafting, vapid article implying that I was secretly chuffed to have impressed some bored weasels who had a little power and chose to abuse it by treating me like a diversion. I wrote and complained at my embassy, and sent documentation to civil-rights campaigners whom I knew would be interested in this issue.

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 41 replies

Aida Nour & Tito Workshop music

Sadira — Wed, 07 May 2008 14:39:35 GMT

Hello Beautiful Dancers,

I'm looking for the music Aida Nour & Tito used in their workshops at the IBCC'08
Anyone out there knows the name of the songs ??

I bought some CDs but either I got the wrong ones or the music isn't on it.

Thank you for your help

Sadira

www.arabianmountainspice.com

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 4 replies

Serpentessa and Jehan Kamal to be on the tv show Wife Swap

ShiraDotNet — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 02:10:30 GMT

I found an interesting entry in the event listings of this tribe! Serpentessa and Jehan Kamal will be appearing on the television reality show Wife Swap on June 25.

Here are the details that Serpentess posted: http://newyork.tribe.net/event/Serpentessa-Featured-on-ABCS-Popular-Reality-Show-Wife-Swap/new-york-ny/c22c221c-d004-4b21-94fc-b798a554f33f

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 0 replies

People spamming the Events section

ShiraDotNet — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 03:56:42 GMT

Generally speaking, I'm fine with people posting info about their *belly dance* events in the "Events" tab of this tribe.

HOWEVER, today I noticed that certain people have posted multiple entries about the same event. So it's time to make a policy.

Go ahead and post your event ONCE in this tribe, under the Events tab. But DO NOT post it more than once, please.

Today, for the events that had duplicates, I deleted ALL copies as my protest against the spamming. Please do not re-post these events on this tribe - twice was enough, I don't want to see a third.

Also, please post ONLY belly dance events on this tribe. DO NOT post burlesque, ballroom, or anything else that's not belly dance.

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 0 replies

Shira to present at Liverpool Arabic Arts Festival on July 19, 2008!

ShiraDotNet — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 03:41:47 GMT

I have been invited to be the keynote speaker for the dance day at the Liverpool Arabic Arts Festival (yes, Liverpool England)! See http://www.arabicartsfestival.co.uk/events_musicanddance.htm (under the header Bellies on the Brain).

I'll be presenting the same lecture / video material I presented at the International Bellydance Conference of Canada in April - Oriental Dance: Egypt's Shameful Profession.

For those of you who didn't happen to see my previous message here on this tribe about that presentation, I'll be talking about the position that dancers occupy in Egyptian society. My format will be to first introduce an aspect of the subject via lecture, then to show a dialogue scene from an Egyptian movie (with English subtitles) that illustrates the point. Although a few of my clips will show dancing, the focus will be on dialogue scenes. I'll mention some real-life situations that relate to the topics covered in the movie clips. For example, I'll talk about this news story and then show a movie scene from a 1990 movie which depicts something similar: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2006/816/sc21.htm - and so on.

So, how many members of this tribe are in England and likely to attend the festival?

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 0 replies

So You Think You Can Dance - what if...?

ShiraDotNet — Thu, 29 May 2008 02:36:28 GMT

So the new season of So You Think You Can Dance started last night. Of course, once again they didn't show any belly dancing. I remember a season or two ago the judges made some comment after the New York auditions about having no idea there were so many belly dancers out there.

But I wondered, as I watched it, what would happen if a high-quality belly dancer were to come out and do something emotional/expressive like a sinuous tribal fusion taqsim or Egyptian-style dance to Oum Kalthoum music? But what if, instead of wearing the archetypical belly dance costume, the performer were to wear something more similar to what female dancers of other styles wear? Ie, a nice tank top or crop top with shorts, or maybe yoga pants? In other words, what if they made it difficult for the judges to immediately recognize it as belly dance and mentally dismiss it as being "not what we're looking for"?

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 19 replies

The last Egyptian bellydancer

divasoma — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 17:11:51 GMT

One of my students found this article, and it is very interesting. It considers the influence of Saudi investors on Egyptian art:

http://www.newsweek.com/id/139434?GT1=43002

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 4 replies

turkish 9/8

Lara — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 03:11:25 GMT

I seem to remember once upon a time someone was putting out an entire CD of various 9/8 music for dance. Maybe I was dreaming! If anyone knows of such a CD, or can just recommend a CD with a couple (okay, at least one good) 9/8 music I would be ever so grateful!
TIA
Lara

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 2 replies

Msg regarding Habibi Magazine from Stella

cbarrosdallas — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 22:24:13 GMT

http://www.habibimagazine.com/

I thought that with so many members belonging to this tribe that it would be a good place to post this link to the msg. Stella is trying to get the word out . . . it has been posted on Gilded Serpent and on Bhuz.

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 24 replies

barrel turn

Alice — Sat, 31 May 2008 03:23:36 GMT

I'm having a difficult time with barrel turn in veil. I was told my arms are like helicopter blades going horizontally instead of diagonally. I also don't get the arm swings part. Please help.

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 6 replies

Longing for belly dance...

ShiraDotNet — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 20:50:07 GMT

A few nights ago, I was in the audience for a belly dance show. I don't want to give specifics, because I want this to be a philosophical discussion rather than talking about the specific performances in this particular show.

Out of about 15 or so performances, I think I saw only 3 that could be described as "almost entirely" belly dance in their movement vocabulary, music choice, and aesthetic conveyed by the dancer.

The others were all fusions of one sort or another. They ALL represented GOOD dancing. All were entertaining to watch, and well performed. And yet, as an audience member, I found myself longing for more performances that were PRIMARILY belly dancing.

I have to admit, I was disappointed even though the dancing was all good. I was longing for belly dance.

Some of the dancers I saw did things with a strong dose of influence from India - Bollywood, bharata natyam, etc. Some incorporated hiphop. There was some jazz/ballet. And so on.

Any one of these, by itself, could have provided an interesting change of pace act in a show that consisted primarily of belly dancing. But when the show was dominated by fusion acts, with belly dancing being the exception, I found myself feeling a little sad inside. Where was the dance form that had attracted me to come to that show?

Now, I've done my share of fusion acts in the past, and I expect I'll do more in the future. So I'm not hating on fusion here. I like well-performed fusion. As I said, I liked the fusions in this show, I just wished there would have been fewer fusions and more belly dance.

Does anyone else ever feel this way? Or am I alone in wishing that a 'belly dance" show would offer mostly acts that are belly dancing, with just a *small* dose of fusion pieces as a change of pace?

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 41 replies

"The New Belly Dancer of the Galaxy"

ShiraDotNet — Fri, 16 May 2008 18:52:24 GMT

When searching the web for something else entirely, I stumbled upon this book: http://www.amazon.com/New-Belly-Dancer-Galaxy-American/dp/0815608683

In reading the plot synopsis on Amazon, it doesn't seem to have anything to do with belly dancing.

Has anyone read it?

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 4 replies

Finger cymbals: ring, mute, clack, clank!

ShiraDotNet — Mon, 05 May 2008 21:14:58 GMT

Because I have an extensive musical background, I tend to approach playing finger cymbals with the perspective of a musician. Because finger cymbals are capable of assorted sounds (those identified in the title of this thread), I like to play them in a way that utilizes the varied sounds.

For example, for masmoudi saghir (the rhythm that many American musicians call "baladi"), I like to play clacks on the dooms and rings on the teks. Or, sometimes I'll play rings on the dooms and clacks on the teks, depending on my mood.

I've noticed that some other dancers always play rings for everything (except for when they mute the zills), all the way through, with no distinction between the dooms and teks.

And still other dancers always play clacks (ie, strike the cymbals with the same amount of energy as you would use for a ring, but don't let them reverberate) all the way through. This was true of the belly dance teachers I had back in my days as a student.

So I'm curious, what do all of YOU do? Do you ring all the way through? Do you clack all the way through? Do you vary, using different sounds for the dooms and teks? Or do you run screaming in fear at the mere suggestion that you play finger cymbals?

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 16 replies

Sahra Saeeda in newspaper story from South Bend, Indiana

ShiraDotNet — Fri, 30 May 2008 19:33:27 GMT

Here's a link to a newspaper story from South Bend, Indiana based on an interview with Sahra Kent:

http://www.southbendtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008484717169

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 0 replies

Temporary problem with Shira.net

ShiraDotNet — Tue, 27 May 2008 14:40:28 GMT

Grrrr, Shira.net is temporarily not working. It's a problem with my hosting company, and I'm really annoyed. I hope to have this sorted out within a day or two. But never fear, my site WILL be back, I just need to deal with this hosting company problem.

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 7 replies

Yet another example of horrible edition/camera work...

"E" The Smart Ass — Tue, 27 May 2008 22:14:16 GMT

I was so excited to finally see this particular dancer, so I loaded up the video using my snail slow dial-up connection. How disappointed I was!!!! I wanted to see the actual hip/foot work and all I got to see was his midriff and his head which were doing nothing!!!!!! I have heard so many great things about Zuel from Spain, even asking if there was a video/dvd out there....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9vfMQPIbf0

GRRRRRR....makes me wanna put all those camera people in a bag and feed them to the bears and the wolves up in the Capital Forest.....

*goes off to patiently load more videos see if I get lucky........

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 4 replies

Looking for a web site designer with strong graphic design skills

ShiraDotNet — Tue, 13 May 2008 18:45:39 GMT

I'm creating a new web site with a different focus than shira.net, but still related to belly dancing. (Needless to say, my two sites will link to each other.)

As some of you know, I've long wanted to overhaul the look and feel of shira.net. I still want to. However, for now, I want to focus on launching the new site with a 21st century look and feel straight out of the gate. So I'm looking for a web designer with strong graphic design skills to help me with that. And of course, it's desirable to have someone who knows something about belly dancing because that will make it easier for us to communicate when talking about the project and its goals.

Here's what I have in mind:

* I have already created some initial menus and articles, which will enable the designer to see in general terms what kind of menu structure I have in mind, what types of articles, etc. I also have some graphic elements in mind such as pictures of Badia Masabni, Shafiqa al-Koptiyya, Tahia Carioca, etc. I already have these in softcopy on my hard disk.

* I'll want the designer to take my initial concepts and come up with a design that is visually appealing without interfering with the utility of the site.

* I'll ask the designer to convert about 5 of my html pages into the new look and feel for me. I'm thinking top menu, 1 or 2 lower-level menus, and a couple of the article pages.

* I'll want the designer to turn over to me any "raw" cgi scripts, javascripts, and graphics files to me when done. Ie, they become my property to modify as I see fit. For example, if the designer new image for the top menu, I'll want to receive the original Photoshop file with all the layers, effects, etc. intact.

* I'll then take over from there, converting the rest of it to the new look and feel.

* There is some possibility that I'll convert shira.net to the new look and feel, if I like it enough.

Here are my technology requirements:

* NO Microsoft products may be used for authoring html. None. I don't want to contaminate my site with the hideous html they produce.
* Graphics design work must be delivered to me in format of Adobe Photoshop and/or Illustrator. These are the products I use.
* The top page must be a menu, not a worthless splash page. I detest Flash splash pages that take forever to load.
* No automatically-coming-on musical background effects.
* Site must be authored in html, not in Flash. I hate how long Flash takes to load, and it hurts search engine rankings.
* No use of frames. I don't like 'em.
* I'd like to look at using rollover buttons for the top menu, and for the site navigation bar on the other pages.
* No use of EXEC CMD - GoDaddy doesn't support it and GoDaddy is the web hosting company I'm using. (Grrrr.)
* Design must include a format for presenting long articles of text, which may or may not have photos.

If any web designers are interested in taking up the challenge, send me a private message. I'd love it if that would include links to 2 or 3 other web sites you have designed and made the graphics for, especially if those sites include some long articles so that I can see how you would handle those.

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 9 replies

Male Bellydancers Denied Permits In Egypt

Valizan — Fri, 16 May 2008 04:24:39 GMT

They giveth, and then they taketh away...

This seems almost like a follow-up to the last thing I posted about more male dancers appearing in Egypt.

http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2008/05/11/49679.html

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 0 replies

Valizan interviews Turkish Dancer Özgen on The Gilded Serpent

Valizan — Mon, 12 May 2008 01:37:56 GMT

Gilded Serpent editrix Lynette Harris has uploaded video of me interviewing male Turkish dancer Özgen Ozgec at the International Bellydance Conference of Canada.

During his appearance on the Main Stage, Özgen danced with a rope that he twirled around his body while he was dancing. It was fascinating to watch, and he was damn good with it. I was backstage (I had just danced with The Righteous Rogues Of Raks) questioning him about the rope when Lynette happened along and asked to tape the conversation:

http://www.gildedserpent.com/newsgraphics/ComKaleidoscope.htm#ozgen

The irony of me saying "You're going back to Turkey... No one will know..." is even more funny since this is now loaded onto the net! And I"m tellin' everyone to go look at it! :)))

Don't miss the section where he dances at the end!

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 0 replies

New stuff on Shira.net

ShiraDotNet — Sat, 10 May 2008 06:25:40 GMT

I've recently added some new goodies to www.shira.net. Here goes:

* "Do I Need to Shave My Armpits?" Article can be found on the "advice and how-to" menu at http://www.shira.net/advice.htm

* Translation to the Greek song "Nina Nai Nai." Can be found on the song translations page at http://www.shira.net/lyrics.htm

* A poem titled "Serpentine and Elven" by Brea Morgiane. Can be found on the fine arts menu at http://www.shira.net/arts.htm

* "The Required Qualities of Dancers", translated by Dr. George Sawa. A historical document that is well worth reading! Can be found on the "about belly dance" page at www.shira.net/about.htm

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 0 replies

Processing a less than stellar performance

Tammy — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 05:56:31 GMT

OK, so you can't hit it out of the park every time. Sometimes you fall short. This last performance, I fear was one of them. It's a new routine, but we performed it before with great success at a fundraiser a few weeks ago. So I'm sitting at home with a glass of wine and Nina Simone on Itunes, processing the whole thing. I can come up with 101 reasons, but what's the real deal? One that comes front and center was my own inability to get my adrenaline rush under control. Usually a few seconds into a performance I've wrestled down to a smile and I can move on. This time it had me. This is strange because in my 9to5 I am "on stage" public speaking almost weekly. Something really got to me this time. Another sip of wine and I'm still thinking this through.

So my question for my shimmying sisters out this is how do you process a less than stellar performance? Come on, don't tell me I'm the only one that has had this experience. How do you separate excuses from the real deal? I do you not overly beat yourself up, but still move forward and correct whatever issues you have? I've love to hear your experiences and what you have learned from them. Thanks.

Tammy

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 17 replies

ISO Min Gheyr Leh

Jami — Tue, 06 May 2008 15:04:41 GMT

Please help, oh wise ones. The only version I've found is on Adam Basma's Beirut-Cairo cd. Do you know of any others? Thanks!

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 1 reply

Costuming and Pattern book for the Tribal fanatic

Debbi — Fri, 02 May 2008 23:11:33 GMT

Tips and Techniques for the tribal fanatic pattern book can be found on ebay as well as a lot of inexpensive belly dance costumes. Check it out at http://www.clickaudit.com/goto/?101557

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 2 replies

My Arabic studies starting to pay off...

ShiraDotNet — Tue, 06 May 2008 17:59:01 GMT

Last night, i was looking through some of my Egyptian music CD's, trying to find a certain song. So I was examining CD cases, and realized that I was recognizing certain words in song titles that I wouldn't have recognized 3 months ago!

Of course, I'm a l-o-n-g way from being able to understand song lyrics without help or follow a movie plot without subtitles, and realistically I may NEVER reach a skill level that would enable me to do that. But it does feel nice to know that even the little knowledge I've acquired so far is starting to help me already.

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 2 replies

Veils?

Azeeza — Thu, 01 May 2008 22:37:22 GMT

OK, I've never heard this term before, "Entrance Veil".

I've always been under the assumption that a four yard veil was made for a taller dancer (but the dancer could chose any length to dance with), but I was recently told that a four yard veil was an entrance piece and not meant to dance with.

Any comments???

Azeeza

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 11 replies

Of Bedleh and Hollywood

ShiraDotNet — Fri, 02 May 2008 23:08:58 GMT

This is a spinoff from the IBCC thread. Since a couple of folks asked about bedleh and its reputed origins through Hollywood, I thought I'd share what I learned in my research last year.

The "harem fantasy" costuming conceived by Europeans and Americans was kind of contemporaneous with the origins of the film industry.

Efforts to invent "moving pictures" were underway simulteneously in both France and the U.S. In France, it was the Lumiere brothers, and in the U.S. it was Thomas Edison. Both applied for patents in the mid 1890's, with the Lumiere brothers being about a year earlier than Edison.

At this time, European Orientalist fantasies were already in full swing. The colonial occupation of the British and French in North Africa had already been going on for a few decades. Orientalist painters such as Gerome and Ingres were selling their work about 10 or 20 years before the dawn of the film industry. Flaubert had been in Egypt around 1849 and written about his experiences, and other traveler's tales of the exotic East were being written about at the same time. So, by the dawn of the film industry, Western society was caught in the grip of Orientalist fantasy and fervor.

In the mid-1890's, around the same point in time as inventors were working on moving pictures, Oscar Wilde wrote Salome. It was first staged in France. I don't have my notes in front of me, but I'm thinking around 1897. Richard Strauss became interested in the play, and used Wilde's play as the basis for lyrics for his opera Salome, which was first performed somewhere around 1905-ish. (Again, writing from memory here, don't have my notes in front of me.)

Strauss's opera, even more than Wilde's play, touched off a Salome mania. Not only were opera houses staging the opera and theaters staging the play, but the fledgling modern dance movement picked up the theme and staged their own reinterpretations of the story. It was this Salome mania, in the 1905-1915 time frame, that really led to the fantasy costumes. I think the first silent "Salome" movie was released around 1908, the first Cleopatra around 1910. Theda Bara's famous depictions of these characters came later, 1918 and 1917, respectively.

Maud Allen was one of the early pioneers of the bedleh-style fantasy costume, staging her own interpretation of Wilde's Salome in Austria in 1906. It wasn't either Wilde's play or Strauss's opera, it was a modern dance program loosely based on the story as told by Wilde but portrayed through dance rather than through words. Her career was primarily in Europe, not the U.S., and so far as I know she appeared in only one movie, released in 1915, "The Rug Maker's Daughter", and I've never been able to find evidence of filming of her doing her Salome dance. Lots of still photos, yes, but not moving pictures of her.

Anyway, from the above I have concluded that it wasn't exactly Hollywood that brought the notion of bedleh to Egypt, but rather the European music hall dancers who would have been performing imitations of Maud Allen and her ilk in the early nightclubs of Cairo. Hollywood certainly became inspired by all the operatic and modern dance interpretations of Salome, and incorporated those into its own portrayals, but the imagery was already part of the European and American collective fantasy before Hollywood picked up on it. And since the origin of nightclubs in Egypt was to present European-style music hall entertainment for expatriate businessmen and government bureaucrats, well, the bedleh would probably have been seen on stage through their portrayals even before the movies crossed the ocean from America.

Sadly, most of the early silent movie footage has been lost forever. This is partly because early photographic technology was difficult to preserve (ie, the chemicals that formed the image disintegrated if not properly cared for), partly because some early movies were intentionally destroyed so that the precious silver utilized in creating the photographic image could be harvested and reused to create new movies, and partly because the only known prints of some early movies (including Theda Bara's Salome and Cleopatra movies) were destroyed through catastrophes such as the fire at Fox Studios vault in 1937. (Early movies were made using nitrate, which was very combustible.) Tragic.

Anyway, since a number of folks expressed interest in seeing how early movies may have depicted the precursors to bedleh, I thought you might enjoy knowing that I've actually been researching the topic but have been thwarted in finding moving pictures! But I've accumulated some really great still images!

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 0 replies

IBCC 2008 is over - what to do next time?

ShiraDotNet — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 19:07:34 GMT

After I delivered my video/lecture presentation on "Oriental Dance: Egypt's Shameful Profession", a number of the people who saw it approached me afterward to ask what I'm going to do next time. (Of course, we're all hoping that Yasmina Ramzy and her team at Arabesque will indeed do another conference!)

Anyway...

Now I myself am wondering, what *should* I do next time, assuming there is a next time? Last year, I presented "Dance In Egyptian Cinema", which involved showing clips of dance scenes taken from Egyptian movies and talking about the story behind the clips. For example, the socio-political forces that shaped how people viewed the dance at the time the movie was made, the type of character being portrayed by the dancer, the movie's plot and how the dancer fit in with it, etc. This year, I presented how Egyptian society (in general terms) views our dance form and I used dialogue scenes from Egyptian movies to illustrate the point.

Anybody got any good suggestions for me? I find I'm kind of liking the format of using video clips to illustrate points, and then wrapping lecture around them.

Some ideas I've thought of (but I'd welcome other ideas, too):

* Dance in Egyptian Cinema, Part 2. This would resemble what I described above from last year's , but use different movies.

* Through a Warped Glass. This would show portrayals of "Middle Eastern Dance" in U.S.-made movies and cartoons. For example, Bugs Bunny doing head slides, Heckle and Jeckle seeing a dancing kitty emerge from a tomb in Egypt, a sexy dancing mousie in the Sultan's Birthday episode of Mighty Mouse, the opening credits and later dance scene in the James Bond movie From Russia with Love, etc.

So, those are a couple of preliminary thoughts. What else would all of you like to suggest? Is there another theme centered around Egyptian movies I should consider? I need ideas!

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 7 replies

Ashra Baladi

Mihrimah Ghaziya — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 14:24:01 GMT

Hi everybody,

despite long researches, I couldn't find the precise name and order of the 10 sequences of the Ashra baladi. I found an article from Surya Hila about it, but even here I do not count 10 osequences.

If anybody knows more...

Thanks !!
Mihrimah

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 6 replies

Domain name registration - good info

ShiraDotNet — Thu, 01 May 2008 05:58:05 GMT

I'm thinking of creating another domain name, and I was trying to decide which of the registration companies to use. In the course of my googling, I found this page that has brief reviews of the various registration services:

http://www.webpagepublicity.com/software-reviews.html

I thought they made some excellent points when exploring the pros and cons of each registration service, and I particularly like the fact that they identified how much each registrar charges.

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 1 reply

Asking the audience to shut up?

Amy — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 18:10:04 GMT

I recently danced at a small hafla at a local coffee shop. The dance area was off to the side in a separate area, so everyone sitting around was there for the show. A small area was cleared as a "stage" and a couch was set up right along side it. Two women were sitting on the couch and they were talking the whole time. Not just whispering to each other, but sitting facing each other on the couch, carrying on a full volume conversation, complete with hand gestures. I guess they were there to watch a specific friend, and the dancer before me and myself were not that friend. They were so loud, I couldn't hear my music at first and had to ask the DJ to turn in up. Even then, I had to move out of the "stage" and into the rest of the audience (not much space between tables) to hear. I twice tried to dance right up to the women to give them a hint. First time, they didn't even look. Second time, I chooched right up in one of their faces and at least she looked in my direction, but still kept talking.

How would y'all have handled that? I was so tempted to just blatantly tell them they were being rude ("Do you mind?") but wasn't sure how kosher that was. (I told the MC about the problem and she made an announcement to keep coversations down--they at least spoke quieter for the next dancer).

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 18 replies

Favorite Memories of IBCC 2008

ShiraDotNet — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 21:19:56 GMT

Things I'm remembering fondly now that I'm home from the 2008 edition of the International Bellydance Conference of Canada, in no particular order:

* Yasmina Ramzy's workshop on dancing to Oum Kalthoum
* Andrea Deagon's research on dance in ancient Egypt
* George Sawa's presentations on Middle Eastern music
* The documentary Rakasa about Orit and two other dancers in Israel/Palestine and their challenges
* Kathleen Fraser's research on the trial of Queen Caroline of England and the role a Palestinian male belly dancer played in it
* The comedy performance by Ranya and Maqamikaze to Alf Leyla wa Leyla
* Many enjoyable conversations with other conference attendees

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 4 replies

Talk like an Egyptian...

Maura — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 23:55:33 GMT

Daughter's Egyptian dance teacher has persuaded her that the next level of enjoyment for both herself and her audience involves learning Egyptian arabic so that she can sing songs with understanding while dancing. Any one have any suggestions for language courses (tape, CD, DVD)?

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 18 replies

Another question about traveling...

Roya — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 21:56:30 GMT

Since everyone was so helpful I'd thought I'd come back for more answers. With that said, I am traveling to Beirut next Feb/March. I would love to belly dance while I'm there. Does anyone know of anyone who has danced there? Or does anyone have any information on the belly dance scene there? Thanks!

Roya

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 5 replies

Moves that are physically dangerous

ShiraDotNet — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 21:27:06 GMT

For the most part, belly dancing is a safe dance form (at least, when done correctly) that works with movements that are natural to the body.

However...

There are SOME moves often done by belly dancers that pose real risk of injury. Even if the dancer is in good shape physically, even if she is doing the technique correctly, certain moves are just plain risky and could limit or even end her dance career. Here are some examples:

* Turkish drops
* The deep standing backbends that are currently in vogue in the Tribal Fusion realm
* Zar-style hair flinging
* Knee crawls in floor work

I've been thinking about these after a dancer in another tribe mentioned becoming injured doing a backbend rollover in a rehearsal. I injured my knee in a Turkish drop gone bad about 7 years ago. And I'm wondering...

Is it at all irresponsible for teachers to teach these moves, and is it irresponsible for choreographers of ensemble pieces to use them in choreography?

I figure soloists who have seen something on a video and tried to copy it are taking their own chances, and are responsible for their own risks. And let's face it, any time a well-known dancer (or even an obscure one) does something impressive, lots of us will try to copy her, even if the move is dangerous.

But if a teacher teaches her students to do something, isn't she making a decision to put their health at risk? Or is it okay so long as she warns them about the risk and ensures they are doing correct technique?

If a choreographer uses risky moves in one of her pieces, is she essentially making a decision to put her dancers' health at risk? Or does it depend on the dancers? Ie, if the choreography is being taught to advanced dancers and pros who already know these moves and use them in their own dancing, does that make it okay for the choreographer to use the moves?

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 36 replies

Off to Toronto!

ShiraDotNet — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 13:11:07 GMT

I'm heading out this morning to the airport to go to the International Bellydance Conference of Canada. I'll probably try to check into this tribe each evening before I go to bed, but I probably won't be on much during the day.

So, while I"m gone, keep the conversations going! I'll join in when I can!

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 0 replies

PayPal

Rya — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 16:00:13 GMT

I just wanted to let everyone know who frequently uses PayPal that I just got off the phone with them and they're apparently having some issues. Even though I had a significant balance on my paypal account, they took the money out of my bank account. Apparenlty, this is happening a lot and I just wanted to make everyone aware.

I will be x-posting this so hopefully no one else gets screwed like me.

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 3 replies

Belly Dancing in Dubai

Roya — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 23:39:55 GMT

I plan to visit Dubai in January. Does anyone have information on belly dancing in Dubai? I would love to watch belly dancing and I would love to perform. (I realize I would need a permit from the government to perform.) Any info would be helpful. Thanks!

Roya

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 8 replies

Orphan Works legislation before Congress- Copywrite Law

Shadiyah — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 23:42:53 GMT

x-posted to Bhuz as well. Thoughts? Actions?

Animation World Magazine - http://mag.awn.com/index.php?ltype=pageone&article_no=3605

U.S. Copyright Office - Orphan Works - http://www.copyright.gov/orphan/

Federal Register: Orphan Works - http://www.copyright.gov/fedreg/2005/70fr3739.html

Search Results - THOMAS (Library of Congress) - http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c109:H.R.5439:

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 12 replies

Name background help?

Reshkiga — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 19:25:41 GMT

Howdy all.

I was wondering if anyone could help me. I was recently trying to come up with a name I would like to adapt for the dance. I'm a very picky person and I've ended up stuck on one but am questioning its use-ability.

I liked the name Ereshkigal but the personality she embodies is certainly not how I envision myself. I played with it a bit and decided I like either Reshki or Reshkiga. I looked these up and found Reshki as a mans name, a family name, and Kurdish Yezedi tribe but in no real complete view.

I was hoping someone would know more about this name or somewhere online I could look for a more complete view. Seeing as my real name is Ashley and that used to be a mans name as well I'm not too concerned about that but I'd hate to take on a name without knowing where it came from.

Thanks for any help!

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 2 replies

Traveling with Swords?

SheIsSparkling — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 15:08:21 GMT

Hi Ladies!
I need to fly to a workshop with my sword later this month. How do I pack it? It has a sheath...but no other case.

Do I carry it on?

Thanks!!
*S

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 10 replies

prop sourcing- globlets?

Lara — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 16:28:02 GMT

I have had a couple folks recomend purchasing lexan goblets instead of glass for balancing to reduce the risk of shattering and slicing your foot, but I haven't been able to track any down. Does anyone have a source for heavy weight goblets for balancing?

posted in Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe - 3 replies

Belly Dancing - the Shira.net Tribe's topics - tribe.net

It's not for sale!

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Live-in belly dance apprenticeship with Delilah

Raja Tune Used On Veda Sereem's Belly Gram DVD

Instructors Intensive, Delilah Style with Certificate

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NEW BELLY DANCE COSTUMES FOR SALE ON EBAY

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Style differentiation tribe

Just got this spam on my e-mail

Dolphina..............

nomenclature

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turkish 9/8

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barrel turn

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Sahra Saeeda in newspaper story from South Bend, Indiana

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Looking for a web site designer with strong graphic design skills

Male Bellydancers Denied Permits In Egypt

Valizan interviews Turkish Dancer Özgen on The Gilded Serpent

New stuff on Shira.net

Processing a less than stellar performance

ISO Min Gheyr Leh

Costuming and Pattern book for the Tribal fanatic

My Arabic studies starting to pay off...

Veils?

Of Bedleh and Hollywood

IBCC 2008 is over - what to do next time?

Ashra Baladi

Domain name registration - good info

Asking the audience to shut up?

Favorite Memories of IBCC 2008

Talk like an Egyptian...

Another question about traveling...

Moves that are physically dangerous

Suggested reading: "Shameful dance"

Off to Toronto!

PayPal

Belly Dancing in Dubai

Orphan Works legislation before Congress- Copywrite Law

Name background help?

Traveling with Swords?

prop sourcing- globlets?