Mesh tote from recycled plastic bags for dirty bar towels
My angry amigurumi. Made from a pattern found online that has been bastardised and poorly executed by moi. My hubby calls them Goth-imals. They are stuffed with "re-purposed" old socks.
"I was wondering if you could watch this girl belly dancing on Britain's Got Talent and tell me if she's any good.
I thought she looked a little sloppy but I thought I should ask your professional opinion."
Well...ur...well.
Before I say anything, I wanted to find out more about her. But after 200 Google links of "see Sophie Mei make Simon drool!" I gave up. All I know about her is that she dances at a restaurant and is 19 years old. I have no idea what kind of training she has had. With who and where she takes classes? If at all? Does she know anything about BD history and development? etc.
I don't like to critique other dancers for a few reasons. First, some performances are good, some suck regardless of talent, and this is a youtube video. Second, my critique would be no more than opinion. And an opinion is just that, an opinion. Third, I am a firm believer there is no such thing as an expert on bellydance. I will say that again.
THERE ARE NO EXPERTS ON BELLYDANCE!
Don't get me wrong, there are the good, bad, and ugly but if you want to hold BD up as an art form then there can't be a right or wrong. Only what is tasteful for the situation. I mean, you can bitch and moan about how some dancers discredit BD by throwing on a barely there costume and dry humping the air trying to pass it off as BD. And I would agree with you. Because I DO believe BD is an art. Which also means I must uphold the definition of art.
So critiquing BD would be like critiquing any art form. It would be based on personal opinion and taste. A "professional" critique can only really have any merit if you are looking at the art form in a specific cultural context. Even then it is only conjecture. And I am NOT a professional, LOL!
First, this is a get rich-and-famous-quick TV game show. That right there is enough to throw this discussion out the window. Listening to the judges "critique" they obviously don't know anything about BD, what it is or where it came from. All they know is she is hot and jiggles good. Which is unfortunate. If people are emphasizing, "You're so beautiful!" It could really stunt her as a dancer. The judges talk about her only in light of her looks, how hot and sexy she is. And yeah, she's hot. She'd make a great BD Superstar, but they tack on "talented" at the end as an afterthought. So really, the judges have no idea what they are looking at. Slap a hot 19yr old on stage in a hot costume, doing a mix of restaurant BD and club dancing and who knows what you will get...Brittney Spears maybe? And we all know how that works out.
However, if you want to look at it as her doing restaurant dancing contorted into a stage performance dancing for a few brief minutes in order to woo some judges who know NOTHING about BD as an art to win some recognition. Yeah, she did that hands down.
Ok, so what is my actual opinion?
Well, I've seen better.
One, she is a restaurant dancer (part time I think). Anyone who has ever danced between tables of people eating know there isn't so much art in it as there is looking cute. It's mostly walk, walk, jiggle, boobs and hair, jiggle, walk, jiggle, walk, boobs, walk, hair... It's a lot different then a stage number. Not to mention, WTF is up with the shirtless boy toys in the background?
Second, I thought her moves where WAY TOO BIG. Alright, I know she was nervous. And when you get nervous the first thing you do is go too fast and get sloppy with the moves. Which she did both of. The technique was pretty basic with just a few big accents here and there, (like you do in a restaurant), and a sloppy shimmy or two. Her legs were too far apart for her frame. It seemed she had little stability there. I didn't care for the English cover of the Tarkin "Kiss Kiss" song. If she was going to dance to a pop song, she could have used the original, you know, for cultural reference. She kept turning to the side and I felt like she was performing some crappy BD workout video choreography that bored housewives do when they want to reclaim their youth by pretending to be a sexy spunky bellydancer. Then again it was only like a 1min. choreography. Go figure.
Third, the Isis wings where kind of dumb. I know Isis wings take practice and look cool but they are just there to distract the audience. Same thing with swords, trays of fire, veils, and other stupid human BD tricks. People look at the Isis wings and forget all about watching the dancer. It was sort of a cop out. Bamboozle the audience with shiny things! But the audience fell for it, boy toys and all.
Sophie did EXACTLY what her audience and judges wanted to see. PLUS! They really didn't want to see a thicker older women making faces to 8 minute Arabic taxim. (I do, but I'm not a judge). She did keep her crotch away from the audience when she did her back bends. PLUS! She smiled and made eye contact. PLUS! Her arms looked pretty good. PLUS! She wore a simple modern costume that flattered her figure. PLUS! She also is bringing BD to a broader audience (not the perfect audience but broader none-the-less). PLUS!
Then I went and found this video.
Better than the other performance but still not great. She talked very briefly about posture and keeping her shoulders back. PLUS! She danced to music that was still pop but not in English. Yea, some culture! PLUS! She made the face, which shows she feels the music. PLUS! Like before she turned to the side and used her legs a lot, not her torso muscles. Not So Much Like before her moves where still really big. Not So Much Like before her feet where wide and her whole body waved and bounced around instead of the focus on her hips. Not So Much.
I DO think Sophie has talent. I just don't think it is perfected. She could have taken classes with a Turkish style dancer. Turkish moves are bigger and showier than others. I still think she needs more muscle control. More muscle control would make her big moves look cleaner. It would keep her from swaying and bouncing so much. You know, not so floppy. Her dance vocabulary seems limited to some basic moves and accents. But she was dancing to pop music not intricate Middle Eastern style 3, 5, 7, or 9/8 rhythms, so I have to take that for what it is worth. I think she could be a better dancer and still be hot. Jillina needs to get a hold of her and clean up her form a bit.
I can't really look at a few seconds of Sophie Mei on a game show and determine her abilities as a dancer or artist. Watching BD on video probably does her a disservice. I am sure she is much more fabulous and entertaining in person. Every awesome dance I've ever seen is always 1000 times better in person than watching it again on video. The camera looses all the energy of the room, the audience, the dancer. I think it is sad that the focus of the show is on her being barely legal and sexy when she could really do better. She is only 19 and despite sounding jaded, she is too young to put any real feeling in her dance yet. I heard another dancer say that 5 or 6 years ago and thought, "She is just old and jaded." Well, she was right. BD gets better with age and experience. Unfortunately by then, you wish you still looked like a 19 year old, LOL!
And you know, I don't see any other bellydancer out there representin'
A Midsummer Nights Dream by William Shakespeare The Springfield Shakespeare Festival is proud to announce its second sensational season with a production of William Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Nights Dream" at beautiful Jordan Valley Park, May 29- June 8 Thursday through Sunday at 8:15 pm with a pre-show beginning at 6:15 pm. This production is FREE, but a donation will be appreciated. Sponsored by The Skinny Improv
The pre-show is from 6:15pm to 8:15pm, and will include performances by area bellydancers such as Red Moon Tribe from Springfield, MO., Maharet from Buffalo, MO., the DreamDancers of the Global Dance Collective from Springfield, MO., and The Evolution Dance Company in Springfield, MO.
Mood: grumpy 'cause I lost internet again at work yesterday. Have to work longer to make it up by Saturday.
*more workshop pics stolen from Maharet's myspace
Ananya and I changed with the Evolution Dance Co. Ladies, Alia, and Amira at the Buffalo Motel. The motel was more of a gathering of small cabin-like structures with low ceilings, wood paneling, and curtains made out of terry cloth towels. It was small but clean. All told, I think we had a least 10 people in there at a time. Brody (the male), was kicked out on the porch though. Sorry, lol! And hey, what's up with the whole gas thing? I didn't eat the bread, humus, or tabbouleh but I still snuck around leaving little poofs of smoke when no one was nearby. What's the deal?
Laleh opened the show with a really awesome number that I had never heard/seen before. Then she did this super cute song with those hand flicks and clapping. It was so contagious, by the time I got on stage I couldn't help but flick my hands too. I'm such a copy cat. I probably would have stuck my finger in my mouth if I was more sure of what it meant, LOL! AND we both had on yellow, 'cause we're just that awesome, hahahaha! See, I have to get inspiration where I can. I'm not exactly fit enough to be jumping and rolling and back bending all over like the Evolution ladies can do. 'Cause I'm lazy and that looks like hard work, LOL!
I made sure to watch every performance even if that meant making out a little with the basketball goals backstage in order to see through the side door. It really perturbs me when workshop teachers don't watch the show. Part of what people pay for is the opportunity to show the instructor what they have learned and want to share. I went to a workshop/show once where the teacher didn't watch the show. She hid until her time to perform, went on early in the show, changed back into regular clothes, and then stood in the very back of the room talking out loud with the vendor and COMPLETELY ignored the dancers. I know this because I was standing toward the back where I could stretch out and still see the performance. She stood back there and talked for a good hour until the show was over, never once looking at the stage. This bothered me for 2 reasons. One, because we paid a lot of money to take her class and had to listen to her talk about how awesome her husband was ALL DAY. Second, because after I noticed that she wasn't watching the show, I saw every performer scan the front rows looking to see if she was in the audience and seeing their confusion and disappointment. She had an “assistant” for class and everything. With as big of a diva as she was, you'd think she would at least have pretended to watch the other dancers, if only to intimidate them. So yeah, I watched all the performances. Novice, experienced, new, and old. Even the numbers I've seen before. I watched them again. The ladies paid for my time and attention and they got it. I really suck at remembering the order and names and spelling so...
Cute pink beret – I really, REALLY know her name, but can't remember to save my life. She did a super cute Bhangra hip hop fusion in a baby pink outfit. I liked it a lot.
Laleh – previously mentioned.
Karen Elizabeth Culp – AKA. KC, she made “the face” and danced in an Elvisy bright turquoise costume with bling and flared pants. What more could you want? Have I seen those purple appliques before?
Amira Haddar – Veil and drum. Probably the best performance I've ever seen her do. You Go!
Meira Nawal – A fun troupe number. Only the second time I've seen them perform. They came all the way up from AR. I wish I could travel down to see them in their hood for once.
Alia – I love this number. She danced it at GDC a few months ago. I was dancing to it back stage.
Ananya – the sea-nymph goddess. I told you pop and lock! We may have started a trend with the obnoxious tiger lilies in our hair, LOL
Ozark Mountain Gypsies – I've also seen this one in the past, but not with 4 people. Their name is O.M.G., haha. That's funny.
RMT – Cotton-Eyed-Joe. Seen this one before but it is now updated. Always fun. Someday I will have denim fringe too.
Tasia and Amira – They played zills way better than I can. Well, ok, they actually play the zills and I don't. Not yet anyway. I only saw a bit of this from back stage.
Emma – her first solo. If I compared my first solo to hers...well she could kick my ass hands down.
Zivah – working the no-choreography sword. Hell yes, we're all about ad lib! NTM I can't roll on the floor w/sword like she can.
Kirmizi Tribe - the RMT student troupe. I've seen the basket dance before. I am jealous of their kuchi. I don't own any.
Evolution Dance Co. - Once again, kicking ass and taking names. I would beat them up and steal their costumes but there are three of them and only one of me =(
Raqssafar (Sisters of the Moon) - They did 2 numbers, one old school Jasara style and one fusion. It is good to see the Jasara legacy still going. AND Maharet's costume stayed in one piece!
Of course at the end of the show everyone who performed received a rose. I received a huge glass vase full of roses, a red and gold earring/necklace set, and a blue metallic bendy snake that I wore as a necklace while we all had pictures taken. I like the free gifts the best! Mom told my husband it was like I was a celebrity the way everyone wanted a pic with me. But I totally do the same thing. Here are a few...
5. Naima, Suzzana Delvecchio, Laleh, and Zahava aka KC (this pic didn't come out so I did a stick-figure rendtion of it instead, but it totally would have looked like this.)
I was so tired and hungry when we left I completely forgot to get paid. I called Maharet and left a message. She was so busy that she packed her cell phone in her dance bag and didn't get my message until the next day. But we finally got it figured out. We drove back to Springfield to GX and saw Strip debut. They are reformed from the band Labwrk. I was extremely exhausted by this point and was probably drooling on myself. Somehow I managed to stay until close help clean up, get home, was my face, and pass out on the couch around 3am. I spent the next 2 days OD'ing on Xbox360 playing Shivering Isles on Oblivion. I was sore and tired like having a hang over only different. I talked with Maharet briefly about who she plans on having teach next year and I am excited. I will not say here until it is solidified.
I feel like I left something out but if I wait any longer to post this I will just forget more. As you can see from my previous post, Mom and I got the yellow, and now orange, costume wearable. It has no lining and the belt was held on with a pony tail holder and a safety pin. I'm not kidding. Ananya said it looked like a bucket of sherbet vomited on me. Well said!
Now playing: the Cure and the Birthday Massacre (a la DJ Darkboy)
mood: dead and prepared (tagged pic of Naima from Maharet's myspace)
I started off my 4 day weekend with my sister's college graduation on Friday. My mom and brother where in town for that. I found out they both plan on moving over here at the end of summer/early fall. Then I spent half of the evening at GX and the other half with Mom while I tried to choreograph 8 counts. It had become the bane of my existence for the past week. Normally, I would just wing it on stage, but I really wanted something written down to hand out. And you know, no matter how much prep time you have, you can never get to bed before midnight. I think I finally gave up around 1:30am. I spent the next morning typing up the last 8 counts of choer. and printing the hard copy. I also managed to loose my sunglasses briefly at the gas station before we even left town.
Ok, first I must say teaching a workshop is WAY harder than it looks. Over the past 8 plus years I've gone to at least 30 workshops (that I can actually remember where and what teacher) and know what I do and don't like from the student side. However, being on the other end now, regardless of the prep time I spent, the time goes by so fast and I was so limited on what I could and couldn't cover. I am admittedly not a good teacher and I am definitely not the greatest at explaining things, unless you know “Em-anese”. All my decisions had to be made in real time and crammed into 2hr for morning and 2hr for teaching the choreo. My mind was constantly racing over what I should or should not focus on. There were 39 students. I would have really liked to have had maybe a third of the class and been down on the floor with them. I keep thinking of things I could have done better, but that is past now. If anything, I learned more than the class. I just hope everyone had a good time even if they went away confused. I am sure that the teachers who tour and teach the same workshop a dozen times or so can really get into the grove of things, but WOW it is hard, for me anyway. Hats off to them.
I was able to sell a bunch of my old CDs and VHS as well as that palette dress that has been hanging in my closet since 2003 or so. YEA! And I was doing good until I got on stage to start class when my nerves kicked in. Not quite stage nerves but shaky. Like when you are trying to smile but your upper lip wants to quiver, or you just sucked down a dozen pixie sticks. We did a quick warm up that helped calm me down a bit but I still felt really scatter brained. Focusing was very hard without my notes in hand.
I finished off the class with an interview with Anala from Shimmy Cast. I had sweat from every pore in my body by this point and probably was talking too soft. Meanwhile they were putting up chairs and taping a stage curtain on. We had to stop and laugh at the loud farting tape noises only 5 feet from us while recording. The little recording device is pretty neat. It looks like an MP3 player with a microphone attached.
Since I was performing at the workshop hafla last Saturday, Sa'dia had to Greek Night it alone. She found some musicians to help her out. She made a few tips from a young fan =)
It is taking me a few days to write about the workshop. We went to see Death Note the movie last night (Tues). It was my first exposure to the manga and anime, and I liked it, but the 12-14 yr old kids who laughed at everything sucked.
LOOK people sleeping- LAUGHTER, people walking- LAUGHTER, people dying- LAUGHTER, the wind blowing- LAUGHTER! Yeah, so that sucked, but I liked the movie.
Got the music for the workshop class time picked out. Got my notes almost in order for printing off. Must do laundry so I have clean workout clothes ready.
I've always had this personal rule about buying matching undies or dance bloomers for every costume I have. It is just in good taste, really, that your underwear match your costume.
I have now amended that rule to include a bra.
BRAS ARE NOT OPTIONAL!
It doesn't matter if you have something akin to a fringe scarf tied around your bosom. You must wear a bra.
Period.
No excuses.
Hell, even strippers at least start off with one. I really feel for the poor bride. I'd of covered my face too. Someone buy that woman a bra! And a hair piece that doesn't look like a dead animal.
Now playing: Samurai Champloo mood: some sort of steamy, stir-fry, soy saucey goodness
I spent 3hrs last night practicing and getting my notes and music put together for the workshop. I am stiff today. Which now that I think about it makes sense. I took a shower and ate a bowl of ice cream instead of stretching out when I was done with practice. HaHa Go figure.
Hats off to workshop teachers. It takes a lot of work to take what you would teach over weeks worth of classes and condense it into something usable and coherent. I think I am spending too much time over analyzing what to write on the choreo. notes. I'd rather have note taking time during the workshop so everyone can write down what makes sense to them. I've also been teaching out loud to my cats when I practice. It has been a while since I've taught a class and I have to get the abstract concepts in my brain shaped into words and sentences. And I don't want to ramble too much. That is what blogging is for.
Maharet says the turn out for the workshop is looking good. I can't wait. I am really looking forward to being in the company of my fellow dancers, looking at the vendors, laughing and reminiscing about past workshops with friends. Not to mention the show. I always come away inspired to work on new stuff after a show. It's where I get some of my best ideas, MWAHAHAHA!
~N (pic: me and the hubby at Promanade. That's right, he's hot!)
Now playing: Dead Like Me -season 2 mood: coffee and cheesecake
Trying to practice choreo with unhealed navel piercing is le suck.
That's ok though. We'll do the YMCA and call it good.
Ananya bought me this dress for $2 at local flea for the "Dark formal" this weekend. It is actually more of a samon color than pink. It's not dark, but it is so awesomely tacky that the only thing to go with it is...
Clear heels!
I told Ananya she had to be my date now for buying me the dress. Hopefully, she won't make me put out. Ha!
~N
On a completely unrelated note, I was reading some terms from www.urbandictionary.com and came across this entry for tramp napkin. While the term and definition are less than cooth, I found the example sentence oddly amusing. I mean really, the idea that has been said, on more than one occasion even, is kinda hilarious.
Now playing: Jpop on Winamp
