MALE & FEMALE BELLYDANCE

What many people dont know is that….There are actually male bellydancers. And bellydance is danced by both males and females in the middleast. Males who dance bellydance are NOT gay. Bellydance is just part of their culture. I decided to do this video with a opening from Daniel mainly beacuse i wanted to fight the attack many male bellyadncers face. Daniel is a totally straight guy for your information. But he developed a fascination over bellydance. And he is very very passionate about this artform. Daniel’s biggest desire is to promote masculine bellydance. I am sure you have seen males who dance bellydance feminiely. Its not because they are gay. Its because their teachers were females and students imitate their teacher.

Daniel here is a fine example of  a macusline bellydancer. He teaches himself bellydance. He has no former class training.

Male bellydancer issues

1stly they are labelled gay. Which they are not. 2ndly they cant get into classes or dance schools easily cos their female teachers find it uncomfortable. There are very few male dance teachers who can teach the masculine artform. So the only thing they can do is to teach themselves.

There are famous male bellydancers such as tito.

Daniel

Daniel is young teenage bellydancer. The reason i emphasize teenage is because ive never met a young person who has so much of passion over bellydance and i wish he never gives up. I told him that in 10 years i wouldnt be surprised if he becomes a star.

Video

We are both dancing to a drum solo. We have interpreted it in our own ways here.

My opinions

I find that male bellydancers can execute steps better as they have stronger muscles. And i admire some male bellydancers as well. The reason i put up this video is to show that male bellydancers do exist and they should be equally respected. The good side of being a male dancer is that you probably would be less sexually exploited. Many people have got bad idea of a female dancer. But i guess its less for  male. You tend to look less sexually at one. I would definitely encourage bellydance to men. Its a great form of exercise and there’s nothing gay about it. It just how the more westernised part of the world look at it. If you look deeply into history its their cultural dance and women, men, kids and even the old dance it.

I hope that this impressions change and people would actually encourage this art form to develop amog men as well. To me, male bellydancers execute the more fascinating n magical steps of bellydance.Perhaps looking more mysterious rather than the feminine bellydancer.

When i think of a male bellydancer. I think of someoe who does mysterious tricks rather than do the more feminine parts of the artform. Again this is my opinion. Its up to people to intrepret.

Updates

Well i guess its important to update about my life as well. My good friend Ray and i attended the MPA workshop and we managed to meet some awesome directors from Hollywood. And the good news is we won a story pitch comepetition. It was an amazing experience getting encouragement from director who made. Well we were most happy when they said we were gifted in comedy. I hope to remmeber that whenever i do work. Well you guys know, apart from bellydance i am a film maker. It will be great to see your feedback on my film making stuff as well. Cos your comments grew me as a dancer and perhaps you comments can help me grow better as a film maker. So you can expect to see some of my stuff along with the belly vids. I had this weird fascination over Ramon Menendez cos he reminded me of spaghetti westerns so much! N he is such a funny guy looool. Well he apparently directed “Stand & Deliver”. Im hell curious to watch it. But these film makers are sooo humble and nice. They dont have the “attitude” you expect them to have. And yes i missed school for this workshop.

Maybe i will upload the crazy comical side of me soon. lol.

 

(Tom Musca, Ramon Menendez & Ira Deutchman & the lawyer guy adrian smtg smtg)

(Joshua ray and i )

Requests

Well the next request im gonna do is to dance to a drum solo by Tommy Tabla. I have quite a handful of requests still. So i;ll try my best to fulfill all of them over the time. But do keep sending in your suggestions. It will take time, but i will fulfill dem. Do send me comments, feedback and subscribe to me. I’ll be uploading alot more.

BELLYDANCE COSTUMES 101

This is a request by Maggie. I am sorry i took long to do this cos i had to do some research on this topic. Most of the opinions on this video are not from costume experts. These are opinions i formed and learnt through mistakes and experiences when performing. So i hope its useful for you people.

Importance of Costumes

Costumes are very vital when it comes to dance. If you observe traditional dances carefully… you can see deep thought put into costumes. Like how flamenco flowing skirts add dimenison to dance or how ballet costumes make the dancer look so nimble. Costumes are about illusions. Bellydance costumes create illusions as well. But there are so many types of costumes, beaded, coined, fringed. Its always important as a dancer to get a few types of costumes. Professional costumes are very expensive. But there are ways to cheat thru. Mix and match cotumes. Buy a bra…and match it up with a belt you got somewhere else. Or sew your own.

As i mentioned in this video, its important to look at yourself and see what will suit you or flatter you well. Just beacuse a costume looks beautiful, it does not necessarily need to be beautiful on you. That is why looking at your body type/ character is very important when choosing costume.What you wear is who you are on stage.

Also look at the genre of dance you are doing and whether it works well with you. Get a few types of skirts, tight, flowing ones. This can be very useful for you!

Colorwheel & tones

This is smtg i learnt from my makeup artist friend. She mentioned that each of us have a undertone and we have to neautralise it with certain colors. Some of us have a yellow undertone and certain colors will be a NO NO to you. One good way to is to find your tone at a makeup outlet. What colors are bad? Do you have too much red in your undertone…so red will just make you look bad? I have a friend with too much red…so she needs a costume that can neatralise it. So red will be a NO NO for her!

COMFORT

I have to keep stressing about comfort. Many of us make a bad decision with costume. We spend 100s on a costume…but dont spend enough time thinking whether you feel comfy in it. Its better to get something comfy than trying to spend more time perfecting it to suit you. Also perfecting costumes are added costs. So think and think well before splurging on your next costume.

My style

Most of my costumes are mix and matched by myself. I dont buy a profesional costume. Cos i cant get ones with sleeves so my only option is to buy here and there and match it. I also believe in looking unique. Cos thats your identity and its important to have your own style in clothing. For an example, Rachel Brice’s tribal costumes. Most importantly, dress according to your character that feels like your own skin. Its much better than trying to compromise into fitting into a certain image.

My advice…

Dont rush when buying costumes. They are expensive. I made mistakes. In fact my most expensive outfit…i cant wear it at all. Firstly, its very low and i thought i could alter and cover more chest. But i have to get it sewn on. Thats expesive. Also the costume is very uncomfy to dance with. So its a total waste.I can only pose for photographs using it. Its very useful for that though lol

Personal attacks and the pain i go through making my vids…

Well many people advise me not to write my personal life on a public blog where people can get their hands on. But i feel its important i share some part of me with people who bother to subscribe and comment on my videos. Making videos are not easy. I face a handful of problems. Just as i get praise for my work…i do get negativity. Especially from my own friends perhaps not my family though. I come from a conservative society that finds it difficult to digest my semi nakedism in my videos and my performances.

Even then…what keeps me going is the positive comments. Some of my friends feel shocked and upset about my work here not quite understanding my noble intentions. I am not saying i am doing this solely for the benefit of the world. I’ll be honest…i started dance to cope with my brother’s death and also my health. Later on, i just wanted to share it on a blog. I never quite knew that this would get attention. I believe if this could help me…it can help any women or men.

Many people who have subscribed to me understand i am not dancing for attention. Maybe people find it hard to accept a dancer or look down upon a dancer and associate them with whores. I’ll just tell one thing. A women who covers up isnt a saint…and a woman who shows off her body isnt a whore either. I dance for myself and its an expression and it makes me human. I bet many dance artists go though this as well.

I feel i should share the pain i go through in putting this up. Its sadder to face cricisms from your own friends than unknown people. Really.

I;ll thank everyone who supports my blog and my videos. And yes i will continue helping the bellydance community. I dont mind giving information for free. Dance to me isnt a business but an education. Education can never be spread well if one has money on their mind.

I have a few more requests to fulfill, Your requests are not forgotten. I am working on them. So im pretty filled for now. So do wait patiently. I take requests seriously…

Sabreena