Thread: Belly dancers with eyeglasses?

Ok, this girl with glasses wants to know:

Aside from reflective surfaces sometimes obscuring an audience's ability to see one's eyes, are there any reasons, cultural or otherwise, why a dancer should not wear eyeglasses for performing? I saw a dancer perform with glasses on about a year ago. I found it charming and real.

I dance mostly Am Cab/Egyptian cab mix and sometimes do fusion-y stuff. I have stylish and flattering frames. In the past for performing I've worn contacts or just danced a little blind (which is great for people with stage fright, ha ha). Also, I wouldn't be planning a veil routine or anything slightly head tossing or wild, as I am aware I have the ability to make glasses fly off or get caught on silk. ..g.:

Any thoughts?

Blind-as-a-bat-without-glasses contingent weighing in: I don't like 'em for performance. To me, it reads: Not ready for prime time. Sort of like if you didn't do your hair or makeup.

I had some single-vision disposable contacts that I used for performance for awhile but now I prefer the fuzzy vision thing.

I have to wear eyeglasses (I'm pretty much blind without them). I could never dance without them, or contacts ... I've had problems catching them with my fingers and having them go flying in the past so I don't even practice wearing them, let alone perform with them on! Also (and this is just me) I hate wearing them. I don't feel good about myself as an Entertainer when I wear them at all. So, that's another reason why I wouldn't wear them for a show. I'd wear contacts all the time if I could ...

Having said all that, I don't see why you or anyone else couldn't wear glasses for a show, if you are comfortable wearing them. Actually, I think eyeglasses could work well for fusion or Tribal dance - you could make them work with the costume, depending on the frames. Not sure about Egyptian or AmCab though - just my personal opinion - I think glasses would detract from the overall image. *ducks for cover*

Ah, I have this issue. I actually have to be careful to take my glasses off at least 10 minutes before I go on so my eyes can adjust; otherwise it messes up my balance. I won't perform with them on even though my sight is not the best. I just think they are too visually distracting and with fancy cabaret costumes they seem to look quite incongruous.

For tribal style dancers, I do think smallish wire-rimmed glasses in an antique-looking shape (oval, rectangular, octagonal) look pretty good. For a cabaret costume, rimless glasses (just the lenses attached to thin metal bows) seem the least intrusive. I have seen some I thought were just the ultimate option: rimless glasses with tiny rhinestones set in the lenses around the edges (that's not set in the bows mind you, but actually in the lenses). Of course they were just mega-expensive.
Rosette

It depends.

Are you dancing at the amateur level or the pro level?

If you're doing amateur shows such as haflas which are attended primarily by the local belly dance community, I think they're fine so long as you have stylish frames - which you said you do. But ask yourself this - do you want audience members to remember your performance as "the one with the glasses" or do you prefer that they remember you in a different way?

But for pro level? I'd say no. A professional dancer, regardless of style, is expected to take the audience above the mundane, into a world of Something Else, whether that something be a glamorous Egyptian or American Classic fantasy, a dark Goth haunted mood, etc. Glasses are part of the mundane. People who hire belly dancers expect that their $200 will buy them a vision of glamor, and let's face it, the word "glamor" is not the first thing that springs to mind when you look at a photo of someone wearing glasses.

I personally wear contact lenses, and they've worked great for me. Admittedly there was the time I was performing at the clothing-optional resort, when my hand brushed the corner of my eye "just so" and my lens came out and landed on the floor. Imagine a group of semi-clad naturists on their hands and knees trying to help find the rogue contact lens.... But that's a story for another day!

I hope my eyes stay good enough to dance without them. I think *I* look better without glasses, and they bother me. Then again, I have only needed them for about 5-6 years now, and mostly for driving. But I've seen some people look just fine performing with glasses.

Maybe I can find me some frames with some serious rhinestone bling, because contacts will never be an option. *shudder* things touching eyes *shudder*

Generally, I guess I'd go with what the others are saying--glasses usually seem a little...undone. As Shira said, if you're dancing as a professional, part of what you're doing is taking the audience beyond the "mundane" and creating almost a fantasy image.

But, I think many rules were made to be broken. Though for general performances maybe contacts or "blind dancing" would be better, I could see the right costume, right music, with everything else totally glammed up doing some kind of "hot librarian" look. Or who knows...maybe with the right frames and makeup you could start your own trend. (Heck, if Rachel Brice or Dina wore glasses for a performance, all kinds of young belly-ettes with 20-20 vision would decend on the drugstore looking for glasses frames. ;-) But for general purposes....

Originally Posted by kim sakkara

Also, I wouldn't be planning a veil routine or anything slightly head tossing or wild, as I am aware I have the ability to make glasses fly off or get caught on silk. ..g.:

Any thoughts?

..l;, ..l;, ..l;, I just had a mental image of "Rec-specs for belly dancers"--you know, those big wrap-around glasses with elastic headbands that some basketball players wear that look like goggles? ...Only hot pink and with rhinestones...! It's what all the fashionable near-sighted dancers are wearing for khalgeey and zar these days!

I can't wear contacts (eye tumor thing; wearing contacts will literally make me go blind quicker) so I choose to go onstage without eye correction, but I think if a dancer is going to go on stage wearing glasses, they should at least have sequins and rhinestones that match her costume (just like all her other accessories). ;)

Originally Posted by nasila

I think if a dancer is going to go on stage wearing glasses, they should at least have sequins and rhinestones that match her costume (just like all her other accessories). ;)

Images of Edna Evrage come to mind ..l;,

Originally Posted by *Shira*

Admittedly there was the time I was performing at the clothing-optional resort, when my hand brushed the corner of my eye "just so" and my lens came out and landed on the floor. Imagine a group of semi-clad naturists on their hands and knees trying to help find the rogue contact lens.... But that's a story for another day!

..l;, ..l;, ..l;, ..l;,

Oh Shira, that's one of the best performance mishap stories I've heard in a long time! I'm a contact lens wearer, too -- I'll have to watch out for this one!

I completely agree with what you said about the expectation of glamour and a dancer taking the audience to a level above the mundane. How often do you see performers in any other genre of dance going onstage with glasses? (I can hardly think of any occasion.)

To me, a dancer who goes onstage wearing glasses just looks like she didn't remember to take them off. (Makes me think of a play we were doing when I was in high school, when one of the actors who was dressed and elaborately made up as an ancient Chinese mythological figure came this close to going onstage with his glasses on.) About a year ago I saw someone -- who was wearing a marvelous costume and appeared to be a seasoned performer, not a student starting out -- performing with her glasses on and I thought it looked very odd.

Thanks, everyone, for all your feedback. I think I have decided that I'm either going to be ContactsGirl or "I can't see people's eyebrows" Girl. I think aamel_MirahAmmal hit on the subtext of what I was trying to suss out--could glasses become fashionable in the context of Am Cab or Egyptian style belly dance? While dressing up frames with rhinestones sounds like a possibility, I agree that glasses are just going to look out of place. But, if I ever do tribal style I am happy to know there's a place for my glasses in that genre.

From Shira: If you're doing amateur shows such as haflas which are attended primarily by the local belly dance community, I think they're fine so long as you have stylish frames - which you said you do. But ask yourself this - do you want audience members to remember your performance as "the one with the glasses" or do you prefer that they remember you in a different way?

I am definitely amateur level, *Shira*. Good point! I think I'd rather not draw even more attention to my inexperience performing by wearing a mundane accessory. It is enough of a challenge not to fatally wrap my veil around a microphone stand, or to avoid falling over the stage. Self-depreciating humor aside, thanks for the excellent points.

Oh, and aamel_MirahAmmal? Goggles during zaar dances.....l;, It will happen!

Amaya had one of her workshop attendees take off her glasses to perform at the evenings hafla. She seemed so aloof and cold during the workshop (thick heavy yet stylish frames and a distant manner on top of it) but when she took them off to dance that night, the eye contact was amazing. Warm and passionate. It changed my mind from..hey, thats jst the way she is to...please, take them off so I can really see you.

I'm ITA with the people who said that pro dancers need to leave the glasses off. I danced blind as a bat for three years until I finally went and got contacts. I started to perform a lot and I was always worried that my glasses would get lost or broken while I was performing, and then how would I ever drive home?

I remember how totally weird it was the first time I wore my contacts and could actually see people's faces, as opposed to just fuzzy circles at the tops of their bodies. It took a few performances to get used to crystal clear clarity, but now I absolutely love it.

I did see a tribal fusion dancer one time in these funky cats-eye frames, and I actually thought she left them on on purpose. It kind of did work with the costume she was wearing. But later on she told me she had just f0rgotten to take them off and was mortified. Makes you wonder, though, what might happen if Rachel Brice started wearing glasses on stage!

I prefer to see bellydancers without eyeglasses but I do realize that there are some individuals that are not able to wear contacts and it is not nice to not be able to see your audience if you take your glasses off. I wear contacts and very seldom wear my glasses - mainly for just around home. Glasses can look beautiful on a person, though - especially like some said if they get glitter and such on the frames.

As a tribal dancer, I did perform in my glasses and felt comfortable doing so. When I joined a more cabaret troupe, I was asked if I minded wearing contacts, as they are going for a more glamorous look. So I wear contacts when I perform in more oriental style. In fact, I wear my contacts most days, now.

I love to see a person in stylish glasses in real life, but I agree that they do appear too mundane in performance.

Also, they interfere with your expression. When you're talking to someone up close, well-chosen classes can frame your eyes nicely and draw more attention to them, but when you're not right in front of the person, they obscure your eyes.

Your eyes are so important to your overall expression that it would be a real liability to hide them.

(And while I'm on that topic, I highly recommend darkening your eyebrows with a pencil, powder, gel, mascara, etc. Makes your expression MUCH more readable.)

<puts on the flame-retardant bedlah>

I have ongoing issues with contacts lenses and a recurring eye virus (imagine throwing out your eye makeup after every show- that was my life last year), so I find I wear my glasses more often than I would like. But, they're Versace frames with extra bling (and they fit very securely, so they're not going to fly off). I think they have a similar glam level as a Pharaonics or Sim costume.

I wouldn't wear them for a pro gig or big show- I suffer through the contacts for those rare occassions. For small shows, or if I'm performing for people I know well (who know I'm blind as a bat and wouldn't recognize me without them anyway), or if it's a troupe thing, I feel comfortable wearing them.

I'd rather dance with them on than not dance at all. Besides, if anybody comments on them (and nobody ever has), I'll know I didn't have enough rhinestones on that night.

The first couple student shows I did wear my glasses on stage but have since taken to dancing blind. The only time I've had trouble is getting onto stage at some venues but had a troupe mate lead me to the edge of the stage. If it is too dark in the wings, I can't see cables or other things that I may trip on on the floor. I prefer dancing without them for safety reasons. While I have thick lenses, I have nightmares of someone (including myself) stepping on them and cutting their foot on the broken lenses. I did make one exception a couple years ago for a comedy routine we did. I took an old pair of glasses and decorated them with stick on rhinestones (cheap plastic ones at that) that matched my outlandish color combination. It gave the desired effect and I only lost an earring that I borrowed from another dancer.

Ok, maybe I have a different perspective here since I've had glasses since I was seven WEEKS old. (born with cataracts, and therefore have no lens in my eye)

I just got RGP contacts a little over a year ago, and love them for dancing. I've danced in both glasses and contacts (amature who occassionally gets paid for small gatherings...) I would say it is easier in contacts, but I could do EVERYTHING, veil, cane, wings with glasses. If glasses are part of a person's look, wear them. I cannot imagine dancing without vision correction.

If you have glasses that fit securely and you are comfortable with them, losing them should not be a concern.

my experience:
glasses would fly off my face after one spirited turn. forget hair tossing.

contacts don't work for me b/c towards the end of a long set, the perspiration can get in my eyes and under my contacts - mixed with makeup. there aren't words to express the pain! i could only turn to the band and hope the tears were enough to clear the situation before i turned around again.
painful & not worth it.

i have danced without vision correction for years. no big deal. just scope out the venue ahead of time with your glasses on.

Hi, Kim, Maia here!

My kids wear RPG contacts at night that correct their vision during the day; it's called Paragon CRT:

Paragon CRT

It isn't cheap, but they get new lenses every couple of years, and their vision during the day is 20/20. Had they had this technology before I got LASIK, I probably would have done this instead.

When I was preparing for LASIK, I had to leave my lenses out for over a year; I danced blind that whole time. (And I mean LEGALLY BLIND in BOTH EYES!!!) Hated it, but couldn't imagine doing glasses with bedlah. (I was dancing three restaurant jobs at the time, and knew where I was; however, I did step on more than my share of icky things during that year...) Was ever so relieved to see clearly once the LASIK was done; now I have to wear glasses for long distance detail vision, but I can basically see fine when dancing.

You are so adorable you could probably get away with anything; but it is a question of comfort, too...

Maia, thank you so much for sharing that valuable Paragon CRT information. I had no idea this technology exists and that it is available to children as well as adults. (Why am I paying for a newspaper subscription when I learn more on Bhuz?)

-Devora

Originally Posted by sabrinabellydancer

i have danced without vision correction for years. no big deal. just scope out the venue ahead of time with your glasses on.

I managed to do that last night at a community show. Didn't take the glasses off until the very last moment, and that worked out ok. People's faces were still blurry, but I felt comfortable knowing that the floor was clean and the stage well lit. Thanks for your post. : )

Originally Posted by jmdruadh

(And while I'm on that topic, I highly recommend darkening your eyebrows with a pencil, powder, gel, mascara, etc. Makes your expression MUCH more readable.)

Definitely! Been using the eyebrow pencil for years. What an amazing difference...

Originally Posted by maiaraqs

Hi, Kim, Maia here!

My kids wear RPG contacts at night that correct their vision during the day; it's called Paragon CRT:

Paragon CRT

It isn't cheap, but they get new lenses every couple of years, and their vision during the day is 20/20. Had they had this technology before I got LASIK, I probably would have done this instead.

When I was preparing for LASIK, I had to leave my lenses out for over a year; I danced blind that whole time. (And I mean LEGALLY BLIND in BOTH EYES!!!) Hated it, but couldn't imagine doing glasses with bedlah. (I was dancing three restaurant jobs at the time, and knew where I was; however, I did step on more than my share of icky things during that year...) Was ever so relieved to see clearly once the LASIK was done; now I have to wear glasses for long distance detail vision, but I can basically see fine when dancing.

You are so adorable you could probably get away with anything; but it is a question of comfort, too...

Hi Maia! Thanks for the info. Although I'm pretty sure I'm going to stick with glasses and contacts for a while, I'll be sure to look into this.

And adorable? Me? :blushes:

Hey all,

I'm relieved that no one has mentioned any cultural reasons for not wearing eyeglasses in performance, aside from the "spoiling the mystique" angle. After this discussion I will not be wearing my glasses at any performance, but it's reassuring that if I somehow had to I wouldn't accidentally offend anyone non-American.

I have practiced with my glasses on and have no problems with them getting in the way or falling off. In everyday life, I wear contacts about 70% of the time (more in the summer because I don't have prescription sunglasses) but I have never performed in them. I don't like the way heavier makeup looks with my glasses on (they're cute brown plastic frames so they become the focal point) and I just feel different when I wear them.

As much as I would like to say wear glasses, I think I would have to reflect what most ladies are saying. It's not the "glamourous" look that most are thinking of when they book a dancer. That said, there are certain venues and styles where glasses would be totally fine. But at least make sure they're nice, stylish, glamourous frames to reflect your fabulous self!

I wear glasses everyday but i take them off when performing. i'm near sighted so it isn't so bad besides it makes me less nervous performing.
I can't wear contacts and i am not a good candiate for lasik surgery.
That reminds me it is time to do my yearly eye checkup...

Alrana

I've never seen a dancer with 'regular' glasses so cannot really give an opinion about that. But the picture of LiliGamal in her black mini and Chanel sunglasses comes to mind and that looked just stunning!

B

I personally wear contact lenses, and they've worked great for me. Admittedly there was the time I was performing at the clothing-optional resort, when my hand brushed the corner of my eye "just so" and my lens came out and landed on the floor. Imagine a group of semi-clad naturists on their hands and knees trying to help find the rogue contact lens.... But that's a story for another day![/QUOTE]


BWAHAHAHAHA! Aw, come on Shira we wants to hear this one! ,r:; ..l;, ,r:;
And, I agree - for a pro performance, glasses do not fit the image at all and even if at a festival, will stand out and hard to really blend with costuming. Come to think of it, I've attended many of the S.F. Ethnic Dance Festivals over the years - these are not necessarily all pro dancers but all different types of dance from Irish step to Hula to Chinese to Philipino to belly dance and I've never seen even one dancer with glasses! And there had to be some who wear them who maybe can't wear contacts for whatever reason, but still - no glasses on any performers.
I think even at a festival it is distracting when a dancer wears glasses. And potentially could fly off during a spin - just not a great idea, IMO, but I've seen belly dancers with glasses, wristwatches, no eyemakeup, and you know, a very important part of the performance presentation is the costuming - so, I am not comfortable with any staged performance where the dancers choose to ignore these basics. Only exception would be just getting up and dancing during "open dance" at Rakkasah - there it is appropriate because it's not a "performance" - so of course one wouldn't expect costuming at all even though they are on stage they are just enjoying the live music as one would at a restaurant with a band. But performing is another whole thing.