Thread: Do you wear glasses when performing?

I've worn mine for hafla/open stage situations when I couldn't wear contacts due to eye health issues, and nobody cared. My glasses are very sparkly, too, and they fit really well (they're never going to fly off). The only reason why I even have contacts is for performing. My eyes are very dry, and I find contacts to be a really miserable experience otherwise.

On a paid troupe gig, though, I wouldn't wear them. People have an expectation of what a belly dancer should look like, and glasses don't fit in there.

Does anyone make glasses' chains to match their costumes?

blind as a bat, so contacts.

i dont like it when my students who normally wear glasses DONT wear them for student recitals, because they do see LESS that way... if they really want to get into performing, i encourage them to try out throw away lenses, but for student recitals, hafla, i prefer they were their glasses and SEE

when i first started performing i hated my lenses. i'm still not entirely comfortable so i often do teach in my glasses, but performing never,

wearing lenses rather than glasses for dancing dramatically improved my posture

there is a local tribal troupe here, where one of the dancers has glasses, and, well, it works for her and for the look, so never say never

Its a no.Glasses form a barrier between you and the audience.Your life and personality shines from your eyes.Never wear glasses to perform.

Restaurant,nightclub, paid gigs, theatre (pro or not) NO never..contacts in
hafla maybe
practise, class of course
Tribal mmmm

Originally Posted by Candi

Its a no.Glasses form a barrier between you and the audience.Your life and personality shines from your eyes.

Gee, I think you mean SUNGLASSES. The lenses in my glasses are clear, and you can still see my eyes through them. Actually, that's what allows me to see out of them.

Okay, here comes the rant...

Speaking as someone who is legally blind without glasses and has issues with refracting well with contacts, I think having NO FOCUS coming out of my eyes is a far bigger barrier to my audience than the glasses. A dancer who is stumbling around blind or squinting is much more distracting than looking like you always look--and when you wear glasses full time, other people become used to seeing them as just another part of your face like your nose and your teeth. I've had a number of people come up to me and specifically compliment me on the personality, facial expressions, and emotional delivery I've put on stage, so obviously it is not a fact that wearing glasses always ruins a performance for the audience. Admittedly, I am not auditioning to steal Dina's job at the Semiramis--I'm doing student shows, events aimed mostly at other dancers, and local cultural freebies--but isn't that what the majority of dancers in the world do? Most of us aren't top-echelon performers who support ourselves full time as professional nightclub-stage dancers.

I am so sick of this taboo of wearing glasses. Yes, this is a performance art, but so is singing, acting, being a comedian, or playing a musical instrument, and those performers get to wear glasses on stage. Yes, you can look like Little Orphan Annie under stage lights if you don't splurge for the anti-reflective coating on your lens, but it's just another $60 to fix that problem.

This is about dancing. It is not a contest to see who has the least amount of astigmatism or a hazing ritual imposed by other dancers to see if someone like me is stupid enough to shred the corneas of their eyeballs with hard lenses, when they're really not a good clinical option. I'm getting up on stage to demonstrate how I interpret Middle Eastern music with a traditional movement vocabulary. If I want someone to pass judgment on my visual impairment while I'm dancing, I'll get a gig at an ophthalmologist convention.

(Continued...)

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I would rather see a good dancer in street clothes and eyeglasses than bad dancer in a Madame Abla and no glasses. But the public doesn't expect glasses! So freakin' what?! The public doesn't expect 99% of what it's getting from the dance community, and that doesn't seem to be stopping anybody else. Not too long ago (not saying where/when/who), I was talking to another dancer who was telling me about how a friend had arranged for her to do a bellygram at a place of business, and I remember thinking, "Oh, dear. Your audience must have been quite surprised to see you show up! Ha! How do I love thee? Let me count the ways: You're not particularly pretty, you're middle aged, and you wear your straggly, long, salt-and-pepper hair like a witch in an old cartoon. I've never seen you in a costume where your pasty-white gut wasn't flabbing at least three inches over the top of your belt. You have the personality of a limp dishrag on stage, and I'd be complimenting you on your technique and musical interpretation if I said you looked 'mechanical and emotionally detached.'" But, hey, at least she wasn't wearing GLASSES, because the audience was expecting to see a "belly dancer," and we all know everything else about her was a perfect match to the stereotype.

Give me a break. I'll take the "no glasses" thing seriously when we start enforcing the other physical requirements to meet the public's perception of a belly dancer. Call me when you start throwing dancers off the stage for being ugly, fat, over the age of 25, or covered with piercings and tattoos like a sideshow freak. Why does all of the open-minded, everybody-can-do-it-because-this-is-a-people's-dance, empowerment talk always stop at the eye chart?

I wear glasses, I hate wearing contacts. When I dance, I dance blind.The audience merges into one big, faceless blob. Now I can't see them, my stage fright goes away! haha..

I was looking though some photos of belly dancers I took a while ago, and I notice at least one of the dancers was wearing glasses at the show. I didn't even notice at the time. I'm used to seeing people wear glasses all the time, so it doesn’t bother me when I see a belly dancer wear them.

Telling a dancer not to wear glasses because the audience won't expect it would be like telling someone not to wear her prosthetic leg. There's a reason people wear glasses - they need them to function!

Originally Posted by Tourbeau

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Seriously, if you want to be a pro, and you want to work at the highest level, then you are going to have to be an amazing performer to overcome the resistance to wearing glasses,!

If you want to be a pro, at the highest level or any professional level, you cannot wear glasses....period. It's not acceptable. If it were acceptable, you would see well known dancers wearing them. Spectacles don't look good on a professional bellydancer, or any pro dancer for that matter. Can you imagine Swan Lake's Odette/Odile performing in specs? I think not.

Student recitals and haflahs, ok. Professional arena... big no no.

Originally Posted by Tourbeau

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I would rather see a good dancer in street clothes and eyeglasses than bad dancer in a Madame Abla and no glasses. But the public doesn't expect glasses! So freakin' what?! The public doesn't expect 99% of what it's getting from the dance community, and that doesn't seem to be stopping anybody else. Not too long ago (not saying where/when/who), I was talking to another dancer who was telling me about how a friend had arranged for her to do a bellygram at a place of business, and I remember thinking, "Oh, dear. Your audience must have been quite surprised to see you show up! Ha! How do I love thee? Let me count the ways: You're not particularly pretty, you're middle aged, and you wear your straggly, long, salt-and-pepper hair like a witch in an old cartoon. I've never seen you in a costume where your pasty-white gut wasn't flabbing at least three inches over the top of your belt. You have the personality of a limp dishrag on stage, and I'd be complimenting you on your technique and musical interpretation if I said you looked 'mechanical and emotionally detached.'" But, hey, at least she wasn't wearing GLASSES, because the audience was expecting to see a "belly dancer," and we all know everything else about her was a perfect match to the stereotype.

Give me a break. I'll take the "no glasses" thing seriously when we start enforcing the other physical requirements to meet the public's perception of a belly dancer. Call me when you start throwing dancers off the stage for being ugly, fat, over the age of 25, or covered with piercings and tattoos like a sideshow freak. Why does all of the open-minded, everybody-can-do-it-because-this-is-a-people's-dance, empowerment talk always stop at the eye chart?

I love your scathing observations...and you do have a point, and yes, a dancer should not have to adhere to what is considered the aesthetic norm...because hell, what is the norm? But the reality is that dancers are expected to adhere to what is perceived as the aesthetic, particularly when they put themselves out as a professional dancer. It goes hand in hand with them also being expected to be able to dance well and have good technique and quality costuming, grooming etc. Let's face it, the top notchers would hardly be the top notchers if they had salt and pepper hair, muffin tops, cellulite, shabby costumes, no teeth, and re-entry shields over their eyes. A dancer is expected to be the whole package.

Having poor eyesight is something we cannot help. But even the most 'nude' glasses, or even those blinged up to look the part, don't wear well on a dancer. I don't foresee this changing for the future....ever. Sad, but true.

Originally Posted by Karnak

I was looking though some photos of belly dancers I took a while ago, and I notice at least one of the dancers was wearing glasses at the show. I didn't even notice at the time. I'm used to seeing people wear glasses all the time, so it doesn’t bother me when I see a belly dancer wear them.

Telling a dancer not to wear glasses because the audience won't expect it would be like telling someone not to wear her prosthetic leg. There's a reason people wear glasses - they need them to function!

Us dancers are very kind to each other at haflahs and students shows, etc. But the public would be less kind in say, a restaurant setting or large event where they have paid good money to see a dancer. Hell, it's hard enough when someone is derogatory if you've got a cleavage, never mind any physical disabilities or glasses....

It's this all-inclusive thing isn't it? We are told this is an all-inclusive dance. You can be fat,skinny,blonde,black partially sighted,etc etc and still belly dance. Now we all know that's morally right and no-one has any problem with anyone with those "negatives" as a student. BUT get out there in the big world and you'll get;
No place for the bonny girl in the restaurant.
People will ask a slender girl "Where's yer belly,love?"

"White" girls get"You ain't an Arab..how can you do it?"
Black girls get "You don't look like Jeannie as well as you ain't Arab!"
and until a glamorous big timer comes out in a pair of specs and gets away with it, a pro is stuck with contacts.
The pro world is not all-inclusive.

I'd wear mine. If we're talking about what's more attractive...well, I look funny without glasses. (It's hard to tell when attempting to look at myself in the mirror--difficult to get the full picture of your face when your nose is on the glass--but that's the impression I get.) I just feel like my face looks "blank." I suppose it could be that I'm just used to myself with glasses, but I've seen some of my pics when I went through my "glasses aren't attractive" phase in middle school and my face definitely looks weird without them...if I liked the way I looked without glasses it'd be one thing, but I just don't.

I doubt they'd fall off. If I can do Highland dance (a bunch of constant jumping up and down--think jumping rope or doing jumping jacks or something) and figure skating with them not budging, certainly i could do anything...

As far as contacts, I've never had any interest in them whatsoever, and doubt I'd be willing to put out the money and effort just for dance performances...

Heck no! I can imagine them flying off and smashing into some poor kids eye! I'm legally blind w/o my glasses or contacts but I find dancing blind is my secret weapon to dancing better! Not seeing people allows me to forgo stage fright and give a better range of emotion, but that's just me and my HO.

This is a fascinating thread.

I'm also -8.5 in one eye and -9 in another. You should see the magnification on my makeup mirror, you wouldn't believe it. To perform, I have throw-away contact lenses. They don't work very well, because I wear BIFOCALS. So the measly -8 in each lens not only can't correct my nearsightedness, it also means that once they are on I have NO CLOSE VISION either. Nice, huh? I used to wear contacts to go out in -- my eyes are too dry to wear them all the time -- but now if I do, I can't read menus in restaurants!

So given how sucky the contacts are, why do I wear them to perform? Well... I'll put it this way. I am only a high-intermediate dancer. I'm not fabulous. Also I'm not all that pretty. And I'm not all that thin. And I don't have the best costumes. So given all the OTHER strikes against me given What the Public Expects, I decided to remove the one I have the most control over, and I wear the semi-functional contacts.

I already have to feel like anyone who watches me dance is "tolerating" me. May as well make it infinitesimally easier for them.

Originally Posted by tigerb

So given how sucky the contacts are, why do I wear them to perform? Well... I'll put it this way. I am only a high-intermediate dancer. I'm not fabulous. Also I'm not all that pretty. And I'm not all that thin. And I don't have the best costumes. So given all the OTHER strikes against me given What the Public Expects, I decided to remove the one I have the most control over, and I wear the semi-functional contacts.

Oh, this is so sad to read! If you are a high-intermediate dancer, you should be aware that there is so much more to this dance than a pretty face on a hot body in a couture costume. If you are trying to get GP gigs, then, yes, you have to take into account that the GP consists largely of idiots who wouldn't recognize good dancing if it hit them over the head, and they are easily impressed by flash over substance. If you are performing at dance events aimed mostly at other dancers, then obsessing over failures to obtain the grandest of trappings is a waste of time, IMHO. A respectable effort--looking stage-presentable, competently trained, and appropriately dressed--should be sufficient.

I already have to feel like anyone who watches me dance is "tolerating" me. May as well make it infinitesimally easier for them.

If you feel like people have to "tolerate" you, then get whatever training you need to fix this: private dance lessons, cross training in another performing art, a couple of sessions with a life coach,.... No one should be getting on stage with such a defeatist attitude. If you love this dance, want to perform it, and feel you have something to say, then get out there and say it proudly. I, for one, refuse to accept the possibility that I have nothing to contribute as an artist because my eyeballs are unfortunately dysfunctional. Either the audience likes my dancing, my feeling for the music, and the personality I bring to my performances, or they don't. If they can't see past a few cosmetic imperfections, then that's their baggage, not mine.

Originally Posted by Tourbeau

If you feel like people have to "tolerate" you, then get whatever training you need to fix this: private dance lessons, cross training in another performing art, a couple of sessions with a life coach,.... No one should be getting on stage with such a defeatist attitude. If you love this dance, want to perform it, and feel you have something to say, then get out there and say it proudly.

This is excellent advice. Don't feel like I'm picking on you Tigerb (esp b/c I want this to sound encouraging), but just generally, there is no room in this dance for that attitude. If the dancer feels that way, then the audience can (usually) tell. I admit to being a pretty intolerant person, so if I get the feeling that I have to put up with you just cause you're there, I'm not going to be entertained. Your dancing is a gift. I feel gratitude towards the dancer.

The last time I went to a dinner show, the food was good, my friends were fun, but I felt that watching the dancer was a privilege. She was immensely confident and if she didn't know that we were lucky to have her for 20 minutes, she faked it very well. I'm not talking arrogance, I mean genuine pride.

I can't tell you how many dancers who most certainly do not fit this public expectation have seriously left a lasting impression on me and everyone who watched. Be that dancer!

:soapbox:

The glasses issue is related. I have glasses that I wear during the day, but they're super thick and I see better out of contacts, so that's what I wear for shows. Also, I know for a fact that at the first spin, my glasses will launch across the room. Would I get hired if I wore my glasses? Who knows, but I would have to guess no.

Ideally I would say challenge perspectives! Fight the system! But if you want to get hired, then realistically you have to expect that glasses *could* be an impediment.

Originally Posted by Tourbeau

If you are performing at dance events aimed mostly at other dancers, then obsessing over failures to obtain the grandest of trappings is a waste of time, IMHO. A respectable effort--looking stage-presentable, competently trained, and appropriately dressed--should be sufficient.

If you feel like people have to "tolerate" you, then get whatever training you need to fix this: private dance lessons, cross training in another performing art, a couple of sessions with a life coach,.... No one should be getting on stage with such a defeatist attitude.

Ah, but clearly I am not obsessing over them, because I'm trying to do the best I can with what I've got.

I don't get on the stage with a defeatist attitude; I try to get on the stage with a realistic attitude, so as to avoid disappointment. When I do perform, I perform to share my version of this dance. I try to go out prepared not to get the largest round of applause of the night. I try to go out prepared to not be the perfect image of a bellydancer. I know that I am not. If I pretended that I were, it would be kind of silly. I'm just trying to entertain and have fun within my own limitations.

Whether or not you wear glasses to dance is part of physical appearance, yes? Don't we spend a lot of time analyzing how we look for this dance? Don't we spend time on this board talking about how people should wear something flattering to their own shape, that it should fit well? How we should do our hair, what makeup we should wear?

At the same time, we also tell people to be realistic. You find a costume you love, but it is two sizes too small for you -- don't wear it. It's great to wear false eyelashes, but you're allergic to the glue -- don't wear them!

It's the same with glasses: if you can safely go without them, it might look nicer if you don't wear them. But if you prefer to wear them -- well, it's not like the Bellydance Police are going to come after you!

As far as people tolerating me -- well, I feel like I have to tolerate my own dancing. Would I like to be better? Sure! But I have physical limitations to taking more lessons. I don't feel like it's being defeatist to say I'm never going to be the best bellydancer in my town. I think it's realistic given my situation. My goal is not to be the best dancer in town. My goal is to be a good dancer and to enjoy my dancing.

Originally Posted by LeylaFahada

The last time I went to a dinner show, the food was good, my friends were fun, but I felt that watching the dancer was a privilege. She was immensely confident and if she didn't know that we were lucky to have her for 20 minutes, she faked it very well. I'm not talking arrogance, I mean genuine pride.

I can't tell you how many dancers who most certainly do not fit this public expectation have seriously left a lasting impression on me and everyone who watched. Be that dancer!

:soapbox:

Nicely soapboxed.

I'm told I do fake it pretty well myself. This year I danced at a party for my dance teacher's wedding. I was terrified. I was outclassed by at least 50% of the other dancers (who were pros). (I mean, CRAP! I was dancing in the same show as Leila Gamal!) I felt sick. I thought I might pass out.

And then the music started. And I smiled and made my entrance. And I went for it.

Did I dance as well as Leila Gamal? God no! But I checked with my friends later and they assured me that I had not looked either terrified or sick; they said I looked like I was enjoying myself. So faking it apparently works pretty well for me!

Originally Posted by tigerb

Nicely soapboxed.

I'm told I do fake it pretty well myself. This year I danced at a party for my dance teacher's wedding. I was terrified. I was outclassed by at least 50% of the other dancers (who were pros). (I mean, CRAP! I was dancing in the same show as Leila Gamal!) I felt sick. I thought I might pass out.

And then the music started. And I smiled and made my entrance. And I went for it.

Did I dance as well as Leila Gamal? God no! But I checked with my friends later and they assured me that I had not looked either terrified or sick; they said I looked like I was enjoying myself. So faking it apparently works pretty well for me!

Well good I'm glad to hear it! I know sometimes I'm dying inside but I fake through it too

Originally Posted by tigerb

Whether or not you wear glasses to dance is part of physical appearance, yes? Don't we spend a lot of time analyzing how we look for this dance? Don't we spend time on this board talking about how people should wear something flattering to their own shape, that it should fit well? How we should do our hair, what makeup we should wear?

Under my circumstances, I feel like my glasses are as much a part of my face as my nose. Someone coming up to me after a show and telling me they would have liked my performance better if I had done something to avoid wearing glasses is no different than having them suggest I could improve the aesthetics of my performance with a rhinoplasty. I know I don't have the greatest eyes and maybe I don't have the greatest nose either--but it's my face, and I'm keeping it the way it is.

At the same time, we also tell people to be realistic. You find a costume you love, but it is two sizes too small for you -- don't wear it. It's great to wear false eyelashes, but you're allergic to the glue -- don't wear them!

The style of your glasses is mostly a matter of your personal taste. Wearing clothes that don't fit is a matter of knowing the proper size garments to buy. Wearing false eyelashes if you're allergic to the glue is the same category as needing glasses or a nose job. Nobody has a right to tell you to put your health at risk to improve your dance. One of the reasons we celebrate this dance is that we do not have the crazy pressure that drives ballet dancers to eating disorders.

As far as people tolerating me -- well, I feel like I have to tolerate my own dancing. Would I like to be better? Sure! But I have physical limitations to taking more lessons. I don't feel like it's being defeatist to say I'm never going to be the best bellydancer in my town. I think it's realistic given my situation. My goal is not to be the best dancer in town. My goal is to be a good dancer and to enjoy my dancing.

I believe each person has a maximum "personal best." Only a few folks ever achieve theirs, and a lot don't even try. No matter how good you are, there will always be someone better (or at least newer), so there is no point trying to judge yourself against others. Only work toward your own goal.

Originally Posted by Tourbeau

Under my circumstances, I feel like my glasses are as much a part of my face as my nose. Someone coming up to me after a show and telling me they would have liked my performance better if I had done something to avoid wearing glasses is no different than having them suggest I could improve the aesthetics of my performance with a rhinoplasty. I know I don't have the greatest eyes and maybe I don't have the greatest nose either--but it's my face, and I'm keeping it the way it is.

Hmm. I feel similarly about my glasses when they are off, "piece missing" -- in fact, if I take them off and leave them off for 15 minutes, I may well nod off, because to me "glasses off" means "fall asleep." My measly contacts only counter that somewhat.

However... I know that people who do NOT wear glasses don't get that. I once had a "friend" in high school seize my glasses off my face and hold them up where I couldn't reach them. He thought it was funny. I felt it was cruel -- and my glasses-wearing friends agreed.

But seriously, if someone who didn't know you well, a dance teacher you respected, came up after a show and said, "Beautiful dancing! And you are so pretty! Next time try it without the glasses!" -- would you seriously be offended and angry? Or would you just thank them for the compliment and sail on?

Originally Posted by tigerb

But seriously, if someone who didn't know you well, a dance teacher you respected, came up after a show and said, "Beautiful dancing! And you are so pretty! Next time try it without the glasses!" -- would you seriously be offended and angry? Or would you just thank them for the compliment and sail on?

Both. I would thank them for the compliment knowing that they meant it in a good way, but I would also be offended and I would lose some measure of respect for them because of it. Anyone in a position of such seniority or prestige that their unsolicited advice would be welcomed should know that this glasses attitude exists, and surely, if I could do without wearing them, I would. I should like to think when I get on stage, I present enough competence that someone watching me would realize I knew enough not to take the decision to wear glasses lightly. I don't mind if my glasses stand out for people in a way that they remember me in the same cosmetic sense as "the dancer in the blue costume" or "the dancer with the short, red hair," but if that's all they take away from my performance, then either I have failed as a dancer, or they have failed as an audience member.

Originally Posted by Tourbeau

Admittedly, I am not auditioning to steal Dina's job at the Semiramis--I'm doing student shows, events aimed mostly at other dancers, and local cultural freebies--but isn't that what the majority of dancers in the world do? Most of us aren't top-echelon performers who support ourselves full time as professional nightclub-stage dancers.

I think its okto wear glasses at amateur events likethe ones you described.

Originally Posted by Tourbeau

I am so sick of this taboo of wearing glasses.

It soundslike your issues with this "taboo" go alot deeper than whether a bellydancer should or shouldnt perform with them. Soundslike a pet peeve.

Originally Posted by Tourbeau

It is not... a hazing ritual imposed by other dancers to see if someone like me is stupid enough to shred the corneas of their eyeballs with hard lenses, when they're really not a good clinical option.

Um Ihave soft lenses that dont shredmy corneas. They dont correct my vision as well as hard lenses would because they dont correct my astigmatism but theyre adequate for performing. They let me see well enough to interact with the audience. Im not saying YOU need to buy osme - as I said above I think its fine to wear glasses for the types of perofrmances youre talking about if thats what makes you happy. I just think youre being a bit irrational in your statement that other dancers expect you to shred your corneas with hard lenses.

Originally Posted by AllyisLuma

I wear glasses, I hate wearing contacts. When I dance, I dance blind.The audience merges into one big, faceless blob. Now I can't see them, my stage fright goes away! haha..

lmao! i should try that. perhaps that will calm my nerve problem :P

Originally Posted by mysterywoman

It soundslike your issues with this "taboo" go alot deeper than whether a bellydancer should or shouldnt perform with them. Soundslike a pet peeve.

[...]I just think youre being a bit irrational in your statement that other dancers expect you to shred your corneas with hard lenses.

No, dancers who tell me I should replace my glasses with contacts or go "blind" because they can do so are being presumptuous and disrespectful of what has been a difficult and chronic medical situation for me for more than half of my life. When I was younger, I wore hard lenses that eventually resulted in corneal abrasions. I stopped wearing them for a while until a doctor convinced me to try gas permeables. Again, I had corneal abrasions. I tried moisturizing drops, changes to the curvature of the contact lenses, shortening the wear time to under six hours a day. I simply could not get a good combination of refraction and lens tolerance. No legitimate practitioner will sell me a soft lens because of my prescription. I can barely manage to correct to 20/40 in bifocals. Even if I had laser surgery, I would still need to wear glasses.

This is not a "pet peeve" for me any more than men getting preferential treatment is a "pet peeve" for feminists. The glasses issue is a ridiculous double standard. Professional performing aside, the fact remains that no one would dare go up to an amateur dancer at a hafla and tell her to get orthodontics or plastic surgery to correct any other "undesirable" aspects of her facial appearance, but dancers feel it is fair game to criticize glasses. Glasses don't ruin a performance. BAD DANCING DOES.

I have terrible vision, too, and wondered what most dancers would do in this situation. I'm nowhere near pro level, and don't know if I want to take it that far (but that would be pretty awesome!). I just wondered. I'm glad to see that there are people on both sides of the argument, truthfully. Now, I don't really feel as if I'm committing a serious faux pas if I decide to wear my glasses at a performance. If I'm doing fast spins or anything, I probably would switch to my contact lenses, though, unless I had my frames tightened or something the day before.