Thread: male custome suggestion plz

Hello!

iam new to belly dancing, and i would like suggestions for male customes, even i prefer the feminine customes.

i would appreciate your help

I see a lot of guys wearing vests with harem pants, often paired with a turban and a sash, scarf, or belt. Then there are some who wear very tight tops or half-top things, mostly Turkish dancers from what I can tell.

thank you so much
but do u think the more feminine the better its?

Originally Posted by meme2010

Hello!

iam new to belly dancing, and i would like suggestions for male customes, even i prefer the feminine customes.

i would appreciate your help

Harems and a hipscarf on bottom. on top, a vest if you are buff enough or confident enough to pull it off, a coordinating shirt with decorative collar if you are not. Turban.

We had a guy in my troupe in Indiana- he was NOT happy in the vest deal. So he had two costumes - one blue, one white. They consisted of a pair of harem pants, a shirt with a round collar, and a slit down the center, a hip scarf at the waist, and a turban. (The turban was premade, so he just slipped it on.)

This is a similar costume made by the same person, but I think without the hipscarf:
http://c4.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/i...d6c79ec2c3.jpg

I think that he is in this video: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RaSpOmGfkI]YouTube - Belly Dancing - Sisters of the Nile[/ame]

Originally Posted by meme2010

thank you so much
but do u think the more feminine the better its?

It depends what you are trying to achieve.

If you are trying to be very feminine in your dance or if you are transgendered, then yes, go feminine.

If you are trying to be a guy who bellydances, then dress in male dancing garb.

First, you wrote somewhere else that you have not even taken classes yet. I would wait for a while before starting to think about costuming to match the costume to your chosen dance style.

And, as for the question about a more feminine look - unless you're looking for a dress-up-as-woman scenario (which is a valid path, although Bhuz is not the best forum for it), focussing on more traditional male outfits is a better idea for a beginner. If your focus is on being a serious dance student, you don't want to look like a pretend drag queen in your first recital - that does not do justice to ME dance or for that matter to the wonderful drag performers out there.

steffib brings up a good point, additionally, if you're still dancing in a few years and are good enuf to dance out, you have to find out how your local audiences will respond to a male in more 'feminine' style.....ESPECIALLY if your area has a high middle eastern demographic....there are strong, traditional views of gender roles and responsibilities....

is there a particular reason you're gearing more towards feminine, as a male? being a male, your physiology is very different, so the movements will LOOK different, due to bone structure, shape of the male pelvic cage, height and other male-centric physiological concerns.....therefore you have to be realistic on how the movements are going to translate on a male physique

Originally Posted by ruta21030

being a male, your physiology is very different, so the movements will LOOK different, due to bone structure, shape of the male pelvic cage, height and other male-centric physiological concerns.....therefore you have to be realistic on how the movements are going to translate on a male physique

You are very right. I have a close friend who is transgendered. You would NEVER know looking at her, talking to her, or anything. She's prettier than I am and moves like a girl... except her hips are a little narrow (but within reason) so she has to use more hip enhancing styles and...

the poor thing CAN NOT shimmy like a female pelvic girdle can. Most people who are not dancers wouldn't probably know,...but it is there. Women have to tuck their pelvis for the shimmy to work right. Men don't have to tuck (I listened when the guy in my BD class in Indiana got tips and hints - mostly out of interest and boredom) but the pelvic girdle is attached in a slightly different way, so the shimmy is more of a twist than an up-down hip motion.

Originally Posted by meme2010

Hello!

iam new to belly dancing, and i would like suggestions for male customes, even i prefer the feminine customes.

i would appreciate your help

There are three styles I see on men that are "men's styles".

-A big galabeya with a hip scarf (See Tito, except when he wears jeans).
-a vest and harem pants (see Tarik Sultan)
-jeans/tight pants and a tight t-shirt (see Jim Boz), coin scarf optional.
Some guys with short hair wear a headscarf/hankerchief type thing around their head..I think that looks good.

I think all these are good suggestions, but I agree; keep it simple. A colorful unitard from Capezio with a narrow rectangular hip scarf from King of the Nile would work and give you some flash, as well as show your abdominal moves, plus it wouldn't make a giant Statement. Costuming is indeed seductive, look at everyone here! Well, you can't of course, but you see how we love bling too. When you're beginning though, there are other considerations as well (like Cost), so again: keep it simple and enjoy your dance. :-)

Originally Posted by KHari3

When you're beginning though, there are other considerations as well (like Cost), so again: keep it simple and enjoy your dance. :-)

Pantaloons. :) Again I say pantaloons. (I love pantaloons and wear them under skirts even when I'm not dancing - for warmth in winter or comfort- no chaffing in summer)

And they are SIMPLE SIMPLE SIMPLE to make. And only take about 2-3 yards of fabric, even if you want them REALLY FULL.

Check out the galleries of other male dancers.

Jim Boz - Jim Boz - Middle Eastern Dance

DaVid - (His website seems to be in the process of being updated. Here is the Gallery of his Tribe DaVid of Scandinavia Photo Album - tribe.net)

Wikipedia in it's article about belly dance lists several others whom you may want to look up.

Good luck with this and on your dance journey.

{{{HUGS}}}

Check out Zorba's galleries for his costumes:

Zorba, "The Veiled Male"


Also maybe watch some Arabic or Bollywood type movies for ideas? I remember watching "1001 Arabian Nights" and liking the guys' costumes.

Here's another guy dancer you can check out for costuming ideas. Look at the other videos next to this one, and search on his name too. From what I read his look has a Spanish/Latin American influence, though, as opposed to Middle Eastern.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUPHvmXWQ2A]YouTube - Yamil Annum en San Luis Danza 2007 (16/09)[/ame]

Also Nath Keo. (Be patient. He is in the same outfit for most of the slideshow, but three others are shown at the end.)

And there are other pics here: Nath Keo images.

There are also a lot of pics of various male dancers at the bottom of this article.