Thread: Performing in a Dress -- How Liberating!!

Will post a couple pics first (coming, lol, I'm slow .....), then explain:





So ...... Halloween at one of my old stomping grounds, and I just didn't feel like a bedlah .... I wanted to enjoy performing to live music without all the usual fussing around (which is normally part of the fun, of course, but not this night for some reason), so I just popped on a vintage stretch black velvet dress from Goodwill that had a nice sheer kick pleat in the back, added some long velvet sleeves & an Egyptian vintage crown, tied a scarf around my hips. As I was dancing, I became aware of how liberating it felt to dance in a dress. Old (and new) movements seemed to flow easily, and I stayed in my body.

The second photo is also in a dress, and when I thought back on that performance, I realized I had experienced the same freedom of movement that night as well. I felt I danced better, and defnitely enjoyed myself more.

Anyone else have this experience? Any thoughts about dancing in a bedlah versus dress in terms of feeling more secure/confident/free, etc.? Other experiences?

Originally Posted by naiyahayal

Will post a couple pics first (coming, lol, I'm slow .....), then explain:





So ...... Halloween at one of my old stomping grounds, and I just didn't feel like a bedlah .... I wanted to enjoy performing to live music without all the usual fussing around (which is normally part of the fun, of course, but not this night for some reason), so I just popped on a vintage stretch black velvet dress from Goodwill that had a nice sheer kick pleat in the back, added some long velvet sleeves & an Egyptian vintage crown, tied a scarf around my hips. As I was dancing, I became aware of how liberating it felt to dance in a dress. Old (and new) movements seemed to flow easily, and I stayed in my body.

The second photo is also in a dress, and when I thought back on that performance, I realized I had experienced the same freedom of movement that night as well. I felt I danced better, and defnitely enjoyed myself more.

Anyone else have this experience? Any thoughts about dancing in a bedlah versus dress in terms of feeling more secure/confident/free, etc.? Other experiences?

Actually I have!

When I started dancing again after "retiring" I was not exactly a Spring Chicken and had all sorts of reasons not to wear a bedlah, exhibit a being that I couldn't get into any of my bedlah.

So, I wore a beledi dress and had a blast. I wasn't worried about my body at all.

It was a real breakthrough too, got some confidence back - now I can wear a bedlah again but don't feel that I have to - it's all good.

Originally Posted by Elibelinde

Actually I have!

When I started dancing again after "retiring" I was not exactly a Spring Chicken and had all sorts of reasons not to wear a bedlah, exhibit a being that I couldn't get into any of my bedlah.

So, I wore a beledi dress and had a blast. I wasn't worried about my body at all.

It was a real breakthrough too, got some confidence back - now I can wear a bedlah again but don't feel that I have to - it's all good.

Yes, that's exactly what I was thinking ...... so I wonder how much of it has to do with leaving the younger days behind, and how much is due to simply the comfort and security a dress has to offer ..... because I've been giving this a lot of thought, and I am having memories of dancing in dresses "back in the day" when I hadn't thought about why I felt better about the performance (technique and other issues aside). I remember my first Abla dress -- and my teacher was happy with me. I never attributed any of the newfound confidence to the fact that I had not worn a bedlah that day .... I simply wasn't as nervous.

Of course, there are dresses and there are "dresses", LOL (the blue one above has so many cutouts, it looks like a bedlah -- but the mesh feels like a dress)

I love dresses. As I get more into my 40's, the less body I have visible out there, the happier I am. If I do wear a two-piece costume nowadays, it's with a tummy cover and matching top to cover my upper arms.

I especially love a good "naked dress". Being covered only with a thin layer of see-through mesh with strategically placed sequined bits is OK, for some reason. I don't understand this, but it works for me.

Age is certainly a factor, it's not just the fact that a dress covers, it's the dignity of a dress.

I had to totally rethink my dance when I got over 50 because of the menopause thing, clearly was into a different phase of life and had something to say that I hadn't in my 30's, plus, I didn't look so hot in a bikini.

Sigh.

The good side of being older, of course, is the vastly greater range of emotion and experience (I think) that a grownup woman brings to her art. A dress or other more dignified costume brings with it the ability to let the dancer show and not just her body.

I do like wearing bedlah again now too but I always wear sleeves, body stockings etc - discretion being the better part of valor as they say.

Now, my friend Cory looks great without all that stuff, powernet etc; I hate her.

Originally Posted by nitara

I love dresses. As I get more into my 40's, the less body I have visible out there, the happier I am. If I do wear a two-piece costume nowadays, it's with a tummy cover and matching top to cover my upper arms.

I especially love a good "naked dress". Being covered only with a thin layer of see-through mesh with strategically placed sequined bits is OK, for some reason. I don't understand this, but it works for me.

I want one of those, I think they are awesome.

Age is the factor for me. A dress seems so much more suitable than a two peice for the aging body but also the ease of getting into costume and movement is indeed totally liberating ...and at an event when we both danced in the ubiquitous Hannan gelabeya, a young dancer friend said to me "How easy was that to wear!"

Wear both. I admit that when I am carrying extra weight, I like the dress because it's a little more forgiving. But I still love bedlahs and big skirts!

I haven't really noticed a difference about how I feel when I dance. I'll have to check that out next time.

{{{HUGS}}}

I'm totally the other way. I started out preferring dresses because I was self-concious about my body. But by the time I hit 45 I'd realised "**** it- I know I'm a good dancer, and if you can't take seeing my body while I'm dancing, then that's your problem, not mine". I've grown into a much greater acceptance and joy of my body.

So now, I wear a dress because I want to, because it's beautiful or sexy or suits the style of the dance I'm doing, or suits the song I'm dancing to. NOT because I'm hiding my body.

Originally Posted by beafarhana

So now, I wear a dress because I want to, because it's beautiful or sexy or suits the style of the dance I'm doing, or suits the song I'm dancing to. NOT because I'm hiding my body.

THIS! I have several dresses I've worn (and I'm working on a new one!) because it suits the style and I think looks beautiful. Age and body got nothing on it :)

[QUOTE=Elibelinde;819743]


... it's the dignity of a dress.

QUOTE]

THIS! I love what you said. That's what I was looking for .... you stated it beautifully. The "dignity" a dress provides.

I also agree with the two posts above -- am relieved, actually () to know that others feel age is not the determining factor. Because I do love those Emans & Sahars, lol .....

I think that's what I was experiencing -- liberation due to the dignity a dress provides, at any age! Yep, that's it!

I love, love, love dresses, yes they are liberating, elegant and yes there is that dignity as stated above. I feel 'free' in a dress. I do wear bedlah/2 piece costumes but always with a body stocking and love them, but my all time fav is the dress and 95% of the time wear a dress.

I've been searching for a dress that's right for me...at a good price. I'm just not the consummate bhuz swap meet person I used to be. Need to get on that! I love seeing dresses for all the reasons mentioned, and sometimes it's just more appropriate to the venue.

:) Thanks for the reminder that I need to get on that...

KS

I like beledi dresses now than a 2 piece bedlah. It is liberating come to wear it.

Sometimes you NEED a bedleh (bra/belt/skirt set), particularly professional gigs in which the person hiring you EXPECTS that archetypal costume. And I do LIKE the bedleh. If the paying customer expects bedleh, then obviously that's what needs to be worn.

But other gigs, such as nursing home performances or unpaid city festivals, provide the opportunity to wear whatever pleases YOU. For such performances, I like wearing a dress because it defies the stereotype.

When you come on stage wearing bedleh, then often it doesn't matter WHAT you do, the audience will project their stereotypes about belly dancing onto you. Ie, what we dancers would see as a tasteful, beautifully executed performance performed in bedleh may be construed by the audience as being a borderline lap dance. And it's because the audience is really noticing only the costume, and making assumptions about it rather responding to the dance itself.

In contrast, when you come on stage wearing a beaded-and-sequined evening gown, that style of costume typically doesn't have stereotypes associated with it. The audience will be more likely to perceive and respond to the reality of what the dancer actually does rather than seeing it through the filter of preconceived notions.