Thread: wanna do something academic?

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1dqyznoX2A]YouTube - Mona Said Kariat Al Fingan PT1[/ame]

Lets dissect this performance of the incomparable Mona.

For example: What did you like? Not like? What were your overall impressions? What combinations, steps, and/or transitions intrigue you? What about rhythm and energy changes? Instruments played? Facial expressions? Arms?

What to you, typifies Mona's dancing?

Don't forget to add the times to your comments (ie. hip movements at 2:11 for example)

For me what typifies Mona's dancing is her power. She is great at building and releasing tension which makes for a great dramatic performance. I'll write more in a bit!

I love how relaxed and unhurried she is. There's a sense of languid "effortlessness" that makes the performance so beautiful and graceful. Yummmmm.
And on the un-academic side: I WANT THAT DRESS!
Rosette

I love Mona. My first impression on watching this clip was how classy her presentation is. Her costume is not revealing yet shows all the movement very well, in contrast to the current ideas of belly dancer image that are so hyper-sexy with the big fake boobs in your face, lots of skin showing, tiny skirts, etc. This costume allows the viewer to focus on the dancing, not on the sexy body of the dancer so much.

Her beautiful, blissful face is always a big asset in her dancing. That and her impeccable timing, expressing the little accents in the music. And she always looks so relaxed yet completely in control of her dance. Just when you think, oh, that's simple, she catches an accent in the music that really wakes you up. And she chooses movements to express each instrument, like beautiful arms for the ney flute toward the end, and the shimmies to the kanoon.
Sorry, I didn't put in the times, I'm not that academic or analytical, really. I just love Mona, though!

Wah! My broadband is used up for the month so I can't watch till January!

When I click on it the clip says "embedding disabled by request"...anyone else get that?

Oh okay, I went to youtube and watched. So, my thoughts...I love her dress, hate her shoes, wonder if that was her real hair, and thought her expression at 3:33 was fantastic.

I love her gracefulness...everything just seems so powerful but effortless for her. And her arms are so graceful.

What I really want to know is...what is up with the 2 kids at the end of the clip???

My first thought is that I'd like to shake the camera man! I missed what seemed to be the best accents!
I loved her very lady like, almost regal performance with the the little smile! It was as if she truely enjoyed making her own body dance! So in comand is my other thought, you could not look away because she just exuded "look at me"

My favorite move was the big hip circle at 4:15. I like how the emphasis was placed with the hips in front rather than in back.

She has a wonderful expression without it feeling pasted on, and the hands are a nice complement rather than a distraction. The hardest thing for me is to make my hands go slower than my hips. I usually end up with hands that look like fish flopping on the beach. ,f::

I did a little camera man cursing, but I have to keep reminding myself that for them it's as much (if not more) about the music than about the dancer.

Yeah, I was a bit confused with the last part of the clip too!

I love the dress although the top part was a bit much for me. I interpreted the song way differently than she did, and it seemed more effortless, more baladi (if I'm even interpreting that right). My interpretation was very Oriental, so many turns, spins, jumps, and shimmies. It gave me a different perspective on how I should interpret classics.

Loved the fluidity and grace of the arms, and I also loved her big hip circle in the middle. I loved her classy presentation, but I'm still confused by the exit. It's probably a video editing glitch.

I liked how she used head slides and shoulder rolls (toward the end). A nice reminder that other body accents can be used instead of the more common chest or hip accents. (a video on the same page as this one had more of her dancing than the band--http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJQdIirBXHI)