Thread: If I have to watch one more...

person lifting their chest, or any other body part, by an imaginary string, I am going to scream!

Sometimes signature moves become so beloved that everyone starts doing them. The GP doesn't know the difference. They enjoy the move, but I get a little weary of seeing the moves myself.

Boy, I'm bitchy today, huh? And, I don't even have pms to blame this time.

Nobody does like Aziza. She started it (I think).

It's one of those things that's funny the first time and it really is something Aziza did well, but for the rest of us, it is just a belly dance hack move. (And I have done it myself <hangs head in shame>.)

Copying someone's signature move when that dancer or even other dancers are in the house looks lame to those who know where it came from. Making fun of yourself trying to copy that move can be funny if you can pull it off. I've seen that done successfully.

I'm sure at this point Aziza couldn't care less and maybe even takes it as flattery since everybody knows she's the one that made it famous. But yeah, for others to try to take on her personality because they don't have one of their own gets tiresome.

Lots of things to choose from in the list of things one dancer does and gets away with but totally dumb on everyone else - the Dina drama, the string pulling, and so on. There for awhile everyone was doing Dina things, or trying to anyway, and god it got old. I thought we'd never see the end of the Dina face and attitude pulling.

Originally Posted by mish_mish

(And I have done it myself <hangs head in shame>.)

How many of us have NOT used cute and silly tactics we've seen done before to add to the entertainment value of our shows? We all learn from watching and then maybe add our own twist to it. You just don't do it for the more knowledgeable audience , and have the tact not to do it at all when the dancer you saw it on is in the house.

Dina drama...??? You mean like the vid I posted about Randa Kamal and the little girl? My favorite part is the imaginary man slapping she does about half way tru. She does it 3 times. I dont speak Ababic at all, but it looked like this...wazamatter you? slap... you go there to her and you dont like this no more?? take a better look you fool......that kind of drama? I love it!!!

Originally Posted by gotraqs

person lifting their chest, or any other body part, by an imaginary string, I am going to scream!

Sometimes signature moves become so beloved that everyone starts doing them. The GP doesn't know the difference. They enjoy the move, but I get a little weary of seeing the moves myself.

Boy, I'm bitchy today, huh? And, I don't even have pms to blame this time.

Do you mean literally here? Are we talking about actually pretending there's a string?

Well, the string move has gotten quite boring to watch, but isn't that what it all about, learning and using other's signature moves? You see dance instructors fresh from Cairo who say "this is Fifi's move" or "this is what I call the Dina Combo move". I think its great if it's used in random but not all the time.

Wouldn't it be great if every dancer in America developed their own signature dance move this year? There would be more interesting moves to learn! I don't mean moves they learned in a workshop or class but something that was pulled out of a hat from shear creativity.

Originally Posted by kharis_UK

Do you mean literally here? Are we talking about actually pretending there's a string?

Yes - but doesn't this date to at least the '70s - I thought it was real old skool AmCab?

I used to do the string thing. It's fun, the GP enjoys it. I didn't know at the time it was a signature Aziza move -- heck, I'd never even heard of Aziza. When I found that out, I stopped doing i

I seriously doubt she invented it. Conan O'Brian even does it!

Originally Posted by kharis_UK

Do you mean literally here? Are we talking about actually pretending there's a string?

Yes. Aziza will throw it into the middle of a routine sometimes, placing her fingers above her chest and miming a pulling movement as she lifts her chest, like a puppet. It looks cute on her because, to me, it says, "I obviously take my dancing seriously, but I don't take myself too seriously". It incorporates amusing relief that is great, especially for those who are not necessarily aficionados of the dance.

Can I add the "OH! Look what my hip is doing! Dear me!" bit to this discussion? That one always makes me want to beat myself to death with my cane.

For those of you who have IAMED's 6th awards of bellydance, Aziza does the string-thang in her performance, I think during the drum solo.

Nikki

Originally Posted by Lauren_

I seriously doubt she invented it. Conan O'Brian even does it!

I don't think she invented it either. She just made it famous amongst dancers.

As I said before, we all learn from watching one another, so nothing's really new. It's the same stuff refurbished.

Originally Posted by nisaasaintlouis

Can I add the "OH! Look what my hip is doing! Dear me!" bit to this discussion? That one always makes me want to beat myself to death with my cane.

.w.: I do that...it makes people more interested in what you're doing when you act excited about what's going on. If you do it all the time, I can understand that it'd get annoying, but I like doing it especially when people aren't really paying as much attention as I'd like (yeah, I want all eyes on me whenever possible, lol!) I'll use that as a nonverbal cue to look at my hip and pay attention to what I'm doing -- they're missing something really cool.

These gimmicks are kind of like sword and veil--they get boring to those of us who perform, but they are probably just fine if you dance in places with the general public where many people aren't familiar with the tricks of the trade.

I think the "oh look at what my hip is doing" schtick can be delightful in the right circumstances. It really depends on your mood and the mood of the house, I think. When I saw Cassandra in November, she was in a very humorous mood and did quite a lot of fun things, including a hip that went from tiny elegant shimmy to juddering "oh no hurry up and finish drums" (which did actually go with a drum change) and a bunch of other things like that. But the thing that was coolest about that was that the humour was all in the delivery. She could have done the same thing with a different facial expression, different head angle, and have it look elegant.

I want to be able to do her eyebrow accents, though. Best cheese ever.

Originally Posted by mish_mish

These gimmicks are kind of like sword and veil--they get boring to those of us who perform, but they are probably just fine if you dance in places with the general public where many people aren't familiar with the tricks of the trade.

100% agree. I'm sure if you spent a lot of time watching magicians, or jugglers, or any other entertainer, you'd get sick of seeing the 'same old stuff' over and over, too -- but it's just fun entertainment for the straights!

I think it's all about knowing your audience.

I love Cassandra's eyebrow thing. Aziza also does a head shimmy. Maybe someone could perfect a lip shimmy.

Souzan

Head shimmy? Is that like a head slide?
lip shimmy - Isn't that an Elvis move? Hahaha!

Maybe someone could perfect a lip shimmy.

Suhaila does one...makes her look disturbingly like Elvis his was top lip up and down...hers is bottom lip up and down and layers it side to side as well....

I can lip shimmy!!!

I lift each side of my top lip independently and make it quiver. I fail to see how on Earth that could be used in belly dance, but perhaps I lack imagination...g.:

Originally Posted by anala

Maybe someone could perfect a lip shimmy.

Suhaila does one...makes her look disturbingly like Elvis his was top lip up and down...hers is bottom lip up and down and layers it side to side as well....

That comes just before the jaw lock..brought on by terror......l;,

i totally use the string thing for the GP. they love it. it has nothing to do with "dancing like aziza". for me it's more a thing i saw her do and i thought "aha, that can be effective", so i use it when i'm in the mood... just like i use other "tricks" and "moves" and combo's i got from other dancers...

that's just how it works...

it is great when you can come up with something "original", and if you are lucky you get to do that a few times in your carreer, but there are only so many moves and ideas out there, ...

take veil, i love veil, and most of the veil stuff i learned comes from aziza. i know she didnt invent all of it, and got it from loads of different american dancers... so i learn it, and then i try to make it my own, but it'll still show where i got it eh. who cares, as long as i do it well, and try to put my own stamp/personality on the way i string the movements together, what i choose to use to what piece of music, what music i choose to use in the first place etc, and if i'm lucky i'll come up with a trick, or even just a transition of my own.

the thing with other dancers signature moves for me is: if i lilke them, i'll use them if they fit my choreo/impro, they've become part of my dance vocab, a movement to choose from amongst many others.

Originally Posted by CFerhat

Yes - but doesn't this date to at least the '70s - I thought it was real old skool AmCab?

Yup, it's an "old" cutsie trick. Can't remember (after all these years) where I saw it or who did it, but I do remember it was a trick my instructor used to teach chest lifts. I, of course (straightening my halo), never resorted to that little gimmick. But I have been known to glance at my "wristwatch" on long shimmy sequences.

I have an excellent nostril shimmy, though it's not massively fast. I should use it. Not.

Eva Cernik also does a lip quiver. it was perfect timing for it, because shed brought the dane to such a serious enthralling level, and then used the lip quiver as a comic relief to lighten the mood back up. it fit and it was amazing!
:)

I hate the glute quiver, the floor one leg humpy quiver and weird lip quivers.
bah humbug.