Thread: What do you think of performers that lip sync as they dance?

I noticed it first it at a student gala. The student were doing a choreo to "Buttons". One student in particular was really getting into it and mouthing the lyrics as she danced. I found it really distracting and thought it took away from the performance.
But what the heck ...it was a student show so good for her ... she was enjoying it.
I went home and forgot about it.

Well.. I am about to try a new dance teacher so went to an informal show just to see her dance style .
I really don't want to come accross as pi$$y about this but,.... Darn it if the very first piece I saw her do she was doing a lip sync to the lyrics. I made a mental note to myself Never ever to sing along to myself when I perform.
I am not expecting great things from this teacher now. I am going to give it a whirl with her but her stage presence didn't cut it.
Is this the latest craze? Am I the only one who finds this distracting?
Whaddaya think?

I don't like it all. especially when people don't even know the meaning of the words they're singing..

It's been going on for years and years. I think it is fine as a way to emphasize the lyrics, but it's distracting when it's done through the whole song.

Oh, and the dancer needs to know the words she is singing.

Guilty! When you dance to the same song over and over for years, it's almost impossible not to sing along sometimes, especially if there is a chorus or a famous phrase. And often if done with real genuine feeling it can help you connect to the audience if they are ME. But I do agree it's distracting if some lip sychns throughout the entire song and especially if they have no idea what the lyrics are and are just mouthing sounds. I personally, think it should only be done to very very very famous songs that the audience will feel a connection to and that everyone knows the words too.

i think when one lip syncs, they are in touch with the music and feeling the music. and the audience are more into what the song is and what you are dancing to :]

I sing along to songs where I know the lyrics and where I know what the lyrics mean. Now, my picks are usually Turkish folk and drinking songs, other genres may call for different choices.

Totally guilty as charged! But only when I'm dancing to an old favorite song and I know the words and what they mean. I can't help it. Sometimes, it just comes out!

As with anything, it's cute as an occasional peppering, but not in excess. Do it during a chorus or a refrain, and it'll come across as a heartfelt connection your music. Do it throughout the entire duration of a piece, or to an unfamiliar piece of music, and it'll likely appear contrived.

And perhaps your reaction was adverse because the student was dancing to Pussycat Dolls? .w.:

I sing along, when I know what the lyrics mean and I love the song. I think it's a little harsh of a judgment to say you don't expect much from the teacher because she was singing along while dancing - most of the best dancers from "over there" sing along all the time! I don't see how that reflects on one's dancing or teaching ability? If she wasn't a good dancer/performer in general, that's one thing (maybe that's what bothered you?) but not just because she sang!

some of the best dancers I have seen mouth the words here & there- if it's here & there, I actually like it. for the whole song, eh- I think it would indeed feel contrived- look at me, I know the whole song, la dee da...

'course I mouth along & sing under my breath from the audience all the time, but that's different, right? maybe that's why I don't find it weird when dancers mouth the words every once in a while...

I kind of like watching it. Especially when Dina does it because she gets that "I'm seriously in to this song" look on her face. When a person is singing along to the music, they are feeling that song so to that feeling of the music seems like it also comes out in the dance.

I always make it a point to learn the lyrics of a song if it has it and learn the translation. Knowing what it means makes me understand that song all the more. Like Dere Dere, a popular 9/8...I danced to it once on an automatic choreography thing I learned having no idea that the music was about a lonely young maiden wondering when she'd be with the man of her dreams. Now when I dance to it, I think of that lonely young woman and sing along when I dance. I feel it more.

Haven't had anyone boo me so I guess it can't be all that bad. Like most, I don't even know I'm singing along usually. I'm just in to the song.

Originally Posted by steffib

I sing along to songs where I know the lyrics and where I know what the lyrics mean. Now, my picks are usually Turkish folk and drinking songs, other genres may call for different choices.

lol..woo hoo! drinkin' songs. I hope we get to dance together some day. ..l;,

I'm also guilty. I actually try NOT to do it, but sometimes I just get carried away.

Sometimes it doesn't bother me. I think that's determined by my perception of whether the dancer really 'gets' the song, whether she seems overdramatic and OTT with it, whether it seems natural and spontaneous or 'put on' and rehearsed.

Is the dancer 95% dancing and just softly mouthing the lyrics at key points in the song while she dances? Or is she pretty much standing still and pretending to be the singer while only getting minimal dancing done?

Of course, my perceptions of all the above will depend on how I'm feeling about the dancer in general. If I'm lovin her I'll have a generous feeling toward it.

I don't do it mostly because I don't know that many words but I like seeing others do it because they seem to really be getting into the music and immersing themselves even more fully that way.

Guilty! I don't sing the entire song, but in my opinion, for either a nonArabic or Arabic crowd, the dancer needs to know the music she is dancing to and especially feel it & convey it thru her dance: sadness, love, joy, pain, heartache. They all should be convey thru dance, hands, arms, face, and even singing. I'm not giving a concert though. Some songs can be sung, but others need only just the moves.

Here, I'm singing along in some parts:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vJac0vybb0]YouTube - Midwest Bellydance Challenge CHGO,IL 8/08 Pro Cabaret round1[/ame]

Belly dance is danced to the beat, to the music - and to the words. So, the words are very important. Ideally you should know what they mean if you sing along - but to ignore them is not to belly dance. Now, you don't need to mime all the words - that is plain silly - but you should also occasioanlly make an appropriate gesture with the lyrics (even if dancing to to the instrumental version ..g.: )

In addition for it to be standard "over there" - Dr Mo also suggested it was a good way not only to connect to the msuic but also to ensure you are breathing properly.

So, think again.

I teach myself to sing the songs I perform wherever I can get a full translation and romanised transliteration. It's massively helpful to get into the feeling of the song, to start identifying variations in the different versions ("Oh hey, this version of X feels a bit more upbeat because it's missing those two verses of questioning/longing/references to heartbreak...")

And that usually leads to me lip synching to the song later in performance - not all the way through, just the verse/chorus or odd line here and there that strike me as particularly important.

It would probably bother me if someone was lip synching the whole song, because it would seem like overkill. And it would *seriously* bother me if I could see someone was lip synching purely phonetically and had absolutely no understanding of what the words actuall were or were about.

I'm Welsh. We have to sing. It's genetic. I hope you are all picturing Tom Jones in a bedlah now.

I think about this the same way I think about all aspects of the dance. Show us that super duper move, when it's *appropriate*, which *it fits*, when *its genuine and heartfelt*. Sing when you feel it, when it's appropriate and heartfelt, when you are truly in the moment.

Do anything rote, like a robot, and not 'of yourself', and it will look fake, false. And never underestimate your audience. People are smart, they have high EQ's.

I am also of the opinion that lip syncing is a positive thing when done in moderation. For example, perhaps during the chorus or a repeated phrase, it can be a good thing.

The song, El Enab, has many repeated words or phrases, 'Wo Wo Wo Wo Wo Wo Wo Wo Wo' being one of them. I sing along to this part everytime I perform to this song. It's upbeat, it's fun and it's engaging.

Lip syncing throughout the whole song would be distracting, though. In fact, I know of 2 judges for the Ahlan Wa Sahlan Competition in Cairo that would definitely deduct points if the dancer lip syncs throughout the whole song. Key moments are fine, even applauded and awarded points when done at the right moment, but every single word is not a good thing.

I could see it might be a bit odd to have one person in a group mouthing lyrics when no one else is, and for that matter, the whole group pretending to sing, but perhaps there would be a performance circumstance where the whole group doing it would make sense.

In Middle Eastern culture, a dancer who sings along with the lyrics has a positive connotation, because they view it as a sign of her engagement with the song. As others have noted, Dina does it all the time. For non-native-speakers, success does hinge on being able to project the impression that you know what you're doing. If you're grinning like an idiot while you pretend to sing some song about a guy wanting to kill himself over a broken heart, then that's not going to work so well. By the same token, your gestures have to go with the song--don't point to your heart if she's singing about stubbing her toe.

Originally Posted by SatinWorship19

And perhaps your reaction was adverse because the student was dancing to Pussycat Dolls? .w.:

I thought the same thing. Maybe your subconscious was revolting against what you were seeing. It seems like there has been a renewed interest in dancers using "Buttons" in the last couple of weeks on Bhuz. Why, why, why?! I have nothing against burlesque, but when somebody chooses to belly dance to a song like "Buttons," they need to be aware that as far as the audience is concerned, they could just as well be dancing to "Night Train." It's a funky groove, but it's still a song about taking off clothes!

Originally Posted by xodinahox

The song, El Enab, has many repeated words or phrases, 'Wo Wo Wo Wo Wo Wo Wo Wo Wo' being one of them. I sing along to this part everytime I perform to this song. It's upbeat, it's fun and it's engaging.

How can you NOT want to sing along to this song? Whenever I perform this one for an Arab crowd, they're all dancing and singing alongside me, anyway. I'd feel goofy if I didn't chime in!

Originally Posted by Tourbeau

I thought the same thing. Maybe your subconscious was revolting against what you were seeing. It seems like there has been a renewed interest in dancers using "Buttons" in the last couple of weeks on Bhuz. Why, why, why?! I have nothing against burlesque, but when somebody chooses to belly dance to a song like "Buttons," they need to be aware that as far as the audience is concerned, they could just as well be dancing to "Night Train." It's a funky groove, but it's still a song about taking off clothes!

Yes. Happily, I've never seen a BD performance to this song. (Maybe I don't attend enough haflas!) But I'd imagine that lip synching to this song would really take the cheeze factor over the edge, like something you'd see in a C-level local burlesque revue or a really campy drag show. Not that there's anything wrong with either of the above....but I'm not quite sure if that's the vibe most of us here would like to think we project in an Oriental dance performance!

Dina lip synching to Tahtil Shibbak, on the other hand, conveys something real, not something cheesy.

oh. The one time I saw a dancer lip synching to lyrics and it totally SKEEVED me out, it was to an English-language song with a hint of suggestiveness. So the dancer was combining hip movements and undulations with come-hither words and flirtatious glances. Too much. *shudder*

i find it a bit distracting depending on whos doing it. and how they're doing it. i used to hate it, but i find myself doing it...... some people do it and it bugs me, others not so much.... i've heard that some in egypt say sing it if you know the words, but in my personal opinion don't sing if you don't know what the words mean, and if you do, don't just sing but interpret with your body and movements (thats the most important part anyways).

Depends how much of it is done. Sometimes I think it is overused and the performance is less about dance and more like a C grade musical theatre production

A little bit is fine, and yes, it can help the dancer get into the emotion of the song at times, but I don't like that over mouthed thing through the entire song, then it just looks weird.

I also do it in moderation with certain songs that I know the lyrics to. Especially if I'm doing a gesture that reflects the lyrics - the words just kind of pop out too.

I also take Torbeau's point about it being especially distracting in a group number if only one or two people are doing it. It lends itself to the look of a bunch of random dancers doing the same choreography, as opposed to a polished troupe piece.

I think it depends on how it's done. Not that I would specifically recommend it, but when done in moderation, I think it's fine. It's easy to get caught up in the moment, and mouth a few lines here and there, but you definitely don't want to look like you're back in high school doing "air bands"!

Also, I wouldn't assume the dancer doesn't know the lyrics or what they mean. Most respectable dancers I know always research lyrics before performing to any new piece of music. And if they don't - they should!

It can also work well to intentionally direct lyrics towards your audience in some pieces.... where it fits.

Originally Posted by Adishakti

It's easy to get caught up in the moment, and mouth a few lines here and there, but you definitely don't want to look like you're back in high school doing "air bands"!

You mean....playing the air quanun isn't an appropriate thing to do during a taqsim? .w.: *confused*

I think there is an assumption that dance is the only thing being performed in a Belly Dance performance. Belly Dance is much more than that, singing is part of the much more. I also find that I dance with my eyes, I make expressions (mostly pleasant ones I might add) and when interacting with the audience there is a whole new level of communicating through words, body and action. My point is Belly Dance is not just movement and choreography.

Soosoo

Originally Posted by SatinWorship19

You mean....playing the air quanun isn't an appropriate thing to do during a taqsim? .w.: *confused*

,r:;
Goofy lady!