Thread: Dubstep Bellydance Fusion?

So I've been listening to a lot of dubstep lately because of the work I've been doing with hoopdance & for a dance fitness class I teach. When I went online to see what kind of "authentic" movement actually existed for dubstep music I found spoof videos as opposed to real dance. I know some bellydancers use dubstep in their fusion work, so that would be a start for me. Please post some videos of bellydance/dubstep as well as "pure" dubstep so I can see what I might be working with, along with any thoughts you have about the dance styles. I mean, does such a thing as dubstep dance even exist? Is it purely improvisational?

I'm not interested in cautionary tales/lectures about fusion here, BTW. Just want to see what other dancers do & know.

This is one of my former students: YouTube - Bellystep: Bellydance and Dubstep She is a lovely dancer and both she and her boyfriend make dubstep and other similar styles of music. She hasn't been dancing as much lately due to her music production, but you may want to contact her.

Mmmmmm! Similar interest here. A combo of these two just FEELS right! I have a friend who did an awesome number but its not on video. Excited to see what you come up with!

What exactly is the definition of dubstep music. I don't feel any wiser from watching the clip.

It's not my genre, but there is information on it on wikipedia that might help: Dubstep - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3fzq2Cnwjk]YouTube - Dubstep + Hoop = Mona[/ame]

I love watching her dance. The music style will probably seem familiar if you've seen a bunch of tribal fusion BD performances.

Originally Posted by shimarella

The music style will probably seem familiar if you've seen a bunch of tribal fusion BD performances.

Yes it does!

But there is no generic "dubstep" type of dance, right? It's just a musical style?

Originally Posted by shimarella

YouTube - Dubstep + Hoop = Mona

Dubstep - I learned something new today. That was flippin' sweet!!

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Thanks for sharing - cool!

I've been using dubstep in my performances in classes for several years. I think it works really well for the darker fusion crowds or anyone who's moved by the "wawawaow" basslines. :) It's great for my electronica fusion work.

Originally Posted by dollydaydream

Dubsteps pretty new , it's been around for a few years now but is just becoming 'main stream'. It's been slowly creeping into my music collection just lately. I'm sure it came out of London/UK, Its a mix of Dub, garage, break beat etc which has progressed into a new sound, which is labelled Dubstep.


As regrds to how you dance to it - you just dance how you want! There is no specific dance! Its just people doing thier thing! People just dance to it in a way they would to dub , garage and so on. Guess you could call it 'social dancing'

Well, now this sure eliminates six week wonders!

Yeah I wasn't sure if there were specific styles or steps that people were doing, that's why I asked. I think that most versions of dubstep that BD communities have seen come from the tribal fusion crowd. If I were to use it in a performance ( whether it was bellydance or hooping) I'd want to NOT look like I had escaped from Serpent Rouge..mainly because its not what I do and I don't think it should be the purview of one style of dancing only.

Anyway, any other examples will be welcomed as I continue to do my research...

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I dance to a lot of dubstep. I love anything from the Hyperdub label although they don't really classify themselves as dubstep.

Here are some videos of me:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZ-kLA0nuxc]YouTube - Danielle of Solstice @ Tribal Fest 08[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5F4jsjyGmE&feature=channel]YouTube - Danielle, Tribal Fest 9 Solo[/ame]

Hello to the Community!

I guess you could say I'm approaching this a little backward as I'm a DJ, who has been playing a lot of Dubstep and Wobble in our scene here in New England, and who has enjoyed seeing the bellydance community take to the music quite strongly.

I'm one of the DJs for the upcoming CoSM night that will be taking place in Wappingers Falls, NY on March 20th. I have the good fortune of playing music for bellydancers Sarah Jezebel Wood and Elizabeth Muise, as well as joining my brother DJ addambombb and friends.

But! To focus on this post, Dubstep (and its newish cousin, Wobble), point blank, is some of the most vivid and rich music to dance to. Scintillating slowness, jaw-dropping vivid tones, bright sunlight mixing with darkness. Just thinking about the tonality gives me the shivers.

In return for letting me post my little blurb on CoSM, I'm more than happy to share with you the stuff and artists that lately have been lighting me up, and here we go:

Eskmo: Agnus Dei
Beats Antique: Roustabout (there is a remix by Bassnectar, but the orig. is muuuuch more enjoyable)
Boreta: Bubblin' in the Cut
Bassnectar: Snakecharmer
Kraddy: I Gotcha (instrumental)
Kraddy: Android Porn
Tipper: My Friend Guo Ran
Skream & Cluekid: Sandsnake
Beaver: Blink (ooah remix)
Tipper: Swamp Thing
Tipper: Off Kilter
Ming & FS: Fish Eyes

That's just a sample of what I'll usually drop - again, all mixed accordingly with the goal in mind to elevate and transcend the day's trials and tribulations. Good music should take you somewhere; a good night with great dancers should take you even further.

I'm on Facebook Here | Facebook

If anyone else has any awesome music they're dancing to, I'd love to hear!

Best regards,

-James

Thanks for the music leads! So...do you have an answer/theory to my original question about what style of movement or signature dance moves are dubstep? Or is it pretty much improvisational & anything goes? As a hoopdancer obviously I respond to the breakbeats with reverse & stall moves, and tribal fusion bellydancers do a lot of robotic popping & locking. But what else do people do?

Originally Posted by shimarella

Thanks for the music leads! So...do you have an answer/theory to my original question about what style of movement or signature dance moves are dubstep? Or is it pretty much improvisational & anything goes? As a hoopdancer obviously I respond to the breakbeats with reverse & stall moves, and tribal fusion bellydancers do a lot of robotic popping & locking. But what else do people do?

I'd say that it's anything goes when it comes to dancing to dubstep. One of the things that I love about that kind of music is that there are so many layers to it that you can dance to any part of it. You have the ability to switch it up. For example, in my Tribal Fest 9 video, I tend to switch between the melody to the bass beat, to the intricacies in between. I think it comes to finding all the in-betweens in the song.

To Shimarella and Daniela2006 (and everyone else!):

The best part about Dubstep is just losing yourself to the emotion that each unique track provides. I'm not sure about signature moves within the DbS community - unless 'sexy' and 'sensual' are considered signature!!

If I had a bunch of techniques I'd studied, I'd view them as a series of tools in my toolkit then jump into any given song..and just let myself go, simply put. Music and Dance is a fantastic non-verbal conversation between emotion and physicality; how you make it real should be entirely up to the performer.

The best part about Dubstep is just losing yourself to the emotion that each unique track provides. I'm not sure about signature moves within the DbS community - unless 'sexy' and 'sensual' are considered signature!!

I agree with this. It's like how I can feel very sensual and feminine dancing to Martyn's "Little Things" or how I can act like I'm completely insane while dancing to Zomby's "Kaliko".

I'm a big dubstep fan, its my favorite genre to get out and tear up the dance floor too. I love the wealth of great DJs in the bay area who are having fun creating music in this style.

I nearly had a fangirl swoon moment getting to meet ESKMO at an event in January, he's crazy talented and really sweet.

Cool. I was just really curious to see if there was a vocabulary established for this genre. Sounds like its an open playing field!

Like lots of things, the best thing ever is to be yourself - explore how you connect with what's out there, and celebrate the experience as it happens.

I honestly have no clue what I do when I'm dancing - but people tell me it makes them happy, so that's cool. ^_^