Thread: Putting on an accent???

Hi Bhuzzers

I was wondering how many of you out there put on an accent when you are dancing professionally (to keep the mood and the illusion)?

I haven't done so but have wondered whether it would add to the show ... I look kinda exotic but I sound totally Aussie. Does that shatter the illusion or is that OK (like maybe adding to the exoticism cos you'd expect me to have an accent)? Today I did a workshop with a Very Experienced Queensland dancer, and she says she puts on an accent because it adds to the illusion for the audience.

Sometimes I wonder whether it would be better to sound exotic on the phone?

What Would Bhuz Do?

personally, no offence, i find that a bit silly...

Just my 2 cents:

I think it's dumb! Here's why:

Very recently I was hired to perform at an American women's party. THey wanted to start up a card playing group and thought that a bellydancer would liven things up. Also, one of the women just had a baby and one was coming out of a deep depression, so the organizer thought it would do them good.
I showed up, performed, taught them a mini lesson. Then they started asking me questions: about the dance, my costume, and.....about myself.

I usually play the silent smiling dancer, but at the same time, I will not lie if asked a personal question.

When the women found out that this is my "hobby" and I do in fact have a hubby and a real job, they were floored. Why? Because I was just like them!

The result: I have 6 (or sometimes more) students that I visit every week for a private group session. They come to dance, socialize, and they have purchased costumes, hipscarves, silk veils from me.

And that, all because I was myself and they could relate to me.

That's just my opinion, but I would love to hear what the others say about this!

yeah, me too. Beyond silly actually.

Sedonia

This is the first time I ever heard of this!!!

I also think it is not wise. If I were you, I would add Add mystery, not sure anout the illusion though, through my dance. Be yourself and do the best with your dance, people will love you for who you are!!!!

I see where you're coming from but I say don't try to be something your not. Just be good at what you do and that leaves plenty of exoticism. People won't care whether you have an accent or not.

I agree with the others and wouldn't even consider it. This would be akin to lying - and what do you say when someone asks where you're from? Do you tell them the truth, and thereby expose that your accent is fake, or do you continue the ruse and say you're from somewhere else? It's mostly women who come up to me after a performance to ask where I learned, how long have I been dancing, etc. and they are always happy and surprised to find out I'm just a regular person like them. I'd feel like a complete goof if I tried to speak to them in an accent and I'm sure they'd see right through it.
Here is something similar that a dancer in this area did a few years ago. She claimed to be half Lebanese and half Egyptian, which turned out not to be true, on either account. This, along with other questionable actions, garnered her a bad reputation in the dance community, as well as among restaurant owners who were offended that she made these false claims. It's a shame, really, because she was (and probably still is) a very good dancer. It's better to be honest with your audience.

Agreed. Incredibily silly and a bold faced lie. Why be ashamed of who you are and where you're from?

Sounds a bit "multiple personality" to me - incredibly ridiculous.

So how does this square with the taking on of an Arabic stage name to be more "exotic?"

Ok, let me share a time when this actually worked out.
David was signed to teach a Bollywood class in a town where no one had actually met him before. The class was noisy and he started the class in his very best "Abu from the Simpsons" Indian accent "Welllcoooom to my Bollywood Clluassss, I am your insstrrructoorrrr, David" He said a few more things in what we tease about being an Indian accent and the class was wide eyed and really straining to understand him. It stopped the room.
He taught the first few moves like that and then said "Now that I have your attention, we can can proceed" in his regular non-accented voice.
Worked for him but I think he has that genuine Indian thing going for him.

It's called "over the top" - it's an extra step in a faked persona that is totally unnecessary.

Unless a person is trained by a voice coach to do this convincingly, I suspect it just sounds fake, stupid and/or comedic at best.

Originally Posted by CFerhat

So how does this square with the taking on of an Arabic stage name to be more "exotic?"

Originally Posted by patrisha

Ok, let me share a time when this actually worked out.
David was signed to teach a Bollywood class in a town where no one had actually met him before. The class was noisy and he started the class in his very best "Abu from the Simpsons" Indian accent "Welllcoooom to my Bollywood Clluassss, I am your insstrrructoorrrr, David" He said a few more things in what we tease about being an Indian accent and the class was wide eyed and really straining to understand him. It stopped the room.
He taught the first few moves like that and then said "Now that I have your attention, we can can proceed" in his regular non-accented voice.
Worked for him but I think he has that genuine Indian thing going for him.

that's hilarious!

Originally Posted by CFerhat

So how does this square with the taking on of an Arabic stage name to be more "exotic?"

Having a stage name is sometimes more about privacy, but then it also helps maintain a certain "personna" on stage that works more for the dancer, perhaps, than the audience. It's one thing to have an unusual name (and there are plenty with unusual birth names that don't perform), but putting on an accent would mean having to remember to keep that lie going.

I was once asked by an indignant audience member where I was from. When I gave her my honest answer her suspicions were obviously confirmed and she appeared quite angry. Apparently, the proprietor of the place had told her I was from the ME, which the person in question could see quite clearly was not true just from looking at me! I thought, "Welcome to my world!"

Originally Posted by vilia

Having a stage name is sometimes more about privacy, but then it also helps maintain a certain "personna" on stage that works more for the dancer, perhaps, than the audience. It's one thing to have an unusual name (and there are plenty with unusual birth names that don't perform), but putting on an accent would mean having to remember to keep that lie going.

I was once asked by an indignant audience member where I was from. When I gave her my honest answer her suspicions were obviously confirmed and she appeared quite angry. Apparently, the proprietor of the place had told her I was from the ME, which the person in question could see quite clearly was not true just from looking at me! I thought, "Welcome to my world!"

Understood - the privacy concern. It's just interesting to me - the intersection between our opinions around authenticity with the dance, and then the authenticity of how we represent ourselves as dancers to the audience.

Funny thing is that I've never pretended to be anything but who I am - my stage name is my real name, and when I talk, I speak with my country twang. And still, customers come up to me after shows speaking to me in Arabic, or insisting that I look Syrian.

Lucy

Originally Posted by jilyan

Hi Bhuzzers

I was wondering how many of you out there put on an accent when you are dancing professionally (to keep the mood and the illusion)?

I haven't done so but have wondered whether it would add to the show ... I look kinda exotic but I sound totally Aussie. Does that shatter the illusion or is that OK (like maybe adding to the exoticism cos you'd expect me to have an accent)? Today I did a workshop with a Very Experienced Queensland dancer, and she says she puts on an accent because it adds to the illusion for the audience.

Sometimes I wonder whether it would be better to sound exotic on the phone?

What Would Bhuz Do?

Oh, please don't . Why try to be something you're not. Believe me, you'll gain more respect just by being yourself.

I agree wholeheartedly with Kharis UK that it's sooo much more important and ultimately, more respected, to be who you really are. Besides, you don't have to "fake" anything in the way of an accent...by virtue of being who you are, and depending on in which part of this great country you are, you have an accent already! How do I know...?

I was born in the Philippines; a Filipino dialect called Visaya is my first (and for family gatherings to this day, the primary) language spoken. I first visited this country when I was 4 in Charlottesville, Virginia, and we ended up staying for a couple of years. As is common for small children , I quickly learned to speak English with a Southern accent! Went back to the Philippines and my parents (bless them!) spoke to me in English at home so I would retain the language. We immigrated to California when I was 10 and then my English morphed into a (gasp!) west-coast-California"Dude!"-borderline-Vallspeak-"Like, OH-my-Gawd! Gag me with a spoon" accent. In college, my major was in Mass Communicaitons/Broadcast Journalism, since I'd planned to be a newscaster (How the heck did I end up being a bellydancing paralegal living in the Chicago suburbs?!). Ironically, the "accent" we were trained to utilize in this field at SF State is the most-calming-most-proper-enunciation-middle-of-the-road MIDWESTERN accent!! At that time, I also learned to speak fluent conversational Spanish, but with a Nicaraguan accent! (But that's a whole 'nother story!) When I actually first moved to the Midwest in my late 20's, for the first couple of years people would always come up to me and ask me where I was from because I still had my California accent and used west coast slang. And now also, if I'm really tired, my husband teases me because my Filipino-accented English comes out!

In my 37 years, I've take pleasure in ALL accents and to my observant ear, there are sooo many delightful American "accents" that, to me, are as exotic as ones from other countries! I'm partial to none, loving all the twangs, drawls, clipped staccato enunciations and various coast-to-coast north-to-south varieties!..g.:

I already have a built in accent (Hungarian) - people say I do sound exotic, however I do not look like nor sound like it is an Arabic accent. (so the accent does not add nor take away, in a business sense.)

I would never want to fake an accent - like others said, this way you are trying to be someone you are not. When you do that, you must ask yourself: where do you stop and where does the other personality start? When do you talk with that fake accent and when do you stop?

It's also lying. Just imagine you start speaking with an accent, and then people start asking you where you're from. You're going to have to make up a lot of lies regarding your background, and then other lies to cover it up.

It's not worth it. It is best to refrain from giving out details from your personal life, but if someone asks, might as well be honest. I am totally against making things up.

Marianna
www.marianna.cc

This'll be fun - here come the flames ...

I'VE DONE IT!! I've faked a crap exotic Greek-Turkish (and probably a hint of Welsh) accent during some of my restaurant gigs when I want to get the up and dancing and smashing plates/swinging napkins. The old school Turkish "animation" style dancers shout OPA and BRAVO and we all know these people work as driving instructors or computer programmers and are called Wendy or something. It's all in the name of fun, and I usually break the spell near the end with a full-on Scouse-accented punchline to drive the irony home.

I wouldn't use an accent at any other sort of performance/event though ...

On the subject of dance names, I've tried a few on for size and just feel mad having a name that isn't really mine. Changing my surname when I got married was enough of a new identity for me (believe me if I had a decent enough maiden name I would have stuck with it - now I have a Chinese one it really confuses people when they meet me). But when I used to do the restaurants, the compere would usually ask my name, I'd say Kathy, then they'd announce ... all the way from Beirut, Layla ... or similar. What can ya do?

John Compton of Hahbi'Ru has adopted a fake accent at Renaissance Faire gigs I have seen, during particular numbers; some of the other troupe members may have as well. It worked as theater and it worked for him. (Huge Hahbi'Ru fan here, I'm not bagging, just reporting!)

It is just so...so *not* something I would do. And I would find it kind of bizarre in most contexts I see dancers in if they were faking an accent to pretend to be from a country where belly dance is rooted.

The stage name thing Christine brought up is interesting, and I think there is a connection there (perhaps tenuous, but threaded). That is a topic that fascinates me, actually, an I am researching it a bit for a potential article. Maybe I'll start a thread on it.

M.

Originally Posted by weese17

Funny thing is that I've never pretended to be anything but who I am - my stage name is my real name, and when I talk, I speak with my country twang. And still, customers come up to me after shows speaking to me in Arabic, or insisting that I look Syrian.

Lucy

I'm always mistaken for Syrian/Lebanese. This was really surprising to me the first time it happened; now I'm used to it. (I'm a redhead with fairly pale Irish skin.)

I wouldn't part with my stage name, tho. It frees me up to be an incorrigible flirt! ..g.:

davids gag: that sounds more like a joke to me, and acceptable...funny.

stage name? it's why i dont have an arabic one myself, did not feel right to me, but there are many reasons for a stage name, without it being faking being from over there... i'd never pull that one off anyway,

i hate it when i loose jobs to other dancers who are just as northern as me, just happen to have black hair and a slightly darker skin colour so they can fake it. i also hate it when i get requests from clients via email or phone who really insist on having a morrocan dancer... and who prefer hiring a morrocoan girl who cant dance to a belgian who can...
oh well

Originally Posted by vilia

Having a stage name is sometimes more about privacy, but then it also helps maintain a certain "personna" on stage that works more for the dancer, perhaps, than the audience.

I agree with this.

btw:Artist names were even used by gladiators in Rome.
To have a "catchy" name could probably make or break a career then as now.
But maybe going into the persona even helped them to fight better?


If a name is difficult to pronounce and remember for your targeted audience it´s better to use a stage name,as the average joe of any country remembers a Divina rather than an Anna-Greta Holmkvist.


...while other times your name could have an obscene or ridiculous meaning(as my friend "Two Dicks" found out!..g.: )

To put on an accent is offensive,bizarre and involuntary Borat-ish.

Accents are for acting and dancing is not acting.

As far as stage names go, they don't bother me in the least but I do think they are utterly silly...g.: I myself will always dance by Michelle b/c I don't want to give the false illusion that I am trying to be something I'm not. I can do the same mayas, shimmies and undulations with my given name and it is seems more believable to ME. Yes, I am aware stage names can protect dancers from unwanted admirers just as hollywood actors/actresses take on fake names when staying in hotels. Taking a stage name is not purposely fooling someone like having a fake accent is.

Michelle

Originally Posted by Monica

John Compton of Hahbi'Ru has adopted a fake accent at Renaissance Faire gigs I have seen, during particular numbers; some of the other troupe members may have as well. It worked as theater and it worked for him. (Huge Hahbi'Ru fan here, I'm not bagging, just reporting!)

I think a Ren Faire is probably an acceptable venue for faking an accent, because a lot of the participants are play-acting/dressing up/behaving "in character" already anyway, from what I understand.

One potential problem with using a fake accent to sound exotic: some people who are actually from the Middle East might find it offensive. They might think you are mocking them, they might see it as patronizing Orientalist racism, or they might think it's just dumb. When the phone rings and you answer it, you never can tell who is calling about a gig.

I'd rather sound respectful of their culture to immigrants who call me than sound "exotic" to generic white people.

Further to what Shira says, my supervisor, who is Lebanese, was very approving of my choice of a dance name to differentiate my performance self from my academic/working self. On the other hand, I have had people (Indian, actually) look at me suspiciously and say "that's a Muslim name" when I've used my dance name in their presence. Most seem to like it though - I think some think it's quite funny that we have special names, but they don't mind.

You've got to remember, I live in a community where it's not uncommon for Egyptian migrants to come up to you at cultural events and ask you if you know that you are doing an Egyptian dance, because they're so excited to see it being done by local women and just want to check. Or an excuse to speak to you.

Putting on an accent...look at the Australian examples: Elle McPherson and Kylie Minogue both deliberately adopt an Eurotrash accent but do we honestly believe it? nope, we just laugh because it is obviously such a put on...you don't want people to laugh at you, do you?

I have a thing about stage names too. I also go with my real name. As a dancer you do get harrassed from time to time whether you have stage name or real name. For privacy, I don't giveout my family name. Not having an arabic name doesn't make me any less dancer. I disagree with people that say stage names gives them a certain persona as dancer or makes them a better dancer. It is interesting that not many non bellydancers have exotic stage names. I have seen stripper, prostitutes have exotic names!!! I very seldom come across ballet, jazz, ballroom, latin, samba, hula dancers just to mention a few, have exotic stage names. Some of egyptian friends here say that is very silly. I don't call it is silly or stupid but don't understand why???? BTW, 5 years ago one my workmates asked me "why bellydancers have exotic names like stripper?? Is it because bellydance is a sexy dance ???" He is a parttime salsa dance instructor. I could'nt answer his question properly. I simply said it is dancers choice. But I did tell him bellydancing has nothing to do with stripping.

For me accents, stage names, dancing like dina, fifi, jillina, Suhaila etc.. etc. they are all fake to me. Be yourself and dance like you, thats when you are star!!!!!