this one's pretty sweet.
youtube.com/watch
i think she got the theme down perfectly with her costume and some of her moves...
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Re: mermaid bellydancer
Fri, May 9, 2008 - 9:56 AMSorry, this one doesn’t do it for me. I’ve never understood the belly dance mermaid connection, though it seems to come up a lot.
That aside, I don’t feel like this dancer’s interpretation of the first piece of music is very good. The movements seem to fast and hectic, and she doesn’t really seem to be on the beat when she’s doing hip stuff. I also feel like she moving through a series of tricks rather than dancing. Then the drum solo seems awkward. I don’t understand the leaps she’s doing. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen other Russian dancers like Evgenia Kopteva and Maria Shaskova put leaps and kicks into their bellydancing, and it looks graceful. Here, it looks out of place and a little unfortunate.
On the positive side, the dancer does have some good energy...but I just can’t like this one. -
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Re: mermaid bellydancer
Fri, May 9, 2008 - 2:30 PMi think the only connection is all the mermaid skirts that are so popular lately. ^_^
glitter makes everything better. ^_~ -
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Re: mermaid bellydancer
Fri, May 9, 2008 - 3:26 PMI think it’s more than that. I’ve seen several pictures of famous belly dancers in Mermaid outfits.
Leyla Jouvana:
www.leyla-jouvana.de/v2e/htm...tos.html
(It's one of the first photos in the slide show)
Monika, another German belly dancer.
www.tanz-zentrum.de/index.php
I think I may have seen Delilah in some mermaid-ish outfit. I feel like I’ve seen mermaid-themed belly dance several times.
Then I did a quick youtube search and found some more mermaid belly dance:
www.youtube.com/watch
www.youtube.com/watch
It is a recurring theme in belly dance. Maybe it is something to with the bare midriff and fluid movements. -
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Re: mermaid bellydancer
Mon, May 12, 2008 - 9:31 AMthat first vid is.... very intriguing. rather haunting... must find full version!
the second one.... is.... interesting.... has some interesting ideas, and although changing costumes is one of them, the way she undid her skirt then took it off was.... odd. lol.
i think the parallel between bellydance and mermaids isn't so surprising. although they seem different enough to me that combining the two doesn't appeal to me, i can see why it might to others.
starting with the obvious "mermaid" style skirt. both in the name and the look of it, it reminds of mermaids.
then, as stated before, the fluid movemements.....
and the outfit (bra+ full bottom), and the richly decorated outfits, with pearls, beads, many colors.... not mentionning the "sparklies" that can remind of water
the (usually) long hair...
and also, i guess that in most people's minds both are exotic, almost images out of a fantasy or imagination.
so yeah, i can understand ^^ -
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Re: mermaid bellydancer
Wed, May 21, 2008 - 6:58 PMI think, unfortunately, that a full version of that vid doesn't exist...it was posted somewhere, before...and it's always cut off way before it's finished...it truly is a very haunting and beautiful dance...the closest I've seen, so far to truly looking like mermaids or water spirits...absolutely gorgeous costuming, too...
The second one kind of disturbs me...she did very few real belly dance moves and it seemed to be more about burlesque...this is one of the types of vids that will give people the impression that all belly dancers are strippers...
I finally made myself sit all the way thru the first vid...and I agree that her movements were way too hectic...her chest lifts are more done with her shoulders pushing back...and even tho I loved the arched pose at the end, when she got up, she did not smile...she looked just plain unhappy...
One more thing...I wonder if she knew that her skirt allowed you to see the shadow of her butt crack...maybe she should have worn something underneath to keep it from looking so...bare...the costume, itself is gorgeous, tho...just needs a bit of lining...
From what it looks like, what with the number and all, it appears she was probably in a contest and maybe she was quite nervous and went a bit overboard with her moves...would definitely have been better if she'd slowed it down, a bit... -
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Re: mermaid bellydancer
Wed, May 21, 2008 - 7:04 PMAh...I just saw in some of the comments of the version that cuts off before it's done...you can get the full version on DVD...check the version that's 3:56...and look in the comments section...tells the name of the DVD...
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Re: mermaid bellydancer
Fri, May 9, 2008 - 2:56 PMI agree, her movements did seem kind of hectic. She seemed to have a really big range of motion... I would have liked to see her slow stuff down. I love her costume though!
And I don't know what the connection is either... maybe that mermaid costumes are automatically midriff baring?
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Re: mermaid bellydancer
Sat, May 10, 2008 - 9:17 AMso interesting! i recently did a mermaid piece, and it's SO radically different from this. i'll post it.
-c -
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Re: mermaid bellydancer
Mon, May 12, 2008 - 7:41 AMI would have liked to see her slow it down a little too. The costume is beautiful!
What's with the HUGE number they make the contestants wear? To me it's terribly distracting. I just keep watching the huge number 19 sway back and forth!!!!
Surely, there has to be a better way of keeping track of the contestants? -
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Re: mermaid bellydancer
Mon, May 12, 2008 - 9:17 AMi totally agree on the number thing! ughhhhh!
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Re: mermaid bellydancer
Wed, May 21, 2008 - 6:29 PMDo post it, Cera! I've seen photos and you all look lovely!
The original video posted seemed to typify what maddens me about so much dance I see today (belly and otherwise) - skill at the expense of finesse. I can appreciate her range of motion and her floor and leaping skills on a physical level, but sadly, not at all on an artistic one. It just didn't do it for me at all.
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Re: mermaid bellydancer
Mon, May 19, 2008 - 5:32 PMI like the very 1st mermaid video listed here on top when she is performing with her veil. She is very fluid and fits the fantasy of the mermaind. I like how she ends on the floor. Her cosutme is beautiful and really sets the image. I didn't think the drum piece in the middle fit, though her technique was very good.
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Re: mermaid bellydancer
Wed, May 21, 2008 - 2:45 AMmermaid topic: I think the connection with a bellydancer is almost logical. The mermaid is an archetype of feminine beauty and mystery. A bellydance costume with a mermaid skirt and the long hair is very close to the popular idea of a mermaid. She is beautiful like a woman (naked on top, slender and feminine) but moves like a fish, so there is something not human about the way she moves. You always say: fluid ( which is latin for flowing) when describing a good dancer. And if you watch little fish in an aquarium, shiny, colourful, their trembling and wavy moves are similar - imagine a fast bellyroll that makes the belly go like the surface of a lake, soft vibrations that make the body tremble, snake-arms so fluid that they look like underwater...(I think that fluidity I cannot see on the first bellydancer posted here). -
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Re: mermaid bellydancer
Wed, May 21, 2008 - 4:46 AMThere's a thread in the tribal belly dance tribe about how long is too long to keep your back to the audience...and I think this one is a perfect example of too long...I got bored the first time I tried to watch it and just didn't finish...I can understand starting out that way for a short time, but after a while, you just want to look around and find something more interesting to look at...
That being said, I do love the outfit...I'm very partial to the oceanic colours...but the dance just didn't do it for me... -
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Re: mermaid bellydancer
Wed, May 21, 2008 - 4:51 AMHmm...actually, I don't think this is the one I remembered...I saw one somewhere on here, recently with about the same colours that the girl did a very long beginning with her back to the audience...my mistake...but I do agree that this one's movements were too fast for the mermaid feel...lovely dancing, but just not in keeping with the suppleness of a mermaid...
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