Dancing Wisely

A piece of advice to younger/newer dancers who might tend to view the less-technical style of previous generations with a bit of snark, disdain, or condescension: consider reevaluating your judgment. This isn't an admonishment, just a note to let you know what you are missing and how you may appear to others. It's okay to like whatever you like and to be proud of what you do, but I would encourage you to consider what your own dancing would look like had you begun your education in a different era, and what the top stars will be doing in 15 years. Yesterday's visionaries weren't any less gifted and industrious than today's trailblazers. The bar didn't raise itself. Don't be an airhead, and don't embarrass yourself. Appreciate what has come before you as the gift that it is.

I became a good dancer very quickly in part because of focus, discipline, and affinity, but I was also in a good place at a good time. But if I were 25 years old today and taking my first belly dance class, I could probably get done in 2 or 3 years what, 15 years ago, it took me 10 years to figure out. (This would be especially true in some sort of confusing time warp where I got to study from my own DVDs and YouTube videos and start learning now from the foundation of what my own students and students' students have done in their careers.)

This isn't just belly dance, by the way. Compare any Olympic time/score/routine from the 50s to the expectations for today's athletes. Or just compare your cell phone to the one you had 5 years ago. Our dance builds on the achievements of those who came before us, and continues to evolve thanks to the examples and challenges we set for one another. The resources that are now available not only make it possible for gifted dancers to get very good very fast, they continually push the standard higher, constantly shifting our perception of what is possible.

I'm not telling you to be deferential and respectful to your teachers and to dancers of previous generations. Do as you see fit—a gracious outlook is good for your mental health and good manners are a good policy, but teachers don't deserve all the credit for their students' work and respect should be saved for those that deserve it. But don't kid yourself about the foundations your work has built on. To think that your dancing (or mine, or that of fill-in-the-blank OMG Big Name) sprang like Athena fully-formed from the head of Zeus is pathetic ignorance and foolish self-importance. Stop advertising that ignorance, or, better yet, divest yourself of it entirely. You, lucky you, are the beneficiary of an amazing legacy. If you'd like to be a better dancer or just a more sensible grown-up, wrap your head around the idea that whether or not you like the legacy that's been handed to you is different from having the wisdom to appreciate it. Why appreciate it? The more you do, the more you'll be able to do something amazing with it. (And the dignity you gain won't hurt either.)

"Flowers" Music Video

"Cocktails" Music Video

I believe I have been typecast as a hot tomato! :-)

January 2013 Beginners' Class

As we count down the final days of 2012, we also draw everyday nearer to an annual tradition:  New Years' Resolution time.  If it's always on your list, why not make this the new year you take the plunge and give belly dance a try?

Through February 13, I'm teaching Wednesday nights at 8:30 at Ral'eau Salsa, 300 W, 43rd St. (corner of 8th Ave.), 6th floor.  This is a session-format course where each lesson builds on previously-taught material, and although drop-ins are permitted at any time during the session, the course is designed for students who start together and continue together every week.  I recommend that new beginners start this week, January 2, or if you are not able to make this date, start no later than January 9. 

For more information, see RSalsa.net.

I look forward to dancing with you in 2013!

St. Ives, Worker of Miracles

Great news for cinephiles:  now there's time to catch up on all those movies you've been missing!  From http://www.unrealitytv.co.uk/reality-tv/towie-lydia-bright-takes-part-in-the-st-ives-seven-day-challenge/"

"According to St.Ives, the average UK woman will spend 91 hours every year applying make-up, the equivalent of three and half days a year – enough time to enjoy over 60 films, back to back."

This is not a makeup bashing post.  I love makeup!  Primarily I think it's fun and artistic, but I'm also grateful to have the option to create a dewy, blushing, pimple-free face, and, in some situations, have more control over the way I'll be perceived.  Nor is this a "natural beauty" bashing post.  I also love not wearing makeup (and hearing media messages about not wearing makeup) because sometimes there are other things I want to spend my time and money on, and also because no one should have to feel compelled to alter their appearance for someone else's benefit.  What I do NOT love is foolish misrepresentations of "natural beauty" as a new unattainable beauty standard.   This is also not meant as a post bashing Lydia Bright (the TV personality pictured below, whom I know essentially nothing about but whom I am sure is under great pressure related to her appearance and how she expresses herself), but the premise of these photos is preposterous.  Supposedly we are seeing the results of Lydia's having undertaken the "St. Ives 7-day challenge," whereby seven days of using facial scrub allowed her "to achieve fresher, more radiant looking skin, giving her the confidence to go without makeup at a makeup free shoot."

Who knew seven days of scrubbing was all it takes?  I have a suggestion, though, about the true secret to natural beauty.  No, no, it's not those aphorisms wrongly attributed to Audrey Hepburn about being a kind person...  In addition to St. Ives facial scrub for seven days, I'd suggest following this authentic ancient ritual for petitioning St. Ives, patron of "natural" beauty.

Prayer to St. Ives

O St. Ives, obtain for me these beauty favors I implore.  Grant me perfect symmetry. Save me from the tweezer and eyebrow pencil, and let my eyebrows grow in tidy orderly arcs.  Normalize my pigmentation:  let my coloration be free of any variation.  Plump my lips; lift my cheekbones; whittle my jaw; shape my eyes, nose, and lips into idealized typical Caucasian shapes.  Intercede on my behalf against dark circles under my eyes, against hair on my upper lip, and against wrinkles and sags. Imbue me with a youthful rosy glow, make me fashionably slim but not too slim, and make me impossibly blonde (except in the hair of my eyebrows and eyelashes which should still be dark enough to accentuate the shape of my uncommonly light blue eyes.)  Above all, St. Ives, take away my pores.  Though I am an adult, make my pores like unto those of a newborn babe.  Make the texture of my skin like unto that of a billiard ball.

Well, maybe it won't totally work...  According to a tweet from Lydia Bright:

JPEG of tweet taken from the Daily Mail, who captioned it "Honest: Lydia opened up about her insecurities to her Twitter followers"

Also, below her chin and a little off to the side I think there's a little freckle or mole or something.  Tsk, tsk!  But I guess it's okay if St. Ives can't truly make us "perfect," since revealing our flaws will help us, like Lydia, grow the maturity and wisdom of self-acceptance.


More photos:  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2174803/TOWIEs-Lydia-Bright-leads-way-shows-face-make-free-promote-natural-beauty.html

American Hero, Roy A. Cui

In the embedded video, career image retoucher Roy A. Cui explains the moral imperative behind his decision to endanger his livelihood, and no longer accept jobs digitally altering images of female bodies in advertising and entertainment. Roy is a softspoken guy, and this is a relatively long video: if your head is in quick-clicking instant-gratification web browsing mode right now, come back and watch the video later when you have 9 minutes to dedicate to listening to this courageous and inspiring story.


 

(Or, if you're REALLY impatient, here's a transcript you can read: http://royacui.com/2012/06/28/i-dont-know-what-happens-next/).

Commentary: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jennifer-danielle-crumpton/authenticity_b_1641905.html

More info on the film that inspired this decision: http://www.missrepresentation.org/

Thank you Roy!

"Fusion" Costuming?

Not belly dance.  Not for ladies.  But definitely worth checking out for anyone who is interested in costume.  New menswear from designer Marcos Paulo Piccoli:

Article and many more pictures at:  http://www.thecreatorsproject.com/blog/marcos-paulo-piccoli-is-pushing-menswear-to-new-geometric-limits.