Desert Divas ~ Templecombe Mediaeval Fayre, June 2008I have a confession to make. When it comes to dancing I'm no disco diva. I can move to the music and I can even keep off toes (mine and others) but I just can't make my body go where I want it to. I also went to an all girls school and when we did dancing I always got to lead which causes problems as an adult woman as I'm not so good at the following. All in all I am much happier watching and in the case of belly dancing, I feel something akin to relief that I don't have to participate. So it was a guilt free Bobkat that watched the Desert Divas put on a belly dancing display at Templecombe Mediaeval Fayre a couple of weekends ago.
Now, I haven't the first idea about what constitutes good belly dancing but the women seemed to enjoy themselves, the crowd were appreciative and as far as I was concerned they made great photographic subjects as they were colourful and provided interesting forms as they moved.
While belly dancing certainly wasn't practised in mediaeval Britain it dates back to ancient times in the East and was practised as a form of folk dance across areas in the Middle East. It was only at the end of the 19th century that Raqs Sharqi to give it it's proper name became known as 'belly dancing' and in fact the dance involves using the whole of the body to express the emotion the dancer is experiencing from the music.
I watched one of the dances and decided that rather than capture photos of the scene in front of me, I wanted to focus on the colourful costumes, the body forms and the impression of movement in some of the shots through the fluid movement of the fabrics. While belly dancing was unexpected at such an event which was other wise full of swords fighting, jousting, battles, the swirl of fabric and the rhythmic music did provide a colourful break from the clink and clang of metal armour and swords and kept me and my camera occupied.
I have posted some of my favourite photos of the dancers on my photoblog and it is likely that one or two more will be posted soon so do pop over and take a look :) Just follow the link on the picture in my side bar which shows the most recent photo to be posted or click *here*.
19 comments:
THESE ARE FABULOUS, dear B-K....I LOVE all the movement and color of the costumes.! You can almost hear the music! And that's quite a feat! You have a real gift!
I've been loving these photos over at your photo blog!
I can't dance at all! I can stand and be as inconspicuous as possible - that I can do.
I love their colorful skirts!
I always liked the outfits -- just wish I looked good in one.
I'll admit it; I'd love to learn to belly dance.
My performance in the badminton last night convinces me ... I'll never be a dancer ;-)
Great piccys :-)
I've always said there are two things which prevent me from dancing: ability and
sobriety.
I like the pics.
Cheers.
That last photo looks like they are doing the 'Hokey Pokey'...*heehee*
I think having those purple/teal dresses is half the battle... so to speak. :) Anyone would look good dancing in those. Well... maybe not Stephen Fry. Then again.
Love the color and movement in those photos! :)
~S
I got your post card! Thank you! I love it.
My daughter had put it in the "I checked the mail and didn't know what to do with it" pile.
Thanks again!
Beautiful picks BK. Wow, I realy like the colors and flowing movement. Well done my friend.
Wonderfully documented!
Excellent photos. Love the spinning colors. Makes me want to move. Looks like Michele moved too.
Michele sent me back to see your dancing divas again!
These are great pictures. I love the post about the battle too.. Here we have re-enactments of the Civil War.... yours are great!
Great photos. Like you I am not much of a dancer, though I did try belly dancing for a while. Liked it, but I didn't last. The costumes and colours are beautiful.
I loved these!! thanks for sharing...their costumes are awesome also!
the colors are fantastic on these....and I can just SENSE the motion!
My mom took Belly Dancing lessons when I was little. I thought is was pretty nice and the costume she had was awesome. Looking back, I think she did it for one of her boyfriends. I was young, what did I know.
Post a Comment