Comments on Mana Makan - The Feast Crusade: Dancerpades Part Illusion - Curry Confidential

Hi Love_to_dance, a well-thought out comment which...

2006-06-23T03:13:00.000+08:00

Hi Love_to_dance, a well-thought out comment which deserves a well-thought out answer.

Firstly, do not be impressed. I know little in the whole scheme of things as there are much more knowledgeable people - you just have to know where to look. But thank you anyway.

I know it is terribly hard for anyone to read all the Dancerpades posts since there are so many of them and all lengthy ones too. But right from the start, I stated that it is my personal view with opinions from other dancers thrown in. You may choose to disagree or agree. It is all up to you. Just as I would not fault you for liking the expressions on the dancers I pointed out as excessive, likewise, grant me that same courtesy.

However, I am quite familiar with some of these dancers as I have seen them evolve through the years. One of them, at least, certainly did not use to employ these expressions and she was a much "realer" dancer then. Her immersion in her dance did not have to rely on artifice.

Just like it is hard to explain the difference between sexual and sensual or classy versus tacky ... so too are the expressions on some of the dancers' faces. Perhaps to the layperson it appears genuine but to experienced dancers who have seen these dancers grow, it takes away from their dance. Perhaps it is a case of those who went "awww" at Tom Cruise's performance at the Oprah show and those who wanted to barf.

As to viewing and appreciating, of course I appreciated their courage. But unfortunately, courage was not one of the judging criteria. Remember, this is a competition, not a dance demonstration. If they had performed at a dance demonstration that was free, I would not be as critical. But this is a competition to decide who should represent me and you ... all the dancers in Singapore. Just like if you chose a real estate agent to sell your house, would you choose one just because he was brave enough to stick his namecard in your mailbox?

Have you ever attended any real concerts in Singapore performed by established dancers? Do you realise how many amazing dancers we actually have in Singapore? Do you wonder where they were? Why were they not there? Mostly because most of them did not know about this contest till literally a few weeks before. In fact, some of them never received an invitation or even an email?

I call this beyond a hiccup especially as we asked that the organiser be fair and inform everyone. I shall not go into more details about all the "hiccups" but ... while I feel sorry that the organiser received so much flack and humiliation from the main organiser, I think the actions go beyond "hiccup" level. Still, I marvel at her attempt - I just wish she had not left everyone but her own school out in the cold.

And if I had been truly biased against her, I would not have tried to defend her when the main organiser blamed everything on her.

As to more dancers joining next year ... perhaps there might be but most likely they will all be from Bellydance Discovery again. Unfortunately, this competition has convinced few that the intentions and end results are worthy. And that is not my own opinion ... it is the result of a poll I took. I interviewed 10 established teachers/dancers (that's a majority of the community in case you are wondering) and all of them scoffed and, in fact, I had one almost laugh me off the phone when I asked if she would participate next year.

But thanks for your considered comment. I appreciate the maturity and intellectual thought you invested in it and hope you will continue to pursue your passion. Hope to see you around.

hi, your entries on the competition was really int...

2006-06-22T21:10:00.000+08:00

hi, your entries on the competition was really interesting and as a novice belly dance student I am really impressed by your knowledge of bellydance. Especially as I sat through the competition not knowing some of the song titles being performed to.

I do wanna ask you why are u so critical of the dancers in particular from Bellydance discovery? Just to clarify, I am not from that dance school but to me, there is a lot of personal interpretation and expression involved in bellydance thus wat you like might not be to the liking of another person and vice versa. For one, I did like most of the dancers from that school cos I felt that they were really enjoying their dance which made me enjoy watching them dance and feel like going home and practice my bellydance techniques!

I feel that we should just view and appreciate the dances especially in a competition where the dancers must have plucked up courage to dance and be judged by a panel of judges. no?

It was the first time that Singapore had such a competititon thus i feel its understandable that there would be some hiccups along the way. I am sure that the organisers would do a better job next time round with the addition of relavant acknowledgements and stuff as well as better introductions on the dances performed? I sincerely hope that more dancers will join next year!

Thanks but I do hope it is not true though as the ...

2006-06-22T10:29:00.000+08:00

Thanks but I do hope it is not true though as the implications are not pleasant.

If this contest had been a scam and a sham, I hope...

2006-06-16T16:32:00.000+08:00

If this contest had been a scam and a sham, I hope you find the evidence to expose it for what it is. I admire your dedication to getting at the truth. Best of luck, my friend.