Sunday 24 February 2008

Zoë Jakes

I got this from a posting on Tango-L, one of the fascinating little tidbits that makes it worth wearing out your delete key on all the others. There's one regular poster on there who also does belly dancing and she says it's done wonders for her tango. This is a dancer she admires. Looking at this, I think even a little bit would do wonders for just about any kind of dance - but to get this good, you probably wouldn't be doing much else.



Talk about core stabiliy, axis and dissociation. Especially from 02:08. I mean, I can imagine how you get this to go like that and that to go like this - even quite fast, with practice - but all at once, and in three perpendicular directions? We should try some of that.

But also, I think this is a beautiful, expressive, and very musical performance, brilliantly put together.

Part of its relevance to the tango discussion was that this is not, of course, entirely classical "bellydance," but a style very much of the performer's own invention and expressing her own culture, sensibility and musical world as well as those of the sources her technique comes from.

4 comments:

La Tanguerita said...

Oh my... now i feel depressed:-))really, she is almost too good to be true.

tangobaby said...

She is really gorgeous. What a beautiful video. Can you tell us who the dancer is?

That kind of sinuous movement is so hard to do. I attempted to bellydance for about a year (I won't even say I actually did it because it was really, really difficult.) and one of my teachers, Delilah, was able to roll a coin all the way up her abdomen and torso using her muscles. It was jaw-droppingly amazing and really sexy.

But you're right, hardcore bellydancers are like hardcore tango people. It's their life.

msHedgehog said...

Zoë Jakes is her name. Yes, it's really compelling to watch.

tangobaby said...

I know, I realized that after I hit Publish Your Comment. Apparently one cup of coffee is not enough these days.