tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1369803161885352423.post2528708311307805490..comments2023-03-31T07:12:00.722-04:00Comments on Parrot Cat: Solo dance performance: once as a girl and once as a boyclaustihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18063231496447650167noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1369803161885352423.post-19453244696476886532022-04-20T10:56:10.045-04:002022-04-20T10:56:10.045-04:00I have a hard time describing my thoughts on conte...I have a hard time describing my thoughts on content, but I really felt I should here. Your article is really great. I like the way you wrote this information. <a href="https://www.easyflexibility.com/blogs/dance-life/perfect-your-penche" rel="nofollow">penche ballet</a><br />kulsoomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07205328629564792832noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1369803161885352423.post-34260840217093486062021-06-24T22:00:26.382-04:002021-06-24T22:00:26.382-04:00Afro-Birds Farm, African Grey Parrot for Sale. We ...Afro-Birds Farm, <a href="https://afrobirdsfarm.com" rel="nofollow">African Grey Parrot for Sale</a>. We offer Parrots to many families, Healthy male and female <a href="https://afrobirdsfarm.com" rel="nofollow">African Grey for Sale</a>. Awesome companions and playmates. Home raised, not captive bred. Vaccinated, tamed.<br /><br />https://www.afrobirdsfarm.com<br />https://afrobirdsfarm.com/Parrots.php<br />https://afrobirdsfarm.com/About.php<br /><br /><a href="https://afrobirdsfarm.com" rel="nofollow">African Grey Parrot for Sale</a><br /><a href="https://afrobirdsfarm.com" rel="nofollow">African Grey for Sale</a><br /><a href="https://afrobirdsfarm.com" rel="nofollow">African Grey Parrot</a>seo online markethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01783991374194315059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1369803161885352423.post-65275490304594873182016-03-18T18:52:02.433-04:002016-03-18T18:52:02.433-04:00Accidentally replied as a separate comment rather ...Accidentally replied as a separate comment rather than an actual reply, but just in case you have notifications on, see below. claustihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18063231496447650167noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1369803161885352423.post-11135419089471458512016-03-18T18:31:33.614-04:002016-03-18T18:31:33.614-04:00Hey Jan Marie,
Wow it's been a long time. Li...Hey Jan Marie, <br /><br />Wow it's been a long time. Like, 3 and a half years since I did this. And honestly, I find your comment kind of slut-shamey, but I'm going to respond anyway, because I think that you got the piece better than you realize.<br /><br />Nevertheless-- that you immediately wrote off the feminine piece, AND that you found it hard to watch, were both parts of the point. I pretty much wanted the audience to feel icky after the performance in either case, but I was really only able to accomplish that for the feminine performance... the masculine performance wasn't taken as vulnerable or serious enough. Viscerally enough? I'm told the feminine performance was pretty hard to watch in person for pretty much all of the reasons that I intended. Blues has a greater range of emotion than just "sexy", and I wanted to begin with a trope and then subvert it. I think I accomplished that.<br /><br />The song is about heroin ("spoonful"). Plenty of people were able to grok the performance of "damage" in the feminine performance. <br /><br />The noise level was NOT the same between the two. The cat calls in the masculine performance continued through the end. The noise level dropped dramatically in the feminine performance about halfway through, when I did the motion of clutching the crook of my arm, intended to evoke shooting up.<br /><br />The biggest weakness of the piece (and I really think of the pair as one piece) is that the venues were so different between the two, I think. The feminine performance was done in a dark, close venue, where the audience was sitting shockingly close to me dressed like an actual prostitute. The masculine performance was done in a high-ceilinged ballroom with good lighting. The second biggest weakness was that the costumes conveyed too much class difference in addition to gender difference.<br /><br />But finally... that there wasn't anything I even COULD wear that would be both convincingly masculine AND convey the same kind of vulnerability/subsistence sex-worker vibe as in the feminine performance is also commentary on our society. There is no such masculine+vulnerable, because the latter is antithetical to the former.claustihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18063231496447650167noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1369803161885352423.post-18851374616423164752016-03-18T17:52:36.417-04:002016-03-18T17:52:36.417-04:00I got here through Grace's "Gender in Blu...I got here through Grace's "Gender in Blues Dance" which I got to watching a bunch of Tim O'Neill video's while teaching "teaching how to teach blues dance" lessons this week.<br /><br />Anyway. I really love the idea of moving a dance from one gender medium to another. You are gifted to be a short-haired flatter chested female; were I equipped with such gifts I would 100% try to replicate this phenomenon and track my own reactions, but alas.<br /><br />But I'll admit that I wrote off the girl performance IMMEDIATELY as "art" because of the way you were dressed. In fact, I think the whole thing is hard to watch, and you're not looking for this supposed "spoonful" you take because you're so distracted by your neon panties. I literally didn't even know there was ANY shift in your character in that performance until reading the commentary below.<br /><br />The male performance however was clearer. Your quality of movement did, as your trusted amigo notes, change from one of confidence and power to one of weakness and crippling defeat. I still didn't know why (this whole "spoonful" tilt was not evident to me in either performance) it happened, but the transition was clear to me.<br /><br />What's also not clear to me is... what questions were you trying to find the answers to with this performance? "How does perception change with gender"? "How does the blues community perceive drug addicts depending on their gender"? The metrics aren't really clear to me. But I like that, conceptually, someone made some art that can be (semi)directly compared on a gender level.<br /><br />But I was surprised to see little change in audience reaction. Maybe that's because the blues community is more well-behaved (read: totally used to women baring excessive amounts of skin in comps and performances) so the oo's and ah's in both performance were nearly level regardless of your attire. That might be the most shocking part of this whole thing.<br /><br />Please keep fooling the public! But ask bigger questions. I have no idea what the social point/questions of this was, but I'd love to see something like it, with questions behind it.. and answers coming from it. Kudos and keep it up!Jan Mariehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10862185326120870950noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1369803161885352423.post-35503173931720156212013-01-20T13:44:52.138-05:002013-01-20T13:44:52.138-05:00Re: Guys and solo blues
I can only talk to my exp...Re: Guys and solo blues<br /><br />I can only talk to my experience as a slightly-older, pawkward, mediocre dancer, but the vast majority of solo blues I've seen (performed and taught) have been of the sexy "you know you want some" variety, or the aggressive "you want a piece of this" variety. Anyone who has talked to me for more than 30 seconds knows that those two emotions just aren't in my default palette. As a result, I've shied away from even taking solo classes with the intent of bringing the movement to my partnered dancing.<br /><br />The few times solo dance has appealed to me (either performed or just messing around on the dance floor) is when the dancers began expressing other attitudes. My favorite male dancers/instructors to watch are those who play up the goofy or show amazing musicality (the kind where the exact motion isn't as impressive as how well it fits the music). Troy Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17593123935714873765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1369803161885352423.post-25838663620852323482012-12-24T09:37:00.244-05:002012-12-24T09:37:00.244-05:00Just watched both of these. Hot damn woman I wish ...Just watched both of these. Hot damn woman I wish I would have been around to see them live. I actually read the blog and comments on my phone before I could get to computer to play the video so some of the things I perceived in them may have been skewed by knowing that you were shooting up etc. I did watch the girl version first then the boy. I know you said you were more nervous in the first one but it looked to me like the female version was more raw and gritty where as the boy version was more shy and vulnerable. It was an interesting juxtaposition for me because usually we as a society associate grittiness with the masculine and vulnerability with the feminine which isn't to say at all that the opposite can't be true. I did see the sexiness much more so in the first one and I think maybe some of the OH as in Oh shit comments may have been the combination of the showing the panties and the drugs. They are very much in your face things that "good girls" just don't do. I think that that is the reason that so many people were uncomfortable. As far as movement having danced in both flats and heels I can say that they do absolutely change the way you move so I can see that. I've never "packed" so I don't know about that but I applaud you for your commitment to getting into character. Maybe that was part of changing the way you move, even having practiced and worn you man parts I imagine you still aren't as comfortable with them as an actual man so it came out in the dance as the vulnerability. I love that you used a guys name as well. So before I start to devolve into rambling I think this was well done and I think that you are awesome for having the balls to do it.Cat S. https://www.blogger.com/profile/06221470773608628758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1369803161885352423.post-84494360058173939632012-12-24T09:31:01.395-05:002012-12-24T09:31:01.395-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Cat S. https://www.blogger.com/profile/06221470773608628758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1369803161885352423.post-6404289012294734892012-12-09T22:55:20.350-05:002012-12-09T22:55:20.350-05:00I don't have anything insightful to write othe...I don't have anything insightful to write other than bravo for creating these two pieces, sharing it with the community, sharing your thoughts on how it went, and inviting the conversation about it. Really brave and provocative.Rik Panganibanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08757004087745160715noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1369803161885352423.post-787715962573866752012-12-09T14:05:10.409-05:002012-12-09T14:05:10.409-05:00Ooo thanks for the replies!
And yes I agree you&#...Ooo thanks for the replies!<br /><br />And yes I agree you'd have struggled to find male clothing which gives off the same kind of vibe as that intended by the female outfit chosen. Chances are, if you had... it wouldn't be familiar to much of your audience and the catcalls would have kept coming anyway.<br /><br />Also thanks for the video! Similarly I like the 'Moses Supposes' routine done by Dax and Sarah a year or two ago (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F82aNRznvnk) - but both these feature more masculine clothing. Do we only see badassery without sex if the feminine look is removed? Not being petulant, just... like everything else - I think it's interesting!Sarahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06724983034787931176noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1369803161885352423.post-79649806822871806712012-12-07T21:16:55.546-05:002012-12-07T21:16:55.546-05:00I know, I try not to let my dislike for blues tarn...I know, I try not to let my dislike for blues tarnish other people's experience of it. We all like different things. It's funny, I want other people to be free to do things even if I don't like doing them. :-)Rebecca Brightlyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14514169468538700616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1369803161885352423.post-41235797481804596142012-12-07T20:31:26.724-05:002012-12-07T20:31:26.724-05:00I misunderstood your comment, then. I am really, ...I misunderstood your comment, then. I am really, *really* sorry that has been your experience with blues. claustihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18063231496447650167noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1369803161885352423.post-730000096717253852012-12-07T20:25:31.924-05:002012-12-07T20:25:31.924-05:00"the sliminess I associate with it" It&#..."the sliminess I associate with it" It's an association. I've had too many boners on my leg, one-sided staring contests, forced body rolls, and so on when I've done blues dancing with strangers. That stuff is permanently etched on my brain. Often when I watch blues dancing, I feel those things happening to me again. It makes me feel uncomfortable and slimy. I have low tolerance for boundary violations.Rebecca Brightlyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14514169468538700616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1369803161885352423.post-7831962810887402632012-12-07T14:06:27.874-05:002012-12-07T14:06:27.874-05:00Did the different costumes change my dancing? For ...Did the different costumes change my dancing? For sure. A lot. The heels are very relevant. Also... I was actually packing fake junk. And I practiced with it. I had to change one spot in the choreo because I couldn't cross my legs the same way in pants and with junk as I could bare-legged. But also just having that... hanging between my legs, lol. Changes the way you move. <br /><br />The arm stuff I mostly changed for gender presentation reasons- the reason you can see my shimmy the first time is the dress moves. In the guy costume, it'd never read, and I'm wearing a binder, so my chest is kinda restricted. The arms with the shorty georges... the raised, wavy arms just didn't look masculine. <br /><br />The body language notes are very interesting, from an "inside-out" versus "outside-in" way of projecting emotion for performances.claustihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18063231496447650167noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1369803161885352423.post-71398382115993187282012-12-07T13:58:17.102-05:002012-12-07T13:58:17.102-05:00I think personally not wanting to watch sexy perfo...I think personally not wanting to watch sexy performances is a perfectly valid preference. <br /><br />Your comment seems to call ALL sexy performances "slimy," though. I think that's... pretty unfair actually.claustihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18063231496447650167noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1369803161885352423.post-84543040564545210612012-12-07T13:39:39.649-05:002012-12-07T13:39:39.649-05:00Okay, so I just re-watched both performances using...Okay, so I just re-watched both performances using the Youtube doubler (linked in a comment above), and I have some ideas of why I may have viewed the woman performance as more powerful, and the guy performance as weaker. In the female version, your arms were up more, a more classically powerful stance. In the male version, they were more by your sides. Also, it's hard to tell with the costume/lighting differences, but your pelvis appeared more tucked and your ribcage more dropped in the male version (a body language sign of submission).<br /><br />Did you feel like the different costumes inspired you to dance differently?Rebecca Brightlyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14514169468538700616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1369803161885352423.post-55414939333241014112012-12-07T13:26:20.330-05:002012-12-07T13:26:20.330-05:00Okay, so I watched the video of the boy version fi...Okay, so I watched the video of the boy version first. I saw them on Jerry's page and just clicked without thinking. When the male name was announced, I was like, "Wait, did I get the wrong video?" And then you came out and I believed for a minute that it was a guy. Then I realized that you were in drag, but my initial experience was of a young guy dancing in a very vulnerable, shy, weak sort of way.<br /><br />The woman's performance came across more powerfully to me. I don't watch blues very often due to all the sliminess I associate with it. Sexiness is a very private thing for me, and it's not my cup of tea to watch it. That said, you didn't seem sexy as a woman (all the cat calling seemed so out of place!). It was more ... well you explained it. There's a reason I'm not a dance critic. Words kind of escape me here.Rebecca Brightlyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14514169468538700616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1369803161885352423.post-66734872749203012932012-12-07T08:11:24.958-05:002012-12-07T08:11:24.958-05:00Also, I agree with your points about same-gender d...Also, I agree with your points about same-gender dancing, especially between two guys, get treated as comedy/ camp in the lindy community. At the blues events I've been to, I haven't seen that. It's solidly within the umbrella of customary stuff that happens. <br /><br />As far as women and "manly" dancing have you seen Mike, Laura, and Falty's performance from Stompo? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ItmVVFFi_w) Laura isn't dancing "manly".... she's still clearly Laura. But she's wearing guys clothes and the routine is styled like "look, 3 badasses" and not like "Two guys and a girl dancing." I thought it was hella cool. claustihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18063231496447650167noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1369803161885352423.post-78557609939589857132012-12-07T07:57:47.225-05:002012-12-07T07:57:47.225-05:00"Yes, I think variations in setting and costu..."Yes, I think variations in setting and costume will have made a real difference to the responses you got (in my experience the flashing underwear is really what makes the girl version quite poignant somehow - really pushes the sex point, and the idea that the girl doesn't care that she's showing her pants - or maybe that she wants to).<br /><br />BUT the gender question is what really interests me..." <br /><br />I would argue that that the costuming is an inherently gendered difference. There is no convincing boy costume that I could have worn that would have resulted in the guy character flashing his underwear. And I don't think there was any convincingly male costume I could have worn that would have so easily read as being "for sale." claustihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18063231496447650167noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1369803161885352423.post-75109859061031320752012-12-07T07:50:40.726-05:002012-12-07T07:50:40.726-05:00I feel like this is a complicated point. I read t...I feel like this is a complicated point. I read that statement at least two pretty different ways and I hope you can clarify for me. Do you mean "Feminine doesn't have to mean that revealing and I wish you'd picked a different costume" or "I lament the fact that the state of our society is such that casual clothing for women is much more revealing than casual clothing for men"? claustihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18063231496447650167noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1369803161885352423.post-79065966769838658112012-12-07T05:05:55.811-05:002012-12-07T05:05:55.811-05:00Mightily impressed!
Yes, I think variations in se...Mightily impressed!<br /><br />Yes, I think variations in setting and costume will have made a real difference to the responses you got (in my experience the flashing underwear is really what makes the girl version quite poignant somehow - really pushes the sex point, and the idea that the girl doesn't care that she's showing her pants - or maybe that she wants to).<br /><br />BUT the gender question is what really interests me - yes women in dance (blues or lindy or whatever) can feel a lot of pressure to be 'feminine' whatever that means to you. I'm FINALLY coming back around to the idea that my penchant for androgyny is fine, and that I can still be a super dancer without wearing a pretty dress or making sexualised movements.<br /><br />HOWEVER it does seem like there's still some "teehee it's funny/good because it's kinda gay" attitudes around, of which I am also occasionally guilty before I check myself. When a man leads another man, or when leads follow and ham up their swivels or hands on hips or duck-face pouts. When a man dances a 'sexy' move I almost think he gets more reaction because he's like, doing a girl's move. Gaaaay. It's campness, a form of comedy. If a feminine woman does lots of 'macho' moves - well, she's often seen as not doing her innate sexiness justice. Or something.<br /><br />I'm trying to think of examples of women dancing solo in more 'masculine' ways - and in my head I'm thinking Chicago, some Fosse stylings, or Beyonce's Single Ladies (more about that http://dogpossum.org/2012/09/single-ladies-j-setting-and-battle/ totally worth a read) ......<br /><br />...but all the routines I can think of when women do 'manly' movements, feature women not wearing very much at all. It's like "oh shit, they look too much like men, let's make sure they show some boob and hip to keep them sexy".<br /><br />Not sure where I'm going with this. But it's all interesting.<br /><br />I'm getting more interested in feminist issues lately - one big one being 'slut shaming' and the idea that some people 'ask for it' (i.e. assault, catcalls, etc.) - but alongside slut shaming stands tomboy shaming. As women in dance we're so heavily expected to be girly (especially when following) which may be one reason leads take a long time to consider learning to follow, and when they do, often camp it up. Can we not be superstar follows/solo dancers without bringing the sex all the time?<br /><br />(To be fair, Frida Segerdahl does this well, although she's been getting steadily more feminine with age in her clothing - which may just be fashions within the competition ring.)<br /><br />..... and finally, having proclaimed sexism on the ranks - I just want to celebrate the lindy and blue communities for their wonderful scenes. I felt much more like a female 'object' dancing salsa and modern jive in the past - lindy allowed me to have pure, exhausting, brilliant fun - and blues allows so much individuality that these are the dances I've stuck with and am now also well into leading as regularly as following in.Sarahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06724983034787931176noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1369803161885352423.post-89093581209907635722012-12-06T23:43:46.583-05:002012-12-06T23:43:46.583-05:00Wishing that dressing "feminine" didn...Wishing that dressing "feminine" didn't have to mean revealing...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1369803161885352423.post-85811262005469650702012-12-06T16:13:52.913-05:002012-12-06T16:13:52.913-05:00My original comment was eaten because of login iss...My original comment was eaten because of login issues. Twon't happen again. And sorry for distracting from the thread on Tumblr. I'm a little sorry.<br /><br />On to it!<br /><br />I am a Lindy Hopper and have never really cared for or cared about blues. I see that you're there, I acknowledge our connection, but it's never interested me. And yet, I read your blog. :) That said, when it popped up in my RSS I did not watch the videos because I assumed they'd be typical schmexy blues routines and those have never interested nor entertained me.<br /><br />It wasn't until I started reading through your article that I went back. I watched the boy one first, then the girl on after, then finished reading the article.<br /><br />Preference: I was more engaged and interested in the boy performance. You passed very well as a boy, hips or no, so it was easy to accept that as I watched. I LIKED that it was more closed off and your quality of movement was more interesting to me.<br /><br />I wasn't able to engage with the woman one because I don't find overt expressions of sexuality at all entertaining, especially how they're usually treated in our communities. Costuming and styling was just not my cuppa. Not that I think those kinds of performances are BAD or slutty or shameful or anything - I just don't enjoy them. <br /><br />I wouldn't have noticed the Shooting Up Move if I hadn't read the article and was looking for them. That could be a reason people didn't GET it? It sounds like more of your viewers were more aware of it than I was, though. But maybe an improvement would be to modify that moment to last longer, or repeat, or be more exaggerated would help it read better. <br /><br /><br />Gender-wise, I am much more moved by expressions of vulnerable emotions in men than I am in women. I think it's mostly because I've been conditioned to think they are much more rare and that the intensity of emotion required for men to get there is much higher. That may or may not be true, but it does feel that way to me sometimes. So the pain felt more intense in the boy one.<br /><br />I think it was really cool that you used the same choreography for both and they both fit. It was a great example of how moves don't need to be inherently gendered and that gender is a performance in itself. <br /><br />This was great. Thank you!Sarahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03343660393919261777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1369803161885352423.post-79406824532362080632012-12-06T08:59:00.221-05:002012-12-06T08:59:00.221-05:00I want to say more about this later, but something...I want to say more about this later, but something that may help with comparisons: http://youtubedoubler.com/?video1=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DAlEww9I9_7s&start1=&video2=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Ffeature%3Dplayer_embedded%26v%3DFOf5GxcrWLk&start2=&authorName=meahwahwahAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1369803161885352423.post-1465820729482267582012-12-06T00:47:39.237-05:002012-12-06T00:47:39.237-05:00- Love your response.
- totally *was* wearing pas...- Love your response. <br />- totally *was* wearing pasties under the dress, just in case. They were red. THEME. <br />- It occurred to me after the fact that I should have gotten the boy clothes dirty. Or something. I was shooting for "middle class teenage emo boy" but I could probably could have stood to look a lot scruffier. claustihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18063231496447650167noreply@blogger.com