just like a woman

It is a well-known fact that movies that at least try to portray belly dance in a fair way are not that many. In fact, I can only name one that I know of. Then there's Just Like a Woman (SPOILER AHEAD). 

This movie came out in 2013, directed by Rachid Bouchareb. It's about two acquaintances, Marilyn (Sienna Miller) and Mona (Golsfhiteh Farahani) who are forced by circumstances to get on a road trip from Chicago to Santa Fe in Marilyn's car. Marilyn goes to Santa Fe to audition for a belly dance company (as recommended by her belly dance instructor, Peter). She's hesitant at first, but then she's fired from her job and comes home to catch her deadbeat husband cheating on her with a pizza delivery girl.

Mona, on the other hand, is an immigrant, and a wife of a very loving husband (Mourad, played by the ruggedly handsome Roschdy Zem) and an overbearing mother-in-law (Chafia Boudraa) who demands to have a grandchild and accuses Mona of being infertile. One night, Mona spills her mother-in-law's pills and yet serves them to her anyway. The mother-in-law dies in the morning, and Mona, overcome with guilt, runs away. She has no idea where to go, but kismet brings her bus exactly where Marilyn is parking her car. The two meet, and Marilyn decides to take Mona with her.

Marilyn (foreground) and Mona (background) dancing at their first gig. 

Peter (Marilyn's instructor) gives several recommendations for restaurants Marilyn can dance at. Her first gig actually needs two women (how lucky!). Mona, being a Middle-Easterner, is (supposedly) a natural belly dancer, so Marilyn asks Mona to accompany her dancing at restaurants (one of them looks like a really seedy bar).

Mona belly dancing to flirt with her husband in their convenience store as Marilyn watches in the back.

The first song they danced to is Hisham Abbas' Nari Narayn and they seem to be just wiggling around. They get paid and the tip money is good, and they think everything is fine and dandy until the Arab patron comes to their rooms (apparently they stay at his place) and demands to sleep with Mona. Marilyn answers for Mona and says she's not interested, then the patron asks to sleep with Marilyn, who, of course, refuses. The patron gets angry and Marilyn decides that Mona and she has to leave. One thing, though, the patron says his clients do not like blonde dancing girls, so from then on, Marilyn wears a wig (this wig later becomes important because near the end of the movie when Marilyn gets physically abused by two rednecks and unable to audition, Mona takes her place and disguises as Mona, wears her wig, and is accepted into the dance company).

Marilyn dancing at a bar for their second gig. 

In the mean time, Marilyn's deadbeat husband wants her back (I don't think he knows that she doesn't have a job anymore) and Mona's loving husband wants her back too (with two police officers who start off sounding important and adding tension to the movie but somehow just fade in the background).

In the middle of their journey, Marilyn learns that Mona is on the wanted list and she confronts Mona. Mona tells her what happened and Marilyn abandons her at a gas station in the middle of nowhere America, and Mona, not knowing where she is (she's not American, she's never been outside of Chicago, the only path she knows is to get from her house to the store that her husband runs) just stays put in desperation. Marilyn then changes her mind and comes back to get Mona.

I don't know where to start. Some of the costumes just look cheap (but then again, Marilyn is trying to be a professional dancer, so that explains the cheap-looking costumes). Then the very typical music choices... But let's begin.

Mona auditioning as Marilyn.

There's no sense of progress in the story. The music and the dancing skills don't progress. Mona shows Samia Gamal to Marilyn, but I don't think that inspires Marilyn. At one point, Mona tells Marilyn to use another song (thank God) and to dance with abandon (YES!) but nothing comes of it. I was hoping that Mona shows Marilyn a thing or two about dancing, about music, about being in touch with the dance itself (so many Middle-Easterners pride themselves for being able to dance to Middle-Eastern songs because those are their songs and so they can be really in touch with their dance because everything flows naturally while non-Middle-Easterners struggle to achieve this kind of flow, this kind of tarab that is discussed in Whatever Lola Wants). Mona doesn't even smile when she auditions and yet she gets the part.

There's no tension when there should be lots of tensions. You have an immigrant (and not just an immigrant, but from the Middle-East, forpetessake, in the USA!), you have the stereotypical Arab people who always blame and degrade women, you have a loving husband desperately searching for his missing wife (who later says she doesn't want him back because she thinks he's failed to stand up for her), you have two cops (one of them is perhaps a racist bastard) whose roles just disappear.

Angles and editing. You know, I have no idea why this movie is rated R. You can hardly even see the dance. The story itself begins way too slow.

The ending. Which is so anticlimactic.

The dance. The dance itself is just meh, most likely because we don't really see what's happening. Then there's also no progression. Actually it gets worse (from an Arab restaurant to a seedy bar? Or is the movie trying to show what the belly dance scene in the USA is really like? Which, if it's true, then it's another missed opportunity).

There are good moments in Just Like a Woman, though. When Mona is left in that gas station and she takes off her coat and stands there while still in a belly dance costume, now that's desperation. The wide shots really inform the audience that she is in the middle of nowhere. Then there's tender moment between Mona and her husband as she flirts with him in the store. Then Samia Gamal. Then Natacha Atlas' Adam's Lullaby (although really, Natacha Atlas? It's been used). The male belly dance instructor (yes!). The fact that there are women of all shapes and sizes and some are even tattooed in his class (YEAH!). Although, both the male belly dance instructor and the other-sized women don't really have a role in this movie.

Well, I'll just leave you with this image. Here's Mona's husband doing something I don't know what, unfortunately not from Just Like a Woman (ya think?). 

so much drama

I finally got to see Black Swan this evening, and I have tell you: it was intense. The last time I came out of the theatre feeling the adrenaline rush was after Matrix: Reloaded. It is so... in your face. Almost everything is in a close-up and it gives the feeling of being there with the characters.

The movie is filled with so many female erotic scenes and a lesbian scene and I didn't feel a thing. I'm. Just. That. Gay.

But again, the movie drained me. It took me on a roller-coaster ride and I greatly enjoyed it. It's not just a dance movie. And I don't think it's a dance movie. I mean, yeah you get to see some moves here and there, but not too many. Still, it's a gorgeous movie.

Black Swan is a story about a ballerina who becomes so obsessed about playing the most important role in the world (Swan Queen in Swan Lake). She gets the part but is still very protective and competitive about it. Nearing the end, she gets more and more insane, but the ending is just... perfect. In so many ways.

What I really want to blog about is how exciting the whole thing is. Okay, please excuse me if that previous sentence sounds so vague. I'm typing at 2 words per hour and I'm so sleepy but I also have to finish downloading something.

But seriously: it is not just a dance. It is everything. I know how ballerinas work, they take it as a full time job because when you are young and agile (and thin), you have to work your ass of to reach the pinnacle of their career really quick because as you put on age, you're out of the business. Well, not quite. You can still teach and maybe own your own school or dance company, but that's it. It's like air-hostesses, athletes, and to some extent, models.

Ah, athletes. I think that's one more reason to really compare dancers and athletes. After all, real dancers must pass rigorous training in the discipline(s) of their choice to reach a paragon.

The character, Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman) loses her mind getting into the character.

One can argue that if it's how it's going to be, so be it. After all, the show is the most important thing.

And one more thing before I faint: I just love the story behind it. It's not just one piece of choreography thrown in one after another. There's a change of set, of decoration, of mood, all following a plot and a story, so beautifully crafted to fit a set of songs. There's a sense of continuity and flow and a story.

I think that's my ideal dance recital. But of course, in an ideal dance recital, money wouldn't be a problem.

Here's one video by my all-time favorite comediennes: French & Saunders, talking about ballet.

of dance and dreams (and manners in watching art performances)

First of all, let me just say that I thoroughly enjoyed Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Partly because of this scene below where Harry and Hermione dance to relieve the tension. That's such a propaganda coming from me, I know. But dance does things, and one of them is relieving stress.

And I almost cried three times during the movie, something that never happened during any of the Potter movies. And Beedle the Bard really makes me understand why many people think JK Rowling is a genius. I can't wait to see the conclusion!

Now, on to some notes regarding The Dance Within 2: Beyond the Dream that was finally wrapped on November 27th, 2010. The show took place in Gedung Kesenian Jakarta and was the culmination of the hard work of all cast and crew. More on that later.

One thing that I have to highlight is the fact that you have to be prepared for replacements (dancer, crew, etc). Our music technician got ill just a few days before the show and thank goodness the replacement did the whole thing just as well.

I know it would be another thing to replace a dancer, especially the lead dancer, but fortunately that didn't happen. It would be a lot harder because that means compromising many things, including artistic vision.

That being said, honestly, this year's recital leaves a somewhat different impression on me. Everything happened so fast. Last year, I had the opportunity to watch other numbers from the side when I was waiting for my turn. This year, it was all about costume changes. I danced seven numbers with different props that were new to me (cane and Isis wings). And I had to spend the last minutes before the end of the show as a blind-mute.

Honestly, I was worried about my sword routine. Lilith fell so many times during the rehearsal, and she even cut my fingers and palms at one time when I tried to catch her. But I guess I did an okay job as she didn't fall although I was practically blind when dancing in the show.

Unlike The Dance Within, The Dance Within 2: Beyond the Dream is a lot more gloomy and depressive. Yes, there were quite a few happy highlights like the Bollywood number, but in all, I felt gloomy. I played Azrael, the Angel of Death, and in the end I had to kill The Dreamer, the main character. Although the finale took place in Heaven (with "When Love Takes Over" by David Guetta feat. Kelly Rowland, no less), I still feel it was less festive than the first.

The cast, in the finale scene.

Gedung Kesenian Jakarta did a pretty good job with the lighting. We had positive reviews from the audience and from members of the media who attended the event. There are some inputs as well that we need to share during the post-mortem meeting.

But this is what got me on my nerves: the ticket was sold out a week before the show. We even decided to sell the tickets that were intended for the press when they said they wouldn't come. Some people were actually waiting to the very last minute to purchase the tickets. I even took the time to deliver the tickets myself and there was more than one time when I was ready to deliver and I didn't receive any confirmation message whatsoever. So I sold the tickets to someone else and got complaints from the person who was supposed to purchase them first.

I hope next year I won't have to deal with that.

The next thing I'd like to blog about is manners in watching art performances in theatres or art centers.

The first one is of course: do not be late. Dancewave Center has the habit of starting things (quite) on time. The Dance Within started 15 minutes late and The Dance Within 2: Beyond the Dream started 7 minutes late. That was an improvement. Whoever came in fifteen minutes after the first act had begun had to wait until the intermission to be allowed to enter.

The second one is taking photos and videos. Holly Hallelujah... We've specifically told the audience on the ticket, the flier, the playbill, and the voiceover that taking photos and videos are prohibited. We stated that IN TWO LANGUAGES! And yet I still saw people with handycams videotaping the event. We should've confiscated that. It was very, very rude. I promise you, next year, the security will be much more strict. When we say no video and no photo taking, that means no video and no photo taking.

The third one is: READ THE PLAYBILL!! It's theatrical, and sometimes it's not that easy to comprehend what's happening. The playbill helps you to understand the dances and the story-line. Come on, even in Ballet, the playbill serves as a guide to understand the story.

But apart from that, our audience was the loveliest. I sat sandwiched between two very talkative groups (in front of me and behind me) during Bellydance Jakarta's fifth annual recital. And to make matters worse, the woman in front of me kept leaning to the right to talk to her friend during the show, and she raised her hands to take photos of the dancers. Now that was downright rude and inconsiderate.

And oh, this is the best part: thank you, whoever brought small children and taught them to behave. I didn't hear any crying babies or children during my frightening dance.

Our audience dressed well. That was one highlight. Although I couldn't help but notice a foreigner, who happened to be a hip hop dance instructor from another dance institution in Jakarta, sitting with his CAP ON and his FOOT UP on the back of the chair in front of him. This was after the show ended, I know. And he has long legs and Gedung Kesenian Jakarta has little leg room, I know. But come on, Dude. I thought you knew better.

The Dance Within (1 & later 2) has always been about the culmination of hard work from everyone. I believe that's why we refuse to open (or end) the show with a speech and giving flowers or some other type of ego-fest. We were just glad everything was over and we did all the best we could. And the effort was everyone's.

I can't wait for The Dance Within 3.

Photo credits:

Lilith & me by Diana T. W.

Cast finale by Si Troy

whatever lola wants

I know I was supposed to blog something about sword care and all the hooplah, but one night when I was struggling with my insomnia streak due to the fact that I slept all day long, I went to IMDB to search for news about the movie I've been anticipating for about a year now: Whatever Lola Wants.

Whatever Lola Wants is a film by Nabil Ayouch, a Moroccan film director and it is Mr. Ayouch's first (or is it second? I don't know, IMDB and Wikipedia give me conflicting data) attempt in creating a foreign movie. The original film is in English starring Laura Ramsey (Lords of Dogtown, She's the Man) as the title character.

Whatever Lola Wants tells the story of Lola, the New York postal worker who also tries to have a career in dance (she auditions, takes jazz dance trainings) but never succeeds. Until one day, her gay Egyptian friend, Yussef (Achmed Akkabi) shows her the video of Ismahan (Carmen Lebbos), the legendary bellydancer from Egypt. Ismahan was once famous but became ostracized because of her affair.

While delivering mails, Lola meets Zackariah Akef (Assaad Bouab), an Egyptian man living in New York. With a little help from Yussef, Lola finally gets to know Zack. However, Zack leaves Lola because he has to return to Egypt. Needless to say, Lola follows him, much to the disapproval of Yussef who says that Egypt is not a country for a woman. He's gay and that makes him even worse than shit ("Je suis pede et donc je suis pire que merde"). But Lola has made up her mind and is going to Cairo.

In Egypt, however, Zack disapproves of Lola's passion for dancing, saying that no good Egyptian woman dances in clubs. After Zack leaves, Lola begins her search for Ismahan, begging to be taught by her, and later winning her respect and becomes a star.

Ismahan (Carmen Lebbos) teaching Lola (Laura Ramsey)
the basic movements of bellydance

The movie has a happy ending (I cried tears of joy). The version I downloaded (yeah! But I will buy the original! I promise!) is in French. And thank goodness all those years of learning French, including a six-week homestay stint in Nice, France has finally paid off. I understand almost all dialogs but I am still going to need to buy the original DVD because it has the original version which is in English. UPDATE: I have purchased the DVD and found that the French version is actually better.

There are so many cool characters in the movie, especially Adham (Nadim Sawalha), Ismahan's butler who is also her friend, number one fan, and the vanguard of her sanity. Adham at times enlightens Lola over why Ismahan's behaving the way she is.

Needless to say, Whatever Lola Wants is a very good movie. It has everything. It has the hard transformation from a stiff jazz dancer into a flowing, elegant bellydancer (Ramsey has done a fine job, and although I personally think Morocco - like Suhaila Salimpour - is way overrated, she has also certainly done a great job in creating the choreographies).

One of the most memorable scenes from Whatever Lola Wants

It shows what Egyptian people think of women who dance (sharmootah/ prostitutes) and yet have double standards about it (as shown in the Nile Tower where the best and the most authentic bellydance is performed - including later by Lola), it shows how Egyptians think of foreign women who dance (stealing their profession although later can be befriended), it shows how Egyptians think of homosexuals (I only heard about it, but somehow it makes me feel reluctant to go there and learn Raks Sharki, although Ms. Maria Aya once told me that they wouldn't do anything to tourists or foreigners), it shows a glimpse of Egyptian culture as well (albeit more modern cultures).

But most importantly is how the movie tries to explain what exactly is belly dance. In her speech after she dances on the last night of her performance before returning to New York, Lola says that bellydance, the dance that is very important to Egyptians, has become an important thing also to her. And she adds that it's why she's returning to New York to share the joy of the dance with Americans.

Through Ismahan, Lola finally discovers what tarab is. It is the soul of the music, of the dance. In Indonesia, we call it taksu: the life of the art. Each work of art has its own breath, its own life. As artists, we are responsible to give life to our work of art. Dancers do that with their bodies. Tarab is shown not only through the facial expressions, but also through the movement. But tarab doesn't stop only in one person - the artist. Instead, it is transferred to the audience. If the artist can make the audience feel the tarab, then the artist has succeeded.

There is also a very important point that is being made by Ismahan when she teaches Lola. When you dance, you dance for yourself. Never, ever, dance for a man.

Lola doing the Tango with Ismahan after tricking Ismahan to dance. Ismahan danced and Carmen Lebbos did an excellent job with Ismahan's facial features - it was filled with so much joy when she dances. I really love it when people can project the feel of the dance (and from within themselves) through their facial expression.

And that about sums everything we need to know about real bellydance. It is not an erotic dance to seduce others. Sensual? Yes. Sexual? Of course. Seductive? Never.

Another thing that I would like add is the fact that thousands of bellydancers and nonbellydancers around the world has anticipated this movie since we first heard the buzz in December 2007 during its premiere in the Dubai Film Festival. However, it fails to attract more major film promoters. I have tried persuading some friends who work for the Jakarta International Film Festival to show this movie, but I don't think it'll ever be shown.

There is one cineplex who claims to be idealistic and promises to show independent and lesser-known movies, but I think (and I accuse that) it succumbs to capitalism (which can be a good thing) and will never play Whatever Lola Wants. The cineplex network here plays the cheesy High School Musical, Honey (seriously, I hate that movie so much. I don't think Jessica Alba can dance), and can you believe they have Step Up 2??

The poster of "Step Up 2".
*gasp* I see the girl baring her belly but it's okay because it's not bellydance!

Don't get me wrong, I love contemporary and Hip Hop dances too, but when Save the Last Dance was released, we've seen everything! And I don't want to alarm you, but there's actually Save the Last Dance 2.

See? I'm not joking.
And it's released by none other than the great, M(indless)TV

All I can say is, come on, we need something new and fresh here! There's nothing porn about bellydance, there's nothing porn about Whatever Lola Wants either! Heck, sometimes I feel that I can't even see the movements because of the camera angle and some of the glamorous, fashionable, yet unflattering costumes.

These two pictures show a scene from Step Up 2. See the girl in red? She's dancing in the rain with a cropped tank top that clings to her skin because it's wet. She's also baring her belly, and oh, grabbing her left breast.
You'll never see that (touching oneself with that kind of facial expression) in real bellydance, like the one shown in Whatever Lola Wants.

Meanwhile, this is Lola. Gorgeous, gorgeous costume.
Sexy? Hell yeah! Trashy? Hell no!

But all in all, watching Whatever Lola Wants is really the cherry on top of a fine day for two reasons: first is finally watching a dance movie that is honest and speaks a lot on my behalf (bellydance and homosexuality) and the second one is I finally got a chance to (forcefully) practice my French.

Nuff said.

By the way, my boyfriend and I recently watched the movie Ready? OK! about a boy who defies the norm of a Catholic School he's in that says boys can't be cheerleaders. That boy's definitely gay (I just adore him. He's like Ugly Betty's Justin!) and it has a happy ending too! Now that is an even deeper and more conflicting movie than Billy Elliott.