Our nightly BOA, constricting the veins in my Brain Drain. (Not that it matters to anyone, but this chick is one of the three or four best dancers I have ever seen. She is, likely, destined to become the first truly International Pop Star in history. She is from Korea. There is almost nothing American about her, except for the sound of her music. Her moves are a combination of Michael Jackson, Asian dance, and Middle Eastern dance. She is a new synthesis. The more I watch her, the more I am convinced ... we are witnessing history.)
"Her moves are a combination of Michael Jackson, Asian dance, and Middle Eastern dance. She is a new synthesis. "
ReplyDeleteBeyond her ethnic appearance, where exactly is the asian influence in her movement? There is no recognizable movement unique to her culture. All movement is familiar to performances by Shakira, Beyonce, or dozens of other pop performers.
You could be right. I see what I see. I know little about dance. However, I don't see, in Beyonce or Shakira, what I see in BOA, and I'm not going to turn IBA into an argument about dance moves.
ReplyDelete:)
I see more Indian in BOA than I do Asian. I am not familiar with Asian dance. But, I have spent a lot of time watching Namaste America, which is an Indian TV show for an American audience.
Another thing that is interesting about her moves is the stop/start/slow-mo aspect. She changes rhythm like a jazz drummer. That's probably why I am so struck by her dancing. I am a drummer.
I rarely see dancers who think about rhythm like jazz drummers.
But, since you baited me (and you know I love a good argument), just for the sake of argument, let's look at a couple of videos by Beyonce and Shakira:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mVEGfH4s5g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygctbqBijFk
Anyway, I only see videos like this at the gym. I don't spend time on YouTube or watching MTV.
I see no polyrhythmic aspect to Beyonce's dancing, and her dancing looks completely canned. Every move was taught to her by a choreographer. I don't believe (and this is just my opinion as an artist in general) that she has ever had an original idea about dance in her life. (She is a pretty good singer though).
Shakira is an original dancer. And, there is a bit of a polyrhythmic aspect to her dance, but I think that comes from her Salsa influences, not from Middle Eastern. I don't think Shakira's influences are that broad, but what do I know. I'm not an expert in dance, like I said.
There is an argument to be made that Shakira is the first truly Internation Pop Star, but I tend to think of Mexico as part of the United States.
:)
That's a whole other political discussion.
If you really want to argue this stuff with me, I'll probably break it down, frame by frame and start showing you how BOA's rhythm's are the dance equivalent of drummers like Jack DeJohnette and Brian Blade.
Do you really want to go there?
LOL
I yield that BOA is cute and a talented performer. However, I am not qualified to enter the musicians arena for focused discussion on polyrhythmic patterns so I'll pass on the frame by frame analysis.
ReplyDeleteThank you, because it ain't worth our time.
ReplyDelete:)
I do love to talk rhythm though. The problem is, when you talk rhythm with a non-musician, it doesn't mean much.
Once again, I don't know anything about dance, so I could be wrong about this. She could be the squarest dancer ever. Doesn't look like it from where I sit, though.