Mark Balahadia: Male Belly Dancer رقص شرقي

[thunderssound]

i thout she was a girl

but im not that dispointed lol he can dance

[Zadiel82]

nice video!

[balahadiamark]

The video is working again! Mashallah...

[AprylRed]

aww...It's not working

[punkrocker490]

the video is only 7 seconds long for me.....anyone know what's up?

[balahadiamark]

Not sure what's wrong...let me fix it!

[balahadiamark]

I'm going to have to reload the video. Darnit!

[balahadiamark]

@balahadiamark

OK Now it's working. What happened?

[sammymoon2926]

lol, so did you notice I think this dancer is beautiful...;)

[sammymoon2926]

Beautiful and elegant dancer, strength and beauty beautiful packaged, thank you for sharing this beautiful dance!! Samia would be proud!!

[Xanubi]

Wow are you so cute!!! How an earth did you get those shimmies so small??

[punkyhips]

lol!

[sofiafortunato]

dear lulu something what about soccer is supous to guys but know womens play to. so are you "anyfobic" for guys bellydancer thats stupid in this time

[ladyrage98]

Forget the haters!! U looked amazing and did a fablous job from one dancer to another. Keep doing what you do.

[Boadicea25]

A belated Happy Birthday Mark , and Happy New Year :)!!!!

[LebaneseBoyDance]

its obvious from the movement of ur legs that u've had good training.but dear, u dont pull it off as a belly dancer. your belly muscles barely did any job..it seemed to me that ur show was about u moving around (which was good) without belly dancing. i think u should tighten u belly and strengthen ur muscles in that area. u seem to have the passion u just need to expand ur skills.

[Boadicea25]

That was beautiful Mark. I recently started belly dance lessons myself. I really enjoyed watching your video, it was wonderful.

[mondaymassoudi]

You are just amazing. I love your dance. Bravo, whoever judge is sooooooooooooo jealous of you.

I am speechless. you are sooooooooooo goood

SAFINAZ

[LuluBaby19]

Belly dancing is about the hips - where are the hips??????

[balahadiamark]

Um...I do have hips. It's not like I don't have any.

[LuluBaby19]

As a female I am claiming ownership of Raqs Sharqi - the dance of the Orient. It originated in the harems of the middle east by women for women. You are a man.

[plantboi]

Wow, gender discrimination... A classic look, but honestly... A little over.

Leave room with those hips for some MALE bellydancers too..

[LuluBaby19]

It is not gender dicrimination - Raqs Sharqi is a dance by women for women.

[ImmanBellystylin]

Yah its true but i guess we are now in the generation which we all share i guess ;) we have some amazing male dancers now adays where women pay to learn from them example if you watch LBC ch something like Hizzy ya Nawaem. there that famous egyptian male bellydancer.cant remember his name.. :) xx

[finsterthecat]

That is not true. Look back in history. Since women were not allowed to dance for men. They had men belly dance for male audiences at a point in history.

[Ivettina]

absolutely captivating...

[Jbelledanseur18]

da-ng brother! great job, I loved the way you used the zills, masterful. excellent bellydancing, inspiring to men and women :)

[JapRoc14]

He's pretty good! Not as good as a woman, but still really good for a guy! :)

[cutewig]

Belly dancing is a feminine thing, so, the more feminine the dancer, the better (a masculine belly dancer is an oxymoron). In fact, the outfit should have been much more feminine, needed more jewelry and makeup. Those male belly dancers who dress up and look like guys, don't wear make up and are bold or short-haired, look anti-esthetic and ridiculous. Mixing grace with ugly looks, simply doesn't make it.

[breninarian]

I disagree with you. Belly dance can be a masculine art as well. There is just as much beauty and grace to be found in the male form. Part of the beauty of being a man is that make up isn't (necessarily) part of our beauty.

Female bellydance is the beauty of curves, but male belly dance (in my opinion) is the beauty of skin over muscle. It's tight, controlled, erotic... Both have this qualities, but you don't have to be feminine to belly dance.

Take Hammerhead Sharqi for example.

[Annonymus]

yes,bd can be masculine.i mean,it should be...

i WAS IN THE pAST. with stick, long dress, or maybe the dervis dance...(is that the dance includs turns?)

[heartlessxocean]

Agreed. I am male and I love bellydancing. :) It should be about celebrating sexuality, health and just having fun... why not let both men and women do such?

[isleida3]

what is the name of that song

[Esmeeeeeee]

Zeina by Mohammed Abdel Wahab

[finsterthecat]

I like improvised over choregraphed. Hey Mark ran into this. Ironic because I am choregraphing a candleabra to this song. But it is for the troupe. Viviana saying Greetings from Lewes Delaware

[Icabokika]

Mark you look funny. lol. you were better when you danced on my birthday.

[Yamiharu]

You dance beautifuly!!!!!! congrats... you show you love bellydance so much even I could feel it... :D

[Shebaqueenof]

A nuanced performance... rare

[DisneyGirlJeannie92]

enchanting.....

i wonder what else those hips and body can do *wink* lol

[whalejohn]

i wish i could be like him..

[whalejohn]

nice/. i wish i could be like him..

[littlemisslockett]

not too sure about the top half of the costume, a bit unnecesary i thought, but at least he is smiling, the guys can be soooo serious...

[dustBunnydragon]

wow he is SOOOO graceful~!!!

[Nilyore]

Nice costume and moves... but the choreography isn't very exciting. Still, male dancers have something special

[balahadiamark]

This wasn't choreographed at all. It was completely improvised.

[ninaamaya]

Dag, boy, I hope you come back to folktours next year!

[nefabit]

Everyone . . . the title of the song is in the video description! It's "Zeina"!

[Raqsdama23]

at first I was not too sure about your costume but once you started dancing, I was spellbound. Great job.

[martinilovnmermaid]

Oh my Mark. You are great as allways. Greetings from Delaware

[Ldyrebeln]

wow I have never seen a male belly dancer before, and this is amazing, but im suprised at myself to think they wouldnt do well. men have amazing latin hip motion as well, for latin dance..and you men can obviously shake it for belly dancing as well. ROCK ON

[erickdubai]

If u need another dancer contact me :) erickmz at hotmail dot com as long as u r in UAE i will come...ok..

[erickdubai]

Nice performance..anyway whats da tittle of this song n who is the singer??i wanna have it for my show as well....greetz....u dance very well...:) keep up da good work

[balahadiamark]

6969aaaaa and sexboywonder...I'm going to delete all your posts. This is not the place to be having a debate on Ottoman gender roles!

[6969aaaaa]

Whatever.

[Nighttrain0855]

I've seen this dance, or something similar, being performed in Calcutta oops, sorry, Kolkutta, back in the 70's when I was stationed there. I thought it was interesting. Then when I was stationed in Thailand, I again saw something similar to Mark's dance but in Thai costume. Never once did I think that they were anything other than performers. I enjoyed their style and grace and with a bit of envy.

[balahadiamark]

Please, let's not use my comments section in this way!

[gemini1904]

jeezhow long have you been dancing? I still think this is one of my favorite Zeina performances. Have you seen Adishakti's?

[balahadiamark]

No I haven't and I'll make sure to check it out. And thanks for the comment!

[balahadiamark]

How long have I been dancing...it's a secret :)

[gemini1904]

;) Understood. I went to your site,and I had no idea you lived around the area! Great. Nice too see there is talent aroundhere as well. Not as many people are into this dance style as much as others I have researched. You are just awesome!

[Alma2109]

Tell ME...please?????????

[shaymis]

thank you sexboywonder, actually I am tierd of 6969aaaaa already, and I have not met him yet.

[6969aaaaa]

Tired of me because of what? All I did was put things in their propper historical perspective. There's no need to be offended because no offense was intended.

[shaymis]

sorry, the comments are impersonal, when I met you at Tito's concert you were fun to hang out with.

[gemini1904]

"culture" is spelled with a "c" not a "K". Oh educated one...

[sexboywonder]

not in Germany. fuck face

[gemini1904]

lol well we are not speaking German now are we.

[sexboywonder]

Well Apparently I was, duh.

[gemini1904]

wow, I looked at your history of comments,a nd I made mine.

[balahadiamark]

Did someone just say fuck face. I'm not going to delete this one just because I enjoy a bit of cursin' here and there!

[gemini1904]

silly silly boy, you are speaking english, not german.

[sexboywonder]

your Rhetoric gits kinda tiresome.

obviously then it was a combination of both.

dont u have anything else to do with ur time besides post stmart ass remarks on youtube? holy fuck

[Shaynaz]

Mark, you are amazing! I love your costume! do you make your own or do you have them made for you??

[balahadiamark]

I make some of them and I have some of them made. I do all my own beading though :)

[StarDawn]

Wow, he's ACE!

Very reminiscent of the original Zeina performance.

[Yuronei]

Hey, more props to him for dressing like a girl. Man is he good! I love his hair, too...

[queensayaw]

actually back then if men wanted to bellydance the had to dress like a girl bellydancer would. kudos for him.

[katushita]

jaja no me gusto xD

[OMANI91]

Love the music. how you want people to take you talents seriously , by dressing like a girl!! :(

There are wonderful and graceful male dancers but they dress like men!

[shaymis]

actually, I just bought his cotume last weekend, Mark is the life of the party wherever he goes. We hope that he comes back to our city soon.

[shaymis]

ya Dalou3a

[brujita84more]

ahh no como que el puede y yo no..i have to learn

[gemini1904]

Mark, I am watching this again, and I still have to say you have the best interpretation of Zeina. You are awesome. Great form and dance!

[cerdivi]

chino maraco!

[DahliaDance]

Wow. I know it can be shocking to see such a feminine male dancer. But OMG... he is VERY good. Egyptian style. He studied the old masters Samia Gamal and Soheir Zaki A LOT. I can see them in his dance! Well done, Mark!

[Dabke]

se habrá depilado las piernas antes de ponerse esa pollerita...???????????????

ejejjej

[denialife]

i get histeric...

[blondeyalert]

omg he doesnt look lik a man he looks lik a girl but hes good(^^,)

[xLadyxJueglerrx]

... Have you ever seen a man before?  ...

[ShimmyShaykr15]

DANG! not bad for a guy...8-I What nationality are you?

[Quallen]

porque tiene que vestirse como odalisca??,si es hombre y baila que lo haga dignamente!!

[sheikarab]

Hola, no me gusta como baila este bailarín, parece una mujer, no me gustó nada.

Sheikarab.

[MissxSnoodles]

that was awesome!!!

[Meaheiwa]

I know i am going to get shot down for this, but every human has a right to express the mind body and spirit through the form of dance. ALL forms of dance are for everyone. There is no masculin or feminine form of dancing. We ourselves define our movements that make us men and women not the social standard. I belive this dancer had great technique and is very expressive. I enjoyed watching his performance. thank you Mark Balahadia. :D

[zulaikabaila]

I agree...Everybody knows that men and woman, both dance raqs sharqi..If you have a litle bit of culture, You'll know that it's very common in Egypt...

[shiu83]

u are being so harsh, u should know not every one of us know everything about middle east, for example, i live in Mexico, so any of that is so rare... i thought this kind of dances was just for women.

[zulaikabaila]

I've said that because before insulting somebody like they do, they should get some information...and believe me, it's good to learn before say stupid things...

[shiu83]

i must agree on that.....

[kchelu]

Get this guy off the stage! This really is & always has been a dance for females. Why don't you just work on Sunset or Hollywood Blvd. You'd get more admirers there. Sorry, not my cup of tea. I find it very offensive to womankind.

[pangsai]

mark, ur from where?? in what country do you belong?? and i dont mean to be offensive ok, are u gay?? im just curious... huhu!!! coz u seem to be cute, and it would be such a waste for you to be gay.. ur a cutie!!!

[umblic]

Bravo Mark!

[CIGANORJJ]

perdi meu tempo venmdo esse viado vai toma no cu sua bixa

[gemini1904]

LOL, are you seious?! Hasaleh20 I guess it is true, IGNORANCE IS BLISS huh? You know, I feel the same way about people who want to talk trash but can't speak enough of a language to do it right.

[hasaleh20]

Damn all belly dancers in the hell ,what they show only their breasts and butts and what make sexy movements , damn them all , i wish i put inside their asses a hot red iron rode to prevent dance.

[balahadiamark]

HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA...now I have a wack-job Islamic fundamentalist posting comments about belly dancers...poor you for being so misguided.

[Tara20052]

This was a cute video and I like the music.

[Adishakti]

Tarik is awesome, but Mark does this song great justice. Choosing not to dance to every nuance is a mark of a talented Oriental artist!

[Adishakti]

Incredible! I just love how you slow it down to your own pace while still keeping the flow and feel of the music. Not overdanced, and just so very lovely!

[dinavienna]

Mark, you re AWESOME.

great tribute to samia gamal, whom i ADORE, great moves, great feeling for the music.. luv ur shimmies!!

[6969aaaaa]

Any video rental place should have it. It was a very popular movie

[nkaukong]

very nice...i wanna get to know u

[Cognac07]

Who could possibly hate on a MALE belly dancer! I PERSONALLY think it's uffin HOTT!!! definitely goin in my favs!

[pera06]

I think you have a great style, very gentle and very beautiful. I don't think you could have added any more moves after all in bellydance less is more!! I can never get tired of watching you, beautiful!!!

[balahadiamark]

FYI, this was a tribute dance for Samia Jamal so I was trying to emulate a more "classical" style of el ra's el shar'i. Although, I doubt you know anything about el ra's el shar'yya.

[tonet0908]

You're right, I do not know anything about el ra's el sharyya and I did not know you were trying to do a classical style, I did not mean to offend you. I did not say you were a bad dancer but now that you expalin yourself, I understand what you were doing. That's all.

[zannat1359]

i am sure people whi always are disagree with somke issue such as male belly dancer or gay or lesbian or whatever... always are living in shit life with shit opinion and funny is nobody asked them thir opinion but they just talk and talk and talk,,and i belive everthing goes around ,,comes around..

always a person who can not be ok with these issue..will have kids or family who will be gay,lesbian or what ever that they disagree,,,,so better just shut up and deal with it.

[Afrah2006]

I thought that he dances very well. Dance is a form of art in which onw has to have talent, regardless of his sex or gender he can really move and dance well. Plus in the modern day world anything can happen and we should except it, although i do have to say that i never really heard of a male belly dancer. He was good

[ardentluma]

I really, really enjoyed this dance. You are very talented! I wish my shimmies looked as good as yours. I don't like your top though. I understand the need for it in terms of the drawing attention to visual aspects of the dance but it looks too much like a bra on this video.

[yangmay]

Your dance is perfect.But I think you can dance something full of manliness.

[shaymis]

if he dances with manliness, it would look fake. It will look like 'look at me I am a hot guy with muscles'. He dances perfectly in this video.

[6969aaaaa]

Dancing in a style that is considered manly wouldn't make the dance fake. But Mark dancing in that way would look fake because that's not who he is. He is what you see, love it or leave it, that's who and what he is. He just uses the dance to express his artistic side that's all.

[shaymis]

you put it perfectly. However, a lot of 'muscle dancing', if you know what I mean, is kind of fake. Some people criticize my dancing, but I dont want to dance 'like a man', I dance like I feel. Anyway, I agree with you.

[6969aaaaa]

I disagree on that. Having a muscular athletic build is neither here nor there. It just reflects a cultural asthetic, just like we prefere to see a woman with an hour glass figure over a pear shape. I will say though that I wouldn't wan't to see someone with extreem muscles like a steroid user any more than I would want to see a woman with abnormally huge implants.

[shaymis]

yes, yes.. you are very articulate on this. I will sum it up by saying: dance with feeling is what moves us, dance with no feeling is shallow. Most people don't like to see a man dance with feeling.

[6969aaaaa]

Exactly. But I would say there are those with narrow minds who look to sling mud on anything. Most people want to be entertained and can appreciate real talent when they see it. The movie Billy Elliot is a good movie to show this point.

[AndyeAndinha]

uh, beg your pardon, men do this dance back home...you need to hang out in the community to understand that...sorry.

[GhostlyLadyOfShalott]

...Beauty is in the eye of the beholder not just because it's become popular to dictate this or that otherwise. Same goes for if a guy has anything not in the box of being the stereo type "BUTCH" cast then he has to be gay. *rolls eyes at the close minded limitations people continue to project*

[GhostlyLadyOfShalott]

It's funny how at one time this form of dancing was more dominated by men for a good period of time. Then, once women began getting their own piece of it, it's become almost a territory to be growled over instead of both genders just blending together on "ownership" of a creative art form that really is genderless....

[Norn]

it looks so much more oriantl to me...very unqie costume!!

[Maddymadman]

dancing is an expression of one'spersonality, and not of their gender.

[crazyarabproductions]

He's good dancer, but belly dancing is for women. It just doesn't go together well, men and belly dancing.

[xochitlmir]

What a silly thought!!

[Adishakti]

Take a tour to Egypt.

[abstractcandy]

Silly, male belly dancing has existed for centuries. =D

[WaterNai]

You are quite good! It's a pleasure to see such tidy isolations in your movements combined with a relaxed demeanor. You're not sloppy, but you're not too stiff, either. Thanks for posting this video!

[Azhaar]

Oh, Mark ... simply a pleasure to watch. Gorgeous Egyptian style. Thanks for sharing :-)

[szu330022]

he dances great

[shaymis]

I love to watch Mark dance this song, it reminds me of the Samya Gamal movies I saw. The feelings of the music come accross in his dance. I find this more inspiring than a man acting out a role, or acting like a male god on stage.

[Kprime2002]

Hello Mark,

Very Fluid. I had a quick question for you. I love that song that your performing to. But i cant find the song I put in Mohammed Abdel Wahab and Zeina but i only get the one from Bellydance superstars. Can you tell me what CD you got this song from. I also typed Samia Gamal. I loved the Taksim. Can you please let me know the info. Thanks

[balahadiamark]

Actually it's cut from Jalilah's Raks Sharki 5, track 2, titled "Samia's Dance". It's a compilation of 2 songs composed for Samia Gamal (Zeina and Zenooba). I cut up the song so I could use it for a stage setting. So unfortunately, that exact version doesn't exist in stores. If you email me however, I can load the mp3 on my server and let you download it :)

[meenaoasis]

I have to agree that I see more Samia Gamal. Doesn't mean that Suhaila didn't emulate her style too. Just sayin...

Very nice job!

[Flossiecat]

oops meena, I meant to post as a comment! Sorry about that.  I'm new to this.

[maharasha]

Someone getting offended by being compared to the great SUHAILA Salimpour?!! WOW! That's a lot of confidence in one's own personal style. hmmm... perhaps too much? idk

[BellydancerFrank]

I think there was a little too much hair action for a male dancer. The performance did have a lot of Suhaila-esque style, but I think it could've been masculinized a bit. Great zil-work though!

[balahadiamark]

Suhaila-esque style? Obviously you have never seen Samia Gamal dance because my performance was not "Suhaila-esque" at all. I wish people would do their homework versus dishing out incorrect dance info!

[BellydancerFrank]

Sorry if I offended you.  I still say great zils & technique, but the choreography & costume were way too feminine for a male dancer. Cultural gender specifics can't be overlooked in this artform out of respect for the culture.

[balahadiamark]

Have you ever seen a male belly dancer in the Middle East? They are ALL feminine! Mosbah or Ala from Lebanon are VERY good examples of this. Obviously you have no idea what you are talking about.

[BellydancerFrank]

I am sorry if any of my criticisms offended you. Now that I think about it, we are male dancers, a minority in the bellydance community & we should be supporting each other in our endeavors instead of feuding with back-handed complements. I do hope the future holds great things for you!

[nuringa]

the only thing - i think the sound in the clip went a bit wrong - maybe you'll upload once again?

but nevertheless it's fantastic!

[nuringa]

i can just say WOW!!!! fantastic! :)

[AminaKamal]

SUBERB!!

[shaiajean]

I wish that I could travel so smoothly, use my hair the way you do, let me stop breaking things down, because the entire dance was beautiful. Come on, March!

[FlamingSands]

Wow Mark! I have never been able to say that I have found a man sensual when he dances. You've just blown that one apart Hon :-) You move beautifully!

And with that, Samiya is stunned into silence while she watches again, lol.

[lucydances]

Mark is the bomb... love them shimmies!

[bellydancegreece]

Mark !!!!!!!!! you rock babe, i see old stuff there and love it !!!

Maria Aya