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Show Class Ads Get Read. • BELLY DANICING See page 7 4 he would inquire about male classes, he didn't feel welcome. "Just as female belly dancers have to get past the stereotype that they're strippers, male belly dancers have to get past the stereotype they're doing something girlish." But now, after five years of lessons, he says the dance "gives you the strength to feel more of who you are." Pull up to Isis* Star Dancers Studio in Bedford, Texas, on any given Tuesday night, and a Ford F-150 is parked outside the window display of bejeweled bras and harem pants. A sign hanging from the license plate reads: "Once a Marine, Always a Marine." Yep, the instructor of the male belly-dancing class is James Brantley of Fort Worth, Texas, ex-Marine and current Air Force computer specialist, or as he goes by in class: Shadid. But he makes it clear that he is not dancing like a woman: Even in the tiny world of male belly dancing, there is a continuum of styles. Men from the studio performed a staff dance at the convention, but Islambouli, the Lebanese drummer, says he wouldn't consider that belly dance, but folkloric dance, and "anything that doesn't have the feminine dress is OK." "That would be acceptable even in the most conservative societies," he says. Brantley started taking classes six years ago after he was pulled up onstage by the studio s owner at his wife and daughter's recital, and she said the hip-hop dancer and martial-arts student had potential. Once he enrolled in class, he learned to adapt the women's movements into a more masculine form: stepping flat instead of tiptoeing, keeping his fingers together instead of "dainty fingers." While women at the studio learn to embody emotions while dancing — joy, sadness, anger — Brantley learned the male personas: the powerful sultan, the regal pharaoh and the aggressive warrior. Not all were able to handle the belly-dance boot camp: He remembers eight men started the class, but only he graduated. Women belly dancers seem to have differing opinions on men encroaching on what many see as their art: One dancer at the convention recalls a male belly dancer in sequins and fringe being "the sexiest man I have ever seen in my life." Another says her 13 years of belly dancing has transformed her from a woman who hid under baggy clothes into one Western Wats Western Wats has increased our wages, and we are still willing to work around your schedule. We still offer weekly pay, a fun work environment, and we'll give you time off for school events, tests, and holidays. Call (435) 753-1303 or stop by 22 East Center in Logan. For more inormation or apply online: surveynetwork.com/application. Photo by KRT with a staff. So he thought he'd turn tradition on its head once more. "I thought, OK, I'm gonna take the cane and make it a men's thing ... give it a more manly look. Hopefully. I don't know if I succeeded." As for the drum solo Drakon was worried about, he waited for the song to begin while standing for applause after his first song, but the track never played, bringing his performance to a premature end. Technical difficulty or subtle hint? He'll never know. who performs confidently in front of crowds and says men "doing what the women do in a more masculine way doesn't translate for me." But in an era of metrosexuals, when men are increasingly trespassing and being accepted into previously female domains, male belly dancing is just another adaptation (though the men in Brantley's class say they keep hair product use to a minimum). As Drakon points out after his performance, many say that women originally danced with a cane to mock men fighting • FACEBOOK From page 7 Facebook s growth is the requirement that users have a university (.edu) e-mail address. That helps provide some shelter from the outside world, and it's part of why people open up, said Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg, 21. "More information is available to less people," he said. When 21-year-old Sushu Xia of Palo Alto, a senior at the University of Chicago, desperately needed a book, she asked the university's librarian who had borrowed it, then looked his room number up on FREE Business Consultation for USU Students Small Business Development Center, 1330 E. 700 N. R124 BlLL RlDDLE (LEFT) SHOWS James Brantley a new move during their belly-dancing practice at Isis and the Star Dancers. Facebook. Minutes later, she was knocking on his dorm room door. But she is also aware that this information could be used in the wrong way. "Facebook is helpful for stalking," Xia said. "You think that only friends care enough to look you up, but sometimes creepy people do." Some say Facebook can offer valuable clues about a person. "The Facebook is better for red flags than for reasons to be somebody's friend," said 18 year-old Becca Tisdale, a freshman Photo by KRT MARK ZUCKERBER, THE FOUNDER of Facebook, a networking tool for college students. at Stanford University, adding that she is wary of people who have lewd Facebook photos. Of course, not everybody sees the point of Facebook. Tali Manber, a 21-year-old senior at Stanford University, said she rarely logs in. "If I was spending that much time online, I'd rather use that time to actually see people in person," she said. The company's visionary is its founder, Harvard student Zuckerberg. He launched the site last February with two of his roommates, Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes. It now employs 40 people, though that includes some outside contractors. It wasn't Zuckerberg's first foray into the online world. In late 2003, as a prank, he created facemash.com, a site that popped up two student photos and asked people to choose who was more attractive. For that, Harvard's administration put him on probation. And it hasn't all been smooth sailing. A competitor, ConnectU, sued Zuckerberg for allegedly stealing code. Zuckerberg denies the accusation. He has counterclaimed. The management structure is "still relatively fast and loose," admitted Cohler, who at 28 was until recently the company's oldest employee. Napster co-founder and former Plaxo Chief Executive Sean Parker, 25, is heading the business side. Parker introduced Zuckerberg to Peter Thiel, the founder of PayPal, who invested seed money into Facebook. Meanwhile, the company continues to expand. It hopes to reach 6 million college students by the end of the year, and make Facebook available at every four-year college in the United States by fall. Starting Up Funding Business Plan Market Plan Cash Flow Payroll Tax... US. f m j tvomu ktr*m4nh*> Call 797-2277, Brandon Birch & Frank Prante Funded in part through a Cooperative agreement with tin: if.S. SBA Prehealth Professions Orientation Meeting Find out what you need to be doing NOW to become a competitive medical/ dental/ pharmacy school applicant. Tuesday September 13 12 pm- 1pm TSC Walnut Room 1147 N Main 750-0328 USU Students, Get: I Ellen Eccles Theatre Presents leptember20 & 21, 7:30p. >FREE RUNNING From page 8 BBlWti Mil other American traceurs met with about 70 Canadians. "We had to split up into four groups to kind of rotate the city so we don't cause a mob scene," Schultz said. "It was just heaven." For Leiholf and Bradford, the local school playgrounds and parks around Hudson and Streetsboro are their practicing grounds because of the jungle gyms and obstacles. But just about any location can be used for practice. "The best place to practice is wherever you are," Toorock said. "Figure out or negotiate whatever obstacles are around." Although Toorock said the sport can be done by anybody at any age, safety is the main goal, especially for beginners. "Figure out your limits, both physical and mental," said Toorock, who fortunately hasn't had any major injuries. "And be safe. That can't be stressed enough. Be safe." Schultz came close to injury at a jam in Michigan a few weeks ago. "I jumped from the second story of a parking garage after vaulting over the railing," he said. The six teens jumping and moving from one area to another were certainly engaging in a challenging physical activity. But parkour also has a guiding philosophy, developed by Foucan. "It's really about never standing still as a person. As a person, I want to constantly challenge myself," Toorock said. Mufttlor Dan and Kirsten 770-1277 or 760-2562 :ealty Network Free estimates Foreign and domestic Performance exhaust *Ask about our liftetime guarantees on mufflers* Why throw away money renting when you can own your own home? Are you a first time homebuyer looking for something you can afford? Are you a college student looking for an investment to make money? 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