Do Burlesque and belly dance mix?

[shiradotnet]

One thing we have to remember about the Egyptian dancers such as Dina and Soraya who perform in the 5-star nightclubs is that their target audience is NOT Egyptians. Their target audience tends to be Gulf Arabs who come to Cairo as tourists.

We can assume that these audience members are at least a little familiar with television shows from Europe and the Americas, thanks to satellite television. So, images that we're used to seeing on television such as male characters fantasizing about schoolgirls have probably made their way into Egyptian and Khaleegy households via satellite. I'm sure that has played a role in shaping some of the aesthetic.

 

[Caroline_afifi]

I talked about this sometimes back..I commented on some women at AWS walking around in outfits like this in the Bazaar and street.

It was definately a lolita/schoolgirl fashion, short pleated skirts and over the knee socks..some complete with garters in some instances.

Perhaps it was a little 'before and after' dedication to this little lady...? :lol:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKo4fFVymqk

On a more serious note, I just wonder how consious some of these dancers are when making choices about how this dance looks and presents itself in Cairo.

I wonder if any real thought (beyond the self of course) goes into any of it...

I know a few dancers there who work really hard at what they do, it must really annoy them when they encounter things like this... or they get hardened to it and shrug it off.

 

[jenc]

the thing is that dancers in Egypt are entertainers. This reminds me of Fifi at Congress using a fair bit of her onstage time to get an elderly man to roll up his trousers and dance with her.

Ok we don't get this kind of thing because we are all hung up on authenticity and whether you can wear this outfit with this kind of dance etc etc. However, Soraya is a good enough dancer to still be doing Egyptian dance when shwe does this, the majority of westerners who try this sort of thing are not

 

[Amanda (was Aziyade)]

Now I'm feeling a bit either OLD or worse -- Orientalist -- when I find myself thinking, "I wish they still did it like Sohair Zaki."

sigh...

 

[Kharis]

"I wish they still did it like Sohair Zaki."

sigh...

So much more seems to be demanded now. As though we are all so jaded that we need to whip up the old senses with more extreme devices of entertainment. Personally I'd rather watch Suhair do her chonks for an hour than watch 5 mins of some be-winged stick flailing zill player in full lycra battle dress, tits like gunbarrels, spinning around in perspex soled platforms.

 

[Amanda (was Aziyade)]

You are TOO funny Kharis


Seriously though -- if Shaabi and that whole Shaabi feeling IS Egyptian dance, is it just nostalgic to say I only want to do it the old-school way, or is that being Orientalist by thinking that the more Western-inspired music and dance was "better" - ?

I know I'm entitled to like what I want to like, but if this really is the face of Egyptian dance, then shouldn't we be teaching this? If I still teach a la Sohair and Mona Said, with some Randa thrown in there, am I being "culturalist" or elitist by not showing the dance as it is today, in the cultures of origin?

Ya know? It's a thought...

 

[Caroline_afifi]

Kharis, I totally agree.

Aziyade.. I love all Egyptian dance. I love Baladi and Shaabi... you just dont get to see great examples too often, specially Shaabi...people ask me for good example clips of Shaabi in performance, but there are very few I would recommend.

Most are eiother stylised, cold or look just like your average Egyptian pop routine.