Roller Skate fusion

[seona]

There exist 2 types of license to dance in Egypt.
For bellydancer and for folk group
Male dancers can get ONLY for folk group
"bellydancing" is supposingly not existing
but they get their way around and do a "bit' of bellydancing
Now wearing the skate rolls get someone to another category with another license of work.
In general my mind changed alot after starting travelling the last 5 years at Egypt. I'm lucky as Athens is only 1 hour flight away and now with 3 air-companies there are big offers (going next week with 110 $ = 90 euro Athens-Cairo-Athens with taxes) so last year went 10 times.
Before Egypt i was a strict theorist pure egyptian ! now as i'm getting more and more and also watch the reactions of the egyptian people today towards dancers, its more about other things.
Many times its more interesting to watch the faces of the audience than the dancer, and you got more understanding from this.
We (westerns) have mono-blocked things in our mind.
In Egypt (cant speak for other arab countries) everything goes.
They enjoy from Suheir Zaki, to bad night club dancers, to sha'aby crazyness, to Om Kolthoum, to Tito!
Most of the times is more about the song than the dancer.
(p.s. keep in mind that the society level they belong, plays a big part in their reactions ! but in non public conversations even the high class enjoy a sha'aby dancer)
The only thing I know that they cant get is the heavy goth tribal. Mostly what they dont get is the dancers not smiling. All the rest fusions that we call they enjoy them and are curious about them.
I'm speaking for the general audience and NOT the festival's trained (dancers or teachers) audience. There we have many filtres in the reactions of the audience.

p.s. many times the video that we watch in internet with male egyptian dancers give a wrong idea about the situation.
They perform bellydance in "protected" inviroment, as Festivals or Hotels at Sharm.
Its not that male bellydancing dont exist, but its extremly strickted by police. So they keep it safe

Thank you for your insight. To be honest I don't like to holiday in tourist resort's, I've yet to visit Egypt, it's been on top of my list forever! But I just can't picture myself in a resort, to each thier own, but not for me. Cairo is the top of my list and I think I'll need a week just for the museum alone!

I am straying here but it sort of reminds me of Maroc, where we had to be careful in the street with our Moroccan friend's...in cafe's and at their home was ok,,but had to be wary in the street that the police didn't see us,,,it was kind of like we were allowed to be friends but just be wary in the street and of the police as I think you are only ''allowed'' to be seen with ''offical guides''....fun times!

 

[seona]

Oh yes, I was born in the seventies and spent much of the 80's on skates! It was my fave thing to do in the summer. Now that you mention it, I never hear about roller skating anymore... I suppose that's due to kids having way more options now days.

Same! Although I only ever had ''rainbow skates'',,, I yearned for the proper skates (bauers) lol,,,this has taken me back to me youth to think of skating lol! I remember inline skates in the earlier 90's, I didn't like those!

What you say about kid's, I think they spend too much time nowadays on computer's and game's and don't play outside enough,,infact doctors have warned that this is putting kids at risk of developing rickets (caused by vitamin D defiency) as they spend so much time indoor's on computer's! That is crazy!