Bad News: EGYPT

[lizaj]

I also love my body, I love the way I can make it move, it is a gift and to not use it would be a waste. I personally don't find dancing in lots of clothes actually does show off the dance very well. It's like covering really great speakers with a pile of laundry...all the beauty of the sound is muffled.




Signing off now,
Oona

Can't agree here Oona. You or any dancer or enter tainer can look just as sexy very well dressed. I offeryou Natasha in a what I always consider to be a very sensual video;

YouTube - Natacha Atlas - Mon Amie La Rose

In fact try to hard, wear a costume that embarasses makes your audience uncomfortable and you have the opposite effect: the squirm factor

 

[Kashmir]

I also love my body, I love the way I can make it move, it is a gift and to not use it would be a waste. I personally don't find dancing in lots of clothes actually does show off the dance very well. It's like covering really great speakers with a pile of laundry...all the beauty of the sound is muffled.

Although there are clothes that do muffle the dance they are pretty extreme. I frequently dance in a dress rather than bedleh. The first time I met Shamira from Adelaide was having dinner in Sydney. She was weearing jeans and a bulky jersey. There was no dancer so we got up and boogied. Shamira with her bulky clothes was fanatastic. Given the choice between her and many dancers in the show the next night in traditional bedleh I'd have picked her. Not only could you see every thing but she expressed the music as well.

 

[Oona]

In response to the issue of costume, I agree that people can cover up to some extent and still have their moves seen well. I don't feel comfortable watching people with really skimpy costumes on. But I also don't think I'd enjoy watching someone bellydance in the equivalent of a potato-sack either. I just don't have any issues with more 'recently traditional' bra, belt, skirt look, and I also think some of the bedlah looks are great! I think it's those dancers that take it too far with the skimpiness create the idea in people's heads that we're all like that. I know we want to change people's ideas of what we do. But I also personally struggle with having to effectively 'censor' ourselves completely. As one of the women in that BBC article stated, it didn't matter how many clothes she was wearing. She would spend 15 minutes a day staring into the mirror trying to find ways to cover up. But the daily sexual harassment still continued.

To me, there's a line between dancing to arouse and dancing to have fun/make people or myself happy. I believe it's all in the energy and intent, which can certainly be amplified by the 'sexiness' of ones costume. As a woman, I struggle with being treated as an equal. And it's frustrating that there are women out there purposefully walking around dressed in next to nothing, having sex with everything that walks and acting like a bubble-head. That does NOTHING for the struggle of women's equality. But that also does not mean that I will walk around covered in conservative clothes all the time. I don't see how that's not going to help either!

I think the key is to operate as much as possible as ONE through forums like these. We all have different opinions on stuff, but I wish we as a community drew a much heavier line between bellydance and things like burlesque. If someone wants to do both, that's fine, but can't it be kept in two different worlds? This mixing of the two seems more and more common these days and if I were a non-dancing member of the public, I'd certainly be associating the two as different versions of the same thing. It might even put me off the dance if that was my first impression of it.

Ok, I've probably said enough now. I don't know if any of that made sense, it's hard to express oneself in words sometimes. But I know what i mean!
I just feel passionate about these things and can't keep quiet about my feelings. It's nice to make your acquaintenance though and I hope I don't get up anyone's nose too much.

A newbie with kick!
Oona

 

[Caroline_afifi]

Thank you for an interesting post!

I just watched a youTube video of Cory Zamora floor work and all the gross comments on it.... well that made me think... whatever we intend, we must also think of how people look at us... if we do floor work in bedah, and skirt with big slits, and not on stage but 'under people's feet' than whatever passion and muscule control will not be notices, but it will look lewd and undignified to an average person?

I think I made up my mind if i ever dance in public to be more covered- maybe sleeves, and body stocking etc.... Just my little contribution to make the art more respected... I want people to watch me dance rather than stare at my cleavage....

I have said something like this once before and this is a topic within itself.
I think there is a difference between 'floor work' and a 'floor show' and there is often a very fine line between the two!

 

[Yasmine Bint Al Nubia]

I am very behind with this thread...

Back to the issue of prostitution.

I used to do seminars and training for health Authorities around the UK and Europe on this subject.
It is a very complex issue.

There is an aspect (albeit a small one) of choice in the work of prostitution.

Not everyone who is poor ends up working as a prostitute. There are many factors which influence this.
The main objective is money and for some, prostitution is the chosen way to get it. More money for less hours worked, flexible working hours when you have child care and the lure of potentially big money.

A dancer can earn alot from dancing and tips without having to go all the way.

These days, if a girl can become a dancer then she will view this as being better than risking herself touting for business as a prostitute. many are ex-prostitutes and dance because they want to escape it.
Hostesses in nightclubs are more likely to accept offers these days as they generally get paid alot less than a dancer. It is their job to flirt and talk to the customers and keep them happy.

Of course I am reffering to club life in Cairo and not the big names, but I doubt even big names have a squeaky clean image past regardless of what they profess.

It has been said here that it tends to be the entertainment business in general.

If this dance was not about some form of sexual titilation then why would dancers be so undressed? do people not consider this?
In a society where most women are covered up why would a dancer be so undressed?

Not everyone is sexually moved by this, and the sight is so common place these days that it has become the norm.

However, what we call 'art' need not be semi-naked, yes or no?

You dont need to show your belly, legs or your cleavage for moves to be seen, this is about showing what you have to offer.

In the West, we put an Western academic spin on this in order to make it acceptable to us. We love the dance and the glamour and the music etc. but we dont want the rest that goes with it. In some ways we re-shape it closer to what we need it to be.

It is easy to be sheilded from the realty whilst living in other countries but go to Cairo to pursue your dream and everything will change.

YES, YES and YES:clap:
Yasmine

 

[karena]

As moderator, in order to allow this thread to get back on topic, I have moved all the off topic racism stuff to here:
http://www.bellydanceforums.net/off...udice-terminology-bad-news-egypt-spinoff.html
If I've missed any, just shout
(PS No criticism intended, I was contributing to the off topicness too )