This particular theme has been attached to the hip of every belly dancer since the beginning of time. So, let’s start digging into this topic with one of my first questions that has plagued me for years; Are we entertainers or are we dancers? Interesting question because many women over the years have told me that being a dancer is better than being a cheerleader. And some dancers have opined that we are entertainers on the stage that we dance. So here we have two different opinions and that is what makes our world go round. Furthermore, we will have a specific group or person saying that a way is better “their way”. This is understandable because no one can walk the path of a particular dancer for them or follow in her footsteps. With experience comes opinions, and with opinions come life statements of what works and what doesn’t. Is this the building block of criticism? What happens when we create a community that critiques specific dance groups, dance styles, dance skills, and dance venues? How healthy is the air we breathe around us when we pollute it with criticism and censorship? Is this necessary or does it do the opposite of removing the wheat from the chaff?
As time goes by, two things happen for the dancers, either they keep up with the changes or they look around scratching their heads and saying, “Where am I?” If you’re lucky enough to be in the group that has stuck around, I’m sure there have been changes that may not interest you. To tell you the truth, I am a bit of both groups because I kept going and somehow got left behind. But sometimes when you fall behind you can hear the echoes and whispers of those walking ahead of you and it’s really interesting what you can hear.
I will never forget a dance acquaintance of mine who said that most of the shows he had seen recently were just awful. Since he was on most of these shows, he made me scratch my head wondering if this was a roundabout way of insulting me or if he just wasn’t thinking. Uh huh, well, let’s just say I let it slide, but the interesting thing was that the producer of these shows is a friend of hers, but I’m pretty sure he didn’t tell her what he thought. Actually, I wonder what it was about me that he made her trust me. Sometimes being oblivious is a good thing.
Experience has taught me that specially packaged looks in a beautiful body can create a disadvantage when it comes to fair consideration. The world reacts differently to beautiful people. I experienced the other side of this coin when I was rehearsing with a friend for a show we were doing together. She is very flashy and the band took care of her and forgot about me. After a while of dealing with this situation I had to laugh because the musicians were milling around my friend chatting with her. Before I knew it, everyone was getting ready to leave and we hadn’t rehearsed yet. My dancer friend didn’t feel like rehearsing, so they all decided to go home. From the bottom of the abyss I told them out loud that I wanted to rehearse and that we weren’t leaving. Suddenly I was visible again and everyone realized that I was also in the room.
As women, do we look harder at beautiful women because we feel they have an advantage over us? Or do we help them succeed because we want to see the symbol of our dance on a beautiful woman? Is our dance form really friendly to women? When I say friendly women I mean all kinds of women. Do women censor our belly dance image?
Lots of women want to be known, but can they handle it if a prom buddy gets there first? The women pledge how they are doing with other dancers who are at their level of success. This is where I have seen how they lurk. You know what I mean, the eyes roll back, the sidelong glances come at an alarming rate, and that look of utter antipathy comes over the face. At this point, even if one dancer did well, the confusion of dislike would prevent another from seeing a performance well done. Who at this point is at a disadvantage? This is especially the case when the dance style is different from what a dancer prefers. Is there rivalry between dance styles? Let’s be honest here, yes of course there is. With the different styles the change continues, especially in the belly dance costume. Our belly dance costume is almost like a rite of passage for women, especially when they wear their costume for the first time. Does the costume indicate who we can hang out with? When dancers perform together, the saving grace for all of us is that the audience can see how diverse we are. So maybe the shows I performed in featured other dance styles than what my dance acquaintance preferred. How can we educate our audience about the various elements of our dance if we cannot accept the changes that are taking place in our dance world ourselves?
There have been times when I have felt like a fish out of water. I was performing in a show last year with all the dancers together on stage and just as the curtains were about to open I realized that I was the only cabaret dancer on stage with tribal dancers. I looked to my right and then to my left and was overwhelmed by this kaleidoscope of color. It was the most amazing site I can remember seeing and I could only imagine the gasps from the audience as they watched the variety of colors unfold before their eyes. I knew from this particular show that our times were changing. The troupe dynamic is very popular now, especially with the edgy tribal vibe. Today’s dancers are willing to take more risks and push the boundaries of traditionalists. Each generation has to make its own way, and as they do, there will be dancers who want to keep the old ways at bay by pushing back. Solo acting for me has always been an art because it takes tenacity and courage to go out in front of people and perform. So you can imagine going out and performing after the stage was filled with dancers performing in unison with grace and perfect timing. Your soul has to be willing to take on the whole stage. But I realized that dance is dance and if we don’t censor it and try to define it, we can allow it to grow in the way it needs to.
My next question has been in the spotlight for a while; How will clubs deal with the new dance styles that are becoming so popular? The music has also changed, so this helps with the variety of dance styles that we have. Where do tradition and change coexist? I think this is where the scenario comes in. It is the only place where the dancers do not criticize each other at least until the end of the show. Creative expression is generally judged more harshly by our own insecurities, but I’ve heard stories of inappropriate choreography in shows. Since we live life in so many different ways, it’s inevitable that creative expression gets caught up in individual principles and values. Surprise value is often not what people look for in a dance performance, especially if they are with family and friends. I remember being part of a show where a dancer had a lantern and her dance was created around turning the lantern on and off. I didn’t understand it and neither did the public, but she had a great time, which I have to admit, she puzzled me. So even one idea can cross the line into weird and have an entire audience scratching their heads. Once I was dancing in a restaurant and my skirt was tucked into my underwear (by mistake). And I danced part of the first song with my right cheek waving to everyone. I felt a breeze but since I was doing turns I thought it was normal. The waiters laughed and one of the waitresses came over and pulled my skirt off, thank goodness! Just to let everyone know that the restaurant owner was yelling at me through the bathroom door that my music was starting… ugh! But I started dancing in time to my music even though I was giving clients a show I never intended to give them. Thankfully there were no dancers for miles around to laugh at me or give me that “Oh I’m so embarrassed for you” look. The wait staff was sufficient. Life can be a comedy where the jokes are on you.
If we all come together and create a community that makes each and every one of us feel safe, our diversity will make sense not only to our audience but also to ourselves. Your own creativity that is selfish or blind to the comfort of others is the real problem here. We live in a world where we want to honk our own horn, but we must understand that we also fit into a community that symbolizes us all. So we have to understand that our new generation of dancers is bringing their vision of the world.
There are also worldviews that have been around for years and if we can bring together the old and the new, our future will be a potpourri of ideas and styles that complement each other without clashing. There is a quote that says; a critic is a man who knows the way but cannot drive the car.
Sometimes we drive and other times we sit in the back seat. But either way, the goal is to achieve our dreams and aspirations in one piece. We represent a culture that reflects our realities by dancing and working together every day. In a way, we’ve always been diverse, maybe we just didn’t know it. It seems to me that diversity is the one thing we all have in common and knowing this makes the view from the back of the car or the driver’s seat that much more beautiful.