Why the hell is Oriental Dance STILL considered like a cheap exotic version of streap-tease?
This was the question that bothered us, me and fellow dancer/friend, while sitting at a Zamalek coffee-shop on a lazy, freaking hot July night.
She lighted a cigar and I sipped "chai bi laban" (tea with milk) from my cup, wondering WHY, oh why, this ignorance persist on the heads of Egyptians, Arabs as well as many other nationalities, even from the most civilized countries.
She pointed out some reasons and I pointed out another ones simply because it is a wide subject which cannot be understood without taking in consideration a great deal of politics, religion, social, economical and traditions factors.
Here it is, the list we came up with between cigars, teas and sleazy guys staring at us as if we were aliens from Mars who just landed on planet Earth:
1. "El khamis bi leil" (translation: " Thursday night") in Egypt.
It is an intimate tradition of couples all over Egypt and it entails a night of sex (licit or illicit, meaning between married or unmarried couples) and a private "dirty dancing" from women to men. If you live or passed through Egypt for long enough, then you will know that "dirty dancing" is equal to "Oriental Dance" in this context and many others.
This reason was pointed out by my friend as she thought the association between "oriental dancing to seduce your husband" really marks professional dancers with a bad reputation once they do it in public and for strangers (both men and women).
Although I don´t totally agree with this one, I see there is a point to it. You cannot forbid women from using dance - Oriental or any other - to seduce whoever they like, as well as we cannot forbid men from doing it (and, YES, some men do it...email me for details if you´re seriously curious about it!). Because there is NOTHING we can do about it, I never cared much about it. I also know that the dance these women do to seduce their husbands is an "amateur" version of the dance PROFESSIONALS are SUPPOSED to present on stage. I hardly compare a housewife which shakes her boobs and hips like a crazy hurricane on her husband´s face to a PROFESSIONAL ARTIST who KNOWS what she is doing and has no INTENTION of seducing her audience.
But, somehow, yes there is an association - even subconscious - between the bedroom thursday night dance and the Oriental Dance you see on stage.
2. I mentioned the DANGEROUS and REVOLUTIONARY role of Oriental Dance as one of the main reasons for its disgraceful treatment and image. People try to break down what they fear and even admire.
A professional Oriental Dancer is EVERYTHING a woman should not be, according to current egyptian/arab principles.
*She´s the BOSS, commanding a group of musicians, assistants, technicians, backup dancers, etc. NOT the servant.
*She´s in charge of an whole machine where she MUST be a WOMAN and a MAN at the same time. Emotional yet commanding. Spiritual and loving on stage but with a tough fist on the backstage. Artistic but also a bad ass in order to manage a group of men which in Egypt people call "allateya". NOT GOOD. NOT for SISSIES. NOT for EVERYONE.
*She´s exposed - body and soul - on stage, assuming ALL that she is, thinks and feels. NOT hidden under veils and home walls under the "protection"/jail of her husband.
*Her pleasure - sensual, physical, ALL included - is obvious and she´s not afraid to show it in a society where WOMEN´S pleasure seems to be shameful and a devil´s work. Check the barbaric clitoris excision in Egypt and you will know what I am talking about.
* She earns her own money and is the reason why so many men (musicians, technicians, assistants, empresarios, managers,etc) have food on their family´s tables. She does not need a man to provide for her.
*She goes against the stereotype of the humble, submissive, guarded, gaze on the floor women that are praised as the RESPECTFUL ones in this country.
*She represents, overall, FREEDOM. "Braveheart" style freedom. The one that is loud and urgent. Her movements are FREE, no tabus or shameful body parts. She dances for herself and her own pleasure, first of all, and she admits BEING WHOLE. A TOTAL HUMAN BEING. Body, mind, heart and soul.
Now...THAT is revolutionary.
3. I also pointed out that most dancers in Egypt contribute for the bad image of this dance while entering the games of this business. The moment professional dancers STOP prostituting and selling themselves for a job or money, then the dirty bosses, managers and empresarios that rule this business will HAVE to CHANGE and the image of the whole matter will also change.
You cannot convince people this is an Art form and Oriental Dancers are respectful ARTIST if you´re screwing your boss or any man in exchange for work opportunities and/or money. EXAMPLE is stronger than words.
"BE the change you want to see in the world",
said my personal hero Mahatma Ghandi.
4. Repression. I mean mental, physical, emotional, sexual, spiritual repression . They are heavy contributions to the bad image Oriental Dance has until today. ALL Dances are sensual because they allow the BODY and the SENSES to freely express themselves in a natural way.
Oriental Dance, in particular, does not show more skin and flesh than Classical Ballet, for instance, which is highly respected as an Art form. But it does show a lot more of PLEASURE in the movement and a general FREEDOM of expression that can be perceived as an ESCAPE for REPRESSED people.
If men and women are un-educated to perceive the body as wild beast that must be tamed through "halal" sex in marriage (the ultimate hypocrisy), then Oriental Dancers or any other person who shows a little skin or natural sensuality will be perceived as a devilish, tempting danger.
5. Oriental Dancers are a barometer of each society. You cannot expect a repressed, ignorant, mentally/emotionally/ sexually blocked society to understand and respect Oriental Dance as an Art form. If I am hungry, really starving and dreaming of a dry peace of bread, then I will not recognize and appreciate a "gourmet" meal once I see it. I will only see a dry piece of bread.
The subject is wide and interesting. I believe that, by pointing out the reasons for this horrible image of our dance, we can start DOING SOMETHING to change it.
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