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I ... I think I need this dress. I haven't a clue where I'd ever wear it, but damn. Talk about a sexpot dress....
Pornaments: Merry XXXmas.
Poor Moose: A bull moose gets stuck up in the power lines, way, way up in the air....
Nataraja-asana (Dancer): My favourite yoga asana today. At some point, I mean to incorporate this into a dance, but it hasn't quite happened yet. Maybe it will fairly soon. I can see putting it into a sword dance.
![[The Belly Dancers of Cairo]](https://p.dreamwidth.org/507bb083ea1f/2919457-496301/ec2.images-amazon.com/images/P/B000GBEPE0.01._AA240_SCLZZZZZZZ_V63911122_.jpg "[The Belly Dancers of Cairo]")
Last night, I watched The Belly Dancers of Cairo. It's an excellent but sad documentary on the state of raqs sharqi in Egypt today. Despite the increasing popularity of the dance internationally, belly dance is dying in Egypt. Through interviews with Egyptian dance legends (eg. Dina, Nagwa Fuad, Lucy), current performers, a Muslim feminist, and a variety of Egyptian men from different walks of life, we can see how dancers are simultaneously loved and reviled. We are given cultural and religious context for this apparent contradiction.
Although raqs sharqi from the golden age of Egyptian cinema is looked upon fondly by the conservative men interviewed, their appreciation is conflicted. Dancers are looked upon as whores, a view reinforced by the dance films shown on a daily basis. Dancers in movies are invariably portrayed as wanton women, or gangsters' molls. To allow a female member of one's family to become a dancer would bring shame down on the entire family. More liberally-minded men may date a dancer, but once they get married, or once she bears children, she will have to end her career.
The film touches on how women in the public eye are considered to have questionable virtue. However, there is no mention of Oum Kalthoum, who was considered a national treasure. I can't help but be curious to see if she was considered a floozy at the same time that she was revered.
The documentary ends on a bittersweet note. Although the dance is dying in Egypt, it has spread itself over the world. These non-Egyptian dancers are responsible to carry on the legacy, and to save what would otherwise be a dying art form. And just so we're not without context, the DVD has an excellent features section which contains full-length performances by a variety of Egyptian dancers.
I need to get myself a copy of this. I recommend it to students of all varieties of belly dance (whether traditional Egyptian or any of the more modern fusion variants).
Pornaments: Merry XXXmas.
Poor Moose: A bull moose gets stuck up in the power lines, way, way up in the air....
Nataraja-asana (Dancer): My favourite yoga asana today. At some point, I mean to incorporate this into a dance, but it hasn't quite happened yet. Maybe it will fairly soon. I can see putting it into a sword dance.
Last night, I watched The Belly Dancers of Cairo. It's an excellent but sad documentary on the state of raqs sharqi in Egypt today. Despite the increasing popularity of the dance internationally, belly dance is dying in Egypt. Through interviews with Egyptian dance legends (eg. Dina, Nagwa Fuad, Lucy), current performers, a Muslim feminist, and a variety of Egyptian men from different walks of life, we can see how dancers are simultaneously loved and reviled. We are given cultural and religious context for this apparent contradiction.Although raqs sharqi from the golden age of Egyptian cinema is looked upon fondly by the conservative men interviewed, their appreciation is conflicted. Dancers are looked upon as whores, a view reinforced by the dance films shown on a daily basis. Dancers in movies are invariably portrayed as wanton women, or gangsters' molls. To allow a female member of one's family to become a dancer would bring shame down on the entire family. More liberally-minded men may date a dancer, but once they get married, or once she bears children, she will have to end her career.
The film touches on how women in the public eye are considered to have questionable virtue. However, there is no mention of Oum Kalthoum, who was considered a national treasure. I can't help but be curious to see if she was considered a floozy at the same time that she was revered.
The documentary ends on a bittersweet note. Although the dance is dying in Egypt, it has spread itself over the world. These non-Egyptian dancers are responsible to carry on the legacy, and to save what would otherwise be a dying art form. And just so we're not without context, the DVD has an excellent features section which contains full-length performances by a variety of Egyptian dancers.
I need to get myself a copy of this. I recommend it to students of all varieties of belly dance (whether traditional Egyptian or any of the more modern fusion variants).
