Belly Dancing, debunking the Myth!
As a belly dance teacher in the Vaal, I had a really tough time promoting the beauty and sensual essence of belly dance over 10 years ago, when I opened Cairo Moon belly and Greek dance studio. The logical question to ask is why? However, the answer does not follow the same thought pattern.
One of the biggest problems that I have experienced in the Vaal is the image that belly dance has received over the past few years. It is no secret that good dancers are trained by teachers, who themselves have been through the mill and also qualified through reputable and recognised institutions. Teachers that understand not only anatomy, but the culture and essence of the dance style they teach as well as the difference between professional and amateur. This is paramount in any dance genre. Sadly, this is not always the case with belly dance.
Although belly dance is a dance for women by women, a different approach is needed when one enters the arena of payment for performance. One must remember the exhibitionist factor of the dancer as well as the expectation of the client.
Belly dance is controversial due to the many myths surrounding the art form. From the image of a femme fatal to that of the bored housewife in a shimmy belt. Belly dance has and will always have a constructed reality for the viewer personally.
How does one break the controversy and the fallacy surrounding belly dance?
FIRSTLY – PRICING. The entertainment value of a belly dancer is often negated and negotiated to levels unacceptable to the professionally trained dancer. Hours of training as well as thousands of Rands are spent by professional dancers to bring them to the level that the public expects of a professional belly dancer. That is toning of the body, extreme isolations as well as snaky undulations. As should rightly be, a professional cannot dance for pittance and that leaves the door wide open for the amateur who craves that two minutes of fame without fully appreciating the repercussions of their action. The problem is the expectation of a professional dancer which is met by the reality of an amateur not equipped or adequately trained to present the art in all its splendour and feminine essence.
SECONDLY – PROFESSIONALISM. Putting the best dancer forward to best serve the expectation and needs of the client. Corporate functions (unless expressly so required) are not the place to put on show an amateur group or dancer that is neither poised nor age appropriate. It is also not the place to flirt or sexualise the art of belly dance. This unfortunately is something that happens all too often. The sadness of this reality is that people form constructions of a reality which will continue to influence how they see and react towards belly dancers in general. Their first experience of a belly dancer will impact on all belly dancers they encounter there after.
THIRDLY – TRAINING AND QUALIFICATIONS. Many clients do not follow up on the training and qualifications of the dancer or dance school that they wish to engage with. Choosing a belly dance studio to entertain your guests should be approached with the same ethos as you would a doctor or a mechanic. Do your homework. Is the owner/teacher qualified and where? Is it reputable and recognised? What do other clients say about this performer/belly dance school?
That is where the controversy and fallacy clash. Belly dance is supposed to be hypnotic and sensual. However, the expression of sexuality vs sensuality and the performance value of a professional vs an amateur render the art a controversy laced in fallacy! What a let- down when an expectation of sensual, colourful dancing is tarnished with sexual gestures and expressions, in a manner and form that is not appropriate for a professional setting.
It is sad that the image of the belly dancer in the Vaal has not transcended the realm of the housewives club. A lot of it has to do with inadequate training and the fact that the public are not informed of the difference between an amateur dancer and a professional dancer as well as the ethics and ethos that goes with each. Educating the public has never been more important than now in an effort to preserve the beauty and sanctity of the art known as belly dance.
As owner of Cairo Moon belly and Greek dance studio, I am a SADTA Licentiate qualified belly dance teacher. I also hold an international teacher diploma through Asia Samia, who is CIAD affiliated. I have 40 years of dance experience – which includes the genres of ballet, Spanish, Greek and modern jazz. My passion is such that I am completing my Master’s degree in Medical Sociology through North West University – Vaal Campus this year – where my research topic is “Women’s experience of belly dance in South Africa”. I will be looking at the well-being factor as well as the progression through the stages of belly dance from amateur to professional and also why women feel drawn to this ancient art. Belly dance is a way of life for me. I live it, I breath it and I dance it!