Barbara Walters chats with Forward Syria
Swaying between art and seduction
Discussing monetary policy with the man in charge
Where the earth screams in horror
02/17/2011 - Issue 48
Swaying between art and seduction
by Dareen al-Saleh
Belly dancing has always been associated with the “Exotic Orient.” But how accurate are modern perceptions of this ancient craft?
Ghada Bashur smiles as she recalls one September night in the mid 1960s, when she gave a personal belly dance performance to her childhood hero, Fairouz, at the Officer’s Club in downtown Damascus.
Coming from a conservative family Bashur, who was contracted to perform at the club every Thursday, Saturday and Sunday night, refused to wear the revealing belly dancing costume, replacing it with the Arabic abaya, adorned with a colorful scarf across her waist.
When the Lebanese diva Fairouz walked into the Officer’s Club after staging a memorable performance at the Damascus International Fair, the young dancer could not believe her eyes.
She walked up to her table and swayed to Fairouz’s classic songs and the diva, clearly impressed, had a quick chat with her once the show was over, applauding her dancing style as “expressionist, emotional, and elegant.”
Now some 40 years on, Bashur has retired from belly dancing and television where she was generally cast as an ageing housewife. The physical attributes of the belly dancer have succumbed to age, yet her passion for the art of dancing remains as strong as ever.
Historically associated with the “enchanting Orient,” the craft has always held a tenuous line between being perceived as a skillful art form or as a seductive moral transgression.
While many may like to watch belly dancers on stage or on television, they say they would refrain from getting too close to them.
Much of that, Bashur told Forward Syria, is due to the negative reputation a new generation of belly dancers has brought to the craft.
“I learned to belly dance, along with other forms [of dance] like Andalusian samah dancing and ballet, while I was a young girl, from respected masters of dance in the Arab world,” she said.
“I practiced expressionist dancing, telling a story with every move that I made.” Looking back, she said, “It took a lot of courage, since we had no belly dancers in Syria. I used to dance at respectable venues, those reserved for families only, and at private weddings.”
Bashur continued, “Women would bring their husbands to watch me dance, because it was expressionist art, and I never got too close to the tables, to avoid embarrassing anybody, including myself.”
Her family curtly said no to the profession at first, but soon caved in under her pressure. “Eventually, my father started accompanying me to the venues at which I was scheduled to dance.”
Steadily building her career, she danced at VIP clubs in Syria, Lebanon, the Emirates, Tunisia, and Algeria, picking up a number of awards as she went, and performing next to stars like Lebanese Wadih al-Safi and Walid Tawfiq, and Jordanian Samir Tawfic.
Dancing is often described as an “international language,” but oriental dancing - or belly dancing - is one of the most famous genres of dance, often associated with sexy, seductive women whose captivating ability to create perfect harmony, sound and sight is considered a perfect form of indulgence.
A solo performance, there is no handbook or formal instruction for a belly dancer’s moves - the individual dancer’s spontaneity is part of the attraction - and the seduction.
Among the poets and writers who have praised the beauty of belly dancers throughout history, Ahmad Abdul Muti al-Hijazi described the dance as “emotional dancing that stresses the presence of the human body.” It reminds audiences of the human world, with all its instincts and lust, depicted in forms that now, at least, runs the range from hardcore Sufi spirituality all the way to cheap marketing of human flesh.
Fans of Oriental dancing are not restricted to the Middle East. Enchanted westerners claim the dance assists them understand the exoticism of the east.
This goes some way to explaining why the peculiar dance has become a pervasive symbol of the east in western show business and Hollywood and is even beginning to make its presence felt in the Far East.
Currently, belly dancers from China, for example, come to Egypt annually, either seeking work, wanting to learn the profession, or to take part in dance competitions, for which Cairo is famous.
Suheir Zaki, the famous Egyptian dancer who performed in front of US President Richard Nixon during a visit to Cairo in the 1970s, said that no matter how hard foreign belly dancers try, they will “never” compete with the Arabs.
“They lack a musical ear, one that is accustomed to Oriental tunes and melodies, in addition to the spirit of light humor,” she said.
And although many have gone into the business as professionals, and there are still committed fans, belly dancing remains frowned-upon in other stratas of the Arab and Muslim world.
With their exposed legs, breasts, and belly, they view the nave as not only provocative, but synonymous with nudity. The depiction of the belly dancer in smoky cabarets and nightclubs where alcohol and vice abound has not helped the image of the dance.
Belly dancers were thus seen as the exact opposite of what any decent man would want for his home and children. They were seen as sexy, cheap and opportunistic women who “steal” husbands from their wives. The image of a wife refusing to accompany their husband to any venue that has a belly dancing show is common. Rarely have others managed to scratch the surface and understand that belly dancers themselves were normal human beings who had their own families, were mothers of children, and who practiced the profession just like any other, because it provided a decent income.
Retiring from the scene
Speaking of her retirement, Bashur says, “Never during my years in the profession did I suffer any disturbances, mainly because I had my own circle of fans, who respected me tremendously. I left the job at the apex of my career so as not to perform anything less than what I had given in the past; I wanted them to continue remembering me in my finest hour.”
That was one reason. But the other, she says, is an unfortunate truth that the craft has been corrupted, “doing a disservice to the profession by how they [the dancers] dressed, and how they acted.”
“There is not a single dancer that impresses me today; they are not presenting art, only cheap movements they call dancing.”.
Belly dancing for men
Recently the profession has expanded to include men. There is no law or regulation, male enthusiasts insist, that stipulates belly dancing as being a “women’s only” profession. Art in all its forms, whether it be ballet dancing, singing, or acting, should be open to both sexes. Although physiologically women are better able to move their hips, men have started to enter the profession. Currently men can be found practicing belly dancing on stages in Lebanon and Egypt, swaying to Oriental music with the briskness of their female counterparts.
