Last night, I watched The Belly Dancers of Cairo. It’s an worthy but dusky documentary on the set 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), fresh performers, a Muslim feminist, and a variety of Egyptian men from different walks of life, we can explore how dancers are simultaneously loved and reviled. We are given cultural and religious context for this apparent contradiction.

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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 understanding 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 secure married, or once she bears children, she will have to destroy her career.

The film touches on how women in the public glimpse are considered to have questionable virtue. However, there is no mention of Oum Kalthoum, who was considered a national adore. I can’t aid but be piquant to ogle if she was considered a floozy at the same time that she was revered.

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The documentary ends on a bittersweet price. 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 build what would otherwise be a dying art beget. And impartial so we’re not without context, the DVD has an marvelous features fragment which contains full-length performances by a variety of Egyptian dancers.

I need to acquire myself a copy of this. I recommend it to students of all varieties of belly dance (whether broken-down Egyptian or any of the more unusual fusion variants) .

As a belly dance instructor, I found this to be a terrific tool for conception the weird location raks sharki has in Cairo society — Dancers are mammoth stars who are beloved and shriek vast sums for performances, and yet they are seen as prostitutes.

The film includes interviews with Samasem, Dina, Lucy, Nagwa Fouad, Khayreyya Maazin, and others. Eman Zaki talks at length about her mothers’ recollections of dancing for Badia Masabni.

The special features include eight or nine performances and the filmmakers’ lengthy discussion about their experiences during filming. They were charmingly launch and unbiased about all their experiences and I enjoyed the discussion almost as worthy as the documentary!

I was riveted throughout the entire documentary AND the special features. This is a must-have for the library of serious dancers or dance teachers.
HAI Flat Iron
Master Cleanse

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