Juliet – Publicity Still C1982
This post is dedicated to the Inner Goddess Belly Dance Community following a request to drop-by their home page,
Warm hello to Trudy and the Group…..I have gathered from your community page that you are all extremely enthusiastic (love it!), but more importantly are gleaning a lot of benefit from the wonderful opportunities Belly Dance can afford. There is nothing more heart warming and positive than women enjoying each other in a supportive non-judgmental environment – it can be the salve to 1,001 worldly wounds. However, bonding with other women is only the tip of the iceberg…. I am sure you will agree this particular dance can reveal much about the psyche.
Since 1980, when I began dancing professionally, the attitude and interest in Middle Eastern dance has evolved in the West beyond anything I could have imagined.
Naturally my understanding and approach to the dance has also altered significantly over the last 31 years. I was very naïve when I started, I could precisely execute the movements demonstrated by the Egyptians who taught me, (as I already had 14 years of dance training and performance behind me) – but that was about it! Any questions I had (and there were many!)- were always answered with ‘You are doing it exactly as we do in Egypt, don’t worry, just dance!’ Costumes were bespoke only – beautifully crafted hand beaded costumes designed with love and pride by an Egyptian seamstress – and the jewellery was sent to me from Egypt, as nothing like it could be bought off the shelf in Australia at that time. I danced to Egyptian music played by the same musicians who had taught me to dance and who had encouraged me to perform.
Now here we are in 2011 and the bedlah, jewellery, classes, ensuing rhythms and movements, are immediately accessible and familiar to anyone, anywhere – more importantly, as a performer you are no longer considered alternative or ‘questionable’ or even ‘persona non grata’ (at least not in the West). Attitudes have gradually become relaxed and it is now all relatively mainstream. The ground swell of students and amateur performances in the West continues to grow exponentially, and as a consequence attitudes, expectations, standards and critique are equally disparate.
The accomplished dancer may convey many engaging qualities – the polish of clean lines, musicality, dynamism, power, ease of movement, elegance – a ‘veteran’ who can warm any floor and any audience. Nevertheless I am sure many will agree there is little to beat the eager, ebullient charm that marks the enthusiastic amateur.
Today I would like to draw your attention to a topic less discussed, and that is the disillusionment that can sometimes occur once that initial ‘honeymoon flush’ is past. As a teacher and as a performer, I have witnessed some of the pitfalls for professional and amateur alike. In Part 2 of this piece I am going to discuss the most common areas of contention: ………Ethics, Ego and Integrity. If you would like to read Part 2 please send an email to juliet@eed.com.au with ‘Ethics and Integrity’ in the Subject Box, plus share a little about yourself….. and the PDF file will be forwarded to you.
