Myth #3 about Egyptian Dance (and its debunking)
The most common Myths about Egyptian Dance (and their debunking)📯📯📯
Myth #3 - Egyptian Dance is only for Women.
(is it?)
My first Egyptian Dance teacher was a man - Shokry Mohamed.
My dearest Egyptian Dance teacher was a man - Mahmoud Reda.
The best Egyptian Dance performance I´ve ever seen was gifted to me by a man - Aziz, my "bedleh" designer, brother, and friend, who surprised by performing the best Om Kolthoum´s dance rendition I´ve ever seen in my life.
On my first trips to Egypt, as a student, before I moved to start my career, I was surprised by the amount of men dancing everywhere. At the famous "Khan el Khalili" market, I used to sit down on a plastic chair with a cup of super hot over-sweetened tea on my hands, to watch the shop keepers dance for me.
For me. An Oriental Show delivered at my feet. By men.
I loved it. Some made me laugh, others entertained me, and a few touched my heart.
We´re sold the idea that Egyptian Dance is only for women, as if this art form was an exclusive club where men aren´t allowed to enter. Is it?
It is. And it´s not. Let me explain.
It´s a fact that men - in Egypt and abroad - do Egyptian Dance, professionally or in an amateur way.
There´s a long History of male Oriental Dancers in Egypt as well as in Turkey and, although they belonged to an "underground", often deeply disrespected universe, they existed, they worked in the trade, and they´re an undeniable part of our art form.
The best Oriental Dancer I´ve ever seen was a man (Aziz, my dear Syrian brother).
And my most relevant teachers also happened to be men (Shokry, Mahmoud).
Claiming Egyptian Dance is only for women would be, therefore, ridiculous. But...
Here´s where the polemic resides: I do believe there´s an unique sensibility, a heart and a brain, a womb´s magic, an emotional and spiritual depth that only women are able to deliver in this art form.
Kill me, now. Burn me at the stake. I don´t care - I´ll always speak my truth.
I don´t know what it is, exactly, ´cause I never managed to put my finger on it, but there´s an essence that women carry within, a magic, a mystery that men don´t have. That essence, magic, and mystery is the essence, magic, and mystery of Egyptian Dance.
Does that mean we should put men aside and claim this dance as our exclusive property?
Of course, not. First, because there are men in working in this field - mostly, business men, it´s true, but still, in the field.
Second, because everybody can and probably should dance.
Third, because nobody owns anything. Women don´t own Egyptian Dance, the same way men could never own it no matter how much they try (and some, try).
Egyptian Dance belongs to all of us. Men and Women. Children and grown ups.
If you´re human, this is your dance.
Less separation, please, and more unit. Less power struggles and more art. Less mediocrity and more collaboration.
Each person - no matter the gender - brings something unique to this dance. They bring themselves. At the end of the day, that´s what matters.
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