Myth #5 about Egyptian Dance (and its debunking)
The most common Myths about Egyptian Dance (and their debunking)📯📯📯
Myth #3 - Egyptian Dance is not suited for Children.
Lunch time. Portuguese food and wine (the best in the world if you put Indian food aside). My man and a couple. I was absent, working.
They wondered if it was safe to expose their little daughter to my infamous, untamed, shameful and, that was hard to admit but it was implied, thrilling profession.
- Isn´t what she does inappropriate for children? - They asked, not naming the unnamable, as if Egyptian Dance was Satan´s territory, a dirty word, a spell that´d bring misery to the ones who dared to utter it.
"She", the unnamed whore, the burned witch, the absent alien, was "me".
"What she does" was "Egyptian Dance" which they, no doubt, insisted on calling "belly dance".
- It´s "BELLY DANCE", isn´t it? B-E-L-L-Y D-A-N-C-E. - They pursed their lips, raising their voice, their faces red with undiagnosed anger, with an imaginary fork held in the direction of my man´s eyes.
They went about describing what they imagined I did - old, dusty images of odalisques seducing sultans, lewd movements covered in exoticism and sweat, naked people twerking and rubbing themselves against transparent veils and palm trees in far-away deserts.
My man, stuck with a hot potato on his hands. The couple, flushed, legs trembling, half-disgusted and fully aroused.
The usual fantasy meets ignorance meets prejudice meets myth meets sexually repressed folks in desperate search of a projection.
Thankfully, I wasn´t present when that conversation took place. I was working - creating, dancing, teaching, writing, serving - as I am most of the time. My absence allowed for an annoyingly common conversation and it avoided a possible murder.
My man answered respectfully - he´s way more polite, calm, and diplomatic than me -, making it clear that what I did was perfectly fine for children and that, surprise of all surprises, I´d once created and delivered an entire Training for children.
That I did.
Many years ago, even before I moved to Egypt, I was invited to create an Egyptian Dance Training Program for children, ages between 3 and 9.
I jumped into the opportunity. There´s so much creativity, self-discovery and empowerment; so much joy, life, and benefits to this dance. I marveled at the possibility of bringing those benefits, and then some, to children.
Although the dance was the same I taught to adults, I had to create an entire new pedagogy and a method that brought Egyptian Dance, Music, and Culture to those gorgeous little humans.
When in class, in a room filled with boys and girls not yet polluted by the world, I used to retreat into a corner and smile - just smile - at the view: those little bodies moving freely, in connection with the music; their faces, lighted up with happiness; their steps, sharp, uncomplicated, free; their laughter.
Oh, their laughter.
I loved it. And, in the process, I was reminded of the true nature of Egyptian Dance.
Whenever we discussed people´s mentality towards Egyptian Dance, Mahmoud Reda, my long-term mentor, collaborator and best friend, told me:
- What people make of the dance is not the Dance. The dance is what it is: beautiful, pure, human. The way each person uses it is a completely different matter. Let´s not confuse one for the other.
Not only is Egyptian Dance suited for children but, if taught properly and with a suitable pedagogy, is one of the best things they can learn. The fact that so many misuse it and distort it doesn´t change its nature and the benefits it can bring to people of all ages.
Now, here´s the most polemic part of the issue:
A lot of the myths and prejudices surrounding Egyptian Dance come from sexually repressed and unsatisfied minds who are so hungry, so depleted and twisted, they end up seeing sex and pornography everywhere, even where they don´t exist. In those cases, my advice is to search for company and become a good lover instead of projecting your inner demons upon a dancer who´s just doing her job.
Does that mean every Oriental Dancer is professional, talented, knowledgeable, and someone who respects her/himself?
Certainly not. There are a lot of "dancers" who use those myths and the prejudices and embody them, gladly, unaware that by doing so, they´re bringing themselves and the dance, down. But, as Mahmoud always told me, "what people make of the dance is not the dance."
It is not.
And, I assure you, children know how to make it beautiful ´cause they´re still beautiful - the world hasn´t polluted their system, yet.
They know what Egyptian Dance is all about. Better than anyone else.
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