Restaurant dancers stopped in Florida...

I couldn't believe this when I saw it. A city near(?) Jacksonville, Florida, pressured a restaurant owner to stop having belly dance performers because it is considered "exotic" dancing and the restaurant serves alcohol, a combination that is banned by city ordinances. Apparently, the people who complained didn't even see a show; they just saw an advertisement for the show. City officials seem to be backing off now that people are asking questions, but it's chilling that it even got that far.

I'd love to hear from somebody who lives in the area. This seems to have been going on since March.

The news article is here.

Check out the flier

You can see a bigger version on the group's Myspace page: www.myspace.com/troupeincognito.

Belly Dance Isn't Stripping

I came across this opinion piece from Marisa Christensen, the opinion editor of the UNLV's Rebel Yell Online Edition and also a belly dancer. I thought you might enjoy it, too...

I am a belly dancer. I am a student and performer of a dance that is native to the Middle East, particularly Egypt, Lebanon and Turkey. It has ancient cultural roots in these regions and was originally a folkloric dance.

There are different theories as to what it was originally intended for, ranging from a dance that prepared women for childbirth to a type of religious ritual.

No, I don't give lap dances and no, I don't take my top off. Not until I'm changing out of my costume in the privacy of a dressing room, at least. When I tell someone what I do for a living, I usually brace myself for their response, which often goes something like: "Oh, kind of like a stripper?"

I guess if ballerinas, Broadway dancers and choreographers are also "kind of like strippers" because their jobs entail moving to music, then yeah, I'm kind of like a stripper, because I move to music too.

But unlike stripping, Middle Eastern dance requires years of training before it can be performed professionally. In this sense, it is much more similar to ballet, jazz and other forms of dance that usually aren't considered erotic whatsoever.

Like most forms of dance, belly dance requires classes. It's nearly impossible to isolate parts of your body, understand proper technique, learn rhythm patterns, differentiate between various types of Arabic music, or decide which steps to incorporate into performances without either growing up in the Middle East or taking belly dance classes.

If you'd like to read the whole essay, you can find it here.

I love that this young woman is doing something to address this popular misconception. I wrote a Letter to the Editor to show my support. If you'd like to do the same, you can do it online here.

Finding Donna Carlton

So I obviously didn’t get to Ahlan Wa Sahlan in Cairo, which some call the ultimate belly dance pilgrimage. But I did take a belly dance pilgrimage of my own last month. The purpose of the trip was to visit the site of the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, which is now largely parkland nestled beside Lake Michigan and surrounded by the University of Chicago. It was an amazing and humbling feeling to stand in the place – the exact place! – where belly dance made its first big splash in America.

But the highlight of the trip was meeting one of my all-time favorite belly dance heroes: Donna Carlton, who wrote the seminal belly dance book LOOKING FOR LITTLE EGYPT. It’s a book I’ve read and reread for its detailed examination of the Little Egypt legend, as well as its treatment of the whole cast of real-life characters who came together to make this a particularly compelling period in history. Can you just imagine all those fine Victorian ladies with their kidney-crushing corsets and floor-length skirts casting their disapproving glances over the earthy Ghawazee dancers? The snickers, those upturned noses, their curiously riveted glances? Yeah, me, too. I imagined those moments for so long they ended up forming the basis for my forthcoming novel, THE BELLY DANCER.

So it was with a great deal of anticipation and no small amount of hero worship that I walked into a Starbucks in Lebanon, Indiana, where Ms. Carlton kindly agreed to meet me to be interviewed for a future article for Belly Dance Magazine. She couldn’t have been more gracious. We talked for a little more than an hour about her book, the inspiration for her research, and her continuing passion for belly dancing. By the end of it, I’d all but forgotten that we’d only just met. Perhaps because I’d spent so many hours with her words and ideas, I already felt like I knew her. Or maybe it was because she is genuinely such a friendly person that she has the gift of putting people at such ease.

If you haven’t already had an opportunity to read LOOKING FOR LITTLE EGYPT, I urge you to check it out. It’s one of the best belly dance history books out there, and it’s written by a woman who truly loves the art and history of belly dance.

Raqs L.A. to be on 'California's Gold'

An upcoming episode of Huell Howser's show, "California's Gold," will focus on the Raqs L.A. show. A producer I contacted said the episode hasn't been scheduled yet, but that when it is, it will be announced on the Web site: www.calgold.com.

Also, I haven't found any information yet on the new dates for the 2009 Raqs L.A., but info is coming out about the Tribal L.A. event September 27-28. It'll be held at the Glendale Civic Auditorium (1401 N. Verdugo Road) and will feature performances and vending all day. Workshops will be offered by Rachel Brice, Zoe Jakes, Kami Liddle, Fat Chance Bellydance, Elizabeth Strong, and Moria.

The best in Orange County

One of the last things I wrote for Orange Coast magazine before leaving to work full time on novel No. 2 was a nomination of Angelika Nemeth as the best belly dance teacher in Orange County for the magazine's annual Best of O.C. issue. I'm happy to say that the July issue is now out and available just about anywhere magazines are sold in the county.

I'd also like to say that choosing a best teacher in Orange County isn't nearly as easy as it used to be. I chose Angelika because she is not only the teacher who has been teaching the longest in the area, but also because she is the teacher of so many terrific dancers who have gone on to great performing and teaching careers of their own.

The fact is, we're lucky in Orange County to have many wonderful teachers. Some of my personal favorites are Marlena Shaw, Mara, Sashi, Abby Duval (although she's soon heading for the big A.Z.) and Jheri St. James, and there are so many others I have heard terrific things about but haven't had the pleasure of studying with. Teachers like Sooz and Tina Enheduanna and Lilla Varese. I'm sure I have left some of them out, and that's where I'd like your input. Who has most inspired and motivated you? Who is your favorite local teacher, and why? Don't be shy, there are no wrong answers... :-)

Dina worries about belly dancing in Egypt

In an interview with The National newspaper in the UAE, Dina, Egypt's most famous belly dancer, says: “I see no hope or future for belly dancing in Egypt. ... Ten years ago we were so many. Each one had her own style and audience, whether first-class belly dancers, or second and third class. Now I look around and see nobody.”

The June 30 article also cites an incident in October 2006 when Dina was roundly blamed when "scores of young men chased women through downtown Cairo groping them and pulling off their clothes – even those wearing Islamic headscarves and face veils" -- after one of her performances.

The article, which can be found here, paints a grim picture for belly dancing in Egypt, reporting that 5,000 professional belly dancers were registered in the 1950s, but there are fewer than 100 today.

But Dina says she isn't about to stop, and sees herself as "the guardian of belly dancing."

“When I get old, and can’t dance anymore, I will train belly dancers," she says. "I just hope there will be ones to train.”

Photo credit: http://www.bellydancetours.com/