Oriental Dance glides on the edge of power.

It is not an expression of sexuality. It is an expression of sensuality… it calls on a higher power.

The sensual is from the realm of the magical, the psyche, rather than the physical.

Sensuality brings to mind symbols and archetypes; it imbues the dancer with a shamanistic role. It is a demonstration of the higher realms in the physical being. Something which is ‘sexually explicit’ leaves ‘nothing to the imagination.’ When taken literally, as in the case of a sexually explicit performance, dance leads to the lower realms of physicality. Conversely, sensuality should be the pre-cursor or catalyst for awakening the Higher Mind through the imagination…the gateway of inspiration.

Within this understanding, perhaps we might find the seed of the historical controversy of the Oriental dance form. Demand for sexually explicit performances is an almost militant attempt to marginalize and/ or categorically bar this dance from appreciation or acceptance as ‘Art’. This dynamic takes place even though the dancer herself may be unaware of the power struggle. This is especially true in the land of its origins.

The performer who intentionally or unintentionally gives in to the societal (male) pressure for sexual explicitness renders herself victim. She surrenders her role as shaman, princess of the night, and mystical priestess.

In the West, within the Middle Eastern Dance community, controversy and dialogue concerning the position of Belly Dance (with respect to the re-emerging popularity of what have been considered sexually explicit dance forms) are heated and ongoing. The argument of what defines ‘Art’ is at the core.

This argument has no end. To define what Art ‘is’ almost negates its very nature as an expression of the creative imagination. A more empowering quest might be to ask what is the ‘function’ or ‘purpose’ of ‘Art’ in general and Oriental Dance in particular.

The consistent maligning and relegation of  Oriental Dance to the socially low stature of close association with prostitution and  striptease, as a dance of the Cabaret (in the European sense of ‘The Gentleman’s Club’) serves the purpose of keeping it—and women—‘stripped’ of mystical powers. 

As with most things considered feminine, the sexually explicit performance keeps Oriental dance ‘in its place,’ that place being in service to men or masculine power through the degradation of the feminine.

That said, I would also like to clarify that the ultimate ‘losers’ in this game of power are not necessarily the women. It is the men who ‘strip’ themselves of their own wholeness,

which is their connection to their own receptive, feminine aspects. These are the very aspects or qualities that nurture their ability to truly love in the higher and whole sense….to feel Joy, Rapture and all things beautiful.

The shadow is cast,
the veil conceals.
Lift the veil,
See the shadow;
then, you are free! 

Have a comment? Send us a letter!
Check the "Letters to the Editor" for other possible viewpoints!

Ready for more?
6-9-06 Weird Rituals and Beyond: Exploring Current Controversies in Middle Eastern Dance by Barbara Grant
If you are like me, (I know that many are not) you first responded viscerally and negatively to both situations. Then, as the shock wore off, perhaps you tried to make sense of it all.

8-1-07 The Summer School of Khaleegy Dance, Dance Style from the Saudi Arabian Penninsula, by Yasmina Ramzy
The “moral police” and hotel security watched every move I made. All my phone calls were monitored. I was not allowed to talk to or get into an elevator with an Arab man.

7-31-07 Part Two of Antique Textiles: Costuming Before the Reign of Egyptian Costumers by Najia Marlyz
I view today’s dance values as interlopers—meant to mitigate Belly dance’s checkered past by exchanging its innate free emotional expression for speed and difficulty of execution and an over-the-top outpouring of energy that is neither sensual or exotic.

7-30-07 Belly Dancer of the Year Pageant 2007 Sunday Photos, Photos by Michael Baxter, Photo Prep by Michelle Joyce, May 27, 2007 Danville, California,
Event produced by Leea. The competition for the Finalists.

7-25-07 Tribute to Reema by Taaj
Hali said, “The day of the contest, backstage we could all just feel her. We were like, ‘This is for Reema! She’s here!”