yeah.. it is a really fine line... I too have daughters & know what the mums feel..... but I have also been teaching for years... (I have a mother daughter class where I start the daughters @ age 11... occasionally they start @ 10...)...
Maria's disturbing video... alot of that was "off"(besides the viewpoint of the videoogapher) for me was the inappropriate costuming.... I mean we (or at least I) do not dance in a bikini top!! so even worse if too young girls do...
I have had 2 students enter (both around age 12-13 & both won) a local youth talent show... & I think the reason they won was their "appropriateness"... most of the other girls in the contest were imitating MTV type singing &/or dancing performances..... sorry... do not want my TWENTY year old doing that!!!...
oh & I do have to say... they both did sword dance (I am an American Cab Belly dancer).... & from personal experience i have noticed that w/ a prop... that the prop seems to distract from what may be considered too "sexy" a move.... (assuming of course you are not doing "weird" things "with" your prop... which i HAVE occasionally seen (shudder...gag..))...
& since I teach isolation & DANCING... the sword is more of a SKILL rather than just writhing around (mtv style) to the music... which can be very age inappropriate....(EDIT... the writhing= inappropriate.... not the prop!!!!... as long as you are PROP-er that is.... oooooh sorry... bad humor)
also.... so far... all of my younger students have been very age appropriate in their costuming... belts higher, full tops, not BRA tops, etc.....
and if they were not... I think I would be speaking to their parents...
(you are NOT going out in that skirt!!!!! 2nd that
)
oh.. btw ... last week... my 1st "youngest" student just turned 21!!!! she is still very modest & "proper" & a kick a*@ dancer too!!!!
(she dances with me professionally now)