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Tarik Sultan · 05-13-2008, 01:59 AM

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Real

Dear Caroline, Jenc and others. I think you can all see clearly that male dancers are no threat to female dancers or the dance for that matter in any way. There was a time when men were excluded from Ballet to the point where the men's roles were often done by women. Not only have men once again been allowed to participate, but choreographers always create special sections for the man to show his athletic prowess. This is a far cry from the romantic era of the 19th century when the Ballet was seen as the quintessential expression of femininity. The two leading celebrities of the Ballet in the 20th century were men, Barishnakov and Nureyev. Did this hurt the ballet? No.

The only certainty in life is change. It is inevitable. When Raks Sharki was developed it was a radical change from the Baladi style of the Ghawazee and Awalim of the old quarters of Cairo who had previously dominated the dance scene. Men are becoming more involved in the dance, heralding another development in the dance. Will it hurt the dance? No, it won't but the landscape and what is viewed as normal will change. Some people are fearful of this because they can't in-vision a world of multiple or parallel realities. There are just some people who are comfortable in their world. They thrive on the certainty of the routine because it gives life a sense of security. The airplane, the car, the telephone, electricity, the railroad. These are all things that scared the bejesus out of some people because it represented change and that change represented uncertainty, the unknown.

We are dancers, and dancers need audiences. I give women credit for having .... just a little bit of brains. Just between us, do you think women will really stand for men attempting to exclude them from performing? There will never be enough men in any one location to sufficiently impact on women. It will never ever be anything but the occasional event and I don't know any man in this business stupid enough to think that we can survive without the support of women. From a financial point of view alone, unless they plan to only have ONE show a year or every other year, how could they possibly exclude women from performing? We've all seen shows that were geared at being a celebration of womanhood. I don't see anything wrong with this. What I do have a problem with are schools and teachers who feel that men have not legitimate part in the dance and these are two completely different things. As someone said earlier, the audience will decide with their own pocketbooks if they want to see a show or not. I don't think women would be stupid enough to support an artist who discriminates against them, nor do I know any male dancer who could afford to exclude women from performing. They still have to teach seminars and workshops and until we see a rush of men beating down the doors to learn Oriental dance, who could you have a seminar show, Hafla etc that did not include women on a regular basis.

05-13-2008, 01:59 AM	#83 (permalink)
Tarik Sultan V.I.P. Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Jersey City, New Jersey Posts: 1,337	FEAR: False Evidence Appearing Real Dear Caroline, Jenc and others. I think you can all see clearly that male dancers are no threat to female dancers or the dance for that matter in any way. There was a time when men were excluded from Ballet to the point where the men's roles were often done by women. Not only have men once again been allowed to participate, but choreographers always create special sections for the man to show his athletic prowess. This is a far cry from the romantic era of the 19th century when the Ballet was seen as the quintessential expression of femininity. The two leading celebrities of the Ballet in the 20th century were men, Barishnakov and Nureyev. Did this hurt the ballet? No. The only certainty in life is change. It is inevitable. When Raks Sharki was developed it was a radical change from the Baladi style of the Ghawazee and Awalim of the old quarters of Cairo who had previously dominated the dance scene. Men are becoming more involved in the dance, heralding another development in the dance. Will it hurt the dance? No, it won't but the landscape and what is viewed as normal will change. Some people are fearful of this because they can't in-vision a world of multiple or parallel realities. There are just some people who are comfortable in their world. They thrive on the certainty of the routine because it gives life a sense of security. The airplane, the car, the telephone, electricity, the railroad. These are all things that scared the bejesus out of some people because it represented change and that change represented uncertainty, the unknown. We are dancers, and dancers need audiences. I give women credit for having .... just a little bit of brains. Just between us, do you think women will really stand for men attempting to exclude them from performing? There will never be enough men in any one location to sufficiently impact on women. It will never ever be anything but the occasional event and I don't know any man in this business stupid enough to think that we can survive without the support of women. From a financial point of view alone, unless they plan to only have ONE show a year or every other year, how could they possibly exclude women from performing? We've all seen shows that were geared at being a celebration of womanhood. I don't see anything wrong with this. What I do have a problem with are schools and teachers who feel that men have not legitimate part in the dance and these are two completely different things. As someone said earlier, the audience will decide with their own pocketbooks if they want to see a show or not. I don't think women would be stupid enough to support an artist who discriminates against them, nor do I know any male dancer who could afford to exclude women from performing. They still have to teach seminars and workshops and until we see a rush of men beating down the doors to learn Oriental dance, who could you have a seminar show, Hafla etc that did not include women on a regular basis.