The issue of fusion for me is the removal of MED to the point of being totally removed. I saw some performances a few months back and was told it was fushion but it really wasnt. For me, fusion is a blend. If someone does Flamenco style dance wearing spanish style costumes dancing to Spanish music then were is the fusion? do people really not know what is meant by fusion?
do we have a common definition of fusion?
I really do not like it when people make up what they think belly dance is about without doing their homework.
It annoys me that people often take what they want and invent the rest.
I often wonder how many people really love this dance or just love the fantasy and idea of it.
Selling out in the pursuit of money will also make this dance unrecognisable.
The problem is, if we all stuck to what we thought was real Egyptian dance what would that mean? would we all be clones of Fifi, Dina and Randa et al?
Is the true art just copying the well knowns and the great unknowns?
who do we depend on to keep the art form moving and developing, or is this dance stuck forever in a certain era?
Perhaps that is going a bit deep, but I am not sure that some of the most well known leaders in this dance are taking it in a productive and artistic direction. I dont believe that it actually has a direction other than business these days.
I was sat with Farida Fahmy at her home in Cairo a few years back having this very discussion. She was very afraid of where it was all going and who was leading it there etc. even the current Cairo contemporaries cant agree on what the way forward is so what chance do the rest of us have.
It is easier to point out what is wrong but looking at solutions is another matter and no one can agree on who is best to do this.
|