gypsy8522

LOL This thread is funny!

Actually, the name of this "dance" is Om M3alay, which means in english "M3alaya's mother", that is the lady who created this amaaaaaazing art... although I am little confused with the thread title, it has got nothing to do with oriental dancing or why belly dancers are seen as bad news.

M3alaya was "imported" from Africa and a few people started doing it, and it caught on. I lived more than half my life in the gulf, never seen this dance before. The reason many people are getting mad, because it is being credited to khaleegi culture when it really isn't from the gulf region at all. Personally, coming from a conservative background and not being used to this kind of dancing, I must admit that I am shocked. But, I don't think it's fair to stick up our noses at a dance forgetting that there's people in Africa who "butt dancing" is their traditional dance that is done to native drum songs and has a special meaning to their culture , most of which we do not understand.


Lydia,

People from different cultures will see things from a different view. If you show this ma3alaya to any egyptian they may tell you it is the most hideous and repulsive thing they have seen. Remember my quote from the other thread about the Egyptian master teacher when he said "keep circling your butt, khaleegi dance is all about the butt"... it is difficult to understand where these people are coming from or what they are thinking if you aren't one of them. As for the dancing is haram, you're going to hell, you're a prostitute and what else you were saying.... As I've mentioned before, In the Arab world, most people aren't against the dancing itself. The mentality here differs from the west, where the majority of people aren't nessesarily against the dancers, but they will have all kind of thoughts about the dance... it being a goddess dance, or a harem dance to seduce the sultan, or a striptease etc... In Egypt we really don't know any other type of dance except this one. So, if someone thinks you are a prostitute, it isn't because of the dancing, but something else.

Lydia dubai

Hi Gypsy i am with you on most things you say,but i am sorry to say many many poeple think specialy in the middle east if you are a dancer you are a prostitute,and its not because of other things its just because you are a dancer....It is a big misunderstanding about the artform that is out there,if we like it or not...Than i have nothing against people using a butt while dancing ,but rolling on the floor while doing it ?and the way they roll ! i geuss no need for that...
i start to think why did i put this thread !! i realy did not mean it to go this far,i just can not understand the hypocrity about ,,dancing,, malaya is fine but bellydancing is not ,that was my point
I dont know if you have performed in the gulf,but i am sure that most dancers agree with me on this if they work in the gulf,that the way people look at you is just not nice and it takes a lot of explaining and hard work to prove that dancing is a art and not something else.....
gosh i wish i did not put this thread just upsetting me.....yakky...have a nice day Lydia

gypsy8522

Hi Lydia,

I understand your frustration, but I think you just missed my point when I said people from different cultures see things from a different view. 'The Middle East' isn't one culture, we already discussed this in another thread. Oriental dance is not at all common in khaleegi society, hence why the bellydancing is not fine with them, but the m3alaya is!

Yes, people might think you are a prostitute if you are a dancER....... but NOT because you are dancING..... HUGE difference!

Lydia dubai

you must explain this me ....you know my english is not that good....LOL
people might think you are a prostitute if you are a dancer,
but not because you dance ....that s a huge differance

Shanazel

My English is pretty good and I don't quite get it either. How can someone one who is dancing not be a dancer? Do you mean professional dancers are seen as prostitutes while an amateur who is just dancing in the aisles for fun is not?

gypsy8522

I mean if you were dancing at a party or a wedding and you are only there to have fun, no one is going to think anything of you. But, if your job is to entertain people and you are getting paid for it, it is a whole different story. I know that you and others love this dance, but let us be honest here... many dancers also love the money that comes from this dance! It is the reason why alot women get into this business. Yes, they are passionate about the culture and dancing, but they are also looking to make a living out of it. Take Fifi Abdou for example. Being one of Egypt's top dancers and the richest woman is far better off than what she was before, a house maid! Since you live in Dubai, I don't need to explain to you how low of a status that is. So, when people see a dancer they start to think Fifi, Dina, scandals, 3orfi marriages, law suits, maids, ghetto, vulgar attitudes... the revealing (and sometimes extremely tacky) costumes aren't helping either!

Female entertainers in the beginning of the 20th century were never accepted and were all looked down on... but, you have women like Om Kalthoum, Warda, Fairuz and many others, who later came in and cleaned up that image. Same thing goes to actresses. Mervat Amin, Soad Hosni, Naglaa Fathi and others... did you see the skimpy outfits they used to wear? Or the type of roles they played? And not to mention the dancing in films... they are still looked on with high regard... at least a whole lot better than the dancers that's for sure. For instance, you will never hear an Egyptian or arab say that Soad Hosni was a whore or a prostitue, even though she did wear a belly dance costume in Zouzou. Dancers haven't done anything to prove what they are presenting is truly an art.... especially nowadays, any girl with very little training can put on a costume and call herself a belly dancer.

cathy

Hi Shanazel,

I think this is exactly what she means. It was hard for me to wrap my head around this at first but I am starting to get it. Dancing with your friends and family for fun only is OK but being paid is considered sleazy. Dancing for fun with your friends or family is modest and swept up in the moment and "couldn't help it" and not saying how great you are, whereas planning it out, buying the costume, doing your makeup, hair, etc. and most of all taking money for showing your body in public to strange men in hopes they will admire you is haram, low, the same as what a whore does.

At first I felt outraged and indignant by this idea (and I still don't agree with it) but now I can kinda see some equivalents in our culture. Some female singers and actresses either act slutty or are accused of being sluts to a greater degree than male actors or singers.

Cathy

gypsy8522

That is because male singers perform with their clothes on! We keep hearing that Britney Spears is a slut, or that she "dances like a slut", while you hardly ever hear such comments about Alicia Keys. Personally, I would never say about any woman that she is a slut. But I don't blame anyone who thinks that way, if there are performers using "art" and display of their bodies to distract from their lack of talent.

cathy

I haven't seen Britney dance and haven't even heard of Alicia Keys! But I am no fan of overly suggestive costumes or cheap display of bodies instead of talent.

But men as sex objects and men showing skin in movies and music videos is more common now than it was 30 years ago, though still much less common than women. There is a billboard now advertising a new luxury apartment building in New York City showing a very handsome man wearing a bathrobe like he just came out of the shower and it says "now with all the amenities your lifestyle requires" or some such.

I think a man being sexy somehow has more power and dignity or is portrayed that way. He radiates power, women come flocking, he can exert his will on them. This enhances his image rather than tarnishes it. Straight men are rarely accused of sleeping around too much unless it's cheating on the wife (especially if there are kids) or girlfriend. Whereas a sexy woman in public is pandering, dirty, trashy, a tramp. Maybe it all comes down to the ancient power dynamic of a woman becoming a man's property after marriage. The old double standard. A man sleeping around is just being a man, a woman with multiple sex partners is the whore of Babylon. This is one dynamic that appears to be the same in both cultures.

Cathy

Khaira

I agree with Gypsy in this matter. Oriental dance can be imitated and any girl with whatever dance education can easyly fool the general audience. All you need is a costume, make up and some energy.

On the same matter but with a little variation is the problem that dancers (especially fresh beginning professionals - professional as someone who dances for money. I'm not including artistry now) do tend to hide lack of talent behind shiny decoration, like Gypsy said. Too often I see dancers buying glamorous modern costumes. What is the point of all that shinyness when there is nothing else to show. You know the saying, a rose with no smell...Buying a professional costume does not make a professional dancer(also incluyding artistry)