Tarik Sultan

No doubt.

Yes I know she was a beautiful dancer. I know several people who know her very well. They told me they asked her why she acted the way she did on stage. What all of them told me, and these are people who do not know each other, is that she said she did it #1. to stand out from the crowd and #2. Once she started doing it, people expected it of her. They came for the shock value. She sort of built up a following that expected a wild and crazy girl. It would have been like Dolly Parton getting a radical breast reduction.

I don't think sanitized is the correct word here. Souhair ZAki was not sanitized, she was who she was. As was Naima, Taheya and Samia. Negwa was sexy, modern cheik but she didn't cross the line. She was always a lady and that's the kind of woman I am attracted to, a lady. Souhair ZAki on stage looked like the queen mother. She had dignity, grace, and commanded awe. Susu Amin was totally different, she was a broad. She wore loud make up and big hair and was bauxom but powerful. Mona Said was a hot chilli pepper, but she could throw down on the dance floor. I mean she really kicked ass and danced her heart out. Lucy has grace, charm, presence and a regal air. She has polish and tons of charm. Fifi Abdo is Baladi awwwwi. She's earthy, sexy as hell, loud and brassy and a total character. She's got that ghetto touch, but commands respect. I appreciate and love all these dancers because they were all different types of women, but what they all have/had in common they had dignity.

I like Dina far more as a person because I've come to learn more about her. I like the way she dances now as versus the way she did the first few times I saw her in the early 90's. I think she has much more depth now then she did then. What I don't like is trash, blatant vulgarity, which is why I did not like Sahar Hamdi and why I didn't like Dina. I don't like blatant in your face sexual displays and I'm sorry but I don't want to see the crack of anyone's ass, or to be distracted from the dance because their boobs look like they're going to spill out, or to have to be staring at someone's snatch dead on because their skirt os cut so high every time they do a full circle I'm looking at the tip of their bush. I love sexy, but to me, that's not sexy. Does this mean I'm a prude? No. It means that I'm a man. I have a sense of decency, honor, self respect, morals character, DIGNITY. I was raised with and have a certain moral foundation and that is nothing to be ashamed of.

And as my mother would say when I was a child, if everyone jumps off of a bridge does that mean you have to do it too. I don't care what others are doing. I'm a man and that means I have maturity my own mind and my own sense of wrong and right. Just because a lot of people choose to do something does not mean its right, nor does it mean that they should be emulated. I'm a person with a strong sense of individuality. There are a lot of things that I could do to earn more money, be more popular, but I won't.

When Dina did her thing she did so with a purpose. She wanted to be different an individual. In this world some people are innovators, but most are followers. Ask Dina what she though of all the people imitating her, she thought it was silly. Why? Because as your good friend has pointed out, the dance in not simply about doing XYZ steps. Its about expressing your individuality, your soul. They can imitate her steps, but they don't know why she does what she does. They are being what we call in Jamaica follow fashion monkeys, blindly imitating with the understanding of an ape. In other words, they can never BE Dina.

So do people love Dina. Well yes and so what? Different strokes for different folks. Some people like vanilla, some like strawberry and they have a right to their preferences. Dina has an energy the resonates with their personalities and there is nothing wrong with that. She doesn't touch my soul the way Fifi or Lucy does and that is all that that means. So for people who love Dina, that is fine with me. If Tito borrows certain elements from her, that's also fine, we all borrow from dancers as I pointed out earlier, believe it or not there are elements of Dina's dance that I have borrowed even though I don't like her over all presentation. I take what works and suits my personality and leave the rest on the shelf. Tito has done the same. He is not a Dina clone in any way shape or form. Over all I love his dancing, but there are 1 or 2 elements that I can do without and that is all there is to that. Punto!

khanjar

Thank you Tarik,

No worries to internet forums and what goes on in them, they are much the same everywhere, regardless of the common interest that brings people together to chat. I see no different here than I see elsewhere. The important thing is, that somewhere in all what goes on, there is always something to be learned.

And to the dance class, I went this evening, and all I can say is, 'my knees !', no, I was very impressed and enjoyed myself, and spent most of the time laughing at my total lack of co ordination. The tutor, Siouxsie Cooper was excellent and had the patience of a saint. The class as expected was all women, but they also were helpful, welcoming and friendly.

I understand this is off topic, but I feel this tutor I had this evening is worthy of mention and applause and so here provide the link to her website ;

Bellydance Southwest Home Page

I very nearly chickened out twice, but I am glad I went despite having an iffy knee from falling off a wall the night before.

I will continue.

Tarik Sultan

WONDERFUL! I'm glad you had a great time. Your knees will heal, and you lack of coordination will slip away one step at a time. Above all, just remember to have fun and enjoy the music and if you have any questions, feel free to ask. I promise not to make anything up if I don't know.

Mark_Balahadia

Actually even Nagwa crossed the line. There's film I saw of her where she took her top off (of course she wasn't showing her chest but you get the idea). Naughty naughty!

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badde 3eish!!! www.markbalahadia.com

Tarik Sultan

And so what? What I'm talking about is dance not acting. The great thing about being in Cairo back then was you could see a top star dancer every night of the week and each one of them was unique and had something special to share and with one exception, Sahar, none of them had to get down in the sewer.

Now as far as Dina is concerned I'll say this, even at her most risque she doesn't even come close to someone like Britney when it comes to blatant sexuality. Dina is not a cheap slut. She did what se did for a reason, not just to be doing it. It was a unique statement and each individual is free to decide for him or herself if they appreciate her particular interpretation and that is the point most people miss, especially people who just blindly copy her because they see she's famous and are trying to hitch their wagon to her star. The problem also gets amplified with western dancers who barely understand what Egyptian Dance is all about in the first place thinking, oh, that's the new thing in Cairo, let me do it too. They don't understand that one person's interpretation is just that, their interpretation and not necessarily indicative of the dance or what the dance is all about. You can find tons of clips on youtube of low class Egyptian dancers dry humping the male guests at low class street weddings. It does not mean we should do it too. We have to understand the context of who those individuals are and why they choses to behave the way they do and realize there is a big difference between what is a part of the dance, what is someone doing something they think will make them stand out, someone making a social statement and someone just being down right vulgar and not try to use certain behaviors as justification to do the same.

End of discussion.