Other pages in this section: Body Fascism
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Body Fascism Middle Eastern Dance is for everyone, not just an elite few who fit the media’s current views on what is beautiful. "Yes", I can hear you saying, but isn’t it easy for me to say that, after all I’m a size 6/8! With over 20 year’s involvement in Middle Eastern Dance, it saddens me to find that what I term ‘Body Fascism’ being practiced by people from within our dance community. It’s bad enough having to deal with all the negative comments we so often receive from the press without having to fight it on our own doorstep! Judging a dancer by their dress size is a ridiculous as judging them by their shoe size - it's ability that counts! A bad dancer is a bad dancer regardless of dress size. Let's think about where most dancers perform: haflahs and other types of parties, student dance nights, village fetes, fundraisers and maybe family gatherings. These are all places where amateur dancers (which is what most dancers in our community are) may occasionally perform, taking the opportunity to share their love of the dance with other people. It is also worth mentioning that in Egypt for example, everyone will dance a family gatherings - men, women,children, grannies & grandpas - no-one is left out because their dress size is too large! Returning to dancing in this country though, we are not talking about venues where the audience has a pre-conceived idea about what the ‘belly-dancer’ may look like. Yes, it is true that in some environments the more generously proportioned dancer may be less acceptable to either the audience or the organisers of an event who are expecting a certain ‘look’. These are barriers that it will take us a long time to tear down because of the received ideas of beauty currently prevalent in our culture. A person dancing, who is confident and sure of themselves, someone who is a talented and gifted performer, will be able to (metaphorically speaking) lift the veil from the audience’s eyes. Making the audience appreciate our art form through their ability to dance. It is, however, important to take into consideration where the performance will be and what sort of audience it is aimed at. In a recent television documentary the Egyptian star Lucy stated that it was important not be overweight as a dancer. This is because the audience equates the dancer with glamour, and current cultural and societal pressures require dancers to have a certain ‘look’. She didn’t say that this was the right way to view things, but accepted it as a fact of life for a top performer. However, very few of us will be heading for the heady heights of nightclub performances in Egypt or elsewhere in Middle East, so it is possible to be much more flexible in our approach to the size of performers. As a teacher I believe it is important to encourage my students, regardless of their looks, and I never press someone to perform in public before they are ready. When putting forward groups of students to perform in public I strongly believe that ability should always come first. There are occasions when I am asked by theatres, TV companies or other organisations to provide dancers with a specific look. Where possible I try to persuade them to accept the dancers based on their performance merits, but I do accept that this is not always possible. Especially when, as a professional performer, I earn my living in the hard-nosed world of the entertainment industry where youth and good looks are all. I was recently turned down when I applied to audition for a small part as a dancer in a film and the reason given for the rejection? The casting agent was looking for good, experienced dancers aged 25 years or less! There is also the other side of the coin. I personally have had to bear the brunt of catty and spiteful remarks from dancers more generously proportioned than me who seem to think that my figure is some kind of insult to them! I have endured comments along the lines of; ‘you are so skinny! When are going to put some weight on, get some curves, you need to get something to wobble, it’s not proper belly-dancing if you haven’t got anything wobbly’! And so on… These remarks are just as hurtful to me as it would be if I said to any dancer larger than me ‘isn’t it about time you went on a diet?’ I do find it annoying too that I if told a larger dancer that dieting would be a good idea it would be considered very rude. However, it's considered quite acceptable for her to make comments about being thin to me and somehow that's not rude. The implied double-standard makes me angry! In recent years as I have entered 'middle life' I have become a little more rounded in shape. I still wear the same dress size, but my shape is slightly different. A fellow dancer, who I had not seen for a while, commented recently that life must be agreeing with me as I now have a 'real woman's figure'! She was very put out when I asked her why I wasn't a 'real woman' before, when I had smaller breasts and a very flat stomach! In recent years my weight has gone up and down and I have been 18llbs heavier in the past, but now I am more slender again. To some people I stopped being a 'real woman' the moment my weight returned to what is about right for my height and age. I strongly dislike the term 'real woman' as it is demeaning to those who in medical terms are the correct weight for their age and height. However, I also strongly believe that we are all 'real' whatever our dress size - it's good dancing or bad dancing that should define us. When I buy a video/DVD, go to a show or haflah I am interested solely in the talent of the performers/instructors and the content, nothing else. When I have control over the content for a public performance I am prepared to stand by my word. I use a variety of different dancers, across the range of both age and dress size. The one thing they will all have in common? They can dance! What I present to the audience is a professional show full of talented performers who demonstrate just how wonderful this dance form really is. If they are good dancers, with stage presence and an ability to hold and entertain an audience, then that’s what the audience will remember, not what dress sizes anyone was wearing! My answer to anyone who feels the desire to use body fascism is: Get over it! Please remember that this dance can be performed beautifully by anyone regardless of age, sex or size. A bad dancer is a bad dancer, determined by a lack of skills and experience. Judging a dancer by size alone is like stating that ability is determined by shoe size and that just isn’t gonna work! Happy Dancing: Whatever your shoe size! © Afra al Kahira |
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