Thoughts on the Mainstreaming of Belly Dance
By Nizana
As someone who has been involved in Middle Eastern Dance for going on close to 20 years, I have seen Belly Dance grow from something that was sort of obscure and community oriented to a more larger global scale acceptance of the dance style that has evolved into something somewhat different than what it used to be.
I remember when I first started, many people had not heard of belly dance, and when they did, their eyebrows would go up from their lack of knowledge and their misperceptions. There were limited instructors, workshops and troupes. Today there are so many of the above that dates sometimes overlap and one has to choose between many great events or teachers. And the eyebrows don’t seem to go up quite as much.
I remember being privy to a conversation a couple of years ago about over-saturation of the market. I had mixed feelings about it then, and I still do. On the one hand, it is good to see something so wonderful that many people worked so hard to bring to the communities come to a wider, more educated acceptance. It is good to see that it’s not against the law in some places like it used to be. It is great to have access to so many fabulous instructors, venues and events, while expanding your dance knowledge, opportunities and wardrobes. It has generated creativity that have brought about new interpretations of the dance. It is nice to be able to talk about it in more places without feeling someone’s going to get the wrong idea about your choice of performance art. It has become so much more international where we can share the love of the dance with our sisters (and brothers) around the globe. You can walk into some record stores and find belly dance music! Or turn on the TV or internet and find video clips and television performances. For example, on the international “So You Think You Can Dance,” there are belly dance performances! It’s popularity makes it more accessible.
On the other hand, sometimes you have to forego an event you’d really like to support because you just can’t afford them all, money or time wise. You may lose support from the dance community as a promoter due to this as well. People pick and choose what they enjoy best, what is closest, least expensive and works time wise. When events run too close together or the same time, it means someone can’t go to something, and that equals less attendance for some event. The competing for audience and participants can sometimes turn unpleasant. Instructors can lose their student base as there aren’t enough to go around for all of the instructors that have cropped up. And sadly, there are too many people who have just started performing and decided they will teach and really don’t have the credentials to be doing the art form justice. Then there are those who feel the creativity has strayed too far from the roots of ME dance.
Some people feel there is room for everyone, while others are feeling crowded out. Some events are so well attended that you may get left out if you don’t register fast enough. Some locations have the opposite where things are few and far between, so you must travel to get to anything, or you must develop the dance scene yourself. Geographics play a big part in whether someone thinks belly dance has gone too mainstream or not. But more and more, you hear of dancers in far away places, or areas you just wouldn’t think had belly dancers.
It’s a two sided coin. There are positives and negatives about ME dance going mainstream. For some, it has been the best thing since sliced bread, while for others, it has been a frustrating and disappointing turn of events. Balance is best - taking care to be considerate of others when planning events, not monopolizing the market or undercutting others, being inclusive, being true to the dance and not giving it a bad name, especially to the public, and being supportive of one another can really help when your geographical location is particularly strong in event promoters and performers. Collaboration could work in some cases if the local dance community would support it, working with instead of against each other. Belly dance has grown and morphed into something bigger and is here to stay. Has it gone too mainstream? I can’t answer that for everyone, as everyone has their own opinions, but it is something to think about in the scheme of things!
