11/10/2020
Belly dance is the expression of the soul of a dancer, her personality, her joy and beauty. The point is manifesting the elegance and sensuality of the woman. Belly dance should NOT be converted into a sexy entertainment for men, it's not a lap dance nor a strip. Yet so many dancers keep entertaining audiences of hungry men only interested in watching their bodies, without minimally appreciating their art, techniques and efforts.
If recently belly dance has lost its true nature, much of this fault belongs to many dancers who don't represent this dance for what it is, but change it into a sexy entertainment, knowingly or not. It's not about how much of your body you show, or how sexy you look. It's about the elegance you can transmit while performing your dance moves, without becoming vulgar.
Lately competition became very high as more and more women venture in this wonderful dance. This has implied a change in expectations. It's not anymore expected from a dancer to be skilled and gracious but curvy, sexy and entertaining in the hope to get some extra tips. Dresses have been modified to show as much as possible of the dancer bodies.
Once my dance teacher told me something I will never forget: "Men watching you dancing are stealing your energy". Now I do get the point: most of the audience is not interested in your ability but see you just as a stripper. Therefore would be wise to choose carefully the audience a dancer perform for. It's wonderful and rewarding to exhibit for an audience that truly recognize your talent and have fun with you, rather than one who secretly think dirty things about you. Don't you think?
If you are a dancer and think that belly dance deserve a much better reputation then share it with your friends β€