Online Debates

Within communities, disagreements are inevitable. People interact and share ideas and experiences, so of course, not everyone will agree with all opinions shared. I am an active member of the Bellydance community on Facebook and Instagram. Every so often, I am reminded of why so many people- particularly young people, opt out of Facebook. Dancers usually use Facebook to share dance videos, advertise classes and events, or ask for music suggestions or advise. But once in a while, someone will share an option that causes a stir. Today, I saw a post by a very popular dancer based in Cairo, Egypt. She is of British and Egyptian decent. Because of her heritage and experience as a dancer, she is known as an authority figure in the community. So, if she points out a cause or a concern, people take notice. Today, she posted two video clips of her speaking on an issue. She said someone said that Shaabi is not a 'high art'. 'Shaabi' is a very casual style of modern Egyptian dance. Imagine people dancing casually in a club. It's a very similar feeling. It's all about having fun. However, in the Bellydance world, dancers take this style of dance and choreograph it for stage performance. This is where the debate beings, should Shaabi be performed as an art for stage performance? I've seen SO MANY arguments on Facebook over this one question. Saying a dance is not "high art" comes off as quite pretentious, in my opinion. I immediately think of Ballet. Ballet is often associated as being a form of 'high art' in the dance world. It is a classical style. I remember someone on Facebook asking why Bellydance isn't given the same respect as Ballet even though it is considered Egypt's classical style of dance. I explained that Ballet and Bellydance have VERY different origins. Ballet was created to entertain people of high status ie. Royalty and diplomats. Bellydance does not have that same origin story. Bellydance began folkloric style danced for fun or rituals by normal people. So, Ballet has the foundation, recognition, and FUNDING that Bellydance does not. There are Ballet companies all over the world that support performers. They organize events and provide costuming and music for performances. But that is because you can trace it to Ballet composers like Tchaikovsky or prestigious companies like the Bolshoi Ballet in Russia. For Bellydance, its history traces back to possibly ancient Egypt. People can confirm that was performed by nomadic tribes in Upper Egypt. Eventually, dancers began performing it in cabaret theatres and in films. Today, dancers have to buy their own equpiment and source their own music. If they work with live musicians, the dancer pays them out of their own pocket. So, the two orgin stories are completely opposite, therefore opposite outcomes. Back to the post from today,the dancer in the video, spoke on how Shaabi is a dance of the working class people of Egypt, and it should not be looked down on. She explained that she herself is of Shaabi origin (Shaabi meaning 'working class'). Both of her parents are Shaabi and she just 'somehow' (her words) got into Oxford University. Shaabi is just as much of an art as classical Bellydance. Personally, I agree with her statement. It really shouldn't matter what style a person dances, as long as they and their audience enjoy it. I don't understand why people in this community like to make issues out of non-issues. This post recieved over one hundred likes and a dozen shares. I hoped someone in the comments may have mentioned the post or person she was referring to- quite often commenters will link to the original post or the poster's account, but not this time. I did find another post that seemed to be a response to her video. This person posted a series of infographics stating that Shaabi is an art and that all styles of Egyptian dance is Shaabi. They continued that making distinctions like "high art" and "low art" is classist and plays into an agenda. This kinds of issues come up quite regularly. Recently, there have been complaints that performers are "too athletic" and focus too much on tricks rather than technique and that costumes need to be more modest. So, now there's a sterotype that American dancers are very prudish because those kind of comments often come from Americans. I know of a Georgian dancer who also said dancers today focus too much on tricks. Me, I enjoy doing tricks, however, I still make sure to listen and respond to what I hear in the music. Musicality is so important. These days, I try to stay out of these debates. They just give me a headache.