REVIEW: American Belly Dancer

Old Blog: December 17, 2009

Last night I watched the documentary American Belly Dancer for the first time. I was incredibly excited to watch it, having taught dance the last 3 years and been learning dance for the last 8 years, the idea of watching a documentary about the thing I am very passionate about made me giddy.

I soon became disappointed however.

The commentary by Suhaila Sulimpour and other dancers were an absolute delight. Seeing Rachel Brice pre-fame or hearing Morrocco's sassy opinions on bellydance was like stumbling upon a treasure chest of precious gems. Hearing these intelligent, strong and beautiful dancers speak in a manner that related to the way I feel about dance made me feel strong and inspired that others think the way I do.

What disappointed me about this documentary was that it illustrates how the capitalist machine has taken ahold of Belly Dance, recognized it's earning potential and mass marketed it. Miles Copeland, the producer for Belly Dance Superstars and Desert Roses repeatedly misunderstands what Middle Eastern dance is about and what it means to dancers. In my opinion, the resurgence of belly dance in North America in the last 10 years is owed to women wanting to reclaim their bodies and have power over their personal space in an incredibly repressive and mysogenist culture. It is very much a dance about exploring your body and expressing your innermost self.

In the creation of BDS and DS, Miles Copeland wanted to handpick dancers that looked like amateur porn stars or fit the atypical beauty requirements of a North American audience, which is completely counter to belly dance culture. Thank goodness he had the good sense and loud opinions of Suhaila Salimpour to disuade him.

I understand that dancers need to be more business minded. The business side of dance or the arts is traditionally an area of struggle for performers and artisans. But I object to an art form being taken over by "crusty old white dudes" and for lack of a better word "prostituted" for corporate dollars. I cannot fault the dancers like Jillina or Suhaila for wanting to participate in this troupe, as I believe they see it as an opportunity to present belly dance to the world in a manner that is elegant, classy and sophisticated in grand venues. It's the opportunity to show how beautiful an art form it is on a large scale. Dancers have struggled for a long time to be taken seriously in this art form and thank God for Suhaila bossing the crap out of Miles or Belly Dance Superstars could have been an even bigger train wreck.

I would recommend that people watch this video, as it demonstrates the struggle we have as dancers to be recognized for our talent and artistic ability in the face of a culture that is interested in mass production and the bottom line.