The Belly Dance Superstars have drawn a lot of heat from the belly dance community and sometimes for good reason. While I think some things about them have been beneficial, there are some things that just plain irritate me.
BRAINCHILD OF A BUSINESSMAN
Unfortunately, under the supervision of Miles Copeland, the Belly Dance Superstars show is business first, artistry second. Business decisions regarding what will “sell” dictate elements of the show. Period. Art and business have always had a contentious relationship and we shouldn’t be surprised that this is no different.
I do wish a dancer had come up with the idea, but even then the reality is how do you make it appeal to the broadest audience possible? I mean it has to be profitable to put it on.
BEAUTY FIRST, TALENT SECOND?
For business reasons the Belly Dance Superstars dancer tends to be younger and prettier with a nice slim body. This is sad because it would be nice to always be first about the dancing, and if it was you could showcase that talent comes in all ages, bodies sizes etc. If women are drawn to belly dance for the sense of sisterhood and empowerment, the Belly Dance Superstars are like the cliquey popular girls club that you’ll never get into.
The other main drawback to this is that the focus on beauty only reinforces the notion that this isn’t a serious art form. It makes it harder to dispel the idea that this is a base form of entertainment, one in which a girl must be alluring to win the admiration of the audience.
Of course many art forms have similar limitations. In ballet for example, dancers are pretty emaciated. You simply can’t be plump. And forget it if you’re naturally big breasted. In most dance actually, the desired form is pretty much lean and limber. In gymnastics being more petite is also an advantage, just as being taller than the average is the norm for star basketball players.
Still, is belly dance really just about sex appeal?
What I love about belly dance is that there is room for older, softer and more voluptuous bodies. Dancers need to be the ones to educate the developers and audiences, however, for these shows to ever have a higher standard for evaluating a dancer’s skill. Exceptional charisma and a fearless sense of pushing boundaries and creating her own style, these are the first qualities I look for in a dancer.
STEREOTYPES FIRST, ORIGIONALITY SECOND
Audiences are not always equipped to fully appreciate all the complexity of our art form and what it’s capable of being. Honestly, other dancers are often the best audience and even they can be stuck in a neat little style “box” that refuses to consider something that deliberately tries to shake up the dance and you’ve got to let them know what’s coming and when. This reminds me of in the movie Amadeus, Salieri tells Mozart, “You’ve got to give them a big bang at the end, so they know when to applaud”.
What a sad situation for any artist.
