Ahlan wa Sahlan
Otherwise known as the International Oriental Dance Festival, to which people come from around the world to shake their bare bellies in front of an audience of hundreds of people. Now, I heard about this from my Lonely Planet guide, and initially wanted to participate - they accept people of any skill-level and give all-day classes for a week. However, the $100 price tag was a bit daunting, as was the idea of asking my conservative employer for a week off so that I could learn to belly dance, so I scrapped the idea.
But Mona came home Sunday night and told me that the festival was having a free display - from what I remember, July 2 was the last day, so this was the big party/competition after a week of classes - so we hopped in her car and drove out to the Mena House Oberoi Hotel.
First of all, HOLY HELL! This was the most decandent, gorgeous hotel I've ever been in. It's actually in my "1,000 places to see before you die" book (or whatever it's called), as worth a visit for tea if you can't afford to stay there. Which I can't. The garden has a nice pyramid view (according to the pictures - it was much too dark/hazy to tell last night), but the interior of the place was even more amazing. The walls and ceiling of the passageways were pure marble, and the ballroom where the performance was had these absolutely huge, absolutely amazing crystal chandeliers. The walls were done in this Arabesque style, gold and dark red, and the entire place was just magical. I definitely think the dancers looked better thanks to their surroundings.
Right, the dancers. So, according to Mona (who's half Egyptian) and our friend Natalie (who's lived here for years), there were some dancers who were good and some who were very very bad. They were from all over the world, and some had been dancing for years, others for a week. After awhile, I started to recognize the signs of a good dancer - most obvious is clearly the hip movement, and the costumes actually have beads or bells attached at the hip so that the audience can tell better how fast/well the hips are actually moving. However, belly dancing is also about showmanship - the dancers who just focused on technique weren't nearly as interesting. One of my favorites was actually a girl from America, who had a great and dramatic routine and a decent amount of skill as well. But I have to say that, for the most part, I didn't really enjoy the experience as much as I should have. I think that belly dancing is best witnessed in a small club, with the lights low and the audience excited - otherwise, it becomes too much of a spectacle.
In fact, my first or second week here, I did go see a different belly dancing show. From what I've heard, belly dancing has become somewhat scandalous in the eyes of the religious right, so all of the great dancers perform in 5-star hotels with lots of security. That means that, to see one of them perform, I have to drop a $15 or $20 cover fee, and then meet a ridiculous drink minimum. Quite frankly, that isn't going to happen. So we went to the other end of the spectrum - a scummy, back-alley joint called The Palmyra. These places are fun not because the performers have good dance skills, but because the audience is comprised mainly of local Egyptian guys who drink too much and act like crazy men.
When we arrived, there was a girl about my age on stage. She had her belly bared, and was shaking it around - I think that's as close to belly dancing as she gets. But this wasn't a hands-off performance like last night. Nope, the girl would dance with men in the audience, and then hound them until they gave her money. And she had FRIENDS - two other women, who were just dressed in jeans and shirts, but would also dance with men in the audience, and then ask for money. I have no idea how these others were affiliated with the show, but they seemed to be raking in the cash.
We started off the evening on the wrong foot, when Nate threw 50 piastres on the stage to "thank" the performer for shaking her breasts. She thought he intended her to dance with him for that amount, and drama ensued. Once we got over that, though, one of the other girls targeted in on our table - we were, after all, foreign, and there were four guys to choose from. Tak danced with her, and then refused to pay her more than 2 LE (the going rate seems to have been 5 LE), so she kept coming up to him and hitting him over the head. We convinced Ian to dance with her, but right when he stood up, the song ended, and she stopped - but still wanted her 5 LE. After a few more songs, I convinced him to give it to her - I just felt so bad for a girl my age dancing with random skeezy guys for less than $1 - which earned me a new friend. For the rest of the evening, whenever she would steal a handful of nuts or a cigarette from an admiring man at another table, she'd come over and split it with me! (I turned down the cigarettes, but the nuts were great.)
As far as the actual performance goes, it was kind of a joke, but the men seemed to eat it up. There was a guy in his forties (I think) who kept getting up on stage and dancing around, throwing 25 and 50 piastre notes up in the air ... he kind of looked like a tent revival holy roller or something, he was so into himself. I think he very rarely even noticed the girl! And another man was there with his three year old son! (Which I think is the Egyptian equivalent of taking your kid to a strip joint, because that's the kind of atmosphere this place had.) The poor kid got up on stage and danced around, which was a great distraction for the dancer when she tried to avoid men, or to hide the fact that no men were dancing with her ...
Despite the lack of talent, though, I definitely think this was the better belly dancing experience. The audience was having a great time, and that's such a huge part of any performance. Of course, having the trained belly dancers in the skeezy club would probably be the best combination.
But Mona came home Sunday night and told me that the festival was having a free display - from what I remember, July 2 was the last day, so this was the big party/competition after a week of classes - so we hopped in her car and drove out to the Mena House Oberoi Hotel.
First of all, HOLY HELL! This was the most decandent, gorgeous hotel I've ever been in. It's actually in my "1,000 places to see before you die" book (or whatever it's called), as worth a visit for tea if you can't afford to stay there. Which I can't. The garden has a nice pyramid view (according to the pictures - it was much too dark/hazy to tell last night), but the interior of the place was even more amazing. The walls and ceiling of the passageways were pure marble, and the ballroom where the performance was had these absolutely huge, absolutely amazing crystal chandeliers. The walls were done in this Arabesque style, gold and dark red, and the entire place was just magical. I definitely think the dancers looked better thanks to their surroundings.
Right, the dancers. So, according to Mona (who's half Egyptian) and our friend Natalie (who's lived here for years), there were some dancers who were good and some who were very very bad. They were from all over the world, and some had been dancing for years, others for a week. After awhile, I started to recognize the signs of a good dancer - most obvious is clearly the hip movement, and the costumes actually have beads or bells attached at the hip so that the audience can tell better how fast/well the hips are actually moving. However, belly dancing is also about showmanship - the dancers who just focused on technique weren't nearly as interesting. One of my favorites was actually a girl from America, who had a great and dramatic routine and a decent amount of skill as well. But I have to say that, for the most part, I didn't really enjoy the experience as much as I should have. I think that belly dancing is best witnessed in a small club, with the lights low and the audience excited - otherwise, it becomes too much of a spectacle.
In fact, my first or second week here, I did go see a different belly dancing show. From what I've heard, belly dancing has become somewhat scandalous in the eyes of the religious right, so all of the great dancers perform in 5-star hotels with lots of security. That means that, to see one of them perform, I have to drop a $15 or $20 cover fee, and then meet a ridiculous drink minimum. Quite frankly, that isn't going to happen. So we went to the other end of the spectrum - a scummy, back-alley joint called The Palmyra. These places are fun not because the performers have good dance skills, but because the audience is comprised mainly of local Egyptian guys who drink too much and act like crazy men.
When we arrived, there was a girl about my age on stage. She had her belly bared, and was shaking it around - I think that's as close to belly dancing as she gets. But this wasn't a hands-off performance like last night. Nope, the girl would dance with men in the audience, and then hound them until they gave her money. And she had FRIENDS - two other women, who were just dressed in jeans and shirts, but would also dance with men in the audience, and then ask for money. I have no idea how these others were affiliated with the show, but they seemed to be raking in the cash.
We started off the evening on the wrong foot, when Nate threw 50 piastres on the stage to "thank" the performer for shaking her breasts. She thought he intended her to dance with him for that amount, and drama ensued. Once we got over that, though, one of the other girls targeted in on our table - we were, after all, foreign, and there were four guys to choose from. Tak danced with her, and then refused to pay her more than 2 LE (the going rate seems to have been 5 LE), so she kept coming up to him and hitting him over the head. We convinced Ian to dance with her, but right when he stood up, the song ended, and she stopped - but still wanted her 5 LE. After a few more songs, I convinced him to give it to her - I just felt so bad for a girl my age dancing with random skeezy guys for less than $1 - which earned me a new friend. For the rest of the evening, whenever she would steal a handful of nuts or a cigarette from an admiring man at another table, she'd come over and split it with me! (I turned down the cigarettes, but the nuts were great.)
As far as the actual performance goes, it was kind of a joke, but the men seemed to eat it up. There was a guy in his forties (I think) who kept getting up on stage and dancing around, throwing 25 and 50 piastre notes up in the air ... he kind of looked like a tent revival holy roller or something, he was so into himself. I think he very rarely even noticed the girl! And another man was there with his three year old son! (Which I think is the Egyptian equivalent of taking your kid to a strip joint, because that's the kind of atmosphere this place had.) The poor kid got up on stage and danced around, which was a great distraction for the dancer when she tried to avoid men, or to hide the fact that no men were dancing with her ...
Despite the lack of talent, though, I definitely think this was the better belly dancing experience. The audience was having a great time, and that's such a huge part of any performance. Of course, having the trained belly dancers in the skeezy club would probably be the best combination.
posted by Teale at 9:09 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home