Belly Dancing: Specifically a Sexually Charged Entertainment or not Necessarily?

[Autolycus]

@Chronos

It’s always sexual, but that’s not all it is.

Ditto.

[KarlGrenze]

O.K. pretend we’re not talking about Belly Dancing here. In the bit you quoted originally my only intent was to make the point that the sexual or non sexual nature of a performance is founded upon the performer’s intent not on the audience’s response.

I meant to contrast the above with: The sexiness of a performance is founded upon the audience response.

OK, agreed with that. Again, what struck me was that you were a bit quick to ascribe that the performances were intended to be sexually charged, yet failed at sexiness due to poor audience reception. What I want to say is… they were very likely, especially in some venues, to not have been performed or thought as sexual-anything.

Again, while I think it can be sexually charged, there are many performances that I’ve seen where that is not the case, and the idea is more “look at what cool stuff my body can do!”. If all the performances you’ve seen are at a restaurant where the dancer is expecting tips, and most of the audience would be adult (in some nights, mostly males)… Then yea, I would more likely expect something sexually charged.

If you’re talking about public performances, during the day (or early nights), which features student troops, local grandmas, teachers, and invites the whole community… Then most of the performances would not be sexual, and many of them would be less sexually charged.

The sexual part is as much attitude as it is movement. I know that during classes and practices, my group doesn’t look sexy and nothing sexual shows up. We’re confused, learning, dressed sloppily, miss our steps, laughing at odd places or concentrating are frowning way too much, tired, and on occasion, sweaty from the workout. Heck, until you get some of the steps sort of correctly, they look very weird. But in front of an audience, with costumes, make up, confidence, and attitude, the same weird steps look very different.

[Bryan_Ekers]

@Mississippienne

Here is a video of goddess Rachel Brice belly dancing.

For fuck’s sake, what’s with all the rapid camera cuts? Is she performing at Jason Bourne’s bachelor party?

[BrotherCadfael]

@Chronos

It’s always sexual, but that’s not all it is.

A group of friends went to a Moroccan place in DC last year, for a full seven-course meal. About halfway through, the lights went out, and the staff constructed a stage in the middle of the restaurant floor. Then the dancer came in. Sexy, yes, but also phenomenally athletic. A remarkable performance: athletic, artistic, and, yes, sexy as all hell.

[Chefguy]

@bienville

Musicat and Chefguy answered “NO” to the question “is it sexual?” but their stated reasoning for saying that it wasn’t sexual was that they did not find the performance sexually appealing.
This, I propose, only means that the performance is not sexy, not that it is not sexual.

Now, I don’t know the performances they are referring to- in fact, neither of them seems to be referring to a specific performance at all. It is possible that the performances they witnessed were NEITHER sexy NOR sexual.

But their stated reasoning only addressed whether or not the performance was sexy. Yet, they directed that reasoning in response to the question of whether or not is was sexual.

I said no such thing. In fact, I specifically said:

I’ve always thought that belly dancing is highly sexual and suggestive.

The performances by Egyptian dancers were those that I saw while living in Cairo, so linking to them would involve a mind-meld. Based on their reactions, the Egyptians seemed to find the dancing highly erotic. To western eyes, these women were unattractive and, let us say, out of shape, so their performances did little for me.

[VinylTurnip]

@Chefguy

The performances by Egyptian dancers were those that I saw while living in Cairo, so linking to them would involve a mind-meld. Based on their reactions, the Egyptians seemed to find the dancing highly erotic. To western eyes, these women were unattractive and, let us say, out of shape, so their performances did little for me.

I recall hearing an NPR piece about belly dancing that I believe involved Cairo—it said that Egyptian women did not (or were not allowed to) perform, and that all the dancers were from other countries. So presumably they find it sexual enough to prevent their own women from participating in it.

[Chefguy]

@VinylTurnip

I recall hearing an NPR piece about belly dancing that I believe involved Cairo—it said that Egyptian women did not (or were not allowed to) perform, and that all the dancers were from other countries. So presumably they find it sexual enough to prevent their own women from participating in it.

Interesting. It’s quite possible that the women weren’t Egyptian; I just assumed that they were. Egypt is an odd place, certainly. Women don’t cover themselves, and alcohol is readily available, but they still have the traditional muslim attitudes towards women.

[even_sven]

Take your average American club dancer- not one who is particularly good but not too bad-- let’s say a 28 year old meeting up with the girls after work to have a couple of drinks and work up a sweat before returning home to her husband.

Is that sexual? Our standard club moves do involve lots of shaking about and showing off the body. But unless you are also flirting/grinding/whatever I don’t think we’d consider a woman bopping along to the music all that sexually charged unless she is making it specifically so.

Take that same woman and that same dance to another culture, and they will have a very different opinion. If she’s in Brazil, people would probably find her hopelessly tame. In China, especially in areas where people have built up ideas about white female sexuality (just like our culture has it’s own “harem girl” ideas) I bet that dance would be seen as very provocative.

I think belly dancing is pretty much the same thing.