Thread: Great Interview- Dance and the Egyptian People

I don't know if someone linked to this already but I really enjoyed it. I think we can recognize who the interiewer is as well.

YouTube - Dance and the Egyptian people

That was great , thanks for sharing. I found it interestig that he says everybody dances at weddings, but had a different take on public performance for both males and females. I wonder if the cultural difference stems from a deep sense of privacy? The private world vs public world - and we in the West have blurred the lines that are still sharp in many other parts of the world.

yeah and he made a point of saying that men that aren't in his familiy should not see the women in his family dancing. But interestingly enough he and his wife got up to dance at the festival. The lines don't seem all that sharp to me. And wasn't she Hijabi?

Very good point! He did seem to be a bit conflicted...sometimes it was like he was channeling the older generation, but when it comes time to party...and the music moves me (and my wife)...well...it can be understood.

Anala are you the one who does the Shimmycast podcast?

Originally Posted by SamarDahab

yeah and he made a point of saying that men that aren't in his familiy should not see the women in his family dancing. But interestingly enough he and his wife got up to dance at the festival. The lines don't seem all that sharp to me. And wasn't she Hijabi?

I believe he was talking about a widely accepted standard of social conduct, not necessarily his own - that women should not be seen dancing except by members of their own families. You're right, the distinctions are not sharp when it comes to social dancing. Some families do NOT want women in their family to get up and dance by themselves in public, even socially, but if there are enough (whatever that means) people on the dance floor, then it's ok. For some, it's ok to dance with one's husband, brother, or sister - again if the don't appear to be doing a solo - like a professional belly dancer.

Whether a woman wear hijab or not usually has little to do with it. Many women in Egypt who wear hijab will get up and dance whenever the mood hits them. Others will not. Many women who do not wear hijab will NOT get up and dance and many who do not wear it get up and dance whenever they feel like it.

Been there and seen a lot of it.....g.:

Originally Posted by leylalanty

I believe he was talking about a widely accepted standard of social conduct, not necessarily his own - that women should not be seen dancing except by members of their own families. You're right, the distinctions are not sharp when it comes to social dancing. Some families do NOT want women in their family to get up and dance by themselves in public, even socially, but if there are enough (whatever that means) people on the dance floor, then it's ok. For some, it's ok to dance with one's husband, brother, or sister - again if the don't appear to be doing a solo - like a professional belly dancer.

Whether a woman wear hijab or not usually has little to do with it. Many women in Egypt who wear hijab will get up and dance whenever the mood hits them. Others will not. Many women who do not wear hijab will NOT get up and dance and many who do not wear it get up and dance whenever they feel like it.

Been there and seen a lot of it.....g.:

Yeah I just try to be open minded and not assume I know exactly what's going on. A hijabi friend of mine who said she does not dance in public recently was cajoled into getting up to dance in a public place. I know she usually doesn't so I wouldn't have ever asked her to.

By the way Leyla, I have to ask you about something. I'll PM you.

Originally Posted by anala

Very good point! He did seem to be a bit conflicted...sometimes it was like he was channeling the older generation, but when it comes time to party...and the music moves me (and my wife)...well...it can be understood.

I would say that the great majority of people in Egypt and other Arab countries are conflicted when it comes to women dancing in public places. WRT professional dancers I like to sum it up as "Of course, you probably would like to hire a professional dancer for your son's wedding, but he'd better not be marrying one!" Or "Of course I like to watch a pro dancer, but my daughter, sister, female cousin, mother, any female relative better not become one!"

As for social dancing, the main thing seems to be that a woman should not make a spectacle of herself on the dance floor at a public place by dancing as if she were a pro dancer on a stage.

Great interview! Thanks for posting it, Samar. It shows how conflicted the people in the Middle East are about women dancing in public and it also shows that yes, men dance and although they do pretty much what the women do, they do it in their own way.

Great! Thanks so much for sharing this!

Anala are you the one who does the Shimmycast podcast?

Oh no - I can hardly stand to video myself...for me.