Being Poor Sucks.
Coming back to med-dance has been a bit of a whirl. I try not to post too much there, these days; I think 2-3 times a week is quite enough time. There's some personal reasons behind that, but one reason I'll make public is that the goal is not to argue someone to death. If my post won't raise the discourse, is only me posturing, and/or is more light than heat, then I need to move on.
To, say, here. Today's discussion is about Miles Copland and the Bellydance Superstars...but really, it's not. It's more about money, and what the lack of money might do, in the future, to raqs as a dance form.
To cover that, we need to all agree on the premise that there are no dancers getting rich off the dance. Sure, there are dancers who have lots of money, but I know of none who've made it from dancing. I know dancers who can afford to fly to Maui or Costa Rica for a seminar, but not many who do it from the money they've made from dancing. I know dancers who stay in nice hotels, but none who can afford to stay there without a senimar sponsor.
We're a poor dance form, by and large. And that poverty has very direct effects on the dance, and the growth and survivial of the dance as a viable form. I'm reading a new blog, Comrade Lang's Little Red Blog, who's a women working in the male-dominated gaming field. She posted about those who denegrate her company's efforts to make a profit, and the blog entry sits too close to what I sometimes hear in the raqs community:
Think about it. How many full-time dancers do you know who have that problem? Or do you not know any full-time dancers, because no one around you can make ends meet from dancing alone? How many people come to mind who've devoted their lives to the dance, and who pay the cost for that devotion in scrimping and scraping for money? In my old column, I ran a note from Morocco who, after 9/11 and some severe legal troubles, was activally seeking donations to keep herself afloat. Too many dancers with too much knowledge, wisdom, and talent have to choose survival over adding to the corpus of wisdom we in the raqs community need, so badly.
We ignore these issues at our peril. We ignore what we need to do to survive at the risk of losing all the momentium of the last decade, the slowly-opening cultural awareness to raqs, be in raqs shaquri, American Tribal and it's off-shoots, Gothic/Industrial, Hip-Raqs -- all of them are at-risk occupations if there's a massive downturn. And we, as a culture, should consider how we help our Wise Women and Elders survive, and how to keep growing, for youth and new dancers are the lifeblood of a viable form.
More later.
To, say, here. Today's discussion is about Miles Copland and the Bellydance Superstars...but really, it's not. It's more about money, and what the lack of money might do, in the future, to raqs as a dance form.
To cover that, we need to all agree on the premise that there are no dancers getting rich off the dance. Sure, there are dancers who have lots of money, but I know of none who've made it from dancing. I know dancers who can afford to fly to Maui or Costa Rica for a seminar, but not many who do it from the money they've made from dancing. I know dancers who stay in nice hotels, but none who can afford to stay there without a senimar sponsor.
We're a poor dance form, by and large. And that poverty has very direct effects on the dance, and the growth and survivial of the dance as a viable form. I'm reading a new blog, Comrade Lang's Little Red Blog, who's a women working in the male-dominated gaming field. She posted about those who denegrate her company's efforts to make a profit, and the blog entry sits too close to what I sometimes hear in the raqs community:
[...]profitability is the condition of continued existence. It is not [...] the reason for that existence to begin with. Someone for whom money is the primary motivation manages hedge funds. They do not publish science fiction, promote comic books, or work for an alternative record label. They certainly do not work in indy games or take a position with a start-up. Look, if you make a dollar less than your expenses, regardless of whether you're a CEO, an installation artist working with light bulbs and kitty litter, or a waiter, you have a problem. If you're a writer and your advances don't cover the mortgage, you have a problem.
Think about it. How many full-time dancers do you know who have that problem? Or do you not know any full-time dancers, because no one around you can make ends meet from dancing alone? How many people come to mind who've devoted their lives to the dance, and who pay the cost for that devotion in scrimping and scraping for money? In my old column, I ran a note from Morocco who, after 9/11 and some severe legal troubles, was activally seeking donations to keep herself afloat. Too many dancers with too much knowledge, wisdom, and talent have to choose survival over adding to the corpus of wisdom we in the raqs community need, so badly.
We ignore these issues at our peril. We ignore what we need to do to survive at the risk of losing all the momentium of the last decade, the slowly-opening cultural awareness to raqs, be in raqs shaquri, American Tribal and it's off-shoots, Gothic/Industrial, Hip-Raqs -- all of them are at-risk occupations if there's a massive downturn. And we, as a culture, should consider how we help our Wise Women and Elders survive, and how to keep growing, for youth and new dancers are the lifeblood of a viable form.
More later.
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What you've said is completely true. Moreover, what I find disturbing is that, while in the process of incorporating my Middle Eastern dance business, I'm not sure whether or not to be non-profit.
I think that the connection that you're elluding to between the lack of funding for the dance form and the possible dangers in its commercialized form (the Superstars) is very relevant.
My boyfriend and I, who also is a male Bellydancer, recently saw the stars, and were both impressed and disappointed. The dancers are all very talented, but the show over all is much more Las Vegas show than Middle Eastern dance show, but I guess that that's what happens when the manager is in show business, not a Middle Eastern dancer.