I (don't) Want To Believe

The cowardice of my moral stance can be measured in the fact that, rather than debating the issues I raised on med-dance, as I possibly should/could, I'm here, in my little corner, typing to an audience of None.

Hi, None. How are you doing today? Dance in any great shows, recently?

I've not. But I've been watching. Maybe my cowardice comes from doing more watching than dancing, from sitting of my fat butt and not actually doing. Certainly, the people I'm interested in supporting aren't having this fight -- and why should they? What purpose does hanging out on a forum and being told "you're wrong, you're horrible, and you're ruining this dance" do for anyone? In all too many cases, it seems that ego-stroking eclipses encouraging other dancers. My view is that, too often, drawing lines in community is preferred to working with the common interests amongst the dancers who are strongly influenced by this form.

We're not a huge community, are we? We could likely use the support of dancers whose styles we dislike, even deplore, but who's interest in growing the form is real. For example, all too many dancers dislike Miles' touch with the Belly Dance SuperStars -- and if you're one, it's OK. There are things I dislike at the deal, as well. At the same time, the sheer publicity, the openings for talented people to finally do dance full-time, the run-up on new music in stores like Borders, all these things are fall-out bonuses from the show, and it's hard to arguer they don't help the dance in some way, and should be balanced against the calls about only wanting skinny dancers, and not selling the "real" raqs shaquri.

This is part and parcel of a larger political debate here in America, the leading edge of which can be seen here:

for buckets of reasons too complex to posit in one article, true believers in progressive causes have - for good or evil- never have been able to carve a major percentage beachhead in our political culture.
The best trajectory for change is to convince those who may not agree with you on everything, but agree with you on some things to side with you on those things you both agree on. That's how alliances are made, and sometimes, how minds are changed.

This is exactly what I consider important. We, as raqs shaquri-and-derived dancers, need each other as a group. I don't wish to see people and ideas sidelined for any reason short of complete inappropriateness, such as the Rakassah incident -- and it's important to note that that was an issue with appropriateness-to-venue, not of the dance itself. We, as a dance form, need to work beyond the biases on both sides, and figure out many things.

First and foremost is the future. The ability to influence the next generation is critical to anything we do. But generation after generation of dancers begin with only the barest of oral history; how many dancers, to this day, know nothing of the Casino Opera? How many dancers get real advice, from other dancers, on how to start a professional career? How many dancers that could have contributed to the form have we lost because we, as a community, barely have any internal supports, can barely keep a full-time instructor afloat in many cases? How many dancers hold down a full-time job, taking them from the dance they love, just to have decent health care?

Our elders' knowledge is slipping away. Videos of all too many wonderful dances are rotting on tape. Ethnic groups with much to teach us about dance are dying out.

THESE ARE IMPORTANT. Making the community more than just a bunch of hobbyists, with the occasional misunderstood Professional, is important. And if you don't want someone like Miles to make that happen, if you want to see your vision "win", then you need to start working with others. And we all need to come together, put down the Difference Engines, and make it happen. When you do, when the dialogue is about how to help each other, that's when your side might just make a dent in someone else.

And, just maybe, they'll make a dent in you. As proved with the Soviet Union, Détente Works.