In her blood

Stumbled over this excellent photo taken by a lady named Beth, and it struck me hard, as did the other two of the dancer, Ayat.
Especially in this other photo, with her so modest, quietly dancing at home, she's unlike so much of the raqs that we're used to "over here". Fully covered, with only a hip scarf and native talent...
...and it's the native talent that's amazing.
Let's face facts -- to a generally unacknowledged extent, what Ayat Shendy is doing here is raqs, is belly dance at it's heart. The glamor comes from within, from the same heart and soul that people show whenever we get on a dance floor and dance for ourselves. The core of great dancing, especially "social" dancing, is the joy of movement. The joy that Caliph Haroun al-Rashid showed when he danced is the same joy that Ayat displays in her dance, separated as they are by centuries, genders, and even lifestyles.
I submit that there's much work to do, to support the arts surrounding raqs. I submit that there are many forces -- the quest for money and fame above all else, the power of repressive regimes and religions, the ignorance of historical lessons -- that hold raqs back from the role it should play in both Western and "Eastern" societies. And I submit that there is a strong need to support the arts as they are now, to highlight the best of raqs shaquri and ensure it's survival into the next century.
Yet it's also important to recall that raqs shaquri was not the beginning. The social raqs, the raqs Ayat is performing, is closer to the role that this dance has performed in period than the high-technique glamor raqs that many dancers aspire to, both here and in the Middle East. It's not about writing down the "best technique", it's about sharing with family and friends. It's not about the coolest costume, it's about bringing yourself out "on the floor", and the joy of movement.
Survival as a performance art will mean we move and change to differ from that model of simplicity; raqs shaquri is one evolution, the Tribal sub-genre another. Yet it's critical to keep in mind from whence we came. Remember Ayat, dancing quietly and modestly, keeping us grounded -- and yes, keepin' it real!

(My thanks to Tomanbay for posting the image that first brought these to my attention.)