Raqsstorm: The Magazine

Although the image is totally hacked-up, and fake, it does represent a dream I have. I really do want a no-holes-barred magazine, one that isn't afraid to push some buttons. One based on clearing out the detritus of a century of raqs being leashed to Orentalist fantasies. Please note that we can, and must, acknowledge the power and usefulness of the "I Dream of Jeannie" myth, while also seeing past that. When you do, it opens up whole new vistas of creative energy. Frankly, it surprises me that more Tribal dancers haven't spoken on this, but most tribal dancers are just trying to keep their heads above the water of the "not the real raqs" attacks.

Can you imagine a raqs magazine that looks and feels like something out of the 21th century? I want a mag that I'd be happy to read on the bus to and from work, to leave out on the table for my non-dance friends to read and enjoy. And that's going to involve expanding the very definition of such a magazine, to attend to more than the hardcore dancer.

And that means fiction. More images. Articles that tie the dance to other dancers, and back to everyday life. Writing that's compelling, and honest, and even raw. Explore the gamut of raqs, and you'll have plenty of material. And you also have plenty of controversy...