Belly Dance: The American Way

United States Danse Orientale Documentary (1:15 min)

 Miles Copeland is an American music and entertainment executive and former manager of The Police. Copeland later managed Sting's musical and acting career. In 1979, Copeland founded the I.R.S. Records label, producing R.E.M., The Bangles, Berlin, The Cramps, Dead Kennedys, The Alarm, The Go-Go's, and others. He is the man behind this documentary.

1). Watch this video on Belly Dance

           

2). After watching the video, write one paragraph summarizing the message of this documentary for

      women.

3).  According to the video, in which way has the dance form become an American dance? 

5).  What is the main conflict between Copeland and the various belly dancers featured in the 

        documentary?

6).  Post your summaries on blackboard

STUDENTS' WORK

Anastassia Cafatti

Orientation to Dance 130- Class 4/2- Belly Dance: The American Way

Watch United States Danse Orientale Documentary (1:15 min)

2). After watching the video, write one paragraph summarizing the message of this documentary for women.

This documentary sends the message to women to fight for their passions and what they believe in. They shouldn´t let themselves be sexualized or objectified. They are allowed to speak for themselves and what they believe in. This documentary is also teaching woman more about oriental dance, sending them the message that it is an art for self-expression and self love. It teaches women how to control their bodies, take control of  their personal space, of themselves, and therefore of their own lives. This documentary also teaches women that had wrong impressions about this dance and highlights that it is all about feminine energy.

It allows us to change how we think about ourselves and how we move. It definitely awakens something within the dancers of this art by giving them a whole new sense of self. It also teaches women to follow their passions without caring about their age, shape, and size. This dance teaches you to love yourself for who you are and to be content with your body. It empowers you. It is a female art- wherever there is woman, there is belly dancing. It allows us to feel proud of ourselves and what we can achieve with the control over our bodies. This documentary taught women to not let themselves be defined by what others think or say about them, they have the power to change these stereotypes by informing others and showing and sharing their passions with others. 

3).  According to the video, in which way has the dance form become an American dance? 

     The oriental dance has cultural and religious backgrounds. It was taught by women for women, and passed on in generations. It was thought to prepare women for childbearing and for childbirth. Oriental dance is so much more than just the focus of the belly, in fact this is the original name of the art form. However, you can see the change of this dance to a westernized dance by the American culture and companies like Ark 21, which take an art form and change it to fit their needs and their audience. They transformed this dance into a business, a form of entertainment, a show where people buy tickets to attend. Something very sacred that was danced in private environments surrounded by women inside the house shifted to being a show danced for everyone where their bodies were exposed to the opinions of others. The media had a big influence as well. Hollywood went to the middle east, grabbed this dance from the culture and created a whole new genre that was portrayed in their movies. 

     They adapted the dance for an American audience where men typically watched them for reasons other than the dance form itself. Its sacred aspect was taken away. The dancers were objectified and the dance was thought of as sexual. Belly dancers in America are seen at bars, cruises, restaurants, and other places for the entertainment mainly of men, to see the beautiful women half naked, moving their body. America did act as a bridge between both cultures by bringing belly dance to America and making it more widely known, but it definitely changed its true meaning. We can also see this in pop music with Shakira sharing her Arabic roots in her shows through her belly dance. 

     For the women in the documentary they say that belly dance is also an American dance where women see it as the symbol of freedom of their sexuality, whereas in the middle east this symbol of sexuality is forever oppressed. Belly dance is the name that America gave to the oriental dance, which is the name by which most of the world knows this dance by. It was definitely sexualized and is thought of as the liberation of female sexuality, even though many dancers do not believe it is a sexual dance, but rather a part of their identity. It is mainly the audience that has this stereotype because the dancers know the power of this art form and how it can transform you in the inside.

5).  What is the main conflict between Copeland and the various belly dancers featured in the documentary?

     The main conflict between Copeland and the various belly dancers is that he objectifies them and treats them just as objects, as figures to go out there and exhibit their bodies. He is thinking about the money and how to attract men with this sexual dance. For him everything is about the business, almost as if they were models. He doesn´t really care about exhibiting the real art form or to inform people about the real wonders about it. As the dancers tell him, he looks at everything from the side of profitability. He looks at two beautiful and tall Puerto Rican girls, and just wants them in the show because they are pretty. 

     They have to constantly remind him to look at the technique and not their body, they weren´t great dancers. When he opened auditions, he didn´t want to pick the best dancers, but the attractive ones. He worried about age, size, weight, as people complained about in the feedback of his page. The dancers constantly told him that he wasn´t interested in real talent, but rather in their beauty, which goes against their art. He constantly talked about how this dance was sexual and had to look good, while the dancers tried to explain to him that to them it wasn´t sexual, but about inner strength and self esteem. All along they had clashes because they way he was trying to portray it as a business was taking away from the real reason why these women are dancers.