Belly Dance as Art

Is belly dance art or is it just side show/floor show entertainment? Is there a difference? Are the two mutually exclusive? These are all questions that many professional dancers in the belly dance world ask themselves and each other.

What is art? Boy howdy is that the big question! One man's art could be another man's trash. Is it art if the the message is incomprehensible by an audience? Is it necessary for art to be communicated or is it enough that the artist recognizes it as art? Heavy stuff! So far what I've found is that there is no definitive answer to these questions. The belly dance world hasn't reached a consensus of thought and I'd hazard to guess that many other art forms haven't either.

So here's my two cents on the subject ... OK, it's probably more like a buck-fifty, but anyway -

Is all belly dance art? Nope. I've seen lots of dancer's performances and many have not been art. They've been bad and or good entertainment, but not art. Have I seen belly dance as art - you bet your sweet bippy!!!! There are some amazing artists out there doing beautiful and thought provoking performance art through belly dance. Performances that touch your soul in some way or make you leave the show thinking, "Wow! What was that? I don't know but I liked it!" Performances that make the audience start discussing the piece in some way - all of this is what art does. It touches us, it challenges us and it makes us think! Belly dance can do all of that and it can do all of it at once. It is growing beyond being a traditional folk dance into something else.

Don't get me wrong there is nothing wrong with traditional folk dance and there is much to be commended in the performers who choose to continue that tradition and preserve it for us to return to and enjoy over and over again. It is simply a different path than belly dance as art. Not lesser than - just different.

There is also nothing wrong with the performers who choose to practice as entertainers. Who spend years crafting audience loved performances that are enjoyed and applauded. There is a craftsmanship in this type of dance that is honorable and requires talent and dedication to achieve. It is also a different path than belly dance as art. Not lesser than - just different.

Many of us who are considering these questions compare belly dance to ballet or flamenco. Both are dance forms that rose from being folk dances to being considered art. Ballet had it's beginnings in the courts of Europe as a social dance and then transitioned to the stage. It spent decades as a scandalous pursuit and the women and men who chose to perform it were looked down upon. Flamenco began in the Spanish - Rom blending in Andalusia and went through a similar transition where it's performers were primarily Rom and looked down upon. Both have risen to be considered art.

Belly dance began as a folk dance and is still danced that way in many places today. Then it was moved to the stage. When that happens, the dance is changed. It is less intimate and not performed solely for the pleasure of the performer as folk dance is, but for the pleasure of an audience. Many dancers today are trying to move belly dance into the art world - they are pushing boundaries and asking more of themselves and their audiences. Will we survive the transition? Only time will tell. Personally, I hope so. I think there is room for all three versions - although as modernization occurs the true folk dance aspect will probably be lost and only preserved through the efforts of the dancers who have chosen to specialize in that aspect. Like many other folk dances have been lost throughout the ages.

Life is change - and so is art and so is dance. Sometimes we loose things in this change and other times we gain so much more. However, it is fool hardy to believe that it will not change.