Dance Web

I don’t have time to do Yasmin’s article justice; there’s just so much that the best I can hope for is to find someone else to pick up the baton where I leave it. What follows is a brain-dump with some hopefully helpful links and resources to help you dance your own path through copyright. Quick though this may be, I know it will never fit in the Gilded Serpent’s editorial limits (3 pages?) or letters (500 words) limits.

Be very, very, very careful with any free legal advice, especially from someone that is not a lawyer in the field they are discussing.

I’m not a lawyer, so THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE. You are responsible for what you do with this information and commentary, not me. This is commentary and discussion prompted by a troublesome article published on the Internet. I’ve been working in and around copyright for a while, but that doesn’t make me an expert – it just makes me interested. I’m sure I’m going to make some mistakes in this rush-to-write, but the important thing is to get the questions out there, even if I don’t have the answers at the top of my head.

Yes. You do need to obey the copyright laws as they apply to your performances. You also need to obey the laws relevant to driving if you drive to your performances and the laws relevant to pedestrians if you walk from your car to the show. All told, there are thousands of laws you need to obey. But Yasmin wrote about copyright and fear, so let’s get to some of the misinformation.

The first thing you need to know is that copyright law is relevant to belly dancing. Just how relevant depends a lot on specifically what you do. It is a legitimate issue, but Yasmin did not present it fairly, completely or even accurately. Copyright is not something that can be addressed in 2000 words. Actually, maybe it can. You can address copyright in three words: Hire A Lawyer. I imagine that’s not a practical solution for many belly dancers, so let me see what I can do to bring up a bunch of uncomfortable questions.

The second thing you need to know is that copyright (importantly, that’s copyRIGHT, as in “the right to copy” not copyWRITE, as often seen) in the United States is Title 17 of the United States Code. Cornell University provides a very handy reference here.

Now, some specific issues with Yasmin’s piece.

On Permission

If you did not compose a piece of music, write the lyrics to it and pay for it to be recorded you can not play that music publicly without asking the people who did these things for their permission.

This is not correct. If you did not compose the piece of music, write the lyrics and pay for it to be recorded, then that means you are not the original copyright owner for the given piece of music. Often, some or all rights are assigned to a publisher or record company, in which case asking the original copyright owner for permission will be quite useless, even dangerous – If the publisher has acquired exclusive rights, you may be sued by the publisher for violating their copyright, even if you “got permission” from the original owner.

Public performance of music for which you are not the copyright owner is legal and (in many circumstances) encouraged, provided you play by the rules set forth in Title 17. Of course, one way to play by the rules is to get in touch with the [current] copyright owner, if that’s possible, and ask for permission. Because copyright exists at the moment of creation, there is no universal registry of who owns which rights to which works, so finding the right person to ask can be extremely expensive or even impossible. You can find out more about copyright investigation in the US Copyright Office’s Circular 22. Copyright investigation gets even more complicated when you consider the potential variations in spelling when translating non-English names to English (are those lyrics by Mohammed, Mohamed, Muhamed, Muhammed, Mohammad, Mohamad, Muhamed, or Muhammad.. or Mo?), and that music may be registered (if it’s registered at all) as part of an album or collection in a foreign country under a different title. Even if you find the appropriate copyright owner, you may need a translator to negotiate.

Copyright law also provides several circumstances under which you can publicly perform music for which you do not own the copyrights. These exceptions include:

1) You work in a nation which includes “compulsory” and/or “blanket” licenses, which cover your specific use of the copyright-protected material. For belly dance performers, the most common right you need (and one discussed by Yasmin) is the public performance right. One way to acquire such a right is to perform in a venue that is licensed by one or more Performing Rights Organizations (more on those in a bit). If the venue has the appropriate license, you don’t have to ask for permission, and you are allowed to play the music where the public can hear it.
2) You use music that has specific rights waived or specific licensing terms applied. Some musicians actually encourage the use of their music. One way a copyright owner might do this is to apply a specific license (such as Creative Commons license – http://creativecommons.org/ ) to the music in question, which specifies how the material may be used. If you comply with the terms specified by the copyright owner, then you (everyone, really) already have permission and don’t need to ask.
3) In the United States, the performance is non-commercial/charitable/educational and complies with the additional restrictions described in 17 USC 110(1) and 17 USC 110(4). The additional restrictions include prohibition on cover charges.
4) In the United States, the performance is limited to a religious organization during a worship service (17 USC 110(3)).
5) In the United States, the performance is in a retail establishment where the primary purpose of playing the music is to sell it (17 USC 110(7)).
6) In the United States, the performance is done under the auspices of a government agency or office (17 USC 110(6)) or a veteran’s or fraternal organization (17 USC 110(11)), subject to additional conditions.
7) What you are doing is Fair Use. This would include criticism, comment (which could include parody or satire), news reporting, teaching, scholarship or research. Fair Use is a big, nebulous and very strange world of copyright law, codified in (17 USC 107) but that is a subject unto itself. Fair Use would rarely come up in the context of a typical belly dance performance, but you probably should know about it anyway.

There are other exceptions, like for jukeboxes and cable broadcasters, but they are even less relevant to belly dancing as I know it.

Also of note, you may not have to actually pay for your music to be recorded to be the copyright owner. It is possible to have legitimate work-for-hire done (and thus to be a copyright owner) without monetary compensation.

On Mechanical Rights

For 2006 and later, the mechanical rate is the greater of 9.1¢ per song or 1.75¢ per minute for each copy of a record or tape made and distributed (this includes DVDs). A DVD producer may be able to arrange different terms and conditions with an independent artist, particularly if publicity for the music is involved. But a written contract still must be signed that grants permission.

Yasmin fails to explain that these rates are set by statute (hence “statutory rates”) 17 USC 115, which defines a “Compulsory license for making and distributing phonorecords.” The nature of a compulsory license is that you do not need permission as long as you comply with the rules specified in the law. These rates apply to “phonorecords” which means audio recordings (but not necessarily audio-visual recordings). You can, of course, negotiate a different rate with the appropriate copyright owner(s), for which a written contract is an excellent idea. So, more properly, with regard to mechanical rights for phonorecords, you need to pay the statutory rate, or get permission (probably in writing), but not both.

Few dancers are doing anything that is subject to mechanical rights, which would involve “making” or “distributing” audio recordings (and those that are should probably have lawyers to deal with this stuff). Dancers producing or selling DVDs should probably be more concerned with synchronization rights, which apply any time music is accompanied by a visual image (such as an image of a dancer) and which, to my knowledge, do not have any compulsory license in the United States. While you’re negotiating your synchronization rights, you can bring up the associated mechanical rights as well. If you’re lucky, the same entity will be able to negotiate both.

On the Berne Convention

In the United States and all the countries that signed the Berne Convention (1886 and 1971), intellectual property is protected by copyright laws that must be respected if you want to copy and/or perform to someone else’ work.

Countries don’t have to be party to the Berne Convention to have copyright laws that must be obeyed (not just “respected”).

The Berne convention was revised in 1908, 1928, 1948, 1967 and 1971, and most recently amended in 1979. The United States is also party, under the provisions of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act 1998 (or DMCA), to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty (1996) (or WCT) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Performances and Phonograms Treaty (1996) (or WPPT).

If you’re feeling particularly nervous after reading Yasmin’s article, you might also want to look into the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (1994), which applies to World Trade Organization parties, including Egypt (member since 1995) and the United States (member since 1995) and the Rome Convention (1961), which applies in neither Egypt or the United States, but does apply in 86 other countries. Oddly enough, there is a lot of world out there that isn’t either Egypt or the United States.

On “a lot of rights to worry about”

But wait! There’s more! Translation, recitation and broadcast rights are discussed in the Berne convention. Reproduction, distribution, rental, making available rights (including broadcast) are discussed in WPPT and distribution, rental and communication to the public rights (which includes broadcast) are discussed in WCT.

Given the large secondary market in the bellysphere, it’s also worth noting that there is a “first-sale doctrine” that usually applies with regard to distribution (or, more precisely, I suppose, re-distribution).

When you’re done reading (and paying a lawyer to translate) all of the various laws and treaties, then you might have some time left to dance (or you might not).

On Performing Rights Societies

Yasmin goes on to mention Performing Rights Societies, which are more commonly (as far as I know) known as Performing Rights Organizations, some of which are societies, some are corporations, and I think some might even be government bodies (depending on the country involved).

Performing Rights Organizations (PRO) generally deal with performing rights (as one might assume from the descriptive name), though some also handle mechanical or other rights, and some even take it upon themselves to promote and produce music. Of course, a PRO does charge fees, and does collect royalties and in some cases, they eventually pay the artists they represent. If you are a “major recording artist” then a PRO is a great thing. Which organizations are relevant depends on the country or countries that the copyright owner(s) are in and where the performance occurs. Many have reciprocal terms with each other, some do not. Here’s an incomplete laundry list of Performing Rights Organizations, which may or may not be relevant to your particular performance (I hope you can handle this alphabet soup):

ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, JASRAC, PRS, SoundExchange, SOCAN, CMRRA, SPACQ, SADAIC, APRA, AKM, SABAM, UBC, ALBAUTOR, SBACEM, MUSICAUTOR, SCD, MCSC, SAYCO, AEPI, CASH, ARTISTJUS, STEF, KCI, IMRO, ACUM, SIAE, MCSK, AKKA/LAA, LATGA-A, MACP, SACM, BUMA, TONO, APDAYC, FILSCAP, ZAIKS, SPA, UCMR-ADA, RAO, SOKOJ, SOZA, SAZAS, SAMRO, KOMCA, SGAE, STIM, SUISA, MUST, MCT, COTT, MESAM, UACRR, AGADU, SACVEN, ACAM, HDS, ADCAM, KODA, SAYCE, EAU, TEOSTO, SACEM, GESAP, and GEMA.

On Public Domain and Contacting the Copyright Owner

The only reason a dancer would not have to contact the copyright owner of her music is if it falls in the public domain.

This is not correct. Yasmin provides handy references regarding the duration of copyright, but an expired copyright is not the only way a copyright-protected work may enter the public domain. Nor is the public domain the only circumstance under which someone can use material that is (or was) protected by copyright without contacting the copyright owner.

A copyright owner may specifically dedicate the work to the public domain. Works of the US Federal Government (and some other governments and quasi-public organizations) are not subject to copyright. And, of course, specific rights may be waived or have specific terms associated with them for a given work (e.g., “free for non-commercial use”). Don’t forget any compulsory licensing that may apply, or any of the exceptions discussed previously.

On Egyptian Copyright Law

I don’t speak or read Arabic, but I did find some interesting tidbits about copyright law in Egypt. Egypt is a member of the Berne convention [pdf] (effective June 7, 1977 ). Copyright protection under the Berne convention is at least for the life of the author plus 50 years ( see http://www.wipo.int/treaties/en/ip/berne/summary_berne.html ). The 1954 copyright law in Egypt was amended at least in 1994. Copyright in Egypt is managed by the Ministry of Culture, Supreme Council of Culture, Permanent Office for the Protection of Copyright, 1 El Gabalaia Street Opera House, El Gezira, Cairo, (20 2) 735 2396 / 403 3023.

Egypt is not a member of the WIPO Copyright Treaty.

In 2000, a conference was held in Cairo to discuss copyright issues in Egypt. I don’t know what went on, but such a conference is significant. Someone should spend some time on that if they care about Egyptian copyright issues.

On Respecting Nations and Their Laws

The translation I found states that in 1952 Nasser passed a clear copyright law that established protection for all intellectual property until 50 years after the death of the author. Fifty, not seventy as in the rest of the world, but a law does exist on their books.

It is true that some countries offer copyright protection for the life of the creator plus 70 (or even more) years, but those countries (which include the United States) do not constitute the “rest of the world” with respect to Egypt. Before one disparages a nation based on its alleged non-conformity with global copyright standards, one should carefully consider how non-conformist it truly is. The WPPT and WCT (by which Egypt is not bound) specify a term of protection of at least life+50 years. Most of the world is comfortable with life+50 terms for copyright.

Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Chile, China, Cuba, Cyprus, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Estonia, Fiji, Gambia, Guyana, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Iraq, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, South Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Lesotho, Macau, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Mauritius, Micronesia, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Namibia, Nepal, New Zealand, Niger, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Poland, Qatar, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, Saudi Arabia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Swaziland, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tonga, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, Uzbekistan and Zambia (at least) have a general copyright term of life of the author plus 50 years. By the way, it was life+50 in the United States too, until 1998.

Egypt is not so alone in this regard.

On Citing Laws

Anyone serious about discussing international copyright would be well-advised to contact a currently practicing lawyer in the field, rather than citing a translation of a more-than-50-year old law. Laws do not exist in isolation or without context. In 1952, South Carolina passed a clear law making it a crime to give a colored person custody of a white child (see http://www.jimcrowhistory.org/scripts/jimcrow/insidesouth.cgi?state=South%20Carolina). Many things have happened since then. It’s also illegal to steal an alligator in Louisiana or to sell a car on Sunday in Michigan.

Copyright has changed a lot since 1952 (what with the whole digital media thing), and I’m sure that’s true in Egypt, too. Like the rest of the world, Egypt has digital communications technologies.

On the Threat of Legal Action

The answer is because Western distributors of these products, if they have legally acquired the rights, can enforce those rights using Western laws and judicial systems. Being sued in a court of law can cost thousands in legal fees alone, not to mention the fine for damages if the offense is ongoing, lucrative and widely publicized.

That’s scary stuff.

Serpentine is a “Western distributor” and, despite Yasmin’s apparently (based only on her Gilded Serpent article) incomplete understanding of the rights involved, surely believes they have “legally acquired the rights.” The way I read that statement, to use music for which Serpentine owns or claims to own the copyright, you, as a dancer, have four basic options:
a) Hire lawyers and, if necessary, investigators and researchers at significant expense to ensure that you are fully compliant with all the nuances of copyright law, and that Serpentine actually has all the relevant rights;
b) Assume that Serpentine has the appropriate rights and ask Serpentine for permission before you do anything;
c) Ignore this threat and wait to be summoned to court; or
d) Avoid using Serpentine materials altogether.

The cheapest, simplest and safest approach is, unfortunately, D. It costs nothing to avoid this sort of problem. There is lots of other music in the world.

On a Dancer’s Responsibility

It’s not, I think, the dancer’s responsibility to know who owns the rights to a given piece of music. Given the nature of international trade, the opportunity to transfer rights, and the complexities of international law and reconciliation, it is unreasonable to expect that a dancer can identify all the relevant rights owners for a given recording. That’s why performance rights organizations exist – to associate a recording with the various (and current) rights-owners.

It is, I think, a dancer’s responsibility to comply with the licensing and reporting requirements of the venues in which s/he performs.

It is also a dancer’s responsibility to make sure that you purchase your music from a reputable retail operation, and that it is not likely to be pirated. I recommend purchasing from the musicians directly whenever possible (more on that next).

On Thinking of the Musicians

Think of the musicians and their families. If the musicians and their producers can’t make a living from their creativity, how can they continue to publish more?

If you’re really thinking of the musicians, and you want them to continue to create, you have to get a lot closer and more direct with your support. Collecting performing rights fees and enforcing copyright laws is a very ineffective way to feed and nurture musicians.

The challenge for musicians with regard to performance rights is that they have to be big enough for the PROs to realize they exist before they can benefit from them. Then they have to wait for their money, and they have to share it with all the middlemen. Indulge me while I do some hypothetical math for you.

Licensing from a PRO for an “enhanced musical performance” (that is, music with dancing) for a typical restaurant in the United States might cost $750 per year. Assuming they play music 12 hours a day (background music plus dancing music), 360 days per year and a typical song is 4 minutes, that results in about 64,800 song-plays per year. The PRO deducts their administrative overhead (let’s say 15%) and the remaining $640 is divided among the copyright owners for each song. That works out to about .99 cents per song. If a musician is relying on revenue from performing rights on music used by dancers, and they are earning a penny per song, that means a dancer would have to dance twice a night, every night to one song from this musician for almost two years just to cover the cost of a set of oud strings.

In an ideal world, the copyright owners get paid about a penny every time you dance to one of their songs. That penny gets further divided among the lyrics copyright owner(s), the composition copyright owner(s), the recording copyright owner(s) – and there might be lawyers and agents and other people in line with their hands out.

This isn’t an ideal world, and often enough, small independent copyright owners never get paid by a PRO. This happens because their collected fees never accumulate enough to justify the expense of all this accounting and analysis or the methods used by the PROs simply don’t pick up the relatively few plays for the songs in question. It is technically and practically impossible to monitor every song played everywhere, track the associated rights-owners, and collect all the appropriate fees (minus those performances with statutory exemptions, of course), and distribute the resulting pool of money precisely to the millions of rights-owners involved. The “small” copyright owners essentially vanish into a footnote on a PRO financial statement.

If you want to feed a musician, buy [legitimate!] copies of their recordings and merchandise. Buy them as directly as possible, preferably right from the hand of the musicians themselves (eliminate as many middlemen as possible and let the musicians keep as much money as possible). Encourage others to do the same. Talk to your musicians (if you can), and make sure they know you appreciate (and pay for) what they do. It takes more than fractions of a penny on a remote accounting ledger to keep someone creative and productive. Sometimes it takes a new set of strings.

I wish Yasmin was thinking of the musicians with whom she works when she decided to put the fear of economic ruin into any dancer that would dare to do something with their music “without permission” – even if they are perfectly within their rights to do so.

On Ethics

We as artists have a duty to respect the other artists we work with.

As mentioned in the Gilded Serpent letters, such a duty would suggest credit should be given to Jean-Léon Gérôme for the inclusion of a detail from “Almeh Performing the Sword Dance” ~1870, and possibly also the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University.

Such respect would also, ideally, extend to other dancers as well.

On the Bibliography

I would suggest that Yasmin update her sources. 1996 and 1998 books can not discuss the implications of several laws, court decisions, conventions and treaties that have come into force or have been amended since their publication. The Napster decision, in particular, didn’t happen until 2001.

What I’m Going To Do

I own the copyright for this article. It is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 license. Some rights reserved.

The rest is up to you. I hope someone with more experience or time will decide to add to the questions I’ve raised here.

because this was not easy to find, i’m copying my 2.5-cents over here into my own space, with a link to the original thread. in light of recent events, i am probably too thankful, but in the interest of integrity, this is what i said when i said it. it’s been over a year, but the issues keep coming up, so… from my own dark past (and happy halloween), i present my thoughts on a subject that came up in baltimore. hopefully in a place that people can find it a little faster…

As a reminder, the following material is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License.

i’ve read this thread with interest, and i’ve been very much swamped with dancing stuff and other-life stuff over the past several days, but i do want to chime in with a bit of an “outsider perspective.” i apologize if this is a bit disjointed and incoherent – i really haven’t had time to “write” as much as “spew”…bellydance is a performing art, and as such i have one general thing to say to everyone at all levels – and it’s something i often said to musicians when i worked with them – the only thing that matters, and i have to emphasize that, the ONLY thing that matters in a performing art is finding your audience. it doesn’t matter if that is an audience of one (yourself) or dozens or hundreds or millions. find the people that you connect with. find them at home, in restaurants, in theaters or in stadiums – it doesn’t matter where. find your audience. respect that audience once you’ve found them, and your career, no matter what path you find yourself on, is a success. success can’t be measured in dollars or tickets or t-shirts. it can’t be measured in pop charts or tv appearances. success (and this is my own personal definition, so take it that way), is that connection between a performer and their audience. make that connection, and the rest will play out well.

and now to do some ranting… i’ve said much of this to several people (hi people!) in person, but i guess this is the big opportunity to put it all “out there” in one place… luck you :)

in case it isn’t painfully obvious to anyone here, i do respect the dance and the dancers. i do have a very real personal and professional interest in this dancing thing that you do. i am inherently pro-bellydancing, even if it’s not called bellydancing (and even if inherently is not the ideal choice of words…). i’m also an “interloper” and “outsider” so i probably have a slightly different perspective.

this is an art form, and i think it should be treated like one.

when i first ran into this paragraph in the city paper, i made a quick editorial comment in my own space ( www.rojisan.com/dance/foru…_bellydance ), which essentially boils down to “take it up a notch. please.”

the thread here is a very powerful indication that could very well happen… and for that i am very thankful.

so first, let me say that i am amazed at the depth and breadth in the dance community (speaking in the broadest sense of community) in the area. the variety of talent here is truly impressive. on the dc side of the area, just the parade of world-class workshops and events in recent and coming months is ample evidence of the talent and dedication of the dancers in this area.

as dancers, you live in a slightly different reality – to dancers, names like rachel brice, suhaila, ansuya, jill parker, heather stants, delilah and [sometimes - www.gildedserpent.com/art29/m...iles.htm ] miles copeland mean something. outside the dancers+family+friends, not so much – and that’s ok. just to riff on a comparison from this thread, i imagine most of the dc tribal readers won’t have any knowledge of darcey bussell or alina cojocaru (and how exactly do you pronounce that?). despite grand assertions of “superstardom,” dancers in this field just aren’t quite at the public-awareness level of, say, a michael jackson or a michael flatley, so there’s much room to evolve. bellydance hasn’t had it’s breakout superstar yet – there hasn’t been a baryshnikov that captured the global public’s attention yet… and i do mean yet.

the city paper paragraph is, i think, a valid reflection of the broader public’s perception – even if it’s just the jaded arts&entertainment staff at the local weekly rag – it’s still a perception from “outside the bellysphere.” it’s probably also worth noting that the city paper and similar papers generally run with a relatively dry humor, and when it’s close to home and personal (like this is to many dancers), that can get lost.

there is at least an attempt at humor here, and some respect for the dance is buried in there. even the city paper acknowledges that this is a “trend” – now maybe i’m being overly generous, but at least they didn’t say “worst fad we’d like to throw a robe on” or “ugliest public spectacle” or “what dahell are these women thinking?” so maybe it is a trend (i think more of a cyclical thing myself…). perhaps most important to this discussion, there’s an obvious level of ignorance in the piece – “bells on their fingers” and the thing about hiring people to shake their asses. i think what you’re seeing here is an opportunity, if you twist yourself around and grab just the right perspective. and i don’t mean trading in your zils for bells…. i mean a little education can go a long way to shaping public perception. there’s a big public outside the bellysphere.

this area is saturated with talent and potential talent. there are literally hundreds of dancers, in this form, in this area. i usually figure something in the neighborhood of 1000 dancers around here, and then start splitting that up in various ways to make points about the business of bellydance or something – if only because 1000 makes for easy math. that’s a lot of dancers. but it also demonstrates an interesting question – how “serious” do you have to be to “count” as a dancer? does a 4-week class at the local health club count? does a couple hours working with a really bad instructional video count? do you have to dance in public? says who? i’ll come back to that thought eventually…

it’s basically my job to watch the dancers, but i occasionally sneak a peak at the audiences as well, and i have to say this: it’s a lot of familiar faces – it’s other dancers, and friends, and family and a few strange people like myself that show up at a lot of events. there are a few different “types” of public performances within this dance – there are the restaurant gigs and weddings and gallery openings and such (and those get lots of unfamilar faces, because people are there for things other than the dancers – like food or the bride or the exhibitor), and there are the shows and more formal presentations (and those are mostly familiar faces), and there are the halfas and student recitals and other informal shows (and those are ALL familiar faces). all of these are important – the history of the dance form makes it a more intimate, close experience than most “performance arts,” and this is a good thing. i would never suggest that performing at a restaurants is a bad thing (but i would suggest that it is not for everyone…).

so, i do want to throw my hat in with ashara’s comments (she is generally brilliant, so i’m completely comfortable with that…), and echo this: “WE as dancers need to get our acts together to work on technique and professionalism.” her thoughts are a bit more developed and eloquent than my “take it up a notch,” but that’s where i’m headed… and now i’m going to start making trouble…

baltimore is a strange place for many reasons, but to attempt to answer a couple questions that have come up in this thread… i imagine that the city paper arts&entertainment staff end up seeing so many bellydancers in baltimore for two reasons – one is that there are a lot of bellydancers in baltimore, and the other is that those bellydancers tend to offer their services to arts events throughout the city – cheap or free. so, arts&entertainment reporters tend to be at events where baltimore bellydancers tend to be, and that apparently got a little old.

before you eat me alive, i do understand the importance of getting experience as a dancer in front of an audience, but please, please, please, respect the form and respect the other dancers, and if you’re a student, or generally inexperienced, say so. say so very prominently. don’t pitch yourself as a professional. you’re not. seriously. if john q. public sees a “bellydancer” that’s had a couple months of classes and comes away from that performance with the perception that it’s all “ass-shaking” and “bell ringing” that’s a problem for everyone. i personally have faith that even john q. public can tell the difference between a professional dancer and a beginning dancer – if they have the opportunity to see both. i think even people completely ignorant of the structures and movements and rhythms and styles and culture behind this dance form would be able to look at a[n advanced] student dancer and, for example, an artemis, and recognize that artemis is in an entirely different league (to riff on another analogy from here). the problem is that john q. public doesn’t see artemis – he only sees the street festival, and seeing the street festival doesn’t [often enough] come away from it thinking “you know, i really gotta check out some other bellydancers… that rocked!” in at least one case that we know of, they come away thinking “seen it. blah.”

there’s a wonderful community spirit in this dance, and i certainly don’t want to tear that apart in any fashion. the community spirit (when the communities aren’t too busy being warring tribes, that is…) is one of the greatest things about this dance. but, and i hope i can get away with saying this as a bit of an “outsider,” there’s no quality-control or professional respect in this dance. in most other performing arts, there’s a gatekeeper of some kind – a critic, a producer, an a&r rep, or, best of all, a teacher – that stands between a performer and the public and has the ability and [most importantly] responsibility to say “you’re not ready yet.” in most performing arts, rejection is 99% of the game. actors and models get to endure cattle-call auditions with dozens or even hundreds of equally “qualified” competitors vying for one job. musicians have to audition to sit in the orchestra. ballerinas have to survive the russian dance instructor with a big hickory stick before they even GET to audition. in bellydance, there’s a universal acceptance – and that’s a wonderful thing for what it is – but it’s a challenge you, as dancers, have to deal with when your art form comes face-to-face with the general public.

to make this very personal and very local – i basically can’t afford to work in baltimore. the baltimore bellydance “scene” (such as it is) basically gives me one opportunity a month (the five seasons, first sundays) to work with baltimore bellydancers. beyond that, i’d have to fight horrible lighting and ugly backgrounds in restaurants with one dancer, to try to get any picture worth keeping, and she’s getting paid so little that she can’t afford to buy anything from me anyway, so my chances of covering dinner and gas for the effort are about zero. don’t get me wrong – there are great dancers in baltimore (some of my favorites), but given the wage-scale in the city and the lack of “show” events, the economics just aren’t there. i end up shooting something unfun (say, something other than a dancer) rather than taking my chances in baltimore. baltimore is in trouble [cue the music man soundtrack...]

now a few random thoughts and criticisms and suggestions… in no particular order

call this an art, and treat it like an art. take it seriously. focus on developing your own skills, and your professionalism. realize that you’re not just representing yourself, but you’re representing thousands of dancers that have dedicated millions of hours [and dollars!] to this thing you’re doing. you may be the first bellydancer that someone ever sees. make sure it’s a solid first impression. make them want to see and learn more.

try, at least a little, to pull this thing in the direction of a profession, together, as a community. if you’re not out there trying to make this into your personal profession, at least don’t cut the dancers that are [trying to make it their personal profession] off at the knees. that’s just mean.

do the festivals, do the gallery openings, do the restaurants, but while you’re doing all those things, do put some effort into organizing some shows, some next-level stuff. do put a lot of effort into getting people from outside the bellysphere to see something impressive with this form. you’ve got the talent in this area. make something amazing with it. in fact, let me know what i can do to help you do it.

this region has some of the most amazing dance talent in the world – you have so much variety and depth here it’s simply amazing. technically it might not be quite as progressive as, say, san francisco, or quite as well-populated as, say, new york, but take a serious look at the talent available here. you should be doing world-class shows. and i’m not saying “world class” as hyperbole – one thing that san francisco and new york can’t offer is the breadth of world culture available in washington dc (there is an embassy for just about every country in that city, you know… you literally have direct access to the world here).

try, at least a little, to expand the pie a bit. i’ve seen so much energy wasted on fighting over “turf” rather than expanding the available turf. find new places to dance. if you can’t find any, make some. there are huge gaps in the local geography (at least in my perception) – look around catonsville/ellicott city, towson/timonium, fells point, silver spring, college park, rockville/germantown, and even out in the direction of annapolis. there are places around here that have dance stuff, but could probably support more – takoma park, georgetown, and out along I-66. regular, consistent shows are easier to publicize than one-time events. look at things like the starlight shimmy (hi zareen!) and five seasons (hi na’lani!) and decoy lounge (hi yucy!). do something every quarter, or every other month, or even every month. do it in a school auditorium or a community center, or an american legion hall or whatever. and when you’re putting your show together, please think of me a little and try to have some light :) i will be there anyway (probably), but good light is nice once in a while…

if you read the previous paragraph and decided that i don’t think the market is “over saturated,” you’re right. at the moment the wameda website lists 13 restaurants/clubs with dancing (and yes, it’s missing some), most of which only have one or two nights a week. there’s about 7 million people in this region. how many of them have seen you dance?

when you’re putting shows together, don’t intentionally schedule your stuff at the same time as other stuff. seriously. that’s just mean. scheduling conflicts will happen, but lots of them can be avoided.

students need places to perform, and they need the support of their dance-mentors when they do it. so consider leaving some room for the up-and-coming dancers to gain some experience under your banner as you expand this pie. find an appropriate place, with a supportive audience, and let the students roll. it’s worked before with the rising star events (hi katie!). don’t eat your young – it’s bad for the species.

don’t send students or baby dancers out and say they’re professionals or even let the public assume they’re “professionals.” for their own sake, and for the sake of the bigger picture, be straight with your audience. remember that thing i said up at the beginning about respecting your audience? this is part of it. the public can be cruel. don’t send your young out for the wolves to eat either – that is also bad for the species.

get over yourselves a bit. realize that if you don’t get to dance at a restaurant or a show, that it might NOT be personal. you don’t have time to hold grudges over stuff like this. someone long ago told me, “don’t attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.” so if you didn’t get hired for a gig, maybe the person doing the hiring was stupid. then embrace the idea that we’re all stupid at some point or another and move on to the next thing.

if you’re doing restaurant gigs (and these are not for everyone), realize that the restaurant owner is paying you for a specific function – you’re there to make the restaurant more money. there’s basically just a couple ways to do this – you either bring more people through the door, or you keep people there (and drinking) longer than normal. try to expand the dance offerings into the weekdays. if you add 10 new people to a friday night that already has 100 people coming through the door, that’s not nearly as much impact as adding 10 new people to a tuesday night that only has 25 people. if someone gets a new restaurant gig, especially on a weekday night, support that – go to the shows, see the new space, meet the owner, it’s good for everyone – even if you don’t get hired “on the spot.” if restaurants realize that dancers are an asset and actually do improve their bottom line (and aren’t just a novelty thing for their own personal entertainment), believe me, there will be more gigs for everyone.

you do not need to spend any time “dissing” any other dancers. you don’t have to love everyone in this dance, and you may have had some personal issues with individual dancers. that’s fine. you don’t have to work with everyone. embrace the bigger picture. respect is a huge part of being a professional. respect the dance, and respect each other, even if you don’t LIKE each other. if someone doesn’t dance in public, that’s ok – it doesn’t mean they work any less than the rest of you. if someone has a different business approach or philosophical approach, or cultural approach to dancing, that’s ok – it doesn’t mean they’re any less serious than the rest of you. even if they are less serious or don’t work as hard, so what? respect people that dance for no one but themselves. respect people that dance to preserve a specific culture. respect those that dance in a different way or style than you. respec those that dance hard just to make a quick buck on weekends. and while you’re doing all this respecting…

be critical, but be constructively critical. i’ve going to bring up a very sore subject now, and that’s a little article that appeared in the wameda newsletter some time ago – that was critical. and then the wrath and fury of all the heavens came down on the author for writing it and wameda for printing it. well, i hate to rub people the wrong way, but someone needed to get out there and say that stuff. perhaps it wasn’t the most tactful approach, and perhaps the writing could be better, but the nugget of truth in all this is that being critical is necessary in a profession. if you’re all already perfect and the dance is already perfect, and the business is already perfect, why aren’t you all shoveling piles of cash in my direction for giant beautifully framed art prints? hopefully i’m taking some of my own medicine with this thing – it’s getting pretty long and pretty critical so far. it worries me that nearly every critical comment in this thread is prefaced with some sort of “ducking” comment. that says a lot about how the dancers take criticism. you’re all strong women, you can handle it. this will be harsh: if you’re not strong enough to take criticism from other dancers that [probably] know how hard you’ve worked and what you’ve put into this thing, you are no where near ready to be calling yourself a “performer” or “teacher.”

if you’re going to be serious about being a professional in this business of dance, realize that it is a business – and beg (if you have to) to get the magazines, associations, websites and events to provide you with some information on making this a profession and a business. it’s always nice to see pretty pictures and read reviews and personal editorials on gilded serpent (to pick on one site) or in the wameda newsletter (another) – but they can do so much more. ask. you are their audience. artemis does her workshops and her stuff. piper, carolena and suhaila have their certification things (and i’m sure there are others…). that’s not enough.

never stop learning. you’re not that good.

get a real teacher, be a good student. if you’re teaching and you’ve got students that want to perform in public, consider it your personal responsibility to clue them in on things like health and safety and ethics and professionalism and culture. if you can’t do it, refer them to someone that can. there is no excuse for sending “baby dancers” out into the wild unprepared. if you’re out there calling yourself a teacher and getting paid to be a teacher, realize that there is a lot of responsibility that comes with that title, even if the pay scale sucks. taaj and some compatriots have tried to address some of these issues with MEDIA ( www.mediadance.org/ ). artemis has her workshops. within driving distance, there wonderful, truly good people with hundreds of years of professional experience. if you’re in this geographic area, you don’t get to make excuses for missing it.

i’m not totally sold on certifications, but i do think there’s room for some formality in instruction. this is already way too long for most people to read, but if you’ve made it this far, and you’d like me to do a brain-dump on that subject, get in touch with me – i’m sure that will end up being another book-length exposition.

anyway, i have to get back to work… but before i do, i want to say it here at the end, because i do mean it – thanks for what you do.

After several private discussions it seems important that I take some time to address the recent piece by Barbara Grant discussing Sashi and to a lesser extent, Kaya and Sadie, Suhaila and Judeo-Christian ethical standards as they apply to belly dance and as they are represented in the article. I’m going to try to head in the direction of making this a learning opportunity, but some of this may seem pretty personal. For that I apologize in advance.

Don’t be mean. We don’t have to be mean. -B.B.

This goes here and not on Gilded Serpent because there is just no way that the Gilded Serpent 500-word limit on letters is going to cover these thoughts, and neither is the 3-page limit on articles (I’m going to be lucky to come in at less than 5000 words). To even hope to keep this reasonable, I’m going to skip the whole second half of Ms. Grant’s article – perhaps I’ll come back to issues of burlesque and belly dance in the future. For now, focus is important, so I tackle only the first half.

I need to say, up front, that I did not see Sashi’s performance, nor have I seen any Ascend Tribal performance, nor have I seen Barbara Grant perform, ever. I’m not a religious scholar, nor Christian, nor a dancer, nor a cutter, nor female [and thus, have not endured any female genital mutilation or female mutilation of any sort], nor even pierced. I have no business discussing these things, except in as much as I am discussing an article and its audience, belly dancers. Use your own mind, that’s what I’m trying to do.

To echo Ms. Grant (and to help set the stage for something coming up…), “Those who abhor critical opinions may not wish to read further.”

LET’S TALK ABOUT “PLACE”

Contradiction is not a sign of falsity, nor the lack of contradiction a sign of truth. – Blaise Pascal

First, I’m going to take issue with self-contradictory statements. Before I do, I’m going to confess that I am as guilty as anyone, and that contradiction is not inherently bad. It has been said (notably by Oscar Wilde) that the wise contradict themselves. It’s also worth noting that as we learn and evolve, new perspective and new information can lead to honest changes of opinion, which, when juxtaposed across a great rift of time, may seem contradictory, but instead demonstrate the wonderful human capacity for growth and development. So, I begin with a contradiction that I think merits some exploration.

In a previous piece Ms. Grant published on the Gilded Serpent, she closes with the following:

The dance is broad enough to allow many varieties of expression and it holds a place for Christians too.

This is an apparent appeal to the broadest definition of “the dance” to include Christians, some of whom (Ms. Grant among them) approach this dance form without any inkling of “erotic” or “enticing” qualities. Ms. Grant’s personal efforts to entertain an audience without being enticing (or erotic) are entirely defensible within the broad culture of American belly dance. Having never seen her perform, I refrain from any judgment on her success in either avoiding eroticism and enticement or being entertaining. It is enough to say that here in America, where we routinely prune the roots of art forms and bend them to our own intentions in a broader culture of appropriation and extension, if someone wants to make belly dance unenticing, they are certainly welcome to do so. I personally encourage individual artistic drive in whatever direction anyone finds it.

We now come to the contradiction, which is that while Ms. Grant seeks (some might claim, demands) “a place” for Christian dancers within the big tent of Belly Dancing, she is quite willing to dismiss and assault others that find different expression in what our author calls “the dance.” From her most recent piece:

If the Tribal community cannot effectively perform quality control over its dancers, perhaps the larger Belly dance community should consider whether or not Tribal performances and festivals are worthy of consideration in a publication such as this one.

and

Extreme body mutilation has no place in Belly dance!

Leaving aside for the moment the problematic concepts of “quality control” and “extreme” (which I will return to in time), we can infer some specific boundaries on what sort of “a place” we are discussing in as far as this particular article is concerned and what is and is not Belly Dancing. With these boundaries firmly in mind, I move on to other issues raised.

KEEPING IT CIVIL

Civility costs nothing, and buys everything. – Mary Wortley Montagu

To dismiss artists, repeatedly, in the space of just sixteen paragraphs is, to me, fairly offensive. Dance is, fundamentally, a performance art (at least when people are talking about it). I suggest we focus on the performance (I can’t; didn’t see it), the art (I can only vaguely address this one), or the culture in which it is created and discussed (bingo).

I would encourage Ms. Grant to reconsider resorting to epithets in an attempt to make a point. Phrases like “or whatever it was that Sashi called it” seem, to me, to belong in the school playground, and not anywhere near a serious discussion about art or culture. If you don’t know what she called it, and you can’t be bothered to find out, that’s fine. Just don’t trouble us with demeaning commentary and drawing that much attention to your personal ignorance – whether it be by choice or otherwise.

I also discourage the liberal use of quotes in an apparent attempt to dismiss or discredit the works and beliefs of those she does not understand or appreciate. For my part, I promise to never refer to Jesus as Ms. Grant’s “savior” or “cult leader.” We may have our differences, but that doesn’t mean I have to disrespect someone else’s beliefs.

I’m also going to take issue with the use of the phrase “Those who abhor such standards may not wish to read further.” (foreshadowing comes into bloom). Perhaps our definitions of abhor differ, but I’m going with “to regard with extreme repugnance” [Merriam-Webster]. Whatever Ms. Grant had in mind when using the phrase “Judeo-Christian ethical standards,” I posit that you will find only a very small percentage of the human population that disagrees with fundamental tenants of Judeo-Christian ethical standards (especially when they are presented as general ethical standards, and not wrapped in a particular and exclusionary religion or history), and a much, much smaller slice of people that would go so far as to abhor such standards. Dismiss, question, bend, and break, perhaps, but abhor is particularly strong language and, I think, inapropriate in as much as it is used to offend and alienate readers that may, for whatever reason, disagree with the author. Nothing anyone can say about dance has such magnitude and import as to establish a personal repugnance for something as broadly definable (and in this specific context, entirely un-defined) as a Judeo-Christian ethical standard. It’s just dance.

But, while we’re here, send me a list of specific Judeo-Christian ethical standards, and we can open a discussion on which ones, if any, that I abhor. In this case, the phrase seems to be used simply as a means to divide and hurt, and that’s just not appropriate. Most particularly from someone who wants to find “a place” for Christians, including herself, among the audience she is addressing.

Also worth mentioning, but only because the original author made such a definitive statement on the subject of biblical Christian beliefs, I am going to go on the record questioning any sort of absolute authority either Jews or Christians have in as far as establishing ethical standards. History is rife with examples of atrocities conducted by the hands of Jews and Christians and in the name of their God, and not only against non-believers. Other ethical standards may apply.

RECOGNIZING THE DIFFERENCE

Despite opening with the confession that Sashi went to great lengths to explain her intent and the background and spiritual nature of her presentation, and the acknowledgement that piercing as a spiritual practice is “not unique” to this performance, this article detours quickly through two tangents that are apparently very personal issues for the author – female genital mutilation and cutting. Since all I have to work with is the article, I guess I get to follow the tangents.

What either of these issues has to do with dance, belly dance, artistic expression, piercing, Sashi’s performance or Judeo-Christian ethics escapes me, but since we’re here, let’s take this opportunity to explore a bit of both subjects.

I suppose there is some potential to connect female genital mutilation with belly dance, if only coincidentally, in as much as female genital mutilation is most-often practiced in North-Eastern and Eastern Africa (Egypt, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania), and portions of the Middle-East (Iraq, Jordan, northern Saudi Arabia), which can also lay claim to some of the traditional dances that have been morphed into what we call belly dance today. Of course, the problem with that is that female genital mutilation is also practiced in other parts of the world and was also occasionally practiced in the United States until the late 1950′s (and presumably, still is today).

More importantly, female genital mutilation is generally regarded as a cultural or social practice, and not a religious or spiritual one, so I fail to see how this is relevant. You’re going to have to come up with some pretty strong evidence to convince me that forced genital surgery is a spiritual experience for anyone, much less a child or baby.

If you’d like to learn more about female genital mutilation, I suggest visiting the world health organization site on the subject, as well as one from Amnesty International and Warrior Marks.

Our next tangent brings us to the phenomenon of cutting. A subset of general practices described as self-injury or parasuicide. Without going into a great discussion on the subject, self-injury is not (that I’m aware of) currently recognized as a mental disorder, but it may be considered symptomatic of other recognized disorders, in which case, cutting would be also be an involuntary act.

In any case, some form of habitual self-injury, though not necessarily cutting, is estimated to occur in almost 1% of the population, so chances are there are a few cutters among the readership of Gilded Serpent, and they might have something to say (or think) about comparing their personal experiences with a public performance. Again, as with female genital mutilation, I fail to see how cutting is related to Sashi’s performance.

I’m going to go out on a limb here a bit and posit that dance, and in particular tribal forms of belly dance may constitute a form of interpersonal therapy (a recommended therapy for cutting), which is intended to help people develop and maintain relationships. If that is the case, belly dancing, and tribal dancing in particular, may help reduce the incidence and/or severity of cutting behaviors. I’m just guessing.

For more on cutting, there’s selfinjury.org and recoveryourlife.com. And, since the original article included a random quote from a random cutter, I’ll raise that to a whole book. Go Ask Ogre.

Whatever causes or reasons might bring someone to cutting, it seems quite obvious to me that the path that leads one to self-injure is probably not at all congruent with the path that leads a dancer to explore distant cultures and find personal expression on stage.

This may sound crazy, but I think that things done for spiritual enlightenment, regardless of the religious or cultural framework in which they are cast or the controversial nature of the acts themselves, pretty much have to be done on a voluntary basis with full awareness and intent of the participants. Otherwise, what sort of spiritual enlightenment is available? Can you trip over God and be saved? Christians seem to be quite fond of their rituals and rites that demand the affirmation and consent of their adherents.

There’s a fairly simple difference between female genital mutilation and cutting and suffering in the quest for spiritual enlightenment – Female genital mutilation [usually] and cutting [generally] is not done on a voluntary basis with the full awareness and intent of the participants.

REPREHENSIBLE!

Do not do unto others as you expect they should do unto you. Their tastes may not be the same. – George Bernard Shaw

What I left out of the previous discussion on cutting and how it’s not related to anything I understand about Sashi’s performance, was a particularly dramatic statement, “As an American who is concerned about our youth, I find ‘cutting’ particularly reprehensible!” This statement merits discussion on its own, but I think I will rely on the words of others in this matter. Having made the distinction between voluntary and involuntary behaviors in the previous section (I hope…), it’s time to reflect on that word reprehensible (thank you Merriam-Webster):

Main Entry: rep·re·hen·si·ble
Pronunciation: “re-pri-’hen(t)-s&-b&l
Function: adjective
: worthy of or deserving reprehension

Main Entry: rep·re·hen·sion
Pronunciation: -’hen(t)-sh&n
Function: noun
: the act of reprehending : CENSURE

Main Entry: rep·re·hend
Pronunciation: “re-pri-’hend
Function: transitive verb
: to voice disapproval of

Main Entry: cen·sure
Pronunciation: ‘sen(t)-sh&r
Function: noun
1 : a judgment involving condemnation
2 archaic : OPINION, JUDGMENT
3 : the act of blaming or condemning sternly
4 : an official reprimand

Main Entry: cen·sure
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Form(s): cen·sured; cen·sur·ing /’sen(t)-sh(&-)ri[ng]/
1 obsolete : ESTIMATE, JUDGE
2 : to find fault with and criticize as blameworthy

Deferring to the wisdom of those that came before me (in various translations), I offer my spin on reprehensible through excerpts from sacred texts of great religions:

If you are Buddhist, please open the Dhammapada to chapter 18, verse 252:

The fault of others is easily perceived, but that of oneself is difficult to perceive; a man winnows his neighbor’s faults like chaff, but his own fault he hides, as a cheat hides the bad die from the gambler.

If you are Confucian, please open Analects (Lun Yu) to book 12, chapter 16:

The Master said, ‘The superior man seeks to perfect the admirable qualities of men, and does not seek to perfect their bad qualities. The mean man does the opposite of this.’

If you are Hindu, please open the Garuda Purana to chapter 113, verse 57:

The vicious and the mean observe other’s faults, be they so little as mustard seeds. They see, but pretend not to see, their own faults as big as bilva fruits.

If you are Jewish, please open the Pirqe Aboth to chapter 2, verse 5:

judge not thy friend until thou comest into his place

If you are Muslim, please open the Qu’ran to chapter 6, verse 114:

Shall I seek other than Allah for judge, when He it is Who hath revealed unto you Scripture, fully explained?

And now, finally, to connect this to the next section and make it relevant to the piece I’m discussing, I refer you to the Christian Bible (New Testament). Please turn to Matthew, chapter 7, verse 1:

Judge not, that ye be not judged.

(That makes at least one possibly Judeo-Christian ethical standard that isn’t quite as exclusive as some Judeo-Christians might suggest…)

KEEPING IT CHRISTIAN [AND EXTREME]

You must submit to supreme suffering in order to discover the completion of joy. – John Calvin

Now that we’re back into the Christian vein, let’s discuss some Christian history that might bear relevance to the concept of “mutilation of the body” in the quest for spiritual enlightenment, redemption and purity.

Suffering is Christian, is says so right in the Book:

1 Peter 4:1
“Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;”

… and most especially for women:

Genesis 3:16
Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

Suffering, sure, but we’re talking about extreme bodily mutilation. Can we find an example of that? Let’s start with amputation as penance:

Matthew 18:8-9
“If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away.”

I’m sure most people would consider amputation a form of “mutilation of the body,” and here we have specific scripture apparently requiring exactly that. Then we can bring it a little closer to the original article. Let’s find some mandatory Biblical genital mutilation.

Joshua 5:2
At that time the LORD said unto Joshua, Make thee sharp knives, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time.

Genesis 17:10
This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.

There is so much more on circumcision throughout the Bible, but I have to move on. From yet another book, we find self-assault as a means to… religious credibility?

1 Corinthians 9:27 [World English Bible]
but I beat my body and bring it into submission, lest by any means, after I have preached to others, I myself should be rejected.

Ok, sure, you might say, these are not meant to be read literally. They have no bearing on a discussion of actual spiritual human bodily mutilation. Ah, but they do!

From the depths of the middle ages and in the shadow of great plagues (13th-14th centuries C.E.) in Europe, we find bands of flagellant monks parading from town to town beating themselves and bleeding for their faith. And so disturbing were these that by Papal decree, the Catholic versions of these flagellant orders were condemned by multiple Popes (Clement VI and Gregory XI) and declared heretical. So, for a a while there, flagellation was a tolerated, if not endorsed, spiritual practice among Christians in Europe.

Ok, sure, you might say, the Pope shut all this down and ended it back in the 1300′s, so it has no bearing on a discussion of actual human spiritual bodily mutilation today. Ah, but they do!

Right in the heart of Catholic turf (a beautiful three and a half hour drive south of Rome), we find the town of Guardia Sanframondi, wherein, every seven years, you can find parades that include people flaying their own backs and beating their chests with blocks of pins. It gets even better, but you’ll have to wait until the end for that bit. Patience is a virtue.

Flagellation can be pretty serious stuff, but there are other means of spiritual progress and/or redemption in the Christian faith that have to do with physical punishment, discomfort and suffering, perhaps most notably, the sackcloth or hairshirt. These items are described several times in the Bible, and were apparently a very popular method of mortifying the flesh and demonstrating penitence.

I should also draw your attention to that particular phrase – Mortifying the Flesh. That’s a major theme in Christianity.

If you’re interested in additional information regarding good Christians suffering for their spirituality, just look at the saints. I suggest the stories of St. Dominic Loricatus, St. Peter Damian, St. Therese of Lisieux, St. Ignatius Loyola and St. Josemaria Escriva de Balaguer.

As a special gift to you, popular favorite Pope John Paul II discussed suffering at great length.

Blood is a big theme in the Bible, and many others have addressed these things in a much more scholarly and comprehensive manner than permitted here. I offer Blood and Purity in Leviticus and Revelation as an interesting place to start.

While we’re on the subject of bloodshed and spirituality and Christendom, let us not forget the blood of innocent men, women and children spilled in the name of a God they did not know or did not worship [enough].

BLOOD AND PAIN IS UNIVERSALLY SPIRITUAL

To live is to suffer, to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering. – Roberta Flack

As part of a spectrum of painful things done for spiritual enlightenment, it’s important to note that many religions endorse or even require fasting and/or pilgrimages. Both of these could be interpreted readily as painful experiences (hunger pain, foot pain, financial pain, etc.) in the quest for spiritual fulfillment. How is it that the pain of fasting can be a valid spiritual ritual, but more dramatic forms of pain somehow become invalid and reprehensible? Who gets to define that line, and by what ethical standard to they get to impose it on others? When does it become “extreme”?

The Christians have quite a history of penitents and other suffering rites, but lest someone think I’m picking on Christians [generally] or Catholics [in particular] in some unfair manner, I would also like to take a bit of space to discuss a few other spiritual quests. I prefer to let Sashi speak to the rituals she has studied, so here, I will skip the entire Hindu field.

Our Muslim brethren have a particularly dramatic and bloody event once a year, Ashura. This event, commemorating the massacre of Husayn bin Ali (among many others), is pretty much the basis for the schism between the Shi’ite and Sunni Muslims. Anyway, you don’t get to kill off a bunch of the hardcore faithful without centuries of repercussions, which today manifest in annual rituals of flagellation and bloodletting. On a positive note (and this is why I’m including this story in this piece), the inventors-of-the-suicide-bomber, Hizbollah, have made an effort in recent years to turn this bloody ritual into something positive and humane. Here you will find the following statement:

Hizbollah is quite vocal about condemning the flagellation. For the last two years, they have set up an alternative for those who want to demonstrate their faith in a different way. The Hizbollah ask Shiites to donate their blood to hospital blood banks, as Hussein donated his for the people.

The concept of ritual pain and suffering is embedded so deeply in human culture, you can even find pain rites in science fiction (just ask your friendly neighborhood Klingon) and in advertising (just watch [embedded quicktime] the Altoidia ad for Callard & Bowser Suchard by Leo Burnett Company.

To bring this bloody concept into the heart of the matter, in this case, blood in art, The Sacrificial Aesthetic: Blood Rituals from Art to Murder is one place to start. If you’ve got time to digest a book, “Sacred Pain: Hurting the Body for the Sake of the Soul” by Ariel Glucklich might be a good place to spend some time.

Blood and Pain are two universal conditions of the human experience (we all have both, to some degree or another). Some people, within our cultural, religious and personal contexts, make blood and/or pain into something spiritually meaningful. Sometimes that cultural, religious or personal context is not understood or not accepted by others, but that doesn’t make the individual experience any less spiritual or important.

I’LL TAKE PICTURES FOR A THOUSAND WORDS, ALEX

Much has already been said about the picture selections that accompany the article. I will add that of the photos, Jesus crucified, a baby with IVs, and the “Church Approved Piercing” iron maiden all echo the apparent lack of understanding regarding voluntary and involuntary body modification/mutilation. I personally find the inclusion of a baby very inappropriate.

DID SOMEONE SAY QUALITY CONTROL?

Now I have to address the assertion that the Tribal community cannot effectively perform quality control.

To this, I have a very simple response. If the Greater Belly Dance Community had any concept of Quality Control, this might be a useful suggestion. Unfortunately, since there is very little in the way of Quality Control for any flavor of Belly Dance, the assertion that one group/style/format/approach/school/legacy should have any sort of authority over another is simply absurd.

To back up this argument, I provide, for your viewing amusement, the following three video clips of Quality Controlled Non-Tribal Belly Dancers:

1. [metacafe embedded video]
2. [direct wmv link]
3. [direct wmv link]

AND FINALLY, THE ANSWER

Blut ist ein ganz besonderer Saft – Mephistopheles [Faust] (“Blood is a very special fluid”)

If you’ve made it this far, I finally address the big question that Ms. Grant raised with her controversial opinion piece. She asked:

if “gods” or “goddesses” may be worshiped, and “spiritual enlightenment” achieved, by what is in no uncertain terms mutilation of the body, then where does it stop?

As demonstrated again and again through history, the answer is that it stops when you run out of blood. Just like Jesus.

If you have any doubt, I encourage you to spend your next Easter season in San Pedro Cutud (San Fernando, Philippines), where you will find this enticing bit of pageantry and extreme [video] body mutilation in the name of the Christian God.

Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. – Matthew 16:24

… and someone always does.

This has been sticking in my craw for quite a while, and I guess the best way to free myself is to go ahead and dump it out there in public and the next time it comes up, I can skip the discussion and just point. I could be wrong about all of this, but there are just too many pieces that come together for me.

Long, long ago, in a garden far, far away (in Hollywood), Miles Copeland III made the following statement about just how important the Bellydance Superstars really are:

“Bellydance Superstars is the most important dance company in the world today. We are the only ones doing something that has a social import. Given that the most important thing in the world today is the conflict between Muslim world and the United States, anything that creates bridges between those two cultures is incredibly important.”

Since then, he’s played it a bit fast… and I’ve taken issue with that strategy.

Much more recently, I stumbled into a couple pieces over at Gilded Serpent discussing the latest version of the Bellydance Superstars… one by a [former] superstar and one by Najia. Najia’s piece included this observation:

The curtains opened and a large backdrop of some sort of old palatial architecture suggesting Arabic culture lined the entire back of the stage. These over-large renderings do lend some courtly atmosphere, but tend to dwarf the performers, losing dancers in the perspective of their massive scale, bright colors and over-sized landscapes. I am accustomed to the colorful fabrics that the Egyptians use for their party backdrops that mock the elaborate appliqués of old, but these palace renderings are enormous by comparison!

and this uncredited picture:

I have to emphasize at this point that I am no scholar of Arabic or Middle Eastern culture. I’ve toyed with architecture, and I’ve been working fairly seriously on dance-related cultural stuff for a couple years now, but I am far, far from an expert. They used a smaller backdrop – David Ludwig’s “Moroccan Room” – to fit the stage at the Birchmere, so I have not seen this backdrop in its full glory. With that disclaimer, it’s time for me to connect some dots.

First, this (the larger) backdrop appears to be based on, if not intended to represent, the Mosque of Cordoba. Cordoba’s arches are very distinctive (see here and here and here and here for photos). Even more specific to this sacred site is the cathedral built into the center of the mosque. In the image of the BDSS backdrop, you can see what looks suspiciously like a buttress through the center gap in the columns roof. I could be wrong, but I know of no other place on earth where you will find a forrest of columns, red-striped Islamic arches, under a classically western cathedral architectural element.

Second, if this is Cordoba, Cordoba has a very specific history as a sacred site. To the Romans it was a temple to Janus; to Visigoths, a Cathedral of St. Vincent; to Muslims as a great mosque (the biggest in Europe, even). Then the Christians came back and re-dedicated it to the Virgin Mary, then a couple centuries later, plopped a cathedral in the middle of the building, so now it’s a huge mosque with a cathedral in the middle.

You can interpret that in several ways, of course, and being an anti-fundamentalist, I personally don’t really care which way you interpret it. Cordoba could be a great insult Christians by Islam, a great insult to Islam by Christians (and legend has it that even the king that sanctioned the construction of the Cathedral, Charles V, regretted his endorsement of the construction of the cathedral, saying “You have built what you or others might have built anywhere, but you have destroyed something unique in the world.” Or it could even be a great insult to Janus by everyone. The polar interpretation (and my preferred interpretation) is that this is one place in the world where Christian and Islamic architecture stand today without the ongoing stain of fresh blood – it is a physical monument to religious tolerance.

Either way, Copeland has dancers showing a lot of skin and shaking a lot of body parts, in what looks like the courtyard of the Mezquita, in the shadow of a Cathedral. For me, that doesn’t bother me – but I don’t get offended easily. I realize that there are people that do (and I go to great lengths to offend them myself). So, I think some cultural awareness is called for… where this runs into trouble for me is that Copeland (and company) can’t claim ignorance – Copeland has paraded his life experience in the Middle East and he’s quoted (and re-quoted and re-quoted) his intention to “create bridges” between the two cultures. It seems to me that staging dancing girls in a sacred place is not the best way to do that.

Not that I expect many fanatical Muslims or Christians in the Bellydance Superstars audience, but if the stated intent is to create bridges, at the very least this is a lost opportunity to educate the audience that does come to the BDSS shows. At worst, this is a profane slap-in-the-face to both Muslims and Christians. As far as I’m concerned, there are two ways out – pull the backdrop and apologize and turn this into an opportunity to build some of those bridges Copeland says are so important, or stop professing the intent to build bridges and admit that the Bellydance Superstars are not about saving us all from a global war of cultures, and it’s merely a dance show.

Whatever Copeland does, I’m going with the former. I guess I will step into the gap, and at least give you the opportunity to turn this into a learning experience and a history lesson.

There are few places in the world that have this kind of distinctive, readily identifiable architecture and embody, in stone, multiple religions. The Mezquita is one… Hagia Sofia in Istanbul is another (converted from a cathedral to a mosque).

I would start with the view from orbit. This is a big, big structure.

Wikipedia also has a good overview, with several links of their own. islamicarchitecture.org has a more detailed history of the construction, at least during the Islamic reign. this photo which is linked from this article is a bit grainy, but shows the buttresses from an aerial perspective. A page from this piece is linked above for photos. archnet.org has a piece as well, and I’ll wrap this up with a link to unesco, which has designated the Mezquita and its surroundings a world heritage site, and includes this this video introduction [windows media].

one of the reasons i enjoy working with dancers is that they are generally (!) genuinely good people. but in every population, there’s a “dark side” and in every population there’s the occasional oversight or mistake or “flash of stupidity.” i’ve certainly done my share of stupid things, but i try to “do right” by the dancers, particularly with the photography stuff, and i think i usually live up to that.

but there are exceptions. of course.

and so, since i have a soapbox to stand on, and since i had such interesting back-channel feedback from my essay-length rant on tribaldc.tribe.net (in here), i guess i’m on a bit of a roll with ranting. in this case, i thought i’d retreat to my personal corner of the web.

duplicity is not ok.

it’s not ok to ask me to do photos, and ask for a really fast (as in overnight) turnaround, with lots of heavy editing, and then just assume it was a “favor.” i do favors – probably too often. but if you wouldn’t drop everything you had planned tonight to come dance for me right now, as a favor, you shouldn’t expect me to drop everything i had planned to make you look good out of the generosity of my heart. it’s not that i wouldn’t – in fact, i have – but it’s the assumption that’s duplicitous.

it’s not ok to crop out credits in photos that i’ve donated and then turn around and tell me that i can’t make them available to the performers in print formats, at cost. it’s especially not ok when your position on the matter is that i shouldn’t be making a profit, when i’m not, and when other people who are and were involved in the event did and do. if you’ve got other commercial interests offering discounts for the event, i shouldn’t get any trouble for doing anything “at cost.” either everyone donates everything, or everyone has a chance to donate something (a discounted price, their time, whatever).

it’s not ok to alter, crop, adjust, modify, or otherwise display things i’ve worked on without asking. i make every effort to locate and ask the person(s) featured in a photo before i do anything beyond “event-related” and portfolio stuff. i’m easy to find. i have a little notice on every screen of the photo site that says ” please do not use without permission. ask me. i’m nice.” i’m more than happy to work with you; but i do ask that you work with me – at least a little.

it’s not ok to grab pictures from the “proofs” pages and use them elsewhere. they’re watermarked for several reasons – and one of them is so i know you didn’t ask when you used something from those sets. if you’d asked, i would have provided a clean perfectly displayable photo for you to use – sometimes (perhaps too many sometimes) even for free.

play nice. please. that is all.

just a quick note to thank all the “foreign” pure dancers for stopping by dc and doing what they do…. i hope the city treated you well, and i hope you had a wonderful visit.

thanks to the local pure contingent for putting together a very busy weekend.

and congratulations to all of pure for expanding their ritual.

something i never expected to find… believe it or not, rachel has a father. and that father has a blog, and that blog shows a father’s pride

of course, i can’t vouch for the reality here, but…

My life would have been relatively impoverished if I had not had the opportunity to watch my daughter grow into the incredible force of nature she’s become, and to enjoy the pleasure of her company. Still, I often look at her and still see her as the curly-headed little moppett she was 30 years ago.

i hope i don’t get in trouble for “outing” dad…

some personal commentary from maragret cho on bellydane in general, cairo carnival in particular and body image.

Just a quick congratulatory note to Sahara Dance and the hundred-ish dancers that survived Saturday’s marathon….

Great show, dancers… I hope you enjoyed it.

two experiences, as presented by the gilded serpent, here.

But in order to survive that first audition one must have an extensive background in Western choreographed dance forms such as jazz, modern or ballet, as well as belly dance.

She told me to take more ballet.